81 Comments

• maireadinmelb | Dec 19, 2012, 04:17 AM EST

  Smyrnian - maybe biggest mass murder of americans I remember a city called Nagasaki adn Hiroshimo!

• seanomelb | Dec 18, 2012, 06:43 PM EST

  It may have been the biggest mass murder in American history but not as big as the mass murders committed by the U.S. The carpet bombing of Vietnam,Laos and Cambodia come to mind. Smyrnian I'm insensitive!! Mother trains son to use firearms,son takes mother's firearms and shoots mother and 25 other innocent people and thats a fact not a fairytale. If there were no guns in the house there would be no massacre. you possess a siege mentality as does schlomo as did Lanza's mother..

• Schlomo | Dec 18, 2012, 03:02 PM EST

  To all of the politicians and other whining, Liberals calling for gun free zones, let’s make a suggestion. 1) Let's make the White House a gun free zone. That includes the Secret Service. 2) Let's make the Capitol a gun free zone. That includes the Capitol Police. 3) All of you Hollywood nitwits who are calling for the banning of guns, you first. Make your body-guards gun free. It wasn't the guns that were at fault on Friday. It was the mentally ill dude behind them. He should have been in an institution. Blame the ACLU and the progressives liberals for keeping people that should be in homes for the mentally bewildered out of them and on the streets.

• Smyrnian | Dec 18, 2012, 10:12 AM EST

  Sean - incorrect, insulting, insensitive and thoughtless statement. On 9-11-01 the biggest mass murder in history occurred. No guns; just box cutters.

• hdtnybh | Dec 18, 2012, 05:31 AM EST

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• seanomelb | Dec 17, 2012, 06:01 PM EST

  Gun owners or their offspring kill children.NO guns no deaths.

• Smyrnian | Dec 17, 2012, 05:45 PM EST

  McNamara - you don't know what you are talking about. You cannot buy an assault weapon on the US anywhere. You must mean the media inspired" assault style weapon". Do you even know the definition of an assault rifle? Doubt it...

• peterson | Dec 17, 2012, 05:38 PM EST

  The reason that Japan did not invade the USA was that the citizens were well armed !If guns are outlawed, out outlaws will have guns !!

• maryosullivan | Dec 17, 2012, 10:22 AM EST

  It isn't just the macho posturing of the gun lobby, it's also the macho posturing of the press, the politicians ,[ remember Palin's reload comment]. etc and most of all , governments with the most lethal weapons can wipe out the "enemy" with the push of a button, what will keep a person who may see others as the enemy from doing the same thing. this is the real trickle down effect

• kelauggie1 | Dec 17, 2012, 09:22 AM EST

  Lunatics who want to usurp the power of the US Constitution have gone berserk and must be stopped.

• seanomelb | Dec 16, 2012, 06:18 PM EST

  Tbrady guns don't kill people.people with guns kill other people.Armed guards at every school!!So chioldren will go to school with a siege mentality and they will grow up and pass on the siege mentality to their children.When will it ever end. It's a proven fact less guns less deaths.the gun lobby have the blood 20 little soul on their hands. I notice no pro gun politician will appear on TV to defend their position nor do they condemn the deaths. The NRA are notably silent the murdering hypocrites.

• tbradynumber1 | Dec 16, 2012, 06:13 PM EST

  Guns will protect our children. And that's going to be the way of it tomorrow (Monday) as there will be an increased police presence at the schools in my area. I suspect most schools across the country will do likewise.

• anglo-norman | Dec 16, 2012, 05:17 PM EST

  Seanomelb- Grow up son

• McNamara31 | Dec 16, 2012, 04:46 PM EST

  Any lunatic can walk into a "gun show" and purchase an assault weapon....How can that be? One answer alone:the power and influence of the NRA, and all the American politicians who worship at their feet. Look at the devastation on the young woman's face in the picture; her anguish was bought and sold on "K" Street home of the Washington lobbyists. By tomorrow their high paid operatives (Limbaugh, Hannity, Beck) on conservative TV and radio, will re- frame this massacre as a mental health problem and not a gun problem.We have ourselves to blame if we let them get away with is once again.

• tbradynumber1 | Dec 16, 2012, 12:33 PM EST

  Towngate: That is a good question. What did she want with those guns. From what I've heard on the news she was living alone and afraid. Didn't say what she was afraid of but she was afraid of someone attacking her obviously.

• Towngate | Dec 16, 2012, 12:26 PM EST

  tbradynumber1: There was a teacher at that school who owned three guns - a 'Sig Sauer', a'Glock' and a '223 Bushmaster M4' ...trouble is, she was lying at home - shot dead with them!!! Ask yourself what a Primary Teacher in a prosperous and possibly sophisticated distict of America wanted with three nasty weapons like that! There is a hard Lesson to be learned here! Meantime,while the so-called 'Grown-ups' are debating the issue, lets spare a thought for the innocent little lives so brutally taken away.

• tbradynumber1 | Dec 16, 2012, 10:52 AM EST

  M.E.Dunn | Dec 16, 2012, 09:33 AM EST This guy P Rp needs to keep his nose and politics out of his butt and his dumb ass thoughts at home and not in my ass Why the awful language? 20 children were just massacred and you feel comfortable speaking like this. Try to remember the words of one of the kids' fathers who has called for love and compassion.

• oldboreen | Dec 16, 2012, 10:50 AM EST

  'Tougher Gun Laws'? It's never going to happen. No politician, if he intends to stay in power, will dare challenge the powerful 'National Rifle Association-the so-called 'Gun Lobby. Each State has it's own gun laws, some strict, others far less so. Then the is the hallowed 'Right to bear arms' article in the US Constitution. So when the TV crews have departed and the media tires of the story, it will be as though Newtown never happened. That folks is America. We then anticipate the next massacre!

• M.E.Dunn | Dec 16, 2012, 09:33 AM EST

  This guy P Rp needs to keep his nose and politics out of his butt and his dumb ass thoughts at home and not in my ass

• tbradynumber1 | Dec 16, 2012, 08:55 AM EST

  merefalow - I really don't understand your point(s) sir? Gun lobbies, red indians? I'm interested in protecting our children in 2012.

• merefalow | Dec 16, 2012, 08:39 AM EST

  if you believe that ,you still believe in the tooth fairy,the gun lobby and a billion dollar industry will prevent any legistlation interfearing with that,profit before the deaths of innocent people and children,ITS WRITTEN IN THE CONSTITUTION,WHICH ALSO GUARANTEES THAT YOU WONT BE TORTURED OR IMPRISONED WITHOUT CHARGE,OR GO TO WAR WITHOUT THE PERMISSION AND KNOWLEDGE OF CONGRESS,ALL OF WHICH HAVE BEEN IGNORED WHEN CONVENIENT,THE HUNTING SHOOTING KILL ANYTHING THAT RUNS FLIES CRAWLS OR SWIMS CROWD WILL SEE TO THAT,ALSO PERHAPHS THEY HAVE FORGOTTEN,THEY SUBDUED AND SCREWED THE RED INDIAN A 100 YEARS AGO,NO ATTACKS EMINENT FROM THEM,CRAZY .

• tbradynumber1 | Dec 16, 2012, 08:37 AM EST

  Another interesting point I heard yesterday on guns (in general). Switzerland mandates that every man from 18 to 45 must have a gun. Not just any gun, but an assault rifle. The reason for this, I'm told, is that the Swiss do not have an army and because of this they want the citizens to have a gun in every household in order to protect the country from invasion. This is very similar to the American 'ideal' for gun possession. And there is little or no gun crime in Switzerland. Look, I'm all for banning assault weapons but we need to protect our children - watch every school in the country place an armed police officer on its premises in the coming weeks, and who can blame them - but I can't help thinking that just one teacher with a gun in that school would have saved a lot of lives. It's crazy to have to say that. We send our kids to school to learn and now we will have to do so against a backdrop of armed police, but it's turned into a really crazy world.

• tbradynumber1 | Dec 16, 2012, 08:23 AM EST

  Really not the time for the gun debate. But since you raised the point let me say that I wish a teacher, or two, in the Sandy Hook School had had a gun in their possession to protect those poor children. It might have saved many of them. Just remember we have laws in this country that make the possession or distribution of drugs unlawful. Yet there are more drugs in society today than ever before. It's the same with guns. I also heard a good point yesterday - should we ban knives and forks because they lead to people being obese? At the end of the day it's people who kill people. Society created this monster. We need to start looking at what influences in this person's life made him turn out to be a madman. I would be willing to bet there is a common denominator between he and those other killers at Aurora and Virginia Tech and Columbine. Let us all grieve and pray for these poor children.

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

  ''It can not be defended nor should it be. The framers of the constitution made a horrible mistake when they wrote the Second Amendment leaving it open to the interpretation that every lunatic alive in America has the right to a gun.'' amen. Well said. Brilliant point.

• eiriamach | Dec 16, 2012, 04:07 AM EST

  The pro-gun lobby at IC say people need guns to defend themselves and save lives. What the heck would they be defending themselves AGAINST? Men with guns, criminals and crazies! Should we buy assault rifles for 5-10-year-olds, like the 20 who died in Newtown? Would they be safer or more likely to die violently? We know the answer to that question. Desperation has set in with the pro-gun folks because, with this tragedy, America has had enough of their exploiting the second amendment. Let's stop the sale of all ammunition except to law enforcement and the military, now! Then you can keep your guns-- empty! Hang 'em on the wall of your cave and admire them if you're so fond of guns.

• seanomelb | Dec 16, 2012, 01:42 AM EST

  Let me give you some perspectivity pea brain. The UK had 135 deaths by gun in one year with a population of over 60 million If you add the gun deaths in one year in western europe,japan,Cananda,Australia and NZ and thats a population over 500 million people and the total gun deaths are less than 1,000 the reason is GUN CONTROL.Go back to your trailer with your GUN ,BIBLE and jack daniels and ponder a little on why your blase gunlovers are wrong. Less guns less killings it's not rocket science moron

• Nicomax | Dec 16, 2012, 12:37 AM EST

  Not sure what teaching about a deity or not has to do with a public school doing the best it could to stem the murderous mayhem that occurred in Newtown. Our constitution specifically says no laws can be established to promote religion. If you want that kind of a constitution then the one they are voting on in Egypt today is for you.

• Phaenius | Dec 15, 2012, 11:23 PM EST

  Seanumb...the scenario that has no guns involved is the world that those Conn. people had at that school...until reality came on them...see how THAT worked out. The poor perp could not get himself even cop suicided...so he had to do it himself.

• anglo-norman | Dec 15, 2012, 11:04 PM EST

  It's not the guns it's the lunatics that kill...

• seanomelb | Dec 15, 2012, 10:58 PM EST

  gaelicspeaker if preserving the lives of children is 'LEFT WING" POLITICS COUNT ME IN.

• seanomelb | Dec 15, 2012, 10:56 PM EST

  You're sick in the mind Phaenius. The first world have gun control and less violence, open that pea brain of yours child killer.One day the U.S may become a first world country

• pilib04 | Dec 15, 2012, 10:24 PM EST

  Patrick, it is the gun manufacturers who must be shut down. There are already 300 million privately owned guns in America. The greatest growth of gun distribution has taken place in the last four years. Unfortunately no politician has the stomach to take on the NRA.

• pilib04 | Dec 15, 2012, 10:21 PM EST

  Finally after all this time I can agree with something that Patrick Roberts writes.In particular, the National Rifle Association controls the gun debate within both major political parties in America.

• Phaenius | Dec 15, 2012, 07:44 PM EST

  seanomelb - what bravery? I see foolishness for using our teachers as cannon fodder, sending them to the front in this violent world where God is forbidden to be taught in school without a means to prevent not only their own deaths but that of their charge. Whoever was "brave" is dead and we have the seanomelbs of the world to blame for their true foolishness of forbidding anyone the right to protect themselves and those weak beneath them.

• Josie | Dec 15, 2012, 07:21 PM EST

  The killer broke 47 laws.. you think he would have obeyed the 48th? Arm the teachers and mind your own business, Ireland.

• Phaenius | Dec 15, 2012, 07:01 PM EST

  How about putting those folk to death who murder our children? How about too many restrictions by fools forbidding teachers and adults from defending against a gun wielder by having guns of their own? This is how we do it in the Federal government. But government is the tool of the people, a gun, to backup the citizen against a perp. This is a Biblical tenet that our founders recognized when they accepted Locke's Second Treatise of Government concept of government. The preacher in the Bible states that two are better than one against a perp and a threefold cord is not easily broken. Government is that backup coming in the nick of time when the citizen attempts to hold the perp at bay for those few minutes it takes for government to come in like a knight in shining armor. In New York, if the cops are not shooting people (and many are necessary), they send only forensic teams to clean up after a perp massacre against their unarmed victims.

• seanomelb | Dec 15, 2012, 06:44 PM EST

  We get fools you put child murder a poor second to gun laws. You still live in a Hollywood version of the wild west.You haven't reached the twentieth century yet.maybe you'll reach it after another school masscre,which you aid and abett by your God/Gun culture.

• seanomelb | Dec 15, 2012, 06:05 PM EST

  "They really outdid themselves.In Wisconsin and across the nation,public school employee unions spared no kiddie shields in their battle against Gov.Scott Walker's budget and pension reforms. Students were the first and last causalties. To kick off the yearlong protest,the Wisconsin education association council led a massive "sickout" of educators.Teachers were using other peoples children as pawns and junior lobbyists" So said Michelle Malkin on Fox and the usual suspect Hannity agreed with her.Well F###y### michelle. What do you think of public educators today Malkin after their bravery at Newtown.

• PiperMac52 | Dec 15, 2012, 06:01 PM EST

  When will you lefties get it? We have enough gun laws on the books to address every issue involving their use, ownership, registration, qualifications...they will not address the real problem her. The debasement of the culture and eschewing the Judeo-Christian values that this nation was founded on. I am old enough to remember when the gun laws were much more lenient pre the 68' gun control act and guess what, when I was growing up we didn't have these mass shooting. Evil reigns and these heinous acts are a direct result of two or three generations having become desensitized to violence, , drug abuse etc. as they are inundated daily via video games, movies, music and a secular agenda where God no longer exists and we are mere animals no different than those in the jungle. The results are now self evident for anyone who really wishes to see.

• Gaelicpiper | Dec 15, 2012, 06:01 PM EST

  Well, another left wing article by the Irish Central wordsmith. That guy has an agenda- every time some event, such as this, happens- the site acts like Rom (Dead Fish), the current mayor of Chicago, "No Tradedy should go to waste. Why is it that these events always happen in Red States? Could it be the liberal mind set that creats the environment and allows these things to happen? Blue States- populated by useful fools that put us all at risk.?

• seanomelb | Dec 15, 2012, 05:31 PM EST

  The NRA and the mindless gun lovers below are culpable in the deaths of all school massacres. No first world country has the statistics re gun related deaths,maybe that's because the U.S. may not be a first world country.All of western Europe,Canada.Australia and N.Z. combined have about 1% of the American deaths by gunshots on an annual basis and they have gun control.A change of priorites is neeeded. The God,Gun and country mantra must be changed.PUT YOUR CHILDREN FIRST.

• Blackduck | Dec 15, 2012, 03:57 PM EST

  How come New York; Washington DC, and Chicago, who have the strictest gun laws in America, have the biggest crime rate in the USA? Australia's crime rate involving fire arms sky rocketed when Australia banned guns. Also states like Oklahoma; and Texas crime rates dropped when the concealed gun laws were put into place. By banning guns; only the criminals will have guns. Allowing the common man to have guns is what keeps Americans free.

• BippyBellito | Dec 15, 2012, 03:20 PM EST

  This is Pub Logic usually prevalent after closing. There are several millions of law abding gun holders in the U.S. Connecticut is one of those states that discourage gun ownership, as is New York. What states have the biggest crime? Duh, New York is the "Star". If one teacher had a weapon we would be reading a different story today.

• Nicomax | Dec 15, 2012, 03:09 PM EST

  What with the term "well-regulated" do we not understand? Over 300 million guns in the US, but only 45% of US households have them- what are they doing with all of these weapons? Very few gun deaths are the result of protecting yourself from criminals- most gun deaths end up in killing friends, families, neighbors, just like Newtown. Is it the fear of the black man who is still angry with us for enslaving their ancestors? -not to worry, blacks usually just kill other blacks. Why no background checks and waiting period at gun shows? Why do you need huge bullet clips?- tax the bullets at a very high rate. Why not restore the Assault Weapons Ban that Bush let expire at the end of his woeful term in office? Lots of 'whys', all with one answer- a lack of political courage.

• Nicomax | Dec 15, 2012, 03:05 PM EST

  "The framers of the constitution made a horrible mistake when they wrote the Second Amendment leaving it open to the interpretation that every lunatic alive in America has the right to a gun." holligan6a is right. Every home in Switzerland has a rifle and ammo to go with it and probably knives as well. They are trained to use them, to defend themselves against any foreign invasion. THIS is what the 2nd amendment authors had in mind. Yet there are so few violent crimes, they don't even bother keeping statistics.

• StRoibard | Dec 15, 2012, 02:53 PM EST

  Well, we've outlawed drugs in America, now only the criminals can get drugs. For example, pseudrophedrine is a non-addicting sinus medication that I have taken for many years for my chronic sinusitis. A few years ago lawmakers saw fit to make it a controlled substance available only by prescription because meth makers use it to make methamphetamines. Now I have to go see a doctor ($30 office fee) to get a Rx for that med, which, by the way went up 2 1/2 times in price immediately. The crooks? they still get plenty of PE to make their meth. Yeah, outlawing guns will help a lot. We won't have any to protect ourselves, but the criminals and gangs will still have plenty. Brilliant solution!

• Silling | Dec 15, 2012, 02:03 PM EST

  Samuel Colt called his 45 calibre " The Peace Maker ". The day is coming when America will need to defend itself from America. Lets not use this shooting incident as a weapon against the populous just as the world governments cashed in on 911 with their silly screening systems at airports. Fear Fear Fear, sells.

• wjb1tex | Dec 15, 2012, 01:54 PM EST

  arshman -------- "Those who would defend the NRA and gun ownership should have to look each of these parents in the eye and say "I am glad this man had a gun. Your child was simply in the way." Perhaps you should look each of thoseparents in the eye and say " I am glad no one was allowed to carry a gun in that school and could not stop at least some of the killings. Too bad about your kid"

• cillowen | Dec 15, 2012, 01:27 PM EST

  What I observe - with mentally defective voters we'll never get sensible laws in the good ol us of a. Notice the levels of lying and ravings of politicians trying to please their foreign master and you'll know that this is so.

• Tom Jones | Dec 15, 2012, 01:25 PM EST

  If we always had strict gun laws, that everyone abided by, there would be no Republic of Ireland. There would be no United States either. Connecticut is one of strictest states for gun laws and people with mental problems cannot legally possess guns. How is eliminating the rights of someone with a legitimate need to defend themselves, or hunt, a fix for this?

• whiteycat | Dec 15, 2012, 01:20 PM EST

  I think its stupid. Tougher laws are not where it is at. Enforcement is where it is.How would tougher laws have stopped this killing?. His mom wasn't nuts. She had a perfect right to own guns.Whats needed is more people in "no gun zones" to be allowed to conceal and carry. If the bad guys dont know who can fire back maybe they will thinnk twice. Panic buttons in every room of every school and office, hospitals, librarys,any place where there are large amounts of people especially children who cant stand up for themselves. Of course gun control worshippers like obama want to disarm the populace but then only cops and bad guys will be armed and bad guys always outgun cops. It takes one second for a person to shoot an invadwer. It takes 10 minutes for cops to answer 911.Politicians have tried to get control for years but since obama became king it on the front burner. Jesse Ventura would say why all these shootings in the last 6 years? makes me wonder too.

• KMcSinger | Dec 15, 2012, 01:13 PM EST

  Yes, guns are a HUGE part of the problem and absolutely there should be stricter gun laws. I can't believe the gall of people who argue against this. But it won't fix everything. There should be more care taken of the mentally unstable too.

• TimothyC | Dec 15, 2012, 12:51 PM EST

  Blah, Blah, NRA, Blah Blah, assault weapons, Blah Blah.....just more of the same old stale stuff trying to politicize a tragedy....the worst school incident in America was in 1927 when a School Board member used a home-made bomb to blow up a school and kill 35 children, plus some adults... As for gun laws, Chicago and New York have the strictest, and they have the worst murder and crime rates...So the constant blather about the guns is a waste of time. As for the Founding Fathers, they intended for the total citizenry of America to be armed primarily to prevent the government from being able to become totalitarian. They didn't say "Armed less than the government", they said the right to bear arms...with no stipulations. In those days a simple musket was what everybody had. The primary reason behind these tragedies is the idea that mentally ill should be left alone, that they have the right roam without being restricted. We spend tons of money on criminals, but rarely any on the mentally ill...and we often refuse to even acknowledge that family members are mentally ill. History is replete with violence....there is no easy answer..humans are very flawed...and killing can be accomplished in many ways.

• seamus60 | Dec 15, 2012, 12:44 PM EST

  Ms. Gail. Sorry about your turettes.

• Ms.Gail | Dec 15, 2012, 12:40 PM EST

  I agree that something should be done NOW. How about finding better ways to ENFORCE the laws we ALREADY have, because this shooter did not have these weapons legally. Our failure to enforce the laws we have is another symptom of moral cowardice. Sometimes the answer needs to be NO! Parents wanting to be friends with their children more than they want to rear their children to be good citizens. Teachers not permitted to correct inappropriate behavior. Politicians more concerned about being elected than serving the electorate. Business people more interested in personal gain than in progress and excellence. Fewer individuals living their lives to leave the world a better place than they found it. Instant gratification instead of the joy of striving and earning. Stand up for something, stand up for our future, our country, our world. "If not me, then who? If not now, when?" I agree that something should be done NOW. How about finding better ways to ENFORCE the laws we ALREADY have, because this shooter did not have these weapons legally. Our failure to enforce the laws we have is another symptom of moral cowardice. Sometimes the answer needs to be NO! Parents wanting to be friends with their children more than they want to rear their children to be good citizens. Teachers not permitted to correct inappropriate behavior. Politicians more concerned about being elected than serving the electorate. Business people more interested in personal gain than in progress and excellence. Fewer individuals living their lives to leave the world a better place than they found it. Instant gratification instead of the joy of striving and earning. Stand up for something, stand up for our future, our country, our world. "If not me, then who? If not now, when?"

• tony whelan | Dec 15, 2012, 12:39 PM EST

  there will be no gun law review you can be assured of that. the NRA is so powerful any politician that even mentions gun control will find the NRA mount a huge campaign against him or her in the next election they will pour huge amounts of money into a campaign to defeat him or her. it's a fight no politician can win . the NRA will turn it into a national campaign to get money and support. they will use the 2nd amendment saying it's a campaign against you right to bare arms. THe NRA are a very powerful arm of the GPO.

• seamus60 | Dec 15, 2012, 12:32 PM EST

  Guns are there to stay. Too big an industry and who needs guns anymore. Theres a loaded gun under nearly every sink in the country. And plenty of advice how to put the stuff together never further than a keyboard away.

• JimmieM | Dec 15, 2012, 12:31 PM EST

  The only thing government could possibly achieve is to take guns away from good people and that would only make things worse by far. it was true in Plato's day and nothing has changed "Good people do not need laws to tell them to act responsibly, while bad people will find a way around the laws."

• katiemac | Dec 15, 2012, 12:26 PM EST

  Rubbish. The problem with the gun control argument is that criminals and crazy people will still be able to get guns, while sane, honest people will not. I think it is time the psychiatric community took a hard look at their policy of turning dangerously deranged people lose on society with the intention of that person staying on medication. The honour system doesn't work with the insane. The other issue that is continuously ignored by the media is the fact that many of these anti-social, psychotic kids and adults, got that way due to recreactional use of drugs and pharmaceuticals.

• hooligan6a | Dec 15, 2012, 11:48 AM EST

  All this talk and no one has an answer. The problem is not guns, everyone is armed in Israel and it does not happen there. ALso in Switzerland almost every home has a gun. So the problem is the people not the guns.

• arshman | Dec 15, 2012, 11:28 AM EST

  It seems to be time to reconsider what the framers of the constitution really said. We keep harping on the right to own a gun. When will we look at the language and the structure of the second amendment? It begins with the need for a well regulated militia, being necessary for the states. the demand for regulation and control is there. There were no assault rifles when the constitution was written. WE must regulate them. If we are afraid o the government taking over our lives, we must first look to the take over of information. The Nazi party took radios away from people long before guns were a problem. The NRA is guilty of destroying our constitution and our nations wellbeing for the sole purpose of keeping the profits of the gun dealers high. WE need a study to determine the ratio of the number of innocent people killed in proportion to the number of proven criminals killed in commission of crime. No civilized country allows its citizen carte blanche to own any kind of gun. There is permission to own hunting rifles and target pistols, but they are regulated. We as a nation are morally responsible for the deaths of every one of the children who have been killed - not only in Newtown, but in every one of these reprehensible attacks. Those who would defend the NRA and gun ownership should have to look each of these parents in the eye and say "I am glad this man had a gun. Your child was simply in the way."

• Pittsburghkid | Dec 15, 2012, 11:12 AM EST

  America has closed down all, but a few of it's mental hospitals. Mentally Ill are cared for on an out-patient basis. Now the shooter will get needed care in one of the few mental hospitals. If one of the people at the school would has been packing, then fewer people would have been killed.

• Lconn88 | Dec 15, 2012, 10:51 AM EST

  Would there be a Republic of Ireland today had there been no guns?

• Lconn88 | Dec 15, 2012, 10:44 AM EST

  I believe the war mongers in the USA who profit from war need to be put in their place. The manufacturers and suppliers of equipment and services to the military promote and encourage conflict to line their pockets. Others who have financial interests in foreign countries invest millions of dollars to influence and promote politicians to interfere in other countries affairs for monetary gain under the guise of democracy. The misguided NRA insist the second amendment was put there to permit US citizens to possess and carry firearms for personal reasons. It seem to me that if the founding fathers could have seen into the future to what is happening today, they would not have left that simple statement there. At the time, the USA was still not a stable entity and the purpose of the second amendment was to ensure the citizens of each state and their militia would be able to defend themselves against other countries and perhaps other states if the USA became divided again. In many parts of the country firearms were needed to hunt for food. The USA was a large country with many areas where law enforcement was non-existent or fleeting at best and firearms were a necessity for many people. Today is very different in that there is only a small segment of the population that actually use firearms for hunting. The military have large stockpiles of weapons and a standing military to protect the USA from foreign aggression. “Weapons of mass destruction” are the biggest threat and US citizens have little to fear from an invading army. Does the US worry about Canada and Great Brittain invading and burning the White House again? THIS IS A DIFFERENT ERA AND THE BIGGEST THREAT TO LIFE IN THE USA IS THE GUN CULTURE IN THE USA ITSELF. IT IS TIME FOR THE CITIZENS OF THE USA TO HOLD A REFERENDUM ON THE POSSESSION OF GUNS AND PUT IDENTICAL FEDERAL AND STATE RULES AND REGULATIONS IN PLACE TO CONTROL THE TYPES AND QUANTITY OF GUNS AND AMMUNITION THAT MAY BE POSSESSED.

• queenmac1 | Dec 15, 2012, 10:29 AM EST

  The guns were purchased in his mother's name. There are laws and there are ways around them. The loop holes are the problem. Enforce the law!!!

• LoveDoolin | Dec 15, 2012, 10:22 AM EST

  People....tougher gun laws will not reduce this type of crime from occurring; mental illness was the root cause of this crime. When will people realize there are just too many crazy people running around our world...having tougher gun laws is NOT going to prevent them from committing ridiculous crimes on innocent people.

• pickateer | Dec 15, 2012, 10:08 AM EST

  Gun control had nothing to do with this tragedy. His mental state was the cause and parents should have shown more care with regard to keeping guns in the home. Further, the "Assault Rifle" was found in the car, and he used 2 automatic handguns to kill innocent children and adults. May G-d have mercy on his soul!

• pickateer | Dec 15, 2012, 09:47 AM EST

  Dinglelady--"And if New York could be rendered a safe city, and it has,"-------- And Newtown Connecticut was designated as one of the safest places to live in America. Surely you are suggesting that NYC is now one of the safest.

• clarsach | Dec 15, 2012, 09:40 AM EST

  I cannot underplay the horror of the situation. People in Newtown are going through thing I cannot imagine. To lose a family memeber or a friend is uniaginable. I cannot condone the no-brained, knee-jerk reactions like screamig for more "gun control". We willingly removed God and morality from our schools and our society leaving all kinds of room for just this type of evil. Why must we turn to God "after" something horrible happens. We need to return to the Judeo-Christian values that (dispite popular belief) this country was founded on. We used to live in the greatest country on earth but that has been erroded withour freedoms. Lets quit removing freedoms and put morality back in our society.

• butlerreport | Dec 15, 2012, 09:28 AM EST

  Adam Lanza murdered 27 people yesterday in Connecticut in a mass murder that ranks among the worst. It was a sickening action done by sane person. There is a knee-jerk reaction to immediately blame the guns he used as the cause of what he did. That's mistaken as it dilutes the responsibility that is 100% Lanza's alone. He planned it, he organized it, he carried it out. The first person he killed was his mother, then 20 children. Evidence of his sanity lies in his pre-planning. Most mass killers aren't crazy. That's our attempt to make sense of it all. He was criminal mass murderer. Period. Criminal access to firearms is world-wide; if a killer wants a gun he or she can get one in Dublin Iowa or Dublin Ireland. Nor is mass murder a uniquely American issue as recent events in Norway, the UK (Derrick Bird) and Switzerland (Leibacher) demonstrate.

• Dinglelady | Dec 15, 2012, 09:23 AM EST

  what is needed is probably twofold: a srtingent set of gun control laws, and hard work to change mindsets. Most of the world gets by without owning firearms. In these societies, armed crime does occur, but very little, and you tend not to find the horrors of Columbine and Newtown. (There is of course Dunblane.) But there should not be a gunshop in every little town, accessibility should be strictly governed. And if New York could be rendered a safe city, and it has, America can change national attitude to firearms. Go for it, Obama. It can be done, and think what a wonderful memorial it would be/

• jetsnoone | Dec 15, 2012, 09:11 AM EST

  As one talk show host calls for, we must look at the "meds" these kids are receiving which cause suicidal or murderous thoughts...better the loons be in hospitals rather than juiced up and living amonst the sane population....

• dedouble | Dec 15, 2012, 09:11 AM EST

  There are many gun laws in effect now as it is. Creating more laws will do nothing if you can't enforce them. Banning guns is like banning beer, should beer be banned to reduce the amount of drunk driving? Gun manufactures have been taken to court because according to some they should be held accountable for deaths caused by firearms. Likewise should Guinness be held accountable for drunk driving deaths? For the normal masses that drink responsibly and those that use firearms for sport shooting, hunting responsibly, why should an item be banned? The responsibility is more on the parents shoulders. The shooters as of late are young males. If the parents were more involved in their lives they would probably see it coming and be able to prevent it. But I guess the alternative is to ban guns and let govt control everything. Oh wait, that's been done with not much success.

• Nicopernicus | Dec 15, 2012, 08:45 AM EST

  The Guns are here, there and everywhere...period. You will not stop this behavior...ever. It is now officially a culturalproblem and part of the landscape...New laws will not remove accessibility to millions of guns..Its a simple matter of numbers. The perpetrator yesterday stole the guns as a simple reminder and more then likely stole his brothers ID to get the ammo he needed. Deep seeded intentions will not be swayed. We live in a culture of violence. The media and are coverage of these events simply plants seeds for those who live amongst us that have no sense of human value, self respect, or can think with ration and reason...there are as many of those as there are guns.."If forever the two shall meet"

• Smyrnian | Dec 15, 2012, 05:29 AM EST

  Tougher laws are needed against known psychopaths who wander among us. Fanatics with box cutters destroyed thousands of lives on 9-11. You cannot legislate against all known risk. Also, law abiding citizens will obey the law, psychos will disregard everything. Forget the anti gun agenda, get the nuts off the streets. Every time something like this happens it always emerges that the perp was a well known psycho, always.

• thetint | Dec 15, 2012, 04:24 AM EST

  Obama won’t do a thing – he runs for cover every time a difficult issue arises. All these massacres are committed with legally held weapons. The decision that needs to be made is obvious.

• Seanmor | Dec 15, 2012, 02:59 AM EST

  Obviously there is a compelling need to enact laws that would prevent the criminally-minded and mentally ill from obtaining firearms. Hovever law-abiding, responsible citizens should never be deprived of their Constitutional right to bear arms. To disarm these honorably citizens because of the murderous actions of a few dangerous criminals would be akin to preventing all soldiers in the U.S. Army from getting their hands on ammuniotion since Major Hasan murdered 11 soldiers and wounded 31 at Fort Hood in November, 2009.

• Ms.Gail | Dec 15, 2012, 01:38 AM EST

  I agree that something should be done NOW. How about finding better ways to ENFORCE the laws we ALREADY have, because this shooter did not have these weapons legally. Our failure to enforce the laws we have is another symptom of moral cowardice. Sometimes the answer needs to be NO! Parents wanting to be friends with their children more than they want to rear their children to be good citizens. Teachers not permitted to correct inappropriate behavior. Politicians more concerned about being elected than serving the electorate. Business people more interested in personal gain than in progress and excellence. Fewer individuals living their lives to leave the world a better place than they found it. Instant gratification instead of the joy of striving and earning. Stand up for something, stand up for our future, our country, our world. "If not me, then who? If not now, when?"

• jetsnoone | Dec 15, 2012, 01:01 AM EST

  Maireadinmelb.... a bigger problem in America is the 2,ooo babies aborted on a daily basis. A tremendous evil ignored by liberals like you.

• maireadinmelb | Dec 15, 2012, 12:05 AM EST

  It does not matter what political party you are in - if you cannot see what needs to be done NOW it is time to get out of the job and reassess your priorities! It is a disgrace!! For a country with the strength and intelligence that America possesses there is only one course of action that is now acceptable!

• like2tweet | Dec 14, 2012, 10:40 PM EST

  Could not agree more guns for madmen is all wrong