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http://www.cnn.com/2011/CRIME/01/13/arizona.shooting.loughner.university/index.html?hpt=T1
In the wake of the recent Arizona shooting, are gun control laws strict enough? Can incidences like these be prevented (ie. stricter gun laws, warning signs missed by others, parental intervention, etc.)? Should the gunman face life without the chance of parole or the death penalty for his part in the multiple murder rampage?
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I believe that gun laws in America are sufficient and cutting back the distribution of guns to those who qualify for a permit won't be very effective. Somebody can also kill 6 people with a knife or a club, it would just take a little more effort. Just because somebody goes crazy, doesn't mean that gun laws should be tightened and make those you use guns like this the right way suffer. Laws can't help people's mental problems, and what has happened is a result of somebody's mental problem.
I do not believe gun control laws are strict enough. I feel like incidences like this would have been prevented if the laws were stricter. I do believe the gunman should face the death penalty because he killed 6 people. I do believe this man had many issues though that may have been psychological that caused him to do this. People wouldn't just freak out about getting a B on a Freedom of Speech project. Also, as people in his class said, even the way he just looked at people seemed like a mug shot. I don't believe he had a mental problem though because when the police saw his screaming random things at the computer he just said he was singing loud to his music. If there was something mentally wrong, they wouldn't have been able to do it. I believe this guy just has some issues but still needs to get the death penalty since he killed 6 people.
I dont think that gun laws need to be stricter because as of now they do a pretty good job of making it harder for people to get guns and I dont think that people who use guns for other, humane, things should not be punished or put through more trouble just because of some crazy guy that went on a rampage. It was horrible and he should rot in jail for the rest of his miserable life but to punish everyone else in my opinion honestly wouldnt be fair
My dad made a small joke when he heard about the incident in Arizona. When he found out about the gunman and what kind of gun he had, he said "Well I wonder why anyone didn't pull out their gun and shoot the guy, everyone has a gun out there, don't they?"
This only supports the fact that gun laws are very flexible today, and they should be more strict. So many tragic incidents have happened due to crazy people owning a gun. I think that people should take a personality test to own a gun, as well as go through several other processes. I mean other than "protection" what do people need to own a gun for?
-Danielle Johnson
The shootings in Arizona have definitely brought up some interesting debate about the gun control laws in this country. In a state like Arizona, where getting a gun is about as hard as buying a loaf of bread, all the "good people" in the crowd that day were unarmed, showing that the NRA's claims that making guns easy to obtain would arm the common man and discourage such violence. However, I do believe that there is some credence to the argument that should gun control laws be tightened, people could still buy them off the black market. I think that although totally banning guns is unfeasible, gunowners should be subject to tigher regulation, including psychiatric screenings, so that people like Loughner, and the Virginia Tech shooter a few years ago can't buy guns. Additionally, the penalties for gun control violations should be far stricter. As for Loughner's penalty, I don't believe the Federal Government should sentence him to death for the murder of Judge Roll. However, I do believe the state of Arizona is well within its bounds to pursue the death penalty as the crime took place in its jurisdiction of interest.
I don't think the gun laws are strict enough if a crazy person like this one can get a gun. I feel that he should face a life in prison with no parole and he should be in solitary confinement. He killed the lives of 6 people, there is no justification for that. He ruined not only the lives of the people he killed but their families. There was a nine year old girl i believe who died, she was born on 9/11 and now she was killed in this horrible event.
This crazy insane man should not have been allowed to own a gun. When he was younger he was talking about straping bombs to babies. It waasn't the gun that did the killing, it was Jared Lee Loughner, he could have killed the 6 people without a gun. He could have used a knife or some other type of weapon. Yeah there are gun laws and just about anyone can own a gun, but that doesnt stop someone from killing 6 people, this guy was insane, and like i said before he would have killed the people regardless if he had the gun or not. I don't think that making the gun laws stricter is going to help, and for those who use guns the right way, its just unfair to them.
Alright if you ask me this guys mug shot alone is evidence enough to throw him in prison for the rest of his life. Who the hell makes a creepy smile like that when your being arrested and accused of killing six people, i mean seriously if this guy didnt kill those epople we should arrest him before he does start killing people. According to the school he had been suspended from there were many seperate incidents where he acted "strange", yeah right i think its gone a little beyond just being a kinda strange when you start telling people in your english class to "strap bombs to babies" and threaten your teacher.
Personally, I don't know too much about this topic to have too strong an opinion on it. However, based o what I know and what I read in the article, I think gun control laws need to be more heavily enforced, and a stricter criteria must be met in order to withhold this deadly weapon. Realistically, people manipulate the law and other people in order to get their hands on illegal substances, so in situations like the Arizona shooting, I really don't believe that stricter gun control laws would have stopped this man from doing the damage that he did. In some ways and under certain circumstances, stricter enforcement of laws excites people like the Arizona Shooter more than it would have with looser laws. I think that this man (and men of his sort, who have committed similar felonies) should spend life in prison with no chance of parole. I think that this is a harsher punishment than death, and I personally do not believe in the death penalty just because of our basic right to life, but that's getting into a whole new argument.
In my opinion, I feel that whether or not Congress makes gun control laws stricter, people will still find a way of breaking them. I think it is good that we have rather strict laws, or any laws at all, in the first place; it is always good to take precaution. However, almost every law is broken and gun control laws are no different. It is not hard for someone to go out, get a gun illegally, and then use that gun to shoot and possibly even murder someone. That being said, you can't put blame on the gun, but on the individual carrying the gun. We all have choices to make and we should each be held accountable for them. I think he deserves life without parole. Although it is keeping him alive, it will make him suffer, and that is what he deserves.
I believe that the gun control laws are not strict enough. Everyone uses the arguement that they are for self-defense, but in all honesty is no one owned a gun there would be no need for the gun for self defense. People are able to get guns much to easily and it sets up the ability for people to committ horrible actions. It has been said that this man had mental problems that were known prior to the shooting, so why was he still able to posess a gun. I think that we need to realise how many crimes really involve the use of a gun. How many people are killed each year by a shooting. Is allowing people to have a gun really worth it? I believe that this man should not be sentenced to the death penalty, as much as it is disgusting that he killed 6 people I do not believe the death penalty is the right choice. I would leave him to die in jail, and spend a life time thinking about what he did.
I do not believe that gun control laws should be entirely changed, but I think a couple variations can be implemented to ensure further security. For example, I think that citizens who are interested in purchasing a gun should have to undergo intense questioning, and checking for past troubles and mental stability. If the customer possesses a questionable past, or if he/she doesn’t seem entirely stable they should be denied the right to purchase a gun. It is clear that Loughner is unstable and people like him should not be permitted to buy a gun. In addition I think the consequences for disobeying gun control laws should become more severe. If someone owns a gun without a permit, or if someone uses a gun outside the confines of their license they should be punished severely to show others that the matter is not taken lightly. As a result of his instability and committing murder, I think Loughner should be sentenced to a life sentence in jail without parole.
Gun laws in america are a highly debatable topic. I personally think that it really should be harder to be able to get a gun, but in reality, no matter how hard someone tries, there will always be a chance to get a gun anywhere you go. And anyways, you don't necessarily need a gun to kill someone, it just makes it easier.
as for the death penalty, i believe that someone like him should be able to get out of jail at some point, if in fact he does have a mental disorder as said in the article.
The strictness of gun control laws should be reevaluated. The Second Amendment gives all U.S. citizens the right to bear arms that are unconnected to military service for lawful uses. Incidents like this and the Columbine shooting in 1999 may have been prevented with certain measures. However, a complete ban of owning a gun is very unreasonable. The law's intention was to keep citizens safe (use the gun for self-defense).
By banning it completely, it would may harm the wellbeing of many individuals.
Incidents like this are completely preventable. There were numerous signs that Jared Loughner was mentally unstable. Yet, few took time out of their day to report his actions. Instead of sitting around and watching, someone should have reported this man to authorities.
Even though this man was the cause of a brutal tragedy, he should not face the death penalty. He cannot be accountable for his insanity. Instead, he should be placed into a mental institution.
First of all, why does anyone need a gun? Personal protection? Yes, that seems logical in a sense, but it's not necessary at all. "Guns don't kill people... People kill people." Correct. But what if you take away the gun? Then there's no killing at all! I don't think gun laws can be strict enough. There's absolutely no reason for a citizen to have a gun, and if laws make it harder to have access to a gun, then criminals won't have guns either! I understand that people want personal protection, but laws aren't keeping everyone safe. The government should focus on making everyone safe- not just those who have guns. Incidences like the shooting in Arizona CAN be prevented! I'm not entirely sure of what I think the gunman should face. Death penalty seems somewhat fair, but the fact that he has a mental disorder counts for something. If he's really as crazy as they think he is, then maybe he should face the death penalty. It seems like it'd do just as good as letting him rot in jail. He wouldn't be learning any lessons sitting in jail for the rest of his life, so why bother?
I was watching the news the morning after this happened and they were arguing over whether Loughner was mentally disablied which would not allow him to buy a gun. But because Lougner was not illgally mentally retarded he was allowed to buy the gun that shot all those people. I think that during the two day waiting period for buying a gun a light background check should be done on the person to see if they are sound enough to own a gun. Guns are serious weapons and can put others in danger so i do not believe it would be wrong to check into whose buying gun, specially now-a-days.
Maybe it's not the laws persay that are the problem. I think maybe it should be a little harder to qualify for the permit needed to get a gun. We hear of so many shootings like these, as well as horrible ones commited by unstable teenagers. Guns should not be administrated to people who regard it as a toy. I believe there is no other use for a gun besides policing purposes. What do other people need them for? And why do they fall into the hands of their children? And why do venders allow them to fall into the hands of people who are going to use them to commit horrible crimes like these? Of course, they'd have no way of knowing, but I'm just saying. The gunman should face the death penatly! If he wants to kill many people, why should he be put to death as well?
I do not believe gun laws are strict enough. I think there should be one national law that applies to the whole country instead of having laws that only pretain to certain states. I dont think anyone should just be allowed to purchase a gun because as we have witness everyday there a lot of crazy people out there who hurt innocent people. I believe if we cut back o the distribtion of guns there will be a difference made. I think this recent shooting that occured is a wake up call for our country and we should really do something to try and change it.
First of all, after reading this article and seeing that he was allowed to buy a gun, a weapon that can kill a human being, is unbelievable. He obviously has many things mentally wrong with him from the way he acted everywhere he went. The fact that he passed a background check with police reports in it, and the possibility of some sort of psychotic disease boggles my mind. I absolutely don't think gun laws are strict enough. Basically anyone can go buy a gun, but the one predominant thought that comes to mind, is this "thing" can take a life away from this earth. That's a family devastated and a community at a loss. If gun laws were more strict then we probably wouldn't be having so many problems. To the second question, I honestly don't think i can answer that. For each person there is a different situation. One may be suffering from a mental illness that they simply cannot function for themselves, while others may kill for pure pleasure. However, they still committed a crime and deserve major punishment.
I think gun laws need to become more strict. Think about it, what do we need guns for? Besides war with other countries where we need to protect ourselves, why do citizens need guns? People who own guns only end up killing other innocent people or killing themself. Although gun laws can be tightened, inncidents like these cannot be prevented because anybody can obtain a gun illegally. I believe the gunman deserves to be put away for life in prison, if not the death penalty.
I think it's the parents' fault for not having a better eye on the child and more importantly choosing a safe spot where they can lock up the gun because it isn't a daily used item. Stricter gun laws punish the responsible users of firearms. It is hard for me to decide someone sentence because I would never want to actually condemn someone like no matter what but, If someone is a menace to society and has no remorse like him then it would be a fitting punishment. Every time I see his mug shot and look at his twisted smile, I always say to myself, this man is truly terrifying.
I think that ideally, the gun control laws should be much stricter. However, people always find ways to break laws so I don't know how effective new gun control laws would be. After reading about this situation, it seems as though if people would have spoken up, the acts of the gunman could have been avoided. I think that the gunman should face life in prison, but he should also be evaluated mentally. If we can understand what was going on in his head that caused him to shoot several people, we can hopefully stop events like this from happening in the future.
Gun laws in America are decently sufficient in preventing the possession of guns in just anyone's hands. The man wasn't able to get the ammunition from many places, but eventually one idiot manages to sell it to him. The gun laws of America were not at fault here, it was the guy who sold him the ammunition's fault. The man should be put to death no matter what mental conditions he has. Someone with mental conditions that severe have no chance of recovering and keeping them alive could only cause harm to more people.
I beleive that gun control laws are strict enough. Acording to the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (Brady Bill), you are submitted to backround checks and other investigations done by the FBI themselves. But just as any other illegal items can be obtained "under the radar", guns are readily available for people trying to find them. No matter how illegal an item is made, there is always a way to obtain it. Sadly, guns are no different. The recent Arizona shooting was a tragity and was something that could not have been prevented. We unfortunatley live in a place where the seemingly unabtainable can be found just by looking in the right places, or the wrong ones depending on what you're looking for.
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