I'm not sure congratulations is in order, but a good job was done by many heroes! Next time you are thinking of teachers pay remember the sacrifice made by these teachers and remember that teachers all over the US make sacrifices large and small everyday for the safety and education of our kids.

The good news is awesome to hear, I think though it is a lot instinctive and sacrificial - many will stand in harms way during violent times. I do applaud quick action and quick "fire drill -like" response, but know that the best hero would have been the custodian or worker who took this crazy nut out after only one or 2 deaths before this guy went on and on. Now that would be a hero. But as usual the common folk will always be made to feel bad about needing the security required to keep the responsible and obedient citizens safe.

Everyday people, doing the unthinkable to protect others.

It is tragedy of tremendous proportions. The horror those families are living. I am blown away by how much evil surrounds us. I truly hate the fact that guns are so easily available to those who clearly deserve to be shot at birth. I do not understand it.

Our hearts are broken today. As a father of two, words cannot describe the sorrow I feel for those families and friends. May the Spirit of Our Lord grant all of those touched by this horror the strength to carry on. We suffer with you in this hour.

To those who put yourselves in harm's way to save the lives of those children that were saved, God bless you.

@Barabas- exactly how should the custodian or worker "take out" the gunman? These people reacted and put themselves in harms way to protect others. That is what a hero does. They could have hid but chose to act.

No one is ever prepare for sudden threats to act heroically. These teachers were just as scared but knew it was important to remain calm and keep the children safe.

I believe @Barabas is one of those who believes if everyone were packing heat they could have taken out the gunman. 'Cause that's what we need - Shootout at the O.K. Corral in an elementary school. Time to have a real discussion about the 2nd Amendment and its intent...this is not it.

tjohn, put the politics aside for just a few days, families and children are suffering, show a little compassion, OK?

It was not known if the custodian, whose name was not released, had survived.

Funny how they have the names of all the "heroic" teachers, but don't even know IF the custodian survived! The guys making the least amount of money, doing all the dirty work always seems to get kicked to the curb.

I sure hope he is alive and doing well!!!

I wonder if this school is unionized?

@peggy/florida

That seems to always be what you'll say when you lose, after all, this is the North East where republican governors are doing their best to destroy unions. Hey, it is, what it is, and it's the truth!!!

@tjohn_missouri

Well said....bravo!!!!

I am a retired elementary school teacher. I can tell you that the actions taken by the principal, the counselor, the custodian, and the teachers are not surprising to me at all. Many consider these actions heroic. If Mrs. Hochsprung and Mrs. Scherlac were still here, they would tell you that it was not heroism. It was a calling. You see, when you parents drop your little ones off at school, you are leaving them in our care. We aren't just overpaid (or underpaid) babysitters. We have an obligation to do everything in our power to keep the safe, and we take this seriously. I can name no less than 2 dozen fellow educators that would have done the same thing. I'm not in any way diminishing the actions of these special people. They deserve to be recognized for their bravery. It is way past due for the public to recognize just how much educators care and sacrifice for their students. It is just truly tragic that something like this has occur for it to happen.

Peggy... the politics has been rammed down our throats for the past 30 years by the villifiers of everyone and everything that teachers, public schools, or public employees of any kind, have ever done. These people who acted heroically as a part of who they are and what they do as a calling, are the same ones you call lazy, and who "suck off the public teat", etc, etc. I ache for the children and families that have been devastated by this tragedy, but pointing out that these heroes are the same people whose rights and livelihoods are being systematically destroyed across the country is not "playing politics". It is reality.

Politics? Really? Now?

maybe the nra will be happy with their gun lobbying now. everyone doesn't need guns meant for soldiers.thank god their were some very quick acting teachers

As bad as I feel for the loose of life here. In Michigan where I live, and in Oh and Mn, The Governors of these states have declared war on Teachers, Nurses and others. They have turned one against another. Then this happens and we see teachers that lost there life's to save there students. You know we all need to take a good clear look at what is happening to our Country. We need to learn to work together. When things get bad like they did in 07, then everyone needs to give some back. We seen that with the Auto workers. We seen it in WI where the unions agreed to pay more for there benefits. But that wasn't enough for the Rep's. They wanted to bust the Unions. These Unions should have the same protection as the second amendment. Its funny they didn't go after the police and fire unions. Why do you think they did that? My point is, while the Rep's have been trying to turn us against one another, Look at what these teachers did...... Is there enough money in the world to pay them?

We, as Americans, need to re-evaluate our priorities. . .Pepsi compensates Beyonce with $50 million simply to have her face on their products while teachers, nurses, fire, and police personnel are under valued/paid for their work and sacrifices.

My prayers and condolences goes out to all those parents and love ones in this tragedy.

This should piss off most. No responsibility on us or on our nation for us being like we are, war mongrels.

You Reap what you Sow America!
America is the most violent society in the history of mankind, bar none.
America attacks other nations, robbing those nations resources, using force to attempt to form those nations to our likeness, killing innoncents, calling such "collateral damage".
America survives on "making and creating" wars.
America locks up more of their own than any other "modern civilization", breeding violence.
America's TV shows, video games, are all basically based on killing.
The youth of today are desensitized to killing and life.
You reap what you sow America.

It is interesting how everyone is talking -blaming on guns and politicians ,but no one see that, bad parenting is the problem in USA.When your child is playing video games do you check to see why is he glue to the game almost possessed by it ....that is what happens crazy as it sounds but that is the reality .Parents are leaving children alone for hours and everyday and after a while children cannot focus on school work and they doped them with medication diagnosed with ADD .Parents forgot that they put the video games in their hand almost at birth I know a family that parents and two adults children with college education (children) they can't find a job (they say ) both living at home ,they all are addicted to video games .Those game creators self made millionaires ,have a lot of UN WASHABLE BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS .USA TURN YOUR LIFE BACK TO GOD .I live outside the us ,part my spelling -English too.I truly believe that is the answer to the mysterious question Columbine,Colorado and now Sandy Ct.Condolences to all the parents may God heal your bleeding hearts .He took a lot of angels back home .WHY....? we will find out one day ....... My prayers for you .....

May the Lord have mercy on you all who have chosen to politicize this. Is now really the time? Why dont we all take the time to light a candle instead, say a prayer for those innocent hearts and broken, grieving families?

@ peggy/florida

To you it's politics. Since I'm a computer technician for a school district of 5500 students it's my livelihood and my future!

I know a school nurse who bought a winter coat for a child that didn't have one. This child was extremely grateful and told the nurse how good it will be to be warm, especially at night when she slept. Too bad that nurse will have to be shot and killed before certain people recognize she's a hero. In the mean time there are those who will stop at nothing to pay her less while making her pay more for insurance and a pension and projecting an inaccurate and ugly image of those who work in the public sector.

First off I'm not ashamed to admit I've been very upset and even cried about this as I have several of my own small children. My prayers heart and soul go out to these families.

@LAN13, so Lan, you are saying if you had the means to take this gunman out and save lives you wouldn't have opened fire or wished you had a firearm if you were in that situation? Yeah that's what I thought you are a pathetic moron.

Anyone who says they wouldnt have wished they had a firearm in this situation (and used it) proves theory of natural selection. Those heroes who lost their lives trying to save those kids hold a special place in my heart, but if one of them would have had a conceal carry firearm this would have turned out much different.

MOST OF ALL DID YOU READ!?! THE GUN STORE DENIED HIM, WOULD NOT SELL HIM THE RIFLE HE TRIED TO BUY.

This means our system is working, but will never stop psycho's like this even if you take the 2nd amendment away from Americans. Why because there are already enough guns out there to arm every single man woman and child in the U.S., this means there will always be guns out there no matter what you do.

All you can do is arm yourself and practice religious safety with them.

This is life, and I'm so sorry we don't take care of our mentally ill and that there are so many screwed up people raising a family (if you want to call it that). What we need to do is make it illegal to have children unless you get some kind of degree to do so. preposterous thought isn't it, well so is taking away the 2nd amendment.

Heroes?? Well, this certainly flies in the face of the conservatives who choose to vilify school boards, administrators, teachers, custodians, secretaries, law enforcement, firefighters, and the like as useless, worthless, godless, uncaring, unknowing, stupid, incompetent, lazy, greedy, under-worked, overpaid, over-pensioned, trouble-making union thugs who suck the financial life from our society and have doomed our future by churning out hopelessly uneducated, godless children. Don't believe me? Just ask people like Scott Walker, Paul Ryan or any of the other conservative clown posse members that don't believe in public education or public workers.

/sigh...yep

To you it's politics. Since I'm a computer technician for a school district of 5500 students it's my livelihood and my future!

I know a school nurse who bought a winter coat for a child that didn't have one. This child was extremely grateful and told the nurse how good it will be to be warm, especially at night when she slept. Too bad that nurse will have to be shot and killed before certain people recognize she's a hero. In the mean time there are those who will stop at nothing to pay her less while making her pay more for insurance and a pension and projecting an inaccurate and ugly image of those who work in the public sector.

/sigh....yep

Human service is a calling that many sacrifice income to pursue. The sacrifice to put ones own well being as secondary to the well being of someone else is the first part of such a calling. Those who can serve and are called should be compensated better then accountants!

@Hannibalektr. That's NOT even remotely what I'm saying. I won't try to explain, you don't seem to have the mental capacity to understand.

I believe @Barabas is one of those who believes if everyone were packing heat they could have taken out the gunman. 'Cause that's what we need - Shootout at the O.K. Corral in an elementary school. Time to have a real discussion about the 2nd Amendment and its intent...this is not it.

@LAN13, so Lan, you are saying if you had the means to take this gunman out and save lives you wouldn't have opened fire or wished you had a firearm if you were in that situation? Yeah that's what I thought you are a pathetic moron.

This is not an issue of corporations and Governments having guns while the common man doesn't.
Do you realize that most mental health workers are paid the same as most grocery store workers? Fast food workers on the night shift get about the same as teachers. There is something wrong....but it isn't the second amendment.

Hannibalektr, I would never send my 8 yr. old to a school where the teachers and custodians carried fire-arms. 20 children and 6 adults were fatally shot in an elementary school with the bullets of a madman. How can you possibly say that our system is working?

You tell us that all we can do is arm ourselves. You are wrong. There is so much more that we can do and so much more that we should have already done. I don't believe that many Americans want to "take away the 2nd Amendment". That is hogwash force-fed to you by sleazy politicians wishing to make political points. Think about the definition of the word "amendment".

We want to amend the laws to prevent numerous citizens from walking our streets with an assault weapon at their side. We want to amend gun ownership laws at least to the same level of registration, licensing and insurance requirements for automobile ownership. Those laws are not there to deprive the citizenry from owning a car. They are there to assure all car owners are responsible car owners. Are gun owners to be held to much lower standards of legal responsibility than automobile owners? Is that so hard to understand?

He's a better man than me.

getmadstaymad (with a name like that I worry about YOU): I don't know what religion Harris was if any, but Dylan Klebold was confirmed in the LUTHERAN church. But don't let facts get in the way of an anti-Semitic rant! Just because Klebold was Lutheran does not mean all Lutherans are mass murderers, any more than Tim McVeigh being Catholic means that all Catholics are mass murderers!

@Learnt Hick

If there was someone their with the same amount of fire power we may have seen a different out come. But the Unions in this country suck so much money out of the school systems and school boards are dictated too by the teacher unions on how and who will run the schools. The guns that killed those poor kids were controlled by a person who was not in the right state of mind. To protect our children when in school we will have to build ten foot walls around a school with one way in and one way out, with two levels of protection to get into a school. Or we can make each and every school a non union school and the president and congress have the power to do this and put the money that is save and have guards controlling who comes and goes. But that won't happen one reason is the unions own Obama and half of congress. So they will go after the guns which on there own has not killed a sole in the last 230 years.

A single plain clothes school marshal , like the sky marshals that worked so well.

Bob James,

you are not only the most ignorant person I've read from in quite a long time (and that's saying alot pal, believe me) on the Newsvine, but you also have no place here spewing your ilk about Unions whenever it has absolutely NOTHING to do with the story line. Get a life you creep... or just be the worthless SOUL (not sole, you pathetically uneducated excuse for a man) that you obviously are.

Since hearing about this, I have been physically ill, just ill. I grew up in Connecticut, Milford, and this was a little too close to home. It just boggles my mind... Someone above asked where the mother was before all this. Apparently, from what I have read, she tried to get him help, treatment etc. She and her ex-husband are apparently very comfortable, and given the situation, again as I am reading things, when it reaches the point you cannot handle it on your own, then a private mental hospital is in order.

A friend here in SC drives her son to school every day (the bus comes way too early). This morning as she drove up to circle around and drop him off, he asked her why the police were there. When she looked, she saw 2 state policecars as well as the County Sheriff's Department out in force. Her son became so scared, but after reassurance went into school. She drove over to the high school, same thing. This is not a highly populated are, fewer schools than most places, but what about big cities or areas more populated?? Is this how things will be now?

In a shocking number of these kinds of incidents, the shooters have been on deadly psychiatric drugs. These drugs have as a side effect "homicidal thoughts" and "suicidal thoughts". As long as people refuse to know the truth - PSYCHIATRY KILLS - we will have more and more of these incidents.

Seymour, best to check your assumptions before claiming they are facts.
http://www.decisionsonevidence.com/2012/12/public-shootings-by-the-numbers/
The fact is most of these mass murderers have no psychiatric history at all. They are undiagnosed, isolated, and driven by powerlessness and humiliation.

Oh please. I work in a maximum security psychiatric facility as a prescriber and I have to interrupt your diatribe to say that a LACK of treatment is much more deadly for psychotic illnesses and many mood disorders. I'm sot suggesting that the shooter was psychotic BTW but rather that your blanket statement is inane. Psychiatry is not magic and the medications we have available are limited in the scope of symptoms they can treat. They are not a panacea. Let's try and be rational.

ringsize42 - let us do try to be rational. One step might be to stop bullying others with your assumed intellect, as you have done in your commment. Your term "prescriber" reveals that your job is not as respected as a "doctor" and you have some shame and resentment associated with this. Maximum security psychiatric facility would be a "prison" and you wish your employment offered you more prestige. Your diatribe to cover up your true feelings and your true identity puts you on the cusp of a similar nervous breakdown as seen in the panacea of events involving mass murder on soft targets.

Just so you know what I really think: I think you are part of the problem that pushes people over the edge. You are just another bully.

Wow, Andy -- don't you think you're reading just a bit too much into Ringsize's response?

Some individuals (like Adam Lanza) are NOT worthy of their gifts or talents!

Mental illness combined with the co existence of good and evil. It is sin that caused death, and people need to acknowledge that, and recognize our lives on earth can get cut short but God still has a plan and has sacrificed HIS Son (GOd in the flesh) to prove it and to give us victory . Jesus has overcome the grave and overcome the dark troubles of this world. People need to decide and take the reasonable notion that God exists for real. There is some fray in mankind's DNA and a science rationale will only find excuses to allow evil to manifest, we have to learn that sin is an issue and man was made in Gods image and man and life and earth is good but we are broken and earth is groaning because of sinful condition . Jesus Christ can heal and show the way beyond these human eyes. when you think about and submit you will see how obvious and self evident God truly is and that grace and truth is the distinction and hope for all mankind , not religion but the salvation for a lost and deceived race uniquely and especially crafted in the image of our Creator. The Creator walked among us and became a baby to bring us Holy blood and take us home , to be born of God and Spirit not of husbands will and natural descent but born of God. Those who are born again have a chance to see the kingdom of heaven in glimpse and can become willfully sanctified and be prepared for eternal purposes. But we have to admit our sin and call it such. That leads to wisdom and hope and the peace of God, if you only look at nature and think we are apes and evolution this will only get worst for with mankind inherited sin man is a beast and lost and selfish, and ultimately empty without the plan and filling of our God and Creator. Jesus is the answer.

Unfortunately, loners don't seem to pick up the bible to find out about God. We all need to be kind to those we come across each day. I feel for the families of the shooting victims. Those who despise God blame the God they don't know for this sort of tragedy. There are nut jobs proseltizing falsehoods about what the bible says. Most people don't pick up the book to study it for themselves. I was driven by hatred for a Christian I worked with, to pick up the bible I had & to start reading it to use as ammo back at them. But, God fooled me & showed me in so many powerful & real ways that He's alive & caring & will act when we pray to Him honestly & openly. He wants our praise & worship, which is His due. May God find favor on those who have survived to follow His will for their lives. I Thess 5:15-18 says, "See that none if you repays evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to all. Rejoice always, pray constantly, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will od God in Christ Jesus for you". They will find solace in doing as God wills. There are no words to convey our condolences to the many families affected by this horrible action. We all struggle with being godly each day. It's a group effort, which is why we need each other. God said once, "it's not good for man to be alone", so He made a companion. We all have an inner need for comfort & solace from our fellow humans. Pets are nice, but they don't talk & communicate in the way we need to have communication. Hugs, shared tears, shared joy, etc. are all part of our needs. Men, in general, struggle more with opening up their feelings and hurt to let others know how they feel. We can all do our part by sharing our thoughts more openly & skip the condemnation that so easily slips from our tongues. Let's share God's love for our fellow man and not keep it to ourselves.

@Barabas

Take your nonsensical prosthelytizing some place else. You are doing your religion more harm than good by posting bull@!$%# like that.

Chris from Yucaipa

So..........what comforting words do you have for the families who have lost little loved ones? Or are you just hanging around here to breathe your venom whenever you feel like it, to satisfy the evil person inside you?

Blasphemer!

Barabas: if accepting Jesus is the cure for people wanting to commit violent acts, how do you explain those who kill doctors and blow up clinics because it's "God's will"? And please don't give me the tired argument about committing an evil act to prevent a greater evil.

Barabas: if accepting Jesus is the cure for people wanting to commit violent acts, how do you explain those who kill doctors and blow up clinics because it's "God's will"? And please don't give me the tired argument about committing an evil act to prevent a greater evil.

I have a cousin like that. His dad pushed him so hard that he had a break down. Some parents just don't know when enough is enough. Some one had said that the guys mom was like that. There was something wrong with her to think she needed this much fire power, Hell she lived in the safest play in the US it sounds like. Why the need for so many guns?

Know that our Father in heaven, in his most infinite mercy, had the souls of the children and adults in his most gentle hands before the bullets felled their bodies. They felt no pain. He would not allow it. At that very moment they could see the face of God. This is something so beautiful no human can imagine it. They are safe and in Paradise with the angels and the saints. They are not gone forever and their families and friends will see them again. They do not need our prayers, we need theirs.

Anyone with an iota of intellect would wonder why your father in heaven (who had their souls in his hands) would allow them to be killed. You are a mentally disturbed individual. I suspect that at least some of the victims did not believe in your god - certainly many were too young to fully comprehend the notion of god.

@ Tinabellpeach & Baraba all I can say AMEN !!!!!!

ManWomanGod

Chris from Yucaipa

So..........what comforting words do you have for the families who have lost little loved ones? Or are you just hanging around here to breathe your venom whenever you feel like it, to satisfy the evil person inside you?

Blasphemer!

"I'm sorry for your loss" would have been just fine. We didn't need a full sermon and a summery of the Bible. He wasn't offering sympathy, he was looking to convert people. This aint the place and it sure as hell ain't the time for it. Feel free to take your indignation someplace else as well.

@tinabellpeach, While I personally have never felt comfortable going to church, I do keep the bible near for when I have questions I need to have answered. Your response is inspirational in a way that very few other preachers have ever been able to inspire me.

I have a very firm live and let live philosophy on life. As far as I am concerned, a person's rights only exist as long as they do not cause harm to another. The biggest problem these days and it seems to be very prevalant everywhere not just in these tragic situations is hte fact that people want to fight, they want to be the top-dog, or they think they are entitled to something and everyone else must "give way".

Fact is, if more people lived and LET lived, instead of charging head on and trying to force others to do something, to give way, this world would be a far better place. Does it truly cost you dearly to hold a door open? Does it truly cost you that much more time to allow someone with only 1 item to purchase in front of you when you have 20? Does it Really truly cost you dearly and painfully to allow someone else in front of you while you are driving because they need to make a turn. Must you always be the front rank car on the road? Finally, is it truly necessary to insult, demean, demoralize and say cruel things to someone else because in some twisted way, it makes you feel just a tad better?

These are questions I've always noticed most people do not bother to ask themselves.

The tragedy here is the result of a twisted and cruel soul, it is not unique, it is not even uncommon unfortunately. Nor is it some tragic new trend. I wish it had never occurred. In the end, the person who steps up and places themselves in harms way to save someone else, even at the cost of their own life, should always be honored. It is especially fortunate if the person, be they adult or even especially a child, survive.

What a non-sequitur post. The kids and the janitor were brave too but they weren't union members and the kids weren't paid anything for their bravery. Lame idiot trying to make a case for Unions on this tragic post.

As opposed to your own lame idiocy in your previous, globa,l anti-psychiatry statements. Clearly your hostility goes untreated.

Kantor you are an idiot. This is about a massacre of children at the hands of another 20 year old that was probably secular with little or no compassion in his heart and most likely that had a soul that was consumed by drugs, hatred and darkness. Hopefully the nation will listen, learn and turn back to God. Stop tring to make this about politics.

Some people will not 'get it' on sarcasm, so I'll put it in layman's terms. It is sad that teachers get a bad rap, when the truth is teaching is an honorable career. And majority of the people that chooses this field are people who are passionate in reaching out and and making a difference in our children to hopefully grow up into an outstanding citizen, and they don't make a lot of money for what they do. I have a lot of friends who are teachers, and they deserve RESPECT.

Juno6 this not the time to try to villify the right or left but a time to come together as a nation and turn back to God. I am not an evangelical christian, but I am not suprised that this happens with more regularity than it should. When our courts and individuals become secular and try to exclude God from one's life, things like this will happen.

Teaching is an honourable profession, and good teachers should be rewarded and respected.

Kantor, this is hardly the time to be debating the pay and bloated benefits union members get.

@demar

I don't think the teachers, custodian and library aide in that school were paid enough. I also don't think that their pay ever entered their mind as they tried to protect their students.

But you just did it. Didn't you demar? Nice little dig there at the end.

John Q Public-6353273

Juno6 this not the time to try to villify the right or left

LOL....Hey, just pick one, I do believe it's you and the "right" who are destroying unions, not the left....

John Q- in 3.3, With all your "probably-most likely-hopefully"s in your statement, was your comment even worth typing? I would say probably not, most likely it was pointless. Hopefully, you can do better next time.

What has god to do with any of this? So we should turn back to god? 200 years ago (when more people went to church than do now) slavery was legal, women were property, children as young as these victims worked in factories. Instead lets turn to respecting everyone, blacks, gays, Iranians, everyone. Let's get the violence out of our TV and films and video games (or at least reduce it a bit). Let's have a health system that allows people to obtain mental health services easily. I say the more we get away from religion of all shades the sooner we will have one less reason to hate each other.

Why is it people pull out that nonsense about 'God' at time like these? Here's a question for all you people who want us to continue believing in a man made fantasy friend called 'God', "If God were so great, why'd he allow 20 of his youngest, most innocent, creations to be blown to smithereens by a 20 year old nut case?"... I thought he was 'all knowing', could HE not prevent this?.

Yeah, thought you'd not have an answer to that, and certainly not surprised. People are responsible for themselves, not your BS 'God'.

RIP little ones and all those who were murdered for no reason...

steada, yes, little dreams under their trees that will never come true. What a beautiful post.

Adam Lanza's Photo on Facebook. Big difference from the one the media is trying so hard to sell you on.

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/3611_423506811050933_1150852840_n.jpg

Getmad: You keep posting that link. What exactly are you trying to say? What is the media's motivation for running the picture they have? Clearly you have an opinion - what is it?

May God bless them all and give them peace to endure this terrible tragedy.

I hope that the parents, families and friends will find a way to come to live with this tragedy. But tell me why god is now going to bless them? If he can do that now, why didn't he stop the killer. This is your all powerful god we are talking about, isn't it?

@Getnadstaymad Thanks for the link Adams Lanza hipocrit he framed his brother with this crime

check his profile Anarchist Communist he never lived under Communism he should have been shipped to Cuba or China spoiled brat ,he was probably told too many time that he is genius it's got to his head .....

Imagine what the outcome could have been had one of those heros had a gun. Maybe a lot less deaths.

Imagine the outcome had one of those heros had a gun to defend those children.

Guns are not the problem >> Idiots are the problem!

And again here we go with the gun frenzy. Cars kill too. What if he had driven his car into a classroom? Would we call for a ban on cars? What if he used household products and created a bomb and killed the kids with that - would we ban household products?

Psychiatry is the deadly killer behind these attacks. Now there is something we should ban. In their own words psychiatrists acknowledge that they can't cure anyone and there is ample evidence that the drugs serve one purpose - to make the doctors and pharmaceutical companies rich beyond your wildest dreams.

Seymour - don't you have something better to do? Go to church - say a prayer for us all.

"It is time to get rid of ALL guns." Wrong. I will tell you why. You and others believe that if all firearms are removed from civillians, peace will abound and there will rose petals floating in the air. Wrong. Civillians carrying guns is a peaceful and civilized thing to do. Why? If you are approached by one or more people, who have the intent to harm you and you have a firearm, you can easily deter them from their intent. And in many cases, simply seeing the weapon at your side is enough to make your would-be attackers go away. In other words, the peace is kept. Now, in your ideal world, you are approached by the same people who mean to do you harm. But now, you have no defensive weapon, because your wish was granted and the right of the people to keep and bear arms was removed. So you are attacked and seriously injured or killed. So I ask you: where is the peace? There is none. Removal of firearms mandates domination by the young the strong or the many. You have no defense. Guns work. Guns protect. Guns save lives. A gun is an excellent self defense tool, but only if you have one.

You know it`s interesting. In Israel, the government dosent disarm it`s citizens, it arms them. The Israeli government encourages it`s citizens to walk around with full auto weapons slung over their shoulders. Even the school teachers are armed, with UZIs. Thats right. If you enter a school in Israel to harm childeren, you will be fired upon by teachers with automatic weapons. But here in the USA, all our teachers can do, is hide in a closet, waiting for a policeman to show up and rescue everyone. Which is better? An armed citizenry, or a defenseless people who can only hide from danger? The removal of guns will NOT reduce violent crime, as you and others believe, it will only leave people at the mercy of criminals, which is no mercy at all. If someone wants to kill children, and they have no gun, that wont stop them. All they need is about a half dozen homemade firebombs. Light the fuse and toss. Or a how about a whizzing chainsaw. Or a machete and a hatchet? There are many ways to murder children. If some of the teachers in that school in Conn were trained and armed, they would have been able to return fire and stop the shooter. Now all they can do is attend funerals. Guns save lives, but only if you have them.

dirp you are an idiot...how is taking my right to own guns away from me going to stop gun shootings? Please tell me because me having a gun has prevented my death on 3 different occasions. Do you really think the criminals will give up there guns? Those kids died for many horrible reasons, but none of them were because I own a gun.

Imagine if the "shooter" did not have access to "guns." Your reasoning is ass backwards. And yes...idiots are the problem. When they have easy access to "guns" = nightmare. And since we can not get rid of the idiots...then it makes sense to get rid of the guns.

And yet, these heroes were able to save so many children without being armed themselves.

To friends of teachers , above, claiming that if one rteacher had a gun the outcome would have been different,

One teacher did have a gun, in fact she had several. Her son used those guns to kill her, her co-workers, and 20 children.

Ringsize42 excellent comment!!!!

"And yet, these heroes were able to save so many children without being armed themselves."

They could have saved more if they were trained and armed. Visit Israel. The teachers there are armed with automatic weapons. A gun is a machine, it only does what you make it do. The evil is in the heart of the attacker. Criminals do not like to get shot. Guns are murderer repellant.

Imagine if there had been armed security instead of electronic security at school as there should be at every elemntary school. Disarming the public is not the answer, it would have made it much worse. Why do these 20 something when they want to take out their aggression go after a place that is filled full of children that are not able to defend themselves and the place is unarmed. We should model ourselves after Switzerland. Every citizen is required to carry a firearm and is trained in the use of the firearms. Can you say "Congress shall enact no laws that infribge upon these rights"

ringsize42 You are a sick troll. you are trying to make political points at a time when the parents are greiving over the loss of their children. Pathetic

To all of you gun proponents, notice the article states that the shooter took his mother's guns. If the guns weren't so readily available the shooter may not have committed the crime in the first place. The reason we need to remove so many guns from society is because any psycho or criminal can get a hold of one easily. Yes, he could've gotten them somewhere else, but having the guns at home was too easy.

By the way, the reason why Israelis can carry Uzi's is to defend themselves in a very volatile environment with a history of terrorist activity.

My heart goes out to everyone at the school.

JohnQpublic . . . you are correct. Ringsize42 is suffering from a sickness called being a bully.

John Q...Now if we tax the hell out of gun ownership(like tobacco) to pay for enhanced security in the schools, then you may have a point.

yeah Merkin...taxing me the honest law-abiding citizen who owns a gun is a great way to prevent a criminal or phycho from doing harm. chicago is trying that now...doesnt look like its having much effect with all those murders there.

His mother WAS NOT a teacher at the school. There has been a great deal of MISinformtion including WHO the shooter was.

I for one would not to have armed teachers, too many accidents would happen.

I am heart sick and really do not know the answer. But what I do know is that we have to do something. No one is trying to take your guns (or mine) but from what I have seen and read, what is being asked is a reasonable and serious control on how guns can be obtained.

We can NOT keep doing this people. What's next a daycare? Maternity ward? Home for the aged? The most vulnerable among us are being slaughtered!!! Slaughtered people! We just CAN NOT do this ever again. Whether on this level or one on one. Somehow someway this has got to STOP!!!

DIRP <~~~> In my town, some years ago, a man walked into a city hall meeting (leaving two police officers lying dead on the pavement outside) and opened fire. Several were killed, several more injured, some permanently) The shooter had his own weapon, plus those of the officers he had left dead outside, so he would not have ran out of ammunition anytime soon. He was stopped, however, by a third police officer, already inside the City Hall building, but not in the meeting hall and was unaware of the murders outside. He heard the sounds of gunfire in the meeting hall and ran into it. he evaluated the situation immediately and shot to death the shooter point blank. Otherwise, it is almost a certainty, that several more people would have died. Your response, I'm pretty sure, will be, "But, this was a law enforcement officer. That's different." I say: "Yes, it is different---in a way---but, what if ONE (at least) citizen had been carrying? Would it not be possible that, save for the first victim, all the dead and injured would have been saved. Even, if not all, then some.

Yes Todd.. I'm glad you agree. And your idea on expanding the zone of gun control around Chicago should help over time.

Yes Matilda..fortunate in your example. But, what if "the shooter" did not own his own weapon, all the dead and injured would have been saved. A response, "He would have stolen one" or "used a sharp stick." Yes that is possible. It is also possible (as many are fond of using hypotheticals) that firearm gave him the "courage" to do what he did and without it nothing would have occurred. As weak as my argument is...so is the converse.

Do not arm the teachers. But maybe it's time to consider trained and armed security guards for our children at all of the schools across the nation. At least until something is done about the guns on our streets.

ringsize42 You are a sick troll. you are trying to make political points at a time when the parents are greiving over the loss of their children. Pathetic

JohnQPublic: I don't know whether to be amused or disgusted by this post, seeing that in your post immediately before this one, you were discussing the politics of gun ownership and people having a "right" to own guns. (Which, by the way, the 2nd amendment does NOT guarantee - it allowed for gun ownership based on the fact AT THE TIME that a "standing militia" was necessary. When everyone who yells about their second amendment rights agrees to join the National Guard - today's equivalent of that "standing militia" - then we'll talk.) So if anyone is being pathetic, it's you.

And just so you'll know - I'm not a "gun control nut". I believe that there should definitely be restrictions on the KINDS of gun people should own - as no one outside of the police or military needs to have an automatic or semiautomatic weapon. However, I have the intelligence to realize that attempting to ban guns altogether won't solve the problem. If someone wants to get a gun, he or she will find a way to do it. Look at the convicted felon in CA a couple of years back that managed to obtain a gun, walk into the restaurant where his stepdaughter and her family were eating, and start shooting at them.

ringsize42 You are a sick troll. you are trying to make political points at a time when the parents are greiving over the loss of their children. Pathetic

JohnQPublic: I don't know whether to be amused or disgusted by this post, seeing that in your post immediately before this one, you were discussing the politics of gun ownership and people having a "right" to own guns. (Which, by the way, the 2nd amendment does NOT guarantee - it allowed for gun ownership based on the fact AT THE TIME that a "standing militia" was necessary. When everyone who yells about their second amendment rights agrees to join the National Guard - today's equivalent of that "standing militia" - then we'll talk.) So if anyone is being pathetic, it's you.

Matilda Tuscany

DIRP <~~~> In my town, some years ago, a man walked into a city hall meeting (leaving two police officers lying dead on the pavement outside) and opened fire. Several were killed, several more injured, some permanently) The shooter had his own weapon, plus those of the officers he had left dead outside, so he would not have ran out of ammunition anytime soon. He was stopped, however, by a third police officer, already inside the City Hall building, but not in the meeting hall and was unaware of the murders outside. He heard the sounds of gunfire in the meeting hall and ran into it. he evaluated the situation immediately and shot to death the shooter point blank. Otherwise, it is almost a certainty, that several more people would have died. Your response, I'm pretty sure, will be, "But, this was a law enforcement officer. That's different." I say: "Yes, it is different---in a way---but, what if ONE (at least) citizen had been carrying? Would it not be possible that, save for the first victim, all the dead and injured would have been saved. Even, if not all, then some.

So the first 2 policemen were unarmed. Perhaps if they had been armed, one of them could have killed the assailant? I suspect that unless you are well trained, it would be very hard to shoot someone else who is shooting people all around you. Look at all the times the police kill bystanders at shoot outs.

Have you seen Adam Lanza's facebook photo?

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/3611_423506811050933_1150852840_n.jpg

@ MOllY ...I heard that before too and know someone now he is homeless with very well establish family genius personality are like fliping coins ....perfect example Aurora shooter .....

You will never get rid of the guns but we can create a fight back strategy that might work. Pay them a teachers salary and protect our children!

You cant have a one income family on a teachers salary. Police, teachers, military, EMTs and firefighters are shamefully underpaid. Someone competent to do the job you suggest can make 10x that somewhere else.

Sadly, we are getting what we pay for.

Now that's a good idea, J.R.

My heart goes out to the victims and their families. I wish these horrible acts would stop.

I got an idea. Place one retired military , navy seal, army ranger, Marine, heavily armed at the most likely entrance to every school in America

That may cover the schools, but what about the shopping malls, libraries, hotels, concerts, sporting events, bus stations, grocery stores, used car lots, office buildings, golf courses and restaurants?

New Start 2012 - If everyone was armed who is not insane or a criminal, all of those places would be a lot safer. Anyone crazy enough to try to harm others would be immediately neutralized by the law-abiding, armed citizens around him/her.

Learnt Hick <<<>>> J. R. was talking about RETIRED personnel. All these people already have one or more checks coming in from their lifetime job and/or social security. Plus, many also have spouses who are receiving their own checks or still working.

I can't imagine some militant standing around for 8 hours doing nothing but staring out in the clear blue yonder waiting for that 1 in a million attack on the school. The solutions has to be more mechanical. like a fence with an alarm and speakerphone. Anyone wants in must identify himself and have the credentials to enter. If they don't, they need to be detained, possibly searched and have a good ecplaination why they are there. It appears Newtown had taken some certain surcurity measures but no-one realized that someone only had to blowup the entrance to get in.

Yep, the gun control nuts will sweep this under the floor, when guns were HARDER to obtain.

Which is why incidents like this do NOT support the "get rid of guns" movement. If the guy wanted to kill people and did not have a gun, he may have built a bomb and killed more people. And what if someone at the school had a gun (I am not saying teachers should carry guns to school) but just think - maybe NO ONE would have died if a "good guy" would have been armed.

But she did not store the guns safely and hence tragedy.

After 9/11 we do a lot more to track ammonium nitrate and other ingredients to explosives. We outlaw, or require special hard to obtain permits for explosives. And it works! If you are going to sit here and tell me that we should make explosives legal "cause theyll just get em anyway" then your crazy.

If you think we should sell Glock 18 full auto handguns and RPGs in the sporting goods store then your crazy.

If you think what we have is a "Well regulated Militia" as outlined in the 2nd amendment of the United States Constitution then you either have the reading comprehension of some of our judges or your crazy.

misla a good guy WAS armed during the Arizona massacre that injured Congresswoman Giffards. He had a Glock 19 and did not act, he feared he would hit a bistandard.

Why would an elementary teacher like this guys mom have all these weapons in the first place? Is it going to be the usual response..for protection? Maybe she bought them for him because he couldnt get them otherwise? There are just too many guns in the wrong hands here perhaps too many Americans are just incapable of handeling this freedom we have!

She, like every other law-abiding citizen, has that right. You don't get to make her justify what car she chooses to drive, what color she paints her house, or whether she spends the money she earns on guns. It's called freedom, and it's one of the great things about our country. The fact that someone misuses their freedom to harm others does not mean the freedom of the rest of us should be denied.

Heather in Washington a few questions-

1) Do I have the freedom to drive an automobile as i please while drunk?

2) Do kindergarteners in America have the right to not be PUMPED FULL OF BULLETS?

3) Do I have the right to own a hand grenade or RPG?

celnav...you cant buy full aotos they are already illegal to own, same with RPG's. Get your facts straight before you post...The supreme court has deemed the 2nd Amendment an individual right not a "comprehension of some of our judges"...It was put in our constitution to give us the ability to protect ourselves from THEM. Hankf, who has the right to deem if im sane enough or you are sane enough to own a gun...the government? Dont think I'll rely on the government to do anything for me. they are the epitomy of corruption

celnav, you have no idea how she stored the guns since it hasn't been made public so don't make statements that you can not back up with facts.

oh by the way I never shot an innocent person and I've been lucky enough to not have had to shoot anyone to protect anyone but as long as im not in a government facility I am willing and able to protect.

Celnav

1) It is not a constitutionally guaranteed right to drive drunk, and for good reason.

2) I won't even respond to this one, as it's too ridiculous. Of course kids, and everybody else, deserve to be safe.

3) Yes, you can own dangerous items, but only in ways, and with proper licenses, that are mandated by law. And just like your car, you are not allowed to use them to harm other people.

Heather in Washington just so you know, Im not for banning guns. Im a gun owner and former Marine. But I do see that the world is not black and white. I do see that while semi-auto firearms are easy to get full auto, suppressors, destructive devices are hard to get. My question, the question we should be asking as a country is -where is the line, where should it be?

Regarding you response to #3, proper licenses, etc, for dangerous devices. Do yo think we have it just right now? Why do you make it so hard for me to exercise my right to get a full auto? Maybe we should exercise the responsibility that comes with our rights and demand that our fellow citizens store firearms properly. Perhaps in a municipal armory. Just a thought. Perhaps we should evaluate why we have the laws the way that they are now. If we make hi cap mags as hard to get as RPGs would that be good? Or would it be good to make it as easy to get RPGs as it is to get hi cap mags?

Celnav - Thank you for your service to our country, and thank you for giving us the freedoms we enjoy. I know you have sacrificed for the good of all citizens, and I am grateful.

I do agree that it is a matter of knowing where to draw the line. I also agree that there must be some controls on guns. For instance, people should not be allowed to fire into the air to celebrate New Years, or anything else. That's just plain irresponsible. However, I don't agree that law-abiding citizens should be deprived of their constitutional right to keep and bear arms. Had there been several armed citizens in the school at the time of this tragedy, there might have been far fewer people shot.

A crazy person will always be able to arm themselves, perhaps with a sword, machete, homemade bomb, car on the playground at recess, etc., etc., etc. If we had enough sane, armed individuals around, the crazy person could be stopped. Taking the guns away from sane, law-abiding citizens prevents them from stopping such a tragedy. Curtailing the freedoms of the vast majority of people because there are a very few crazy or evil people, I believe is the wrong answer. There will always be crazy and/or evil people in our midst. We need to be able to stop them, and being armed helps us stop them. Disarming good people will never stop the bad people.

@ Heather in Washington !! I do believe she should not own a gun in the house while she could not properly care for unstable child of hers not that she did not have the money ,too proud to acknowledge his unfortunate situation ,evil side of him check his post on FC. intolerable human being, spoiled brat, along with his mother ,living well and bored with their life's , on her husband's earning.Now to answer your ignorant comment in time of suffering like this take your freedom and walkaway from this post or send some condolences to the parents that their hearts are bleeding in pain

I am a substitute teacher in a local school district. All the the buildings have signs on them advertising that guns are not permitted on the premises by law. Some of the schools have 'security buzzers' that a visitor presses supposedly to be responded to by a voice on an intercom asking the visitor to identify his/herself and state the purpose of the visit.

The intercom at at least one of the buildings is about 10' from the bell button and volume is not very loud. If one steps to the intercom to hear/be heard, they are out of sight of the personnel in the office, so it impossible to listen to and observe the visitor at the same time.

On my last visit there, no one responded to my 'ring' over the intercom, and I clearly could not see them nor they me. I suddenly realized that the lock was 'buzzing' and therefore released and I was provided entry.

When I explained to the staff that they were not following their own advertised security guidelines and that had I been an intruder with malicious intent, I could have killed everyone in the office, thereby rendering calls for help impossible, and gone down the halls from one classroom to the next killing every staff member and student in the building, the response was blank stares as though they had no clue.

Chastising that they were being wreckless with their responsibility for the safety and security of the children of others I was told "We have kids here also."

Sorry, folks. That doesn't cut it. It has less to do with guns that it does people. If a person wants a weapon, they will find a way to make one if they cannot otherwise obtain one. Gun laws only work for law abiding citizens. The rest don't care. Check the prisons. Weapons are forbidden however inmates are always finding ways to make weapons - and they are successful.

The real problem is man's inhumanity to his kind. Fix that and you will stop all of this hideous and horrific nonsense.

Check the stats for China where guns are controlled and having one illegally in your poession gets you anywhere from 3 years in prison up to dead. Maybe criminals wouldn't be willing to illegally sell guns if they knew they could possibly die as a result.

i agree these teachers are allready given our trust why not let them carry .i truly believe these nuts are one in a million .i would rather see more of the good guys carry guns. the nuts dont care if guns are illegal the last time i looked murder was illegal.when i get in my car i wouldn't even think about going on a trip without a spare tire or a jack in the trunk,the chances are i'll never need it,but it's nice to know if i get a blow out i have the tools to repair it. a gun is no more then a tool in the tool box you hope and pray you never need it. but if you do you got it.if i'm in my home and someone is breaking in at night i'm sure glad i have more then a frying pan to protect my family you get the point.if those teachers who allready have federal background checks did have guns maybe just maybe it might have saved even one of those precious kids.god bless the families

I can't believe people are seriously advocating for armed teachers. smh

I understand the idea of letting teachers have guns but I feel a lot safer right now in school without teachers having guns. I know a few teachers who own guns but I would never ever ever want them to bring them into the school. There are to many students I dont trust and to many teachers as well. It wouldnt be a good idea, instead of having people like this guy breaking into schools we would just have nut jobs already in the schools with guns.

LUDICROUS teachers carrying in a school.

I agree Rick2254-If these school and Mall shooters had the knowledge that when they pull out their guns and start firing there may be 4 or 5 others firing back they might not try it in the first place or at least fewer would die. The fact that very few carry makes it easy for them. Forget the chicken in every pot-A Glock in every pocket or purse is much better.

being armed doesn't mean walking around like a security guard which is so way obvious.being armed is no more then a small side arm that anyone in the school who is in a place of authority overseeing our children has this right to protect our children.look teachers have to or should have gone through all types of federal background checks just sex crimes.if it was your child in that school in newtown wouldn't you have wished that someone in the schools(one of the good guys) had a chance to stop what took place..i know i would have wanted someone.to try and stop it with more then crayons and glue stick.look its just a suggestion you dont have to agree everyone would just like to see things like this tradgedy stop

alright class I want everyone to be quiet please with the gun on top of the desk. I don't think teacher are the right person to carry guns. We need to have a special tax on our payroll just to cover for the expense of paying a couple of police officer with metal detector on hand.

i cant agree more. take all the guns from law abiding citizens and only criminals can get guns even if production stops there are other countries to get them from. actually other countries have some of the better and badder gus around besides do u know how easy it is to make a gun yourself. I think we should stand by the second ammendment and carry guns without enfringment because the laws don't allow law abiding citizens to carry guns on govhave u noticed most massernment property to include schools which is why the teachers were defensless. have u noticed most mass shootings are on government property, anti gun laws didn't help much did they because criminals don't care about hte law.

He shot his way into the school, it was forced entry NO ONE let him in!

mommiof1 -

Actually, it was reported this morning on both ABC and CBS that someone hit the buzzer releasing the lock on the door allowing him to gain entry. The 'official' being interviewed said that they had not yet determined who the person was who 'released the lock." I thought I heard that statement last night however was not sure until hearing it twice this morning.

Update: He shot his way into the school. I know I know, it is much more fun to blame someone in the school. But the fact remains that he was the SON of one of their TEACHERS, so if he showed up and said he was there on behalf of his mother and they had never had a problem with him before, then there would have been no issue with opening the door. Now would there?

Logic, let's try that, okay?

Except if the kids in the room with the gunman try to exit the room, the gunman could have followed and masacre more children and adults than he did. No.. Schools have to secure classrooms to keep gunmen out in the first place.

I disagree, John. The shooter can only be in one place at a time. This gives the rest of the rooms time to evacuate and run to safety. I'm not saying there won't be any victims. I'm just saying that these poor kids won't be trapped like rats waiting for the gunman to find them huddled in a corner somewhere. Besides, having a door doesn't make the classroom insecure if it is steel, always locked, and can only be opened from the inside. If a classroom has windows, by definition it is already "insecure". Might as well give them a fighting chance.

@Judy, just change locks on the existing doors. Can't get in unless you have a key or someone inside opens it.

By all means, get better locks on the inside doors to the hallways. But, all the shooter has to do is shoot the lock out and in he comes! What I propose is putting two doors in every classroom. One to the hallway and another steel door to the outside of the building. While the crazy is making his way down the hallway, kids in the other rooms have a means of exit without going past him. I know it sound simplistic but it seems so obvious that these kids and young adults who are killed are just trapped in those classrooms without a way of escape. Short of gun control (which is highly unlikely in this country) the only solution is to try to find innovative ways to keep the kids safe. Steel outside doors can easily replace a window or two, would be low cost to make those modifications, and would give the teacher a way to get the kids out. Just my thinking.

Very good point, and thanks for your service.

I disagree...As with all our other rights the 2nd Amendment is an individual right...Which has been upheld by the Supreme court numerous times. As far as me securing my weapons? My safe at my house is the best place for it...Not some armory (nearest one 45 miles away). How can I protect myself and my family without a weapon available when I need it? I'm also a vet. 21 years Army. I carry 90% of the time I'm out of my home. I refuse to be a victim because you dont think I should of been able to carry.

I'm not paranoid, but how can a locked gun protect one in the case of a home intrusion when people get coralled into one room. Each person must deal with his/her own conscience in this matter. The arguments continue about the militia wording. I think each Americn has the right to bear arms. If more regular folks went to the shooting range regularly, then the normal folks would outnumber the kooks with guns. You have to have access to the gun in an emergency, which means it should be in a holster on your body somewhere. Tack the sign up on your car or door than Smith & Wesson protect you & the would be robbers will choose the next home to invade. It comes down to personal responsibility. Next we are our brother's keepers, to keep them safe. With the many mental breakdowns we see on a daily basis in this country, it's time for plain citizens to take a stance on personal protection against those who would cause bodily harm to you & yours. I'm not taking into account the mad bombers. We need to have neighborly concern for our fellow man & spread love & concern for those who may feel they are rejected by society. Let's be inclusive so as to lessen the reasons a young person would take it out on strangers.

Todd, as an Army vet you likely have loads of training, you have a safe, you actually carry a firearm. From what I know you are likely one of the best people we can have in our community. When you joined the Army they vetted you, they carefully inspected you and your past to try and ensure that you were a sane person. That works most of the time, but as we see from the Ft. Hood shooter, not always. When you got your concealed weapon permit your state probably did a background check, made you sit through one day of class and had you prove "competency". I say "competency" because I could literally pass the live fire test for concealed carry in Texas blindfolded- no joke!

My point is this- there can be millions and millions of good, law abiding gun owners in the nation, but it only takes a few nuts to cause mayhem. If the gun owner had all but one of her firearms locked in the armory and had no more than 30 rounds on her we would be in a better place today.

I understand your point about refusing to be a victim, but let me ask you- Why do you lay down and let the government take your right to arms, including RPGs and hand grenades. If you ever have to defend your family from a tyrannical government you semi auto only cap gun is weak sauce.

Tack the sign up on your car or door than Smith & Wesson protect you & the would be robbers will choose the next home to invade.

tinabellpeach so your fine if your neighbors get killed in a home invasion, just so long as its not you, right? I don't understand you logic. You say more people should go to the range, get guns. If they did that then the boogie man would see the sign on your neighbor's door and come knocking on your door. The safest way to live is for you to have a big gun and everybody else has no gun, but we can't do that.

Celnav - I admire that you seem to have put some thought into your position, rather than the knee-jerk, emotional response of most posters on this site. I agree with a great deal of what you wrote, but have to take exception to your idea of storing all weapons in the armory. First of all, anyone violently overthrowing the government would then have the ability to deprive the citizens of their ability to defend themselves or the legitimate government against them. Second, it deprives law-abiding citizens of their right to defend themselves against the nonlaw-abiding people. If my gun is locked up in the armory when someone is kicking in my front door, then my gun isn't much use to me. You are absolutely right that guns should be secured. That's why we have a gun safe. But we, not the government, control our gun safe. And that's the way I think it needs to stay.

During a tragedy such as this, everyone starts to make pronouncements about how these kinds of tragedies can be avoided as this is a necessary step in the healing process and of general understanding.

All our prayers and hearts go out to the families and victims involved.

However..........gun owners will not give up their firearms to the governmental authority or the "local armory for safekeeping" because in doing so they render themselves and their families useless and defenseless against a tyrannical government.......this is precisely why there is resistance to that thought process........whether or not the governmental authority is federal, state, county or local..........."if" that government decided to ACT on any despotic plan for full control over the serfs they could do it if they all the local arms stored safely in an armory that they ALONE CONTROLLED.

The ability to keep your arms "at the ready and within a minute" is what the "Colonial Minutemen" knew well..........getting your arms "quickly" is embedded in our country, in fact that was part and parcel of our country becoming a nation and defeating Great Britain. When tyranny ruled we were ready. When you saw the Redcoats or a despotic "Tory", you were ready...........

Guns don't kill. People do.

NO one mentioned the knife attack yesterday in China whereby a crazy lunatic killed like 22 kids - almost an identical massacre - and very tragic too - only he used a KNIFE, "not" a gun..........are we going to outlaw KNIVES next???

The first caveman used a ROCK to kill the neighboring caveman. Doesn't make it right, but it shows that the human animal will use WHATEVER is available to them.

Not to take away from the families grief here, but it is true that car accidents kill more people than guns every year anyway. Are we going to outlaw cars???

I can hear the public service ad now........"cars kill".

NO one mentioned the knife attack yesterday in China whereby a crazy lunatic killed like 22 kids - almost an identical massacre - and very tragic too - only he used a KNIFE, "not" a gun..........are we going to outlaw KNIVES next???

Because those kids in China weren't killed. http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/14/15901085-villager-slashes-22-kids-with-knife-at-elementary-school-gates-in-china?lite

Facts are your friends, especially when trying to equate the ability to kill with a gun and a knife. Ever heard that phrase, don't bring a knife to a gunfight?

Thank you for being a reasonable gun owner. Unfortunately, this is not the way of most Americans who are infatuated with their guns and who I hold responsible for allowing our country to go down this evil and insane path. Anyone who is not in support of gun CONTROL (not gun BANNING), is partially responsible for each and every gun atrocity in the U.S. For all of you who unconditionally defend your "right" to have a gun, you helped make this hell happen. Do you really want to keep allowing it?

John-1779666

"Horible...Horible reporting!!!"

"Horrible" even. <rolls eyes> (spell checker is your friend.)

The child thought of himself as a hero in the making, a calm in the storm. He thought himself, without regard for himself, able to help others in a horrific situation. He should be commended. Not ridiculed by the likes of you.

I applaud the child for what he accomplished. You probably would have stood there pi$$ing your pants.

John 1779666 #22 - Sat Dec 15, 2012 12:34 PM CST & MRI_Virginia #22.1 - Sat Dec 15, 2012 12:48 PM CST

If you had seen the interview with the teacher, she had the kids, either kindergarten or first grade, I don't recall, 'stuffed' into a very tight space - closet or restroom - and was trying to keep them calm. In her efforts to calm them and assure them of their safety, some of her students began offering up things they could do to protect one another. That child NEVER ONCE thought of himself as a hero, he was only offering up confident assistance to his teacher.

How people can blow such innocent comments out of proportion is beyond me. STOP thinking as grownups and remember what it was to be a child. You can more logically capture the remarks without making such absurd assumptions.

BDL103108 Very well said .this were 5-10 year old, they do not know the power of guns ,he was thinking that his karate lessons will cover the teacher and his friends .What a sweet thought ,I hope that more people will cherish this and he is a Hero a protector ,God bless him.

Right, because the smartest thing to do in that situation is open fire when little kids are around. I'm not opposed to gun control, but to say that elementary school teachers should be packing heat is 100% ridiculous.

Not sure how you can "guarantee" anything without personally knowing someone...but your agenda is quite clear.

The school killings will never be zero. The children's books, "Farmer Boy," by Laura Ingels Wilder and "Strawberry Girl" by Lois Lenski, recount actual events of teachers being beaten to death by older boys in the late 1800's and early 1900's. There have been other events since then that simply aren't part of the national conscientiousness, but they happened.

Why is the media hiding this facebook photo?

http://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/3611_423506811050933_1150852840_n.jpg

Oh maybe because it is NOT him. Much like the fabled photo of Travon Martin, which was NOT him. Don't start this sh!t. Some one created that and then said: look, see ... this is what he really is. And that would be someone with an agenda.

Unless and Until his family comes out and says yes this is him. Stop IT!!!

And now what do we have. The police saying that the misinformation online is JUST that. Just like the link you keep posting. But here's the good thing, they are going to prosecute for things like this. I love screenshots, don't you?