Great letter. BTW, I do not own a gun, shoot or hunt.

Agree 110% Andrew, great letter to our imperial president.

Incredibly disappointing article, especially given all the remarkable qualifications of Mr. Marsala. Everything is on the table except guns, except high capacity ammunition magazines. He uses many of the tired and stale arguments of the NRA and their apologists. I agree with many of his other suggestions but why guns are off the table and sacrosanct is beyond me. We are not having problems with massacres and crimes committed by machine guns or fully automatc weapons because they are heavily restricted, regulated and even banned in some states. We should make the schools more secure, possibly having armed guards but I think most teachers would not want to be armed and be in the position of enagaing in a fire fight in a classroom of children and possibly killing the very children they care for.

continued: All that will cost tax payer money and improved mental health care will cost more tax payer money. The same people who love guns, want more guns, want to arm teachers are often right wing libertarian types who don't want to pay taxes for public schools and would not want to pay extra taxes for improved mental health services and for security for schools. He says "After this attack, did we ban razor knives?" Well yes, razor knives and all kinds of things are banned on airplanes after the 9/11 attack. Many restrictions have been put in place concerning what you are allowed to carry on a plane. I can't believe he uses the regurgitated comparison to cars talking point. Cars are not designed to kill and maim as guns are. Cars are heavily regulated, they have been made safer thanks to federal legislation, new laws and the enforcement of those laws. Thanks to people like Ralph Nader, cars are safer and less polluting than they were 50 years ago. For many years, the automotive companies were very resistant to any change and pretty much had to be compelled to make cars safer and less polluting. To own a car you must be licensed and the car must be registered, licensed, insured and periodically inspected.

You are disappointed because you don't get it. The guns are not the problem. Thats why you think they are not on the table. Read the article again.

We are not having a problem with mass bombings, we are not having mass bombings every few weeks or months as we are with guns. We are not having a problem with mass knifings. When was the last time that one person armed with some knives killed 26 people at one incident in a period of less than 30 minutes? We are most definitely having a serious problem with mass shootings. Crazy people with relatively easy access to guns is a toxic mixture. By the way, having increased security in schools will be very expensive and will give more power to all governmental levels. What happens when the armed guard or designated armed employee is absent as happened in the recent CA shooting. As it turned out a very brave teacher faced the young shooter and convinved him to put down the shotgun. Yes, that's right, a unionized public employee was a hero. Improving mental health care, identifying people with serious problems will be very expensive and will increase governmental powers on all levels.

Come on Joe, CRAZY PEOPLE with relatively easy access to any sort of weapon or device that can be made a weapon is a toxic mixture.

I agree with you on everything. It is a great letter

I salute and respect the service and the sacrifices that Mr. Marsala has made to our country. As a public employee and law enforcement officer with fifteen years of patrol experience he risks life and limb every day to keep the greater community safer. Amazingly he is also an EMT and a volunteer firefighter, I am in awe of his accomplishments but respectfully, I will have to disagree with his letter for the reasons stated above.

Mr. Marsala, thank you for taking the time to write this letter and more importantly thank you for your service to the community as a Police Officer and every other first-responder capacity you serve.

Your piece lends itself to the notion that the vast majority of our children are at the mercy of a "hide and pray" security strategy and we owe it to them to reevaluate what comprehensive school security measures look like, up to and including a dedicated law enforcement presence at each location.

Determine what such a comprehensive security plan would cost and then let the taxpayers of each local community decide if the burden of cost is a worthwhile price to further secure our schools instead of allowing the cost to get buried in a "Building, Grounds, and Safety" line item on the budget.

We're not asking to take your guns away. We're asking to make sure only responsible, law-abiding, "citizens" can buy a gun, and have that ownership is tracked. In the same way you have to submit to an eye exam to renew your driver's license, you should have to submit to a mental health exam every few years to renew your gun license. I'm tired of hearing of citizen rights to own guns. It is time for opponents of gun control to stop mindlessly shouting, "The Second Amendment!!" as if that ends the discussion. It does not. Just as there is no First Amendment (Freedom of Speech) right to falsely yell fire in a crowded theater, there is no Second Amendment right guaranteeing ownership of a high capacity, semi-automatic gun. And, per Justice Scalia in D.C. vs. Heller (2008), that is only the beginning of what the Second Amendment does not guarantee.

NRA talks of using armed security. Studies show it does not work. Even when the guards are warned. Virginia Tech employed armed guards. A lot of good that did.

I am still at a bit at a lose as to why many law enforcement officers would not even entertain the thought of some stricter gun control. If I was a law enforcement officer I would see it paramount that private citizens not be equipped with more powerful firearms than I would be carrying.

Robert you do know that women didnt have the right to vote and that you could own a slave right?
And you are aware that we did have an assault weapons ban that is until the right wing gun nuts let it expire
Robert ever hear of Super Pac?
How about the rights of those kids in Newtown?
Was Nancy Lanza a responsible gun owner? I think not
Is it ok to be able to go to Virginia and buy a gun and then sell it to whom ever has money?I think Not
But you know what Robert 300 million ppl in the us 4 million nra nuts lets put it up for a vote
The guy from Texas Jones hes seems like a real stable guy

The only tyranny I see, is the tyranny of a well funded corporate shill called the NRA, that throws massive amounts of money around to buy off and/or bully politicians into silence and to actively support the NRA pro-gun (anti-public safety) agenda. It has more to do with profits than the 2nd amendment and freedom. Who the heck elected Wayne LaPierre to any political office. He doesn't speak for me and millions of other Americans. After every slaughter, the NRA is all over the media doing damage control and propagandizing for the pro-gun agenda. I am really getting sick and tired of this pro gun attitude that only true blue Americans own guns, the rest of Americans are so much chopped liver. If you don't own a gun you are somehow, less American, less patriotic and less freedom loving which is so much garbage. I really do not think that the whole point of this American experiment was guns, buying more guns and getting more guns into the hands of as many people as possible. I have a right to my opinions; the NRA skewed interpretation of the 2nd Amendment is bogus and should not be used to beat people into silence. John Wilkes Booth fancied himself some kind of hero and patriot taking down a "tyrant." He used a 2nd amendment solution to assassinate a president that he considered a tyrant. We have many paranoid right wing anti-government crazies in this country, armed to the teeth who think that any kind of government is tyranny. They represent a very well armed menace.

Well said Officer Marsala! I couldn't agree more. Kudos and thanks for taking the time to write this excellent letter.

Thank you Officer Marsala. Take violent video games away from kids. It's insane to allow young kids to play those games. Reject the violence filled movies and TV shows. Kids brains are being warped and desensitized by all the violence they view on a day to day basis. Parent need to step up and reject all of it. Politicians are using this crisis as a way to infringe on our rights.

Thank you P.O Marsala ....

Mr. Marsala has a good heart and concern for school children, but his mistake is that from one assignment to only one school he has made generalizations that are not true.
1. He has concluded that "the physical security at our schools is non-existent". This is simply not true.
2. He states that "These (active shooter) drills are conducted at a maximum once a year." This also is simply not true.
3.He states "multiple entry points can be opened at any given time during the day" and "there is no physical security at our schools." Not true.

The hundreds of teachers and administrators that I have interacted with do not believe that school staff should be packing as they go about their duties. I have never seen a problem, except the gun proliferation problem, where Americans have simply thrown up their hands and said "There is nothing we can do about it. We just have to accept things as they are." But the public is fed so much fear and paranoia over this issue by the NRA leaders, who are simply lobbyists for gun manufacturers. About 33 people die every day in America due to firearms. Think about that. That is the equivalent of several large airliners going down every month, or the population of a small town being wiped out every month. Would we do something about it if that happened? You bet we would. And nothing would be off the table. And if you argue the second amendment, quote the whole sentence, not just the second half.

I would have to add that Mr. Marsala has made many good suggestions in his letter, and I commend him for his thoughts. And where security is not up to standards, it should be improved. But I think that making a general statement about the status of current security measures in all schools is not accurate.

I believe that banning automatic weapons and magazines that hold more then 7 bullets is a good thing. The only one that should have these weapons is a trained police officer. We can't secure every place with armed guards. A person could get on a school bus and do a lot of damageor at a school playground. Who can afford the taxes that would require police officers in very school. A well planned security plan in schools with limited access is the right way to go.

Here's a differing opinion from another police officer: Newtown police Chief Michael Kehoe has plunged into the intensifying debate over gun control, comparing assault weapons' destructive potential to that of dynamite and saying that they should be similarly regulated. Kehoe, who until now has remained mostly silent on the issue, called for an all-out ban on assault weapons like the version of the AR-15-style rifle that Adam Lanza used last month to carry out the massacre of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary School.
"Ban assault weapons, restrict those magazines that have so many bullets in them, shore up any loopholes in our criminal background checks," he said in an interview with NBC News.
Read more: http://www.newstimes.com/newtownshooting/article/Newtown-police-chief-calls-for-assault-weapons-4191810.php#ixzz2I3cu9lXz

By the way, at the recent mall shooting in Oregon the gunman took his life minutes after being confronted by a shopper carrying a concealed weapon. Don't punish law abiding citizens when criminals don't and wont follow any gun regulation laws. Lets be realists not idealists.

I don't own "assault weapons" - I own hunting and defensive firearms. Do not accept the definitions imposed on private property by anti-gun nuts or the media. Before forming opinions, perhaps more education on firearms is a good thing too - for example "banning automatic weapons and magazines that hold more then 7 bullets is a good thing" lacks foundation. Some autoloading shotguns (for hunting and sporting clays) can hold that many shells (Yes, there are regulations that require a device to limit the number of shells in the shotgun to three). Before we jump to "ban" why not enforce the laws we have then look for ways to to tighten up registration and background checks? Remember, we are a free people, let's try to stay that way. Throughout history, tyrants and leaders of coup d’états find it much easier to seize control and rule a country where its citizens are denied their right to own firearms (or had them confiscated by the government). Just sayin.

Here's a differing opinion from a retired police officer and veteran, Gregory
Taylor of Oakland, CA: For the life of me, I just don’t understand the gun craze in America. There is a national psychosis when it comes to gun ownership.
As an ex-police officer in a city where gratuitous murders have become unspectacular, I lament the fascination with a weapon whose invention and design is for one purpose: to kill and maim.
Had I the power of a King during my tenure, I would have disarmed the entire city in order to make my job that much safer. I am painfully aware, ad nauseam, of the 2nd Amendment arguments for one’s right to bear arms.
I, however, personally make a distinction between a private citizen and a state militia, notwithstanding, the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to the contrary; but I also recognize until the U.S. Congress amends the Constitution we all have to, and do, live with the consequences of this national pandemic.

continued: There really is an unhealthy obsession with this lethal instrument, and it borders, on mental illness. I can only surmise, for a great many Americans, the pleasure derived from gun ownership and its related usage stimulates a primal area of the brain that can’t be satiated by more innocuous stimuli.
As a military reserve officer during the Vietnam era, I’ve trained and familiarized myself with weapons, such as the .50 Caliber and M60 machine guns, M79 and M203 grenade launchers, M61 hand grenade, M-16 and M-14 rifles on which I qualified as an “Expert.” I’ve handled C-4 plastic explosives, Bangalore torpedoes, and Claymore mines to name a few.
As a police officer, my two main tools were the Colt Python .357 magnum and my 12-gauge shotgun – but my best weapon was my radio.
Virtually, 24 hours a day I was armed to the teeth. When I left the police department one of the earliest things I did was to sell all my guns. I have no firearms. What I had that most of the gun-lovers will never have is the temperament and training to use those firearms.
http://www.postnewsgroup.com/publishedcontent/2013/01/04/ex-police-officer-for-gun-control/

Dear Andrew
It takes courage to compose a letter to our president and even more to post your opinion to peers and neighbors. I support your opinion and although it is not perfect the idea of restricting more "freedoms" by our government is a very scary idea. The idea of a gun may not be for everyone and although I am not a gun owner, I respect guns and knowledge about guns and the folks who wield them. It is a "freedom" that should be exercised with great respect and caution but not forbidden. Further, Andrew is right on how to protect our children at school by teaching the faculty the signs of aggressive nature as well as tactics to help protect themselves and children. Ensuring our schools are equipped with other safety devices for the protection of our children and faculty is definately worth the investment. Lastly, I bet that there are more gun owners that would be willing to instruct lessons for free education on guns as well as more individuals willing to instruct our faculty on safety all if we just ask our fellow citizens for help. We can amend our safety precautions and it doesn't have to COST in dollars.

Paul P said: "automatic weapons are banned-you need a 6 mo fbi check & pay 400 for a tax stamp" Good point, that just shows how well banning a certain weapon worked. We no longer have automatic weapons or machine gun massacres as we did in the days of Al Capone. Do you feel less free not having an automatic weapon? Did it violate the holy, holy, 2nd A rights? No.

As a retired teacher of 31 years, I strongly oppose the idea of armed guards at schools. Children need to feel relaxed and comfortable to learn and do their work. They also need peiods of time to run and play and get fresh air. They are not little adults. Recess is a vital part of their day. It is not acceptable that our children should be in lock down because adults need assault weapons. Let's do the right thing. Mass shootings in our country is complex problem but starting with banning assault weapons is at least a beginning.

Banning assulat weapons will not keep kids safe - locking up people with mental problems and a history of violence or autism will do wonders.

Joe R- you seem to be on a crusade on this thread. Now I criticized Mr. Way for bringing up "confiscation" on another thread. . .then he kind of back tracked by pointing the finger to someone else's post advocating it. . .Nothing like raising the emotional temperature...ay Mr. Way.

You and him have written "ad nauseum" on this subject. . .so how many opinions have you changed so far? Now don't give me how you want to keep setting the record straight, and how your going to enlighten us to the mistrue facts: all under that free speech First Amendment stuff. You think maybe you could sort of say it all with just one post or maybe two...But no. . .you just can't resist giving us more of your stews...commenting on someones post or retort.

The real problems are over-medicated kids, godless parents, GMO's, rap music, and violent video games.

One important fact is that there are two kinds of people who have guns. Persons who have guns for sporting or personal protection constitute one group. But there is also a group of people who are plain out gun fetishists. And some fetishists are also paranoids, who believe that the government, (which we elect, as I recall), is out to get them. They believe that they will win if there were a standoff between them and the armed forces of the US. The second amendment is one sentence; the paranoids read only the second half of the sentence. You can see some of the paranoids' postings here--no names mentioned. Gun manufacturers must constantly boost sales, because of the durability of their product. One Bushmaster commercial markets by saying "Consider your man card reissued". Isn't it ironic and very revealing that that this ad slogan could also be used for a male enhancement product?

Thank you ! I wish I could write as good a letter .
My point is bans don't work
Never have never will
Drugs are banned . Threats are banned . Alcohol was banned . Is banned from children .

Mark Calendar said: "...locking up people with mental problems and a history of violence or autism will do wonders." Good grief, locking up people with a history of autism. What an incredibly ignorant statement; being autistic is not some kind of felony and most with autism are not violent. If you are going to lock up all these people, be prepared to raise taxes to build all the new mental institutions you will need. Sadly, a lot of people with severe mental problems end up in prisons and receive littlle or no treatment.

"Locking up people with Autism will do wonders?" Seriously? If you're referring to Lanza, he was home schooled too - maybe we should lock up people who've been home schooled. Who's next on your list of "undisireables" Mark? People with other mental disabilities? People with physical disabilities? People of certain ethnicities or religions? It was thinking like this that lead to, among other things, the murder of over 6 million innocent people in Europe in the middle of the last century. Let's not let bigotry, ignorance, or incivility rule this or any other blog.

Yeah, criminals will always get assault rifles so there's no point in banning them. Great, so people will also speed, should we ban speed limits? Why have any laws at all? Some people are just going to break them anyway.
The reason knives and hammers and other "deadly weapons" aren't banned is because you can't go into a school with a knife and kill 26 people in 10 minutes. Unless there is a ninja epidemic on the horizon that I don't know about.
And FYI - Assault rifles are absolutely pointless. I've heard the following reasons why they are necessary:
1. "To hunt." Absolutely absurd. If you have to kill a deer with an assault rifle, you suck as a hunter. Go buy your meat from a deli. That's like fishing with dynamite.
2. "It's my Constitutional right." No, it's not. The Constitution was written when black powder muskets were all the rage. So if you want to stockpile those, go nuts. There is also such a thing as common sense. I can't go out and buy a tank or a Blackhawk helicopter or a bazooka, can I? Those are weapons exclusive to the military and I have no business handling any of those. If you have such an unquenchable desire to shoot military style assault rifles - join the military.
3. "We need these guns to protect us from tyrannical government." Psst - Assault rifles aren't super effective against tanks, predator drones and bombs. Get real. Obama is NOT Hitler and even Hitler didn't take away anyone's guns. Stop spreading lies and fear and paranoia.

A little research goes a long way: Regulations Against Jews' Possession of Weapons 11 November 1938 - §1 Jews (§5 of the First Regulations of the German Citizenship Law of 14 November 1935, Reichsgesetzblatt I, p. 1333) are prohibited from acquiring, possessing, and carrying firearms and ammunition, as well as truncheons or stabbing weapons. Those now possessing weapons and ammunition are at once to turn them over to the local police authority. §2
Firearms and ammunition found in a Jew's possession will be forfeited to the government without compensation. The Nazi government gave itself unrestricted power to decide what kinds of firearms could, or could not be owned by private persons.

Sorry, he took the Jews guns' away, not everyone in Germany's. Should have clarified that. the Jews weren't allowed to do anything as they were trying to be forced out of the country. True. But the right wingers today keep screaming about how our government is trying to take away all of our guns. Everybody's. That's the difference. You know, Texas has more privately owned guns than the combined armies of France and Britain. Logistically, is it even remotely possible for the government to take all our guns?
And I am a gun owner AND member of the NRA and even I can't believe how ridiculous these rants are. Worrying about the rise of neo-Hitler in that highly unlikely future, while ignoring the problem of our kids getting pumped full of bullets TODAY is logic I'm afraid I will never possess.

And as far as the comparison of guns to cars, let's not go there. I'm pretty sure the regulations in place for cars right now would not fly with these raving maniacs. Or else it would look a lot like this:

1. You have to pass a proficiency test to get a gun license, and get that license renewed at specific time intervals.
2. You have to purchase gun insurance.
3. You have to pay an annual registration fee per gun.
4. There are restrictions to the kinds of guns you can own and operate. And restrictions in the places you can operate them. Just like street cars with nitrous oxide or tinted windows are illegal in many places, so too can multiple-round magazines be banned.
5. You can't operate guns if intoxicated.
6. You must abide by various safety regulations, (example: for cars it's wearing a seatbelt) so for guns it can be mandating gun locks.
7. You must pay a transfer tax when selling a gun to a third party.
8. We would have to create a federal agency, along the lines of the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration, tasked with improving gun safety.

So tell me again how we don't put any restrictions on owning a car and we should be as "lax" with guns as we are with cars.

Opps, I forgot to mention that before Joseph Stalin sent 27 million Russians to their deaths he enacted a complete gun ban and confiscated them from those who had them. When Chairman Mao came to power in China, one of the first things he did was ban guns and confiscate them from citizens. They were thus powerless to fight for their lives when the government came to slaughter them. By the way, over 70 million Chinese citizens were murdered in by Chairman Mao and his party. Can we and should we enforce our laws and can we close loop holes - sure. It's about freedom, what the Constitution says and not what some wish it said. We are a nation of laws, not decrees.

Where in the Constitution does it say you have the right to assault rifles? Are you kidding me right now? No need for those guns. Period.
And you really think these are the same times? You think maybe today since we have twitter accounts, facebook, email, cell phones, that this could happen? 300 million people would get dragged out of their beds in the middle of the night and get their guns forcibly removed from their homes? Get out of here. 300 million people in this country. Almost a gun for every citizen. Do you have any idea the logistics involved with removing all those guns? It's IMPOSSIBLE. Nobody wants your guns. The majority of people just want some limitations on SOME of these guns, that's it.
The fact that these shootings happen more and more and they're not happening with muskets or .22s is a problem. ALL guns are not the problem - assault weapons are.
And by the way, the Constitution also gave us the right to own slaves. Times change. When tragedies like Newtown happen more and more often, we need to take measures to stop them. Is everyone going to be happy? No. Will everyone get what they want? No. But the will of the majority of the people is how a Democracy works. So when 3/4 of the country wants these changes, it's time to become a part of the solution and not a part of the problem.

I refer you to the Constitution for what it says. We also cannot say that the Constitution bans something by silence - you might be unhappy with that result. Also, the Founding Fathers were more prescient that you give them credit for. This subject is worthy of educated, rational thought and resolution. An emotionally driven result that unduly restricts guaranteed rights sets a bad precedent, don't you think? There *is* a tension here that must be resolved and additional, properly tailored regulations, such as closing any gun show loop holes, may be needed. Let's not rush to limit our liberties. I also agree that this is a matter of legislation (including amending the Constitution if that is the will of the people), not autocratic decree.

When you have grown up in the projects where owning a gun might be your only way to survive a burglary or break in you realize that all they are doing is restricting your rights. All the fools had illegal guns. The laws meant nothing to them.

Violent video games the problem? You guys are old and morons. Video games are sold all over the world - and countries don't have problems like us. The only injury I ever got from a video game was a blister on the thumb. Yeah, they're just as dangerous as your assault rifle. Go back to your nursing home - bingo at 6:30.

qucik Robert break out the truther bs and the right to bear arms bs
maybe you can tell the victims families the shooter had the right to bear arms
2 killed, 1 injured in Ky. college shooting

2 killed, 1 injured in Ky. college shooting
.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Authorities say two people were shot and killed and a teen wounded in the parking lot of an eastern Kentucky community college

We know Robert it wasnt the gun and all the other bs from the super pac NRa

"The president will be joined at the 11:45 a.m. event by children from around the country who wrote the White House with concerns about gun violence. in the wake of the Connecticut School shooting that left 20 children dead." - Whitehouse Spokesman Jay Carney.

That's so weak. The left will do anything to vilify guns and exploit the dead. THEY are the ones who ought to be ashamed of themselves. I'm sick of the knee-jerk reaction of the uninformed affecting my life.

And the slippery slope continues. Seems the wizards of smart in NY have cornered the market in knowing exactly how many bullets in a magazine will stop all the violence in our society.

Who woulda known, it's not 10, it's 7.... brilliant!!!!

http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/15/us/new-york-gun-bill/index.html

Maybe in another decade or so they'll have been "re-enlightened" to realize it is actually one round that is muzzle-loaded. By that time they may also come to the conclusion that we should all be defecating in dirt holes again too....

Great letter, but this "president" doesn't care. That's the shame of the entire issue. He is not a leader he is a dictator. He is going to eventually strip of us of all our constitutional rights. One by one. He is a dangerous man.

My opinion.....He can pry my guns from my cold dead hands.

Another police official with a differing opinion:
"I could not be more supportive of the president for taking the position he has," San Diego Police Chief William Lansdowne told KPBS. "I think it's courageous with the politics involved in this process. But I think it's going to eventually make the country safer and certainly safer for my officers that have to respond to these calls. "

Lansdowne said he would like to see a national policy on importation of assault-type weapons and high-capacity magazines, along with a national database on gun sales. He said gun control laws do decrease crime.

"Those states that have the fewest number of guns certainly have the lowest number of homicides," he said. "But I don't think it's just the homicides you need to look at. You need to look at the suicides, the unintentional accidental shootings that take place. And for every homicide, there are three shootings that took place. And the difference between a homicide and a shooting, gang-involved or whatever it happens to be, is just the aim."

Citizens have reg. guns and keys, criminals have illegal guns and pry bars/hammers and THEY always will. Arm yourselves or 911 WILL be late getting to YOU and YOUR family ! Now I guess YOU want laws against pry bars and hammers too !

Great article ! Thanks for taking the time to write it. Thanks for your service to NJ.

People determined to get something will get it, be it guns,heroin, or anything else they feel they must purchase.

For those in the thread that keep playing the "you guys like to read the second half of the sentence but not the first half", do some reading yourself.

http://www.nj2as.com/resources/Documents/CCW/Unabridged2A.pdf

yep do some reading Robert and enjoy the new executive orders signed by Our President

As passed by the Congress:

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

As ratified by the States and authenticated by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State:

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed

doya see the part about the militia

It looks like Spooner's comments are 100% off the mark.

I guess Spooner never heard of:

* Unalienable rights (pronounced "un-a-leen-able")
* Laws of Nature
* Laws of God

-- Our rights come from God -- not from a King, President, or a select MINORITY of Senators or member of Congress for that matter.

-- That isn't revisionist history, this is the very foundation of the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution.

You can't win on that Sponer -- you're no scholar and the facts are NOT on your side.

"Spooner 12:28 pm on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 @Robert Way- you say: "The Bill of Rights did not "give" us the right to keep and bear arms, it acknowledged the fact that we already possessed it and the government could no infringe upon it..." Some more of your revisionist history."

Jim Kirk

12:51 pm on Wednesday, January 16, 2013

It looks like Spooner's comments are 100% off the mark.

I guess Spooner never heard of:

* Unalienable rights (pronounced "un-a-leen-able")
* Laws of Nature
* Laws of God

-- Our rights come from God -- not from a King, President, or a select MINORITY of Senators or member of Congress for that matter.

-- That isn't revisionist history, this is the very foundation of the Declaration of Independence and our Constitution.

You defeat this point Sponer -- you're no scholar and the facts are NOT on your side. (And please, don't go into the "shouting 'fire' in the movie house" tangent. We are talking about Obama abusing his Executive Order capability to bypass Congress on a matter that is 100% in the hands of CONGRESS' power to:

-- AMEND the Constitution via a Constitutional Convention
-- IGNORE the President's request to take away our ***unalienable rights*** or
-- IMPEACH and CONVICT the President for trying to seize power via executive fiat.

Frankly, it's time to IMPEACH.

"Spooner 12:28 pm on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 @Robert Way- you say: "The Bill of Rights did not "give" us the right to keep and bear arms, it acknowledged the fact that we already possessed it and the government could no infringe upon it..." Some more of your revisionist history."

Ok-this letter is the opinion of 1 law enforcement officer. What is the position of Law Enforcement collectively in this nation?

Mr. Marsala, I appauld your service, and the personal accomplishments you have achieved, and for taking the time to express your opnion in the letter you have shared.
I am a USAF Veteran, the father of a murdered daughter on 9/11/01 at the WTC,
a grandfather to three beautiful grand-daughters. I must tell you that for me this is more than the issue of the second admendment rights, or just assault weapons,
the rgith of my grandchilden to live thier lives free from the threat of being murdered to me is more important than some who thinks his right to arms is more important than their lives. I am appauled by the NRA position, I am sicked by the threats fo gun makers who threaten to close up if new laws are passed. I do not understand why the NRA requires a political arm, why as an assocaition of people who enjoy gun owerneship , hunting, target pratice, feel the that the need to own assault weapons, weapons designed for the battlefiled is a right that trumps the right of my grandchildren to live . As you have demoistrated there is no single answer to preventing the type of horror unleased in Newtown, but an armed population, with concealed weapons and the specter of open warefare and guns is not what I wnat for my grandchildren. Rather than attempting to prove that new guns laws are not the answer, we should be all working to ensure our children are safe.
Thank You again for your service.

Spooner -- you are so uninformed it isn't funny:

The Militia Act of 1792, Passed May 8, 1792, providing federal standards for the organization of the Militia.

An ACT more effectually to provide for the National Defence, by establishing an Uniform Militia throughout the United States.

I. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That each and every free able-bodied white male citizen of the respective States, resident therein, who is or shall be of age of eighteen years, and under the age of forty-five years (except as is herein after excepted) shall severally and respectively be enrolled in the militia, by the Captain or Commanding Officer of the company, within whose bounds such citizen shall reside, and that within twelve months after the passing of this Act. And it shall at all time hereafter be the duty of every such Captain or Commanding Officer of a company, to enroll every such citizen as aforesaid, and also those who shall, from time to time, arrive at the age of 18 years, or being at the age of 18 years, and under the age of 45 years (except as before excepted) shall come to reside within his bounds; and shall without delay notify such citizen of the said enrollment..." (continued next post)

(continued from previous post): proper non-commissioned Officer of the company, by whom such notice may be proved. That every citizen, so enrolled and notified, shall, within six months thereafter, provide himself with a good musket or firelock, a sufficient bayonet and belt, two spare flints, and a knapsack, a pouch, with a box therein, to contain not less than twenty four cartridges, suited to the bore of his musket or firelock, each cartridge to contain a proper quantity of powder and ball; or with a good rifle, knapsack, shot-pouch, and powder-horn, twenty balls suited to the bore of his rifle, and a quarter of a pound of powder; and shall appear so armed, accoutred and provided, when called out to exercise or into service, except, that when called out on company days to exercise only, he may appear without a knapsack. That the commissioned Officers shall severally be armed with a sword or hanger, and espontoon; and that from and after five years from the passing of this Act, all muskets from arming the militia as is herein required, shall be of bores sufficient for balls of the eighteenth part of a pound; and every citizen so enrolled, and providing himself with the arms, ammunition and accoutrements, required as aforesaid, shall hold the same exempted from all suits, distresses, executions or sales, for debt or for the payment of taxes.

You lose, Spooner.

Let's put some icing on that foot Spooner has to put in his mouth:

United States Code: Title 10 – Armed Forces
Subtitle A – General Military Law
Chapter 13 – The Militia

Sec. 311. Militia: composition and classes
•(a) The militia of the United States consists of all able-bodied males at least 17 years of age and, except as provided in section 313 of title 32, under 45 years of age who are, or who have made a declaration of intention to become, citizens of the United States and of female citizens of the United States who are members of the National Guard.

•(b) The classes of the militia are -
•(1) the organized militia, which consists of the National Guard
and the Naval Militia; and
•(2) the unorganized militia, which consists of the members of
the militia who are not members of the National Guard or the
Naval Militia.

Other than age, health, gender, or citizenship, there are no additional provisions for exemption from membership in the unorganized militia.

HAZARD, Ky. (AP) — A gunman fired into a vehicle, killing a man and a woman and wounding a 12-year-old girl late Tuesday, and police have charged a 21-year-old with murder and attempted murder in the incident, blaming it on a domestic dispute

where are the "truthers" did these pp have any right?

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2013/01/14/poll-gun-control-that-americans-support/comment-page-5/

might wanna read this you and the jar head wont like it

Howd you like the executive orders?
How about invading Iraq based on LIES ask Colin Powell

Whoever is teaching the teachers to hide all the kids in a closet is creating a target rich environment, stop that. And I still haven't heard boo on antipsychotics/SSRI's, they(Dr.'s) hand them out like pez candy! Stop that.

"garbage ","deflection" talk about incredibly ignorant.
"By all means, let's do research" (Please click this link http://ssristories.com/index.php) Before we allow "authoritarians" such as yourself to "ban or heavily restrict" our GOD given rights!

"...GOD given rights!" Where in the bible does it talk about gun rights and well regulated militias? There is no second amendment in the bible. Last time I checked, the Constitution is not a religious document. I thought God was about peace and love not semi-automatics and high capacity magazines. Oh wait, do you worship Mars?

we dont enforce the laws that have been on the books for years .so lets try to take away the guns from the good guys. so the bad guys have more of a chance at getting to use. law biding pepole.

How about an assault weapons ban AND police protection AND modernized security systems in our schools?

Our money is kept behind bullet-proof glass at the bank. At school, my child is in a fish-bowl protected by a secretary and a sign-in sheet.

Why is it the progressive liberal that steals guns then go and kill
movie goers and children in schools have never been a NRA member?"

Ft Hood - Registered Democrat- Muslim

Columbine - Too young to vote - both families were registered democrats
and progressive liberals

VA Tech - Wrote hate mail to Pres Bush and to his staff. Registered
Democrat

Colorado Theater - Registered Democrat, staff worker on the Obama
campaign, occupy wall street participant, progressive liberal

Connecticut School Shooter - Registered Democrat, hated Christians

Common thread is that all of these shooters were progressive liberal
democrats."
Interesting...isn't it

That speech, delivered by Obama as he read directly from his teleprompters, may have been the best written speech I have ever heard to lull free Americans into giving up their weapons and thus surrender their collective power to the Federal Government.
If we give up our rifles, we give up our ability to keep the government in line.

Of course the problem with Obama's speech is that NOTHING he said will decrease violent crime or stop psych drugged lunatics from continuing to commit mass murders. It all sounded warm and fuzzy, but the devil is in the details of his "Executive Orders" and when fully revealed, I'm sure they will demonstrate that this administration is just using the mass murders that have occurred in the "Gun Free Zones" they created as another way to trick Americans into giving up more of their liberty.

The historical statistics of gun control prove that when you disarm the law abiding you shift the balance of power into the hands of the criminals and the government.

“The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation.”

— Adolph Hitler, Mein Kampf

Strange how some of my posts are disappearing, Spooner. Let's re-post it shall we?

Don't accuse me of being unprepared for ANYTHING because I have your number. For those who want the truth, read Amazing Disgrace that proves Spooner is spreading propanda: "http://www.insidehighered.com/views/mclemee/mclemee290";

(See: "Spooner 3:08 pm on Wednesday, January 16, 2013 Jim- another person who doesn't read Colonial history. Making a blanket statement: "the people are the militia" is misleading. Militias were made up for one: of those persons who could afford to purchase a firearm. Remember these were custom made by hand...very expensive.")

Michael A. Bellesiles wrote a book filled with fabricated "evidence" called "Arming America: The Origins of a National Gun Culture"

Bellesiles didn't count on people far more informed than he was! Researcher-patriots PROVED Bellesiles LIED and was the first in history to the "Bancroft Prize" he won for his book REVOKED.

Columbia University's Board of Trustees wrote Bellesiles "violated basic norms of scholarship and the high standards expected of Bancroft Prize winners."

The researchers PROVED guns in American society was WIDE-SPREAD and PLENTIFUL -- and negated Bellesiles 100% hands-down -- much of the "Colonial History" you're claiming Spooner, reads like Bellesiles.

For those who want the TRUTH read Amazing Disgrace that proves Spooner is spreading propanda: "http://www.insidehighered.com/views/mclemee/mclemee290";

You think only cops should have guns? This is what happens in "gun-free" cities...

http://www.uic.edu/depts/pols/ChicagoPolitics/policecorruption.pdf

The point of Operation Gunwalker and Fast and Furious and Wide Receiver was to arm our person drug cartel in Mexico so they could launder their drug profits through one of our banks in Chicago, which just happens to be where Obama is from. That bank was Wells Fargo / Wachovia Bank and they laundered at least $380 billion dollars worth of drug money.

It was also made public that the DEA and the ATF were targeting members of rival gangs in Mexico and helping the Sinaloa Cartel ship the drugs into the United States.

After all of this came to light, the Obama administration cracked down on whistle blowers in the agency, actually making public threatening statements to their own agents and workers if they dared take their info to congress.

Today, Obama nominated the man who made that threat to head the department, B. Todd Jones. The man who threatened ATF agents if they thought of doing the right thing, is now the head of the department that shipped illegal guns into a country with strict gun control laws that keep citizens from owning guns. And his announcement came during a press conference centered around protecting civilians by taking our guns.

So coming from Chicago automatically makes you a felon? And because there are corrupt police, we should abandon police forces or should assume that all police are crooks and we should become our own police and our own vigilantes? Yes, there are corrupt cops (the Chicago cops do have a very bad reputation) and guess what, there are corrupt, stupid, drunken, angry, belligerent and irrational gun owners. Or do you think that all gun owners are Dudley Dorights? I'm not talking about criminals or felons or mental patients, I'm talking about legal gun owners who are stupid, irrational, sloppy, careless and exhibit bad judgement. It's OK to point out that there are bad cops but it's not OK to point out that there are plenty of bad gun owners in the sense that they are potential loose cannons. Or do you think that all gun owners are perfect little constitutional scholars and PHDs in ballistics? All this sturm und drang over some very mild proposed gun laws which will be blocked by the GOP and the conservo-Dems.

Greenland 19.2
Angola 19.0
Guyana 18.6
Burkina Faso 18.0
Eritrea 17.8
Namibia 17.2
Rwanda 17.1
Mexico 16.9
Chad 15.8
Ghana 15.7
Ecuador 15.2
North Korea 15.2
Benin 15.1
Sierra Leone 14.9
Mauritania 14.7
Botswana 14.5
Zimbabwe 14.3
Gabon 13.8
Nicaragua 13.6
French Guiana 13.3
Papua New Guinea 13.0
Swaziland 12.9
Bermuda 12.3
Comoros 12.2
Nigeria 12.2
Cape Verde 11.6
Grenada 11.5
Paraguay 11.5
Barbados 11.3
Togo 10.9
Gambia 10.8
Peru 10.8
Myanmar 10.2
Russia 10.2
Liberia 10.1
Costa Rica 10.0
Nauru 9.8
Bolivia 8.9
Mozambique 8.8
Kazakhstan 8.8
Senegal 8.7
Turks and Caicos Islands 8.7
Mongolia 8.7
British Virgin Islands 8.6
Cayman Islands 8.4
Seychelles 8.3

Madagascar 8.1
Indonesia 8.1
Mali 8.0
Pakistan 7.8
Moldova 7.5
Kiribati 7.3
Guadeloupe 7.0
Haiti 6.9
Timor-Leste 6.9
Anguilla 6.8
Antigua and Barbuda 6.8
Lithuania 6.6
Uruguay 5.9
Philippines 5.4
Ukraine 5.2
Estonia 5.2
Cuba 5.0
Belarus 4.9
Thailand 4.8
Suriname 4.6
Laos 4.6
Georgia 4.3
Martinique 4.2
UNITED STATES 4.2

All the nations listed above the US have a 100% gun ban!
http://www.unodc.org/unodc/en/data-and-analysis/homicide.html

wikipedia:
A common misconception is that firearms are illegal in Mexico and that no person may possess them.[3] This belief originates due the general perception that only members of law enforcement, the armed forces, or those in armed security protection are authorized to have them. While it is true that Mexico possesses strict gun laws,[4] where most types and calibers are reserved to military and law enforcement, the acquisition and ownership of certain firearms and ammunition remains a constitutional right to all Mexican citizens and foreign legal residents;[5] given the requirements and conditions to exercise such right are fulfilled in accordance to the law.[6] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_politics_in_Mexico

This is a very difficult, emotional and divisive issue.
To those proposing armed guards in schools, I have one question: What happens after someone like Adam Lanza kills the guard?

There's no 100% gun ban in Greenland. In Greenland, only licensed gun owners may lawfully acquire, possess or transfer a firearm or ammunition
Gun Owner Background Checks
An applicant for a firearm licence in Greenland must pass background checks which consider criminal and relationship records
In Greenland, annual homicides by any means total
2008: 61
2007: 4
2006: 11
2005: 11
2004: 12
2003: 6
2002: 13
2001: 17
2000: 14
1999: 12
1998: 6
1997: 11
1996: 3
1995: 14
http://www.gunpolicy.org/firearms/region/greenland

Greenland's population is 56,749 (2012 estimate), it is the least densely populated dependency or country in the world. In 2008 there were 61 murders by any cause out of that small population. It does not have a 100% gun ban.

Another question for Andrew Marsala: Shouldn't parents INSIST that their schools lock all doors, provide entry security and conduct lockdown drills?

For those in the conversation that don't think we should be able to own certain types of firearms, i.e. so-called "assault weapons" on the premise that regular people shouldn't have military style weapons. Up until 1939, the government didn't want the people to have firearms the military didn't have and argued that the people should only have firearms that the military has.

Do some reading for yourself, United States vs. Miller 1939, where the Supreme Court ruled that they could restrict the firearm Miller had (a short barreled shotgun) because it had no military purpose.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/bills/blusvmiller.htm

1939, restrict/ban firearms because the military DIDN't have them...
2013, restrict/ban firearms because the military DOES have them...
Seem consistent to me...

The purpose of the Second Amendment is to ensure there is an equality of arms between government entities and the people. It wasn't until the early 1930's when the disparity of force gap between the two started widening when the 1934 National Firearms Act tried to tax some firearms "out of the market" by making them cost prohibitive at the time.

And before someone throws out the "they have a tank should the people have tanks" claptrap, do some reading;

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/National+Firearms+Act+of+1934

http://www.guncite.com/gc2ndmea.html

http://brainshavings.com/the-right-to-keep-and-bear-what/

Spooner, you conveniently ignored my question above from a few days ago where I presented the following;

Which one makes more sense;

An Amendment that grants the right to keep and bear arms only to a subset of the people whereby subjecting the unarmed majority of the people to the conscience of those that are armed.

or

An Amendment that recognizes the inherent right to keep and bear arms of the people.

If you cannot answer this simple question, the conversation between you and I has no further purpose. If you are willing to answer it, than you and I have established the foundation upon which each of us is debating.

For those in the conversation that don't think we should be able to own certain types of firearms, i.e. so-called "assault weapons" on the premise that regular people shouldn't have military style weapons. Up until 1939, the government didn't want the people to have firearms the military didn't have and argued that the people should only have firearms that the military has.

Do some reading for yourself, United States vs. Miller 1939, where the Supreme Court ruled that they could restrict the firearm Miller had (a short barreled shotgun) because it had no military purpose.

http://usgovinfo.about.com/library/bills/blusvmiller.htm

1939, restrict/ban firearms because the military DIDN't have them...
2013, restrict/ban firearms because the military DOES have them...
Seem consistent to me...

The purpose of the Second Amendment is to ensure there is an equality of arms between government entities and the people. It wasn't until the early 1930's when the disparity of force gap between the two started widening when the 1934 National Firearms Act tried to tax some firearms "out of the market" by making them cost prohibitive at the time.

And before someone throws out the "they have a tank should the people have tanks" comment, do some reading;

http://tinyurl.com/angxd6

http://tinyurl.com/2j6em6

http://tinyurl.com/axllmub

Violence in America: The History of a Catastrophe

http://youtu.be/g9bRDNgd6E4

Will they hire minimum wage no benefit no pension rent a guards? The libertarian pro gunnners hate taxes, regard all taxes as theft, don't even believe in public schools. They will scream like rabid impaled hyenas if their taxes go up one nano-penny for these armed guards.

Following the "wise" advice of the NRA in the wake of Sandy Hook, a charter school in Michigan hired Clark Arnold, a retired weapons instructor, as an armed security guard, calling him "a tremendous asset to the safety of our students." And he was - he was - until a couple of days later when he left his handgun unattended in the students' bathroom. Law enforcement officials say nobody was hurt (miraculously) so no big deal, and school officials say they "continue to work on improving school security." Parents say, like, duh.

"People are human and they make mistakes," noted one parent. "That's kind of a big mistake."

I am a law-abiding citizen and responsible gun owner.
I am saddened by the tragic events in Newtown, Connecticut, but I believe that efforts to impose new restrictions on me and other lawful and responsible owners like me are misguided. Did you know that violent crime with firearms has declined since the Federal "assault weapons ban" expired in 2004?
Our focus should be on strengthening mental health care and improving the quality of data supporting NICS checks (National Instant Criminal Background Check System). Do NOT pass more gun laws; instead, work to enforce the more than 20,000 gun laws already on the books.

Oh please, spare me the 20,000 gun laws zombie myth. Does NJ have 20,000 gun laws or TX or AZ or Utah? How did "they" arrive at 20,000 laws, what was the methodology, are they counting every element and codicil in the law. This is inflation gone wild. Are you adding all the laws of the fifty states, all the cities and municipalities, military bases, possessions, all the federal laws, Indian reservations? Many of those laws would be redundant and many of the laws, like conceal and carry are actually favored by gun lovers. People in Vermont are not affected by the gun laws in Chicago so this 20,000 gun laws is meaningless and irrelevant. Neither Vermont nor Chicago have 20,000 gun laws. Stupid garbage. The new proposed gun laws are not draconian or oppressive in spite of the howling from the NRA and its blind followers. We should be prepared to do more about mental health and we should start with more counseling at the school level to nip any potential problems in the bud before they become serious. This will not be free by the way. *But wait, there are 100,000 mental health laws on the book, more mental health laws are not the answer. (*the last sentence was just satire as in joke).

That 20,000 gun laws nonsense is so misleading and deceptive, assuming it's even true. That's adding up all the federal laws, all the state laws, all the city laws and probably certain counties or municipalities and don't forget the territories and Guantanamo. Are military bases included in that 20,000 laws figure? NYC does not have 20,000 gun laws and neither does CT. NYC has much tougher gun laws than the rest of NY state. Chicago has tougher laws than the rest of Illinois. AZ, TX and Utah have much laxer laws than CT and NJ. Does Wyoming have 20,000 gun laws? Does Vermont have 20,000 gun laws? Every state is different and cities in states can have different gun laws than the rest of the state. Please, give this phoney baloney talking point a rest and bury it in the septic tank of NRA propaganda.

Joe R you are a moron! 20,000 was used to say there are soooo many laws already. You stupidly missed the point! MENTAL Health is the 800 pound gorilla not the guns. Dope!

Did you see the story of "responsible gun owner" at the Nc gun show?

Did you see the story of the car that rolled over in Manchester?

Most of those supposed laws are basically just repeats, for example, every State plus the Federal government has bans on felons owning guns. That means there are 51 laws that say felons can't own guns, and they don't all apply at the same time to the same people.

Accidental shootings at gun shows in North Carolina, Indiana and Ohio left five people injured Saturday. At the Dixie Gun and Knife Show in Raleigh, a 12-gauge shotgun discharged as its owner unzipped its case for a law enforcement officer to check at a security entrance, injuring three people, state Agriculture Department spokesman Brian Long said. In Indianapolis, police said a 54-year-old man was injured when he inadvertently shot himself while leaving a gun show. Emory L. Cozee was loading his .45-caliber semi-automatic when he shot himself in the hand as he was leaving the Indy 1500 Gun and Knife show at the state fairgrounds, state police said. Loaded personal weapons aren't allowed inside the show.

And in Ohio, a gun dealer in Medina was checking out a semi-automatic handgun he had bought Saturday when he accidentally pulled the trigger, injuring his friend, police said. The gun's magazine had been removed from the firearm, but one round remained in the chamber, police said.

Further note on the Ohio accidental shooting:
Police Chief Pat Berarducci said it appears the bullet ricocheted off the floor and struck the friend in the arm and leg. The man was taken by helicopter to a hospital 30 miles north in Cleveland, Berarducci said. His condition wasn't immediately known.
Loaded personal weapons aren't allowed inside the show. Gee, isn't that a violation of their precious 2nd Amendment rights?

So you see Joe, You don't have the exclusive on "Stupid"

further info on the NC shooting:
Three people were wounded at a gun show in North Carolina today, when a 12-gauge shotgun accidentally fired as a man was trying to open the case during a security check, local officials said.

A retired sheriff’s deputy and two bystanders were hit by shotgun pellets today at the Dixie Gun and Knife Show,
which is held at the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in Raleigh.

“When he attempted to open the case to be inspected, the shotgun accidentally discharged,” fairgrounds spokesman Brian Long said.

The three suffered minor gunshot wounds.

Because of the shooting, Long said private gun sales will be banned at the show Sunday.

“We are not going to allow any what you would call private person-to-person gun sales,” he said. “They will not be allowed to bring a gun with them. They will only be able to come in and buy from the vendors that are selling at the show.”
Gee, isn't that a violation of their precious 2nd Amendment rights???
These are the yahoos who are supposedly going to protect us from some future tyrant.

another "responsible gun owner" I think not Jan 19, 2013

State police say a man accidentally shot his 14-year-old son in the face while they were hunting deer in southern New Jersey

A 14-year-old boy was flown to Christiana Hospital this afternoon after his father reportedly shot him in the face while hunting near Cook Road in Stow Creek Township, according to N.J. State Police, Bridgeton Barracks.
The father was reportedly hunting with a 12-gauge shotgun when, attempting to shoot a deer, shot his son in the face with a single pellet of buckshot, police said. The accident occurred shortly before 12:30 p.m. The father and son are from Greenwich Township in Cumberland County.

The boy is listed in stable condition and his injuries are non-life-threatening, officials stated.

According to police, the buckshot pellet struck the boy's face under the eye and exited through his cheek.

State police have placed the N.J. Division of Fish and Wildlife in charge of the investigation. State police said they will not file charges, as they deemed the shooting as accidental.

Perhaps if Mr. Way addressed the letter to "the President" or "President Obama" his argument would at least appear well-intended and persuasive.
If he did, and the editor reduced it to "Obama", then shame on the editor.

I stand corrected....I read the letter quickly. Sorry about the misatribution. Now that I have read the letter carefully, I'll say that it is rife with bogus conclusions drawn from sometimes reliable facts.

I graduated from a large university in mid-70's and there was a shooting and killing in one of the dorms by a "townie" who was looking for someone who owed him drug money. Mistaken identity but that caused a change in the security. No longer could anyone enter a dorm between certain hours without id. All entrances except one were closed and university id was required. Security personnel were at each designated entrance. I do not think that any further incidents hve ocurred.It is about security, not about guns....we have to think about safety and security, not about taking guns away from sane and law abidng citizens. FYI...do not have a gun or a license but the issue concerns mental health, security...gang members and thugs will always have weapons and agree with Mr. Marsala. Great article!

Great letter. However, Obama's agenda is clear. In 2004 as a Senator he voted AGAINST an Illinois bill that provided exemption to penalty for owning a gun if it was used in self defense in ones home. Fortunately the bill still passed. These people do not want you to have ANY guns and their priority certainly is not about saving lives, only furthering their unfounded and flawed utopian visions.

They say they are against banning all guns yet they hold up countries like the UK and Australia, countries that have banned all guns, as their examples of successful gun control. And if you see no problem with banning all guns, you should probably open a history book because you not only have your head in the clouds, you're speaking in the language of FASCISM.

The source of information for this news post came from Roger Hedgecock’s 1/17/13 radio show. Here’s the link.
http://feeds.radioamerica.org/loudwater/rhs/000013395_000_000000011.mp3
Fast forward to 21:13 for Roger’s comments.
The five worst mass killings, where a firearm was used, have a common thread. Hint #1: They didn’t belong to the NRA. They don’t fit the stereotype of the “red-neck” gun owner.
Check it out …
Ft Hood: Registered Democrat/Muslim.
Columbine: Too young to vote; both families were registered Democrats and progressive liberals.
Virginia Tech: Wrote hate mail to President Bush and to his staff.
Colorado Theater: Registered Democrat; staff worker on the Obama campaign; Occupy Wall Street participant; progressive liberal.
Connecticut School Shooter: Registered Democrat; hated Christians.
Common thread is that all of these shooters were progressive liberal Democrats.
Also, of the worst killings in the last several decades, only one was a female, all the rest were boys, barely men. Their role models were rappers, action movies, comics and violent video games.
Our problem isn’t weapons, it’s boys without boundaries. Who live in ‘progressive’ households.

Victims? Don’t be melodramatic. Look down there. Tell me. Would you really feel any pity if one of those dots stopped moving forever? If I offered you twenty thousand pounds for every dot that stopped, would you really, old man, tell me to keep my money, or would you calculate how many dots you could afford to spare? Free of income tax, old man. Free of income tax – the only way you can save money nowadays.

hey he had a right to bear arms right lil bobby way SANTA FE, New Mexico (Reuters) - A teenage boy with several weapons including an assault rifle shot and killed five people, three of them children, at a house in Albuquerque, New Mexico, authorities said on Sunday.

The boy, whose exact age had yet to be determined, was arrested and charged with the killings which took place late Saturday night, said Aaron Williamson, a Bernalillo County Sheriff's Department deputy.

"The victims all had multiple gunshot wounds, and there appeared to be multiple weapons, including an assault type weapon," Williamson said

did this red neck have a right to bear arms? wonder if Officer Marsala would like to go to this goobers home
SAVANNAH, Ga. (AP) — Police went to Chad Moretz's home to ask him about a friend who had gone missing and quickly found themselves in a tense standoff when a relative answered the door and whispered: "He's got a rifle. He's going to kill y'all."

Joe R seems to know everything, except New Jersey gun ownership laws. He should go tothe library and study them and also stop bashing Eveyone else with- out knowning the laws.

The "gun free" city of Chicago is already outpacing its murder rate from 2012.
(I've included a link to a link to a liberal website, so don't bother hurling your childish epithets): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/08/chicago-homicide-rate-alr_n_2433329.html

Why doesn't the mainstream media report the gun deaths perpetrated by young urban blck males?

"The strongest reason for people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government." -Thomas Jefferson Papers, 334 (C.J.Boyd, Ed., 1950)

"I ask, sir, what is the militia? It is the whole people, except for a few public officials." - George Mason, 3 Elliot, Debates at 425-426.


"...to disarm the people is the best and most effective way to enslave them..." -George Mason, 3 Elliot, Debates at 380.

"Whenever governments mean to invade the rights and liberties of the people, they always attempt to destroy the militia, in order to raise an army upon their ruins." -Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts, spoken during floor debate over the Second Amendment, I Annals of Congress at 750, August 17, 1789.

"That a well-regulated militia, composed of the body of the people trained to arms, is the proper, natural and safe defense of a free 
state; that standing armies in time of peace should be avoided as dangerous to liberty; and that in all cases the military should be
under strict subordination to, and governed by, the civil power." -George Mason, Article 13 of the Virginia Declaration of Rights of 1776. 



"The prohibition is general. No clause in the Constitution could by rule of construction be conceived to give the Congress the power to disarm the people." -William Rawle, 1825; He was offered the position of the first U.S. Attorney General, by President Washington.

Feb. 8th at the statehouse. Be there! http://nj2as.com/EVENTS?eventId=605978&EventViewMode=EventDetails

Thank God that 5 year old with her "Hello, Kitty" bubble gun has been suspended. That's the right tone we need to set for gun control. Train them early that guns will get them in trouble.

Monmouth County Schools are as prepared as they can be. They are caring people doing the best they can to ensure the safety of everyone involved. They are taking care of their responsibilities and our children. Some are revisiting plans to see how they can improve. All while also dealing with flu, budgets, and so on. Don't worry about them. They are ethical professionals.

I forgot Ocean County... they are included. I am making a guess here but based on what I see. I think I'm right and I signed an oath.

wookfish

7:24 am on Monday, January 21, 2013

It's all about control, and i, as an American don't want ANYONE to have TOTAL control over my life,that's what our fore fathers laid out, untold thousands fought and died for,and i swore and oath to protect.....oath keepers unite"

What we have here is one dumb piney
didja know if ya have a cell phone it has a gps and it will ping a tower when used?
didja know what ever you google can be traced?
SS number? Irs? drivers license? Hard drive? wake up goober

We must remember that the Second Amendment was written by men, who owned a muzzle loading musket. They wrote it to maintain a militia because the US had no standing army and they feared a standing army. They also had no vision of a citizen gun being able to fire dozens of rounds per minute versus the three rounds a professional soldier of 1776 can shoot.

Gun Control is not about inhibiting our Second Amendment right. It’s about protecting our Inalienable Right, the right to “Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.” This right is ours by God and it is above those rights set in the U.S. Constitution.

Virginia **Teen Sentenced to 12 Years in Prison For Columbine Style Plot
School Hostage Situation Med For Depression 2010-12-15 France **17 Year Old with Sword Holds 20 Children & Teacher Hostage
School Incident/Bizarre Zoloft* 2010-08-22
School Knifing/Murder Meds For Depression & ADHD 2010-04-28 2009
School Shooting Plot Med For Depression WITHDRAWAL 2008-08-28 Texas **18 Year Old Plots a Columbine School Attack
School Threat/Lockdown Lexapro* 2008-04-18
School Suicide/Lockdown Med For Depression 2008-02-20 Idaho **Teen [16 Years Old] Kills Self at High School: Lockdown by Police
School Shooting Prozac WITHDRAWAL 2008-02-15
School Threat Wellbutrin Antidepressant 2007-04-24 Tennessee **Young
School Stabbing Wellbutrin 2006-12-04 Indiana **Stabbing by 17 Year Old At High School: Charged with Attempted Murder
School Shooting Celexa Antidepressant 2006-08-30 North Carolina **Teen Shoots at Two Students: Kills his Father: Celexa Found Among his Personal Effects
School Shooting Threat Med for Depression* 2004-10-19 New Jersey **Over-Medicated Teen Brings Loaded Handguns to School
School Shooting Paxil [Seroxat] Antidepressant 2004-02-09 New York **Student
School Shooting Prozac Antidepressant WITHDRAWAL 1998-05-21 Oregon **Four Dead: Twenty Injured
What is the common denominator? IT'S NOT GUNS.

http://ssristories.com/index.php?sort=what&p=school

read the facts!

Shooting day at a college near Houston, TX. the media was all over it until they onyx out the shooter was black....then they buried the story.

First, President Obama is not a Muslim or Kenyan. He's an American Christian. Second, I find the rest of your comment, Kathy, equally offensive. As an American citizen who happens to be gay, we should be treated the exact same way as everyone else in this country and not treated as second-class citizens. We pay taxes, we participate in our govenment, and we care about our families and larger community. We are part of the "us" that you refer to. It's sad that I live around people who still think this way.

Bryan stop fooling yourself! He is NO Christian! He is a Muslim. Not that it matters. He is a hell of an Actor! (better Than Ronald Reagan) He uses the constitution for toilet paper!
Kathy is 33% wrong Gays do contribute to our society as do most Minorities. The welfare queens with multiple baby daddies are a welfare machine and milk the system like the pros that they are.

This thread sure went off the rails......

Harry Reid, hypocrite...

http://dailybail.com/home/harry-reid-attends-opening-of-clark-county-shooting-park.html

Hey lil Bobby hows mommys basement?
Didja miss todays shooting in Tx?
Perhaps im just "cherry picking" but there sure are a lot of cherries to pick
some of you white sheet wearers might wanna google us who is on welfare lotta folks in the red states spin spin spin

Hello Ralph.

For anyone wishing to do some of their own research; http://www.gunbanfacts.com

Further information for your consideration; http://tinyurl.com/admrnaa

Interesting how Obama's 18th Executive "action" is to provide incentives for armed security in schools; http://www.newsmax.com/headline/obama-guns-executive-orders/2013/01/16/id/471689

Resource Officer is is just a less scarey way to describe an armed security guard or school assigned police officer; http://www.nasro.org/

I guess Obama is being advised by the NRA and NASRO who advoate a Resource Officer on every campus. Way to go President Obama...

http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/Who-Should-Carry-Guns-in-Schools-184025251.html

oh lil Bobby maker of stalagmites on mommys ceiling
No shortage of shootings since the "responsible" gun owner Nancy Lanza
incident Hey Bobby since there is a gps in cell phones why not track guns with the same technology thus holding the registered "responsible gun owner" responsible when it goes "missing" after all im sure you supported Bush and his Patriot Act?
Hows your militia Bobby