What Should We Do About Mass Shootings?

[ness]

Here's my favorite:

http://www.kansascity.com/2013/01/08/4000708/officials-review-accidental-shooting.htmlhttp://www.kansascity.com/2013/01/08/4000708/officials-review-accidental-shooting.html

[jdmidwest]

With the fear of a gun grab going around, there are many new gun owners out there that have never owned them before. Gunshops in my area are stripped of AR's, Handguns, Defensive Shotguns, and Ruger 10-22's.

Lots of new gun owners out there. There are bound to be accidents. That is why I am pushing for more training.

[fishinwrench]

Lots of new gun owners out there. There are bound to be accidents.

Just wanted to capture that quote for future points

[Feathers and Fins]

Oh there is without a doubt a lot of new gun owners out there. I have seen people buying guns and not knowing anything more than its a gun. Now if someone was really smart and had about 50 acres they would build a Trap, Skeet, Sportingclays and rifle pistol range and start cashing in on all these new gun owners and old ones.

[Chief Grey Bear]

Just wanted to capture that quote for future points

I am pretty sure they were "new" gun owners.

[Daryk Campbell Sr]

Oh there is without a doubt a lot of new gun owners out there. I have seen people buying guns and not knowing anything more than its a gun. Now if someone was really smart and had about 50 acres they would build a Trap, Skeet, Sportingclays and rifle pistol range and start cashing in on all these new gun owners and old ones.

Jay Henges Conservation Area http://mdc.mo.gov/regions/st-louis/jay-henges-shooting-range in the St Louis Area already offers that. They supply the clays and the machine for almost the price of the clays themselves at Walmart. Very nice outdoor range all new for the pistol/rifle section.

Wed, Feb 6, they offer "Introduction to Firearms". I hope this helps at least 1 person.

[Al Agnew]

I've been reading this with interest. And I have to agree that there really isn't anything you can do to prevent mass murders. You MIGHT be able, with various actions, to slightly lessen the chances of a given mass murder happening, or maybe you could lower the body count on one or two.

I do know what won't work, or what isn't feasible, or what probably abrogates more rights than can be justified for the slight possibility that it will save a few lives. And that's EVERYTHING that's been suggested here.

If you open it up to the wider spectrum of gun violence, then some measures begin to make more sense. Stronger background checks. Waiting periods of a month at least to pick up your gun. Maybe even licensing and mandatory training, though to be honest, I think that's a little more than most people would be happy with.

Really, I think the only measure that might lessen the possibility of another school shooting is to harden the school security, metal detectors, better door locks, better lock-down procedures, and an armed guard on the grounds. Got the money for all that?

I'm glad that others have made the point that, as horrible as Sandy Hook was, it's a tiny, tiny risk when spread across the whole country. Your kid is exponentially more likely to be killed by a drunk driver than by a school shooter. Or to crash their bicycle and break their neck.

I'd be the first to be behind an "assault weapon" ban if I thought it would work. But it won't. All it's going to do is tick off a few million law abiding gun owners, and widen the chasm that already exists between conservative and liberal, rural and urban, Democrat and Republican. Which is just what we don't need.

[jdmidwest]

That chasm is pretty deep when you are a rural conservative Republican.

Why don't they take the money directed by Executive Order directing money back to the CDC to track how guns transmit communicable diseases. That money was pulled along time ago as it was government directed data that supported Anti Gun Legislation. Gun deaths should be tracked by someone like the FBI. But the Executive Order put that money back into the CDC's pocket instead of the school system to harden the security.

Has anyone done a study on the actual costs of hardening our public schools to help avoid this anyway? Most schools have a SRO already, have some kind of a lockdown procedure, and controlled access. How much money would it really take to further secure our public school system?

[hank franklin]

Schools are run by the local communities. In our small town we're having a debate over spending for more security, whether it be a SRO (don't have one) or improvements to the buildings, or something else. There's no way you can "fortify" our buildings, but you can take some modest steps. Best we can do. Don't know if we'll get the SRO or not. $50K budget and in a small town that's big bucks.

So if the feds edict that you must fortify your buildings, or hired an armed guard (SRO), do we genuflect to the feds and pay up? A federal edict in this area is just that, a federal edict and more federal CREEP, which is the last thing we need.

So many problems. The media lives for blood. Hollywood violence is entertainment. Munch your popcorn and watch people die! Gun nuts are tripping over each other ammo-ing up and now and then a stray bullet gets loose, whoops. Obama=Hitler. I'm a rural conservative Republican but my "leaders" (such as they are) are primarily shills for the billionaires who fund them, this is true at federal and state levels. Obama is a stuffed shirt and the federal government underneath him is absolutely sucking the lifeblood from the country. Yet we conservatives are sliding downhill. Why? Look yourself in the mirror sometime.

Sorry to bluster.