Gun Control; From the ground up?

Question

Call me a bit Old Fashioned. I am well Seasoned. But I feel this Guncontrol Fever is looking at the Solutions. Rather than curing the problems before it starts.
My Father taught me about Friearms. And taught me to respect all weapons. And was alwys reminding me of the hazards of dealing with any kind of weapons.
I don't know the upbringing. That this gunman had. I assume his Parents loved him very much. But if they weren't willing to train him to on how to deal with Life's problems. What's Gun Control gonna do? Nuttin' Absoutely nothin'.
Question: Can we start putting the emphasis on the being a Good Parent. Teaching our Children Love; Respect; God; And being accountable for thier actions.
I don't think they should pay for this Young Man's actions. But how could they have not seen the signs? He clearly had some emotional unrest. Isn't it their responsibility to look for these kind of things? Then work on fixing them? And giving him the love & support that he needed?

Instead of trying to take Guns away from People? Why can't we get a little closer to our Children. And be the type of Parents that love our Childen. And be the Friend that they need. When they feel like they have a problem?
Who's with me? What's your take on this?

Early results: Joh; Dead on Point, Chief. Could'nt have said it better. Thanks!

Early results: John- Dead on Point, Chief. Could'nt have said it better. Thanks!

Stars? Folks, I'm honored. And totally not worhty. Thanks to all.

So many great points. To The Doctor & Heather? The Panel has clearly spoken. Of which I am deeply moved.

Answer 1

So true so true...but unfortunately we are sliding farther and farther into a Nanny Government and even worse the "people" seem to want it. Individual responsibility is dying a quick death with every law and regulation that state and federal passes to "take care of" the "people". And the blame game it's the schools fault for not seeing the student(s) were troubled, it's the government's fault for not providing a more socially accepting atmosphere, it's the store owners fault for not doing a full physiological evaluation on everyone that comes in making a legal purchase, it's every-ones fault but the individual....huh?

Answer 2

Unfortunately, not all parents are good. - they are human, too. This guy's parents could be a bit weird, or just too busy working. He also has a sister, and she didn't stop him either. Upbringing is one factor. I think American society is becoming more and more isolating. This guy spent too much time alone on the internet, where it's all unreal. I also question all those electronic fantasy games. People are social animals. They need human interaction. This guy was in a self-imposed solitary confinement, which drives one insane. Also makes me wonder if this guy was ever on Yahoo Answers before he killed himself. And how many other isolated souls are there out there? Maybe your neighbor down the street who never says hello. I mean, some of the posts I have seen here seem to have been written by very disturbed people. I have a nephew who doesn't talk much and spends too much time on the internet. I think I'd better take him fishing some time.

Answer 3

Excellent statement and worth a gold star. I agree with your completely. I wish people would just start taking responsibilities for themselves and the upbringing of there kids, we really need that in our country today.

I just finished taking a class on hand guns so I could be comfortable, safe and respectful of the guns we have in our home. Please don't just go out and buy a gun without training from and instructor or another person that is a responsible gun owner.

Also I have noticed that someone is going around giving a thumbs down to everyone that answers pro-gun on any of the questions I am trying to counter with a thumbs up.

Answer 4

I definitely believe some parents need to be more involved in their kids lives. There are many these days that don't give the time to their kids that was given years ago. I've seen so much change in this world since I grew up (and not for the better). There were some good things with the "old fashioned" values we were taught. I think we really need to get back to some of it before the world gets any worse.

Answer 5

You are so right that goosebumps rose on my arms as I read your question.

Twenty-five years of serious research shows four very negative conclusions about gun control. First, there is no persuasive evidence that having guns causes ordinary, law-abiding people to commit crimes, although it certainly does allow criminals to commit crimes that they were already inclined to commit. It is a myth that murders occur because law-abiding people have a gun available when they get mad. Every homicide study shows that murderers are extraordinary people with life-long records of felony, violence against those around them, drug abuse and dangerous accidents with guns, cars etc. It is also the case that the people who have fatal gun accidents have the same kind of background. What acquaintance-homicide actually means is not responsible people killing each other, but rather abusive men eventually killing the women they have beating on innumerable prior occasions, gangs and organized crime figures killing each other, drug addicts and drug dealers killing each other, and so on.

Second, the value of firearms in defending victims has been greatly underestimated. The best available evidence shows that guns are used approximately three times as often by law-abiding citizens to defeat crime, as by criminals to commit crime.

Third, the theoretical value of gun control is undercut by the difficulty of enforcement. Unfortunately, there was an almost perfectly inverse correlation between who we want to disarm, and who we can disarm. Yes, lots of law-abiding people will give up guns if we pass a law against guns. But, that will do no good at all.

We need to take the guns out of the hands of the criminals, but unfortunately, that is unlikely. In any society, the number of guns always suffices to arm the few who want to obtain and use them illegally. So the fourth conclusion that criminological research forces upon us is that yes, if we have gun control laws that are targeted only at criminals, those laws can do some good, but they will only do a marginal amount of good because we cannot enforce them any better than we can enforce the rest of the laws that the criminals are violating.

Answer 6

As far as gun control is concerned, I don't see any problems with having a waiting period. That being said, though, if I understand correctly, this guy was here legally and obtained his gun legally. Even if he hadn't obtained it legally, he would've found a way to get the gun, anyway. I don't think that we should blame his parents in any way, though. I think that they perhaps knew or sensed that he was unhappy, but I doubt very seriously that they felt he was dangerous. After all, most unhappy people don't go on shooting rampages. I think that we should put more of a focus on mental health issues and do what we can to remove the stigma that is attached to mental illness. Hopefully, if we do that, we can detect problems in ourselves and others early on and we can nip them in the bud before any tragedies take place.

Answer 7

I agree entirely .

A couple of interesting notes :

The guy who calls himself a doctor said this question was too long to read . He's either incompetent , or not really a doctor .

The xxxheatherxxx answerer wants to know why she got thumbs-down . OK , it's because she referenced Australia .
What a joke !! Australia tried to ban guns and their crime rate went through the roof . Why ? Because only the criminals had guns and others were left at the mercy of those criminals . They have since rescinded that law and guess what ? Their crime rate dropped dramatically !!

Lastly , you have inspired me to ask a new question . Thank you for the inspiration !!!!

Answer 8

it always puzzles me why after something like this happens, half a dozen people say something along the lines of, "If anyone would be the one to do this, it was him, He was kinda nuts, He fit the statistics of a killer, I thought he'd do something like that!" It makes me so mad that if people saw all these things, then why wasn't any action taken? Why couldn't someone have intervened (family or not) and gotten his emotional mental problems under control? Why when we hear of a school shooting do people sluff it off and act like it's a NORMAL thing already? It shouldn't be NORMAL and it should affect each and evey one of us deep to the core. 33 people isn't just a number. People should sit down and write down names of 33 people that they love...I think it would put things in perspective for them. that is 33 peoples families that are grieving over a crude and senseless act. not to mention the shooters family is aslo a victim of his act and they have to deal with all the crap that they will be given over this! This is a big problem in this world and it needs to be delt with. It won't be a simple, easy fix......but something had got to change!

Answer 9

I know I'm really old fashioned but I believe most of lifes ill's start in the home. And I'm not saying that kids from good homes can't go bad and it's the parents fault. I think until we start to rethink how we are raising out kids more and more problems are going to emerge and this comes from the homes of those who 'think' they are giving their kids everything in life to those who have nothing to give. Status means nothing quality time means everything!

Answer 10

I am certainly willing to accept responsibility for my child's actions and it should be that way. We parents are the most influential in the forming of world views in our children.