What Kind Of World Do We Live In That Someone Can Walk Into A School With Guns And Kill 26 People?

[Dombovar]

I know it is in the US, but that a 20+ yr old can get hold of a variety of guns, walk into an elementary school and needlessly kill 20 iinnocent children and 6 adults, makes you wonder what will happen next. Yet some people say that
there is nothing wrong.

[jackthehat]

Which people are saying that?

[jake-the-peg]

We live in a world where mental health is an increasing issue and where people suffereing from mental health issues are not getting help.

It's a sad fact that people will give loads of money to donkey sanctuaries while mental health charities struggle

[jno]

the US gun nuts, presumably. I saw a quote from one of them yesterday (can't find it now) saying that people who tried to restrict gun ownership had blood on their hands.

[ummmm]

Clearly there is something wrong.

[jackthehat]

Ahhhh......he was the chap who said that if the Head-teacher had had an AK47, she could have blown Adam Lanza's head off......

Nice proportionate response.

[bookbinder]

If the US gun laws are to be changed, a starting point would have to be: why does any civilian need guns at all, let alone assault rifles? The days of the pioneers are long gone, when people lived in lawless parts of the country.

[jackthehat]

Let them have all the guns they want......ban the sale of bullets!

[gness]

Jackthehat. The most sensible solution I've heard since this tragedy happened.

[Snafu03]

i'm with jtp. its not a gun issue, its a mental health issue and how that is supported in society.

true guns are the medium and a closer restriction is required. no-one needs to own even a semi-automatic weapon in order to hunt animals or defend themselves. people are being allowed to build up huge arsenals. ammunition should be a restricted sale.

[keyplus90]

I usually watch documentary channels like discovery etc. They show programmes about American families and how they own the guns not even owned by military in few countries and practice shooting regularly. Obviously sometimes they like to have a live shooting practice than shooting targets. Having said that it is a terrible incident and my heart goes with the parents of the children but one thing I do not agree with (and that may make me controversial here as usual because few people are only interested in certain tragedies and do not want to see others). Although I do not need to watch a TV programme as I have seen it all myself but I watched a programme about Drone attacks in Pakistan and I heard (and saw) parents crying there too for their children blown into pieces. The only difference is that same person who is behind the killing of those children is crying for these children, and his name is Barak Obama because killing those children is in AMERICA INTEREST. American interests are more important than anything else.

[Old_Geezer]

it is a question of priorities. Some countries give a higher priority to being able to hold weaponry to strike back at an attacker than they do to ridding society of weaponry for the safety of all.

Given a society where citizens of any state of mind can carry firearms, you are going to get incidents where a disturbed person will cause mass murder every now and again.

If folk say, "There is nothing wrong with that", they have to mean there's nothing wrong, in their opinion, with the circumstance where this type of tragedy is a risk. Not, nothing wrong with the mass murder itself. It is a case of considering the options and deciding this is best in their opinion.

[chaptazbru]

jtp - I give to donkey sanctuaries and many other animal charities and what I do with my money is MY business. If you want to give to mental health charities, then be my guest and if you don't like what I do with my money, then TOUGH !! Why animals had to be brought into this, God knows !!!

[emmie]

what prompts a man to go and kill 77 people, that wasn't in the USA. Some say Anders Breivik is mad, i say not. As to the man who did this, perhaps had his mothers not collected a veritable arsenal of weapons at her home, then maybe she would not have been shot to death by her own son. Nor 26 innocents lose their life. I was reading through the whole ghastly episode in my paper, there is no answer to this.

[emmie]

America will see this, sigh, weep and wail for a little while, and those with guns will be glad they have them, just in case another Adam Lanza looms on the horizon. It isn't right to have a gun, unless you need one like a farmer, or police in extreme circumstances, but all ordinary citizens shouldn't need or have them. However what is written in the American Constitution is the right to bear arms, and Americans certainly take that as their rights. I read in todays paper, that over 90 thousand Americans were shot this year, dead, wounded, it's appalling whichever way you look at it.

[boxtops]

I heard one report that said the guns belonged to the killer's mother - why?

[vulcan]

According to the Daily Telegraph, his Mother was part of the "prepper" movement which urges readiness for social chaos by hoarding supplies and training with weapons. She had 5 legally held guns, three of which were used in the massacre. Perhaps she had a mental problem that was equal to her sons, who knows and the fact she was a teacher is also scary, what was she teaching ?

[jackthehat]

She was an 'End-of-the-world-prepper'.....

[237SJ]

The thing is, it`s a culture that glamourises violence. I was in the States when it happened and guess what was on the film channels all Saturday? Back to back movies where people were blowing each others` brains out. Forget a watershed - this was 3pm in the afternoon.

[tonyav]

It would take a very brave man to try and change the gun laws in the USA imo.

[cazzz1975]

I agree with jake the peg.