You guys all are sick and i cant believe you all are on here talking about this rather than feeling sorry for the ones who lost their lifes and the families who lost You people should be ashamed i am disgusted and ashamed to say i am an american what has this land come to? guns in a church? you should not have to feel unsafe at church this is not the way god intended this world to be I am apauled this is so sick u all should be ashamed and disapointed its almost like you all are praiseing what happend

Irrespective of whether senseless murders occur with guns or not, we have become a nation so accepting of violence that it is a plague making our country unlivable for civilized people.

That is to say "It is a tragedy for any religion to come under attack"
See how that works in America?

Why did crime get worse in D.C.?
It can only be because the thugs obtained guns illegally. See? The shootings continued and law abiding citizens were at a disadvantage. See?
The thugs could easily see their prey were disadvantaged making the criminal mind even more confident and cocky while the law abiding citizen became less confident and more coward. See?
Can you see how this works?

Oh - I agree with some limited gun control - I definitely do not want anyone to test their nuclear toys.
I have already been there and disposed of that argument. Of course, we can't let everyone own nukes, we would have law and order by the group with the largest nukes.
But to test the theory that a gun ban would reduce crime and shootings, one only needs to look at D.C. There has been a gun ban there for many years now and year after year, shootings increased and crime only worsened.

foxism, that was an analogy.
Like, if America got rid of all it's aramaments the other countries wouldn't follow.

Ok, you want less gun control. I'll see your less gun control and raise you this: I'm a free American with the right to bear arms. I want those arms to be limited strategic nuclear weapon. I'm an American. I have my rights. When can I hit the firing range and test out my new toys?

Don't you think that nutjobs like this knew that it was highly unlikely that anyone in a church would be armed?
If I knew and fully understood that everyone around me was armed, I would certainly think twice about going bananas. I would suspect that more people would be a whole lot more likely to sit on their anger if they understood that to pull a gun would almost certainly mean instant death because anyone around them would take them out. I think everyone on this board has good hearts and good intentions to save the innocent from the nutjobs; we just differ on how to go about it. Honestly, I would feel more secure if everyone was armed. But, hey, everyone is entitled to his or her own opinion.

Did you ever notice that after a shooting like this, they always want to take the guns away from those who didn't do it?"

Ever notice how the nut jobs come out after something like this and say everyone should be armed?==Mike,I think both sides are nutjobs.I dont thing EVERYONE should be armed,h3l that's what gun laws are for.However,I do think that any adult of sound mind,willing to take the training,and be licensed-should have the right to own one if they want one.

I can't say another word that will make my stand on this any more palatable to the pro-gun crowd than it already isn't palatable to. Let the whole country become armed and have a situation as it was today turn into a shooting gallery in a closed building if you like. But if anyone carrying shoots any member of my friends or family inadvertently and then tries to cop a plea that s/he was just trying to be a good Samaritan and "protect" me and mine, I will see this as a crime as great as any other and fight it through the courts as far as my rights and money will allow me to. There will be no excuses for harming or killing mine regardless of your intentions. That, or if I can find no justice there, perhaps I may may come to the realization as some of you folks have, that I need to purchase a gun and seek justice myself. Now is that the sort of world you genuinely wish to create and live in? Because it's coming.

The argument that the criminals would find a way to get them is 99% invalid if they are illegal===mapsguy.That theory doesn't take into account the fact that guns can be stolen and sold on a black market.Where do these guns come from?We are not an island,if guns are illegal in the USA that isn't a problem for an enterprising crimminal.The only way it works is if firearms are illegal across the board.That includes MILLITARY.How hard can it be for someone bent on killing to break into an armory?And there is NO WAY we can disarm our millitary.Besides, there are many cases of millitarty personell using guns to commit murder. We will never have that kind of Utopia in this country-not without a bloody revolution.And the blood would be spilled by-you guesed it- GUNS.Oh, to the guy who accused pro gun people of also beleiving that we also beleive gay marriage was /is an issue or that Saddam was resposible for 9-11?You assume too much.I beleive neither.

Unless you are the Almighty, you do not have the power to see the world as it really is. Many others see a totally different world from what you see.

of course heroin and drugs come in... there is huge PROFIT from them, and it is a bit easier to hide something without a metal signature. There will still be some, but they will be incredibly expensive. 85% of guns used in crimes are bought, not stolen. If you can't buy them legally, there will be less. I stand by having the crime follow the gun. Just for suicide, this is good.

I am happily married, make a crapload of money, and have beautiful children, why would I want to go off the deep end. I have a great life. I just happen to have the insight to see things as they really are and right now, things are not looking good for law abiding citizens.

Now mapsguy1955 writes: "The argument that the criminals would find a way to get them is 99% invalid if they are illegal."

Question #1 - Are Heroin and Opium illegal?

Question #2 - Can criminals find a way to get them?

"Don't you get it?"

I guess I don't - what is your definition of CRIME?

mapsguy:Yes fewer crimes commited WITH GUNS.But does that equal fewer crimes PERIOD?

"Did you ever notice that after a shooting like this, they always want to take the guns away from those who didn't do it?"

Ever notice how the nut jobs come out after something like this and say everyone should be armed?

First, my thoughts and prayers not only with the victims here but with the entire community.This is a tragedy that should not have happened.And no,I am not talking about guns vs no guns.That argument doesn't matter because if this guy was bent on killing, a knife would have worked,just ask the people in the UK.Remember the incident several months ago when an armed church goer PREVENTED a tragedy?People who have the mentality and will to kill will do so with whatever is at their disposal.Anyway, I wonder what he got and if he still has it? I am thiking he figured something out-or maybe THOUGHT he had.

foxism,

The history of the American West does not match the fiction with which we are all so familiar. At any given geographic location, the "Wild West" period lastly for no more than ten years, and much less in many cases. Yes, during the expansion the majority went armed almost all the time, but the horrendous "high noon" shootouts that our fiction has lead us to believe was common was, in fact, quite uncommon. Even the ones that did happen have been extremely exaggerated in the retelling; read the actual history of Tombstone and you'll find that even the famous Gunfight at the OK Corral wasn't what you have heard.

Here's some information Handgun Control, Inc doesn't want you to know: in nearly every state where citizens are allowed to carry concealed handgun violence has actually dropped. Specifically, the Bad Guys are still shooting at each other, but they are shooting at citizens much less; they never know who is carrying and will shoot back. Further, they don't want you to know that citizens wishing to carry concealed must first take a course on their state's laws and prove minimum proficiency with a handgun on the range, shooting at various distances; it is not a rubber-stamp arrangement. The only exception I know of is Vermont; in that state any citizen can carry without a license or having to ask anyone's permission.

Did you ever notice that after a shooting like this, they always want to take the guns away from those who didn't do it?

so... maybe that is right... or maybe cops are exempt... or maybe they should all just be illegal. The bottom line is that if there were fewer guns, there would be less crime committed with them. The argument that the criminals would find a way to get them is 99% invalid if they are illegal. It would be infinitely harder to get them and the ammunition they need. Because we have a malicious attitude and are increasingly polarized is exactly the reason NOT to have them.

Maybe a good reason to keep them might be to actually create that well regulated militia and return our government to what it is supposed to be: "of the people and for the people" (not for the corporations) Hence you can bring it to church but not work or government buildings. Don't you get it?

foxisms, if a doctor tells you you have a life-threatening tumor in your body, are you going to talk to it like a houseplant, feed it vitamin C, and seek aroma therapy and massage sessions, or are you going to find a surgeon to excise it so that the rest of your otherwise healthy body can heal and carry on?

Sami wrote, "Americans, be warned, these criminals are out there and they are ready to attack at any moment. It is up to us to arm ourselves and not be sitting ducks."

You are totally full of fear, aren't you?

I sit here shocked and dumbfounded on how many of you people have posted comments like: "If the people in the church were armed" I honestly try to understand how anyones mind could think in such ridiculous ways.

It goes to prove that many so called Christians are nothing of the sort.

But then again, I would bet the same people that think this way are also the same people that voted for Bush a 2nd time, actually think the Gay Marriage issue was actually an issue, believe Saddam had something to do with 9/11, and use the term Liberal Media at every opportunity.

I'm truely ashamed of my fellow countrymen..... People died and all you can get from your heart is "If They were better armed IN A CHURCH" gezzzzz shameful...

Aaron, if shooting it up in a church on Sunday morning doesn't qualify this guy (and approx. 11K others per year) for having some severe mental health problems which make it difficult (if not impossible) to help themselves I don't know what kind of qualifications you're looking for before we limit the sharp objects. We are living in a nut house, and the maddest of the mad are running it by allowing the free distribution of guns to the inmates. I'm sorry. I don't think everyone who advocates the possession of a gun is necessarily suffering from a mental disorder and especially not one of this scale and order. But we have enough people in this country that obviously do, and we are not helping the situation of their safety or our own to allow them creative ways to have easy access to guns.

Sami, Sami, Sami...would you want to be in an airplane at 30,000 feet after one or more people shot holes in it? I would not. No one would survive that crash.

I have flown many times and never needed a gun. I have gone to work, to church, to court houses, to grocery stores, to schools, to concerts, and many other places, and I have never needed a gun. I don't like guns and will not carry one. For you to say I'd wish for one is absurd because you don't know me.