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Kate Jones

Partner, Institute for the Advancement of Service

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The time is NOW for people to stand up and say 'No More Assault Weapons" and not wait for the government to legislate the change.

Change starts when people change, not when governments legislate change. Think back to the days when driving drunk was socially acceptable, no matter who died in the process. Then Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) formed. The rest is history.

The time is 'now o'clock'. We will change our resopnse to violence and stop purchasing violence video games as gifts for our children, and stop patronizing films that promote violence, mayhem and murder. Glorifying the horrific has become the norm.

What happened in Newtown, CT should never happen again.

Remember Mahatma Ghandi's words: "Be the change you want to see in the world". The time is now o'clock!

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  • Dan Geurin 10+

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    Dec 24 2012: People have the right to bear arms. However, I don't know for sure that people have right to have guns that can spray bullets. This is a sticky topic because some of the argument revolves around what people do to each other with guns. Another side of the argument revolves around defending ourselves from the authorities who have unlimited weapons.
    I once saw a slogan that said "If you outlaw guns, then only outlaws will have guns."
    It's not really the guns that bother me. It's the judgement of the people with the guns. Drugs are illegal and it doesn't stop people from dying because of them.
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      Kate Jones

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      Dec 24 2012: I agree w/ you, Dan. That's why I started this conversation. I don't think banning guns in total is the answer. Guns that spray bullets >> who needs those weapons? Soldiers, SWAT teams maybe, and possibly a few government agencies. We continue to banter the argument that the right to bear arms is all the authority we need to own guns >> of all types. I challenge that idea.

      • Nate Kemper

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        Dec 28 2012: I would like to point out the grouping of "guns that spray bullets" is made by people who know next to nothing about actual firearms. Secondly, guns that spray bullets aka automatic weapons are ALREADY ILLEGAL in many if not all states. Thirdly, over 75% of convicted shooters did NOT get their guns through legal channels. And lastly, if outlawing guns would stop people from having them, then why don't we outlaw cocaine and heroin?

        • Dan Geurin 10+

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          Dec 28 2012: I don't need to be an expert to know that guns that hold 50 bullets are different than guns that hold 6 bullets that have to be reloaded by hand instead of a clip. I would say that the gun that the shooter used in the school is closer to spraying bullets than an old six shooter or shotgun used in hunting. My father was a county sheriff for 20+ years so I was exposed to guns at an early age. i would qualify myself as someone who knows something about firearms.

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