Splatterhouse partially to blame for gun violence?

[RoyVegas]

So NRA Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre steps up and has something to say about the current tragedy.
According to him, some of the things to blame for our coutries string of violence are the media, music, video games (including Splatterhouse) and government.

LaPierre referenced "vicious, violent" video games, citing Grand Theft Auto, Bullet Storm, Mortal Kombat, and Splatterhouse, as components of a "callous and corrupt shadow industry that sells and stows violence against its own people."

Now I don't know about any of you guys, but I can't say that I've ever popped in Splatterhouse and thought violently. To me it's just a game.

He also said that we should have armed guards in schools and this will help with the problem.  Really?  What about when that officer goes on break or lunch?  What about when that armed guard is on one side of the school and the bad guy goes in the other side?  These horrible situations take literally seconds to happen, not minutes or hours.

I think there should be better background checks on people buying guns.  Not that this is a fix all, but it's a start. Maybe if they would stop slapping criminals on the wrist when they commit a crime, the criminals might give it a second thought before committing crimes. Criminals tend to have more rights then the victims do and walk away after they "serve their time", while the victims spend the rest of their lives looking over their shoulder and in fear of the day the person that victimized them is released.

Surely an emotional topic for most people and one surely for fighting street.  For me, I love guns, I own guns and I believe in my right to protect my family with a gun or any other means necessary.  What say you about guns, media, music, government and video games?

[RoyVegas]

Here is the link to an article: http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2012/12/21/nra-breaks-silence-calls-for-more-guns-to-protect-schools

I first saw this on the TV a little while ago and did a net search to find it stated in print.  Had forgot to list the source in my original post.

[NecroPhile]

If violence in movies/games/etc. were the problem, why didn't this shit happen years ago?  Haven't these fuckers seen older shows, especially westerns where shoot outs, murders, and rape were common?

[PukeSter]

In case you didnt know, the Splatterhouse he's talking about is the XBox one.

[BigusSchmuck]

Apparently these idiots have forgotten about this incident in the 20s:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bath_School_disaster

[NightWolve]

He also said that we should have armed guards in schools and this will help with the problem.  Really?  What about when that officer goes on break or lunch?  What about when that armed guard is on one side of the school and the bad guy goes in the other side?  These horrible situations take literally seconds to happen, not minutes or hours.

Yeah man, what if he's like, I dunno, in the bathroom taking a shit when it all goes down ?? Heh. I mean, what's your point? There's NO chance in hell it could help AT ALL, that each and every time such incidents would occur, security would be at the wrong place at the wrong time to even have a chance to do something about it ?? An awfully perpetually pessimistic prediction... Whatever the case, there'd STILL be a faster response time than getting a call out to the police and waiting for them to come by versus having some kind of competent armed security in the building manning the front doors with metal detectors for example...

Yesss, there is no guarantee of anything, but having nothing but a completely defenseless building with nobody armed IS a guarantee that somebody that comes in with a gun IS gonna have the easiest time possible doing what he/she came to do... That's a no-brainer. Now, if you could make ALL the guns in the world disappear in a day, then fine, but that Pandora's Box has long since been opened and making gun-free zones in one place, when you can buy or get 'em in another place next to it, that's just a "feel-good" solution (read: no solution)...

Note: I'm not against the idea, but I'm not necessarily for it either because it would equal tax increases via property taxes to pay for it. Hiring armed security, installing metal detectors, etc. would be a consideration more so for bad neighborhoods where the crime rate is high and what not. You'd hate to see this become reality for most schools and one freak incident doesn't equal a trend, just like the Colorado theater shooting at the Batman opening... I don't feel any less safe catching a movie now and then, but an incident like that certainly does give you pause.

As for his criticisms about our media, it isn't new and I agree to an extent. Media influences some behavior (from what to buy, what to wear, what to think on an issue, etc.) and to claim that it doesn't have ANY effect isn't true. How much exactly is an unknown, but we'd never be willing to outright ban or censor movies/entertainment mediums because of it (the trend is to push the boundaries of what's acceptable these days), that much is a given. I don't blame him for going this route; if opportunistic gun-grabbers are gonna use tragedies like these even before the bodies are buried to blame gun-owners, the 2nd Amendment, NRA, etc., supporters of gun-rights might as well point out the hypocrisy of the same kind of people who'll either turn a blind eye or happily defend all the violence in our entertainment industries, Hollywood, etc. and who'll instantly cry censorship if, for example, parents groups make any kind of criticism, etc.

[psychobear]

The only thing I blame Splatterhouse for is endless hours of fun I have playing the game since I was 7, now 27 I can't say I feel like going out and commit violence...

People are gonna do crazy things no matter what, stop blaming video games,guns,movies, etc for others actions

[Joe Redifer]

I heard that the killer ate food from time to time. HERE ARE THE FACTS: Eating helps keep you alive. If the killer had not been alive, he wouldn't have been able to shoot down a whole bunch of children. EATING CAUSES VIOLENCE!

On the bright side, at least the TurboGrafx-16 is back in modern news... kind of. Let's face it I doubt he's referring to the arcade.

[turboswimbz]

Splatterhouse makes me want to punch flying knives!

Eating also causes Gas.

hmmmm so 20 people a year, turning to gun violence out of 300 million is enough statistical evidence to say that video games and modern media is to blame for these rampages? must be that new math . . .

[PukeSter]

I heard that the killer ate food from time to time. HERE ARE THE FACTS: Eating helps keep you alive. If the killer had not been alive, he wouldn't have been able to shoot down a whole bunch of children. EATING CAUSES VIOLENCE!

On the bright side, at least the TurboGrafx-16 is back in modern news... kind of. Let's face it I doubt he's referring to the arcade.

I'm absolutely sure it's the Xbox remake.

[PCEngineHell]

Everyone wants a scapegoat. The reality is we may never really know why this guy did what he did, as it seems he left very little in the way of clues. For all we know he was continually molested by his mother or something, or suffered from some mental illness. Crazy people do crazy shit all the time. They don't need Hollywood, the media, the music industry, or the game industry for inspiration. School attacks happen all the time in China and elsewhere, and they don't even begin to have the same type of exposure to said stuff on even remotely the same level as us.

[turboswimbz]

Everyone wants a scapegoat. The reality is we may never really know why this guy did what he did, as it seems he left very little in the way of clues. For all we know he was continually molested by his mother or something, or suffered from some mental illness. Crazy people do crazy shit all the time. They don't need Hollywood, the media, the music industry, or the game industry for inspiration. School attacks happen all the time in China and elsewhere, and they don't even begin to have the same type of exposure to said stuff on even remotely the same level as us.

Well said.

[roflmao]

It's kind of apples to oranges, but I saw this on fb earlier and it made me chuckle:
/149432708538355_lost.jpg

[Emerald Rocker]

I 100% agree with Nightwolve's post.  Nothing more to say.

[Opethian]

[Arjak]

I was going to post, but I think you guys have covered all of my bases already.

Love this poster. It's so true.

Also, if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.

[SamIAm]

My distilled response to video games and gun violence:

Japan

[NightWolve]

Heh, never saw that one, but damn, Pol Pot almost looks like Bolo Yeung (AKA Chong Li from Bloodsport)!!

Here's one that turns up on google. If aged up a bit, the resemblance is pretty close. ;) They got about the same looking smirk too.

[420GOAT]

as a parent i feel that new games have desensitized our young game players. there are too many intricate plots and games seem to never have an end or there is no coordination skill building, eye reaction to brain, and simple fun games. as a parent i hold my kid to his age level rating plus a  year or two...but no more! its sad that the frames of mind that the younger cats have is a bit skewed at times. now i have young relatives that play violent games and they really do have a different mode of thinking. so yes i think like any art form....video games can be a factor when it come to behavior.

[tggodfrey]

I blame parenting for all of it.  Its a parents fault thier kid is unstable and allowed to walk freely, its a parents fault the guns they own are accessible, its a parents fault their kid is playing any violent game or watching a violent movie, its a parents fault for leaving their kid unattended all day while they work.

Educate kids to be good little citizens and take their riddlin

[roflmao]

I have a 4 yr old and the only video games he's played (so far) are Devil's Crush and Tricky Kick.  I cannot believe some of the games my friends let their kids play.  A buddy of mine, who also has a 4 yr old, was telling me recently that his kid screams the F-bomb while playing PS3 games...  It blows my mind.

[tggodfrey]

oh my god.....my Ex girlfriend...her little brother 9 years old swears worse than me.  Let me illustrate my point, when I typed that first sentence to the left, i removed 2 "f bombs and a "Fu45ing".  he swears more than me and will sit on the crapper with the door open dropping f-bombs while playing through the doorway.  

Needless to say I avoided going there and I have no doubt he will be on the news someday.

[HercTNT]

As for the NRA President, his move was a calculated one. He knew that the incident would renew the gun control issue. He was attempting to redirect the blame while people were still in shock looking for something to blame. As the professor said, everyone wants a scapegoat. Parenting is were it starts. I'm an adult. I don't want to play super fluffy bunny turbo hugging edition. I wanna blow shit up with big guns. I'm smart enough though to understand that i need to moderate what my kids are exposed to. Thats why there is adult entertainment, and kids entertainment. With that said, I'm sure most of us grew up watching looney tunes and that has some serious violence in it. granted, cartoon violence and kids can tell the difference. Thats were parenting comes in. I have never tried to flatten a roadrunner with a 30 ton boulder and I have my parents to thank for that. And yet, even if parents do everything right, kids and young adults have free will and can still do some seriously fucked up shit. You can try to sanitize every blamable source you want and shit will still happen.

[SamIAm]

Seems relevant:
Chris Rock - Bigger And Blacker - "Gun Control (GH Version)"

[Tatsujin]

houly fuck nightwolves, so true

[NightWolve]

Haha! That was genius, adding drum sticks. Laugh of the day, danke! ;)

[geise]

Haha!  Damn tats you find the funniest shit on the net that I would probably never see.  Thank you! 

[psychobear]

I will never look at blood sport the same..

[Arkhan Asylum]

The schools around here already have police at them.   There are two on duty so one can take a piss, etc.

Schools in the shittier parts of town have metal detectors already.   This includes elementary schools. 

I'd happily pay a tax increase if it meant preventing 5 year olds from having their shit sprayed all over a kindergarten wall.

Blaming video games is retarded though.  This shit, and worse, happened before the video part of video games even existed.

Some people are just fucked up.  Heck, even after video games (Virginia Tech), they still weren't the root cause.  That dude didn't even play games.



Background checks won't help in cases where the kid steals his parents shit and goes on a killing spree.


They need to start making examples out of all the dipshits doing dumb shit out there.  If you blow people away, you shouldn't get to play cards and lift weights and shit in prison.  Your food should be bitter goop that they force feed you through a tube.   Enough to keep you alive, and that's it.

You should dangle upside down from a tree every day for the rest of your life.  If you have to piss/shit, you're all set.  Just close your mouth.   You can get hosed off every day with a fire hose.   If you don't like it, tough shit.  Should've thought about that before you killed people.

That's the real problem.  Our justice system is basically some tree hugging douche nonsense.  and then the criminals plead insanity/depression and get special treatment or get off on some technicality.

What we need is some judges.   FUCK YEAH. 

[PukeSter]

Were video games kind of the cause for the unfortunate Columbine massacre? Apparently, one of the murderers made a mod to the original Doom that allowed for even bloodier graphics, and he made a bunch of very gory levels, now on the internet called "The Harris Levels".

[Arkhan Asylum]

Were video games kind of the cause for the unfortunate Columbine massacre? Apparently, one of the murderers made a mod to the original Doom that allowed for even bloodier graphics, and he made a bunch of very gory levels, now on the internet called "The Harris Levels".

You just answered your own question.

If the person was making extra gore, its clear video games weren't the cause.   Its clear he's already fucked up. 

Had he been alive in the before-time, he have probably just sketched gore all over notebooks before slaughtering people.

[Marll]

The schools around here already have police at them.   There are two on duty so one can take a piss, etc.

Schools in the shittier parts of town have metal detectors already.   This includes elementary schools. 

I'd happily pay a tax increase if it meant preventing 5 year olds from having their shit sprayed all over a kindergarten wall.

Blaming video games is retarded though.  This shit, and worse, happened before the video part of video games even existed.

Some people are just fucked up.  Heck, even after video games (Virginia Tech), they still weren't the root cause.  That dude didn't even play games.



Background checks won't help in cases where the kid steals his parents shit and goes on a killing spree.


They need to start making examples out of all the dipshits doing dumb shit out there.  If you blow people away, you shouldn't get to play cards and lift weights and shit in prison.  Your food should be bitter goop that they force feed you through a tube.   Enough to keep you alive, and that's it.

You should dangle upside down from a tree every day for the rest of your life.  If you have to piss/shit, you're all set.  Just close your mouth.   You can get hosed off every day with a fire hose.   If you don't like it, tough shit.  Should've thought about that before you killed people.

That's the real problem.  Our justice system is basically some tree hugging douche nonsense.  and then the criminals plead insanity/depression and get special treatment or get off on some technicality.

What we need is some judges.   FUCK YEAH. 

This exactly. Punishment for crimes should be swift and brutal. Prison should be a deterant for everyone, not some fucking holiday where you can fuck around on the tax payer's dime and get ripped lifting weights and get free food, medical etc.

If you are convicted of a violent crime (murder, rape, child molestation) you should get your 3 tries, a trial and 2 appeals, after that they take you out behind the courthouse and put a fucking .45 slug into the back of your head. No fuss, no muss and bullets are cheap compared to some shit-dick spending his entire life in prison.

Most of this stems from liberal bullshit nonsense that they think people can change and be better, but they are all SHOCKED when someone gets out and rapes, murders or especially in the cases of child molestors, they victimize another kid. SHOCKED! What are you fucking stupid?!

[Arkhan Asylum]

My grandpa laughs at our prison system:

"Those stupid motherfuckers just go in there and lift weights and get bigger and come out and do the same stupid shit, but better!  If I were the prison warden I'd walk around with a revolver and shoot all those worthless motherfuckers in the head if they got out of line.  There'd be no electricity.  No plumbing.  No showers.   You'd drink dirty water and eat stale bread and like it.   If you don't like it, tough shit.  You're the dumb motherfucker that ended up in prison."

[Tatsujin]

LOL.

papillon prison silent-block for life sentence.

[Marll]

My grandpa laughs at our prison system:

"Those stupid motherfuckers just go in there and lift weights and get bigger and come out and do the same stupid shit, but better!  If I were the prison warden I'd walk around with a revolver and shoot all those worthless motherfuckers in the head if they got out of line.  There'd be no electricity.  No plumbing.  No showers.   You'd drink dirty water and eat stale bread and like it.   If you don't like it, tough shit.  You're the dumb motherfucker that ended up in prison."

Apparently me and your grandpa think the same LOL.

I think prison should be the most ultimate stretch of soul crushing existence that any of these fucks has to go through. Prison should be so bad that you'd do anything to not go back...though you hear liberals constantly talk about how "Well if they'll do anything to avoid going back that means more violence!!" Fucking idiots, that's why the 2nd time the cops should just shoot the fucks dead....

[SamIAm]

I found this video very interesting and believable.

My 2 cents:
1. An armed cop in every school is a fine idea, if only as a deterrent.
2. You have to draw the line somewhere regarding which weapons civilians have access to, and I think many weapons available today cross that line.
3. Sorry, but I think the shootings are going to keep happening in America no matter what anybody does.

[NightWolve]

I found this video very interesting and believable.

So, in other words, you're always going to fail, pretty much, so you should always be disarmed and not have anything to defend yourself with...

The problem with this video, and of the course the site using it to just blanket discredit the NRA's position, is that *some* statistical chance of being able to fire back at a killer on a rampage by having a gun is better than a ZERO statistical chance where all the targets are disarmed because of gun control, etc... Some chance, is better than no chance, hence the old, "I'd rather have a gun and not need it, than need a gun and not have it..."

How about Shotgun Granny, anybody ever heard of her ? She came home with her daughter and an intruder had hidden in a closet and was evidently waiting for them to come back, etc. She wound up shooting him in the ass with a shotgun I recall and the police took care of the rest. Something tells me the cases where citizens successfully fired back and defended themselves aren't interesting to the staff of upworthy.com.

This video uses a couple of failed cases to prove a general point of general failure unless you keep up your gun and stress training. I agree, you should keep up your training, but the way that video is used by the site is to make the following point: you're just likely to fail anyway so we should just keep moving more towards gun control, etc.

1. An armed cop in every school is a fine idea, if only as a deterrent.

I dunno why a teacher can't also have a gun with say rubber bullets or some kind of advanced stun gun, etc. It doesn't have to be lethal. In this recent shooting case at the school, there was a teacher that was confronted by the shooter who told him that her kids were in the gym, when in actuality she had hidden them all in her room. After that, he shot her dead and moved on elsewhere. Now if she had some kind of a weapon, the outcome *might've* been different. No guarantee, but some chance is better than no chance! I don't care if the hack who posted that video thinks in his head (because he wants to ban guns) and wants to promote that, statistically, chances are 99 times out of 100 she would've failed to act due to human panic in such a situation, that she would've missed or the criminal would've fired the shot off first, etc. Something is better than nothing... Period! With a gun, there is a fighting chance above >1%, without a gun, you're an unarmed lamb just ready to get shot with a 0% chance to do something about it, unless you manage to flee, or I dunno, you're good at throwing objects and something useful is in the vicinity, then are willing to do a Hail Mary and bum rush the shooter (Good luck!), etc...

2. You have to draw the line somewhere regarding which weapons civilians have access to, and I think many weapons available today cross that line.

This kind of touches on the other thread. I agree to an extent, like say sniper rifles which are simply tools for distant assassination attempts, not home defense and so forth. The problem is, the murders by rifles+shotguns in the US, according to the FBI, is less than the murders committed by the use of knives+hammers+clubs, etc. These types of weapons are a drop in the bucket as far as the amount of murders that are attributed to them compared to objects. The number one weapon of choice for murder in America is the handgun, though... That's what you're gonna have to go after if you wanna say you reduced gun-related deaths... If you do ban all types of rifles and shotguns, the murder stats for handguns (which is in the thousands) and for blunt objects is simply going to go up, essentially take their place. The fear is that, I think from the NRA's view, is if we let the government pull back on the 2nd amendment when it comes to rifles, given that inch, the government will take the mile and eventually go after full gun bans. From my understanding...

[Sadler]

DISCLAIMER: I'm a computer nerd. I write simulations that cover active shooters. I'm a fat behind the desk kind of guy, but this is precisely the kind of stuff my company covers. I've been hesitant to remark on this, but lets just say the subject isn't unfamiliar to me.

I found this video very interesting and believable.

So, in other words, you're always going to fail, pretty much, so you should always be disarmed and not have anything to defend yourself with...

The problem with this video, and of the course the site using it to just blanket discredit the NRA's position, is that *some* statistical chance of being able to fire back at a killer on a rampage by having a gun is better than a ZERO statistical chance where all the targets are disarmed because of gun control, etc... Some chance, is better than no chance, hence the old, "I'd rather have a gun and not need it, than need a gun and not have it..."

The reality of the matter is if you interrupt an active shooter with force, chances are very good you'll save lives. Most active shooters immediately give up at the first sign of resistance. Make no mistake though, there's a very real chance you'll die by doing so. The question is, is it worth it to you to save others?

That video is a hit piece. The shooter is unrealistic (though not impossible, see Mumbai) and the students are massively undertrained. Your first encounter with a violent adversary is very well likely to overwhelm you. This is exactly why you should train and exactly why I'm against any fire arms legislation.

If the choices are: die along with a lot of other innocent people, or take your chances engaging the shooter... I don't even see how you could question it. I'll take a fighting chance any day.

[SamIAm]

What I took away from the video is not that it's impossible to defend yourself or others with a gun, but that sudden and extreme panic is far more debilitating than most people assume.

Sure, your chances of surviving a shooter attack increase if you are armed. However, supposing that we arm more people, what if the reduction in homicidal gun deaths is so small that the increase alone in the rate of accidental gun deaths exceeds it? A quick google search reveals 600 accidental gun deaths in the US in 2011. I fear this number would rise drastically if we started forcing civilians like teachers to carry weapons every day, and the video illustrates why the payoff might not be worth it. It's an experiment and a gamble that I think the most people won't want to try.

Requiring teachers to keep a policeman's firearm-training regimen seems unrealistic, if only because teachers are already overworked as it is. And if they're carrying only non-lethal force, how much of a deterrent is that really?

I totally agree that getting rid of certain weapons won't stop someone from buying a good old six shooter and murdering people that way. Like I said, I think the shootings aren't going to stop. But in the name of simply reducing the number of lives lost in cold-blooded killing sprees, I think it's reasonable to ban certain assault weapons. I personally think the NRA is just being paranoid, and that the government not only wouldn't, but seriously couldn't take people's guns away. "From my cold, dead hands" gun-culture for one thing. For another, I'm from gun-loving Montana, and literally every third family I know has an old rifle and/or revolver that's totally unregistered anyway. Basically, America will have plenty of guns until the people decide they don't want them anymore.

Put a cop in every school and ban any further sale of certain assault weapons. Seems reasonable enough, like we'd be doing what we can. That, and close any loopholes in the background check system.

[NightWolve]

What I took away from the video is not that it's impossible to defend yourself or others with a gun, but that sudden and extreme panic is far more debilitating than most people assume.

I think what the intent of that video is along with the guy that posted it given his last comment, is to create a public impression that you're just so-so likely to fail in these situations, the odds are stacked against you, unless you're forced into regular shooting practice and disciplined to the extent of a military soldier, concealed carry, armed citizens, etc. is a pretty much worthless solution or even a dangerous one, and given all the guns out there, the murders committed with them, our poor kids dying, accidental deaths as you listed, the net benefit is probably just more towards gun control and trying to get as much of them off our streets as possible, etc.

However, supposing that we arm more people, what if the reduction in homicidal gun deaths is so small that the rate of accidental gun deaths exceeds it? A quick google search reveals 600 accidental gun deaths in the US in 2011.

There's always what ifs. You want to create a picture where the net benefit just isn't there, it seems.

I fear this number would rise drastically if we started forcing civilians like teachers to carry weapons every day, and the video illustrates why the payoff might not be worth it. It's an experiment and a gamble that I think the most people won't want to try.

I never said *anything* about "forcing" teachers - you added that to bolster your point. A % of them would never want to! It'd be totally up to the guards or other teachers that choose to have some kind of weapon accessible nearby in an emergency situation. I simply asked the question, why should there be a prohibition from allowing them the option to have some kind of weapon ? Why should it be an outrageous idea that we should *never* allow ? I think it's an idea that should be encouraged, promoted, but mandated ? Mandating was your idea or a straw man to argue under, and I don't share it.

Requiring teachers to keep a policeman's firearm-training regimen seems unrealistic, if only because teachers are already overworked as it is.

Nobody suggested it. But no reason to *prohibit* those that DO have the time and that would want the option either. There's something called summer vacation where teachers get a whole 3 months off, at least for those that don't handle summer makeup classes, etc... This is also based on accepting the premise that you would need a full policeman's firearm-training regimen in the first place, otherwise you'd pretty much fail as this video wants us to believe... Guns are easy, especially the ones that come with laser guides, dumb or crazy or both types of criminals can figure out how to point and shoot, yet citizens somehow have to go through intense militaristic training, otherwise, they're just gonna be completely ineffective, shoot the wall or themselves we're being told... I'm not buying that whole narrative that the video is selling... I understand the panic, but I'd rather not be without a gun in such a situation and have a fighting chance.

Don't we allow airplane pilots to pack heat nowadays, post 9-11 ?? I dunno if that was mandated, but I sure as hell would get one! But yeah, aren't they over-worked and have enough things on their minds ? Couldn't they accidentally shoot from inside the plane, cause a hole that results in loss of cabin pressure and risk bringing it down ? Sure, that's possible, but I think the principle at work there is they'd rather have a gun and not need it, than need a gun and not have it for obvious reasons... Having an armed sky marshal helps too, but that's random and not on every plane ride.

And if they're carrying only non-lethal force, how much of a deterrent is that really?

So what ? Instead, the alternative is to make sure they're totally unarmed ? It's a defense option if you've got a shooter in the building and it's better than nothing, it's better than prohibiting them from being armed at all! It's not a matter of a deterrent at that point! If that teacher I mentioned could've shot that shooter in the head or body with rubber bullets or an advanced stun gun, whatever, it would've disabled him enough via pain, his gun would drop, there'd be time to go grab it, get it away from him, etc. Instead, she was basically just a lamb ready for slaughter as were the kids.

I personally think the NRA is just being paranoid, and that the government not only wouldn't, but seriously couldn't take people's guns away.

I'm not sure, I think there are many politicians that wanna make us more like Europe, like in terms of their healthcare system and the complete prohibition on arms by citizens. The "Constitution" (a flaky concept molded by hack judges) somewhat stands in their way as well as the culture (who our President refers to as "bitter gun-clingers"). In 2010, you did have a Chicago handgun ban that was ruled unconstitutional by a 5-4 ruling, meaning that 4 justices (the Far Left block) voted the 2nd Amendment down, so if Barack Obama at least gets another appointment, I think you'll have a 5-4 ruling in the other direction of more gun-control in the future and fighting such a ban, all the way up to the highest court, will fail... Far Left hack justices aren't gonna selectively apply their phony concepts of "stare decisis" and refer to that 2010 court precedent as something that should be as respected like say Roe v. Wade which legalized abortion in 1975. They'll take the next gun ban case ASAP in a heartbeat to overturn the 2010 ruling if another city tries it again!

[SamIAm]

I'm sorry if you felt I was implying that mandating teachers to have guns was your particular position.

Mandated or otherwise, I still think teachers + guns = more harm than good. Personally, if I had a child, I would not want him in a classroom with a gun, period. Allowing a fully-trained, full-time and well-armed policeman in the school is a compromise I can accept.

[NightWolve]

I'm sorry if you felt I was implying that mandating teachers to have guns was your particular position.

Aight.

Personally, if I had a child, I would not want him in a classroom with a gun, period. Allowing a fully-trained, full-time and well-armed policeman in the school is a compromise I can accept.

Well, I wouldn't be paranoid about that. I'd be more paranoid that we made sure that the teachers had to be unarmed and couldn't have some kind of weapon to defend themselves and the kids under their watch and that anybody could walk into the building knowing it's a gun-free zone and have at it.

I dunno if you can get armed security guards, metal detectors, etc. in *every* public school as property taxes are what pay for them (which are in the thousands), and that is a tax that can cost you your home, so when you increase that burden, you get opposition... Of course, you can pull the argument that Psycho Arkhan Asylum did, "I'd happily pay a tax increase if it meant preventing 5 year olds from having their shit sprayed all over a kindergarten wall.", to guilt taxpayers into it, so there's an answer to that too... ;) Letting the teacher pack heat is cheaper, in my view... ;)

EDIT: Well, looks like Obama may come around to the NRA's position and they'd pass around federal dollars for it if so...

http://hotair.com/archives/2013/01/11/white-house-may-back-armed-guards-in-schools-after-all/

Interesting, if only because of the near-unanimous derision that resulted when the NRA's Wayne LaPierre proposed the idea a week after the Newtown shooting.  Critics hooted at LaPierre's detachment from reality before they realized that Bill Clinton had demanded and received the same funding — through the COPS program.

It was kind of silly, I mean, most every governmental building has armed guards... our politicians always have armed guards around them, we have armed guards to protect our banks, to essentially protect our money that's IN them! Why would the idea sound outrageous for public schools so as to protect our kids that are IN them ?

EDITx2: Looks like he wants to eliminate the armed airline pilot program, though:

http://www.redstate.com/brian_d/2012/02/15/president-obamas-plan-to-kill-armed-pilot-program/

[Marll]