Grateful Dead

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jan/12/gun-sales-rise-arizona-shoo…

2008 Murders in the USA Total = 14,299 Methods used Firearms = 9,484 Knives and blades = 1,897 Blunt objects = 614 Personal weapons (= fists, boots etc.) = 861 Other (poisons, explosives, narcotics etc.) = 993 Source http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/cats/law_enforcement_courts_pris… Lots of other statistics on that site yeah yeah I know the feds doctored the figures! Guncrime in the USA state by state: http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/jan/10/gun-crime-us-state Yeah I know the Guardian is a left leaning newspaper so they probably made the figues up Murder rates per year per 100,000 population Mexico 15 USA 5 UK 1.28 France 1.6 Germany 0.86 Source: wikepedia yeah I know wikipedia is full of lies and is run by traitors, just like wikileaks

Not sure what it is, but something about that slogan has always made me cringe in the most inexpressible way. But yup, that's what it means: if you have a gun, we take it away from you and throw you in jail. Makes it easier to tell who the criminals are -- they're the ones with the guns! I grew up in a house with guns. My Dad used to be (no longer is) a hunter. I'm the first-born, so I got the bulk of the indoctrination. And actually, I LIKE shooting guns. There is some fun around that activity. But put me out hunting and give the chance to shoot something that's alive...that part didn't take. I couldn't do it, don't want to do it. And I have managed to survive to age 55 without owning a gun, without shooting a gun since my teens. Good for me. I'll continue to take my chances. I don't begrudge hunters and sports shooters and folks who think they need guns to protect them and theirs. I do have a Big problem with where we draw the line -- a shotgun in your home is going to be pretty damn effective for protection...much less worrying about that pesky aiming that you'd have to do with the adrenaline pumping through your veins when the moment comes. A Glock with a 30-round magazine? We need that? Guns don't kill people...but people with guns kill a LOT of people. Peace, friends. Condolences to all the victims of violence, regardless of the choice of weapon.

and should not have had access to firearms, or weapons in general for that matter. The signs were there, and while the people that knew him saw the signs, no-one did a damn thing about it, now many lives are ruined and changed forever, including his. That being said, I can respect the opinions of people that are against firearms, I just can't agree with them. As long as the government has access to weapons, the people need the same access. I need to be able to protect myself, my family, my property. When seconds count, the police are minutes away and who the hell trusts them? And as long as I fear my government (and i do) I'll keep my weapons. I also agree with marye...the blame game doesn't help one darn bit. Ted...you're right....how CAN we learn and practice more tolerance and kindness?

Guns are only one of them. I'll be keeping mine thank you very much. But no offense taken if you don't agree. "It's got no signs or dividing line and very few rules to guide"

Tiger Lilly: I like the picture of our former president in the upper right corner. Gonz: If we outlaw guns, then only outlaws will have guns. To all: Peace on Earth & good will toward Man. Some of my Christmas cards say this. How can we learn and practice to be kind and more tolerant with each other?

I think these are very interesting questions that we should be asking: http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/david-sirota/33623/the-tucson-shoot… ********************************** I am not young enough to know everything. Oscar Wilde

The AZ tragedy is purely about guns, not superheated political rhetoric or anything else. Here in VT I can buy a pistol without waiting and carry it concealed. The availability of guns and all the evidence we have all over the world point out significantly that if this toolkit didn't have access to a gun these people in AZ would still be alive. Fuck the 2nd Amendment!!

is the rapidity with which the increased-civility imperative in the wake of the shooting has devolved into the usual finger-pointing, protestations of aggrieved innocence, and assertions of victimhood by the usual suspects at all parts of the political (and other) spectrum. This is not helpful.

agree that the tone and tenor of the debate in America would improveif threats or allusion to violence were eliminated from the discourse. From the right and the left alike. This link does call out the far right as currently several will known figures are currently denying that anyone has made threats and this issue is a fabrication of the media and the left. In this day and age, whatever people have said is 'on the record'. http://www.truth-out.org/the-wrath-fools-an-open-letter-to-far-right666… The Truth is realized in an instant, the act is practiced step by step.