" A firearm is but a tool, nothing more. It is quite funny to see someone such as yourself Karl wishing to enact stricter gun control laws when over 99% of all of the guns in the entire United States will never be used in crime. Criminals don't follow the law, definition of a criminal. For instance, if I decided to became the dictator of this country and outlawed stupid people from posting on their lunatic rants on the internet (such as yourself), this would stop you from breaking that law. "

" AJ seems to be the only one that understands satire. "

" Farmer's Gal is correct. "

" That was a hysterical bit of stand-up by Chris Rock brew. That would be one way to tackle the situation! "

" Jackblack, I hardly think that even these kinds of weapons would be any match for the arsenal of a tyrannical government (which we have now, if you haven't noticed) "

" ......But here's what I don't understand. Why will the NRA NOT take these semi-auto assault-style guns, with big, multiple-bullet banana clips off the market? If you can't use them to hunt, then what good are they doing being available for import and sale?....... SHOW ME WHERE THE 2ND AMENDMENT MENTIONS HUNTING. It doesn't. The 2nd Amendment is about two things: first, making sure the USA doesn't turn into Darfour, Saudi Arabia, China, Mexico, or anyplace else that likes shoving its subjects around... and second, making sure that these lesser countries never get it in their heads to come and start shoving us around. Plain and simple - it's about turning every US citizen into an Athenian hoplite, a free citizen with the tools to remain free. .........Charge $5,000 for a bullet. That would control these nuts that try to mass murder....... How about a real suggestion? First of all, the bullet is a specific part of the cartridge and is by far the stupid easiest part to manufacture. You need tire weights, a campfire, a spoon, some sand, some clay, and water - THATS IT. This ban would never work for the same reason why a total ban on guns would never work. We're a nation of people who build their own family boats and RC plane motors... don't you think it's within the realm of possibility that a clever person could figure out how to do this without buying everything? You can build a submachinegun in your garage out of plumbing. If someone wants a gun, or cartridges, they're going to get them - ban or no ban, and no matter what the artificially high price is. More to the point, at a price of $5000 a round, all it takes is one missed mortgage payment before law-abiding people like me decide that your stupid law isn't worth my kids going hungry. So try to attack the actual problem, which is crime, and leave what comedians say out of a serious argument. "

" Brew, I think those are horrible ideas. Please stop projecting your violent tendencies upon we lawful, responsible, calm and safe gun owners. I don't think you should be allowed to own a car. I am worried that you will run down the next guy that disagrees with you. Yee-haw, indeed. "

" One point everyone has missed on the gun ownership issue: We have gun ownership rights SPECIFICALLY so that the citizens, average, ordinary citizens, can overthrow the government if it becomes corrupt. That is just what our Founding Fathers DID, and that is why they wanted us to have the right to own weapons -- not for hunting, not for personal protection, but specifically to use against a corrupt government. I think it was Thomas Jefferson who gave any form of government about 100 years before it became corrupt enough he thought it should be changed. I'm not advocating any kind of violent overthrow of the government at this time -- don't get me wrong -- but I wanted to be sure people went back to the documents and understood the original reasons for these rights. The reason it is so regulated is NOT to protect us from killing each other, but because the government isn't comfortable with those original reasons.... "

" Chris Rock had an idea for gun control. Charge $5,000 for a bullet. That would control these nuts that try to mass murder. That shoot out at the mall would have cost a half a million. He would have never been able to afford that. Or we could just strap on a holster and six gun and settle our differences downtown in a shoot out. Afterwards we could go smoke in Costellos and drink on the street and just let someone stop us. You see a shoplifter in Walmart just gun em down like a rabid dog. And those idiots that take that illegal left turn into Dunky Donutz could be shot on sight. And those perverts that use cell phones driving their cars, gun em down. Ye-hah! "

" Karl L- you should read the CDC study on how gun control laws affect gun violence. There was no correlation. ''Before any "Bernis Goetz"-types can even stop them! " You say you shoot trap. How long does the clay fly before you shoot it? 3-4 s, max? I seem to remember that the average armed encounter last about this time too. 3-4 s. It took me approximately 13 seconds to empty my Henry lever-action .22. Now, a semi-auto could fire faster. I might be getting one (a Ruger 10/22) soon, and I'll time myself. But the world's best speed shooter got off eight shots in one second. And your averag mass murderer isn't Jerry Miculek. He probably is aiming that much, either. Also, wasn't the young man a convicted felon? It was already illegal for the young man to even touch a firearm. Isn't murder illegal? If so, how was this man able to kill people? The simple answer is because criminals break the law. Criminals will get guns from any source they can- most often these sources are illegal. If we could take every so called "assault weapon" out of the hands of law abiding citizens, than they would still be used in shootings. Criminals would get them from Colombia, or Mexico, or Czechoslovokia. Or they would build them- you can build an AK-47 out of melted down pots. "If you can't use them to hunt, then what good are they doing being available for import and sale?" First off, you definately can use hem for hunting. 100 years ago, the military rifles and hunting rifles were the same. There is no reason why you can't hunt dear with an AK-47 or an AR15. And also, guns aren't just about hunting. They are about defense, from both criminals and despots. (oh and I have used NRA all the way before, for my Xbox Live screename. It's not just because of this conversation) "

" So your saying Humans dont have the capacity to Use such things? I find that insulting. Look Here the lowdown- The second amendment keeps the government in check. If the government turns tyranical, we have the ability to overthrow it. Legally you must have a class III firearms liscence to own a fully automatic. Your record has to be spot free in order to do this. Do you know where the rest come from? Bonus points for you. My guess is that no ones ever threated you, Came into your house and took things, Or anything generally bad. You can keep living your lie good sir, Good day "

" Want to know why we really have all these guns? The American people are afraid. We are afraid some crazy with a gun is going to try to shoot them. We just can't figure out which crazy with a gun is going to do it. Sweden, Switzerland, and Canada -- all nations with high gun ownership and low gun death per capita. United States - high gun ownership with a much higher gun death per capita. FEAR. "

" My my, kicked a hornet's nest didn't I? OK, so it's obvious that, if what some of you are saying is true, then I have much to learn about gun statistics, and I will take the suggestions to research better . But here's what I don't understand. Why will the NRA NOT take these semi-auto assault-style guns, with big, multiple-bullet banana clips off the market? If you can't use them to hunt, then what good are they doing being available for import and sale? These situations where some kid goes "postal" and kills 5-10 people in the space of a few minutes, seems to me to be a viable reason to ban their ownership to law enforcement and military, period? I'm not against guns, but I AM against the idea that these type guns should even get anywhere near any private citizen's hands. I've hunted for 25 years with a few rifles and shotgun, and never wanted for more, and never had a problem bringing anything down with both the caliber or clip. I simply don't see what the point is for having these military rifles on the street or in the hands of private citizens, and can't imagine why the NRA thinks it's a good idea to "protect" the right of those who would want them, when they have such destructive capability and no other practical use! "

" AJ, why do you think semi-automatics and fully-automatics should be banned? More control over the legal sale and ownership of firearms doesn't serve any purpose. "

" I suppose that by Leon's logic, drugs should be legalized too. I wouldn't have a problem with that. Personally, I am ambivalent about gun control to some extent. I don't agree with automatic or semi-automatic assault weapons, or whatever you want to classify them. I think these should be banned entirely. And gun control in general is a good thing, and I don't think anyone is advocating abolishing handguns, but rather exercising more control over the commerce of them, and that is not a bad thing. "

" karl L, the NRA is not responsible for some moron shooting a bunch of people. You know who's responsible for that? He is. No one else. I don't see where you get off saying guns are the problem. They've never been the problem. "

" Karl, even if horrible music were banned, wouldn't your European fans get their hands on Man-o-war records like David Hasslehoff albums? Same thing with guns. The bad guys will always get their hands on the illegal weapons, no matter what. I guess I'm wrong, Karl, if you can show me where weapon use in an illegal act was purchased legally. "

" Yeah Karl, that post about Kennedy is so pathetic, and totally irrelevant. Anything to take the focus off of the seriousness of torture and stick another knife in the Kennedy legacy. "

" karl L wrote on Dec 11, 2007 3:08 PM: "...the NRA has stopped any reasonable effort to get them the hell off the streets. Well, what would be reasonable in your view, Karl? How would you get them "off the streets", and why are they a problem on the streets? Don't you rather mean that people with criminal intent are the problem? How are you going to solve that? "

" Karl L - Please tell me how london and Australia (with all of there anti-gun laws and restrictions) continue to have a higher crime/death rate than the US.... Please explain how Sweden, who owns more guns per capita than the US, has a lower crime/death rate than any non-gun country including Japan... Please explain how you could stop an attack from a gun-man such as Omaha without you yourself having a gun. Please explain how every country who has completely outlawed guns, still have guns on the streets. Please explain how a gun-ban or any other gun-law is going to get CRIMINALS (those who already disregard the laws)to stop using guns. When you can answer any one of those questions with a valid answer, the rest of us will actually read your comments. "

" karl L wrote on Dec 11, 2007 3:10 PM: " Leon, maybe that's part of the problem, that "The semi-auto rifles that most people own in the States, whether they be AK-47's or Ruger Mini-14's, or whatever, are not assault rifles by definition."--it was the NRA who lobbied to reclassify these weapons as such, was it not?" Actually, no - a semi-auto rifle has never been considered an "assault rifle"; saying that "the big bad NRA did it" does not make it true. "

" The same two points which are regularly ignored by karl L and his ilk: One, that rifles of any sort are only used in a tiny fraction of crimes - in most states murders are under 1%. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/05cius/data/table_20.html Anything constituting an "assault rifle" must therefore be another fraction of that fraction of a percentage point. Omaha is a single high-profile case you can point to. You can't even define "assault rifle" to begin with, let alone find data to back your arguments. Two, that we as human beings have a right to self defense. If you would like to stop browbeating us neanderthal redneck gunloving types for a second over our outdated interest in continuing our lives in a violent world, I'd ask for a simple answer to a simple question: Do we not have a right to self defense? If we don't, and the US Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that police and the state have no obligation to protect us, then how are we to go about our lives in security? You're not offering us a solution: you're only telling us our lives aren't worth defending. How are we to respond to that? You should feel blessed that so many people in possession of killing machines are so polite when told that their lives are worth nothing to you. "

" Sorry karl L, but you seem to be misinformed. Fully automatic guns, which can fire more than one bullet per trigger pull, have been federally regulated since 1934, when the .gov instituted a $200 tax on any transfer and created a registry. In 1986, the registry was closed, so that any legally-owned fully-automatic gun today was registered before 1986. This artificial scarcity is why the cheapest legal full-auto will cost you well over $10,000. You seem to be under the impression that semi-automatic guns used to be subject to these same restrictions, but the NRA lobbied to change that. . . this simply is not true and I can't imagine where you got this from. Also, you seem to think that semi-automatic rifles are used in a lot of crimes, and that just isn't the case. You should check out the DOJ's crime statistics and you would learn that they are used in the very-low single-digit % of crimes. Actually, if you are interested in educating yourself further, you should read the CDC's statistics about how few people are killed with firearms. Did you know that more kids drown in buckets each year than are killed in firearm accidents? Further, you might want to check out Lott's study on the number of defensive uses of a firearm each year. Are you really in a position to debate gun control? Do you know off the top of your head the ratio of legal firearm defenses to illegal firearm attacks (17:1)? Do you know what percentage of the guns in the USA have EVER been used in a crime (0.0015%)?karl, I often disagree with you when you spout off, but to anyone who knows the FACTS about guns in this country, you sound kind of foolish. . .Here's your reading list for the next go-round: www.gunfacts.info, google "a world without guns", and follow it up with. . . hmmmm, I guess www.a-human-right.com. That should keep you busy. "

" I guess I'll have to be the broken record here... the 2nd Amendment is not about hunting or shooting trap. I don't believe that those weapons should be banned. The people that are using them to commit crimes are obtaining them illegally anyway, so banning them wouldn't do a blessed thing. As far as the NRA, I don't believe they lobbied to have them reclassified, as the definition of an assault weapon has stood as is for quite a long time. I think they just lobbied against the last "assault weapons" ban, as it was based on cosmetics rather than the caliber of the weapons involved. Oh, and you can own an Army tank and drive it around. Just not have the ordnance to fire the heavy weapons on it, or drive it where it wouldn't be street legal. :) "

" Leon, maybe that's part of the problem, that "The semi-auto rifles that most people own in the States, whether they be AK-47's or Ruger Mini-14's, or whatever, are not assault rifles by definition."--it was the NRA who lobbied to reclassify these weapons as such, was it not? Given their destructive capability and prominence in mass-murders like this isn't it time to finally DO SOMETHING about this? "

" Gator, fair point--but the NRA has stopped any reasonable effort to get them the hell off the streets. Everyday Citizens do NOT have a "right' to own an instrument of war. I like Army tanks. Why can't I own one and drive it around? Daver--true, but guns--esp. automatics, make it sooo easy to do it sooooo quickly. hillbilly--that was a LEGALLY licensed firearm in the hands of a professional officer of the law. I got no problem with that at all. BTW, I too own several hunting rifles and a shotgun, hunt, and shot trap. But I would never join the wacko's at the NRA. "

" Most people don't own assault rifles, as they are classified as being capable of automatic or select fire, and you need a federal license to own them. The semi-auto rifles that most people own in the States, whether they be AK-47's or Ruger Mini-14's, or whatever, are not assault rifles by definition. Another thing not mentioned by the news outlets is that the places that these shootings have taken place, law abiding citizens are not allowed to carry legally owned and concealed handguns... the mall even having signs stating it was a "weapons-free zone". "

" I don't blame the NRA at all. I own guns, I take them to a target range all the time. I'm not a hunter but I enjoy target shooting, yet I don't have one, not one assault rifle. I find it funny that you think the majority of people who want this type weapon actually buy them in a legitimate store. "

" karl l, If they don't use guns, I guess they will use airplanes. These are sick people and they will use whatever they can get their hands on at the time. "

" Karl L you forgot to thank the NRA for the gun that killed the Colorado shooter. You know the one in the hand of the female security officer. Without that gun his gun would have killed many more. "

" " Guns dont kill, people do"--ha ha! CLASSIC! But you're right, Steve; guns don't kill--people WITH guns kill! In great numbers! Before any "Bernis Goetz"-types can even stop them! "

" Recently went to Roanoke, VA. As we were driving to the store, our host pointed out the gun store where the VA Tech shooter purchased his guns and ammo. Gave me the creeps to hear that. "

" Guns dont kill, people do ! If they cant do it with guns they will do it some other way then you will cry about that too! "

" Thank you , NRA, for the AK47 that the young man in the mall shooting was able to steal from his parents house, and for the guns that killed the people in two separate shootings in Colorado! Thank you for our gun culture and for the virtually unrestricted access to guns, that would allow these killers to not have to wait for a license, or take assault weapons off the streets. I hope all of the NRA lobbyists and "Dead-handers" are having as NICE a Christmas as the victims' families, who are no doubt thrilled to know that the NRA is protecting our "right' to get almost any gun, any time! "Siiilent Night...Hole-y Night...." "

" I actually physically laughed out loud for a full 10 seconds over the "Ted Kennedy" post. Man--some people will go ANYWHERE and drag up any comment, no matter how irrelevant or speciously-linked when they're desperate! LOFL! LMFAO! "