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hunter

(38,264 posts)
19. I'm not blaming them. I'm absolutely blaming U.S.A. gun culture.
Thu Feb 15, 2018, 09:33 PM
Feb 2018

There's nothing normal about guns.

I don't even trust most cops to carry guns.

This nation would be a better place if 99% of the guns were destroyed.

We need to take gun culture head on, just as we did with drunk driving and smoking. It's a serious public health issue.

It ought to be damned near impossible for any unstable or careless person to obtain a gun, and alarm bells ought to go off if anyone wants a gun for anything other than utilitarian purposes.

No, I do not think a day at the shooting range is a healthy hobby. No, I do not think guns are useful tools for "self defense."

Screw the second amendment. It has no place in the 21st century, just as Constitutionally sanctioned slavery had no place in the 19th, or excluding women from voting had in the 20th.

Yeah why would anyone blame this couple who gave him a roof for a few weeks. Eliot Rosewater Feb 2018 #1
I'm not blaming them but i still have a problem with the gun JI7 Feb 2018 #2
What if he had gotten rid of it? He could have gotten another, pnwmom Feb 2018 #3
I wouldn't let my own kids or any other family or friends bring it either JI7 Feb 2018 #4
Right. But so what? They could bring a weapon into the house and unless you were pnwmom Feb 2018 #8
But they did know JI7 Feb 2018 #9
As I said, they could have made him get rid of it. But he could have simply brought it or another pnwmom Feb 2018 #11
That's what republicans say to oppose gun control JI7 Feb 2018 #13
Didn't they require it be Control-Z Feb 2018 #33
and he had the key JI7 Feb 2018 #48
Was not aware of that. Control-Z Feb 2018 #93
It was in a lock box in his room, and he had the key. LisaL Feb 2018 #89
I guess that would defeat its purpose. eom Control-Z Feb 2018 #92
The thing about getting somebody's trust, is you have to trust them first mythology Feb 2018 #42
Same argument the GOP made today about gun control- cant be done. bettyellen Feb 2018 #31
I would not allow a weapon like that to reside in my house. Chemisse Feb 2018 #108
I dont blame them, if he was not be able to obtain weapon he would not kill so many kids AlexSFCA Feb 2018 #5
Thank you for posting this. So many here are so clueless. n.t USALiberal Feb 2018 #6
In my house, weapons are not allowed period. Tatiana Feb 2018 #7
Searching an adult's room is an invasion of privacy. If I had done that to the teen we took in, pnwmom Feb 2018 #10
You don't have to search, but you can take a stand and say you don't allow it JI7 Feb 2018 #14
So we parent differently, and that's OK. Tatiana Feb 2018 #16
Who says anything about room searching? LisaL Feb 2018 #61
Some were saying they wouldn't have allowed a gun into the house. But how would they know, pnwmom Feb 2018 #65
Keeping the gun locked up with him having the key makes about as much sense LisaL Feb 2018 #67
If the parents had kicked him out, how would that have made the school safer? pnwmom Feb 2018 #69
What does searching have to do with it? LisaL Feb 2018 #73
I let someone move in without knowing much about her at all. pnwmom Feb 2018 #79
You inspect your adult daughter's room? SomethingNew Feb 2018 #44
I agree. I can't imagine doing that to my college students. n/t pnwmom Feb 2018 #102
Agree 100%! Never stop being kind pnwmom! JoeOtterbein Feb 2018 #12
They probably saw the help of getting him into GED classes and a new job as progress. Thier own lunasun Feb 2018 #15
If people are blaming the family, then I take exception to that. robbob Feb 2018 #17
I agree. They were no doubt influenced by the gun culture in Florida. pnwmom Feb 2018 #18
Here's a whole vile thread of parent blaming Ms. Toad Feb 2018 #56
I'm not blaming them. I'm absolutely blaming U.S.A. gun culture. hunter Feb 2018 #19
I agree. The whole culture, and the government that supports it, is to blame. n/t pnwmom Feb 2018 #20
I fell for it yesterday and blamed the "dad" ProudLib72 Feb 2018 #21
Well said, and well done. Thanks for being a voice of reason. K&R n/t ms liberty Feb 2018 #22
You did a great thing pnwmom. panader0 Feb 2018 #23
pander0, thank you! n/t pnwmom Feb 2018 #25
K&R... spanone Feb 2018 #24
We look at others and see what Phoenix61 Feb 2018 #26
That's exactly it. It makes us feel safer to think we'd never do anything that we believe, pnwmom Feb 2018 #28
Perhaps it will be unpopular, but I think the "father" is culpable. rainin Feb 2018 #27
How would the father know that another gun hadn't been brought in later? pnwmom Feb 2018 #29
As you said above- ignore you have suspicions, you can search. And a total stranger brings a gun? bettyellen Feb 2018 #32
Well, we've already established that you are perfect. n/t pnwmom Feb 2018 #34
In this case Im a fuck ton better than anyone who shrugged over the guns and knives, yes I am. bettyellen Feb 2018 #50
exactly JI7 Feb 2018 #52
What makes you think that if the friend's father had banned this teen and his gun from the house pnwmom Feb 2018 #75
Well, I guess we have no choice but to allow armed teenagers to move into our houses. LisaL Feb 2018 #81
Of course we have that choice and it might usually be the right choice. However, we are deluding pnwmom Feb 2018 #84
I think the point being overlooked here... leftstreet Feb 2018 #90
Yes -- I think that could have been the friend's parents' hope. It just didn't work out that way, pnwmom Feb 2018 #91
Bullshit. They were okay with the gun locked away if they insist on calling it that. bettyellen Feb 2018 #96
And if the kid preferred to leave than get rid of his gun, then what? He would have been pnwmom Feb 2018 #98
Theyd bear no responsibility for his ability to use the gun. bettyellen Feb 2018 #100
They don't, except in the same way all of us do -- as a part of a sick society with pnwmom Feb 2018 #101
Nope. They harbored a sick kid with an AK-15. Well meaning people do stupid things all the time. bettyellen Feb 2018 #104
Pushing a kid out into the street with an assault rifle would have been just as risky. pnwmom Feb 2018 #106
Nope- the kid had a roof over his head- one his mother trusted. bettyellen Feb 2018 #110
The roof over his head didn't make the school shooting any more likely. If he had gotten kicked out, pnwmom Feb 2018 #111
He wasnt getting kicked out, he preferred to live elsewhere. Spare me the guilt bullshit. bettyellen Feb 2018 #112
LOL. Talk about permissive parenting! bettyellen Feb 2018 #97
Like I said, I would have taken the gun and kicked him out without it if he insisted on keeping it. bettyellen Feb 2018 #95
The story the young man was permitted to keep the one he had. rainin Feb 2018 #37
Hindsight is always 20/20. The father did his best. Meanwhile, we have members of the GOP pnwmom Feb 2018 #41
There isn't a point except as a response to the OP. rainin Feb 2018 #47
What if he hadn't allowed the teen in? How do you know the teen wouldn't have shot up the school pnwmom Feb 2018 #49
If every parent had a no gun policy, hed be on the streets and the radar of police and social bettyellen Feb 2018 #51
you don't know that but you don't give in to their gun obsession . you want a fucking place to stay JI7 Feb 2018 #53
And so he leaves and shoots up the school the next day. How do you know that wouldn't happen? pnwmom Feb 2018 #87
we don't know. but coddling his gun obsession sure didn't help JI7 Feb 2018 #88
His father died in 2005. herding cats Feb 2018 #43
I agree with you trixie2 Feb 2018 #57
Why do you think if they kicked him out then anyone would have been any safer (except they pnwmom Feb 2018 #59
While we can speculate about what he could or couldn't have done, we know what he actually did do. LisaL Feb 2018 #66
Thanks, PNWMom. JohnnyLib2 Feb 2018 #30
Thank you for this very good post. mountain grammy Feb 2018 #35
And thanks for what you yourself did. pnwmom Feb 2018 #39
Lots of people (esp on DU) love being morally superior... MicaelS Feb 2018 #36
Much respect to you pnwmom. n/t Calista241 Feb 2018 #38
Thank you, Calista241! n/t pnwmom Feb 2018 #40
Thank you for your OP GaryCnf Feb 2018 #45
We suddenly found ourselves in a situation with no rulebook -- just feeling our way. pnwmom Feb 2018 #46
It's a wonderful story GaryCnf Feb 2018 #54
Thank you for your kind words. pnwmom Feb 2018 #58
Thank you underpants Feb 2018 #55
Did they homeless teen you took in have AR-15? LisaL Feb 2018 #60
No, but I wouldn't have known it. I wasn't searching her room for contraband. pnwmom Feb 2018 #63
Is that what happened here? I don't think so. LisaL Feb 2018 #64
What difference does that make? People are saying that the parents shouldn't have allowed him pnwmom Feb 2018 #68
Again, we can speculate all day long about what he could or couldn't have done. LisaL Feb 2018 #70
Hindsight is always 20/20.But these parents didn't have the advantage of it when they were deciding. pnwmom Feb 2018 #71
Why did they let him in to begin with? LisaL Feb 2018 #72
Their son asked if he could move in with them. I haven't seen it reported anywhere pnwmom Feb 2018 #74
They knew he had the gun. LisaL Feb 2018 #77
They knew he had the gun. So? He still would have had the gun if they banned him from the house. pnwmom Feb 2018 #80
Again, you are welcome to allow armed troubled teenagers into your house. LisaL Feb 2018 #83
I am not arguing that. I am saying that it is basically IRRELEVANT. That teen was a threat pnwmom Feb 2018 #85
They helped him earn money and live rent free so he could buy more guns. bettyellen Feb 2018 #114
He didn't buy more guns. He had the same gun he'd have left the house with pnwmom Feb 2018 #116
Since you were talking hypotheticals, I thought I would too. bettyellen Feb 2018 #118
Hed not been forced to roam the streets. He preferred to find other accommodations. bettyellen Feb 2018 #113
If the parents had kicked him out, he would have been out on the streets with his loaded backpack. pnwmom Feb 2018 #115
He was in the home of his moms friend and he wanted to leave. Not a night in the streets. bettyellen Feb 2018 #117
THEse issues are complicated BannonsLiver Feb 2018 #62
Three times I have taken in young people. One 14-year-old when she became too tblue37 Feb 2018 #76
Were they armed? LisaL Feb 2018 #78
No, but two of them were potentially trouble. nt tblue37 Feb 2018 #82
Thank you, tblue37. I'm glad you could be there for them. n/t pnwmom Feb 2018 #86
I remember going to see the Dalai Lama when he came to Seattle. I still have a t-shirt from that suffragette Feb 2018 #94
This means a lot to me, suffragette. pnwmom Feb 2018 #99
Thank you for being there for your daughter's friend. And for being persistent about the issue suffragette Feb 2018 #103
I don't see a need to blame them janterry Feb 2018 #105
We don't have guns in our home either. But I don't think this town would have been any safer pnwmom Feb 2018 #107
I'm very soft hearted and would have taken him in too but still feel there's no reason for anyone to blueinredohio Feb 2018 #109
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