Name:   copperline - Subject:   A more reasonable approach Date:   1/10/2013 12:59:54 AM

All of us know someone who is, or at some point in their lives has been too unstable to responsibly handle a weapon.   The shooter in Aurora Colorado, and at Sandy Hook Elementary, the kids at Columbine High School…. All of them were very sick people who exploded into a psychotic frenzy.   Now, that’s rare… but the details of all these cases are becoming more consistent… and worth paying attention to.   We need to learn from events like this to try to keep them from happening in the future.     Why it appears to be happening more often may have something to do with the sheer volume of guns in the community, plus the trend toward military style weaponry.

My take is that each of these shooters had access to assault style weaponry that was designed to inflict massive multiple wound injury, with a rapid & high volume of fire.     Consequently their acts were much more destructive than they would have been otherwise.     

The weapons may have also played a contributing role in each case because the guns were within easy reach during the build up phase prior to their outburst.   They probably rehearsed in their minds what the effects of their chosen weapons would have been, further building their confidence and sense of indestructibility.     in effect, access to highly destructive weapons probably promoted their violent fantasy… convincing them that they would become powerful and bring terrible revenge on whoever they were angry at.  

imagine an angry drunk guy.   Now imagine giving the angry drunk guy a gun.   Same idea, same risks.

is it your (collective) opinions that there should be absolutely no restrictions on the types of weapons that can be bought by someone over 21 without a felony record?  None?