I pass by the church in which that shooting took place EVERY day on my way home from school. I guess these guys don't find anything sacred anymore

And I do agree with your solution. These kids that I said I grew up with - these kids that are being gunned down - I can very easily see how they fell through the cracks. I was there.

Those concealed weapons permits are a joke, at least here in PA. All you need is two forms of ID, and they run a quick background check on ya. They really got to make the person take a psychological exam at least. Im about to get one this week, not because I plan on carrying concealed, just to protect myself more (law wise) from going to and from work, even though im authorized to begin with. But yea, if firearms dissapear, then its going to be knifes, which are really really messy. First rule in a knife fight: Someone is getting cut

Guns are the weapons of choice of most criminals and gangs...that'* a fact. Many reasons contribute to this, including easy to get, easy to get rid of and easy to use as well as you don't have to be close to your "victim" in order to use them. Ever hear of a drive by knifing or drive by baseball batting?

Banning guns is an overly simplistic solution to a complex problem. So is using statistics to back either side. There are too many other variables involved that affect the results. An armed citizenry has little to do with the drop in crime because the ordinary citizen is not the usual target.

One will be other gang members who are known to be armed. That doesn't stop the attacks. That brings on retaliation, which brings on more retaliation, etc. The media will often deptict these people as innocent victims, which is seldom the case.

Other targets are businesses (banks, convenince stores, etc.) where being armed is at best a toss-up on whether that'* a positive thing.

I am not a fan of guns by any stretch, do not own one and have never been in a situation where I believe one would have been useful. However, just banning them will not solve the problem. I believe better controls of them, not necessarily more...more effective ones are a start.

Besides the weapon of choice, yes...the people involved are also responsible...and many of the people that I knew who carry concealed weapons scare the hell out of me! The gun then becomes the first line of defense, rather than the last.

Case in point...one was telling of a story where he was at a camp ground, and some drunken partiers threw a bottle that hit his trailer. He went to the door with his gun to challenge them. I asked if he was ready to kill them for the bottle hitting his trailer. His response...no, I just wanted to scare them. A reason I've heard over and over. People, if you are not ready to kill someone with that gun, and deal with everything that goes with it...leave it in your locked cabinet, or whatever other safe place you keep it.

I agree, to many muscle heads draw their firearm to "scare" the person, which is really stupid. I actually heard of drive by knifings in Germany. They would drive up next to the person at a gas station.....u get the picture after that. This happened a few times during the mid 90'*.

Guess how many shootings by concealed weapons permit holders in Oregon were deemed unjustified or questionable (since the law went into effect)?

Zero. There'* alot of stories in news archives about permit holders effectively protecting themselves or others. It'* comforting to know the intended victims get their satisfaction occasionally.

Now look at CA. Damn near impossible to get a permit. But the two biggest gun control advocates from CA (Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein) both have permits.

So do Rosie O'Donnel, Martha Stewart, and Oprah Winfrey. 3 VERY big gun control advocates. Their credo is "We can, but you can't". Rosie with gun scares me.