[Alty]

I'm sure that most of the people on this site have heard about the school shooting in Connecticut. I know it's being talked about on fb, and posts are being posted to support the families that have been hit by this tragedy, this travesty.

I don't wish to start a discussion about how the world is going to hell in a hand basket, nor do I wish to discuss gun laws, or anything of that nature.

I would like this to be a place for all of us to share how we're feeling, to offer our condolences to those that have lost a loved one today, and to band together, lean on each other, hug each other, and find comfort in each other.

I'm including a link. This link is a candle lighting site. I know it's not a real candle, but the symbol of lighting a candle is significant, it's something I truly believe in, and this site is great. The link I'm posting is for the families in Connecticut. So, if you wish to light a candle for them, click on the link and follow the steps. It's free.

Group *conn* Candles - Light A Candle

[Alty]

No one?

I can tell you my reaction to this.

I'm in shock. I keep thinking "what if it were my kids?"

It's so senseless, but then, people that do this sort of thing don't have any sense, they're insane (IMO).

I can't stop thinking about the parents that lost children today. You should never have to bury a child. Ever!

My daughter is the one that asked if we could light a candle, like we did when Lennox (a dog that was euthanized for no reason) died.

My kids give me hope. My daughter, she heard about this tragedy, and wept. A part of me wonders if it was right that I shared this news with her. She's only 10. But, such is life, and sadly, as long as there are insane people out there, this sort of thing will continue to happen. It's not the last time. It's not the first time. It's just another school shooting. I think that's the worst part of all of this. It's another of a long list of school shootings in the US. I don't think anyone feels it's the last. It's just the latest one. :(

Obviously something has to change. It doesn't matter where you live, we need to come up with a better way to protect our children from those people that are insane enough to kill without rhyme or reason.

[Wondergirl]

I keep thinking of how close it is to Christmas and how many plans are now turned to dust, gifts won't be bought and opened, carols won't be sung, Christmas plays won't be performed. It's horrible to lose a child and especially right before Christmas.

Many schools in the Chicago area are locked during the school day, so that a doorbell has to be rung and someone inside the school has to check out and approve the visitor. My library put in surveillance cameras about five years ago, and my son's library is in the process of doing that now. Apparently. According to current newscasts, the guns belonged to the shooter's mother and were totally legal. The shooter had no previous legal or police involvement.

The rhetorical question is, What can we do to prevent this from happening again?

[paraclete]

This is a tragedy, but it is a tragedy of liberty gone mad, you may not want to discuss gun laws but you cannot separate lax gun laws from this tragedy. This is a slaughter of innocents and no "constitutional rights" transcend the right to life. There is no reason other than nonsense that this person should have possessed the weapons he did, and the fact that they are licenced only makes the slaughter more obscene. Let us hope the President has the balls, what we used to call intestinal fortitude to enforce sanity. Do you know that one of the weapons is an item the Swiss gun maker boasted of their success in the american market. It took a disaster like this in my own nation to stop the slaughter, and it is sad but this may be what it takes in your nation to stop the slaughter. And no one have the gaul to say guns don't kill people, because they certainly slaughtered these innocents

You want to know how I am feeling, even at a distance, emotional, angry and discussed. This is an act of terror just as surely as 9/11 was an act of terror and the terrorist is the gun

[Wondergirl]

According to current reports, he took these weapons from his mother's (or someone's) house. They were not his. And he supposedly had no previous mental health problems.

[paraclete]

According to current reports, he took these weapons from his mother's (or someone's) house. They were not his. And he supposedly had no previous mental health problems.

Which proves all the more that weapons like this should not be in the general community, no matter what the precautions they are not secure. We don't know what a person is thinking, I know from personal experience of the emotions and actions of one of my children you can never know when anyone will do the unexpected, These situations produce strong emotions in me even though it was twenty five years ago and I have no doubt that is echoed in many people.

[Alty]

This is a tragedy, but it is a tragedy of liberty gone mad, you may not want to discuss gun laws but you cannot seperate lax gun laws from this tragedy. This is a slaughter of innocents and no "constitutional rights" transcend the right to life. There is no reason other than nonsence that this person should have possessed the weapons he did, and the fact that they are licenced only makes the slaughter more obscene. Let us hope the President has the balls, what we used to call intestinal fortitude to enforce sanity. Do you know that one of the weapons is an item the Swiss gun maker boasted of their success in the american market. It took a disaster like this in my own nation to stop the slaughter, and it is sad but this may be what it takes in your nation to stop the slaughter. and noone have the gaul to say guns don't kill people, because they certainly slaughtered these innocents

You want to know how I am feeling, even at a distance, emotional, angry and discussed. this is an act of terror just as surely as 9/11 was an act of terror and the terrorist is the gun

I have to say, I agree with you. I stated that I don't want to discuss gun laws, only because I've had that fight before. I'm in Canada. Getting a permit to buy a gun here, well, you have a better chance winning millions in the lottery. Guns aren't an issue here. Google how many school shootings, or any shootings, we've had in Alberta. You won't find a lot. Google the US, where anyone can buy a gun, and it's page after page. But I digress.

Many people, people I consider friends, don't agree with me when it comes to gun laws. They have the right to bear arms, and sadly, so does every lunatic that's living near them. Their motto "guns don't kill, people kill". My motto "people with guns kill people".

I asked that we not discuss this issue simply because I don't want to turn this into a discussion or fight about guns and who should have them. This is about the families that lost a child, or a loved one (20 children dead, 6 adults) today. It's not about laws, it's about loss. It's about mourning that loss and offering support.

I have two kids. I can't imagine losing either of them. I'd be lost. I'd die myself. Just writing that brought tears to my eyes. I can't imagine being a parent, and losing a child, especially to something this senseless. :(

[tomder55]

What part of free will should God take away from us to prevent the acts of the evil ?
The murderer lived in Connecticut and New Jersey ;two of the states with some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation.But the strictest law in both states is the one about committing murder. Guess that law didn't prevent it either. When you get tired of blaming guns ,you can jump on a number of other bandwagons like violent video games and movies ;or the prescription drugs he may have been on.

[Enigma1999]

Not to mention if, hypothetically speaking, guns were banned, sick people would find another way to cause harm.

[paraclete]

I have two kids. I can't imagine losing either of them. I'd be lost. I'd die myself. Just writing that brought tears to my eyes. I can't imagine being a parent, and losing a child, especially to something this senseless. :(

I understand where you are coming from, as I said earlier this has stirred strong emotions in me, but the issue really is about right to life, everyone has that right and it should be protected more strongly than any other right. I too live in a society where we don't need to reach for a gun to solve our problems, where we cannot own assault weapons, we are a peaceful society. The quality of our liberty is not strained. It is true criminals have guns and shoot people, but the ordinary citizen rarely does and oddly enough what we find is the criminals shoot at each other and generally leave the rest of us alone.

What society must do is ensure that such events cannot take place again, that requires strong action and strong will, in fact it requires courage, the innocents must be protected and not only from guns but from predators too. There should be a memorial to these kids in a form that ensures it cannot happen again

[Alty]

Yikes Tomber.

Okay, so apparently we don't want to mourn the loss in Connecticut. Should I remind you about that loss? 20 children, this school was Kindergarten to grade 4. These 20 children never even had a real chance to live. My daughter is 10, older than all of the 20 children killed today!

Six adults killed. Why? Some idiot had guns and killed then. He wasn't sane. How could he be?

If you want to make this a discussion about guns, go ahead, but let's try to remember that this act, what happened today, no matter what we discuss about guns, it can't be changed. It can't be taken back. Guns were involved, that's a fact. How the insane arse got the guns, isn't important. He got them, and he used them, and he killed a lot of people, most of them innocent children.

Please, I'm all for a discussion about guns, and how guns do kill people, because they're given to people that want to kill people. But not here. Please.

This is about the children and adults that died today. Only that. It's not about how I or anyone else feels about the gun laws in the US. Because truthfully, I could go on and on about how I feel about that issue, and we could start a huge fight about it.

I'm too busy crying for the loss of life to care about who's right or wrong about guns. I look at my children and think... what if it were me? What if I lost my kids? I can't even get around that thought. There's no way I could deal with it, and I've dealt with more loss than most. But my kids? No. That would kill me. That's what 20 families are facing today.

Please respect what this thread is about. Life, and it's loss. Light a candle, go to the link I posted. We can discuss evil guns in another thread. I'll even start it.

[Wondergirl]

What society must do is ensure that such events cannot take place again

Society cannot ensure that.

[paraclete]

What part of free will should God take away from us to prevent the acts of the evil ?
The murderer lived in Connecticut and New Jersey ;two of the states with some of the most restrictive gun laws in the nation.But the strictest law in both states is the one about committing murder. Guess that law didn't prevent it either. When you get tired of blaming guns ,you can jump on a number of other bandwagons like violent video games and movies ;or the prescription drugs he may have been on.

This isn't a matter of action by God Tom and you know it. You cannot tell me a person like this wasn't noticed as being a potential problem. I have just seen a news article that states this was a troubled person for a long time. You want to strike up your liberty bandwagon and play guns forever but you are avoiding the issue, there is a higher right, and it is the right to life. How many lives have been traumatised by this event, yes, twenty-eight are dead but the impact must be in the hundreds and why, so some nut could own assault weapons, because it is his right to kill people don't you know.

You want to tell us strict gun laws didn't stop this person and you were right, they weren't strict enough. I would have no doubt this person planned his actions for a long time, who knows what the trigger was, but as soon as he went over the edge he reached for a gun and look what he had to choose from, automatic weapons. Killing made easy

[Alty]

Now we're talking guns and God? What have I started here?

Okay, here is my statement.

My heart goes out to the families that lost loved ones in Connecticut today, my heart also goes out the families that lost loved one in the shooting in Colorado. Columbine, my heart goes out to you. All the Americans that lost loved ones due to shootings (and there are many), my heart goes out to you. I think that makes my point about guns, and how I feel about them.

But mostly, my prayers are with the families that lost children today, and the families of the adults that also died today. My heart is hurting for your loss. I am in tears, because I can't even imagine what you're going through.

Please, click the link and light a candle for the families that lost a child or a loved one today.

This thread is about them, and about leaning on each other through this tragedy. It's not about gun laws, or God, or anything else. It's about the loss of human life, and the families that have to face that tonight, and for the rest of their lives.

[Alty]

I have to add this.

Today 26 people were killed in Connecticut. 20 children, 6 adults. Why? A mad man with a gun decided to kill them.

Also today, 22 were injured in China. A madman with a knife went to a school and decided to kill children. No one was killed, only 22 injured.

That's all I'll say about guns and how I feel about the gun laws in the US. The math is pretty easy to do. The 22 injured in China, will live. The 26 killed in Connecticut, well, you can't survive death.

But guns don't kill people? Actually, I think we should change that to "Knives don't kill people. Knives injure people. Guns, in the wrong hands, kill a lot of people".

Now, go light that candle, please.

And yes, I realize that I broke my own rule, and commented on gun control and my thoughts. But hey, you can only push me so far before I snap. Thankfully you don't have to worry, because I can't access a gun. ;)

[Alty]

Promise kept. If you want to talk about guns, I started a thread.

https://www.askmehelpdesk.com/other-...ll-722668.html

[tomder55]

Yikes Tomber.

Okay, so apparently we don't want to mourn the loss in Connecticut. Should I remind you about that loss? 20 children, this school was Kindergarten to grade 4. These 20 children never even had a real chance to live. My daughter is 10, older than all of the 20 children killed today!

Six adults killed. Why? Some idiot had guns and killed then. He wasn't sane. How could he be?

If you want to make this a discussion about guns, go ahead, but let's try to remember that this act, what happened today, no matter what we discuss about guns, it can't be changed. It can't be taken back. Guns were involved, that's a fact. How the insane arse got the guns, isn't important. He got them, and he used them, and he killed a lot of people, most of them innocent children.

Please, I'm all for a discussion about guns, and how guns do kill people, because they're given to people that want to kill people. But not here. Please.

This is about the children and adults that died today. Only that. It's not about how I or anyone else feels about the gun laws in the US. Because truthfully, I could go on and on about how I feel about that issue, and we could start a huge fight about it.

I'm too busy crying for the loss of life to care about who's right or wrong about guns. I look at my children and think....what if it were me? What if I lost my kids? I can't even get around that thought. There's no way I could deal with it, and I've dealt with more loss than most. But my kids? No. That would kill me. That's what 20 families are facing today.

Please respect what this thread is about. Life, and it's loss. Light a candle, go to the link I posted. We can discuss evil guns in another thread. I'll even start it.

So it's OK that Clete brought up guns ;but my rebuttal crosses the line. Ok I won't comment further on this posting .

[teacherjenn4]

As most of you know, I am a Kindergarten teacher. Of course, I had no clue until the work day was over about this tragedy. Innocent little babies and they were supposed to be safe at school. It doesn't matter how much security the school had. His mom taught there. Our visitors must be fingerprinted with the FBI and go through vigorous training. But, that doesn't ever guard against someone who "snaps." They can point a rifle on to a playground. So, hug your kids a little tighter tonight and feel relief they are still with you. I can't imagine my little Kinders in danger like that, but you better be sure that their teacher shielded those kids as if they were her own. Rest in peace Kinder angels, and my heart is with their families.

[J_9]

where anyone can buy a gun,

Wrong.

Their motto "guns don't kill, people kill". My motto "people with guns kill people".

So, if guns were illegal no one would have one? Please, tell me more about how nobody can buy drugs.

Some idiot had guns and killed then

Actually, he didn't have guns. He StOLE them.

how guns do kill people, because they're given to people that want to kill people

Wrong again.

I love you Alty, but living in Canada you clearly don't understand how gun control actually works in the U.S.

If one teacher/janitor/principal (take your pick) who is well trained with firearms and carries a CCP (Concealed Carry Permit), this could have been stopped with minimal loss of life. I know many teachers who qualify to carry but can't. I am qualified to carry but can't to my job because guns aren't allowed in a hospital. Hospital violence is on the increase as well and our security guards aren't even allowed to touch a disturbed patient. That's my job.

And no, I don't think you should have shown this to Syd. You took a small part of her innocence away.

[Enigma1999]

so it's ok that Clete brought up guns ;but my rebuttal crosses the line. Ok I won't comment further on this posting .

I have to agree with you here. Another person mentioned guns on this thread and Tomder was ostracized for it.

This is a touchy thread because how can you NOT bring up guns?

I do see that Alty had posted another thread...