Connecticut School Tradegy

[Lightning]

I am sure that by now most, if not all of us know and have been watching the news about the horrific shooting at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut and the innocent children being killed in that.  Share your thoughts about it here.

[gt1racerlHDl]

I just think this is just terrible that all of these families lost loves ones today, my condolences go out to them.

[TWCmatthew]

It is very sad, and I feel so bad for the friends and family of the victims.
My advice is, take nothing for granted, because you don't really know when you will perish.

Also, I believe there should be stricter gun regulations on those who have mental illnesses and/or a prior criminal record. They shouldn't be permitted to have guns. Even though I'm a conservative in general, this is one topic where I disagree on.

[TWC Fan]

 That was the most terrible thing I've ever seen today and very sad.

[Localonthe8s]

Heartbreaking people can be so vile and disgusting it's an absolute shame to end lives in horror like that. 27 souls gone way too soon. Unfortunately it's incidents like these that may trigger future copycat attacks too, especially with the holidays around the corner

[toxictwister00]

It is very sad, and I feel so bad for the friends and family of the victims.
My advice is, take nothing for granted, because you don't really know when you will perish.

Also, I believe there should be stricter gun regulations on those who have mental illnesses and/or a prior criminal record. They shouldn't be permitted to have guns. Even though I'm a conservative in general, this is one topic where I disagree on.

Good luck with that and I mean it. How many times have we said this during a mass shooting/killing and what has been done? Not a darn thing. I really wanna believe we can get some action done on this issue, but I'm pessimistic about it. For me personally, gun control is probably the only issue I don't have a clear stance on. I heard today that out of all the people who purchase guns legally about 40% aren't given background checks. That greatly disturbs me, the few gun laws we have aren't even being effectively enforced. I think those loopholes certainly need to be fixed immediately.

I truly can't imagine what these families are going through, it's extremely hard for me to imagine what it must have been like during those final moments for those kids and teachers, it's getting me a little teared up thinking about it now. My thoughts and prayers are with the families who lost loved ones and ones who got that second chance to see their children alive again today, it's going to be tough grieving and coping through this with the holidays approaching so soon. 

[Mr. Rainman]

What happened today is beyond comprehension and just sickening. I find it tragic the majority of the victims in this were under the age of 10.

I feel particularly bad for Ryan Lanza, who people were told initially was the shooter before they saw it was Adam Lanza. Can you imagine how awful it must feel to be falsely accused of such a heinous crime such as this?

[texasstooge]

Honestly, I don't even know where to start with this case. And to this day, my heart still aches for the families and friends of the victims killed in this vile and sinful act. And it seems with more shootouts this year, some people REALLY want this so-called "End of the World" apocalypse to happen. Not that it's related, but there have been some -up psychos coming out of the woodwork.

I've been hearing a few parents think about home-schooling their children. But even that doesn't help. Besides, it doesn't matter what precautions we take, there always has been (and always will be) mad men walking among us that may have suffered mental issues, or just has "Thug Mentality" (Feeling that the world owes them a living). But that doesn't mean we have to live in fear every day. We should live out every day as if it's normal, as well as spend time with our loved ones (family & friends), because you never know when things may come to a screeching halt. And to those talking about gun control, even that won't solve the problem. Terrorists can still kill by using bombs, swords, whatever else they can get their hands on. Think back to these incidents: the Oklahoma City Bombing, 9/11 Attacks, the Waco Siege (although weapons were involved in this incident, the facility was set on fire on the final day), and probably many others.
Now that I have my saying, I figure I'd post a story that proves every cloud has a silver lining.

Dogs Put Smiles on Faces of Sandy Hook School Students

Some much-needed smiles were brought to the children of Newtown, Conn., by way of seven dogs especially trained to comfort survivors in the wake of a disaster.

Seeing the dogs led to some of the town’s children smiling for the first time since Friday’s murderous rampage at Sandy Hook Elementary School, said Tim Hetzner of the Lutheran Church Charities

The dogs, mostly golden retrievers, “bring some relief” to children, and put “a smile on their face, kind of like a teddy bear, but a live one,” Hetzner told ABC News.

[jtmal0723]

I'm angry that the media is continuing to put a stigma on the Asperger's Syndrome diagnosis, making it seem like this diagnosis will make someone go on a murderous rampage in the future. I'm fed up and I had to turn off one of my local newscasts because of it. I more than likely won't watch them again for a long time.

[toxictwister00]

I'm angry that the media is continuing to put a stigma on the Asperger's Syndrome diagnosis, making it seem like this diagnosis will make someone go on a murderous rampage in the future. I'm fed up and I had to turn off one of my local newscasts because of it. I more than likely won't watch them again for a long time.

That bothers me too, it's not an excuse and they should stop making it one. 

[gt1racerlHDl]

Telegraph UK's Mic Wright says "Don't blame Call of Duty for the Newtown shooting. Virtual guns don't kill people; real ones do"

[Lightning]

Think back to these incidents: the Oklahoma City Bombing, 9/11 Attacks, the Waco Siege (although weapons were involved in this incident, the facility was set on fire on the final day), and probably many others.

Don't forget Columbine in Littleton, Colorado.

[Mike M]

Am I the only one who actually feels somewhat sorry for the kid? I mean I give all due respect to the 20 some people who were killed in the tradegy and what he did to solve his problems was just absurd, but he had a disability and his mother should be taken the blame for not taking the proper care. Otherwise none of this likely would have happened.

I also completely agree with Jesse with the media overusing disability terms...

[jtmal0723]

Am I the only one who actually feels somewhat sorry for the kid? I mean I give all due respect to the 20 some people who were killed in the tradegy and what he did to solve his problems was just absurd, but he had a disability and his mother should be taken the blame for not taking the proper care. Otherwise none of this likely would have happened.

I also completely agree with Jesse with the media overusing disability terms...

Individualized autism care is not cheap whatsoever. She could have only done so much for him. Also, with this comment alone, you have managed to alienate me away from the forums. Congratulations.

[Mr. Rainman]

I do not believe it's just as black and white to say that it's his mother's fault. Sometimes parent's do not understand their children and their behaviors. I seriously don't think anyone here has the right to blame his mother, she may not have ever known he was capable of such a thing and ever if she did, she could have done very little to stop it. It's very unfortunate with this entire event, but it's not his mother's fault. Our brain's are very complex (if you haven't noticed) and analyzing it to see what a person is thinking now or will do in the future is practically impossible. We all should understand that it can take very little to cause a person to snap like this, especially if they've had a rough mental or emotional life. So, what can you do? Imprisonment is completely wrong, imo. Just because someone exhibits strange behavior doesn't mean they should be imprisoned for life. You might think that the mentally ill are just crazy or incapable of thought, but they have logical and normal thoughts somewhere in their brain. Really, the only solution that I see would be to keep a tighter gun and weapons control. Seriously, why do you need a gun? Unless you are a sportsman who is going hunting, I see no purpose. If you fear for your life, get a taser or something less lethal. It's not the gun who is killing people on it's own, it's the persons who are allowed to have them. If your government can't do that, they'd better start offering hugs and love to all the people in this country because anyone of them could do this if they get to that breaking point. 

A few good points, but this tighter gun control is always going to be a rough issue, especially with the 2nd amendment.

Also, I'm sorry if it offends people, but the guns were registered to Adam's mother. I don't know how Adam found out she owned guns (I assume it was just word of mouth between mother and son), but knowing that Adam did have mental issues, I think she did have a responsibility to at least lock them away somewhere he couldn't get to them. Legally, she's exonerated. Responsibility wise...well, it's just my opinion.