This, to me, is sickening:
From HP:
More than 1,000 people attended a hearing before the Gun Violence Prevention Working Group at the Legislative Office Building in Hartford on Monday to share their views on gun control, USA Today reported. Among them was Heslin, who held a large framed picture of himself and his son Jesse as he urged officials to consider strengthening gun laws in Connecticut.
But as he gave his emotional testimony, pleading with lawmakers to improve mental health options and to ban assault weapons like the one Adam Lanza used to murder his child and 25 other people, his speech was interrupted by dozens of audience members, The Connecticut Post reported.
“I still can't see why any civilian, anybody in this room in fact, needs weapons of that sort. You're not going to use them for hunting, even for home protection," Heslin said.
Pro-gun activists responded by calling out: "Second Amendment!"
Undeterred, Heslin continued. "There are a lot of things that should be changed to prevent what happened."
It's pretty clear that many of those on the side of lax gun control in this country also have no respect at all for victims of violence. Why? Gun violence, which is rampant in this country, threatens the only thing these people hold of value: their "first amendment" rights.
Sorry. First amendment rights don't mean you can act like an asshole.
My post the other day appeared to bring the same sort of callous, indifferent, and sometimes angry response from gun owners. Here's one's comment in the face of dealing with the Newtown massacre and being told, by me, that his defense of the NRA is selfish and self-centered:
"My RIGHTS are at issue here and you're calling me "selfish"? You're the one seeking to take something from me when I did NOTHING wrong. Of course I'm defensive!"...
..."Your ignorant, emotionally derived notion of what is "reasonable" and "common sense" is nothing of the sort and will not only be ineffective in solving the problems you're seeking to tackle, they'll also create far more problems than they solve. You;d set up a prohibition regime that would criminalize ordinary citizens, waste huge amounts of resources, and empower and enrich a black market that would be a nightmare. if you think the War on Drugs has been a debacle, just wait. A War on Guns will make it look like a walk in the park.
Don't say you weren't warned."
There are many of you out there, (even some on this site), that seem to believe those who suffered at Newtown are somehow the enemy of your freedoms. That parents who have a helluva good reason to fight for something in this country that most civilized people in many other countries (including Britain) already support deserve to be shouted down and ridiculed for not believing a gun with a 30 round chamber should be available to everyone.
You people should be ashamed of yourselves but that will never happen. Here's hoping that our government shuts down your ability to have any more than a rifle for hunting and a pistol to protect your house.
And, by the way, if you hold the insane belief that our government is "out to get you" you're even less qualified to have a firearm in your possession. For those of you like that, I hope the government DOES come in and take it away from you.
I see first-hand every day how this event has affected people I know. Your second amendment rights do not replace the safety of the rest of us. Your callousness will be your undoing. Or, as one commenter on the New York Times article on First Responders to Newtown states (in reference to the real heroes, all, on that day):
To all of those hoarding weapons and secretly hoping for the day you can defend "your rights" on your suburban lawn, allow me to introduce you to the meaning of courage.