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Michelle Mcloughlin / Reuters
The second deadliest school shooting in U.S. history sent crying children spilling into the school parking lot as frightened parents waited for word on their loved ones.
Shock and sympathy were the initial reactions from around the world to a shooting rampage that left 26 people dead, including 20 children, at a Connecticut elementary school. Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard described the attack as a "senseless and incomprehensible act of evil."
"Like President Obama and his fellow Americans, our hearts too are broken," Gillard said in a statement.
The gunman killed his mother at home before opening fire Friday inside the school in Newtown, Connecticut, killing 26 people, including 20 children, police said. The body of the killer, identified as 20-year-old Adam Lanza, was also found at the school.
"As parents and grandparents, as brothers and sisters, as friends of the American people, we mourn the loss of children, aged only 5 to 10 years, whose futures lay before them," Gillard said. "We mourn the loss of brave teachers who sought only to lead their students into that future but were brutally murdered in a place of refuge and learning."
Australia confronted a similar tragedy in 1996, when a man went on a shooting spree in the southern state of Tasmania, killing 35 people. The mass killing sparked outrage across the country and led the government to impose strict new gun laws, including a ban on semi-automatic rifles.
Elementary school massacre: 20 children among 28 killed in Connecticut slaughter
Gillard's sentiments echoed those of British Prime Minister David Cameron, who said he "was shocked and deeply saddened" to learn of the "horrific shooting."
"My thoughts are with the injured and those who have lost loved ones," he said. "It is heartbreaking to think of those who have had their children robbed from them at such a young age, when they had so much life ahead of them."
There have been several mass shootings in 2012 alone, and on Friday President Obama said politicians will need to come together to take action regardless of the politics. NBC's Tom Costello reports.
In Japan, where guns are severely restricted and there are extremely few gun-related crimes, public broadcaster NHK led the noon news Saturday with the shooting, putting it ahead of an update on the final day of campaigning before Sunday's nationwide parliamentary elections.
NHK, which had a reporter giving a live broadcast from the scene, said that five of the children at the school were Japanese, and that all five were safe. Its report could not immediately be independently confirmed.
Authorities ID gunman who killed 27 in elementary school massacre
Several Japanese broadcasters ran footage from Newtown, showing scenes of people singing outside churches Friday evening, as well as part of President Barack Obama's tearful press conference.
In China, top of the news
The attack in Connecticut quickly consumed public discussion in China, rocketing to the top of topic lists on social media and becoming the top story on state television's main noon newscast. China has seen several rampage attacks at schools in recent years, though the attackers there usually use knives. The most recent attack happened Friday, when a knife-wielding man injured 22 children and one adult outside a primary school in central China.
Gunman's mother owned weapons used in Connecticut school massacre
Much of the discussion after the Connecticut rampage centered on the easy access to guns in America, unlike in China, where even knives are sometimes banned from sale. But with more than 100,000 Chinese studying in U.S. schools, a sense of shared grief came through.
"Parents with children studying in the U.S. must be tense. School shootings happen often in the U.S. Really, can't politicians put away politics and prohibit gun sales?" Zhang Xin, a wealthy property developer, wrote on her feed on the Twitter-like Sina Weibo service, where she has 4.9 million followers. "There will always be mental patients among us. They should not be given guns."
NBC News' Lester Holt reports how the day of a shooting massacre in Newtown, Connecticut unfolded, from the moment Newtown police received an emergency 911 call from the Sandy Hook Elementary School to the children and parents who share their grievances over the 28 killed, including the shooter himself, 20-year-old Adam Lanza.
In the Philippines, a spokeswoman for President Benigno Aquino III said, "What makes it more painful is that most of the victims were small children."
"Our deep condolences go out to the families, teachers and their loved ones. Our hearts and minds are with them and pray with them as they go through a very difficult time, especially with Christmas approaching," deputy presidential spokeswoman Abigail Valte told DZBB radio.
More world stories from NBC News:
- Japan seeks a real leader after 7 PMs in 6 years
- ANALYSIS: Egypt's military keeps close eye on politics
- EXCLUSIVE: Susan Rice drops out of running for secretary of state
- North Korean progress on nuclear arms, long-range missiles rattle U.S. and allies
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- Royal prank call: Duped nurse was found hanging, also had wrist injuries
Follow World News from NBCNews.com on Twitter and Facebook
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How many children need to die before the American's need to figure out that an open gun policy is to blame?
The fact is that most of these countries have tough gun control laws and the results speak for themselves, no repeated mass killings like this. For those who say one could have used another weapon like a knife or car, they did in China last friday (knife) and there were no fatalities, only injuries. Those that think a car could be used can go use a car to hunt when their guns are taken away. It is time to amend 2A, period, there is no alternative.
I think what Americans call gun culture has turned into a sickness by yet another corporate greed from weapons manufacturers. Eisenhower had warned about the MIC. The gun manufacturers are a part of this MIC.
Security and Freedom are important but as Roosevelt said - we can't live in fear. The need to own a gun indicates people are being played to their fears.
While second amendment is indeed essential for freedom - the Americans are brainwashed to believe that everybody needs to have most lethal weapons available in the market. And while it is difficult for the MIC to sell their weapons in first world - the MIC does sell its weapons to undesirable elements right here in US as well as in third world to create conflicts which ensures that this money making machine keeps humming.
Here is a very simple suggestion. Have a password for a gun - verbal - finger print - type it - whatever. This way at least only the owners will be able to operate the gun.
The sale of assault rifles and auto-loader handguns should be banned. Only bolt-action rifles and revolvers should be legal. Such restrictions won't stop these kind of attacks, but will limit the number of people killed.
According to what I heard on BBC World News last night, deaths by gun violence in the United States are 22 times higher than in other wealthy, industrialized countries. And this was the second mass shooting in the space of just one week. First the mall shooting in Oregon just a few days ago, and now this shooting of little kids.
This is a cat that will never be put back in the bag. In America, it doesn't matter what product or service you sell, if you make a lot of money you do not have to show any moral or ethical values in selling it. Profit trumps the environment, laws, morality and definitely human lives. Add to that the perception that owning or using a gun makes you cool or important and you have a combustible mix.
This isn't about guns, this is about letting the mentally ill walk our streets. The Liberal feel-good policy of giving the mentally ill "rights" is the problem. The second part of this is the attitude of the normal folks around these people who either say "he/she not my problem," or "he/she wouldn't do anything to hurt others." The first statement is a sad reality of the US public, the second, a very incorrect assumption. As long as the mentally ill are either ignored or thought of as someone else's problem, this will continue. Taking away guns will not change that. Look at China, there have been multiple attacks made with knives instead of guns.
There is also the aspect of the disintegration of moral values in this country. But that is a much bigger debate that is currently going the way of those who think moral values are not important as well. As long as we as a country will not stand up and do what's right, nothing will change.
I'm deeply sorry for the families who has lost loved ones in this.
Before you even start....Yes, I now live in MS, but have lived all over the US and Europe, large and small cities and towns.
People, it is not the guns that kill, but the people who use them! Gun control is not the guilty party here. I blame society and parents for a lot of what children and young adults are doing. Our children are no longer taught to value the essence of life. No matter how they perform, they are given awards and positive praise - no one loses. Most are not taught to respect themselves let alone others.
I grew up in a home with firearms that were used in law enforcement and hunting. Firearms were kept in locked cases and we knew where the keys were kept. But we were taught to never open the cases without an adult present. We knew the boundaries and respected them. This is something that most kids today are not taught....boundaries. Who is to blame for Sandy Hook? Not the guns or gun control...but the person who used the gun. Stop and think about this....Were the firearms locked up, what values were the individual taught, was mental illness a factor and if so, who knew and what treatment was the young man given?
Instead of automatically blaming gun control, look at all the facts. Even in cities and areas with strict gun control, the rate of gun associated deaths is higher than normal. You can put all the restrictions you want in place, but if someone is going to use a firearm, they will find a way to get it - legally or not. Maybe, it is time to start thinking about where we, the adults, have gone wrong in teaching and living with the idea that human life matters and that what and how we teach the young is a bearing factor in our society.
Those who give up freedom for security deserve NEITHER.
This article was not written to talk about other nations comments during a tragic event. It was written by NBC to promote the end of the second amendment of our constitution.
There are a LOT of definitions for "mentally ill." Not all of them, or even the majority of them, mean that a person with mental illness is dangerous and/or should be removed from society. Someone with depression, anxiety, PTSD, schizophrenia, etc. etc. falls into that category or mental illness but still remains a productive and beneficial member of society. And look at the messed-up diagnoses that have fallen into that category; it's only been recently in history that the AMA got rid of homosexuality as a designated mental illness.
There is no way to control, predict or even identify what marks another person's mental state as being dangerous. How often do we hear, like with the mall shooter recently, "He was such a sweet young man, you'd have never suspected..." You can't go against someone's rights and arbitrarily determine who might or might not be dangerous and simply lock up people who are suffering from mental illness--that would require long court battles and many delays, and even if such a thing is determined, then the state would have to provide housing, food, medical care, and all other expenses like they do for prisoners... and states are going bankrupt.
You CAN ban assault rifles and other weapons of such a caliber that the general public does not need to own or fear them. You CAN control weapons such as assault rifles. No civilian, outside of someone working at a law enforcement or security-based job, needs a freakin' assault rifle! A schoolteacher in rural Connecticut had absolutely no reason to have an ASSAULT RIFLE!
First, let me start that I'm for gun control.
However, the problem is probably intractable. You can't lock everybody up, and you can't take away all the guns. The problem is social as much as anything. We generate more whack-jobs capable of this kind of thing than any other country. It's not just gun control. The guy in Norway killed a LOT of people, and Norway has pretty strict gun control. This person in Connecticut stole the guns from his mother, who he also killed. Still to come out is why mom would have those but hopefully that will come out over the following days. Who knows, maybe she bought them for him because his mental status wouldn't allow him to buy them himself. That would be tragic. Maybe the brother or father will clarify some things. The problem is a combination of mental health and guns. How do you keep the most dangerous and deadly weapons out of the hands of whack-jobs?
Unfortunately, Obama isn't going to be able to get far with this. Politics, R vs. D, and the NRA aren't going to allow that. What Obama needs to do/say is this:
"I need the sportsmen and gun advocates to come up with sensible legislation that will help keep deadly weapons out of the hands of disturbed individuals. I need you to do it because that's the only way it can happen. America's parents and children need you to come forward and lead on this."
It is not about gun control. It is about establishing better security for all the schools. Crazy people will most likely use creative ways to kill as many as possible. Laws consisting of better security and funding for schools are needed. This particular school was not properly secured. Very sad day.
The argument AGAINST some kind of gun control (no matter how minor),is that guns don't kill people,people do. So what they are saying is that we,as a society,product a higher percentage of nutjobs than any other industrialized nation on earth. Now if that were true,it would mean,we have problems more seriously wrong with our society than even guns. And since they also keep saying we are a center-right country.Then common sense would lead to that being the reason. A bit more than they want to think about I'm sure.But if we leave aside that idea,and just deal with facts,we have evidence of what the real problem is.And it is our gun culture.
The US is number 4 in gun deaths in the world. All the other 3 ahead of us,are third world nations,with a history of political and mass criminal violence. Interesting company we keep there. But looking at countries that mirror us more,in society,history,and ethnically more similar makes the picture much clearer. Our neighbor Canada,is about as close to us as another country can be.So looking at their statistics show our problem in focus. They have a population between 11-12 percent of ours. But for the purposes of this comparison lets just say we are 10 times their population. One recent study showed our gun murder numbers as 9,369 in 2002,and Canada as 144. Using our 10 times figure,even if Canada's population was the same as ours,they'd only have 1,440 gun murders to our 9,369. And compared to some of our allies even Canada's rate is large.If Australia had our population they'd have around 900 gun murders,New Zealand around 800,Germany around 1,000. Our gun murder stats,are off the charts,for a western democratic industrial nation anywhere in the world.
There is only one realistic reason that could be,no matter how its looked at.And that is our pervasive gun culture here. The nations I gave stats for,are free democratic states.Countries that Americans,visit,and in some cases immigrate to. So I think we can reasonably agree,that those are countries we believe aren't countries that oppress their citizens. Yet,they all have gun laws,and widespread hunting at the same time. If,one argument against gun laws is that they are directed against hunters,than these countries show that to be bs. Besides,how many hunters hunt with guns like a AK47,UZI,are sem-automatic pistol or rifle. The false charge about attacking hunting is just a smoke screen.
Another argument you hear is that if you restrict guns,only criminals would have them,since they don't obey the law. But how do people think those criminals get their guns in the first place. They get them from either buying them from dealers,or steal them from us. So the easier guns are available,the easier it is for criminals to get them. How hard is that to figure out. Oklahoma the other day passed one of the stupidest laws I've heard of (and some other brain dead states may follow) allowing people to openly carry guns. There was a picture of a middle-aged women in the grocery store checking out the can goods.With a large hand gun at her waist. I was thinking when I saw the picture,any crook could just hit her from behind and he has a new gun right there.
The facts are that as long as we continue to buy the bs from the NRA and the right-wing nuts. We are doomed to be a third world violent society.Where more and more innocent lives are lost on the altar of "gun rights". What we need to start worrying about,is not gun rights. But our children's right to have their lives. How idiotic is it to care more about some fantasy attack on our 2nd amendment "rights" that the lives of those 20 beautiful kids,and the countless others that will die because of our stupidity.
I'm curious to know how many people trust their own Government......
That's why i think guns will always be around.
Let me start out that i am for gun control. Gun control is about statistics. Regardless that we should have better security, don't let mental ill have access, make sure they're locked up, guns don't kill, people kill etc. All that is moot. You want laws that will limit the number of guns on the street period. The more difficult it is to get guns especially ones with a lot of fire power the less likely stories like this will pop up. The goal isn't to stop crime 100% when using guns but to minimize it by making it extremely difficult to possess one.
I so agree uncle bob. We are reverting back to the wild west of the 1800s. But as long as the majority of america leans to the right, it's not gonna happen.
Once again, we have a single mother to thank for another atrocity. With feminism destroying the nuclear family, the result has been an epidemic of single-mothers who have certainly done a disproportionate amount of the work involved in raising our most ardent criminals. What's worse, our feminist government subsidizes this travesty and magazines exalt the so called "single-mothers."
Now some of you will say "...but the POTUS was raised by a single mother." True, however, he became president DESPITE his mother, not because of her. There's a reason his book was titled "Dreams from my father," not "Dreams from my mother," and we all know Obama is at best, an exception to the rule; just read his autobiography, he almost didn't make it.
End feminist influence on the government, stop subsidizing single mothers, and most of our problems will START to fix themselves.
FACT: 80% of Prisoners were raised by single mothers.
FACT: If you take away children raised by single mothers, Blacks and Whites have the same crime statistics.
Myth: It takes two to make a baby, Men are abandoning their families and not taking responsibility.
FACT: 70% of Divorces ARE initiated BY WOMEN
Myth: Women divorce usually because the men are abusive
FACT: In cases of domestic violence, 50% of the perpetrators ARE WOMEN.
FACT: Most women get more money from their men by forcing them into paying child support and/Alimony while the man goes homeless or worse, goes to jail for failure to pay child support if he doesn't have enough money (all thanks to our thoroughly feminized society).
Destroy Feminism, End Single-motherhood, STOP SUBSIDIZING SLUTS, Make Alimony ILLEGAL, Keep men in the family, raise BETTER young men, reduce the crime rate!!
Single mothers are not to blame. Since your facts are wrong, I'll assume you have some pretty big issues that caused you to lose custody in a divorce. Yes women are now free to seek divorce because they are capable of supporting themselves and their children. Why would they stay with abusive and/or philandering husbands who have created the stressors in the lives of their sons that lead them to lives of crime? It is not the mother's fault that these boys feel abandoned by fathers who are too into themselves to spend quality time with their children. Financial abandonment? Sounds to me like you had more children than you can afford to pay for. The fact is these mothers spend a larger percentage of their income toward supporting their children than the nominal amount the court takes from the fathers.
The real issue here is guns and their being too easily accessible by the mentally ill, young, and irresponsible. It is time for us as a nation to decide how many children WE are willing to kill before taking a strong stance on gun control. Yes, I mean WE. By not addressing this issue in a responsible manner, we are all responsible for the deaths of these children. Why do we need semi-automatic weapons? Because the NRA says we do. They are great for killing large numbers of innocent people that a single shot weapon could not do. Why don't we have strict background checks on all gun sales and no sales to the mentally ill? Because the NRA says this will lead to the government taking away your right to bear arms.
Everytime one of these mass shootings occur the NRA is right out there saying it is not the fault of guns. Really? With a gun, you can stand in the doorway and spray a classroom and wipe most or all of the children. With a knife, you can only kill those who come near you or you leave the doorway to go after them and the others can escape. The NRA has the blood of all the children killed or injured in this past month by guns on their hands, and that number was high before these 20 were added to it.
How many people have to die before we all stand together and tell the NRA that we value the lives of our citizens and make them irrelevant? That rediculous group will tell you that if those kindergarteners had brought their guns to school, this would have never happened. Is that the way we want to see our children's lives go? When will we as a society be ready to address this issue? When half of the children in our country's class of 20?? have been killed by gun violence? More? Or, are we ready to stand up to this criminal organization that advocates the ability to kill large numbers of people in seconds. We need to take a stand and say our children are worth the inconvenience of waiting for background checks and having to take training to own a gun and limits on the types of guns that can be sold.
Witty One said, "Yes women are now free to seek divorce because they are capable of supporting themselves and their children."
Great! Then why do they need alimony and child support?
The real problem here is no-fault divorce. In any other contract (and yes, marriage is a contract), the moving party pays the fine. Not in no-fault divorce. In no-fault divorce the woman gets a case of the ass or decides she wants to bang some other guy, so she gets a divorce, but the man continues to pay for her upkeep. Ridiculous! Either she had bad judgement from the beginning when she married the guy or she did not live up to her end of the contract. Either way, divorce is almost always the woman's fault. This is compounded by the societal expectation that men work and women have the option to work or not; we call that misandry (the opposite of misogyny).
Anyway, this is why I will never get married. I may live with my girlfriend forever, she is free to come and go as she pleases, and we may even have a child together. But I will never enter into such a lop-sided contract, stacked against men, as marriage is. Marriage is nothing but a b.s. construct of organized religion backed up by the attorney-general of the state. Like every other religious-inspired institution, it needs to go.
If people really love each other, then why would they need anything in writing to validate that?
So now it is somehow the fault of the "single woman". Until we acknowledge that these tragedies with guns are the result of lax gun laws, the fear brought to us by those who benefit, and a society that brings us violence, we will never address the challenge. This is sad and it is not the "single woman".
Baldman... your lack of hair made your brains fall out. Your comments could have been shortened by just saying you are a 'sexist pig'. Rush Limbaugh called and said it's time for you to take your meds.
Capt Jack and BaldMan...are you freaking crazy? What century do you guys live in? Ever heardof a widow? So it is her fault her husband died? Man beats the &*&* out of his wife; are you saying she is required to stay there and take it? A no-fault divorce simply means a couple, not he the term COUPLE, have drifted apart in some form or fashion or simply want a fast but simple divorce...but of course it is only HER fault? A husband and father decides he doesn't want the responsibility of the family he helped to build...so the wife is required to support herself and the children without aid from the father? What, it is perfectly OK for a man to essentially abandon all responsibility for his children? So in your mind everything related to crime is a woman's fault at some point down the line? How many people from steady and solid families have committed heinous crimes...oops..must have been the mother's fault. I give you the Menendez brothers but of course that was all the mother's fault they killed both their parents. Let us also not forget the Columbine shooters.
BaldMan...as for your myth about it takes two to make a baby...uhm, studied basic human reproductive biology lately? Oh, wait, I get it, anywoman who becomes pregnant it is her own fault right? Tell that to the women who have been raped, or are you claiming that rape doesn't exist, and have gotten pregnant.
I will agree to a point that feminism hasn't been 100% helpful but at least women are allowed to make up their own minds instead of having daddy or assorted male relatives marrying them off to men old enough to be their grandfathers or shoving them off into a convent, out of sight out of mind, if they aren't quite attractive enough to be married off.
For crying out loud, this is the freaking 21st century... crawl back into your time capsules...you'll be much happier living in in the 15th century.
Baldman - You are an embarrassment to all men. What an idiot!
FEMINISM is to blame or our MISOGYNIST culture? Better read your history, because history definitely shows that cultures that have suppressed women and children's rights are typically cultures that glorify violence. If you are wondering how the Muslim religion got off track, you can look no farther than that fact.
Baldman: of note, the father gave more than he had to for alimony on his own volition.
"..He said the Lanzas were deeply devoted to their children. In fact, Peter Lanza insisted on handing over more money than his lawyer initially suggested.
“He did more than he had to with the divorce,” said Oberst. “When he came in to consult with me, I said, ‘This is what your obligation is.’ He said, ‘That’s not enough. I want to do more.’ ”
The family insider described the Lanzas as “lovely, very generous people who were very kind to each other during the divorce.”
Read more: #ixzz2F7kCsXdR..."
Maybe Baldy is on to something here. According to him, women do all the divorcing, men don't cheat or abuse their wives and the shooter's mother, who is now dead, wasn't killed by a gun at all - she was killed by her own wanton behavior. So women (like Baldy's mother) are to blame and guns never played a part in this mass, senseless shooting.
The problem is, if Baldy is correct, he is our next mass murderer.
My fear is Baldman or someone as mentally twisted as he will be next mass murderer in this country. Newsvine take note and take appropriate action.
baldman---if not for women stepping up to the challenge these children would be raised by public institutions at the publics expense. i raised 2 children as a single mother -both well adjusted members of society. their father abandoned them at ages 8 and 12. single mothers who take over the role of both parents should be admired--not criticized---you are ill informed.
Condolences to ALL the families and friends who have to deal with this tragedy long after the media reports stop. My heart aches for them. This is THE LOWEST crime imaginable - killing 5 and 10 year olds!
@ Baldman: Umm....it was a "single" male that did the shooting. It is the "person" (99.9% male) that does this type of crime, and I'm being conservative in that assessment.
Don't blame the gun or single women, although it (guns) appears to be the biggest culprit.
The Columbine murderers, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold both lived with mother and father. So did Jared Lee Loughner, who killed 12 in Arizona, and shot the Congresswoman in the head - she survived.
The blame will ALWAYS be on the person wielding the weapon of choice to murder people, PERIOD!
Hopefully, with technology, we may be able to reduce, if not stop, the senseless slaughter. I read 2 comments that suggested:
1. Have a password for a gun - verbal - finger print - type it - whatever. This way at least only the owners will be able to operate the gun.
2. The sale of assault rifles and auto-loader handguns should be banned. Only bolt-action rifles and revolvers should be legal. Such restrictions won't stop these kind of attacks, but will limit the number of people killed.
I like #2, since it would not violate the 2nd Amendment at all. Perhaps a shotgun for sports shooting is fine also. One could still kill multiple people, but would have to reload at a given point - limited by gun round capacity. This could allow people to either subdue or get away from the killer.
A gun is a gun. Right? We HAVE to start somewhere, or continue more of the same. It's worth a thought.
BTW, I owns guns, but leave them at home, since they are for home security. I'm now thinking seriously of getting a concealed carry permit. I hate having a gun on me when out and about. I think it makes one fearless and likely to inflame a situation and ultimately lead to shooting and claiming self-defense against an unarmed person; a person one would otherwise avoid, without the concealed gun.
Times are dictating: "Better to have one and not need it, than to not have one...and need it desparately."
I'd love to reply to all of you but I'm a little disappointed that no one has actually bothered to challenge the facts I've presented or posit an alternate conclusion.
Instead, you've all resorted to personal attacks, ad-hominems, and red-herrings where you conveniently and deliberately misinterpret what I'm saying. Some of you even went as far as to call me a potential mass-murderer. Since when has advocating for raising young men who are better adjusted in society and consequently reducing the crime rate, a sign of someone who will one day himself become a mass murderer?
Look, I understand that most of you are angry, emotionally volatile, and fundamentally incapable of putting your emotions aside to rationally engage with someone who has a different point of view - believe it or not, another sign of our thoroughly feminized society where even the so called "men" are now, except for the little thing dangling in between their legs, FUNCTIONALLY WOMEN.
However, if we're serious about confronting the problems facing us in this country then we have to be brutally honest about the cause. It's time to rip off the bandage and force you guys to face the truth. My weapon of choice = FACTS, and more FACTS!
@Raidaz: I'm not claiming that ending the "single-motherhood" pandemic will turn the world into a utopia. There will always be criminals. My point is that single-mothers are responsible for raising A MAJORITY OF THE CRIMINALS that are causing most of society's problems.
Does anyone actually have anything important to say about this? I'm numb to all your personal attacks and insults but as time permits, I'm more than willing to engage with anyone who's seriously interested in a debate.
Not a small-town tragedy, not a state tragedy, not a U.S. tragedy.
A world tragedy.
We know we have the prayers of the world this Christmas season. All of our prayers are for those children, the adults who tried to protect them, and all of their families.
Not a tragedy at all. A tragedy is something out of our human control; same as a disaster.
This doesn't qualify. We have full control of this situaion, but we choose not to use it.
Captain Jack - Tragic, as in the END RESULT. No one needs the grammar patrol at this time, if ever. Geesh!
Raidaz2010, thanks, but it wasn't really necessary. I've been hanging out on the Internet since before it was called the World Wide Web. The one common denominator that has never changed is that there is an over-abundance of poorly educated people projecting their false sense of superiority and knowledge over others, which never works well at the corner Quik-E Mart but they believe it works very well in ether. Whereas Captain Jack obviously knows how to type, even properly using punctuation such as a semi-colon, he obviously is not smart enough to search dictionary.com yet.
Considering that about a third of the major news organizations are using the word "tragedy" in their headlines, as well as in the body of reports, I take a little comfort knowing that this idiot is probably creating accounts all over the 'net with the intent to "shame" educated people that their use of the word "doesn't qualify".
Night is falling here in Australia. Another day of pure grief in the States has unfolded and the world once again grieves with you. When the dark moves in and all is quiet and still, I will light a candle and place it in the window...a small bright light shining out into the darkness for the small souls and adults lost. Blessings to you all from afar from across the sea......
Thank you shona.
Hug your family tighter tonight. Heck, offer hugs to people -- complete strangers on the street -- and if they ask why -- tell them it's because 26 people are dead today -- most of them children -- and you're spreading the LOVE that they no longer can to one another and the rest of humanity.
The heart of this great nation mourns.For of the 27 killed, were 20 of the most tender and innocent of souls. Struck down savagely by one who had not the slightest shred of mercy, compassion nor empathy for their fragile youth nor promise of a full long life ahead of them.
We know they were kindergartners and so quite young. Yet does it really sink in just how much long life was taken from them?About 1,424 years of life stolen if they were 6 years old and lived to today's expected age of 77.2.
It is actually hard to realize the scope of what has been taken away. We see only this moment, the death of such beautiful children. But to look down the long corridor of time is quite another.To just list some of the accumulation of events and milestones that each child would have enjoyed is quite another matter.
During those years, would have occurred first kisses, dates, getting driver's licenses and prom night. A little rebellion from parents learning to get their own identity's. First heart aches,insecurities, temptations, sports, nerds,geeks,jocks,homecoming queen, getting part time jobs,learning how to keep track of finances, graduations, full time jobs, military soldiers and going to college.Who is to say what new invention the world has been deprived of, what cure it has lost, or genius that could have solved a problem it has desperately seeking an answer for.That is another tragedy.Each child carries such potential.
Imagine each one discovering the vast world, life's ups and downs, Adventures, tragedies and triumphs. Refining humor and learning to laugh at oneself when embarrassed. Buying that first place, settling down and the circle of life. With little bundles of joy,the hard work of parenting, finally realizing how smart mom and dad really are. and happy grandparents at last........But none of this will happen in the 1424 years of life stolen.
Instead frozen in time these little souls will never grow up in memory, never change.Their parents will surely go over and over the last moments they spent with their precious babies.To keep the memories always bright against the darkest day of their lives. To comfort them when there simply are no answers to the question why. For those who love deeply, love cannot be destroyed by death, it may delay while one goes ahead for awhile. But it is the strongest force in the Universe that binds two souls together for eternity.
AN OPEN LETTER
Dear NRA,
From Columbine to Newtown, is the carnage not yet enough? Can we not yet have a reasoned discussion on gun legislation without you thumping your chest and crying out 'COLD DEAD HANDS'????
Norseman
Well.....Do you know how many Americans have die for Democracy???
current US gun laws are a national disgrace
Words,
Sometimes we hear people say "there are no words..." but words are our only hope. A real conversation about our armed population has to happen. I heard from someone I used to consider intelligent that if we all carried guns these sorts of tragedies wouldn't happen, that we could all pull out our weapons and shoot the shooter...if we all pull out our guns how do we keep track of who the real perpetrator is? How do officers responding to the scene know who to target? Law enforcement should be left to the law not to armed, but unqualified citizens.
The argument that guns are necessary to prevent tyranny is lost when we live with the tyranny an armed population presents. Why do people feel threatened by the government but not by their neighbors or family members? Who kills people in this country to the tune of 9 to 10 thousand people a year? The government or armed citizens?
We're safer with everyone packing? BS!
We are no longer free when we live in a world so full of firearms that we have to buy and carry one in order to feel safe! Such a world is a world gone insane!
All the pro-NRA people need to wake up and understand that every time something like the horror that happened yesterday occurs, your second amendment right loses support with more and more people. If you don't relax and at least allow a dialog, the tide will eventually turn against you. OH, I almost forgot, you have guns, you'll just kill everyone that works to take them away from you or at least imply that you will...Tyranny of the people by the people is still tyranny!
We rightfully mourn the loss of roughly 10,000 soldiers during ten years and two wars but we've killed more than ten times that number right here during that same time period, where's the sorrow for that loss? Why is it tragic when a soldier dies but just business as usual when a citizen is killed? Aren't we all created equal, isn't life supposed to be precious?
Testing, training, and licensing aren't radical or unreasonable requirements when someone seeks to own a device that makes it so easy to kill. Limiting the types of weapons or making the requirements for ownership higher for more powerful weapons ought to be part of the conversation too.
I agree with this part, "Testing, training, and licensing aren't radical or unreasonable requirements when someone seeks to own a device that makes it so easy to kill".
However, It saddens me that you have such valid points and yet feel the need to bash others.
He didn't "bash" anyone Timmy, he accurately described the attitude of the gun nuts.
Syghber, how many the gun deaths are caused by the people who legally own firearms? Most are killed by criminals or gangs. Most legally owned firearms are used for personalhunting, protection and target practice. Yes, I am a firearm owner and a female who has a conceal carry license and who travels by auto alone most of the time. Have I ever pulled my firearm? No and I pray that I never have to. But, should I need it for protection, I have it. My firearms are kept under lock and key when I am not home and are only pulled out when I am home and alone. Every person who owns a firearm of any kind, should have to take safety classes and have a sense of responsibility towards the firearm. It is not a toy, children should not know where it is kept, and if they do know, it is the parent's responsibility to keep it safeguarded. Do not put the blame on all firearm owners or the NRA. Someone who wants a gun they will obtain it anyway they can, legally or otherwise.
Sir,
The United States government kills more innocent civilians and children worldwide than do all the armed men and women citizens in America. Homicide rate in the U.S. is 4.2 per 100,000, which is much lower than many nations with very strict gun control laws.
The only difference is when the American government murders and innocent civilian, we simply fudge the stats or we label the 10 year old child an "extremist".
I can't believe you are even trying to make this argument. The state is the single biggest cause of unnatural death in the history of civilization. This is axiomatic.
Meanwhile statistically speaking you are 8 times more likely to be killed by a U.S. police officer than by an act classified as terrorism or a mass shooting such as this tragic event.
Yes, government monopoly on violence is about the worst evil that could ever be visited on this planet. The historic examples are enumerable.
You however are the first responder to this crisis (which initiated the expected and programmed response, think Hegalian Dialectic) that actually mentioned the rationale for the 2nd Amendment is not about allowing citizens to hunt or to defend themselves from other citizens. The design of the 2nd Amendment is to prevent government from having monopolies on violence because of the historical evidence that said monopolies destroy human lives and free civilizations. "the security of the FREE STATE" is the purposes of the 2nd Amendment.
End its protection and what is stopping police from randomly breaking into homes and ending all other Bill of Rights protections? Do you not see the dozens and dozens of stories each day about police brutality or misconduct, lethal taser use, shoot first ask questions later? A disarmed population will have a very predictable consequence when yes, agents of state tyranny can act even more with impunity.
This ripped my heart out today. The act is as lowest thing I can imagine and beyond senseless. I couldn’t even concentrate at work and kept thinking of my daughter.
I would be all for gun control...if it would work and stop something like this. However, I feel a lot of people make spontaneous comments based on emotion and gravitate to the quickest thing to pin responsibility or seem like a quick solution. This reaction is completely understandable given the horrendousness of this event. However, I feel gun control alone probably would not have stopped this event from occurring. Yes, guns are partly to blame for this and if we were able to get every gun in the entire country it would have stopped or reduced the event. But I don’t believe that is physically possible – its like when superman tried to remove all the nuclear weapons from the world.
Although calling to ban guns or certain types of guns may not be the answer; it does, make sense to require classes and better background checks for those purchasing weapons. If the mother was better trained and had training requiring the guns to be locked up where her mentally unstable son could not get access, this tragedy might have been avoided. For future Gun control, I hope we react with intelligence rather than emotion – I believe we can protect the 2nd amendment AND establish meaningful policy to help stop future events at the same time.
Understandably some of the reactions posted here are emotional and if we consider carefully I believe that Guns are only partly to blame for this event. Murder was in this person’s heart and mind regardless of the tool used and this problem has moral, faith, family, health and other implications. I feel society would be prudent to help solve the root cause. Simply put, we need to strengthen the family, uplift moral values (including faith – any faith, not just Christianity), and increase mental healthcare.
(And for those who will immediately bash me for even mentioning faith, please consider that I’m only using this as an observation that faith seems to have a bearing on individual moral compass. When I look at my grandfather’s generation and the last 60 years, I see changes in moral values and not all of them are positive. For example, I remember how difficult it was for my grandfather to keep a planned surprise 90th birthday party for my grandmother secret because he felt he had to suppress the truth. I feel many people in my generation would not have such strong values.
In fact, the bashing of posts for individual ideas on how to help solve this problem is anti-productive and as a nation this kind of mentality is part of the problem. Let us come together as a country and help solve this problem as one united nation…)
The rest of the world may have been sympathetic. but bewildered? There is nothing the least bit bewildering about another in a long list of rampage killings in the "greatest country in the world," America. Rampages are as American as apple pie.
Here in Italy we're thinking that it's at least unusual for a kindergartener teacher (the killer's mother), to lovingly keep at home a Glock, a Sig Sauer and a big hunting rifle. At least, our "signore maestre" usually don't like to play with Glocks and such, in their free time... my heartfelt condolences, to all those involved.
You are correct. As this story unfolds, I am interested in knowing as well how or why she had these firearms. My suspicion is that being he could not legally purchase a firearm in Connecticut himself, his mother purchased them for him.
As much as I enjoy the shooting sports, I have been convinced for some time that we as a country need to tighten up our current laws and begin sensible regulation and control over the purchase and possession of all firearms. If that means registration or the buyer paying the government to be backgrounded, then so be it. The simple fact is that American Culture is as much to blame as the firearm itself. We live in a society that glamorizes violence in many facets of our lives from the music of our youth, video games, media and television...the list can go on. Yet many of these same factors have no or little impact on violence in the cultures of other nations.
The simple truth is NOT everyone in this country should be able to own a firearm. The bigger problem lies with the vast numbers of firearms already out there and the continuing trend in firearm sales towards assault weapons or high capacity semi-auto pistols. 2012 broke all previous records in firearm sales, much of this fact due to the gun lobby and especially vendors stoking the fear of the public during the past election cycle.
Well, NOW we will see the public and politicians alike unite with some form of legislation.
As a career Law Enforcement Officer, Father, Son, Brother and firearm enthusiast I hope this is the case. My heart goes out to all of the victims of this senseless act and my they find comfort in their grief.
RobertoG ---I, too, am perplexed beyond my imagination why this kindergarten teacher owned such firearms. And what in the name of reasoning caused her son to make the decision he did at that moment in time. Something, which we will never know now, happened in a singular moment that caused him to take this insane action.
It said that the suspect had mental illness.
What infuriates me is the 'INVESTIGATION". Those babies/adults have been lying in their own pool of dried blood for almost 24 hours. They're 'counting bullets', studying and photographing the scenes, etc. The 'investigation' should have consisted of taking pictures, sweeping up the bullets, giving the deceased over to their families to bury and mourn. What's the extensive investigation for? There will be no trial, the murderer is dead and there are hundreds of witnesses. The big slap in the face to the grieving parents is they are going to autopsy all those babies...for what? The fact that their heads are probably blown off isn't enough of a clue to let them know how they died. It's a travesty, a slap in the face to those parents and families. Think about what those children/adults have gone thru since 9:40 am yesterday. Would you want your child lying dead, cold and bloody on a floor for almost 24 hours and then to be cut open from one end to the other to determine they were killed by a gunshot.
I was wondering when the anti-gun nuts show up. When will people figure out that it is the individual not the gun that should get the blame? If I put a gun on a table and tell it go off, it will not unless there is someone there to pull the trigger. Also to those telling us that our second amendment needs to be amended in response to this, stop and think if guns are so regulated that only the police and army can have them (in some countries this is fact) how does the average person protect themselves against a criminal that decided to ignore the law and get a gun? What do they do, throw something at the guy or try to beat the person with a bat or pipe? The reaction time with a gun is much faster than swinging with a pipe or bat, depending on the individual of course.
Instead of doing one background check, do 3 or more background checks, also have people go through a psych-evaluation on top of it with the gun store owner there to witness it for themselves so they can decide whether to sell teh gun or not.
Our forefathers would be mortified to learn that the 2end Amendment, that was originally intended to protect the country is now being used to help destroy it. They never intended the 2end to be a blank check of gun ownership. They intended it to protect the NATION. The vary wording of the 2end proves that.
As to what people are supposed to do without guns for protection. Get trained on defensive weapons and carry defensive countermeasures. I have been trained in a wide variety of self defense methods and on the use of nonlethal defensive weapons. A gun fool breaching my house would not get vary far before he was blinded, subdued and tied up all nice and ready for the police to take him away.
In fact, you would be extremely surprised at what a person trained in self defense can do without a gun. You would also be surprised and some of the truly great nonlethal weapons that can stop even gun carriers in their tracks.
This is the 21st century, guns are now not the most effective thing for self defense. If you think they are, you have never been trained how to defend yourself.
The great American experiment is at risk of failing. The world knows it, most US citizens know it, those supporting guns in America either don't know it or want our once great society to completely fail. Isn't that the definition of a terrorist--just like Al Queda, wanting to bring America with its rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness to its knees?
First, it's not "the great American experiment." Second, it is not failing. For an explanation, go to my post 1.6. The only thing that's failing in this country is our values, responsibility, and beliefs.
Another 28 dead, and mostly children.
I’m so disgusted all I can say is ENOUGH!
Having lived for 70 years I have seen the cause and effect.
In the 60’s I saw the media promote pot, drugs, and free
sex.
Society changed until we saw the sexual revolution and then
the needed legalization of abortion because of it.
The family became disintegrated, drug use became more
prevalent, morality was replaced by the media morality of anything goes.
In the 70’s, the media started promoting homosexuality in
television shows and movies.
We have seen an ever increasing level of violence on
television and movies.
The changes to American society caused by the media became
more rapid and depraved.
Legalized abortion has killed millions or human beings,
violence on television has caused mass murders and countless copycat killings,
homosexuality has invaded our schools and corrupted our youth.
We now have homosexual teachers in our schools, threatened
destruction of the boy scouts because they don’t like homo councilors,
homosexual advocates calling same sex unions
“marriage”, laws mandating the teaching of homosexual acceptance in our
schools, rampant drug use, unchecked abortion, horrific violence, copycat mass
murders, you name it!
And the level of violence on our televisions and in our
movies continues to increase.
Most of these murderous rampages are copycat killings caused
by a media voice which publicizes these incidents as loudly as possible. Soon,
every fence sitting loonie has a murderous idea put into their heads.
The media have not only fundamentally changed America for
the worse, but continue to use their free speech rights to promote all manner
of social depravity and degenerate behavior.
It is time to do something about the voice of the media.
It is the media who has their hands stained with the blood
of the children in Connecticut!
Freedom of speech in our constitution is for POLITICAL
speech…..not the depraved, immoral, filth that has given us the abortion of millions
of babies, copycat school mass murders,
homosexuals in our schools, unchecked immigration, and same sex marriage, etc,
etc. In short, almost all depravity is
supported by media.
NOW IS THE TIME FOR MEDIA CENCORSHIP!
WE NEED TO STOP THE VIOLENCE AND SOCIAL DEPRAVITY CAUSED BY
THE MEDIA!
Free speech is not absolute and was intended by the founders
to protect political speech….not the right to teach all manner of depravity.
The media is tearing this country apart!
If censorship of the media saves the life of just one child,
it will have been worth it!
Frank
Ninety Six
Frank, the level of hatred for those different from yourself is a big part of the problem. If everything was about the impact of the media, this event would not have happened. How many times has the media come out in support of gun control after these events? If they were having the impact you seem to think they are, we would have gun control.
Hatred stoked by people like Rush Limbaugh coupled with the call to arms of the NRA to protect yourself from those who are different are the biggest contributors to the problem. The media reflects our values as a nation it does not create them. If people stop watching violent programming, the media will stop showing it because they don't make money on shows people don't watch. We as a nation are to blame for allowing this fear mongering and drive to arms that has put every citizen at risk.
Frank 96- "If censorship of the media saves the life of just one child,it will have been worth it!
I'm sure that somewhere somewhere someone is suggesting that banning all guns is worth it if we save the life of one child.
in short you are an idiot. I dont have enough time to point out how many errors you made in your homophobic tirade. save everyone from yourself by sticking your head in an oven
Frank It is through the hatred one can actually feel from your words of how you hold yourself so different than you do others that do not conform to how you feel life should be, ,that the moral decay in society happens. It does not matter what happend in the 60s, 70s on up.... things in life change. Whether there is abortions or homosexuals, did not lead up to such a horrible thing as 26 people losing their lives to a sick twisted brats rampage. You utilized this as your platform to scream hatred.. sad sad sad truly.
"World reacts with sympathy, bewilderment"
How about ANGER !
Are you angry ???
With the children saying they can't go back to that school, i would like to say i think the city of Newtown,Ct. should burn down this school in memory of of the children who died there, No way will these children ever feel safe there, I say burn it to the ground, and place a memorial to the families of the victims of this horrific crime of killing these innocent babies,
Taking guns away from law abiding people will only leave the innocent more defenseless. Teachers, who are skilled with firearms, should have the option of being armed. Won't stop idiots from trying another massacre, but the victim count would be lower.
Mr. Allborg you are absolutely right. If just one of those kindergartners had been packing heat, this tragedy would have been averted, right? I don't understand why nobody hasn't already posed that worn out argument already.
Shock and sympathy were the initial reactions from around the world. EXCEPT for the Muslims who think its some kind of minor incident .
Your hateful comments are not appreciated.
As we all struggle to figure out what goes on in the minds of people who perpetrate these acts, I would like to thank you Ray for demonstrating the kind of hate and anger that is at their core. You aptly provide us some answers to our questions by your hateful and anger-filled words. I just hope you don't also own a gun.
What's so hateful ? That's what they think. Radical Muslim thinking is they wish we were all dead.
Your initial post included all Muslims, not "radical Muslims"
Ray....you need to just shut the fuk up because you sounded like a goddamn fuking idiot. Don't go away mad..... just go away.
I am a retired NYC school teacher. Currently, I do substitute teaching in Wake County, North Carolina. On Thursday I had a room full of kindergarten students. I cannot imagine somebody coming into my class and spraying the room with bullets. That would be the last thing on my mind. It is completely beyond my imagination. This nation has to sit down and decide what has to be done to try to prevent this type of tragedy to repeat itself. The threat is an internal problem which must be dealt with even we are going to to be a civilized society. The children should not have died in vain.
Reason, sensible gun control laws would go a long way to help stop the slaughter.
The NRA would argue that it is you who as a teacher would need to pack heat to prevent these crimes on your students. What do you think of that "logic"?
If you love Democracy.....You need to accept the good along with the bad. Don't pick and choose only what you want to control because it suits you. Our fathers and sons fought and die for Democracy and you'll need guns to keep it.
If gun owners want to continue to invoke their 2nd Amendment rights, then there's an alternative way to greatly reduce gun related violence. Make the consequences so horrible that it becomes unthinkable. For example, If caught committing a felony with a gun, the perpetrator should be taken to a holding cell and shot in the head. No trial, no excuses. Also, if a legal gun owner "loses" his weapon, or it is stolen, and he doesn't report it to the authorities, and that gun is used in the commitment of a crime, he should be arrested, and charged as an accessory to the crime.
To the NRA, and all gun nuts out there... Guns DO kill people. All it takes is some idiot pulling the trigger.
Great post mcbarker. Great ideas.
The world is reacting to how ignorant and stupid the American people are. Who can sympathise with a nation that seriously lacks intelligence. Start rather to ask questions why this happened and how to solve it instead of crying over it. Start with your gun laws. A free america means the freedom to buy guns and kill whoever you want to kill. That is the American freedom of expression and speech...
If American is so pathetic than why do so many people want to come here legally or illegally?
Warren
You better put a diaper on before you $hit yourself.
Buffarilla, I think it's people who have worse lives, like Mexicans, that want to come to the US.
Others want to come just as people want to come and relocate to many other countries.
Don't assume the US as so special just because the media portray it this way.
Personally, I twice lived in NY upper east side and LA and found the US to be a major s#it#ole so I left...
I'm curious to know where do you live now ???
Warren I highly doubt American's are "stupid".. It's through our diverse nature that we have people from about every country trying to claw their way into our "stupid" american culture. It never ceases to amaze me how easy it is for people from other countries to come on any site, and talk blubberish about the "American's" and have yet to take a look at their own twisted and corrupt countries. Because Warren.... evil lives every where. Whether its a car bomb blowing up embassy's, schools, restraunts, stores, or streets, or suicide bombers packing explosives and killing children, woman, and innocent civilans out in the street, on a school bus, or public transport, or a the chinese people going on knive rampages for two years straight... oh and lets not forget norway, Canada and yes... even England... do they have as many ... maybe not... but each one was done with weapons, and each one is no less devestating the the next, whether its 22 kids being stabbled, who are NOT being promised they are going to make it or are out of the woods yet, to 20 babies in a school, and six adults being shot by some sick evil twisted brat!! There is much more behind what happend besides guns being involved. If evil is determined to kill, it will, no matter what it uses. Take guns away, and you will have bombings right and left... why? because internet, media, and many other factors give you all the tools you need to gather supplies and make these deadly things. Semi automatic, and automatic weapons.. should be banned. Aside from that... all guns.. no... Guns have their purpose. I don't find myself to be a stupid American... I am pretty darn smart. And extremely proud of MY AMERICA!!! Trust me, that don't make me proud of the things some people do, but I think every country has its own evil it deals with in many ways and many forms.
I have never owned or even fired a gun - but I think it is every competent person's constitutional right to legally own one.
The world is probably thinking about how stupid America is to allow people to own such powerful and numerous weapons.
The world is not being truthful about what it rationally thinks.
YAWNNNNNNN.......BLAH BLAH BLAH !!!!!!
save the environment
As a European I think there world is just doing the classy thing here by showing its sympathy (which I have no doubt is genuine), after all to criticise now would be the equivalent of “kicking em, whilst they are down”
I will say though that when I heard about this tragedy, the first thought to go through my head was “What another one?” After all this has to be the forth mass shooting in American in close to 6 months.