I think that is not the total solution, because if someone with a crazed mind, bent on committing violence knows that there is an armed police officer in place, that might make the officer the first target. Yes, put armed police officers in the schools but also take assault weapons out of the hands of everyday citizens and make mental health services more easily available.

People should be able to carry concealed weapons. It has been proven that cities and towns where concealed weapons are allowed. Gun violence is down by very significant numbers. Remember, the gun laws work, the boy who did the shooting in the school stole the gun, because he could NOT get a gun legally, You will find most criminals steal the weapons they use.

Armed police in our elementary schools? Paranoid Insanity! Let's not overreact. If we feel we need to protect our community - we need to start by being an active part of the community. Get to know your neighbors. Be an active volunteer at our schools and elsewhere in the community. Let's not surrender our common sense to fear.

Kelvin,
They new this killer in Ct, He was the son of a well known teacher there. He was a memeber of their community. The next gunman in our community wiil be someone we someone just like this guy whom we all now. Look at Christopher Hightower, He was the soccer coach, he was a church member, he was a nice guy. His weapon of choice, was a cross bow! His victim got out of school and was taken from the YMCA, because we all knew him as the Coach, the church goer, the nice guy. Noone is surrenduring their common sense to fear. It our reality that we need to wise up.

The link below has information and answers to a lot of the questions regarding the recent gun control discussion. It's a bit long, but you can scroll through and pick out answers to some of the questions asked in the media and comments made by our lawmakers. Investigate the talking points then consider your position on this subject.

http://larrycorreia.wordpress.com/2012/12/20/an-opinion-on-gun-control/

So ask yourself a question and try to answer it calmly, honestly and objectively: "if you were confronted with an armed madman (weapon type is irrelevent... suffice it to say, it can go bang and if you're hit you're dead), What do you think, at that instant,would provide you with your best chance of staying alive?" "Is it the 'gun-free' zone you are in like a public school?" "Or would you be thinking and praying some good person in the room (maybe even you) has the capability of eliminating the threat like a gun?" "Or would you be wondering, 'what is wrong with this idiot pointing a gun at you, does he not know this is a gun free zone?"

Armed police in our schools is not a good solution. The cops in Barrington are so arrest happy that everytime a fight broke out in the middle school they'd arrest the 12 year olds. The last thing we need is for the Barrington police to start putting their nose into school discipline.

Part 1

The argument that banning guns from law abiding citizens would stop people from doing violent act with them is a fallacy. First it has never worked in history. Criminals do not obey laws! Banning guns stops a legal citizen from protecting his family and his property. In this day and age it is the last resort left with so many criminals and gangs around. They care not for laws and even less about taking a life just because you happen to be in the house or on the street when they see you.

You can argue to change the Constitution if you like. As a matter of fact you can even change it if you want. There is a process for it. That is the only way you will get the extremes most are saying about bans. But until then, no law will allow the Government to confiscate legally owned weapons. As with the 10 years of the assault weapon ban which grandfathered those who owned them as long as they removed any military upgrades they listed in the law.

Every study done has said it did not prevent a thing. Some now are saying that is because the ban was not in place long enough and they want it back in extreme measures. A ten year study for me anyway proved it unsuccessful no matter how long. Probably would have changed my mind had it proven to work along with many other people I suspect.

Part 2

Semi-automatic pistols which are the gun of choice in Chicago deaths have been banned for over 28 years even a legal citizen could not carry one and almost impossible to own one in any case. It did not do a thing but put people at the mercy of the criminal gangs. September 17, 2012 CHICAGO (CBS) – At least six men have been killed and at least 23 people have been injured in various shootings in Chicago from Friday night to early Monday.

There are over 20,000 laws on the books in this Country concerning guns. Many are not enforced. There are only 2 States that allow a person to be ordered committed for mental problems by the State after a State mandated evaluation. One is Arizona; the other I believe is Indiana though not sure. It is ironic Arizona being one. These mass shooting have almost always have been people who stole guns and had mental issues. People say well if he didn’t have the gun everything would be fine. Not true criminals will always find a way to get what they want to commit crimes.

Well if he wasn’t mentally deficient or had medical care for it he would not have done it. Not true also as no-one and I mean no-one knows why these individuals do something so heinous. My thought is that there is evil and there are evil people. Why is anyone’s guess? We can no more predict who will do something like this than where lightning will strike.

Part 3

Consider this when talking about banning something. Heroin has been banned for a long time. It is unbelievable the number that die from that. Even worse are the numbers from Prescriptions that are some of the most secure and regulated substances. Again it is the people that abuse them are at fault not the people who use them correctly.

http://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2011/p1101_flu_pain_killer_overdose.html

“Propelled by an increase in prescription narcotic overdoses, drug deaths now outnumber traffic fatalities in the United States, a Times analysis of government data has found.

Drugs exceeded motor vehicle accidents as a cause of death in 2009, killing at least 37,485 people nationwide, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”
That is an average of 102 deaths per day from legal and illegal drugs. Just as deadly as any gun in the hands of people. Yes we have had mass deaths from drugs out there also. Jim Jones did it with laced Kool-Aid. 606 adults, 303 children and babies.

Part 4

Is there an answer to all this? Nothing comes to mind other than parental involvement, education, moral guidance, safety training etc. We can all shout to the heavens on both sides of this issue. However in the end gun bans will be decided in the Supreme Court. My take is that as long as I have the right to own weapons I will because it is nobody’s business what a citizen owns as long as it is legal. That kind of intrusion into a citizens life it what scares me and goes against every being of the Founders vision of a free society.

The Government has never been trusted with such powers because it leads to subjugation society as it has in every society in history through the typical slippery slope. Once you start banning citizens from owning property in in the name of the old axiom (For the good of the people). You can be sure it will not stop with just guns. We have lost many rights over the last 50 or so years and this would be a straw that will break the proverbial camels back in my opinion sadly. We must not do knee jerk reactions or use this heinous act to further agenda’s on either side. Calmer heads need to prevail. That’s my opinions on all this.

In the end Evil is present in society and it can never be eradicated, only confronted by any means available when it rears its ugly head.

I'm not in favor of a cop in every school. I just don't like the idea of acclimating our children to a police state. But I do like the idea of giving our returning veterans the opportunity to get jobs as school maintenance and janitor workers and allow them to carry concealed weapons. I'm sure there are a lot of vets that would love one of those secure jobs with benefits.

Wow Henry; It is bad enough you have the opinion of Homeland Security Napalitano that returning vets are possible right wing terrorist waiting to happen, which it is an opinion you are welcome too.

But where do you come up with the racist comment of "Brown skins". Is it only Brown skins that suffer from PTSD and goes berzerk to quote you?

That is a pretty hateful post there on our Vets and race.

I have no romanticized notions of what goes on in the theater of war. The brown skin I referred to was the poor kid that could trigger negative consequences in a spooked vet. Putting armed trained killers with PTSD in our schools is one of the stupidest things I've ever heard.