Over/Under on how long until he tries it with somebody who beats the c... out of him/shoots him: 21 months

I'm so glad we clearly don't have a gun problem in this country.

In court Friday the 11-year-old boy was in tears and kept his head down the entire time.

Like the poet said, a gangstas life ain't fun.

The 11-year old's parents should be in jail too.

GAT_00: I'm so glad we clearly don't have a gun problem in this country.

My kids have always had access to guns but have never pointed them at someone or threatened others with one. Most of the kids out here are the same. There are more firearms than people in my town but yet we have not had a homicide with a firearm in living memory. IIRC, the last homicide was with a garden implement.

We do not have a problem with guns, we have a problem with people willing to use violence casually. I imagine him wanting to be a gang banger had more to do with this then access to firearms.

brerrabbit: We do not have a problem with guns, we have a problem with people willing to use violence casually.

I wonder if easy access to guns can ever be a problem with that. Nah, couldn't be. We never have mass shootings.

GAT_00: brerrabbit: We do not have a problem with guns, we have a problem with people willing to use violence casually.

I wonder if easy access to guns can ever be a problem with that. Nah, couldn't be. We never have mass shootings.

The gun is nothing more than a tool. The underlying cause is the kid's violent tendencies - why he thinks violence, including gun violence, is an acceptable first conflict resolution strategy. Kids like him don't usually have access to guns, true - but when kids beat the snot out of others, we don't say it's a fist problem. Or a bookbag problem.

Blaming this on guns is like blaming Columbine on Marilyn Manson. Where are the parents? The gun didn't tuck itself into the kid's waistband and magically turn him into a criminal.

Benevolent Misanthrope: GAT_00: brerrabbit: We do not have a problem with guns, we have a problem with people willing to use violence casually.

I wonder if easy access to guns can ever be a problem with that. Nah, couldn't be. We never have mass shootings.

The gun is nothing more than a tool. The underlying cause is the kid's violent tendencies - why he thinks violence, including gun violence, is an acceptable first conflict resolution strategy. Kids like him don't usually have access to guns, true - but when kids beat the snot out of others, we don't say it's a fist problem. Or a bookbag problem.

And I wonder if living in a society where people actually think it's a good thing that guns are everywhere and a necessary everyday companion is strongly enforcing that problem and perception of violence.

Nah, can't be.

GAT_00: brerrabbit: We do not have a problem with guns, we have a problem with people willing to use violence casually.

I wonder if easy access to guns can ever be a problem with that. Nah, couldn't be. We never have mass shootings.

IIRC, one of the first mass murders in the US was a disgruntled school employee who turned the boiler that supplied heat to the school into a bomb.

The problem is not the guns, but the people willing to kill others.

Access to guns makes it easier, but even without guns a person willing to kill others will find a way. Even if you make it harder to obtain a firearm, a person wanting to kill others will likely still be able to obtain a firearm because he is probably not that concerned about the law.

Yup, removing guns from the law abiding will make the world peaceloving and filled with candy and unicorn farts.

GAT_00: Benevolent Misanthrope: GAT_00: brerrabbit: We do not have a problem with guns, we have a problem with people willing to use violence casually.

I wonder if easy access to guns can ever be a problem with that. Nah, couldn't be. We never have mass shootings.

The gun is nothing more than a tool. The underlying cause is the kid's violent tendencies - why he thinks violence, including gun violence, is an acceptable first conflict resolution strategy. Kids like him don't usually have access to guns, true - but when kids beat the snot out of others, we don't say it's a fist problem. Or a bookbag problem.

And I wonder if living in a society where people actually think it's a good thing that guns are everywhere and a necessary everyday companion is strongly enforcing that problem and perception of violence.

Nah, can't be.

So, you're basically blaming this on the NRA and people who lawfully CC? I bet you blame Clinton for kids having pre-marital sex too....

GAT_00: Benevolent Misanthrope: GAT_00: brerrabbit: We do not have a problem with guns, we have a problem with people willing to use violence casually.

I wonder if easy access to guns can ever be a problem with that. Nah, couldn't be. We never have mass shootings.

The gun is nothing more than a tool. The underlying cause is the kid's violent tendencies - why he thinks violence, including gun violence, is an acceptable first conflict resolution strategy. Kids like him don't usually have access to guns, true - but when kids beat the snot out of others, we don't say it's a fist problem. Or a bookbag problem.

And I wonder if living in a society where people actually think it's a good thing that guns are everywhere and a necessary everyday companion is strongly enforcing that problem and perception of violence.

Nah, can't be.

There is still going to be violence even without firearms. The only difference is that it will be the strong victimizing the weak without consequence.Those willing to do violence upon others will always have the upper hand unless a means of providing equal footing is provided.

I prefer not to be a victim. I still have scars from my last encounter with a person willing to do violence. It will not happen again.

Again, it all gets back to the central point of people willing to hurt others to get their way.

This is what happens in a right-of-center society where showing a nipple shield on TV gets you threatened with a $550,000 fine but showing Jack Buaer kill 20 guys in 60 seconds gets you millions in advertising.

brerrabbit: IIRC, one of the first mass murders in the US was a disgruntled school employee who turned the boiler that supplied heat to the school into a bomb.

Oh well if there was one that wasn't, then it proves guns aren't a problem!

Fark It: NRA

They have more than anyone else convinced people that you need an arsenal to be REALLY free. Yes I blame them.

GAT_00: brerrabbit: IIRC, one of the first mass murders in the US was a disgruntled school employee who turned the boiler that supplied heat to the school into a bomb.

Oh well if there was one that wasn't, then it proves guns aren't a problem!



No, but it does prove that where there is a will, there is a way.

It's so much easier to blame the gun than the person. No critical thinking skills required.

I blame the internet. And the return of Swing music.

First, I'm a Canadian, living in Ottawa, so I am not trying to enter into some kind of right to arms debate that just doesn't apply to my perspective in this thread.

I do have a question, though. Why is there only a .76/100,000 death rate in Canada when it comes to firearms homicide, compared to a 7.07/100,000 death rate in the US for the same thing? Is it culture? Accessibility? Does back bacon and maple syrup make have an artery clogging calming effect on us?

Not trying to troll here. I guess I am tired of the smug, sanctimonious pat answers to this question so many of my compatriots offer.

GAT_00: I'm so glad we clearly don't have a gun problem in this country.

I don't want to get into an argument, it just seems to me, that people who want to be violent will find a way, regardless. If no gun had been available, I imagine he would've found another way. A kitchen knife, perhaps.

/My dad had guns my whole life. I never once had the desire to touch them.

FreakyBunny: First, I'm a Canadian, living in Ottawa, so I am not trying to enter into some kind of right to arms debate that just doesn't apply to my perspective in this thread.

I do have a question, though. Why is there only a .76/100,000 death rate in Canada when it comes to firearms homicide, compared to a 7.07/100,000 death rate in the US for the same thing? Is it culture? Accessibility? Does back bacon and maple syrup make have an artery clogging calming effect on us?

Not trying to troll here. I guess I am tired of the smug, sanctimonious pat answers to this question so many of my compatriots offer.

IMO, culture. Pop culture in the US tends to glorify violence.

GAT_00: Fark It: NRA

They have more than anyone else convinced people that you need an arsenal to be REALLY free. Yes I blame them. I'm a hand-wringing moron

FreakyBunny: First, I'm a Canadian, living in Ottawa, so I am not trying to enter into some kind of right to arms debate that just doesn't apply to my perspective in this thread.

I do have a question, though. Why is there only a .76/100,000 death rate in Canada when it comes to firearms homicide, compared to a 7.07/100,000 death rate in the US for the same thing? Is it culture? Accessibility? Does back bacon and maple syrup make have an artery clogging calming effect on us?

Not trying to troll here. I guess I am tired of the smug, sanctimonious pat answers to this question so many of my compatriots offer.

Disparity of wealth, education, less social programs, glamorization of gang life among inner city youths, differring cultures, larger numbers of disenfranchised minorities, not punishing violent offenders adequately because they have to make room for victimless crimes ,and so forth.

Pointing at a gun and saying that it is the problem ignores everything that led up to that point. It is a simple answer for a simple person.

crab66: brerrabbit: We do not have a problem with guns, we have a problem with people willing to use violence casually. I imagine him wanting to be a gang banger had more to do with this then access to firearms.

That's what happens when you glorify violence and repress sexuality.

Actually, I think you have a very good case with your argument.

Talk about some bad reporting in the article.

FTFA:Police said he had a loaded .22-caliber semiautomatic handgun in his waistband.

Didn't the author get the message. All handguns are to be referred to as "glocks".