Gun-packing issue heads for high court

December 17, 2012

A heated debate on the “rights” of Americans to be armed in public may be drawing closer to scrutiny from the U.S. Supreme Court. (San Francisco Chronicle)

The argument, which has been wending its way through lower courts, takes on new meaning in the wake of last week’s tragedy in Connecticut in which 26 people were killed by a heavily-armed, mentally disturbed youth.

Such an examination may be prompted by a controversial recent decision by a federal appeals court panel in Chicago which tossed out a statewide ban on carrying concealed weapons.

That ruling contrasted with numerous other appeals court-level decisions which generally have supported gun-control efforts by local and state jurisdictions. Contrasting rulings set the stage for high court consideration.

About 40 states currently allow public gun carrying, excluding California, New York, and a few others where laws and regulation curtail the practice.

Wayne LaPierre, chief executive officer of the National Rifle Association, remains adamant about what he considers “a God-given right.”

“The only thing to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun,” he told reporters recently.


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danika: This coming year the SLO Sportsmen’s Association out on Highway 1 near Cuesta College will host another Expo day where people can visit, receive firearms safety instruction and shoot firearms with absolutely no cost to them.


I think you and your family would enjoy it. I know the experience would be a valuable one.


Keep an eye out for it. https://www.slosa.org/


I wonder what, if any, perscription meds the shooter was on?


“I live with a son who is mentally ill. I love my son. But he terrifies me.”


“A few weeks ago, Michael pulled a knife and threatened to kill me and then himself after I asked him to return his overdue library books. His 7 and 9 year old siblings knew the safety plan—they ran to the car and locked the doors before I even asked them to. I managed to get the knife from Michael, then methodically collected all the sharp objects in the house into a single Tupperware container that now travels with me. Through it all, he continued to scream insults at me and threaten to kill or hurt me. ”


http://anarchistsoccermom.blogspot.com.au/2012/12/thinking-unthinkable.html


This is an excellent read, should be read by everyone and is what is really behind much of what is being discussed today. Mental health is what needs to be the focus, not guns.

Guns like any other tool (which have the potential to be dangerous) just sits in the safe or on the shelf, until someone uses it in an unsafe manner…


Sobering article. The most important comment from it in my opinion: “In the wake of another horrific national tragedy, it’s easy to talk about guns. But it’s time to talk about mental illness.”


“Sobering article.”

Exactly why I posted it crusader.

I get tired of people who are truly ignorant of the issues spewing nonsense and lies in order to promote the party line or their own agendas.

I want people who only watch the mainscream media and what they choose to report, to get an ear full from a woman who in all likely hood has the exact same time bomb ticking in her son. We need to help these sick people…


“Sadly the primary reason why the Founding Fathers crafted the Second Amendment.”

Also exactly why I said it. Our constitutional rights were given to us for very good reasons and all the PC baloney excuses to change them, will not change that fact.


I don’t own a firearm nor have i ever discharged one. I am among the rest of our nation in struggling to make sense of the horrific act. My mind cannot begin to wrap around the “whys”. I feel the deaths of each child as though they were from my own town. Is the risk of taking away our firearms more or less than the risk of NOT banning them?


When an apocolyptic event occurs and people will resort to desperation to a level we have not yet seen…I want to protect my own family above all else. Sure, I can learn martial arts and perfect my knife skills, but when the bad people come to do us harm, they won’t hesitate to use their firearms to take lethal action. I want the right to bear arms.


Another good post danika,


“I am among the rest of our nation in struggling to make sense of the horrific act. My mind cannot begin to wrap around the “whys”.”


I think most of us are reeling as well, and whether you are a legal firearm owner or not, you would have to agree that mental health is really at the crux of almost all of these types of horrendous events. Not how many rounds the mag holds, or whether the firearm is a self loader or single shot. Most unhinged peoples will find a way and a means to act out their insanity.

And I too want the ability to protect myself and my family, because where we live LEO response is not a sure thing and those who come here to do us harm will continue to do so.

And as a legal firearm owner I fear my government more than I do my fellow neighbors…


…And as a legal firearm owner I fear my government more than I do my fellow neighbors…


Sadly the primary reason why the Founding Fathers crafted the Second Amendment.