Prayers for the Children....

[Crystal]

Crystal- the sad part of all of this is it could have been any weapon or way to hurt another person that was used. I don't think gun control would have stopped this lunatic mad man. If someone wants a gun bad enough to do this type of destruction they will find a way to get one in the underground market.

Horrific- not debating, just saying-

Certainly if someone wants a gun bad enough they will find one. However, it would be a heeluva lot more difficult to obtain one and perhaps, by the time the person did find one, they may have had the time to cool down and change their mind. Maybe, maybe not, but I'd rather they didn't have them sitting in their home when they get pissed or go off their rocker. I'd rather they'd have to go look for one.

[MyAngels]

Please really learn about guns. These guns are not assult military guns that are being used! The are hunting rifles. They are not intended at all for military use.

From what I have seen and heard it was a semi-automatic gun and those are hunting guns. Not the automatic assult guns the military uses.

The Bushmaster .223 caliber semi-automatic that was used in the Sandy Hook Massacre is a variant of the AR-15 (originally the M16) weapon favored for military use.

[Blackcat31]

The Bushmaster .223 caliber semi-automatic that was used in the Sandy Hook Massacre is a variant of the AR-15 (originally the M16) weapon favored for military use.

The original M16 was designed from the ground up as a military arm to be used by soldiers, and it had a bunch of problems that needed to be addressed.

Since then, it has been studied, redesigned and refined. It has become an extremely accurate platform, and today it is better than ever. These refinements have transferred to the semiautomatic AR-15s in civilian hands.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/articles/semiautomatic-ar-15-rifle-1.php

[Cat Herder]

IMHO, This is a unimaginable tragedy that has its root in one family's long term issues. It infiltrated the entire community left unresolved and exploded into one scene of horror.

As the investigation continues I believe the light will be shown on the failures of our communities to support the families of young adults with mental illness.

http://gawker.com/5968818/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother

I know it is sad that we cannot mourn for the children without all the politics and finger pointing raining down its ugly head. In a perfect world that would be the case.

We do not live in a perfect world. In our world for every tragedy is a group demanding another give up its freedoms. The rest just throw up their hands and place the blame on our leaders without ever consulting a mirror. It is the world we created.

I own many of the guns listed in this thread. I don't have as much as a speeding ticket in my name. If you take the guns from the legal owners you leave us at the mercy of the criminals who obtained theirs illegally.

I am all for better criminal background and mental health checks. I would love mandatory training. Frankly, I don't care if they put a tracking chip in my @$$ so I can keep my weapons. I simply need to be able to protect my family. Police have a 20+ minute response to my home. That would be too late.

[Unregistered]

If laws and gun bans prevented people from committing crimes, then why would police need to continue to carry weapons?

The united states constitution contains the second amendment to protect citizens from our government. Our founding fathers fled Europe because everyday citizens were being persecuted. We created a country of free men and women with inalienable rights. I do not trust the government right now. We are being forced into having health care whether we want it or not, forced into paying taxes that go to causes we don't agree with, and, now they are trying to disarm us.

The reason that current nuclear war has been averted is due to mutually assured destruction. Other countries know that if they launch a nuke at us, we will launch one back and take them out with us. Citizens owning semi automatic weapons is a smaller scale of that. Im not a doomsday prepper by any means, but, if anything ever did occur, at least I know that I can protect myself, my children, and my friends. I have grown up around guns and been formally trained as well.

And just a thought: citizens didn't really care much about assault weapons until the previous ban. Afterwards, the prices shot up and so did the demand. I checked ammo prices today, because I feel like I have to now purchase some bc of all of this anti gun talk. Not only did prices jump, but many places are out of stock.

When you ban something, you make it more desirable and expensive. There is an allure of notoriety with it. Look at prohibition in the 20's...

[Lyss]

^^Go to the gun control debate thread as everyone else did. https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57030 It's disrespectful on this thread IMHO.

This tragedy breaks my heart, the more I hear about each child the harder it gets to process. I feel terrible for the families.

Looking at my own DD's Christmas gifts makes me think of the tree in the home of each of those children, gifts that were to bring so much joy sitting unclaimed now. It's so heartbreaking.

I came across this and thought it was a great idea:

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/17/15972814-inspired-to-act-26acts-of-kindness-to-honor-those-lost-in-newtown-conn?lite

[Cat Herder]

I think this thread is fine talking about both issues since it seems that is where this topic will eventually grow with our national conversation. Please be polite.

^^Go to the gun control debate thread as everyone else did. https://www.daycare.com/forum/showthread.php?t=57030 It's disrespectful on this thread IMHO.

Maybe you missed this? THAT is why we continued the discussion.