A sad day...

---

Cars have utility beyond killing people, unlike handguns. And you can't kill a little girl from across the road with an icicle.

o and hers an interesting little article i found.

http://pages.prodigy.net/vanhooser/accidental_hospital_deaths_are_higher.htm

It shows that accidental medical deaths killed more people than guns did.

"Gottlieb pointed to a recent report by the Institute of Medicine that so-called "medical mistakes" in this country annually claim the lives of between 44,000 and 98,000 Americans."

"That same year, there were 32,436 firearm-related deaths."

Well then i guess we will need to get rid of all hospitals

Medicine has some utilitiy beyond killing people, unlike handguns. What exactly is your point? That only 32,000 people are killed by guns, and 32,000 doesn't matter?A couple of thousand people were killed on 9/11, and the response will wind up costing probably over a trillion dollars, as well as many lives and many grave injuries. Are some lives worth more than others?Compare murder statistics between the U.S. and most any other country in the world.

my point is where does it stop? How can you get rid of guns but not get rid of other things that kill more people than guns do? then why not get rid of knives since u can kill someone with them. And like i said, cars kill people, do you think they'll get rid of those? i dont think so. To get rid of guns and nothing else, that would make the government hypocrytes, but o well not like they arent already

It's be better if we refrain from turning this very sad situation into a gun debate, especially on the pro side.There are plenty of dangerous things out there that aren't supposed to be available to irresponsible or unstable people. Unfortunately, they always seem to get their hands on them.

exaclty, thats what i was saying. besides, you can make anything illegal you want, and people will always find a way to get them

This thread has changed unfortunately topic, but I need to add something here:First, I'm against buying without any restrictions a gun. It's not a simple "tool" nor a household article... A gun is being used exclusively for killing an animal or a human. So, why should everyone have the ability and freedom to buy such a tool for his house? Only hunters should be able to buy guns (and not every kind of guns, but only hunting rifles). Permissions from the goverment need to be published for hunters, so they will only then have the ability to buy a rifle. Where I live is totally illegal buying a gun, and you can buy a hunting rifle only with a special permission.Of course, I'm not against hunting. I just find really stupid buying a gun as an extra "protection" for your house. Man should order a private security system and two adorable bulldogs instead :P.Anyway, we shouldn't ruin this thread and I feel sorry for bringing this discussion here.

Okay everyone, lets not start a huge gun debate. This post is out of respect for a wonderful, amazing woman and her baby who were killed by someone for no apparent reason.. not for everyone to have an arguement. It makes you realise your own mortality when something like this happens to someone you know, particularly to someone so undeserving. And thanks Steve, I edited the news thing!

And thanks Steve, I edited the news thing!Didn't mean to obsess over it, but if people assume it's just another random killing, it makes Americans seem a bit, ummm, crazy. Or at least a bit crazier.

It's ok! Thanks for letting me know. I didn't realise I had typed in an extra bit.. I wasn't really thinking about it too much..

Unfortunatley perception is everything and by and large Americans are percieved as crazy by the rest of the world.

I know many Americans and it's not my personal opinion. I'm in Florida right now and without exception every single person I have met has been friendly and welcoming. However when I'm working on the rig there are a lot of Americans from the "Redneck" states who almost exclusivly do not leave a good impression with the non Americans they interact with.

Rigpig

I don't know if I'd call Florida a "redneck" state. It's more like another planet.

I love that we have the right to have guns in this country. I love the state that I live in. In order for me to have the right to carry a concealed weapon, I have to take a one-day workshop. In many of the smaller towns, I can just carry one out in the open. And I think that is the way it should be. I'm sorry if she was shot and killed. That really sucks. However, guns are only as stupid as any other inanimate object. Would you out law knives if she were killed with a knife? What about a hammer? The gun isn't the problem, people are the problem. People that commit crime are stupid. If you don’t like our laws don’t live here.

In reply to: If you don’t like our laws don’t live here. That is utterly un-American.Dissent should always be welcome, even if it's loud and obnoxious.

There is a reason that we decided to allow our citizens to have guns. If you go back to the formation of our country and think of where we would be if none of the colonists had guns, we'd all be Brits. No offence to the Brits, but I like being an American.

I understand the view that a gun is just another tool, and I have many tools I can kill with, includung guns.The difference is that a gun is one of the very few tools that is often bought for the specific purpose of killing another human.We banned Pitbulls in Ontario... not because dogs are bad but becaue too many owners of dogs were bad which spoiled it for the good people.It often seems that as a society, we're too stupid to live.

In reply to: We banned Pitbulls in Ontario They tried to do that here in Louisville. Unfortunately, the measure failed.My parents live next to folks with 4 pitbulls. It makes me really nervous. I have a nephew (2 yrs) and a neice (7 mos) who stay with my parents while Mommy and Daddy work. That makes me really nervous.

If a person broke into my house I wouldn't care if they were 10' or 10" or even closer I will do whatever I have to do to protect me and my family. They can be as “up close and personal” as they want and they'll still end up with a hole in them. This is my house. We pay for it and I have right to feel safe here. Any person that wants to change that had better be prepare to have a laser sighting over their heart just before I put a bullet in it. And there are a hell of a lot of other Americans that feel that way too.

honestly, I hope I didn't launch a new debate in this thread about such a horribly sad situation.

I was at the grocery store last night looking for cream eggs. Unfortunately all they had was confounded valentines day candy.