My god....how sad...how sad....I taught 3rd grade for almost 15 years...retired now, but, oh what a terrible event, so young and innocent...so sad....may the little one somehow survive....please.....

As for gun laws, really? Look around you...who needs 'em?

Updated at 7:43 a.m. ET: NORCROSS, Ga. -- A gunman opened fire at a spa in an Atlanta suburb on Tuesday, leaving five people dead in what authorities described as a murder-suicide.

Them???

Gun accidents. I don't think so.

Updated at 7:43 a.m. ET: NORCROSS, Ga. -- A gunman opened fire at a spa in an Atlanta suburb on Tuesday, leaving five people dead in what authorities described as a murder-suicide.

Them???

Yes because gun laws would stop that? Sheesh. If someone is going to BREAK A LAW and kill someone why would a gun law stop them? That logic makes no sense.

its not a gunman ,its a gunboy or gunkiddie who did this shooting

Washington state has draconian gun laws covering handguns already. Somebody screwed up. Poor parenting is my guess. Child left uneducated about gun responsibility. That happens more frequently in places where nobody is supposed to have a gun. How did the gun get to the school? Why did a 9 year old have access to it? But most importantly, Why didn't the 9 year old know better?

This was simply a tragic accident. Gun laws or no gun laws. You can't outlaw accidents.

Don't mean to be offensive, but the kid "accidentally" put the gun in his sack lunch, and "accidentally" wanted to show it off yo his friends and shot it?

The kid knew what he was doing. And the parents should be all over him and hoping that this will all blow over, which it won't.

Cars kill more people than guns in the US. So should we ban the selling of those since paccidents happen and innocents die?
Yeah accidents happen. People die. It is an unfortunate part of life. Banning something that kills people only means the criminals will be able to have access to it. If we lived in a perfect banning guns would be logical. But in this area (I live by Bremerton as well) there is plenty of break ins, home invasions and there has been a rash of stabbings. Funny how all of that is illegal and people still do it.
@ Cat
One of my relatives was showing off a gun to his cousin and ended up shooting him. Accidents happen. This was a little kid. I doubt he brought the gun in with malicious intent. He probably just thought that the gun was cool.

Blow over?! That a child has been shot with a gun?! Blow over?!

His/her parents getting all over him/her will not change the fact that another child was shot.

Stricter management of the sale, possession and use of guns might help. The ease of obtaining guns, the lack of attention to sale, licensing and storage of guns are the issues here.

How many people are we willing to see shot "by accident"? Is it really worth anyone's life for an individual to have access to a gun?

I ask that EVERYONE please stop and take a minute to PRAY for this young girl. Lord knows she needs ALL of our prayers at this moment in time.

The parents should be charged with attempted murder. You don't let an 9 year old have unsupervised access to a gun.

steveaae, that has got to be the most irrelevant post here

Still, @satanick, he may have not known that the gun was loaded, but he shouldn't have brought it in the first place. If he brought it from home, shame on the parents. I couldn't even get away with a B- at school work, yet alone bringing a gun.

I'm with you on this. There are more guns in this country than there are people. In as much as no one in my family has guns---loads of people have loads of guns. If you're preparing to overthrow the government--forget it. They have the bigger better weapons and drones.

Stop this madness. Guns have a sole purpose---to kill.

Why the @!$%# did the kid have the gun in the first place?

Just going to reply to Steve's post...

It's one of the most diverse areas because it's a Navy town. Did your research also tell you that? - And diversity has nothing to do with it. A white kid, black kid, brown kid or a purple kid could have done the same thing.

I went to this elementary school, half my life spent living in Bremerton. Lived right next to the school at one point. This is NOT a bad area.

^ Although with that being said, people who live there, many of them, will either act like NOTHING ever happens there and "what is the world coming to!" or that it's the total ghetto.

Newsflash: crime and idiots are everywhere, it's bound to happen at some point! I also went to the primary school, below the elementary school in Walpole, NH (lived in Walpole) where the 14-year-old shot himself in the cafeteria. Population 5,000....population of Bremerton...over 30,000.

And I am not saying this is "no big deal", just putting that out there.

Yet more people die from cars than guns. Don't blame the tool, blame the person.

w t f , a stupid kid brings a gun to school and a girl got shot and is holding on for dear life and you say it's an accident ?????????????

the kids parents should be held responsible .

Oh, and Steve...with the word 'diversity' flying around...look up Walpole, NH's diversity and tell me about that, hrm?

Because when I lived there, we had ONE black family, who moved within a few years. Pretty sure the 14-year-old who shot himself was not of color there.

The NRA keeps pushing for access to firearms for everyone, and far too many of the people who gain access to weapons do not have the sense to keep them away from children.

NRA or no NRA involvement, most people who own guns that children get a hold of are uneducated themselves about the dangers of handling guns. When you don't understand something yourself how are you expected to teach someone else about it? The NRA teaches its members about gun safety. More often than not it's someone who shouldn't own a gun in the first place (i.e. any potential criminal or already convicted criminal) that always has a gun a kid gets a hold of.

I used to be totally against guns, but that has been a futile fight. However, I think that any gun involved in an "accident" should be the registered gun owners legal responsibility. Therefore, anyone killed or injured by a gun should result in criminal charges being filed against the gun owner. If you don't keep it locked up, or it "accidentally" goes off, usually while you're doing something stupid with it, should be considered criminal negligence. why is this so hard?

bicfi I don't think that is the direction the post was taking. Education or more precise the lack of it was probably is the biggest culprit. I don't own a gun and never plan on shooting one. That does not mean that I don't educate my child on the dangers of one.

All the innuendoes and reference to stereotypes and lack of division is not more then gossip pay no mind.

Attempted Murder? I can see how being anger might want that to happen, the better course in my opinion is mandatory education for all citizens on the fundamental basics of gun safety does and don'ts (which don't involve shooting a gun, that what training courses are for). It is a Second Amendment right and our forefathers put it there for a reason.

Yes usually when kids(at this young of an age) somehow get guns and get shot it is an accident, and usually there is an adult who left a gun laying around in negligence.

To all the (Insert noun here) who think we need laws against guns you are ignorant(uneducated) or (insert noun here) straight up.

The human body has 4 weapons attached to 4 appendages. If you really want weapon laws i suggest you cut off your arms and legs and live in a bed your full life, or however you would live like that.(no disrespect to those that do) Which one of you will line up first for that?

Not only do we have weapons attached to our body, there are weapons right now around you that take on the forms of almost anything and everything look around your house. Want to burn it all to the ground? Yes you can probably die by mostly anything and everything that is in your house by someone using it as a weapon and who wants to kill.

William of Rites: Wow you are ignorant if any of those 5 people had a gun do you think that guy would have killed 4 of them. I guess you would rather have cops come pick up your dead body too after the fact that you got killed by a different type of weapon.(see above paragraph)

Anyone who speaks to disarm our citizens in my eyes is a True Nazi.(or are wanting to use the Nazi agenda against us so yes a Nazi) Now you know why we wont let Nazis disarm us.

If you know your history you will know exactly why I say this without a doubt that your non gun spout is Nazi propaganda tactics at heart. I'm not gonna explain it to you if you are too ignorant to look it up, but I'm sure you already know you are preaching Nazi propaganda.

I don't even own a gun and I still will stand up for my right to own and walk around with a gun on my hip if I so choose. This is America if you don't like that simple fact (though I hate when people say this) LEAVE! The less cowards(Nazis) we have in this country the better.

There is no defense to your Nazi propaganda. No matter what you type against me I can care less so don't try to waste your propaganda on me and our forefathers.

Here is something that is sure to enrage the pro gun lobby.We have all heard the excuses.

1. Guns don't kill people ...people kill people ..

2. Accidents happen .....

3. Cars kill more people ...

4. You can kill with a hammer ...

Yedda yedda yedda - ad nauseum ad infinitum...

But

They won't let the government institute laws that require background checks or mental profile check to ensure that guns don't fall in the hands of wrong people.

It is also not possible to know in advance when a responsible gun owner will lose his mind and go commit a mass murder.

Therefore, the only thing left to do in order to protect innocent lives is to ban guns. Make it next to impossible to get guns. No guns - no accidents such as these.

I am tired of reading about such tragedies day in and day out.

An NRA spokesperson was quick to point out that; "had the little girl not been in the bullets path She wouldn't have been hurt". The spokesperson then went into a gun selling spiel.

150 million people in this country. 270 million guns. That's nearly 2 guns per person. Of course, Texas has its own underground layer of rifles ready for when the South rises again.

Uhh what? The US has over 310 million citizens. So by your statistic of 270 million guns that is less than one gun per person. Nice try.

steveaae- yea "diverse" lol, and my prayers to amina

I've said it before and I'll say it again to all those who say gun laws make no difference. This is probably true. But would you rather say "Oh the law won't stop them anyway, so screw it" or would you rather say "Yeah, the crazy nut got a gun, but at least we attempted to stop him"?

don97524, there is no such thing as an assault weapon. I'm assuming you are talking about a Semi-Automatic only rifle that is patterned to look like an Assault Rifle. You asked where are the classes for handguns and I'm assuming Semi-Automatic rifles well here you go:

The classes are the NRA First Step courses.

To get to that link you would go to the NRA home page> Click on Education & Training> Click on Firearm Training(Pistol surrounded by bullets)>Click on Training Department>Click on Types of NRA Courses.

Satanick, most likely the 150 million is referring to the number of adults in the country. Even then I think that number is off.

sandtrich, oh jesus christ. The NRA is about making sure guns remain legal and socially acceptable to own, its not about forcing people to buy one, there is nothing wrong with that. NRA is in fact about the sportsman as well:

Santanick, the US now has over 350 million people. For those who say there should be strict laws about gun security - how will you enforce that? Door to door searches? Drones? With xray? Mandatory safety classes should be the law. Safety classes are mandatory in most states for CC, and in my state, you must also shoot accuratly14 rounds. 7 standing shoot, 7 draw and shoot.

For those who don't know: according to the ATF, and FBI, there has never been a crime comitted with a legally owned assault rifle.

A background check takes about 5 minutes. All in computer data bases. Should be required at gun shows as well. We will never be able to eliminate the mentally unstable. Most show no signs until they go off the deep end.

PS: Obama and his people want to make inspection stations hook a computer to your car, and if you have driven over the speed limit, issue a ticket.

Obama's new tax revision lowers corporate taxes 7%, and raises all other income taxes 4.6%. He's the champion of the middle class alright.

there should be somthing to prevent this event in the first place this is no accident this is neglect

nope, not an accident. some adult likely didn't secure the gun. if so, prosecute the adult responsible for the gun.

NoLiving

I am not going to discuss semantics. You know very well what people like me mean when we talk about assault weapons. They are weapons designed to kill people that are capable of firing a lot of bullets in a short amount of time. If I missed on the definition, I am extremely sorry, but you know what I meant and you are just being petty.

btw oldman, where do you get the "raise 4.6% figure?

can't find a reference anywhere.

Gun don't kill people. People kill people.

I really hate such juvenile, pointless, impotent arguments. Plain and simple, guns help people kill people more easily. Sure, one could kill someone with a wet noodle if they try hard enough... but is that really a valid argument? No.

Now if you truly, absolutely, without any other interpretation, believe in the 2nd Amendment; then felons and murderers' rights to own a gun should NOT be infringed, either. But they are. So where's our patriotism towards upholding their rights? Yeah... thought so... hypocrites!

Now, don't get me wrong! It is NOT the self-respecting, took a gun safety class, registered gun owner, moral citizen that I'm worried about. It's the large majority of 'other' gun owners. And since there are so many, it's obvious proof that there are too many Americans who cannot handle the freedoms that they're given. Very simply put, a gun in their hands makes a target out of me and you. But alas, 2nd Amendment gun nuts will not take the necessary responsibilities to prevent such people from getting guns in fear of selfishly losing their freedoms as well.

SIGH... What's one to do then?

My gun is a right, I will keep my gun.

I hope for nothing but the best for the child that has been hurt by this tragedy.

I so grew up with guns that I can barely comprehend the need for discussion. Sure, some people due to age, incapacity or evil inclinations, should not be allowed to handle guns. So what? Some people shouldn't be allowed to drive or handle sharp objects either. That's just common sense.

the answer is an easy one if someone commits a violent crime they get the same treatment they were intending/acting to use, you use a gun to rob a bank you get the firing squad, if you murder you get killed, if you poisoned someone you get likewise, if you used a knife/sword you get likewise, if someone is careless with their weapons and they end up causing harm due to negligence they get the same harm due to not caring, if you are caught using/abusing a dangerous drug you get cut off from government funds and social security as you are funding our enemy with every illegal drug you buy most likely using said funds. I'm sure you get the point, punishments befitting the crimes work quite well and make/set an example to the public of what not to do. nice doesn't get the job done unless the person doesn't know what they are doing is wrong.

It looks like a lot of people here need to work on their reading comprehension skills. This was not an overt criminal act but rather was an accident. If I had my way though I would hold the parents criminally responsible for keeping an unlocked gun in a house with kids. The only reason my own gun is sometimes unlocked is because I live alone. When I had a relatives kids staying here the gun was always in a gun safe. Anyone who keeps unlocked guns in a house where kids live has no business owning a gun in the first place as far as I’m concerned.

Google - Gun Town USA...

Kennensaw, GA (Suburb of Atlanta, GA) passed a law required all households to own and maintain a gun. This was 30+years ago...

Following the enactment, the crime rates in the town fell and have remained well below the US averages. There have only been a handful of gun related deaths in the town. Almost half of these occurred at or near a school, where Federal & State laws ban ALL guns...

There are already laws banning guns from school property. They are not working, so the Libs want to pass a few more... Ha! Ha!

In many states there are laws that require mandatory jail time, when a crime is committed using a gun... Require the DA and Judges to ENFORCE the existing Laws...

How about, 'Holding the owner of the gun responsible' for the safe storage of ALL guns & ammunition. When they fail to do this, then hold them responsible for ALL the crimes committed with their weapon...

Many states require 'back-ground (mental health & criminal) checks and training courses, prior to gun ownership. Make this mandatory in ALL states and for ALL owners...

Should everyone have access to a gun 'NO', but a law-abiding citizen should be able to purchase if they have the ability to be control and safely store them...

My heart goes out to the little girl who was shot and to her family. I also feel for the child, that's right, child, who shot her. There was no ill will and that child will live with that mistake for the rest of their life. The adult responsible for that child should be held accountable.

Should we really allow our Government to take another one of our freedom of choices away? The right to bear arm next? Personally, I don't own a gun, although I was raised with them and taught to respect them and how to use them. Our Government is continuously chipping away at our freedoms, and if we continue to allow it to continue we will find ourselves with no rights at all. Is that what we want for our children. Take away our guns, control our internet, stop ALL cell phone use while driving, eating and smoking are just as distracting so let's stop those while we're at it. The list goes on and on. Do we outlaw alcohol because the teenager gets into the parents booze, gets drunk, drives and kills someone? Drunk drivers kill almost as many people as people shooting guns.

From the CDC:

Every day, almost 30 people in the United States die in motor vehicle crashes that involve an alcohol-impaired driver. This amounts to one death every 48 minutes.

• In 2009, 10,839 people were killed in alcohol-impaired driving crashes, accounting for nearly one-third (32%) of all traffic-related deaths in the United States.
• Of the 1,314 traffic deaths among children ages 0 to 14 years in 2009, 181 (14%) involved an alcohol-impaired driver.
• Of the 181 child passengers ages 14 and younger who died in alcohol-impaired driving crashes in 2009, about half (92) were riding in the vehicle with the with the alcohol-impaired driver.

Firearm homicides

• Number of deaths: 11,493
• Deaths per 100,000 population: 3.7

We have had all of these same issues (kids shooting kids, drunk driving, drugs, etc.) "forever". With the internet, live news, etc., news spreads quickly. When I was a child on the East Coast we probably would have never even heard about the child shot on the West Coast because news didn't travel with 3 TV stations. That was the reality of the early 70's. Now we hear everything moments after it happens. Taking our right to bear arms away will not solve anything, anyone wanting to get a gun will still get a gun. Accidents will continue to happen. It is a very unfortunate price we pay for our freedom.

Guns in Elementary Schools?

This world has gone crazy---School used to be the safest place to be--now young parents have to worry about their elementary school kids being shot?

Where are the parents of the reckless children who tote guns (and where did they get them) to school. It seems many parents do not care about their children anymore--thus, the Powell case as well, along with the daily reports of parents killing their own children.

Children today must live in Fear. No way for a child to have good mental stability.

The parents of this gun toting kid are responsible for the "Act". They should be hung upside down in jail forever. Now how many children will have to have counseling with Crisis Counselors? It wasn't just one child "shot".

My thoughts and prayers are for the young victim to fully recover; what a way to remember being in School.

My grandparents tell that when they went to school children could bring guns and store them in their lockers Hawaii. The world has actually became more sane. One isolated case does automatically mean every elementary school will have kids shooting each other up.

Guns may not kill people but they sure do make it a lot easier for someone who wants to kill. It's harder and longer to kill with a knife..

These days even elementary schools have zero tolerance on drugs etc.. Rules are gone over and over again. Students get copies of policy at the beginning of every year and parents are supposed to be reading these. Additionally gun tragedies are on the news every day. A nine year old that doesn't absolutely know that its not ok to touch a gun much less take it to school is either an extremely sheltered child, an unsupervised child or one that lives in perhaps a dysfunctional home etc.. or is being bullied at school. What type of reason is there for most of the shootings that go on in schools?? What is the least attended problem in schools by the administration? Bullying! Would really be interesting to get a follow up on this story if the true reason is ever discovered why this happened. God bless the injuried child and her family and God help the child with the gun. Whatever the reason for this tragedy 2 children and their families will be changed forever and dozens of others traumatized. STOP BULLYING IN SCHOOLS NOW. KEEP GUNS SAFELY LOCKED AWAY FROM CHILDREN!!! Parents start taking responsiblity for the danger you bring into your own home. SChools get a clue.

That is what we need. No guns for citizens. BUT the government should have all the guns. Police, military, officials. We can trust them. Seriously! There is no need to live in fear of your government.

"I now declare this population totally defenseless!

Satanick

This was simply a tragic accident. Gun laws or no gun laws. You can't outlaw accidents.

it was ignorance that let to the accident, so YES it could have easily been avoided. Maybe you need to ask yourself, "why does a 9 yr old feel he needs to bring a loaded gun, or any weapon to school?". or even "what did the parent(s) teach this kid if anything about responsibility, and accountability?". how much accountability and responsability does a 9 yr old have? should have more than enough NOT to bring a gun to or other weapon to school you would think? That is something drilled into kids, and parents' heads at the begining of every school season when it comes to rules. ITS A GIMMIE! Be it that was my son, in jail right now would be the best place for him considering someone was almost killed. (gram's stated in the news she was going to be ok by the looks).

The problem isnt the guns, its the people holding the guns. be it no matter the total number of firearms in the population, people seem to think banning all guns will make them safer. it wont. If the method doesnt change of killing someone, it just means another bad guy with a gun, and a victim without a chance period because they follow the laws others do not. Yet also take into consideration with this mass number, if your fears were relevant, or beliefs true, we would have been a nation in a civial war long before any of us were ever born. Guns dont make people bad, people are just bad. Banning guns just makes it harder to get rid of bad people, thats all.

safes safes safes safes..let's all go out and get some more safes. They never hurt anybody do they, they just keep the 8 year olds from carrying guns in their back packs.

safes..safes..safes...

sorry couldnt resist!

I wasn't saying it couldn't have been avoided. Nearly all accidents are preventable and could be avoided. I was just saying we can't legislate the problem away.

Satanick:

I'm sure there are more guns brought into Elementary Schools then we'll ever know.

Irresponsible parents who leave their "guns" around the house fascinate kids---they do not realize how dangerous and deadly they can be. Watching Violent videos, movies, and playing video Arcades is one good teacher for them to think that shooting at someone is okay.

This is NOT a one case situation---kids will know about what happened, and will then copycat the attention they get from the tragedy--the attention that should be given to kids when being raised. Parents are too busy now with just trying to support the family, working 2 jobs or more, including being too self-centered, and selfish--little time left for paying attention to their own child. Negligent parents.

And to the NRA bashers:

NRA's Eddie Eagle GunSafe® Program Reaches
24 Millionth Child

"The Eddie Eagle
GunSafe^® Program, NRA's groundbreaking gun accident prevention
program for children, has surpassed yet another milestone, reaching its 24
millionth child since 1988.

Created by past NRA President Marion P. Hammer, in consultation with child
psychologists, elementary schoolteachers, and law enforcement officers, the
program gives children in pre-K through the third grade a simple, effective
action to take should they encounter a firearm in an unsupervised setting:
"If you see a gun: STOP! Don't Touch. Leave the Area. Tell an Adult."

http://www.nra.org/Article.aspx?id=16111

You can read the rest of the article if you like.

The most obvious question for me is how did the child have access to the gun???????? Any parent who has a gun should have a triger lock at all times unless they are firing it and the gun should not be loaded unless the parent is firing it at a range or hunting.

Cars kill more people than guns in the US. So should we ban the selling of those since paccidents happen and innocents die?

Are you really that ignorant to not know the difference between a gun and a car. Let me explain it to you again. Cars are designed and manufacturered for transportatation. Guns, on the other hand, are designed and manufactured to kill. Therefore, if used with proper intent, a car will get you to your destination and a gun will terminate the life of an individual or animal.

They talked a little about the little girl in the article poor thing is clinging to life, They didn't talk much about the victim.

Yet more people die from cars than guns. Don't blame the tool, blame the person.

You made that all better for me.

Pedro Sanchez: ..."Yet more people die from cars than guns. Don't blame the tool, blame the person"...

Guns were meant to kill. Cars were not. A gun, used as directed, will kill. A car, used as directed will not.

A fourth grader in Florida was caught with a hand grenade in his backback. Should we now let EVERYONE carry around hand grenades too?

And, while we're on that train of thought, why is it that you kind folks are so dead set against Iran acquiring a Nuclear "Tool?"

The more "Pearls of wisdom" we get from the right, the more we should consider new jewelers.

Have a nice day.

I'm going to second the motion that ALL GUNS start out as legal guns, then make their way into criminal hands. Lax gun laws are the reason we have so many criminals with guns in the first place.

If we had lax nuclear energy regulation, we'd see atomic bombs in the hands of....well, you know the story.

But this whole story is par for the course in the right wing brain..

First step is to do the stupid, irresponsible thing. Then cry for a SECOND stupid and irresponsible thing to fix the first one.

Take Wisconsin's govenor Walker, for example...

Give HUGE tax breaks to the wealthy and corporations, then whine about what the state can't afford anymore and the need to cut benefits to the working poor and middle class.

It's standard operating procedure for conservatives.

Have a nice day.

I think that the purpose of gun laws should be simply a reduction in guns. I refuse to believe that the easy availabilty of guns does not have an impact on the amount of gun violence. I'm not naive enough to believe that this will end all crime, but making guns harder to come by will reduce their use in crimes. Most illegal guns were at one point legal guns that were stolen, bought and resold on the black market, or bought by one person for the use of another. The main problem is our culture and how we view guns. You don't see anywhere near the amount of gun violence anywhere in the developed world that you do in the USA. This is because we worship guns and the power they give us. We all want to be lil Dirty Harry's running around armed to the teeth. Until we can change the way our culture views guns this problem will continue. On a side note does anyone else find it strange that in this country I can get pulled over with a loaded .40caliber semi-automatic pistol concealed under my coat with no problem, but God forbid I got a joint on me!!

If every child at that elementary school had a firearm, this would never have happened.

I'm all for the right to bear arms, but in a responsible, well-regulated way. Registration, licensing, and insurance, just like cars. And either get rid of background checks, or make them apply everywhere, all the time.

"I did a search for the demographics of this area, and it said that this is one of the most DIEverse areas in the state. Ah the benefits of dieversity"

@ steveaaa: Yes, the area is diverse, not "dieverse" (you spelled it wrong just to make a sick joke). BTW the reason the area is diverse is because of the strong presence of the Navy. Nothing wrong with diversity. It was probably a kid whose parents don't let him play with toy guns, but instead the parents keep an actual gun in the home and never told him, or taught him to leave it alone.

NEWVOTER-If your comment doesn't show your ignorance the use of "cuz" most definitely does.

Stewgots-"We all want to be lil Dirty Harry's running around armed to the teeth."-Maybe that is the way you feel. Maybe you would like to make up for a falling short in other areas.

However, myself and all of the gun owners I know feel differently. I own and carry handguns to protect myself and my family.

"Most illegal guns were at one point legal guns that were stolen, bought and resold on the black market, or bought by one person for the use of another." The source of your baseless facts is ...?

Even your utterly ridiculous argument shows that more gun laws will not work-since according to you it is straw purchases and stolen firearms causing the problems. These things are already outlawed. What will work is sentencing people who use firearms in the commission of a crime to a mandatory 15 years in prison.

Why should I lose my GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS so that you can be a victim?

For what it's worth I hope that if you do get pulled over with a joint or firearm that you are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law for anyone who makes such a dumb statement has no place on our streets. Just so you know possessing and concealing a firearm without a CCP is a felony carrying a normal sized joint a misdemeanor at best. Sadly stupidity is not against the law.

Making murder a crime doesn't stop people from committing murder, people! If you outlaw bank robbery, only bank robbers will rob banks!

C'mon!

@don97524

Actually, the NRA does have classes for handguns, carbines, and home defense. Please try to know what you are talking about before you start spewing misinformation, or was that your intention to begin with?

I own and carry handguns to protect myself and my family.

That's the main reason why the Second Amendment is so important. Hopefully, everyone in your family is well-versed in gun safety. Accidents happen more often when people are not.

Why should I lose my GOD GIVEN RIGHT TO BEAR ARMS

Unlike Life, Liberty, the right to form a family, the right to work and be paid for that work, etc., I'm not sure your right to bear arms is "God-given". It's guaranteed by the Constitution, though, and that's good enough for me.

I still think guns should be registered (like cars), gun use whould require a license (like cars), insurance should be required (like cars), and gunsn safety should be taught in schools like cars). Other than that, most (not all) gun regulations are overly burdensome and should be repealed. (Nobody needs a machine gun or a tank for protection of their family, though.)

This is what happens in a draconian society where guns must be kept in secret. Instead of the parent (owner) being educated about all aspects of firearm safety they are forced to hide the weapon from the state and live in shame for fear of being labeled a GUN NUT by the future victims around them- A.K.A. the neighbors. Since the parent is an ignorant ass the child cannot help but be. The child should have been educated as to the danger of a firearm and the permanence of death but since the gun has to be kept a dirty little secret that never happens.

Thankfully, I live in a state that actually abides by the Constitution and my firearms-except the one on my hip- are proudly locked inside a very visible gun safe. My children have educated as to the danger that firearms can present. They have been taught to never touch a firearm unless I am there and telling them what to do (something I have not felt the need to do at their ages) they have been taught to never go near anyone (friends or adults any one but LE) with a gun and if they see a friend with one they need to get out of the area and tell someone.

The point is as long as firearms are kept the families dirty secret kids will be curious about them-educate children and learn to safely keep weapons in your home. More laws will not help as you cannot legislate stupidity out of existence.

"Unlike Life, Liberty, the right to form a family, the right to work and be paid for that work, etc., I'm not sure your right to bear arms is "God-given"." It actually is the basis for the rights guaranteed tol us in the Second Amendment come from English law and is based on the GOD GIVEN RIGHT OF SELF DEFENSE. The founding Fathers in many cases took that one step further and declared the tools to obtain those rights (in this case a firearm) were part of that God Given Right."

Of having recourse to Arms for the preservation of those rights and Liberties which the principles of our Constitution and the Laws of God, Nature. and Nations have made it our duty to defend.”-Halbrook, Stephen P. In The Founders Second Amendment.

In Nunn V. State The Georgia Supreme Court ruled the Right to Bear Arms as it is in the Bill of Rights is a "Natural Right."

The philosopger john Locke referred to Natural Rights as those that are universal and inalienable-therefore not bestowed by man but by God.

The academic discipline of Constitutional Philosophy while not something that is usually studied has made the connection between the Bill of Rights protecting universal and inalienable rights and such rights as being bestowed by God not man.

"I did a search for the demographics of this area, and it said that this is one of the most DIEverse areas in the state. Ah the benefits of dieversity"

A mind is a terrible thing to waste.

A statistical study in the 1960s showed that the murder rate in New York City was statistically corelated to the consumption of ice cream.

The statistician concluded that eating ice cream caused people to commit murder, overlooking the fact that ice cream sales skyrocketed during the summer months, and that tempers rose with the unbearable heat.

commonsense-lack thereof

If you want to see what gun control is like go down to mexico. The state department has warnings for most parts of mexico, so be careful. There is only one legally authorized retail outlet for firearms in Mexico, which is located in Mexico City: UCAM (Unidad de Comercialización de Armamento y Municiones), run by the Army. Allmost all of the gun crime in mexico is done with calibers forbidden from private ownership. While there is not much DIEversity in mexico, mexicans cause DIEversity in the US. NYC has strict gun control yet there where 67 shootings last labor day weekend.

In the UK where most street cops historically did not use guns there are special SWAT teams called Operation Trident specificly tasked to deal with black gun crime. Last summer the swat team had a shoot out with a black foreign drug dealer which caused race riots in London. Buildings that survived 2 world wars burned down and there was widespread looting in black areas.

The last 2 times NYC had unexpected power outages areas with blacks had looting and areas without had neighbors helping each other out. You ice cream analogy overlooks the fact that blacks evolved in the tropics and have a low tolerance for cold. Studies show they are multiple times more likely to get cold injuries than whites/asians. A US army study showed that while wearing the same uniform, in the same conditions blacks where 7x more likely to get frostbite. Whites/east asians get more sedate with high heat but those that evolved in the tropics act like they do in their homelands. By all means compare the interpol murder/rape rates for africa & south america to east asian/whites.

say592

Here's is what I actually said:

Why does the NRA not encourage classes that emphasize security of firearms and educate people about when it is reasonable to use lethal force and, more importantly, when it is not reasonable?

and here is what you said:

Actually, the NRA does have classes for handguns, carbines, and home defense. Please try to know what you are talking about before you start spewing misinformation, or was that your intention to begin with?

Do you understand the difference between "offer" and "encourage"? The NRA has spent tens of millions of dollars fighting any requirements for training and has used its considerable lobbying and political campaign spending to elect only legislators who support their cause. The result is a weak background check system, with absolutely no background check for millions of weapon sales each year. There is no required training and the only training that is "encouraged" is hunter safety for youths.

I stand by my statement that the NRA is complacent in the high number of gun deaths in this country.

I agree w/ your statement about NRA complacency in gun deaths. I've been around guns all my life, guns don't bother me, just some of the idiots that have them do.

Want to keep a pistol in your bedside table? Fine, I don't blame you one bit. You do have the responibility of making sure it's secured when you leave the hoouse, especially if their are children in the home, residents or visitors.

Guns are a right, with that right comes the most serious responsibilities.

If that child that brought the pistol to school got it from home, the parents should face intense investigation and possible criminal charges and civil liabillty as well.

seatackle - Is this the dieversity you where talking about from NH?

http://refugeeresettlementwatch.wordpress.com/2011/02/23/manchester-nh-refugee-boys-attack-12-year-old-girl-knock-out-her-teeth/

NH: Refugee boys attack 12-year-old girl, knock out her teeth….

Its a story about how somoli boys knocked out a 12yo white girls teeth after turning down their sexual advances.

or Manchester, NH: Rwandan refugee to stand trial tomorrow on genocide charges

or as a result of those Bill to allow NH cities to impose a moratorium on refugee resettlement gets a hearing

Manchester, NH seeks to solve its poor school test scores by not testing the immigrant kids!

Rohingya refugees being resettled in New Hampshire

@Don95274 - why do people insist on repeating the mindless drivel they hear from one side or the other? Do you actually have any idea what the NRA is? Do you realize it was started for the sole purpose of providing firearms training? Do you realize they have 1000's of instructors who teach 100's of 1000's of people the proper use of firearms every year? Have you ever taken any NRA training classes? I took one three days ago. Not only do they teach when it is "reasonable" to use deadly force, they teach when it is LEGAL to use deadly force. They have not spent millions of dollars fighting any sort of training, they have spent millions of dollars providing training.

In fact, this is straight from their website:

In 1990, NRA made a dramatic move to ensure that the financial support for firearms-related activities would be available now and for future generations. Establishing the NRA Foundation, a 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt organization, provided a means to raise millions of dollars to fund gun safety and educational projects of benefit to the general public. Contributions to the Foundation are tax-deductible and benefit a variety of American constituencies, including youths, women, hunters, competitive shooters, gun collectors, law enforcement agents and persons with physical disabilities.

natedom

Whatever the purpose of the NRA at the start, what it has become is a bullying bunch of ideologues who use their money for lobbying, political campaigns and distribution of information which is far to often biased or false. They have been instrumental in the effort to ensure that speed is more important than accuracy in background checks and that background checks are not required at gun shows and for sales of weapons among private parties. They have lobbied successfully against efforts to limit the size of ammunition clips and made it very, very easy for people to acquire arsenals of weapons that have the sole purpose of killing people, but fought to prevent requirements that people who have all of that firepower be trained to at least recognize situations when such firepower is warranted.

The "benefits" of the NRA are far outweighed by the damage they do.

MrIndia Comment collapsed by the community
Here is something that is sure to enrage the pro gun lobby.We have all heard the excuses.

Yedda yedda yedda - ad nauseum ad infinitum...

But

They won't let the government institute laws that require background checks or mental profile check to ensure that guns don't fall in the hands of wrong people.
.

Here is something that is sure to enrage the anti-gun lobby. And that is the fact that they don't know the first thing about firearms, the laws or the background check systems in place. Get back to us when you know what the hell you are talking about.

From the FBI's NICs page

In addition to local, state, tribal, and federal agencies voluntarily contributing information to the NICS Index, the NICS Section receives telephone calls from mental health institutions, psychiatrists, police departments, and family members requesting placement of individuals into the NICS Index.

Section 922(g) of the Gun Control Act prohibits certain persons from shipping or transporting any firearm in interstate or foreign commerce, or receiving any firearm which has been shipped or transported in interstate or foreign commerce, or possessing any firearm in or affecting commerce. These prohibitions apply to any person who:

18, U.S.C. §922 (g) (1)
Has been convicted in any court of a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year

18, U.S.C. §922 (n)
Is under indictment for a crime punishable by imprisonment for a term exceeding one year

18, U.S.C. §922 (g) (2)
Is a fugitive from justice

18, U.S.C. §922 (g) (3)
Is an unlawful user of or addicted to any controlled substance

18, U.S.C. §922 (g) (4)
Has been adjudicated as a mental defective or committed to a mental institution

18, U.S.C. §922 (g) (5)
Is illegally or unlawfully in the United States

18, U.S.C. §922 (g) (6)
Has been discharged from the Armed Forces under dishonorable conditions

18, U.S.C. §922 (g) (7)
Having been a citizen of the United States, has renounced U.S. citizenship

18, U.S.C. §922 (g) (8)
Is subject to a court order that restrains the person from harassing, stalking, or threatening an intimate partner or child of such intimate partner

18, U.S.C. §922 (g) (9)
Has been convicted in any court of a misdemeanor crime of domestic violence

Are you really that ignorant to not know the difference between a gun and a car. Let me explain it to you again. Cars are designed and manufacturered for transportatation. Guns, on the other hand, are designed and manufactured to kill. Therefore, if used with proper intent, a car will get you to your destination and a gun will terminate the life of an individual or animal.

Thanks for the lesson.
Cars are far more deadly than handguns and with the 'wrong' intent can kill people. Everyone I know who has purchased a gun doesn't buy it planning to kill someone with it. They buy them because they enjoy to target shoot. But by your line of thinking that isn't using a gun with the right intent. Your proper intent argument is subjective and weak. You criticise my comparison of cars to guns but fail to see the satirical point I was making when I made the statement.

@Dan97524 - clearly, you are one of the people who believe the talking heads and really know absolutely nothing about what the NRA is and what is does. Yes, they have worked to ensure Americans are able to purchase the guns they want in an expedient manner. Yes, they have worked to ensure Americans are able to buy high capacity magazines (not clips, clips are never high-capacity). Yes, they have worked to ensure that Americans are able to own however many guns they can legally buy. Yes, they have pushed to not have private citizen sales require a background check, but then again, in this day and age, would you willingly give your SS number to a stranger?

Have you ever stopped to think about why they push for these things? Does the government limit how many kitchen knives you have? Realistically, you need nothing more than a 2" pearing knife, so why do we have 8" French knives, or 10" butcher knives? These can easily be used as weapons. Does the government limit the number of baseball bats or golf clubs you can own? Again, these items are used as weapons every year. These are all tools, when used in a malicious manner, they can kill. Guns are no different. They are tools, and only when used maliciously or carelessly do they kill.

Yes, the NRA also works as a lobby group, who encourages their members to vote for the candidate they feel will best represent their beliefs. That is what a lobby group does. And they are certainly no worse than the Brady campaign who spend millions of dollars on lobbying and spreading falsehoods and lies to further their agenda.

The wonderful thing is, you don't have to allow the NRA to influence you. You can easily go to their website, see who they are endorsing, and vote against that candidate based on the sole criteria that the NRA endorses them.

You may believe the NRA is an evil facet of society, you may feel they cause more harm than good. However, those who bother to actually look at what they do know they still, in today's society, provide firearms training to 100's of 1000's of citizens every year. Those who actually bother to do a little research know that the NRA always encourages citizens to know the dangers inherent in owning guns and to only have guns if they can responsibly use them. The NRA has pushed for mandatory firearms safety training in every school, but the anti-gun lobby get hysterical at this, often believing it is better to hide guns from children and pretend they don't exist.

As with any other situation, knowledge is power, and knowing what guns are and what they can do would prevent most of these accidents. The impression left on a child who sees a .22 eviscerate a watermelon, leaving them covered in red goo, is pretty powerful, allowing them to fully understand what a gun can do. This is what keeps kids from playing with guns. Not telling kids that guns are dangerous, or evil.

Don9725

I am not going to discuss semantics. You know very well what people like me mean when we talk about assault weapons. They are weapons designed to kill people that are capable of firing a lot of bullets in a short amount of time. If I missed on the definition, I am extremely sorry, but you know what I meant and you are just being petty.

You should discuss semantics because it is those semantics that have led people to believe that a semi-automatic rifle is an assault rifle or that they are interchangeable terms. Your average hunting rifle is more deadlier/powerful then what you call an "Assault weapon". That is a huge deal. You should also discuss semantics because it makes you look credible, you don't know what the correct terms are, in fact you used the wrong term, and frankly you don't seem to really care if the term is correct or not, as a result you having the ability to help decide what guns people can and can't own is quite frankly unwise. Can you imagine people voting on what type of contraception women could use if they don't know the difference between a copper IUD and a hormone containing IUD. I'm willing to bet you would be quite upset to have such people to be making such decisions for other people. Basically is this people who are ignorant on an issue should not be voting/making laws/regulations on such issues.

Outside of muzzle loading guns, all of them are rapid fire guns: pump-action, lever-automatic, revolver, semi-automatic, fully-automatic. If you don't believe that pump-action, lever-action, revolver can't be fire rapidly I recommend you watch some YouTube videos. What is your point about firearms designed for killing? Just because it is designed for that doesn't mean it is going to be used that way. Every single day more than 65 million gun owners in the US do not use their guns as they are "designed" for.

Whatever the purpose of the NRA at the start, what it has become is a bullying bunch of ideologues who use their money for lobbying, political campaigns and distribution of information which is far to often biased or false.

Ever since the Brady campaign started going around and demonizing gun owners, particularly those that own semi-automatics and used the general populations, not to mention congress, ignorance on firearms to try and in some cases successfully pass laws they have had to fight back. What information is false? Biased? Is it anymore biased then gun control groups? I'm willing to bet you think a barrel shroud actually cools a gun faster.

They have lobbied successfully against efforts to limit the size of ammunition clips and made it very, very easy for people to acquire arsenals of weapons that have the sole purpose of killing people

Thank god they have lobbied successfully against those efforts. There is your ignorance again calling magazines clips. Those efforts have not saved a single life. How many lives have been saved in California with their 10 round magazine? Not a single one and quite frankly is useless considering how easy it is to just put in another magazine, not to mention the fact that smaller magazines are less likely to jam.

but fought to prevent requirements that people who have all of that firepower be trained to at least recognize situations when such firepower is warranted.

Do you realize the precedent that would be set by that? Do you realize how quickly that precedent would be used to establish "Training requirements" on the other amendments in the bill of rights? The vast majority of gun owners who buy a gun go to a gun training class voluntarily without the need of a law for training. How many guns owners do you actually know? How many guns owners have you gone with to a range?

This is much bigger than just a violence problem. This is symptomatic of something that's gone wrong with the way we are trying to 'create adults' from our children.

We used to have adults telling children: "If you want to be noticed.. Accomplish something" Not so anymore.

Now we don't have winners and losers.. now we don't have first and last - we don't want to upset the balance of their delicate psyches - Now we tell them: "It's ok... you're not the looser, you're the 'second winner'. We will equalize all the outcomes FOR you. It's horrific training for adult life.

The human spirit cannot thrive in that sort of fabricated reality. In fact, schools now do everything they possibly can to absolutely crush the human spirit. When I was in high school and a football player made a touchdown, he CELEBRATED.. Glorious Competition.. Challenged the other team to do better next time. Not so anymore. Now they are to hang their head low, so as not to embarrass the other team or make anyone feel bad. The idea of abolishing the honoring of the Valedictorian in senior class is being challenged on many fronts. We strive to celebrate mediocrity, not excellence

And when that sort of 'conditioning' and indoctrination fails to do the trick, we drug them. If your kid thinks outside the box.. another Einstein if you will, he'll be considered ADD or something worse and will immediately be put on Ritalin. Can't have one kid making the other kids feel bad by Excelling!

No wonder they can't process what's happening to them and just snap... Heaven help...

To all of you "Anti-Gun" people I offer this; "Molon Lave!" Or as The immortal Charlton Heston put it; "From my cold, dead hands." You won't take my guns, ever. I don't care if 100,000 people die a day from "accidents". I've seen this movie before, first you take my guns, then my religion, then my family, then me. As long as I have the guns, the rest are safe.

And yes, I am a "looney, right-winger, tea party hat wearin', go to church on Sunday, faithful to my wife" kinda guy. A few guys who agree with me are "looney, LEFT-winger, occupying something, never set foot in a church, boy marrying boy" kinda guy's as well. You ANTI-Gun "nuts" can't play politics on this one. Even the Left (sorry: intellegent Left) [That might be an oxymoron] can't stand you.

Because lobbyists made guns legal in D.C. recently.

Toasty McBrain, do try to keep up. Your liberalism is rotting your brain...

Ban handguns?

Common Sense and chester12 - it has nothing to do with liberalism - stop painting us liberals all with the same brush. I choose not to carry, but don't believe someone else shouldn't. What I do believe is that anyone that owns a gun needs to learn how to use it safely and teach others to have a healthy fear of it. You don't leave guns out for your kids to take to school with them. I am the sister of a man gunned down in cold blood. Learn about guns and teach others - that should be the requirement.

Toasty McGrath

Because lobbyists made guns legal in D.C. recently.

Toasty strikes again! He (she maybe)!

Just one of the many clueless that post here. He doesn't know the difference between Washington DC and Washington State as he lives in an "Altered State."

His posted do make for a laugh.

Missy, either a gun store owner sold it to a nine year old child, or some irresponsible gun owner/parent didn't bother to check their child's backpack when the lunch box went in.

"This is the lie of the gun nuts. It isn't about taking away your guns, its about making sure they are safe and that the rest of us aren't risking our lives by letting idiots carry loaded guns among us."

Daryl - Going to disagree with SOME of your points. First off, not everybody who owns/carries guns are "gun nuts". There are responsible gun owners out there, I like to think I'm one of them. Although I'm an NRA member, I can't go along with their policy of unrestricted gun ownership. Like it or not, there are some people that should NOT have access to firearms, no matter what the Constitution says. My stepson is one of them. He's a good guy, not a mean bone in his body, but he's in his own world and oblivious to his surroundings. He should not have a gun, and I've told him so. Fortunately, he listened.

But the problem is that there are people out there that DO want to take away our right to defend ourselves, people such as Bloomberg, Soros, Feinstein, Schumer, McCarthy and that fat hypocrite Rosie O'Donnell. And I'm not real sure about our President, we'll see what happens if he gets re-elected. I have no problem with reasonable restrictions on firearms. My guns are registered, and I've had a good deal of training in using them (including when NOT to shoot.) But there are those on the other side - like the ones above - that are unwilling to compromise.

Referencing this particular article, I fully agree with the above poster who said that the person who was careless and/or stupid enough to allow a child to get their hands on a gun should be held responsible. No problem there.

End of sermon. Sorry for being long-winded.

I hope what ever guntard left their gun where a child could get it and do this accidentally or not , gets 25 years!.................. I hope we get laws that put people that get their guns stolen out of cars or wherever and used in crimes put in jail. It's one thing if your gun safe gets robbed, and a whole other if you left it under the seat of your car last night in the bar or driveway and came out and it was gone.

Oh @!$%#, I guess you're right. Wrong Washington, Toasty. Write it 100 times on the blackboard.

Although I should note that some of us have jobs that leave us only time to briefly skim news articles in the morning. Like it or not guys, but military matters take precedent.

Although I should note that some of us have jobs that leave us only time to briefly skim news articles in the morning. Like it or not guys, but military matters take precedent.

LOL That statement is funny to me on so many levels.

Although I should note that some of us have jobs that leave us only time to briefly skim news articles in the morning. Like it or not guys, but military matters take precedent.

Sooooo why are you on here posting comments if you're pressed for time?

...Because I got home from work, CS.

This is the lie of the gun nuts. It isn't about taking away your guns,

Unfortunately it is, gun registry systems are primarily and only used for just that.

Even in the United States, registration has been used to outlaw and confiscate firearms. In New York City, a registration system enacted in 1967 for long guns, was used in the early 1990s to confiscate lawfully owned semiautomatic rifles and shotguns. (Same source as previous paragraph) The New York City Council banned firearms that had been classified by the city as "assault weapons." This was done despite the testimony of Police Commissioner Lee Brown that no registered "assault weapon" had been used in a violent crime in the city. The 2,340 New Yorkers who had registered their firearms were notified that these firearms had to be surrendered, rendered inoperable, or taken out of the city. (NRA/ILA Fact Sheet: Firearms Registration: New York City's Lesson)

More recently, California revoked a grace period for the registration of certain rifles (SKS Sporters) and declared that any such weapons registered during that period were illegal. (California Penal Code, Chapter 2.3, Roberti-Ross Assault Weapons Control Act of 1989 section 12281(f) ) In addition, California has prohibited certain semi-automatic long-rifles and pistols. Those guns currently owned, must be registered, and upon the death of the owner, either surrendered or moved out of state.(FAQ #13 from the California DOJ Firearms Division Page)

www.guncite.com/gun_control_registration.html

Hey Toasty! If you can't take the time to read and fully comprehend what you are reading then maybe you should keep your comments to yourself. You imply that military matters occupy much time only allowing you to skim stories?? God help us if you are in the military cause I don't think I'd trust your judgement much. I hoe you never get any one killed due to your inattention to detail if you truly do serve this country!!!!!!! Shouldn't the topic of discussion here be about the children more than DEM VS REPUB and pro and anti-gun control in fighting?? This is the problem with this country. We only care about our side, our opinion, their wrong we're right, blah blah blah blah blah..Time to pull our heads out, meet in the middle and right this country.

Toasty and Brain must have done something right again.

The conservatives are up in arms..

I guess thinking it was the OTHER Washington was enough to discount everything Toasty said, eh? Enjoy that petty little victory, Teaservatives.

I got yer back, Toasty.

Listen, Cunservatives, given that your ilk is all about teaching your children that guns are as safe as a sharpened pencil, the kid probably thought it was no big deal to pack it in his or her backpack. It's JUST A TOOL, for crying out loud.

I'll bet the parents cared more about the child's skills with the gun, than with the pencil.

Have a splendid day.

ChestHair12:

..."I wish once "LIBERALS" would demonstrate some thinking ability or pretense at the truth"....

And how would YOU know if we did?

With what would you make that determination?

How does a nine year old elementary student in the third grade acquire a handgun?

1) Young children usually have young parents. They may also have aunts, uncles, older brothers, cousins, and even grandparents who are still relatively young. Most of the ignorant and even reckless users of firearms, especially handguns, are males under the age of 45 or so. The gun may or may not have belonged to a parent, but quite possibly some other family member residing in or near the household. It is entirely possible no one else in the house knew the gun was there other than the one who possessed it and the kid who found it, especially if the gun was illegally possessed by a teenage or young adult brother who was involved in a life of crime.

However, modern guns don't just discharge. They're designed specifically not to do that. They didn't say what kind of gun it was. It is possible that the gun was quite antiquated, maybe not an heirloom per se, but just a decrepit old 'clunker' of a revolver or pistol that had been in the family for generations. Many old designs featured a firing pin that was integral to the hammer and would rest directly on the primer of a cartridge beneath the hammer. A sharp blow to the hammer would often discharge the gun! Design revisions eliminated this possibility in newer designs. It could be the family members who were aware of the gun's existence in the house assumed it to be non functional and perhaps had never really handled or examined it at all. The idea that it was loaded and potentially deadly may have never crossed their minds.

2) It's less than likely, but in an old house, it's not unheard of at all for long lost firearms to be discovered. I know many stories of rifles and shotguns hidden in walls, attics, and basements of old houses. Handguns certainly show up, too. Someone in 1950 may be wanting to hide an old gun they had by stashing it away, only for someone else's kid to discover it over 60 years later. It may be dusty and rusty, but that doesn't mean it wouldn't fire if it was left loaded. Like a normal third grader is going to even think to check or even know how to swing the cylinder out on a revolver or do a 'press check' on a pistol...

3) The kid may have had a 'clean' pack when he left for school, but on the walk to school, oh, wait, what's this over here on the ground? People do 'lose' guns. Often after they've just used it in the commission of a robbery, rape, or homicide. Buy one cheap from an underground source, use it to do your 'job', then get rid of it ASAP so you don't get caught with it. Usual thug or crook isn't going to stop and think that some kid might find it and hurt someone with it.

One thing about low cost black market guns, though: you never know what you're going to get. Usually, it's not good! It could be something quite old, and may be worn or tampered with to the point that it's not safe to handle when loaded or use. Might even be so old the manufacturer is long gone and there wasn't even a serial number on it. If it was a desirable weapon, it wouldn't be cheap. Quite often criminals will end up with junker guns that no legitimate users would want anymore. If you're just going to point it at someone, maybe shoot them, then throw it off a bridge or into a dumpster, what's it matter?

Toasty McGrath
Because lobbyists made guns legal in D.C. recently.

Yes it is so much easier in DC now. Washington Times 8 Feb 2012.

After months of aggravation, hundreds of dollars in fees, countless hours jumping over hurdles, I am now a gun owner and finally exercising my second amendment right to keep arms (bearing arms is still illegal in the nation's capital).

When I first started the "Emily Gets Her Gun" series, I thought I would be waiting in long lines and filling out lots of paperwork. I never could have imagined that the D.C. gun laws made it so unearthly difficult to get a legal handgun. However, I also never could have believed that this newspaper series would encourage change in Washington's gun laws.

The bad guys buy guns off the street in five minutes, and the city has no record of the transaction. Law-abiding citizens have to take a five-hour class that is only taught outside of the District, pay $465 in fees, sign six forms, pass a written test on gun laws, get fingerprinted, be subject to a police ballistics test and take days off work.

Shutyeryap-Toasty and brian did not do something as right as you think. I'm not a republican. You don't have to be of any party affiliation to disagree with stupidity.

Blaming Obama for this is absolutely the most moronic statement I've heard in many, many days (aside from Newt and Rick). And if you would do some homework, you would realize that Republicans passed the first of the modern gun laws, that being the Brady bill, shortly after and in response to the attempt on Ronald Reagan's life. But, true to form, conservative lives are more important than any other life. If you folks had your way, you'd blame you lack of intelligence on Obama.

You are correct, violence is down, and gun sales and carry permits are at a record high! If the parents didn't use the brain to keep their gun safe they should be held liable. First rule is the gun owner is responsible for the gun and the bullet where is goes, kinda like owning a pit bull....not the gun or the dog, The person! I don't want a nanny state anymore than we already have.

And this is related to the subject HOW?

hey scot...If you voted for Bush, please just shut up! If not , you can talk and we with brains may listen

I never said that Obama and clan were responsible for the shooting but responsible for brining so many stories to the internet about shootings with the help of th eliberal press/media. Read the second sentence DA.

another good question is if the gun belonged to the kids parents and he didn't find it in a bush or on the ground, criminals will ditch a gun anywhere they can to remove/hide evidence until the coast is clear, i remember when i was younger i found the receiver to a revolver on the ground with the cylinder laying nearby and the barrel busted off, however there wasn't any ammo near by but still if i was as smart as i am now(it has been 20 years since then and now I'm an adult at 26) it could have been fixed in 3 days or less, this was about 3 blocks from a park where kids play and yes the barrel was connected to a crime that happened at a convenience store near by(and yes i did let my parents know about the parts laying in the street).

Piglizard-the true intent of the Brady bill was to SAVE LIVES. But you'all go spin it anyway you like. CAn any of you remember that far back anyway?????

Scarletbirds-I'm more worried about my grandkids picking up used needles, condoms etc.. than picking up a handgun. Your also much more liking to run across a pedohile in the park than a handgun. My point being..There are many serious dangers out there for our children. Instead of bickering here about politics get out and do something about it!!

i wasn't debating politics i was debating where the weapon came from, i don't really value politics, i find they get in the way of reality and distract the masses from whats really happening by worrying them. also i do a lot about problems when i find them, if somethings serious enuf i will make calls across this whole country to everyone i know and they will do likewise, if the problem is local only i collect evidence(audio, video and pictures) and display it to the cops when they arrive, also finding weapons laying around is way more common now than it used to be and as for those other things you mentioned they are just as bad but not as dangerous. something else i noticed is this story is lacking in data, they simply don't say enuf to make any intelligent conclusions and this type of news seems to be becoming more the norm lately and they need to elaborate so as to reduce confusion.

Well can't say I disagree with anything you just said. Active and proactive is the way to be. People have to start doing something rather than sitting behind a computer screen and bellyaching about wich party owns all the problems and sins of this world rather than recognizing the blame belongs to us all.

Scarletbirds-wan't directing my posts directly at you, so sorry if you took it that way.

also its not a school shooting if a gun is accidentally discharged, its a shooting if its used intentionally, there is a difference. the title should read more like: gun accidentally discharged at Washington state school. or girl shot at Washington state school. it makes more sense that way because shooting has to be done its a verb and discharged or shot are mostly singular. they use the word shooting to grab attention where as the words shot and discharged aren't as expletive but they are more specific.

no prob just remember to redirect a sentence away after you use someones screen name to remove confusion.

Awwwww... Isn't that sweet?

CHESTHAIR12 is concerned with education standards in black schools. Aw.

I'll bet he was just livid when G.W. signed No Child Left Behind into law, right?

I'll bet with each step Obama took towards improving the education standards Chesty would be right there with him.

Nah. I'll bet that even if Obama took advice from CHESTHAIR12, Chesthair 12 would be screaming at him for doing the wrong thing. Funny thing about it, though. It would be the only time that Chesthair12 would be right about anything.

Have a nice day.

I'm no gun nut, but I find it rather heartless to use this article to poke at that topic. It was all an accident, too.

I just refreshed the page and already it's changed a bit. Apparently a child had the gun in a classroom and the gun misfired. A 9 year old should NEVER have a gun, especially anywhere near a school! It seems to be a ridiculous case of irresponsible parents, but it'd be wrong to jump to conclusions with so little information at the moment. We'll have to wait and see.

Daryl, your ignorance is frightening and sadly, typical.

Let's clear up some of your problems:

1) You have every right as a private property owner to restrict whether you allow someone to bring a firearm onto it. If they do not care to leave their gun in their car or home, then you have the right to tell them to get off your property.

2) Openly carrying a firearm in a holster in no way should 'scare' anyone. Nice attempt to use the "save the women and children" argument to appeal to emotion instead of logic.

3) How many people would've died on the Va. Tech campus had another citizen with a firearm been present to put a halt to the massacre? What does the 2nd Amendment state regarding our right to carry a firearm? Is that not part of the Constitution giving rights to ALL Americans?

4) What does Article VI of the Constitution state? That it is the highest law in the land.

5) Are the police ALWAYS present to protect people at the instant they need it? Can you snap your fingers and summon a police officer within 3 seconds?

That being said, I'm sure you'll probably 'get' about 0 of my 5 remarks and continue being illogically and unreasonably anti-gun. I'm sure you think that if we outlawed guns, nobody would ever get shot, also?

I hope the girl recovers from her wounds, and whoever irresponsibly left their gun within reach or access of the child is held accountable. There's a right and wrong way to own, handle, and store a firearm. This appears to be a result of the wrong way.

"It was all an accident, too."

Bull@!$%#. The word "accident" is meant to absolve all responsibility. There are no "accidents", especially where firearms are concerned. There is carelessness and there is stupidity.

My 3-second remark was clearly related to police response times, and their complete inability to protect you or anyone else from being killed by someone who intends to do so, unless they are PRESENT at the time the decision is made by the criminal to do so. Until they can respond in a short enough timeframe to completely prevent anyone from ever deciding to murder someone else, then responsible adults should consider the option of carrying a firearm to protect THEMSELVES.

A holstered firearm, either in plain view or concealed-carry, can safely be drawn, aimed, and fired at a target within 3-5 seconds.

If I come across a person shooting indiscriminately into a crowd, and take note that s/he is hitting multiple targets, it would take less than 5 seconds for me to end the problem.

How long do you think it would take to see someone killing children at a daycare before recognizing who was in the wrong and stopping them? Get over yourself and your terrible assumptions.

Assumptions which include a personal judgement about what type of person or gun owner I am, might I add. You have absolutely no credible basis to make a judgement about those two areas of my life whatsoever.

People continue to believe that only police officers should have guns (read the Constitution and pull your heads out of your collective asses), and that if private citizens did not have guns, we'd all be perfectly safe and the police would take care of us all.

That is such an ignorant position to take on gun ownership - AND demonstrates an appalling lack of education regarding the history of this country, that you should be ashamed of yourselves for living in such a ridiculously naive state.

Take a good, long look at police response times in this country and tell me again that we can all bury our heads in the sand and forego the right to bear arms, trusting instead that in several minutes, the police will be there to stop the perpetrator.

Or perhaps they'll arrive in time to pour the bleach on the sidewalks around the bodies of the innocent people who were injured and/or killed because nobody had the means to stop the violence themselves.

How many violent crimes do you think are committed within sight of someone openly carrying a firearm? How many criminals have the nerve to assault, rape, kidnap, steal, etc. when they can clearly see an armed citizen could easily not only foil their attempt, but end their life on top of it should lethal force be required?

ditto that! and a good choice of words is FREEZ! and shoot the one who trys to point a weapon at you or continues to aim or show hostility, that's what i do and it has diffused several issues without me having to waste good ammo, that and having a huge 6"mod 1911 45acp custom to make a point, don't forget training and practice make perfect and training like you'll always make mistakes will reduce them. also don't forget to be convincing as well the more believable you are the more successful you'll be in diffusing the situation quickly.

Let's see...

If conservatives have their way, gun manufacturers won't be regulated by the Federal Government to make sure their products are safe, everyone can carry around defective firearms in their backpacks, and to protect yourself from this you should carry around an uninspected firearm.

Genius. Pure genius.

Have a nice day.

Today, in retaliation for a deputy charging a man with disorderly conduct for carrying weapons around for hours openly in a mall parking lot scaring women and children, the Utah legislature passed a law stating that no officer can harrass or charge anyone for simply carrying a gun no matter where they carry it or what their reason for carrying it.

If the man was legally carrying the gun, the cops had no right to charge him and the law is appropriate. The cops should not be able to harrass or arrest anyone for doing something that is legal.

I only have a right to hang a sign saying they aren't welcome, but I have no right to actually exclude people with guns from my property.

As a private citizen/business person you have the right to exclude anyone you want from entering your home/business. If you tell someone they can't come in and they don't leave, it is called trespassing.

My husband has a concealed carry permit and has for the past 5 years; I just took the class and applied for mine this week. We are avid gun users. Our children have been taught, from the time they were able to comprehend, that guns are weapons, they are absolutely not to be treated as toys, and they are not to touch them without one of us around. They can both recite the primary rules of gun safety and have been able to since the age of 4.

A couple of years ago, my in-laws were staying at our house and got in late one night. We had already gone to bed. Rather than waking us, my father-in-law, who also has a CCW decided his suitcase was an acceptable place to store his handgun. He is no longer allowed to bring guns into my house. While I would like to believe my children wouldn't have touched the gun, the fact that he left a loaded gun, in a suitcase, on the floor of my house, doesn't sit well with me.

There are more responsible gun owners out there than not. There are more than enough laws in place to keep criminals and the mentally ill from getting guns. What the government should be focusing on, and this is supported by the NRA, is gun education. An educated populace, is a much safer populace. You never hear of kids, in areas where guns are an expected part of life, bringing guns to school to show their friends, or accidentally shooting their sister because they found dads gun. This isn't because these kids are inherently lucky, it is because, just like my family, they are taught to respect guns.

You are actually the waste of time.

another keyboard warrior, eh Daryl? Internet tuff guy. So if a Peace Officer pulls a weapon out in your vicinity you're gonna give him/her (yea thats right, some are women) a .40 cal enema, tuff guy? And Utah being the hellhole that it is, someone could well save your life with a handgun some day. Not that it is worth much...tuff guy...

Gee Riverman, some of us actually have jobs that only give us time to briefly skim news articles in the morning...

The following should convince everyone why the second amendment was written. If you want to ban guns please wear a shirt that says "please dont shoot someone raping/killing me".

Anferney Fontenet, 15, Rapes Woman on Busy Toledo Street; No One Stops to Help http://www.truecrimereport.com/2010/01/anferney_fontenet_15_rapes_wom.php

The 26-year-old woman was walking from a friend's house to the library when she was accosted by 15-year-old Anferney Fontenet. He pulled a scissors and said he would cut her if she screamed. Then he raped her in broad daylight as cars drove past.Though several drivers called 911, no one bothered to stop and help the woman.Even after the boy fled, stealing her cell phone, the woman tried to borrow the phone of a pedestrian. But the man just kept walking, refusing to help her.

Which has left her pretty pissed. "I'm ticked off because people were doing nothing," she told the Toledo Blade. "Just driving by. What kind of humans are we becoming?"

No, most of the people here seem to have lost track of the subject of the article. A third grade girl is fighting for her life in a hospital because she was shot by a third grade boy. In their effort to find someone to blame/string up it has gone from guessing who the gun owner is and what should be done to the owner to blaming everyone from corporate America to the President. I hope these people learn to stay on topic at some point.

Bremerton Washington is a small Navy Base town across the Puget Sound in Washington. It is a relatively quiet town with a large transient population due to the Navy base. The people there are most likely in shock that such a thing could even have happened in the area much more an elementary school. This is a tragedy for all including the child that did the shooting and his family. What was the cause? The cause is some sort of stress that the child was under. I hope that we can learn as adults to try and detect when our children are burdened by stress that they cannot handle.

MommaRose, I can't believe these people ignoring the tragedy in this article. I DO wonder whose gun it was, how the child got it, and why he decided to bring it to school. But I'm much more concerned for the little girl and her family.

Allielcea, momma rose. Agree with you completely!!

exactly...why is everyone skirting around the real issue...how did this boy get the gun...why was it loaded and safety not on...

I remember visiting my cousin's house because my husband and I were thinking about buying it. At that time she had her daughter and 4 year old granddaughter living with her and her husband in the house. When we walked into her living room looking around...there on the tv was a 457 Magnum...sitting right on the top...Unbelievable...and the four year old was running around the house...

This is why things like this happen...I believe people should be able to own guns, and yes I am a Democrat and so called "Liberal" that you narrow minded Conservative love to hate on...but I also believe we need to crack down on the laws in terms of buying and owning a gun and educate people more on how to use them and store them safely. And we need to be arresting those who sale them illegal. To me this is far more of a threat to us than someone who smokes a joint. Use our money there.

Not all parents see it that way. The entire black community in Chicago was rallying against cops for:

"The Chicago City Council approved the tighter curfew rules in July, days after police shot a 13-year-old in West Humboldt Park when the boy pointed a BB gun at officers. In late July, officers responding to a report of gunshots in the 1000 block of North Kedvale Avenue opened fire on Jimmell Cannon, wounding him after he defied orders to drop what appeared to be a gun and ran from police, authorities said."

"Amid a dispute that ensued between Cannon's family and police, Chicago police Superintendent Garry McCarthy argued that a 13-year-old should not have been roaming the streets at 11 p.m. Monday"

brickwall - there's only one part of your statement I disagree with. You never know when (or where) you might need to protect yourself & your family. Other than that, you're right on the money.

I concur and have lived around guns all my life. I taught my daughters about using and gun safety about the time they were learning to ride a bike. Until then, the guns were always locked-up or not in the house...

Now with no; minors or visitors in the house, there is always a loaded weapon accessible, and everyone in the house knows where they are. My US house is next to a 150,000+acre national forest; bear, rabid aminals, and snakes are common...

I also have a CCW, but seldom carry. It is easier to avoid those high-crime areas and places where trouble always seem to be...

Stop blaming the "wimpy libs" - you realize there are Republicans that don't like guns and Democrats who do? It's not nearly as black and white as you might like to think.

Mary Anne-912890

Stop blaming the "wimpy libs"

Sarcasm isn't really your strong suit is it??

"First we need laws protecting kindergarten students from paste eaters."

You can have my paste when you pry it from my cold, dead (sticky) hands.

@ stonecold... That is funny

Wimpy libs sounds about right just add socialistic Obamamites to it and it's almost perfect.

daryl, that's a great idea, have you done it? If you don't like the word "pray" then send her good thoughts. As you said, send them money. But don't use her life threatening situation as a platform for your (I use "your" to encompass both sides of the argument) political garbage.

Daryl-The power of suggestion is a marvelous thing. I've actually witnessed prayer along with willpower and gumption bring somebody back from the brink of death and I ain't no bible thumper and haven't been in a church for years. Just beleive in something higher than ourselves and you can thank whoever you want from where ever you are and it's as good or better than sitting in a church on Sunday being a hipocrite.

If prayer gives this little girl the willpower to fight for her life who the hell are you to say it's wrong???

And Daryl, where did you send your donation?? I'd like to know so I can donate too.

The girl was the victim. A boy had the gun in his backpack and it somehow went off hitting the girl?? Where did he get the gun?? what did he intend to do with it?? How did this gun go off inside a backpack?? These are the questions that need answering. Beyond that those who beleive in prayer need to do so, some of us could be asking where we could donate to the girls medical expenses. We could be discussing how to stop violence, bullying, and the perceived need to kids to protect or avenge themselves with weapons. The rest of the garbage tossed around in this comment session is ridiculous and freaking actually nauesating that this the level that adult Americans stoop to in trying to ram differing opinions down others throats.

@SIRIK S

Reading your poor grammar post makes it obvious that you did not successfully attend school (at least not in this country) so your juvenile thoughts don't carry much weight. Grow up, learn about the world.

(Should be punish hard - at any age) What do you suggest? Should we put the 9 year old in adult prison? Maybe we should build new 'kiddie' prisons.

And all you need ken is a brain!!

ken..fully auto...with lot's of clip's...LOL

Make it full auto quad mounted 20mm machine cannons while your at it just for maximum efficiency and firepower. Works great in high density residential areas.

You make perfect sense and I could not have have stated it better--thanks!!

Body armor won't stop a slug to the head, the best defense is to be able defend yourself with the same offense that's being directed towards you. Why should anyone let themselves be slaughtered doing nothing to fight back.

Parents or relatives who visit and are careless about storing firearms can create situations where children get guns. Some gang members use their much younger siblings school book bags and backpacks as hiding places for guns, knives, drugs, and money. The knuckleheads forget to remove the hidden items and the kid finds it after they are in school. Kids have showed their teachers bags of sugar(cocaine or heroin). Italian spices(marijuana), candy(pills), knives and guns. They have little idea between toys and real weapons. They have little knowledge to distinguish food from poisonous drugs. Sometimes the safety lessons of do not touch strange items, go tell an adult, are not taught to all children, or they are not reinforced enough.