Today's Evil Beet Gossip

Stop Gun Violence. Now.

The new initiative is called “Demand a Plan,” and I think it’s a pretty good plan thus far: Demand a Plan’s website states their aim is to “pass gun laws that require background checks for every gun sold in America, ban assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, and make gun trafficking a federal crime.” I can’t imagine anyone who’d disagree with that, so in light of this, demand a plan. Go. Now. Sign the petition. Seriously, why would you not?

25 CommentsLeave a comment

  • This is, as you very well know, a huge debate.
    To purchase an fully automatic weapon, you have to have a federal license. It is not cheap, it has to be renewed each year, and every year, 2 guys have to come to where you keep them in order to make sure they’re being stored safely. Those that have them illegally? Well, guess what? They’re still going to get them illegally. But then you’ll say ‘well if fewer people can buy them, then there are less of them out there, and they can’t be stolen.” But legally purchased ones – at least those requiring a federal license – are closely monitored. The idiots whose guns get stolen are people with regular old semi-automatics that you can now buy at Walmart.

  • Blah, blah, blah…How about a big ole’ AMMENDMANT banning the private ownership of assault weapons? Kimber, you’re on the wrong side of history, period.

    • I think you should maybe hold off on debating such a sensitive topic to AFTER you learn how to spell. It should maybe wait until after you’ve graduated junior high as well. The wrong side of history? Why? Because I’m old enough to vote? When you make it to “that side of history”, you come right on back and tell me like it is.

      • Temper, temper! I guess I stepped on your little right wing-nut, didn’t I? Personal insults and being the loudest a**-hole in the room isn’t going to work for you ditto-heads anymore. Plus, splattering the issue with psuedo (sp?) concern for the mentally ill isn’t fooling anybody. Gun control is a sensitive issue for YOU, not for me. Get ready for it; it’s a great big sh*t sandwich that you old dinosaurs are going to have to take a great big bite out of and, once again since you missed it the first time BLAH, BLAH, BLAH. Go away.

      • Dismissing someone’s opinion because they can’t spell is classist and preposterous. Not everyone has had the same chance at education, and that doesn’t matter they are any less intelligent or capable.

  • While I agree that something needs to be done about access to guns (just to be clear, I’m totally in agreement with this petition), what I would really love to see is celebrities doing PSAs promoting access and support for good mental health care. And not just talking about their own mental illness but focusing on the fact that this country provides so little support for preventative mental health services. Where’s that PSA?

    • It is a good point. These situations involve people who are obviously in need of help AND have access to weapons. Both fronts should be addressed – but practically and realistically. If you are going to try to ban all assault rifles, well, you may as well start a presidential campaign for a unicorn. It’s just never going to happen and is a waste of everyone’s time. How about making registered gun owners’ information PRIVATE instead of public? At any time, anyone can see the names and addresses of registered gun owners. Because if that doesn’t entice a careless and stupid thief, I don’t know what does. And mental health care – this is always a struggling issue. How about raising money for nonprofits that are trying to help people with these issues? Baby steps…

  • Ban all assault guns. Make hand guns and hunting guns permited with a license kind of like a drivers license… You must be of age, take a test, background check and pay for the license. It must be renewed every 3 years with another test and background check.

  • They can ban all assault weapons today but if they don’t address mental illness then the next murders will be committed by knives, explosions, or poisons. Crazy people will turn anything into weapons.
    If the violently mentally ill were housed back in all the now-closed psychiatric institutions America would worry less about these kinds of tragedies. But of course Obama can’t allot tax money for that.
    Obama has all the tax dollars he needs to maintain war overseas but never any to maintain peace at home.

  • Almost all research, including the Harvard studies, have concluded over the years (including recently) that gun control is absolutely groundless in crime control.

    Violent crime is not reduced with gun control world-wide or in any state inside the USA.

    In this particular instance, a mentally unstable person stole a gun to go on a rampage. Where would any law change that?

    Do you feel that a hunting rifle would’ve been less deadly? No, any semi-automatic weapon would’ve been as deadly. In fact, holding the pair of pistols would’ve been more deadly.

    Currently the National Institute of Justice states that Firearms were used in 68% of Murders, 42% of Robberies, and 22% of aggravated assaults.

    If guns were really the cause, don’t you think those numbers would be a lot higher?

    Over the age of 25 (for the murderer), gun and all other types of murder are almost even. Under 25 murderers usually choose a gun. (Almost always a pistol BTW.)

    I don’t expect this to change your viewpoint. Just recognize that you’re committing a logical fallacy and following an emotional rant.

    They’re taking you as a convenient fool and a useful idiot.

    • Oh come ON. The US has big problems with guns and it’s time you acknowledge this. Compare it to other Western countries were guns are banned. Europe has a much lower murder rate than the US, and more people live here: http://atlanticreview.org/archives/434-Murder-Rate-in-the-United-States-and-Germany.html

      I don’t expect this to change your viewpoint. Just recognize that you’re committing a logical fallacy and following an emotional rant.

      They’re taking you as a convenient fool and a useful idiot.

      • Don’t worry, Miree, I was returning fire at an idiot. I agree, spelling doesn’t count here in cyberspace…and just a helpful hint: don’t engage the Pirate Guy unless you have tons of Advil.

    • he stole that gun/s from his mom.

      if his mom was never allowed to purchase her guns, then he didn’t have easy access to one. if guns aren’t easily accessible without putting in a lot of effort to get one, chances are the guy would have given up fairly quick in a search to find that one place that would do an under the table deal,. even if he was persistent, chances are that he would not have the resources to find someone who could get him a gun.

      you ban guns and the number of these incidents would be significantly reduced.

  • I didn’t watch the PSA, but I did recently watch “My Week with Marilyn”; in a few scenes the angle and lighting made Michelle look really pretty, but never did she look or sound like Marilyn. The film was quite dull.

  • Shootings are a terrible act of violence. We cannot prevent evil people doing evil things, however the gun laws in America are partially to blame. I am lucky to live in Australia only 5.2% of people own guns. Majority if these are farmers, police, army & those who shoot for sport. In america 45% own fire arms. We have no school shootings and gun related murders are low. I common phrase is that people kill people not guns. But if a gun is handed to a mentally unstable person it is just a ticking time bomb. I don’t hate the USA it’s my favourite place to travel I just hate that guns and associated laws are not governed properly. Time for something to be done.

  • How about you idiots stop YELLING for MORE laws.
    You would be VERY surprised how much of what you want IS already illegal.
    Laws are followed by the good guys. Criminals and the psychos don’t care about how many laws they are going to break.
    I don’t break the law, so don’t come after what is only a tool to me.
    You SHEEP expect ‘someone’ to protect you. Ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha,ha. Too funny.
    Shut up and let’s work on the mentally ill and help them. In the mean time, I’ll carry a gun.

  • Wow….this is the most debate I’ve seen on here in a while. So let me jump in with this. I had an ex with mental illness. When he took his meds, he was stable. But they made him gain weight and he felt they took away his “edge.” He slowly slid to madness and one night I came home from work and he grabbed me and tried to confine me while he got the knife with which to sacrifice my spirit to Jehovah. (He was obssessed with religion when he was in an episode.) I escaped. Had I been running from gunfire rather than a nut with a knife, I would have died that night.

    I have police and avid gun collectors in my family and among my friends. I have held an AK-47 and an AR-15. It was then I knew that those military style weapons have no business in a private residence. These weapons destroy human flesh, human body parts. One in five people have some sort of mental illness. We are fighting losing odds here. And I don’t buy the “slippery slope” argument. By that logic we should have NO laws whatsoever because doesn’t every law infringe upon our rights? We do not have the right to do everything and anything, for Christ’s sake! In this country we can express our opinions and my opinion is that an AK-47 has no more business in a private home than a granade launcher or, hell, a nuke for that matter. I am not against the Second Amendment but for f*ck’s sake, you ain’t hunting deer with that AK…..you are hunting humans. And I don’t mean YOU wonderful people here on Evil Beet. I mean the guy who broke into the house of the guy who doesn’t want a gun safe or the guy (or woman) who is just one more thing away from losing his or her mind. I’m talking about the parent who is in denial about the madness of a family member. Take your Glock and kill yourself but don’t take any of the rest of us with you!