Plan B Forum

Obama unveils sweeping plan to battle gun violence

Invoking the painful memory of the schoolchildren murdered in Newtown, Conn., a month ago, President Barack Obama on Wednesday announced the most ambitious gun-control drive in generations. Proposals include universal background checks for every would-be gun buyer as well as bans on assault weapons and ammunition clips that hold more than 10 bullets. Some of his proposals are sure to run headlong into fierce opposition from Republicans and some Democrats in Congress as well as the powerful NRA lobby.

"I will put everything I’ve got into this,” Obama, flanked by Vice President Joe Biden, promised an audience that included relatives of the first-graders slaughtered at Sandy Hook Elementary School, survivors of other mass shootings, and elected officials.

"While there is no law, or set of laws, that can prevent every senseless act of violence completely, no piece of legislation that will prevent every tragedy, every act of evil, if there’s even one thing we can do to reduce this violence, if there’s even one life that can be saved, then we’ve got an obligation to try," Obama said in a speech. "And I’m going to do my part."

Obama said in a speech. "And I’m going to do my part."

‘‘The truth is that our society is populated by an unknown number of genuine monsters – people so deranged, so evil, so possessed by voices and driven by demons that no sane person can possibly ever comprehend them. They walk among us every day,’’ he said, adding that the only way to protect children was to prevent the government creating what he called ‘‘dangerous gun-free zones’’ in schools.

http://www.smh.com.au/world/nra-puts-ob ... 2curb.html

oldr_n_wsr wrote:I don't see why the suggestion of armed guards at schools is dismissed out of hand. MAny schools already have unarmed security guards. Many elite private schools have armed security guards.
We protect many places anad possessions with armed guards (money, businesses, etc). Why not protect our children while in school with armed guards?

It's not like they are going to post an M16, grenade toting marine in full cammo. The guards can be dressed in a presentable way, uniform or suit with guns not visible.

As I said, it should be debated, not dismissed without talking about it.

IMO, none of these new gun laws (here in NY) are not going to stop someone hell bent on destruction.

liberty wrote: One hundred percent correct; however, the Mary Poppins sect is opposed to because it is scary. It would be nice if we lived in Mary Poppins’ world, but we don’t.

A handgun has been discovered in the school bag of a seven-year-old boy in New York City, prompting a temporary lockdown at his elementary school.

The weapon was not fired and no-one was hurt, police said.

The Wave Preparatory Elementary School in Queens was locked down for less than an hour, police said.

The incident comes days after New York State passed a sweeping gun control law, in the wake of a school schooting that killed 27 people in Connecticut.

The massascre in Newtown fuelled debate over whether gun control laws should be tightened in the US.

Police declined to comment on why the boy had the .22 calibre handgun or how it was discovered.

Gob wrote:

liberty wrote: One hundred percent correct; however, the Mary Poppins sect is opposed to because it is scary. It would be nice if we lived in Mary Poppins’ world, but we don’t.

I find it quite breathtaking would even be contemplating having armed guards in schools. ..

liberty wrote:
There is a difference between your country and ours; out of three hundred million plus people we have more than enough lunatics to do it again and the only way it can be prevented is to have people on site that can stop a massacre before it starts.

Gob wrote:

We try to treat our lunatics, rather than arm them.