My point is I don't think I want to say Americans are dumber or more violent by themselves then those in other western nations. I don't think they're on average, crazier, either. I think you will find as many people on average that are a bit nuts in Germany, Italy or Canada as you will in the United States. But the amount of crazy people in the United States that end up deciding to kill multiple people is greater by a landslide.

The gun culture is what is breeding the crazies, in my opinion. Not specific legislation or regulation. I don't think that matters much when you have the culture you currently do. The "arm everyone, that way everyone is safe" thinking scares the **** out of me as a non American and I think that leads to the kind of action we saw today.

edit: I blame the media a lot more then anyone has brought up as well. Wasn't there a good study about not showing the victim/glorifying him by giving them thousands of hours of airtime in the last 5 years? How most of them are just crazy attention whores?

Oh man, Colonel Dave Grossman? Of the esteemed Killology Research Group?

If you guys bother to read that article, at least stick around to the part where he blames baggy pants and tells an absolute nonsense story. OK, actually, I'll just post it:

1) Nope, didn't happen. Not unless that guy is like a NFL offensive lineman. An AR-15 is like three feet long and with all sorts of handles and **** sticking out, but not parts that bend. Was the kid walking around like Forrest Gump?

2) LOL old people complaining about baggy "gang" pants. Dog it's 2012, people don't even dress like that no more.

I'm posting during work and don't really have the time to do any real digging right now (and I'm not entirely positive there's been any large scale study on that aspect of the issue, anyway).

Of course, I don't think most collector types keep their stuff "scattered around their front lawn", but I'm equally sure that many don't keep them in "100% locked all the time, unbreakable gun safes", either. There's hundreds upon hundreds of stories of gun deaths taking place for no other reason than a kid taking a gun out of their parents' gun cabinet.

And while those are accidents, every single one of those instances is proof that handguns aren't kept securely enough, and while not necessarily pertinent to all *collectors*, is surely pertinent to some.

As I said, it's a basis for discussion. And probably the least crucial of the proposals I mentioned.

Obama's emotional statement.

What a sick world we live in. There were two mass shootings this year if I recall and many smaller ones. I don't think there's a solution in terms of taking guns away or giving them to people. I think it's just the time we live in, the world has changed. Yes mass shooting happened before, but it wasn't every year and it certainly wasn't multiple times a year.

Like seriously what is the solution? I like the idea of having a cop present in all schools. Maybe in these modern times it is time to make a change, every school needs an on duty cop with a gun from now on.

You remember the giffords shooting? how people thought maybe he was a right-wing weirdo who was inspired by a political ad that had her head in the middle of some cross-hairs? Cuz that was a thing. People literally thought that might have been what caused the shooting.

Granted, people thought that before we knew much of anything. Like this guy may have had no connection with gun culture whatsoever. We don't know anything yet.

It would be funny (in a sick way, of course) if it was partly the fault of the media for airing the tragedy, which is of course our own fault for watching the media that airs the tragedy. Sort of like we're killing ourselves via the free market, har.

Ok. But where does it stop? Armed guards at every school? At every mall? At every grocery store? At every gym? At every piano bar? At every private birthday party? Where does one draw the line of "Okay, there's only so many people here, we don't care if they get mass-murdered enough to station life-saving armed guards at all doors?"

"as a country we have been through this too many times"

So very ****ing true.

and always in gun free zones

hmmm when will you learn?

I don't think the gun culture breeds crazies. I think it breeds opportunities. Neblis, the general, dblbarrel, etc etc are not insane. They are just advocates of bad policy. The united state's lack of comprehensive mental medical care breeds mental instability.

This shooting is going to get way more of a public reaction than mostly due to the age of the victims. Most school shootings tend to be at colleges and high schools, not like elementary schools.

I predict a sane and rational approach by most people though...

just kidding.

I can't wait to see what movies, tv shows, books, and video games this guy liked so we know what "caused" this.

This is 100% false. The "gun culture" right now is exploding with furious anger and sickness over this. Its all over every gun forum, facebook page, twitter etc.

I think you're misunderstanding me a little when I mean gun culture. I don't mean he was a gun nut. I just mean guns permeate the lives of Americans more then other western countries, whether you're a huge fan of them or not. I don't mean to insinuate or assume the shooter is some pro-gun nut, I just am comparing the culture of the US and the perception of firearms to everywhere else.

edit: everyone misunderstood what I meant by gun culture breeding crazies. Poor word choice. I simply meant that the way firearms are viewed in the US compared to everywhere else gives people who aren't safe or sound with the power of these weapons a terrible chance to do something awful. More then in other nations that have similar rates of mentally ill people/number of firearms/education and other factors.

Yep

I just don't understand how anyone could do this, crazy or not. Like purposefully kill a bunch of little kindergartners? Like Columbine, angry kids killing peers, I get it. Batman guy, doing some sort of insane joker meta ****, OK, fine. You're ****ing nuts but I could see how someone could do that. But killing a bunch of screaming five year olds? I don't know. How could anyone do that?

i hold the gun nuts partially responsible for incidents like this. they have a tinge of blood on their hands.

if you don't think i'm angry and sick about this you're ******ed.

that my anger is also directed at the policies that allow this to happen doesn't lessen it.

I think a few things breed these type of horrible events.

1)crazy people

assuming someone does this and is not mentally insane,

2)a society that forces it's morality onto others at the barrel of a gun, every thing is solved with violence
3)a society that solves problems with other countries by going to war with them

mentally, it is baffling. physically how they could do it? no one was able to stop them, that's how.

cnn has identified weapons as glock, sig sauer and .223 bushmaster (ar-15)

I think this is all that needs to be said for now.

We don't know anything about the guy. Other than that he was totally cool offing his folks then a classroom/school full of little kids.

Nothing wrong with waiting to blame things other than his crazy self until we know more about him and his past, eh?

oh yeah, i feel confident he's crazy

every shooting isn't done by someone who is insane, though

Thanks, General, for at least trying to make me laugh.

Jesus obviously I'm not asking how could anyone physically shoot twenty ****ing five year olds.

HERP DERP OBVIOUSLY THIS TRAGEDY COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED BY ARMING THE FIVE YEAR OLDS. DURRRRRRR IF YOU DON'T LET KINDERGARDENERS HAVE RIFLES ONLY BLAH BLAH BLAH MEWO CHOW

General Tsao, there is literally no way you'd want to live in a country that would make it so that it was 100% impossible for this kind of tragedy to happen. It's 99.9999% not to happen because most people aren't insane and open fire on school age children. In most countries, that's enough although it will inspire policy debate. Not sure how this one will go.

I can see my grade school out my window right now. If someone is this sick, there is literally nothing that can be done to stop something like this unless you want to ban recess, lock every door from 9-4 and have police guarding every door/window. And sorry Tsao, that's utterly idiotic.