Following the NRA’s response this morning to the Newtown, Conn., school massacre — a response which called for armed guards in every school — St. Paul Mayor Chris Coleman made this statement:
On the day when we’re still burying children killed in Newtown, CT, the NRA has the audacity to say the answer is more guns and more violence that exposes our children to unprecedented dangers. As a mayor, as a father, and as a citizen, I’m appalled by this reckless disregard for the safety of our children. We must have a real conversation about how to protect our children and all members of our community that, among other items, includes:
None of these solutions were offered by the NRA today which means they’ve proven they have no interest in being part of this conversation that stops crimes like this from happening again.
Our hearts continue to go out to the families affected by his heinous crime. As I gather with my family this holiday, they will all be in our hearts and prayers.
Suggestion of Armed Guards Appalls Coleman?
I’ll try to contain my temptation to respond with sarcasm about the Mayor feeling appalled. All his ideas for prohibiting manufacture . . , sales . . and adding legislation . . ~ those specifics are positives that don’t have to be offered in opposition to the presence of armed guards at school entryways. The presence of armed guards does not mean that more violence will occur; I wonder about the Mayor’s logic that led him to that conclusion. As a mother who went to school at Cooper Senior High when students weren’t required to wear ID’s hanging from chains around their necks, and am now a college graduate who’s aware of the statistics that include the claim that when you bring one gun in your home you double your chance of being murdered, I still would prefer to see an armed guard presence at schools. I want politicians to embrace the reality of the times and stop their attempts to make their cities look perfectly safe for residency and attending school. Mayberry exists nowhere.
Just out of interest,
And other (important) considerations aside, did Mr LaPierre voice the NRA’s support for a tax on guns and ammo to fund this? At our public K-5, our PTO fundraises just so that we can hire someone to provide a music program for $10K a year. One police officer at each public school in Minnesota (2,000 K-12 schools) would run about $200 million a year.
I’m not against a reasoned consideration of various “end of pipe” measures like this, but it’s all pointless unless and until we attend to some of the things that make our society so good at creating psychopaths. And I’m not talking about violent video games, I’m talking about an economic system that is skewed to create a world of hurt for alot of people and a cadre that is well-paid to stoke anger, paranoia and a sense of helplessness in all directions but the ones that would promote connectedness and some healthy social change.
Neanderthal thinking
The neanderthal solution is always “more clubs”, if the only tool in your tool box is a club, all your solutions will look like smashed heads!
The security guard
And what prevents the security guard from being the #1 target of the crazed shooter? Or is the guard sacrificial in nature ?
If we must have them to please the NRA, Hey I’m good with it” the way we pay for them (1 For every 20 school kids in America, private, public, charter, high school grade school college, tech school, etc. how about a Sales Tax and perhaps a property Tax on guns and ammo. Works for me!
To please the NRA?????,get serious. How about to keep our children safe. We had cops in school when I was going in the mid 70’s,and who said 1 for every 20??? You did. I’m a gun owner,and if they want to tax to pay for it so be it,if it keeps the mentally ill,who are the real problem under control thats fine with me.To bad you dont see how it really is in the world,and the NRA is NOT the problem,We still havent heard your plan to control the mentally ill and the thugs,lets hear it,oh thats right,you dont know how either.
And what are you nay sayers suggesting be done
Everybody is dumping on the NRA,what are your suggestions to keep the children safe????. Guns are not the problem,people are the problem,how about we put a chip in the convicted felons and the mentally ill so they can track them.The mentally disturbed will find a way to kill with anything available to them,be it a gun,a knife, a bomb or a car. Mr.Holtman was correct on His last statement,other than that,not a one of you has come up with a suggestion on what should be done.I am sure responsible gun owners will not have a problem on taxing guns and ammo to pay for security,but everybody needs to share in the cost,not just responsbible gun owners.How many millions of people in this country and only a handfull have done mass gun killing and we want to ban the gun,why dont We find a cure for the real problem.
Some Nay Sayer Suggestions
First, lets put away the old chestnut that “responsible” gun owners show be exempt from restrictions. Let me remind you thatNancy Lanza would have been considered a “responsible” gun owner an hour before her son slaughtered her and 26 others with the guns she owned “responsibly”. “Responsible” then went on a tear purchasing 3 years supply of large capacity magazines in a few hours. Were these “”responsible” purchases or might they have been driven by a “responsible” paranoia. I’m not saying take their guns away but they are not exempt from limiting their use, design or acquisition.
How about prohibiting firearms in residences where any member of the household is diagnosed with a mental or emotional problem. How many people could Adam Lanza have killed without the weapons his mom helped him obtain?
What’s wrong with doing away with gun shows and requiring re-sales be handled through licensed dealers to capture background checks on all buyers?
Why must we allow civilian availablility of high volume magazines, or cop-killer armor piercing bullets?
And I like your suggestion about increasing the tax on firearms too. We can use the extra money to pay for the problems they create for all of us.
There’s a start. Will those do?
NRA, and Guns in America
In regards to “guns in America” citizens that hunt or want to procetct themselves should only be allowed to own pre-cartridge era weapons ie: Black powder firearms, period.
It actually takes skill and learning to use these to hunt and fire accurately. If one dosen’t have the time for that, they don’t need a firearm, as it is a massive responsibility.
Are you joking or are you being serious?
Coleman appalled???
I am assuming mayor Coleman travels by air more than the average citizen. I am guessing that every time he enters the airport and sees an armed, uniformed or not, security officer he breathes a little better knowing he is protected. How about going to any one of the malls or hospitals in the area. Or Xcel Center. All have armed security, and nobody gives it a second thought, except maybe someone who has the mind or lack there of to create damage, and or death. How about his own security detail and his office, or at the capital. Is he or any other politican more important than my daughter and any number of kids going to school. Why can’t Coleman or any other pol see the bigger picture. I want my daughter to go into her school each day with the same sense of security he has every time he travels, or just goes into his office on a daily basis. I say arm schools NOW. Do we not care about our children as much as we care about protecting our malls, professional athletes and politicians? Figure it out Coleman. Get all the facts and then comment. Lastly, I think it’s time to remove all of the “guns are banned here” signs and warn intruders that “yes, we are armed, so move along.” One of these wackos just might not go in.
More violence is not the answer to violence.
It’s a fact that assault weapons and hand guns are designed to kill people. Introducing more of them will only escalate the gun violence in our country. We need to move beyond fear and the gun lust lobby that projects fear.
Coleman appalled???
Thanks for the comment Bob! You nailed it! Well said! Thank you again for being a sound and solid thinker!
Looking for Ideas?
Ok, here are just a few:
1. Reduce the proliferation of guns and Ammo: Statistics are clear, the greater the availability of them in the environment the greater the probability one goes off and kills someone “Like a 2 year old kid by his 4 year old brother” lawfully obtained there were 6 unlocked un safe-tied weapons in the house.
2. Pipe down with the I need a gun to protect my self hysteria, you gotta have a gun folks sound like you are blowing some bad guy away 2-3 times a week, or stopping some government overthrow every other weekend. “Look in the mirror, I’m 62 years old, spent 4 yrs in the Navy 69-73, been too 20 some odd foreign countries including the middle east how is it it I don’t need to pack and I’m still alive?
3. Pay attention to the world around you, the USA ranks right down there with Yemen in murder rates with guns, does that make you folks proud or is that a fair price to pay so that ~ 3-4 Mil ~ 1% of Americans can live in a proverbial Armory because from this perspective, anyone that needs that type of fire power, is by definition, a little-lot mentally unstable, i.e these folks definitely should not have a firearm!
4. Remember, there are ~330.000,000+ of us that don’t think the NRA is gods gift to America’s right to bear arms, we think it is a curse to the safety of Americas populous. The NRA was founded for safety and marksmen ship, not to be a cover for the gun companies to create fear markets for folks that are afraid of their own shadow that drive sales. If it only takes 1 well placed round from a well placed shooter, what good are 14 guns with 6000 rounds per? That mentality is not stable.
5.The idea if we slow down and reverse the proliferation of Guns and ammo, that’s right even the bad guys will have a tough time getting guns, the process in place today is “Guns and death for all, the more guns and ammo we have the more unsafer we all are and feel, the more guns and ammo we need to feel safer, and on and on.
We have a brain, we can think, we can go beyond the neanderthal fear of the dark!