[Alex Heartnet]

In these kinds of events, doesn't the shooter end up committing suicide like half the time?  It takes time for the police to actually arrive on the scene, and they can't do anything meaningful if the shooter is dead by the time they arrive.

And yet guns are usually disallowed from schools, movie theaters, exc, meaning there's no bystander with a concealed gun to try and shoot back.

Funny how these types of shootings never seem to occur at a martial arts dojo or gun auction...

[Apollo]

You will not catch sociopaths with personality tests, since they will lie. And there are no better liars than sociopaths.

I'm not sure why you think I think America is the wild west. I said Americans are slaughtering each other with guns by the dump truck load. 11,000+ bodies could fill dump trucks I would think.

I do however think guns have become seen as a "problem solver" by some, rather than the lethal weapon of last resort it should be.

I believe personality tests are designed to spot lies. They may not be perfect, but the would at least root out some of these people.

Going by your posts, you seem to think America is a horribly violent, lawless place where a bunch of stupid rednecks (you used that stereotype, if not that word) murder each other and everybody around them over over stupid arguments.

I apologize if I misunderstand your views, but that's the impression your posts give.

[Flipside]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20749167

Two Democrat Senators claiming they will bring new gun control laws to the floor.

Seems that Gun Control is going to be an issue whether people like it or not.

[Alex Heartnet]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20749167

Two Democrat Senators claiming they will bring new gun control laws to the floor.

Seems that Gun Control is going to be an issue whether people like it or not.

Riiight, because most of the criminals that use guns get them from unlawful sources anyway?  What good is gun control going to do? 
So sick and tired of politicians using tragedies to advance agendas.

[Flipside]

Actually, in the case of school shootings, most of the criminals get their guns from either relatives (who get them through legal sources) or through legal means themselves.

I'd be more concerned that this is a case of closing the stable door long after the horses have bolted. Automatic weapons are already out there, and people will not want to give them up, even if they cannot justify owning them in the first place.

It really does need to be borne in mind that, when the Second Amendment was created, gun firing rates were at a level where mowing down a crowd of people was not even conceivable, I'm sure even the most Freedom loving of the Founding Fathers would have blanched at the concept of just anyone running round with weapons with that kind of power.

[Apollo]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20749167

Two Democrat Senators claiming they will bring new gun control laws to the floor.

Seems that Gun Control is going to be an issue whether people like it or not.

Riiight, because most of the criminals that use guns get them from unlawful sources anyway?  What good is gun control going to do? 
So sick and tired of politicians using tragedies to advance agendas.

We have so many guns floating around because of our lax gun control laws that have allowed so many people to purchase firearms when they should never have been able to.

Obviously, gun control wouldn't fix the whole problem. But, it would at least help somewhat.

[Ulala]

In these kinds of events, doesn't the shooter end up committing suicide like half the time?  It takes time for the police to actually arrive on the scene, and they can't do anything meaningful if the shooter is dead by the time they arrive.

And yet guns are usually disallowed from schools, movie theaters, exc, meaning there's no bystander with a concealed gun to try and shoot back.

Don't know if this had been posted yet, but it seemed relevant (even if related to a different shooting): http://easybakegunclub.com/news/1943/Clackamas-Mall-Shooter-Was-Confonted-By-Concealed-.html

[MP-Ryan]

Everyone who has read or posted in this thread needs to drop whatever they are doing, quit posting, and read this entire piece RIGHT NOW.

http://gawker.com/5968818/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother

It's a mother's perspective on mental illness and violence, and it is particularly poignant in the wake of Friday's events.

[Thaeris]

Personally, that article seems to indicate to me that there are serious deficiencies in disciple there. Perhaps this is a good case study to consider what sort of "mental conditions" are self-induced or encouraged/enabled, or are simply inherent instabilities in the psyche?

[General Battuta]

Personally, that article seems to indicate to me that there are serious deficiencies in disciple there. Perhaps this is a good case study to consider what sort of "mental conditions" are self-induced or encouraged/enabled, or are simply inherent instabilities in the psyche?

no

[General Battuta]

Personally, that article seems to indicate to me that there are serious deficiencies in disciple there. Perhaps this is a good case study to consider what sort of "mental conditions" are self-induced or encouraged/enabled, or are simply inherent instabilities in the psyche?

nooooo

[General Battuta]

Personally, that article seems to indicate to me that there are serious deficiencies in disciple there. Perhaps this is a good case study to consider what sort of "mental conditions" are self-induced or encouraged/enabled, or are simply inherent instabilities in the psyche?

nooooooooooooooohoooooooooo

[MP-Ryan]

Batts said it nicely.

FYI, there's another blogger who took some issue with Long's post, but her critique is a shameful example of out-of-context quoting to serve one's point, doubly-shameful as the writer of the critique is a PhD who writes for Al Jazeera and The Atlantic.

Regardless of the backstory, the piece I posted should be food for thought for anyone making blanket statements about responses to the Newtown events.  Mental health is an untreated epidemic in most G20 democracies, and has been downloaded almost exclusively to the police in the US and Canada.

[General Battuta]

Psychopathy is notable because it expresses so distinctly in children and appears so highly (though not totally) driven by genetic or prenatal factors. Psychopathy is a constellation disorder and the individual components may have separate underlying etiology. It is not a product of poor discipline, and trying to treat it as such would be disastrous.

Schizophrenia usually manifests later in life, and arises out of a combination of genetic predisposition and stressful life events. Like psychopathy it cannot be treated as behaviorally curable; to do so would be to condemn both the patient and those around him to profound danger.

[Lorric]

The only treatment for psychopaths and sociopaths is extermination.

[Grizzly]

The only treatment for psychopaths and sociopaths is extermination.

You sociopathic bastard.

[Thaeris]

Batts said it nicely.

Battuta's initial response hardly put that well. A triple-post with a non-substantial reply only serves to throw a volume of emotive responses into an argument with the aim of dissuading or disengaging the original poster. That isn't discussion. Unless you're Bill O'Reilly.

I do agree with you that mental illness is a serious matter, and never contested that. My point was to ask what environment or environments contribute to the actions of unstable individuals against other members of the populace, and where we may determine if the psyche is naturally unstable OR if there are factors which promote the destabilization of said psyche. My assessment may not be the best one, but there's also not enough information there to draw a conclusive one, either.

Psychopathy is notable because it expresses so distinctly in children and appears so highly (though not totally) driven by genetic or prenatal factors. Psychopathy is a constellation disorder and the individual components may have separate underlying etiology. It is not a product of poor discipline, and trying to treat it as such would be disastrous.

Schizophrenia usually manifests later in life, and arises out of a combination of genetic predisposition and stressful life events. Like psychopathy it cannot be treated as behaviorally curable; to do so would be to condemn both the patient and those around him to profound danger.

There's a response. Thank you.

[Lorric]

The only treatment for psychopaths and sociopaths is extermination.

You sociopathic bastard.

Made me laugh

[Grizzly]

The only treatment for psychopaths and sociopaths is extermination.

You sociopathic bastard.

Made me laugh

I do so hope that this is not one of those "It's funny cuz its true" situations .

But hey, you are welcome .

[Lorric]

The only treatment for psychopaths and sociopaths is extermination.

You sociopathic bastard.

Made me laugh

I do so hope that this is not one of those "It's funny cuz its true" situations .

But hey, you are welcome .

I wouldn't advocate my own destruction.

But I thought it was funny.