In the hours that followed the unthinkable tragedy in Newtown, Conn., where 20 small children and 6 adults died in a shooting spree at Sandy Hook Elementary School, a devastated nation began bringing up issues of gun control and treatment for the mentally ill among friends or publicly on social media.
For many, the timing for such a discussion was too soon, but as details emerged over the weekend about the mass murder, and the identities of the slain became known to the world, the chorus only grew louder for change. It was a message President Barack Obama emphasised on Sunday night, speaking at a memorial in Newtown.
"These tragedies must end, and to end them, we must change. We will be told that the causes of such violence are complex, and it is true. No single law, no set of laws can eliminate evil from the world or prevent every senseless act of violence in our society. But that can't be an excuse for inaction. Surely we can do better than this," he said.
But what exactly does that mean to you? How can we do better? Where do you stand on gun control or our nation's mental health care? Let us know in the comments below.
Across the Long Island Sound, families are still mourning their lost children, so we ask that you keep the conversation civil as a measure of respect to them. Mean or insensitive comments will be deleted.
There is not greater "intrusion" on our lives than the mass murder of our children by a madman with an assault rifle and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. The reforms being discussed will do absolutely nothing to limit the rights of individual gun owners: background checks for ALL purchases, an assault rifle ban (supported by Ronald Reagan when he was president), a ban on high capacity clips and increased enforcement. Are these things truly too much of a burden for gun enthusiasts to bear? I doubt it.
by a knife, a bomb, their hands, etc.... Guns don't kill people... people kill people. His pathetic mother brought into the world a dangerous demon.... ANOTHER reason NOT to have kids.
Australia had a mass shooting in the 90's in which 35 people were killed - there had been others before then with smaller numbers of victims. But that big one finally caused the nation to decide that enough was enough and it banned all assault rifles. The government bought back 650,000 guns, about 1/5 of the nation's guns. It did not infringe on the public's rights to own guns, just the type of guns. It hasn't had a mass shooting since. Take a look at Nickolas Kristoff's OpEd column on gun control in the NY Times this past Sunday: www.nytimes.com/2012/12/16/opinion/sunday/kristof-do-we-have-the-courage-to-stop-this.html?ref=nicholasdkristof&_r=0