Mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut • Hacker News Board

Re: Mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut

#331

Post by lostlogin » Sat, Dec 15, 2012, 9:26 AM UTC

marknutter wrote: post #42

untog wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

frankly I'm angry that you just assume everyone who is pro-2nd amendment just isn't as enlightened as you are. Where exactly do I make that assumption? You'll notice that I didn't even call for a blanket ban on guns, just that, as a nation, we could actually sit down and have a serious talk about whether people should be able to own weapons like this one for private use: [EDIT: I regret posting the link to the rifle,…

"He was wearing all black and was carrying two 9mm handguns" - http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/14/15907407-26-dead-...

New reports say that other guns were found - some kid of rifle left in the car r something like that.

Re: Mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut

#332

Post by sallyjo8525 » Sat, Dec 15, 2012, 5:34 PM UTC

codegeek wrote: post #220

marknutter wrote: post #179

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The guy used basic handguns in this shooting. The problem is his mental health, not his access to guns. If he were motivated enough, and guns weren't available, he could use any manner of other means to kill a bunch of people - bombs, molotov cocktails, home-made flame throwers, samurai sword, vehicles, etc.

"The problem is his mental health, not his access to guns" The problem is that he had access to guns when he was mentally ill. Thats the problem. You cannot isolate the two.

I believe the handguns were his mother's. Making guns harder to obtain for mentally ill people will not stop them from obtaining them illegally.

Re: Mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut

#333

Post by lostlogin » Sat, Dec 15, 2012, 5:41 PM UTC

potatolicious wrote: post #326

lostlogin wrote: post #321

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I get your point (weapon is too destructive). But it's not quite that bad. Both Hiroshima and Nagasaki seem alright now.

> "But it's not quite that bad. Both Hiroshima and Nagasaki seem alright now." This is literally the most callous justification for nuking someone I have ever seen. "It's not that bad guys. It's habitable now, 70 years later! If you didn't know better you would swear 80,000 didn't get instantly incinerated in nuclear fire, with over 125,000 more who died in slow agony over a few weeks of burns and radiation poisoning…

I wasn't at all, but I was unclear. I was pointing out that nuclear weapons don't cause places to be uninhabitable for eternity. It is quite clearly incorrect. This is not a reason to use them however. The atomic raids ands the firebombing of Japan are most definitely up there as war crimes.

Re: Mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut

#334

Post by nollidge » Sat, Dec 15, 2012, 6:41 PM UTC

mnicole wrote: post #263

mnicole wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, thought you were insinuating that changing the laws on obtaining one would make a difference in stopping those who will essentially do whatever they need to to get it. :)

It won't let me reply directly to you this deep in the thread - > I definitely was insinuating that, along with lots of other things. So everyone who wants a gun will do whatever they need to get it? Measures such as background checks, safety class requirements, mental health checks, restrictions on high-capacity or high-throughput weapons, higher taxes, manufacturer and supply chain oversight, spying on domestic tra…

But how many people have that kind of will? How many are truly disturbed monsters, and how many are just angry and upset and have poor impulse control and are enabled to commit atrocities by easy access to firearms?

Re: Mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut

#335

Post by ryankey721 » Sun, Dec 16, 2012, 10:12 AM UTC

entropy_ wrote: post #298

jlgreco wrote: post #189

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Is sanity really a possibility here? Sure, we don't have a diagnosis, at least yet, but I would say by definition this person was not sane. A mass shooting is no crime of passion. It seems to me that there are two problems here. The first is that we suck at finding/handling the mentally ill. These mass shootings are rare, but the connection between crime and mental illness in this country is anything but. The second…

Are serial killers sane? Their crimes are not crimes of passion. Lots of serial killers kill complete strangers to them. Do they get to plead insanity in court? Should they be sent to mental hospitals or prisons? I'm not being facetious, I'm asking seriously, what definition of sanity are we running on here?

I'd say for the insanity plea there would have to be a certain amount of spontaneity about it. Serial killers are mostly methodical people who do plan their actions ahead of time, which is why the insanity plea won't work.

From what I've heard, it doesn't seem like the shooter in this instance had things planned.

I don't know though, lots of questions.

Re: Mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut

#336

Post by mnicole » Mon, Dec 17, 2012, 6:30 PM UTC

nollidge wrote: post #334

mnicole wrote: post #263

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It won't let me reply directly to you this deep in the thread - > I definitely was insinuating that, along with lots of other things. So everyone who wants a gun will do whatever they need to get it? Measures such as background checks, safety class requirements, mental health checks, restrictions on high-capacity or high-throughput weapons, higher taxes, manufacturer and supply chain oversight, spying on domestic tra…

But how many people have that kind of will? How many are truly disturbed monsters, and how many are just angry and upset and have poor impulse control and are enabled to commit atrocities by easy access to firearms?

Easy access is subjective; we all know people that own guns. It's my recollection that in at least two of the school shootings, trying to find weapons to use was one of the primary objectives and it took stealing them from outside of their own homes to acquire them. When you are willing to partake in something so gruesome, I doubt burglary is the biggest of your concerns. I'd be willing to bet that the [illegal] acquisition process is actually enticing and empowering for them.