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ORIGINAL: stef

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ORIGINAL: MmeGigs

We're cutting the legs out from under the people we're counting on to keep us safe.  It's sick and sad.

Who are these people you are counting on to keep you safe? 

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ORIGINAL: housesub4you

This is already being done, and it has been done for a long long time. 

Every firearm produced in this country is test fired and the shell is sent along with the serial number to the FBI for their database.

The theory is that they will be able to use this record to track ownership of a gun used in a felony.  That's the theory anyway

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ORIGINAL: FirmhandKY
Perhaps what is sick and sad is the attempt to cloak a political agenda as a "public health issue":

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ORIGINAL: boytoy4female

This event brings to the surface, a personal struggle that I am facing. I have a concealed weapons permit, but I really do not carry except on rare occasions. Now I find myself thinking I should carry more often, even to church. Say I was sitting in the last pew, saw the events unfold and could have saved a life by acting as I am authorized. How would I feel, knowing I could have prevented some loss had I been  carrying a concealed weapon? I don't know what the answer is. Im not a gun fanatic, but I am well trained in their handling. Am I a fanatic if I carry everywhere? Am I not up holding my obligation, by not being prepared?

quote:

This event brings to the surface, a personal struggle that I am facing. I have a concealed weapons permit, but I really do not carry except on rare occasions. Now I find myself thinking I should carry more often, even to church. Say I was sitting in the last pew, saw the events unfold and could have saved a life by acting as I am authorized. How would I feel, knowing I could have prevented some loss had I been  carrying a concealed weapon? I don't know what the answer is. Im not a gun fanatic, but I am well trained in their handling. Am I a fanatic if I carry everywhere? Am I not up holding my obligation, by not being prepared?

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ORIGINAL: MmeGigs

Law enforcement officers.  That's what we pay them for.

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Really?  There have been a couple of legal decisions that show that the police are not bound by any such duty to protect.  The only time such a duty exists is when one is in custody.

~stef

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 ORIGINAL: Archer
Since ther are folks who incite to riot do we limit speach?

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ORIGINAL: dcnovice

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ORIGINAL: philosophy

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ORIGINAL: Archer

(the shooter) targeted the congregation out of hatred for its support of liberal social policies.

(my added brackets)

...forget the debate around gun control The above quoted line is the important issue. There's been talk on these boards from some ( a vocal minority) that this sort of extremism is only a product of Islamic thought. The lesson to take away here is that extremism in all religions is the problem, not just one religion.

Well said, Philo. I don't know how religious the guy was, so it may have been political rather than religious extremism.

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ORIGINAL: kittinSol

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ORIGINAL: Thadius

Would the removal of all legally owned firearms from the world, put an end to gun violence?

Of course not. However... Would making it more difficult to obtain a gun help reduce the level of gun violence? Don't diss it till you've tried it. What's YOUR solution, Thadius?

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ORIGINAL: MrrPete

for an example read the Book of Job and pay close attention to the dialog between God and satan.

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ORIGINAL: Vendaval

The World Health Organization also tracks violence prevention.
 
"As of January 2007 three out of six WHO regional committees (Africa, the Americas and Europe) have adopted violence prevention resolutions; there are over 100 officially appointed health ministry focal persons for the prevention of violence; over 50 countries have had national launches of the World report on violence and health, and over 25 countries have developed reports and/or plans of action on violence and health. At the programme level, tens of thousands of people in scores of countries have been touched by violence prevention programmes and victim services established in response to the Global Campaign for Violence Prevention. Advocacy, normative guidance and the planting of programme seeds in many countries must now give way to scaled-up country-level implementation accompanied by a concerted effort to measure effectiveness using the outcomes that really matter - such as rates for violence-related deaths, non-fatal injuries and other violence-related health conditions."
 
http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/global_campaign/en/
 
 
The World Health Organization also researches and keeps statistics on suicide as a public health issue.

"About 877,000 people die by suicide every year."

http://www.who.int/mental_health/en/

 
 
Chapter 7, Self-directed violence
 
Method chosen

A major factor determining whether suicidal

behaviour will be fatal or not is the method chosen.

In the United States, guns are used in approximately

two-thirds of all suicides (105). In other parts of

the world, hanging is more common, followed by

the use of a gun, jumping from a height and

drowning. In China, intoxication by pesticides is

the most common method (106, 107).

 

In the past two decades, in some countries such

as Australia, there has been a remarkable increase in

hanging as a means of suicide, especially among

younger people, accompanied by a corresponding

decrease in the use of firearms (123124).  In general,

elderly people tend to adopt methods involving less

physical strength, such as drowning or jumping

from heights; this has been recorded particularly in

Hong Kong SAR, China, and Singapore (149).

 

Nearly everywhere, women tend to adopt ‘‘softer’’

methods – for example, overdosing with medicines

– both in fatal and in non-fatal suicide attempts

 

(189). A notable exception to this is the practice of

self-immolation in India."

http://www.who.int/violence_injury_prevention/violence/global_campaign/en/chap7.pdf

(page 14 out of 30)

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ORIGINAL: MmeGigs

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ORIGINAL: FirmhandKY
Perhaps what is sick and sad is the attempt to cloak a political agenda as a "public health issue":

The CDC studies cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes and other diseases, and they also study lead and asbestos, food safety, air and water pollution, seatbelts and airbags, playground equipment, fireworks, drunk driving, workplace environments, child abuse, injuries from falls and fires, youth violence, natural and man-made disasters, nail guns, paint guns, caulk guns...  pretty much anything that kills or injures a number of us.  Why wouldn't they study firearms?