Connecticut School District on Lockdown Following Shooting Report

[Areesh]

If it's karma...what explains the many more murders in Pakistan?

Don't know. Well this is the same stuff your allies(Bharatis) keep talking about.

 

[ahfatzia]

Another school massacre pressures Obama on U.S. gun control


(Reuters) - The mass killing on Friday at a Connecticut school put renewed pressure on U.S. President Barack Obama and other Democrats to reverse their years of caution about gun control laws and address the easy availability of firearms.

The scenes from Sandy Hook Elementary - of children running from a school where a lone gunman killed at least 20 children and six adults - were certain to stir public opinion, supporters of gun control said.

Just an hour after Obama tearfully said on national television that the country needs "meaningful action to prevent more tragedies," about 200 people rallied outside the White House on a cold evening in favor of gun restrictions.

Their hopes were buoyed by Obama's re-election last month, a development that could free the president - a longtime advocate for gun control - to approach the subject without fear of political consequences in his second four-year term.

However, Obama still faces a Republican-led House of Representatives that could block such reforms.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who runs a coalition of mayors on gun policy, said Obama should not be deterred and should send legislation to Congress.

"We have heard all the rhetoric before. What we have not seen is leadership - not from the White House and not from Congress. That must end today," Bloomberg said in a statement.

U.S. lawmakers have not approved a major new gun law since 1994, and they let a ban on certain semiautomatic rifles known as assault weapons expire in 2004.

FEAR OF NRA

Faced with intense lobbying by the National Rifle Association and other gun groups, and fearful of a backlash from gun-owning voters, most Democrats have stopped trying to pass new laws.

Their caution has continued despite high-profile incidents such as the January 2011 near-fatal shooting of Democratic Representative Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Arizona, and the July 2012 killing of 12 at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado.

But, supporters of gun control said, two factors may shake Democrats out of their passive stance: the increasing frequency of mass killings, and the defenselessness of the young children killed at the school in Newtown, Connecticut.

Some gun rights supporters said after the Aurora massacre that the shooter might have been stopped if more theater-goers had been armed. But this argument is more difficult to make in the latest incident.

"You can't have an elementary school teacher have a gun in her purse. You just can't do that," said Josh Horwitz, executive director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence.

Outside the White House on Friday, the crowd held candles and chanted, "Today is the day." Some dabbed tears. People carried signs reading, "Too many guns" and "Disarm."

Anna Oman of Silver Spring, Maryland, was in the crowd with her 5-year-old son, Hugo.

"I felt today like I did on September 11," she said. "I had to do something."

NRA spokesman Andrew Arulanandam said in an email: "Until the facts are thoroughly known, NRA will not have any comment."

The NRA's strength could be tested anew after its largely unsuccessful efforts in the 2012 election. The organization pushed strongly for Obama's defeat, and most of its favored candidates for the U.S. Senate lost.

Any national gun legislation would face its most difficult obstacle in the House, whose Republican leaders have strong ties to the NRA.

BOEHNER'S 'A' RATING

House Speaker John Boehner has received an "A" rating in the past from the NRA, the largest lobbying group for gun owners and makers. Boehner released a statement mourning the deaths in Connecticut, but the Republican leader would have no comment on possible gun control legislation, a spokesman said.

Another lawmaker with an "A" rating from the NRA, Virginia Republican Representative Bob Goodlatte, will have jurisdiction over gun bills when he starts next month as the new chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. A spokeswoman did not respond to a request for comment on Friday.

Mark Glaze, director of Bloomberg's group, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, said it would take presidential involvement for the issue to gain momentum.

"After Tucson, after Aurora, and now after Newtown, we've been told it's time for a moment of silence. And that moment of silence stretches into months. The president could actually make a difference, and it's time for him to try," Glaze said.

On social media, some people responded to the Connecticut shooting by trying to coin new terms to replace "gun control," such as "massacre prevention."

There is no shortage of ideas among gun control advocates.

They could push to require background checks for all gun purchases; checks are now required only at licensed commercial dealers but not among private sellers. They could also push for a federal law on gun trafficking, for tougher sentences for illegal purchases or for more resources for the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder was in Connecticut this month to talk about guns - but only about gun violence among gangs, not gun control generally.

On Wednesday, a day after a shooting at an Oregon shopping mall, Holder told reporters that the Obama administration was in discussions about proposals but he made no commitments.

"There are a number of proposals that we're in the process of considering, and I expect that you will be hearing from the administration," Holder said.

Another school massacre pressures Obama on U.S. gun control | Reuters

 

[faithfulguy]

Its the people that kills, not the gun. The school need more security. In any case, the only way to restrict gun law is by change the US constiturion.

 

[ahfatzia]

Its the people that kills, not the gun. The school need more security. In any case, the only way to restrict gun law is by change the US constiturion.

It's people that kill but without the convenience of guns the killings would not be so easy and widespread. The potential killers can be handily stop too and in such cases would help them and the potential victims. Don't forget most killings are 'in the heat of the moment' things and if guns are not handily available there will be much less killings. Case in point: 'Chinese stabbing' case yesterday where nobody died.

"The right to bear arm" amendment was from the obsolete period of the wild west that's no long important in the American society today. Without guns in people hands, I'm sure, the law enforcement agencies across America would have much easier time to protect their respective citizens. If not the country can invest heavily in this area.

At the end of the day it's not that America cannot change its constitution it's rather the vote bank of NRA and its constituency are simply too powerful.

 

[Luftwaffe]

classifying a random act of violence as terrorism.. But by your logic, the daily violence in Karachi, which a lot of you term as political violence should also be termed as terrorism..Correct?

The Topic is not Pakistan, discuss the Thread.

Random act! are you sane! you mean the person had a tickle while on the way and he took out his gun killed people calmly, It was an organized crime; crime can be termed as Terrorism. 27+ people dead including 20 children and you are showing sympathy for the killer, you really are an idiot. Karachi killing is actually Terrorism and everyone in Pakistan terms it Terrorism except for Political lot.

 

[Zabaniyah]

Sad, very sad, indeed. Just saw PREZ. Obama crying and felt sorry for the unfortunate kids. I think the time has arrived to have a better but uniformed 'Gun-control' law throughout U.S.A.

I have been told that kids like Ryan can acquire guns like toys. The chap even acquired an assault rifle (I mean really? How? Why?)

What is the definition of "control" according to the gun lobbyists? It is obvious that gun control measures are inadequate.

So.....what next? Would they encourage kindergarten kids to carry M-16s?

Its the people that kills, not the gun. The school need more security. In any case, the only way to restrict gun law is by change the US constiturion.

You know, that came to my mind. It's a premium school, and do they not ensure the security of the children? Lax security measures I must say.

I know some tough security measures in schools can appear uncomfortable, but they must acknowledge the reality they are living in.

The boy simply walked into the school with a gun unhindered. If they had more security, then those kids wouldn't have been slaughtered like lambs.

My country's law & order situation for instance isn't good. Along with a not-so-good police force with a tiny budget. The complete opposite situation of the US.

And yet people can take care of themselves. They are aware of the realities, and take the necessary measures. And no, they don't walk around with assault rifles.

While the American folks acknowledge this for the sake of safety of their children, they must not ignore the complex subject of gun control and why people tend to commit violence. There may be many psychological and social factors in this.

I also believe that the people responsible for creating such a reality should also be held partly accountable (wet dream, I know).

Please, don't let this tragedy be repeated.

 

[AbhimanyuShrivastav]

The Topic is not Pakistan, discuss the Thread.

Randon act! are you sane! you mean the person had a tickle while on the way and he took out his gun killed people calmly, It was an organized crime; crime can be termed as Terrorism.

You have no clue what Organized crime means.

27+ people dead including 20 children and you are showing sympathy for the killer,

Either get your eyes checked or your brain. One of those 2 organs of yours are really screwed up.Where did you see me showing sympathy for the killer..

you really are an idiot.

Reported

Karachi killing is actually Terrorism and everyone in Pakistan terms it Terrorism except for Political lot.

Most of your brethren on this forum do not agree. Neither does the forum administration. You can see what section Karachi incidents are posted under.

 

[Luftwaffe]

This has not so far been found to be (and likely is not) an act of terrorism when considering the commonly accepted definition of the term.

There are more than 109 definitions of Terrorism, what makes you think only yours' is commonly accepted.

Google can not furnish your life always, pretty stupid to rely on Google for your life.

 

[Luftwaffe]

You have no clue what Organized crime means.

Either get your eyes checked or your brain. One of those 2 organs of yours are really screwed up.Where did you see me showing sympathy for the killer..
Reported, Most of your brethren on this forum do not agree. Neither does the forum administration. You can see what section Karachi incidents are posted under.

Moderators would only look into your provocative below average posts.

 

[Jazzbot]

Terrorism is linked to a cause....

And you're saying he just killed 27 peole including childrens without any cause....?

 

[AbhimanyuShrivastav]

Moderators would only look into your provocative below average posts.

Extremely lame excuse that you are hiding behind

 

[ahfatzia]

Adam Lanza 20 a killer, a loner and an honor student

 

[Jazzbot]

RIP to the innocents.

However, on the other note:

 

[anon45]

Sad, very sad, indeed. Just saw PREZ. Obama crying and felt sorry for the unfortunate kids. I think the time has arrived to have a better but uniformed 'Gun-control' law throughout U.S.A.

We do need laws more effective at keeping guns out of the hands of people like this, and that is going to be a difficult thing to do. Our ancestors had already made the choice to be a society whose citizens have the right to bear arms, or at the very least its been that way for our history, it is neither possible or desirable to suddenly try to take it all away at this point.

The sad thing is (to the best of my knowledge) the guns were bought legally by the parents, and it was presumably their own bad judgement of leaving them in a place where this mentally f****d-up person was able to get a hold of it.

How can you legislate a way to keep this from happening while still maintaining the right of sane and law abiding citizens to bear arms?

 

[kollang]

R.I.P
to God we belong, to God we return.
what was those cute children's fault?due to which reason they died?wish that killer get fried in hell.

RIP to the innocents.

However, on the other note:

they dont even dare to fly their drones over Iran...