I enjoy shooting guns. 9mm self defense pistols, 9mm rifle (a little unusual but hey universal ammo strategy at home), .22 target pistol, 20ga shotgun. It's nice to see so many gathered here who like to shoot pretend, virtual guns in a virtual dogfight.
In real life, I advocate responsibility, because, like driving a car, owning and shooting a gun carries a MASSIVE responsibility. That responsibility includes handling my firearms safely myself, and not letting others have access to them. One primary problem with the tragic Connecticut school shooting was that the mother let her son have constant access to her guns. Whether his access was forced on that fateful day, no one is certain; but up to that point, she was giving free access to someone who had no business using firearms. Somehow the media and public has missed this key point. That lady was setting up a horrible day for many kids and their families.
Anyway, just like I don't advocate banning knives because of the Pennsylvania school attacks, I don't advocate banning guns. No, I don't believe that dead school children are a price for freedom, as some say. Nor are dead school children are the price for allowing drunk drivers on the road. I believe in gun registration, background checks, and waiting periods. Heck, we have that for cars. (Well, actually we don't have background checks or waiting periods.) But if you break a gun law (and there are plenty of existing ones), hurt someone, or give easy access to someone, you should be in jail for a long long time. And when you get out, your gun rights should be taken away. Just like for cars. (Oh wait, we don't even do that for cars. Well we should.)
Uh, sorry, that was bound to come out in this thread at some point. I am just responding to the inevitable call-out. By the way, lots of people disagree with me, and I don't have the final word. Just one guy's opinion.
Manfred