Nancy Lanza loved guns, and often took her sons to one of the shooting ranges here in the suburbs northeast of New York City, where there is an active community of gun enthusiasts, her friends said. At a local bar, she sometimes talked about her gun collection.There's no more excuse for allowing troubled Adam access to the guns than there would be to allow a 2-year-old. Too often, gun enthusiasts don't take safe storage of the weapons seriously enough. Sometimes it has disastrous results.
It was one of her guns that was apparently used to take her life on Friday. Her killer was her son Adam Lanza, 20, who then drove to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where he killed 26 more people, 20 of them small children, before shooting himself, the authorities said.Ms. Lanza’s fascination with guns became an important focus of attention on Saturday as investigators tried to determine what caused Mr. Lanza to carry out one of the worst massacres in the nation’s history.Investigators have linked Ms. Lanza to five weapons: two powerful handguns, two traditional hunting rifles and a semiautomatic rifle that is similar to weapons used by troops in Afghanistan. Her son took the two handguns and the semiautomatic rifle to the school. Law enforcement officials said they believed the guns were acquired legally and were registered.
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The State of Connecticut bars the ownership (and severely punishes any infraction of such) of any "Assault Rifle" not registered prior to the ban which took effect in 1989. Possession of any unregistered AR-15 rifle is a Class II felony. If this variety of weapons are deemed to present such an eminent danger to the existence of a peaceable society, then why where existing weapons allowed to be grandfathered? Why are nearly identical weapons which do not specifically incorporate the prohibited features (the elements of the design of a rifle which classifies it under State Law as an "Assault Weapon") allowed to be freely proliferated and possessed by the ordinary citizen? Such is an (often tragic) insult to the rule of law.
ReplyDeleteTo those who still claim that there exists an individual "right to keep and bear Arms",
Justify Ms. Lanza's decision to keep a deadly firearm in her home (as opposed to a locker at a shooting range or the local police station). Why do you feel that an individual (who is not a member of a peacekeeping or governing body) possesses the right or express need to maintain a firearm in the domicile?
E.N., changing your screen name doesn't change the level of nonsense in your comments.
DeleteWhat good does it do anyone to have a gun locked up at a range or in the hands of the police? The right identified in the Second Amendment includes both keeping and bearing. It does so because the Founders knew that handing over guns to the state meant that the state would control those guns. Our system was designed to trust the people and restrain the government.
Greg, in the name of honesty and all that's right, don't you think she should have kept the guns safely away from Adam?
DeleteSince I wasn't present in their lives, I can't answer that. Did she see signs that he would be dangerous? A mother can overlook a lot. On the other hand, there may not have been signs--at least not of this kind of thing. He was also an adult, not a child. You want simple answers, but there are none.
DeleteMikeb, the young man had Asperger's Syndrome. People on the autism spectrum aren't noted for being more violent than the rest of the population. When you say that his mother should have known, you're expressing a prejudice held by many against those who aren't neurotypical.
ReplyDeleteSome things simply are inexplicable. I realize that you can't accept that. You have to have everything packaged into neat boxes and shelved in the filing system of your mind--often into the categories of racism and rednecks--but the world doesn't have to conform to your needs.
You speak as if you are afflicted.
DeleteAs of the DSM-V there is no disorder by the name of "Asperger's Syndrome".
"People on the autism spectrum aren't noted for being more violent than the rest of the population."
If left to their own devices, yes. However, such autistics typically find themselves the victim of social ostracization, which therefore fosters a sense of inadequacy and hatred toward society, which all too frequently manifests itself in violent acts.
I know a family with an autistic son. On their behalf, I was shocked to see you call for rounding up people on the spectrum and sending them off to "institutions." (Yes, I know that you're E.N., so why bother changing your name?) I also don't give a damn what the new name for Asperger's Syndrome is. The shrinks call it this and they call it that, but we don't have to follow their every whim like sheep. Remember, citizens, not subjects.
DeleteGiven what he did, you are obviously wrong, dead wrong.
DeleteWhen someone says "obviously," that's often an indication of no evidence and no ability to explain the logic of the claim. You would benefit from some skepticism.
Delete