As gun control is not possible...

As another user mentions, priorities and values have to shift.

Argo2112 wrote: After the Sandy Hook shooting it became obvious America wasn't going to do anything about the gun problem. If 20 first graders getting murdered didn't change anything I don't think anything ever will. Unfortunately the gun lobby here is much too powerful.

They're not going to care about a bunch of working class kids. I'm wondering if a mass killing of politicans or high ranking bankers would change their minds.

Blacksword wrote: I'm wondering if a mass killing of politicans or high ranking bankers would change their minds.

It has already happened, so no.

Even if guns were made "illegal" there's no viable way to retrieve the gazillions of them already on the US streets.  As others have said, the toothpaste is out of the tube.  That said, if the US continually refuses to address what are likely the underlying causes of these types of violence (mental health issues, violent video games/movies/TV, serious consequences for adult gun owners who do not secure weapon access from their children, 24/7 media coverage that makes the shooter into a celebrity, gaping loopholes in gun control laws, etc) the only thing left is to protect the innocent children at all costs.  To me that means it is time to fortify our schools.
 
I think requiring teachers or administrators to carry firearms and essentially become part-time security guards is reckless, but I think schools and the children attending them should be afforded the same protection as a Federal courthouse.  Everyone passes through a metal detector at the door (which some schools already do) and armed officers are stationed at exit and entry points.  Schools can no longer be open campuses that people can just wander in and out of, there needs to be controlled points of entry.  Does it suck to be a kid and grow up in that type of school environment?  Absolutely.  Does it suck worse to have your child killed on the way to algebra class because some maniac knows that schools are "gun free zones" and all he has to do is walk in and start shooting? 

The choices that we need to make come down to, freedom vs safety and how to balance them.  With every school shooting or terrorist attack we get one step closer to Marshall law.  There are simply too many crazies in this country with access to deadly weapons to keep track of.  Too many ticking-time-bombs just waiting to be set off by being fired from their job, dumped by the girl/boy friend or disciplined by a teacher/parent.  I know in this case the shooter survived and was captured, but it seems in most cases the shooter is happy to "suicide by police".  So how do you deter someone from committing violence who is prepared (or in some cases actually wants) to die during the attack taking as many innocents with him as possible? 

I don't know the answer to this whole mess, but if we don't figure it out as a nation pretty damn quick, the question won't be, "was there a school shooting this week", but "where was this weeks school shooting".

"Living in a cage in the USA...
  All around us the rules are changing...
    Taller walls and stronger cages..." - Adrian Belew   

Man With Hat wrote: twseel wrote: Wasn't it Kevin Hart or someone equally random who said that they should just restrict the sales of ammo to the small amount you need to protect yourself in case of emergency? I can't say much against that... He may have said this, but I believe it was Chris Rock who said they should sell ammo for something like $5000 a bullet to make people think real hard about firing off 6+ rounds. While this was obviously a comedy bit, it does make me think...the 2nd amendment only accounts for the right to bear arms. While it may be inferred that that means all the accoutrements that go with it, I don't think it's crazy to go after things like bullets and bump stocks and stuff like that interms of making it harder to get (or impossible depending on that gadget) and not have it really be a constitutional thing. Now perhaps there is some court decision that stipulates this and renders my thinking moot, but...

Oops yeah that's it. I do get those two confused...

I'd think that would indeed be popular or at least workable, a strong limit on bullet numbers sold (not $5,000 per bullet which is ridiculous and therefore unhelpful).   And though I also see gun-righters opposing it, it could be something doable as there are a lot of gun owners appalled at these events and would prefer stronger laws, including a majority of the Law Enforcement community.

One other sad reality to understand, I believe, is that the support the NRA gets from conservative politicians is not just because of money or social backing, but because those politicians still believe in what the NRA stands for.   And that's what I would call a problem of 'deep politics', which is to say the private, deeply held beliefs people have that are not publicly expressed.




Edited by Atavachron - February 15 2018 at 16:42

Those of us who live in this country are completely numb to all of this nonsense. Those of us who want to retain a lick of sanity finds ways to escape. The whole gun thing goes back to the days of forced Native American removal from lands and slavery patrols. This country does not want to revisit the evil of the past and as a result perpetually exists in a loop played out over and over again. Personally the only thing that will stop this is a complete collapse of the nation state itself and with debt increasing every millisecond as well as a civil war taking place in the covert deep state, it's only a matter of time before it all comes crashing down. Until then, boom boom boom. This is what a collapsing empire looks like

^ And yet many, many people would still rather be here than in other countries with almost zero gun problems.