My husband and his brothers grew up in a single parent household. His cousins did too. NONE of them killed a classmate. Not having fathers definitely damaged all of them but, they had a semblance of morality. Please do not assume all single parents are inattentive.

You are exactly right, this was probably some sort of gang related initiation and he will wear it like a badge of honor.

SCUM

Good for you.

I wonder if the German Jews liked their guns being controlled?

We're keeping ours. F'g deal with it.

The gun lobby argument, as I understand it, drawing as it does from the militia clause of the relevant sentence, is that citizens must be armed in order to be able to defend themselves against the organized military including the National Guard just in case people they don't agree with are chosen by the majority to govern the country including the military. Alternatively, they want to be prepared if there is ever a military coup against the civilian government so we could fight back against the organized military. Frankly, in such a case given the size, sophistication and technological superiority of our military, I really don't like the chances for my neighborhood watch group.

Fed Up. I will vote for that.

Anita... it's a numbers game.

Our standing combat forces amount to around 250,000. And I KNOW they're great at what they do. I KNOW the training they receive. I KNOW their munitions and it's abilities. I KNOW their limitations.

Now, first and foremost, you must remember that the US Military cannot by law be used against citizens of the United States on American soil. Of course, the Posse Comitatus Act has been effectively eviscerated by the NDAA signed in the dead of night on a holiday weekend.

That haveing been said, there are approximately 80 million American that collectively possess approximately 300 million firearms. Even considering the firepower of the US military, in a war of attrition, how long would it last. Remember that the US Military along with the military of other nations has been waging war against a force that was only about 20,000 strong in Afghanistan, and have not won that war and in point of fact are effectively losing it after ten years. And that was only 20,000 people... not 80,000,000. You do the math.

as I understand it, drawing as it does from the militia clause of the relevant sentence, is that citizens must be armed in order to be able to defend themselves against the organized military including the National Guard just in case people they don't agree with are chosen by the majority to govern the country including the military. Alternatively, they want to be prepared if there is ever a military coup against the civilian government so we could fight back against the organized military.

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_q_and_a.html

Q. Did some of the deputies to the Constitutional Convention refuse to sign the Constitution?
A. Only thirty-nine signed. Fourteen deputies had departed for their homes, and three--Randolph and Mason, of Virginia, and Gerry, of Massachusetts--refused to sign. One of the signatures is that of an absent deputy, John Dickinson, of Delaware, added at his request by George Read, who also was from Delaware.

Q. After the Constitution was submitted for ratification, where did the greatest contests occur?
A. In Massachusetts, Virginia, and New York.

http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/charters/constitution_transcript.html

Article I, Section 8

The Congress shall have Power To.....

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

There was strong disagreement between the delegates at the Convention over the above powers. some wanted the government to have broad powers over them while others were opposed to the federal government having too much power. That in part is why some refused to sign the Constitution, this was especially true with Virginia where it was met by strong Anti-Federalist opposition. The Second Amendment was part of the compromise that secured the support of Richard Henry Lee who said, among other things, ""A militia, when properly formed, are in fact the people themselves...and include all men capable of bearing arms." (Richard Henry Lee, Additional Letters from the Federal Farmer [1788] at 169)"

http://www.madisonbrigade.com/rh_lee.htm

It was not about people turning against a government that they did not agree with, that is what elections are for; it was about arming the militia eligible as a counter to the federal government taking control of state militias and turning them against the states. To that effect he said:

"To preserve liberty, it is essential that the whole body of people always possess arms, and be taught alike especially when young, how to use them." (Richard Henry Lee, Walter Bennett, ed., Letters from the Federal Farmer to the Republican, at 21,22,124 [Univ. of Alabama Press,1975])

"The constitution ought to secure a genuine militia and guard against a select militia. ...All regulations tending to render this general militia useless and defenseless, by establishing select corps of militia, or distinct bodies of military men, not having permanent interests and attachments to the community ought to be avoided."
(Richard Henry Lee – need complete cite)

Change of power no matter how much people have disagreed, and the disagreement over big vs. little government started before the ink was dry, has always been done peacefully within the confines of the Constitution. There are plenty of nations that does not hold true for. Iraq is a good example of that before we got involved change of power was done either with a firing squad or by frog marching someone to the airport at the end of a tank gun barrell.

As far as fighting back against an organized military goes I second what XDm said and I will add the following. There are 21 million veterans in this country, all with the same experience as that military, and roughly 12 million of them are young enough to still put their experience to use and pass it on to others. There is a lot more that could be said about that, but I will leave it for now.

Fed-Up would rather live in a police state.

Crappy parenting.

why should MSNBC get a free pass on promoting and practicing yellow journalism? Are you a Commie?

Nana, the usual idiotic and ignorant answer from somebody like you, anything left of Hitler is a commie.

Get educated moron.

We purchased our daughter's first firearm for her when she turned 7, and she's never shot anyone.

I suspect that there was more to the story in this case.

Seek help.

In the First Census, the population of the United States was enumerated to be 3,929,214.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1790_United_States_Census

Yes it does apply today just as much as the other 9 amendments do and "sophisticated weaponry" is not relevant.

When your wife or daughter is being raped in an alley and is being strangled with her panty hose, I hope she can pour the powder down the barrel and pack the ball quickly.

My wife has the right to defend herself with a modern centerfire semi-auto gun.

Keep your powder dry!

youtube dot com/watch?v=QYuYhDJ5Q-g

Not just the politicians, 1/2 of the electorate is as well.

Seek help.

hey Vern...go f' yourself. Probably just another American mangina.

American females are known for their big mouths. The boy was probably tired of listening to taunts, insults, and her instigation of fights between him and the popular crowd. I used to think revenge violence was wrong, but the older I get I see that is all that people here understand (violence). They teach their kids it is ok to harass others and then they are upset by the results. Since we talk much about instinct and the state of nature in the US, why not really live it. If you harass a wild animal in the wild, what happens? The tiger gets called crazy and then gets locked up, right? Maybe the abused should start being allowed to thin the herd.

I agree, American women can be "trying" at times. But - its preferable to hear them out (or tune them out)... than to keep them locked up in the house, behind a fenced in yard,wearing burqas, head scarfs and vails - needing a male escort just to go down the street or it's assumed she is a whore... (walking, 'cause women are not allowed to drive a car, read a book or have an opinion that conflicts with yours).

You can tell a lot about a culture in how they treat their women. In my world it takes a strong wife to raise strong children. I see no value in "house broke" wife.

I think you mean the "NEA", not the NRA.

The NRA opposes crime.

The NEA, on the other hand, continues to teach children that they have no more value than an accident that happened to mud, by teaching them fiction as if it were fact, through the "theory" of evolution.

Well Occam, you sure can make up things to suit your ideas. The NRA believes kids should have guns in school? Can you give me the source for such an outrageous crock of cow plop? Gangsta culture, Violent movies and violent games have nothing to do with events such as this? As a child, when I was insulted or assaulted, I answered with my fists. never a knife or gun although both were available to this Virginia farm-boy.