Amen! We have the right to bear arms no question but I doubt the framers could have imagined the guns of today.We need to start a national discussion about gun violence....

My heart goes out to those parents who lost a child today.

It is hard to fathom what the parents, brothers and sisters and grandparents of these poor little children are going through tonight! This morning they probably all sat down at the breakfast table and grabbed their lunches and headed out to the school bus which was their daily routine.

Our hearts have to go out to the parents etc. Our hearts also go out to the family of the teachers who were also killed.

NO ONE SHOULD HAVE TO GO THROUGH THIS IN THEIR LIFE TIMES LET ALONE PARENTS AND SIBBLINGS.

There are no answers to this dilema but it just seems to be occuring much much too often in this Country.

I'm very familiar with Newtown because my sister and her family lived there years ago and her kids went to that school. It's a very rural, sparcely populated, community as I recall. It seems unlikely for such a tragedy to happen in such a peaceful place.

Newtown is also known for having a mental hospital but so far there doesn't seem to be any connection with it. My grandmother stayed there in her last years because she had dementia (hardening of the arteries). Also, I had a girlfriend whose brother stayed there because he was severely retarded. That was a long time ago.

It's difficult to understand why anyone would shoot and kill little children. What was the purpose of that?

Thank you for putting it in perspective.

Yes, we can do away with assault weapons, who needs them, any grandparent out there who has a solution, lets do it. It took one mother to bring drunk driving to light.

I so agree with you Tal, and many others here, who question the need to have all these assault weapons.
I have some terrible personal experience with school shootings while my daughter was at VT.
Please Please Please, lets work on getting these assault weapons banned. Even my family members who are NRA members agree with this. Shooting little sweethearts, can it be any worse? Words can not express how sad this sitaution is.

Maybe the NRA should start the movement.

It isn't quite as sparsely populated as you may remember. It is however a very peaceful place that at one point was named one of the the safest places to live.

My wife and I were in this area two summers ago visiting a friend. Newtown and surrounding area is (was) a very lovely peaceful community of upper middle class homes. No place is safe from a mentally deranged person. Our prayers are for all the families who lost loved ones in this needless tragedy. Gun control is a subject for another day.

Tragedy for All
 

Let us not to forget all those teachers who shielded the children!

I have stayed out of the gun control discussion, largely because for some inexplicable reason it becomes highly politicized. Perhaps it is time for all Americans, including the NRA, to agree that assault weapons, oversized cartridge clips and the gun show exeption to gun registration need to be outlawed. Owning guns for personal safety, and/or hunting is a constitutional right that I agree with. However, I see NO reason that any law abiding citizen needs an assault or automatic weapon, or an oversized cartridge clip. We settled long ago on the prudence of requiring registration for those purchasing weapons, so why does the gunshow exemption persist? I own guns and come from a long line of hunters, yet I see no reason that anyone supports the issues I have outlined. The NRA is simply afraid that any control will ultimately lead to complete control of firearms, and that is simply not the will of the majority of the people in my opinion. We need to keep the right to bear "reasonable" arms that make sense for civilians, but not weapons that should only be in the hands of soldiers and law enforcement officers. I expect to hear opposition to this opinion - so be it.

All I know is that anybody over 40 NEVER had to fear this sort of insanity when they went to school. I have all sorts of thoughts as to why this is, but if I write them I will fall into disfavor with the Board Police for being political.

:agree:
Growing up in Michigan, I had my 1st gun (20 guage bolt-action shotgun) at 14. Many a meal from pheasant, partridge, and squirrels.
I think the NRA should get out in front on this issue, they have the knowledge and expertise to make a difference. However, I don't think today's NRA is the same one as I remember from many years ago, so I'm not really optimistic.

No opposition here.

Very true: I was an NRA member for many years, but dropped my membership when they began to get politically involved in a very partisan and devisive way.