UPDATE
Tonight a gun-loving reader wrote a comment with this line, “Poor park ranger Margaret Anderson. I wonder what she did wrong to get shot? “
Needless to say the comment was not posted. To say I am appalled does not begin to define my reaction. The comment also included, “I like the guns. Guys in the know always load a tracer as the second round in. When you see the tracer leave the weapon then you know that you have only one more bullet left.”
There are some truly sick people in America.
By all accounts a very troubled person, Benjamin Colton Barnes, was involved in a custody dispute in Tacoma Washington. That happened in July 2011. At the time the toddler’s mother sought a temporary restraining order against him. She wrote that Barnes was suicidal and possibly suffered from PTSD after deploying to Iraq in 2007-2008. She said he was easily irritated, angry and depressed and kept an arsenal of weapons in his home.
With a totally unreasonable interpretation of the Second Amendment, along with the stranglehold that the NRA has on legislative bodies, there is no way to seemingly stop the madness that is contained in this photo of Barnes.
Is this really what you want to have happen in America? Are you proud to see this photo? This photo below is America’s t gun policy!
Barnes is considered the reason for the the fatal New Year’s Day shooting of park ranger Margaret Anderson at Washington’s Mount Rainier National Park, along with a shooting Sunday in the Seattle suburb of Skyway that left four people wounded.
Common sense tells us all what needs to be done in relation to guns and society. In 2012 will we heed that inner voice and demand our elected representatives pay more attention to the people than the monied-interests of the NRA?
CAFFEINATED POLITICS 
Purplepenquin,
Thanks for asking. Here is a fast response.
I think we need to again have an assault weapon ban. It should never have been allowed to expire. There should be limitations on the number of weapons able to be bought by an individual over a lifetime, along with a limit of weapons able to bought in (a time-frame). I also think the number of bullets able to be purchased need to be limited as well. In addition, I strongly support the Ammunition Coding System. I also think firearms need to be registered just like we do cars and motorcycles. Severely tighten gun show sales.
I was very much in favor of the idea advanced by many big city mayors over time to reduce the number of guns that can be manufactured.
I would model my last point in the same way that medical drugs are manufactured in this country. While the Food and Drug Administration monitors the safety and supply of the drugs, it is the DEA the mandates manufacturing quotas to insure supplies are controlled and drugs not abused.
A 15 year old young lady was killed when on her way home from a xmas party at nite when a guy in town discharged his shotgun for no reason. People suggest now that he should need to attend safety classes? A bit backwards if you ask? Shouldn’t preventative measures occur before these things happen?
Yes its sad what happened but the real issue is the government! people should always have there gun rights! The man had a issue when he came back from seeing war, and the VA really didn’t address this situation and take care of the problem they started to this young man.. the man was unstable as we all know. look beyond the gun issues people say we have, The problem were having and we will continue to have is more young people will be coming home to america witch will have the same issues as Benjamin Barnes. I know it was his choice and if he didn’t have a gun do you think things would be different, the man was on a mission he is dangerous either way. After all he was trained to kill by THE GOVERNMENT. I could be wrong by this statement, but that’s what i believe im for my gun rights and of course people will die but as this world gets insane day by day, people NEED TO PROTECT THEM SELVES criminals will always have guns so i believe the people who are trying to live life honestly should have them as well. so everyone who reads this can say what they want about the so called gun issue in america but be open minded as well both sides have pros and cons but in the long run u will have to choose what side your on for or agents.. Its horrible what happened to the park ranger and my heart is broken for her and her family and she will always be remembered!!! feel free to comment on what i have written thanks DOM S
“…our gun policy is what enabled this obviously troubled and violent individual to own multiple automatic weapons, one of which he just used to murder someone.”
Always amuses me when people use terminology without understanding. Such as Sheldon’s statement here. No automatic weapon was used nor is there any proof that such were owned. Please educate yourself on the NFA and current laws dealing with automatic weapons especially since I doubt a young Marine could come close to affording one, let alone multiple, legally registered weapons like those.
The people that are afraid of guns are the ones that do not have any experience with them. To them I say go to the local firing range and learn about them and the people that own them. Saying that we should limit gun rights because one wacko went on a killing spree is like saying we should ban automobiles when some drunk a hole kills an innocent motorist. And honestly, cars kill more people every year than guns do. I’m not sure of the statistics but I think there are probably more guns in this country than cars. LET’S BAN AUTOMOBILES!!! Especially the automatic ones.. lol
Brian,
That is the best you could offer for a comment?
As you must know your comment is a totally irrelevant argument as cars have many uses, commercial, pleasure, work, etc. and guns basically have one purpose and that is to kill or threaten to kill.
Ummm….try that again. Guns do, like many tools, serve more than one purpose. Does a gun built for high level target competition fit such a narrow definition as you have given? Obviously not. Vast majority serve out their entire useful existence without killing anything or do more than put holes in paper or collect dust as part of a collection.
James,
Let me be the first to tell you then that our nation pays one hell of a price for you guys to shoot at paper targets. In the real world I live in there are far too many bills due to gun violence such as those that come from the emergency rooms and then from the morgue. Funerals are costly. There are also too many without insurance in this nation, so if there is any good news it is that those who find it useful to shoot at paper also in many cases get to pay for the uninsured that are shot through higher insurnace costs.
Let me be the first to remind you that you are horribly confused in somehow inferring that target shooting somehow correlates in any way, shape, or form into criminal gun use. That is an outrageous, spurious, and completely unfounded claim. That also puts you on the fringe of the very gun-control groups you cite. Yes, you should explain to the US Olympic biathlon team that they are partially responsible for gun crimes committed in this country and they should quit their pursuit of competition. Thoroughly disgusting.
James,
Never once did I state that target shooting somehow correlates to crime in my comment. What anyone reading my comment would conclude is that we pay a high price in this nation if we are only protecting the paper shooters from having tougher gun laws.
Let me reprint my comment for you to read slowly this time. Take your hand off your penis and try to concentrate this time.
Let me be the first to tell you then that our nation pays one hell of a price for you guys to shoot at paper targets. In the real world I live in there are far too many bills due to gun violence such as those that come from the emergency rooms and then from the morgue. Funerals are costly. There are also too many without insurance in this nation, so if there is any good news it is that those who find it useful to shoot at paper also in many cases get to pay for the uninsured that are shot through higher insurance costs.