60 Comments

• Monsoonman | Dec 20, 2012, 07:24 PM EST

  Well said Mr Hooligan! Such ignorance here, it is quite alarming to know many of them vote, ie: "low information voters" They voted for Obama because they liked him, he has a nice smile and can sing they look upon him as an idol, but do not understand the harm he and the rest of the left are doing to us

• seanomelb | Dec 20, 2012, 05:55 PM EST

  MmanOZ had a gun amnesty in 1996 after the Port Arthur masscre and a 3/4 million fire arms wer handed in those people who had a licence recieved market value for their guns and those who had no licence did not,neither wrer they charged with an offence. crimes involving guns decreased by almost 50% therby proving that gun control works.The statev of Victoria In which Melbourne is the capital now have a ban on carrying knives without just cause(fine $1000)There are exemptions,fishermen,tradies,farmers and so on. The law is aimed at young thugs who go out on the weekend looking for trouble. I'm at a loss to understand where you read Oz was a violent place. 2006/7 figures show 1.3 murders per 100,000 people that's less than 250 per year. Enjoy the holiday/Christmas Mman

• hooligan6a | Dec 20, 2012, 05:06 PM EST

  What a bunch of morons. You don't know the difference between semi automatic and automatic. Wyatt Earep's guns were semi- automatic. You rant about assault rifles. What we sell in the US are not assault rifles, they only look like assault rifles. Do you know the difference? No!! If you want to protect the children, arm the teachers. The nuts pick soft targets, schools, churches, movies. If everyone was armed there would be no soft targets.

• Monsoonman | Dec 20, 2012, 01:33 PM EST

  Hi Lad! Merry Christmas, to my Pal in Oz! I am not sure on the time span of the 53 million babies killed in the US...But how many would it take to alarm you?...Like your truism...Like learning how to eat the sh*t sandwich obama is serving up to the productive/earners in american society....BTW: I heard something disturbing about Oz, it is supposed to be a violent place, is that true? We don't hear much up here, except that your toilets flush the opposite direction ours do here.

• SingleDonald | Dec 19, 2012, 07:16 PM EST

  Great article, Ed Farnan! Check out my just submitted comment on the other story here, concerning the tragedy in Connecticut! I do hope the NRA withdraws their support for assault weapons, when they give their statement, on Friday. Those guns are meant to slaughter people, not animals, while going hunting. However, if ordinary citizens are allowed to carry ordinary guns, the demented lunatics would think 2ce, before beginning a mass shooting spree!

• seanomelb | Dec 19, 2012, 06:40 PM EST

  A more precise figure would be helpful Mman, how many years? I am against abortion 'In most cases" the comparison is really not realistic.BTW Mman I came across a quote which Im sure you agree with(nothing to do with our present discourse)"Political correctness is a doctrine,fostered by a delusional,illogical minority, and rapidly promoted by the mainstream media,which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a piece of sh#t by the clean end.

• Monsoonman | Dec 17, 2012, 08:47 PM EST

  Aye Lad! Thanks for the offer but KOH seems simpatico...:) Of course I fill all of her qualifications perfectly. Guns kill few children in the USA, you are hearing the blaring headlines about it...But the greatest killer of our children is abortion...53 million children killed over the past few years...Where is the outrage Lad?

• McNamara31 | Dec 17, 2012, 08:09 PM EST

  KweenOHearts Your stated points are not only incorrect, they are a clear example of the ignorant fodder dispersed by FOX and Roger Ailes to keep the dumb distracted from the corporate greed that is outsourcing American jobs, reaping all time profits (and nearly no taxes) and breaking the unions while making America a "right to work" country with the security of day workers.

• seanomelb | Dec 17, 2012, 06:08 PM EST

  KweenOHearts has lost her sanity Mman I can find a nice girl for you in Oz. Mman how mnay children have to die before anity prevails. Countries with strict gun controls do not have your murder problem. The rest of the world shake their heads in shock wondering when the penny is going to drop

• peterson | Dec 17, 2012, 05:32 PM EST

  You got that right Ed --- !!!!

• KweenOHearts | Dec 17, 2012, 03:18 PM EST

  @McNamara31, who says: **KweenOHearts Your rant is Fox style prop, and you can't even see it.**--- Well excuse me! I didn't realize that before commenting I, like you, had to consult with the RED White House, PMSNBC and all the other string of outlets whose talking points are carefully directed from the Center for American Progress and Media Matters! And if I 'can't see' the 'FOX style props' you mention is probably because someone as smart as you had not pointed them out to me before. My heartfelt thanks. --- **The "LEFTIST" as you label them, are the citizens who want to restore sanity with intelligent gun regulation** --- That would presuppose there are such things as 'sanity and intelligence' on the LEFT. So far all I've seen since the citizenry was stupid enough to give them the reins of power on 1/20/'06 is over-regulation and imposition(Dodd/Frank) which led us to the financial catastrophe of 2008; the raping of the treasury by oVomit squandered in paying off the Wall Street people and unions who financed his 8 year lease on the WH; corruption, cronyism and waste of taxpayer's money on green project failures like Solyndra ($535 Mill), Fisker Auto ($529 Mill), Abound Solar (400 Mill), A123 Systems ($279 Mill), etc. while small business are being taxed to death; power-grabs, bail-outs, transfer of funds from Medicare to oVomitcare, etc. ..... more later.

• KweenOHearts | Dec 17, 2012, 01:13 PM EST

  Sure I'll marry you Monsoonman, but first you have to tell me you are young, rich, and impossibly handsome. I don't want to have to put a paper bag over your head every time we engage in 'meaningful conversations'.

• Nicopernicus | Dec 17, 2012, 07:41 AM EST

  Here are the facts on the Gun Debate again...Nobody has any. Thats right Nobody on here seems to have any facts or an f-ing clue what they are talking about. The real fact is 20 kids are dead because a mentally ill kid stole 3 guns to kill them. He did not buy them own them, they were not registered to him...Since 1996 over 64 school killers were of the average age of 16. The inmates and the kids are running the asylum...99.9 percent of folks on here are basing every opinion they have on raw emotion...no facts, no technical understanding and just having a great time chastising Americans for owning assault weapons all at your own expense.

• cillowen | Dec 16, 2012, 11:39 PM EST

  writer just sits there and wallows in his repugness gory. sick muther.

• Monsoonman | Dec 16, 2012, 10:06 PM EST

  My point is Lad, is that most of the gun violence in America is centered in big city democrat run liberal cities, who already have some of the most stringent gun laws...You can't legislate that fact away....A tiny fraction of gun violence is by the kooks you read about in the headlines who want to make a name for themselves. America has 9K gun deaths per year out of 315 mil...It is NOT an epidemic of violence by the law abiding citizenry of America. If we moved a population of 1 of our big cities into your country, your crime stats wd skyrocket..in spite of your "laws" prohibiting criminal behavior

• seanomelb | Dec 16, 2012, 07:56 PM EST

  And your point being Mman is that wealth leaving Europe will save childre from been slaughtered by assault rifles. If you cannot stick to the central theme Mman just admit your wrong.

• Monsoonman | Dec 16, 2012, 06:57 PM EST

  Butlerreport-so true..The europeans lost their right for weapons after the 2nd world wide conflagration they started...They need to be guarded from hurting themselves. Sean Lad! I don't see any mass migration heading out of America for Europe, quite the contrary...I see massive wealth leaving the BK socialist european countries who punish their citizens for success. If I were you U would beef up my self defenses as obama aims to pare back our military and put that money into expanding his dependency base here in the US. Our former friends will have to pay for their own defense

• butlerreport | Dec 16, 2012, 06:22 PM EST

  Europe? 70 years ago Europe oversaw the massacre of 80 million people. The EU was put together to stop it from happening again. Don't make me laugh.

• seanomelb | Dec 16, 2012, 05:37 PM EST

  Assault rifles were banned under Clinton and Bush with the urging of the NRA legalised them.They have the blood of twenty children on their and hands. Eds maudling attempt to equate Israel which is a war zone or the fort Hood shootings as a comparison lacks credibilty. and Mman melly mouthed 'Europeans gave up their freedom for security or " We don't want to be like Europe that's why we moved here".That begs the question "did the European forbearers of the 20 children move to America to see their children,grandchildren murdered by an assault rifle"? I suppose you have to concede Ed and Mman that Europe is a safer place to live and then ask yourself why.

• Billyboy17 | Dec 16, 2012, 05:20 PM EST

  Mr. Farnan, your post is nothing but hypothetical gun-nut drivel. With all due respect. I've lived and breathed over 30 years of law enforcement in the US. Putting more guns in that theatre would've resulted in more carnage. The shooter was armed to the teeth and dressed & prepared for battle. Your typical armed member of the public, enjoying a movie would've been blasting away at anyone and everyone. Multiply that by a handful of others and they likely would've been shooting each other. No one, no one is foolish enough to think that sensible gun laws will prevent every lunatic from committing an atrocity. However, limiting magazine capacity, banning assault weapons, banning the purchase of body armor, save for those requiring it for work, conducting in depth criminal and mental health background checks on EVERY gun sale would accomplish two things. 1 it would allow Mr. & Mrs. Johnson of Main Street to have their firearm in their nightstand and 2 and even more importantly it would limit the carnage, limit the deaths and limit the number of parents burying their children. If you cannot see the value in such sensible laws, you are selfishly ignoring that the founders could have never envisioned today's society.

• bostonrugby | Dec 16, 2012, 04:33 PM EST

  Go into a gun store in CT and even the boys in the IRA would be shocked at the range of artillery available for "shooting squirrels" Something must change, along with more attention to mental health issues and those with gun ownership in proximity to affected people. It would not be hard but you are dealing with state employees who are state employees for a reason.

• bobby | Dec 16, 2012, 04:28 PM EST

  Hey Monsoonman, you don't mind dodging the occasional bullet to keep your freedom. That says it all about the mentality in the states. Screwed up or what. if the bullet hits your "Freedom" is taking away from you. Give me Europe any day.

• Monsoonman | Dec 16, 2012, 04:17 PM EST

  Europe, is the epitome of giving up their freedom to gain some security

• Monsoonman | Dec 16, 2012, 03:31 PM EST

  Hey Bobby-We don't want to be like Europe, that's why we moved here. We have our problems, but really don't want what you have, in spite of what our leftists leaders would have you believe. We don't mind dodging an occasional bullet to keep our freedom to delay the nanny state like you have bearing down on us

• Happyhippo | Dec 16, 2012, 03:14 PM EST

  Not even one comment in sympathy with the victims of the mindless slaughter of children and adults,tells you all you need to know where the priorities lay,why is America so blindly obsessed with guns and their glorification that everything else just dont register,including the right to life and liberty of every citizen.

• Joe Glackin | Dec 16, 2012, 03:09 PM EST

  Firstly my thoughts of sorrow grief outrage etc go to the families,friends and all effected by this genocide.These violent homicidal,premeditated ,cowardly massacres generate all types of emotional feelings. The guilty person here is he who pulled that trigger whether of sound mind or not Correctly and understandably all sorts of responses by law-biding, peaceful loving masses ,express their opinions,judgments at this current massacre. Laws are made to protect us all and can be improved at times due to unforeseen events. Gun law restrictions and those who use these massacres to promote ban, gun owner them cannot stop these psychotic acts I totally agree with Ed,s view on idealistic Lawmakers using this as a crisis on gun ownership. After a similar massacre in Dunblane Scotland ,resulted by stricter laws being passed concerning firearms.By all accounts this has served no purpose as such.It only deprived the many law-biding firearm enthusiasts enjoying their sport or collection rights. There are more than ever illegally/criminally used guns on the streets. In Ireland plus the UK a FAC is required to own a simple .22 air rifle.Plastic BB guns and replicas have to be colored orange or some unrealistic color. Theres more than ever illegal/criminal use of firearm murders. This would convince many, these futile laws on restriction, only deprives the law-biding enthusiasts safe,respectful use whether for sporting/collection activities. Eds last comment on a legally held firearm would disrupt these peoples plans

• McNamara31 | Dec 16, 2012, 02:28 PM EST

  bobby So right. My cousin is in the Garde and can't fathom what makes America allow so many guns.

• bobby | Dec 16, 2012, 02:26 PM EST

  Europe is diverse and is also a huge melting pot of cultures, races and religions with a population of over 500 million people compared to 311 million in the states. Gun crime in Europe is nothing like America, you have a big problem that needs to change. But i doubt it will.

• Monsoonman | Dec 16, 2012, 02:20 PM EST

  It was in from a previous US trip and had got under the liner on the bottom unbeknownst to me..My Mexican Amigos call Mexico:Iraq.

• McNamara31 | Dec 16, 2012, 02:12 PM EST

  Monsoonman "I was in Mexico and customs went through my bag and found an empty .22 cal. shell case" Who were you gunning for...the Frido Bandito? Anyone who has dealt with the (on the take Federalies)knows having that in you suitcase was putting yourself in a very bad situation.You were lucky.

• Monsoonman | Dec 16, 2012, 02:06 PM EST

  What are you talking about McNamara? Mexico has always had very strict gun control. One time I was in Mexico and customs went through my bag and found an empty .22 cal. shell case..I was almost imprisoned for that. Mexico/Cuba/North Korea/Red China all have strict gun control 1st and foremost. An unarmed populace is an easy to control populace. Furthermore most of the gun deaths in America are criminals shooting each other.

• McNamara31 | Dec 16, 2012, 02:06 PM EST

  Monsoonman Yes that's what was intended ....Not a right to go out and slaughter as it has become with NRA "pushed" legislation like stand your ground and mother's turning their homes into arsenals. You two should marry..You can name your first Billy the Kid.

• McNamara31 | Dec 16, 2012, 02:00 PM EST

  KweenOHearts Comparing us to Mexico, wow that inspiring. That's exactly what we don't want to become; and with 310 million American gun owners we're on our way.

• Monsoonman | Dec 16, 2012, 02:00 PM EST

  KweenOHearts...Will you marry me? :)

• Monsoonman | Dec 16, 2012, 01:58 PM EST

  The Founding Fathers knew what it was like to live under a tyrannical rule and purposely/deliberately put the right to bear arms in our constitution. Gun ownership is not about hunting, it is about defending yourself and throwing off an oppressive govt if you have to. Most of the liberal sheep who post here, lost their freedom long ago by becoming wards of the state on some level, so they already gave up their freedom & want to be tended by father govt

• KweenOHearts | Dec 16, 2012, 01:55 PM EST

  Oh, and dontcha know.... mexico has some of the most restrictive gun laws in the world! There, only the military and police can have weapons, but.... how many people were killed by criminal narcos in that country last year?? Did they say those numbers were in the 60,000's? ........ How many also were victims of a 'shake-down' by corrupt mexican gun-wielding cops?....... And isn't an American citizen, who was merely traveling through on a plane, now rotting in a mexican jail for the 'crime' of stating on his customs declaration he was carrying an unloaded rifle he intended to use on a hunting trip to Costa Rica???? ..... Where's the self-righteousnes, outrage and flawed logic of the LIBBOS, when in one year alone the victims of mexican criminals surpasses the killings in Syria; btw, another mid-East country where oVomit's 'statesmanship' has been in painful and inept display.

• McNamara31 | Dec 16, 2012, 01:50 PM EST

  KweenOHearts Your rant is Fox style prop, and you can't even see it. The "LEFTIST" as you label them, are the citizens who want to restore sanity with intelligent gun regulation. This is not the time of "the founding father's" and our laws must reflect that. You mention the Torah and the Bible which clearly state "Blessed are the peacemakers" not those who walk the street awaiting a situation to use their "stand your ground lunacy" or mother's who have the home stocked as an arsenal.

• Nicomax | Dec 16, 2012, 01:25 PM EST

  It seems the underlying reason the gun enthusiasts are literally 'up in arms' now is that ANY restrictions, even to the point of not allowing individuals to own an armed drone, is that it would make us more like all those wimp nations they deplore. We are a manly, self-sufficient land, and even if deadly mayhem results, so be it.

• KweenOHearts | Dec 16, 2012, 01:25 PM EST

  Further, this ".....happened because LEFTISTS [through misguided legislation] won't allow concerned and loving parents to discipline their children, or raise them the way they want to...... It happened because far too many Liberals spend far too much time and effort ridiculing and attacking people who want to live by the lessons of the Bible and the Torah........ In truth . . . this and other horrible acts of violence happen, because our society from our entertainment industry, to schools, to the media, and our governments have created the social and cultural foundation that is eating away at our countries like a cancer......... I know that what I just wrote WILL inflame those on the LEFT, and that’s OK, because if they don’t like it . . . they can ROT in HELL along with the demons of their own creation.......... I want my old country values back . . ."

• KweenOHearts | Dec 16, 2012, 01:15 PM EST

  A few 'facts' to enlighten the dim-witted posting on this thread: This "....didn’t happen because of the so-called gun culture, or because of poor security at the school. It happened because of the modern LEFTIST culture that has removed all semblances of personal responsibility and respect...... It happened because of the Hollywood and television types who lecture the Conservatives on how people should live, while they make FORTUNES producing absolute FILTH in their movies and on television programs......... It happened because of reality television shows that demean humanity. And shows that make people laugh at the pain and humiliation of others....... It happened because multi-millionaire computer game producers [usually of a LEFTIST bent] create UGLY digital scenarios that poison young minds with abject and gratuitous violence [ that many of the untended, unguided, and unloved children of so many single parent homes are motivated to replicate!].......... It happened because the school system doesn’t teach values, [but rather] promotes the idea that everything goes.... that all people are equal regardless of the truth....that no one ever fails...." and that all should be rewarded not for merit, but for merely 'participating.'

• KweenOHearts | Dec 16, 2012, 12:59 PM EST

  With every unpredictable and unstoppable shooting by one more undiagnosed, mentally-unbalanced nut on the loose (the spawn of what might be classified as a 'poster ex-couple' for the lost values the left espouses), the libbos salivate as they think they can move the US toward their dream of one more aspect of people's lives, property and rights under their control. ---- And why should they not, haven't we already been forced to 'enjoy' the visible results of all the many 'beyond wise' impositions they have managed to pawn upon the citizenry? They have managed this, not through reasoned debate, but through the power of violent hizzy-fits, sissy tantrums, intimidation, judicial activism, and outright voter fraud. They are no doubt emboldened! ---- Meanwhile, those of us whose rights are being slowly eroded and trampled upon by the tyranny of the left “…can take off our blinders and stare the root problem right in the face (but only if we have the courage and integrity to face our part in the larger problem of moral decay that is presently affecting America!). We are a rotting culture. We have walked so far away from our moral beginnings that we can no longer see where we started. It is not guns that are the problem; it is the decomposing moral fiber of our nation.”

• TheOldPerfessor | Dec 16, 2012, 12:48 PM EST

  Since Republicans don't like those nasty things called facts, here are a couple. 1. The Brady bill which banned the sale of assault weapons expired and stayed that way at the insistence of Republicans and their NRA masters. 2. Assault weapons were used on Friday. 3. Assault weapons serve no earthly purpose to make the planet a better place to live.

• Towngate | Dec 16, 2012, 12:36 PM EST

  We could make a start on this problem by assuming everyone who owns a gun and has less that 100 acres to 'defend' is a basket-case and should be locked away from the few sane Americans that are left on the outside!.

• McNamara31 | Dec 16, 2012, 11:56 AM EST

  If you want more instances of the unbelievable recklessness of NRA lobbyists and their puppet politicians on the state level; colleges around the country are now allowing students to "carry": Roughly 350 colleges and universities in 39 states have joined the Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus, a project of the group Gun Free Kids. However, lawmakers in roughly 25 states have introduced bills to allow some form of concealed carry on college campuses in the past two years. So before you send you child off to school check the states laws for guns on campus and in the dorms. Only in an America that cowers to the NRA could this become law.

• McNamara31 | Dec 16, 2012, 11:39 AM EST

  Americans own 88.8 guns per 100 people. And the gun manufacturers have the NRA to thanks for that along with the "stand you ground deaths" and now the massacre of 20 little children.They have created a gun mentality where a suburban mother thinks its ok to have many hi powered weapons in her home even though she knew she had a "troubled son".If mental health is used as a component of these murders we must also address the "gun mentality" of the mother, who along with the NRA, Glen Beck and all others who think their right to "pack" is grater than the right to protect innocent children. Only in America does this happen so frequently. Only in America does the voice of the NRA lobbyists have the ear of politicians, at the price of vulnerability of our school children.When do we stop allowing greed and total stupidity rule over the security of American citizens?

• McNamara31 | Dec 16, 2012, 11:39 AM EST

  Well written.

• tbradynumber1 | Dec 16, 2012, 10:56 AM EST

  The stigma of mental illness needs to be removed, so children and young adults with problems will get help. I have seen several parents who cannot accept their children's problems, and fought tooth and nail to prevent/block schools providing counseling and special programs and classes for their troubled children. In some cases they have sued. Parents have the right to refuse, but the good of the entire class must be taken into consideration. Schools are places where children should be safe. They are places that should be free from violence and bullying. That's the most sensible comment I've seen yet on this subject.

• caillmaire | Dec 16, 2012, 10:22 AM EST

  I also think assault weapons and semi-automatic weapons should only be in the hands of military and law enforcement. Period. I think we need to close down gun factories and retool them.

• caillmaire | Dec 16, 2012, 10:19 AM EST

  The stigma of mental illness needs to be removed, so children and young adults with problems will get help. I have seen several parents who cannot accept their children's problems, and fought tooth and nail to prevent/block schools providing counseling and special programs and classes for their troubled children. In some cases they have sued. Parents have the right to refuse, but the good of the entire class must be taken into consideration. Schools are places where children should be safe. They are places that should be free from violence and bullying.

• crny925 | Dec 16, 2012, 10:17 AM EST

  Well written and nice to see Irishcentral covering both sides of the argument on gun laws!

• pndirishandprou | Dec 16, 2012, 09:53 AM EST

  What an idiotic argument! Yes, America has a much larger population than all countries he mentioned, but we are talking about statistics relative to the overall population. Fact is that America has multiple times the number of gun-related civilian deaths on a per-capita-basis than any other developed nation. It is the perversion of the 2nd amendment which allows the NRA and its right-wing ilk to hold America hostage, making sensible gun control laws impossible. The NRA is responsible for this lunacy. Thanks to this extremist organization, the most lethal weapons are accessible to virtually everyone who wants to have them. Unless this country comes to its senses soon, America will have to shed many more tears and there will be many more prayer vigils for absolutely senseless but preventable carnages like the most recent one in CT.

• HorsesInMdstrm | Dec 16, 2012, 09:40 AM EST

  If a mentally unstable person wants their 15 minutes of fame, why would they worry about whether anyone else was armed? They have thought through the scenario; the presumed opponent savior has not, and must react in an unplanned manner. The shooter may have body armor; I doubt this armed hero that Mr. Farnan postulates would have any handy body armor. Not all legal gun owners are necessarily accurate shots; perhaps other innocents might be slain by the would-be hero. In the Aurora shooting, armed patrons might have killed the shooter before as much damage was done. But the theater was dark, full of smoke, and the shooter had full body armor. Sounds like a great idea, Mr. Farnan, until you think it through. At least you didn't suggest that the kids in the school should have been armed.

• Nicopernicus | Dec 16, 2012, 09:16 AM EST

  Well written. people need to read the federal gun laws as they exist. Its quite extraordinary how stiff they really are. Uninformed people chomping at the reactionary bit will not solve this problem .

• olovely | Dec 16, 2012, 09:15 AM EST

  His block headed non sequiturs and bumper sticker platitudes are the reason people loathe gun nuts like Ed Farnam. He should be ashamed of himself for writing this idiotic column.

• eiriamach | Dec 16, 2012, 08:35 AM EST

  The adoption of strict gun control laws would at least BEGIN the process of changing our violent culture. Of course the most serious problem is our 'wild west' and 'rugged individualist vs govt' culture, and if we cannot alter our culture, gun control laws would do little good. But consider the change in culture we can achieve by legislating and enforcing gun and ammunition controls. Ask any cop about the best thing we could do to reduce the number of violent deaths. The answer is invariably to reduce the number of guns in the hands of civilians.

• eiriamach | Dec 16, 2012, 08:30 AM EST

  The adoption of strict gun control laws will at least BEGIN

• DaddyMac22 | Dec 16, 2012, 06:14 AM EST

  ''New gun restrictions will not prevent tragedies like the Connecticut school shooting'' - but why not make them anyway, in the hope that they prevent even ONE gun related tragedy? Right? Any person who comments in favour of freedom of gun availability after last week is an ignorant fool who needs help.

• AlanJBall | Dec 16, 2012, 04:51 AM EST

  If I was there and had a gun I would have shot him. If you were there and had your gun, you would have shot him too. Anyone who had a gun,who might have been there would have done the same.If?...dream on.

• Monsoonman | Dec 15, 2012, 10:22 PM EST

  Yes perfect peter you are a "real gun owner" wink wink nod nod LOL! What a bunch of malarkey.

• Peter Perfect | Dec 15, 2012, 10:10 PM EST

  I'm an American and a gun owner who, like many gun owners, supports common sense gun regulation. People like this guy are a big part of America's gun problem. They warp themselves in myths and outright lies they may actually believe, but which bear little resemblance to reality. For example, he mentions Chicago. In 1982 Chicago banned hand guns. The murder rate began to decline and continued on a downward trend until 2010, when the Supreme Court overturned the ban. Since then the murder rate has spiked, due to ready availability of cheap hand guns. Reality. He speaks of gun crime in urban areas - read black areas - as is if this were the root of the problem. This is nothing more than masked racism. While crime rates are higher in urban areas, in point of fact the vast majority of mass shooting - 61 in the past 30 years - have occurred in rural - read white - areas. Reality. He speaks of the "lone wolf" and laments that nothing can be done. Hogwash. That's an absurd proposition in a country with as many as 6 million undiagnosed and untreated psychopaths, every one of whom has easy access to as many high powered weapons and as much ammo as their fevered minds can imagine. Reality. Finally, his entire premise is absurd. It's an absolute and undeniable statistical fact that countries, states and cities with more stringent gun laws have fewer gun homicides and suicides. It's also a statistical fact that the least likely use of a gun in the home is self defense. However, having a gun in the home greatly increases the probability of homicides and suicides. In fact, it's more likely a gun in the home will be used in a homicide or suicide than it in self defense. Reality. Until we stop listening to nuts like this spouting absurd nonsense and start paying attention to the facts, America will never have a serious discussion about our gun culture problem.