Orlando shooting -- What do you think the best answer is to reduce events like this?

[Mr Kleb]

This country doesn't have a gun problem. It has an asshole problem.

Almost certainly a problem in every one of the 200-some nations around the earth. There's only one country with the problem of their so regularly gunning up and going Newtown or Roswell NM or wherever.

We could discuss this matter til the end of time, but until we eradicate intolerance nothing will change.

I'm not holding my breath, human nature being what it is and after listening to one presumptive presidential nominee.

On the "a few lunatics" point: anyone care to guess how many mass shootings, with or without casualties, we've had this year? How many since Orlando?

I find it odd that people only defend guns when they have been used to kill people. I find it odd that a discussion of "how can we stop this" is greeted with "there's absolutely no way" and then explanations of how guns work, as if those of us who want fewer gun deaths don't understand guns.

Always such an odd discussion.

Also, I'm a professor on a huge U.S. campus. And to those who think I should be trained and armed, I have a few words, and they are not ones I am going to write here.

I know the answer to your first question and it's very distressing.

It is such an odd discussion. Same discussion as happened here after Newtown ad infinitum. Chases its own tail and still nothing changes.

America has done amazing things when it sets its mind to do them. On this issue it's not there yet.

[Blackboy98]

I am not going to take one side or the other. I know no answers to the problems. I just find it pathetic that we have to be thinking about these types of problems instead if discussing a situation where a man saved a person from a house fire or children holding charity events for children with cancer. Or the kids with perfect attendance or the kids who used a 3d printer to make arms for kids with missing arms.
THAT'S whar I want to hear and be proud of the good people of the world.

I blame some of these problems on the media sensationalizing the evil and hatred of the event, telling all the details of the perpetrators history and family. They glorify the event instead of just reporting it. That sickens me greatly.

[JackK]

I blame some of these problems on the media sensationalizing the evil and hatred of the event, telling all the details of the perpetrators history and family. They glorify the event instead of just reporting it. That sickens me greatly.

Exactly the way I feel as well. Stop giving them the glory and fame, give it instead to the poor innocent victims and their life stories. I'm sure they are far more interesting anyhow.

[ZEKESMAN]

I'll weigh in on this one. Assault Rifles are box magazine fed, intermediate-power cartridge, selective fire weapon. AR-15 fits all criteria except selective fire, which is taught to not be used because it is an ammo wasting feature. When you "only" have a 30 round magazine you don't want to empty it in 5 seconds. Aimed 1 or 3 shot bursts are more effective. I am a gun owner and hunter. I am afraid of a semi-auto ban as it would make my beloved Berretta shotgun illegal. No offence but anyone who says they can fire a pump, revolver or any other action, as fast as a semi-auto is full of it. I don't know the answer, but a ban on auto loading rifles with detachable box magazines might be a good place to start. And I have only seen one idiot with an AR and 2 with Ak's hunting in my 30+ years of hard core big game hunting. When I met them on the mountain I was sure the animals were safe, just not sure about the people. Hunters for the most part use bolt action rifles. Like 99%.

[sparky]

Someone posted about the "culture" in America right now. I am reminded of a story just this year. A young man broke into a woman's house. While she was home. She has a weapon to protect herself. She shot and killed the thug. His friends were shouting "what about him? Where's he supposed to get his stuff? He needs to have stuff!" As long as people think it's ok to take from others just because you have it and they don't we are going to continue to see the degradation of this Country. Until we all learn to respect each other this will never stop. As long as people continue to think that if you don't think like me I can kill you this is never going to stop.
The first murder was with a rock.

[barry581]

The politicalization of this issue is the crux of the problem. Sides are taken, everyone is digging in, spouting their vision of right and wrong. The gun lobby and NRA spend gobs and gobs of money making sure the citizens right to bear arms is not infringed upon. The political right is right there with them, taking the money and running. The political left wants to take away these rights. Yes, this is grossly over simplified. Basically it's a point of contention that will not go away, and in my opinion, keeps the government from doing things that could actually be beneficial to the country.

The Second Amendment was written 240 years ago. I seriously don't believe the men who wrote The Constitution could have imagined in their wildest dreams the world we live in today. Since none of them are here, there is no way that we can know exactly what their intentions were. I read this and found it very interesting:

Second Amendment legal definition of Second Amendment

I'm not pro gun, or anti gun, but I feel that the average citizen should not have access to semi-automatic weapons that can hold more that 3 rounds. That goes for hand guns and long guns. In latest tragedy, one man, basically untrained in the tactical use of weapons, was able to kill or wound over 100 people. I find it utterly ridiculous that one person was able to discharge that many rounds, in that short of a period of time.

No one outside of the military or law enforcement has a need for a weapon that can hold and discharge more that 3 rounds at a time. No one who is hunting ANYTHING, needs a weapon that can hold and discharge 30 or more rounds as fast as they can pull the trigger.

I was in the military, I was qualified on the M16 and the M92. I've owned shotguns and pistols. I very much enjoyed shooting, it was a lot of fun. When I stopped hunting many years ago, I sold the weapons, and no longer own any. I get why people have guns. But, I don't get why anyone needs a military style weapon, for hunting, self defense, or any other reason.

[Paws n Jaws]

It's easier to buy an assault rifle than it is to buy 2 boxes of Sudafed. Hell, it's easier to buy an assault rifle than it is to adopt a dog from a rescue

This is either a sad misunderstanding of gun laws or a bold faced deception.

Buying an assault rifle requires an application, $200 tax stamp and an FBI background check. It also takes 6-12 months.

[lovemylabby]

Oh my goodness...we don't need stricter gun laws! Stricter gun laws does NOTHING to prevent these deranged people from plotting and carrying out what they want to do to us.

We as Americans should have the RIGHT TO PROTECT OURSELVES!

We all should be able to keep a gun in our home and carry one as well. Perhaps, if some of the patrons of the nightclub were armed, this may not have happened the way it did.

[charlie'sdad]

Does anyone really hunt with an AR-15? Is it really a good option for home defense against an intruder? Are those knowledgeable about firearms who are making these claims really able to do so with a straight face?

Seems to me that AR-15 style guns are marketed to wannabe-military civilians who play war at the shooting range. Maybe it is fun to shoot, but I'm not sure that is a valid reason to give unfettered access to these weapons to the public at large.

Every state has different requirements for purchasing this style of gun. In my state, you can legally purchase one in a parking lot, without even id, as was done a few days ago by a local reporter. Something is wrong with that. The Gun: How I Bought an AR-15 in a Five Guys Parking Lot | Fair Game | Seven Days | Vermont's Independent Voice

A stranger handed me an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle Monday afternoon in a South Burlington parking lot. I handed him an envelope stuffed with $500 cash. We filled out no paperwork and completed no background check. He had no idea who I was nor what my intentions were, and he did not ask. Nine minutes after I met the man, I drove away with the sort of weapon used 39 hours earlier to slaughter 49 people in an Orlando, Fla., nightclub.
In Vermont, home to the nation's most permissive gun laws, everything I did was perfectly legal.

[arentspowell]

Does anyone really hunt with an AR-15?

I know people that hunt with an AR, for varmint hunting.