"The only way to keep people safe is to allow people better access to their constitutional right of self defense. Gun Free Zones and lockdowns clearly don't help protect kids. Connecticut Banned assault weapons, btw." my response to Facebook comment by Edward H.:·

I know all about Conn's ban, and if assault weapons make us safer, we should be the safest country in the world, but we're not. I'm a gun owner, Edward. No one is coming for your commonly used guns (normal handguns and rifles). No one will take your M4 if you currently own one. You simply will not be allowed to purchase any more new. As gun owners, we have a DUTY to be part of the solution to prevent tragedies. It is not enough to fear-monger about 2nd Amendment rights; as gun owners, it is our duty to regulate and be safe. Law enforcement does this, the military does this, and even public gun ranges control access and shooting privileges. As should we.

Also, Edward, The right to bear arms is protected by the Second Amendment, but it is not absolute and lawmakers have introduced a series of common-sense restrictions. For instance, in the Heller case, the Supreme Court found that while a handgun ban is not constitutional, because handguns are in “common use,” a machine gun is not and therefore could be restricted. An assault weapon equipped with a clip that can shoot hundreds of rounds would likely fall into the same category. As conservative Justice Antonin Scalia wrote, “the Second Amendment does not protect those weapons not typically possessed by law-abiding citizens for lawful purposes, such as short-barreled shotguns.”

 Also, as a gun owner, let’s put the cards on the table... not one of us keeps an assault weapon on the living room wall, or in our car, for that matter, loaded, let alone readily accessible. Many folks keep all firearms locked up or in a place that it would not be readily accessible if someone broke into our homes, So to say that we need assault weapons in our homes is pure... balderdash.

 Edward, the items that the White House is focusing on in NO WAY diminish our 2nd Amendment rights to defend ourselves:

• Require background checks for all gun sales
• Strengthen the background check system for gun sales
• Pass a new, stronger ban on assault weapons
• Limit ammunition magazines to 10 rounds
• Finish the job of getting armor-piercing bullets off the streets
• Give law enforcement additional tools to prevent and prosecute gun crime
• End the freeze on gun violence research
• Make our schools safer with new resource officers and counselors, better emergency response plans, and more nurturing school climates
• Ensure quality coverage of mental health treatment, particularly for young people

It's irrational to demand insane requirements to vote but not to buy firearms. It's also irrational when you realize that you must register AND insure your car to be able to drive it (and, on that note, since we've all registered our cars, the gov't has NOT come to take them away, despite traffic deaths and drunk drivers) but there are no such requirements for firearms. You can't privately buy a tank or a 50 Cal, and so have no need to buy other battlefield small arms. Like I said, the "need- the-assault-weapon-for-protection" argument doesn't hold water since NO ONE uses assault weapons for self defense. Those of us who have them, keep them locked in a secure cabinet, out of reach. Most NORMAL people use hand guns to carry for self defense. Most NORMAL people don't even keep rifles on the living room wall anymore-we keep them locked away, not quickly accessible for self defense. That's the cards-on-the-table fact.


here is more of the later conversation, with his points in small print and my responses in capital letters:

Ok Edward, here goes:

• Require background checks for all gun sales (this would require a national gun registry which would make future confiscation very easy-THERE ARE MILLIONS OF WEAPONS IN THIS COUNTRY THAT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE TO TAKE-NO ONE HAS TAKEN CARS WHICH KILL MILLIONS EACH YEAR-NO ONE WILL TAKE YOUR GUNS)
• Strengthen the background check system for gun sales (crazy people and criminals hsoulnd't get guns-HOW WILL YOU, AS A GUN SALESMAN, DETERMINE WHO IS SANE? IT'S NOT ALWAYS PHYSICALLY OBVIOUS)
• Pass a new, stronger ban on assault weapons (these are ineffective and all about cosmetic features, meaningless and wouldn't have stopped any of the recent mass shootings-YOU'RE RIGHT, THAT THE PAST BAN WAS PRIMARILY BASED ON COSMETIC FEATURES AND THAT NEEDS TO BE ADDRESSED IN A FUTURE BAN-BASE IT ON FUNCTIONALITY)
• Limit ammunition magazines to 10 rounds (Police and law enforecement believe they need more than 10 rounds to defend against criminals, I agree.-DITTO)
• Finish the job of getting armor-piercing bullets off the streets (zero deaths have resulted from armor peircing bullets, they are largely unavailabe and use mainly for hunting large game. AP rounds in handguns are already illegal-I'M PERSONALLY LESS CONCERNED WITH THIS ONE-DRUG CARTELS OR GANGS??)
• Give law enforcement additional tools to prevent and prosecute gun crime (huh? they don't even enforce the laws on the books look at David Gregory-THERE ARE LAWS THAT NEED TO BE ENFORCED, BUT THERE ARE ALSO LAWS THAT NEED TO BE REVISED OR ELIMINATED AND REWRITTEN)
• End the freeze on gun violence research (this would be great as long they actually look at how the counties with the lowest murder rates and lowest violence all have the highest levels of firearms ownership-AGREED-THERE'S A GOOD BOOK BY JOHN LOTT CALLED THE BIAS AGAINST GUNS AND HE HAS GOOD DATA AND POINTS)
• Make our schools safer with new resource officers and counselors, better emergency response plans, and more nurturing school climates (this still doesn't allow teachers to defend themselves or their students but thsi is fine.NO GUNS IN CLASSROOMS-YOU WANT TEACHERS SHOOTING OUR KIDS? GOOGLE ANDREW PHILIP KEHOE, WHO WAS A SCHOOL BOARD TREASURER IN 1927-HE IS KNOWN AS ONE OF THE FIRST MASS SCHOOL MURDERERS FOR KILLING HIS WIFE, 43 STUDENTS, AND TEACHERS.  THEN THERE'S THE DUMB@$$ IN MICHIGAN WHO LEFT HIS GUN IN A STUDENT RESTROOM RECENTLY http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/01/18/16590086-school-security-guard-in-michigan-leaves-gun-in-bathroom-officials-say?lite  -PUT AN OFFICER AT THE DOOR, BUT NO GUNS IN CLASS ROOMS)
• Ensure quality coverage of mental health treatment, particularly for young people (this may actually be effective and is a great idea.-)-WE CAN'T JUST CALL EVERYTHING A MENTAL HEALTH ISSUE. LETS DISCUSS HATE GROUPS-THE GUY WHO SHOT INNOCENT PEOPLE AT THE SIKH GURDWARA (TEMPLE) IN WI. SHOULD WE DENY FIRE ARMS TO ALL WHO ARE MEMBERS OF FAITH/RACE-BASED HATE GROUPS WHO ARE KNOWN TO BE AGGRESSIVE HISTORICALLY? I DON'T HEAR ANYONE SCREAMING FOR BANS ON WEAPONS TO KKK MEMBERS OR OTHER WHITE SUPREMACIST GROUP MEMBERS WHO "COULD" BEHAVE IN SUCH A DEATHLY WAY.  THE GUY WHO SHOT GABBY GIFFORDS AND 18 OTHERS-POLITICALLY MOTIVATED? HE IS BELIEVED TO BE INCOMPETENT, BUT SPECULATED TO DISLIKE ALL POLITICIANS REGARDLESS OF THEIR AFFILIATION. 
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battlefield small arms are illegal. Police and law enforcement believe that A semi-automatic carbine with a 30 round magazine and a Semi-automatic handgun with 15+ rounds are the best tools we have to defend and protect us from criminals, I agree with the Police and I have a right to have the same tools to protect me and my family since the supreme court has ruled that police have ZERO duty to protect us. NOT ALL LAW ENFORCEMENT THINKS THAT-MANY LAW ENFORCEMENT IN CITIES ARE OUTNUMBERED -LOOK AT BALTIMORE AND CHICAGO-AND WANT CERTAIN ARMS TO BECOME BANNED. IN ADDITION, RET GENERAL MCCHRISTAL HAS EVEN STATED THAT ASSAULT STYLE WEAPONS ARE DESIGNED FOR THE BATTLEFIELD. HE CAN ATTEST TO THE DAMAGE THEY DO. I STILL DON'T BUY THE "WE-NEED-THEM-FOR-SELF-DEFENSE" ARGUMENT BECAUSE NO ONE IN THIS COUNTRY IS DEFENDING THEMSELVES WITH AN AR-15.
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Citizens should have access to the same tools CIVILIAN Law enforcement does (I DISAGREE). You are not for gun control you are for only police having scary looking guns. If these things are so bad and no one other than the military needs them then take them from the Police too. (I DISAGREE WITH THIS TOO-WE'LL AGREE TO DISAGREE)
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You don't get to decide for me what is necessary to defend MY family and property. Everyone is different, everyone's needs are different, also the AR-15 IS A hunting rifle and is actually a fairly low powered rifle. It is the most popular hunting rifle in the country. You arguments are based on emotion and ignore fact. Handguns kill more than any rifle, shotguns kill more than any rifle and all the places with the most gun control and the LEAST guns in this country have the highest murder rates  I AM NOT THE ONE DECIDING WHAT YOU CAN USE FOR DEFENSE. I'M TELLING YOU, AND I AM ALSO A GUN OWNER, THAT THIS DEFENSE ARGUMENT DOESN'T HOLD WATER.  I'D BET HUGE THAT ANYTHING BIGGER THAN A HANDGUN IN YOUR HOME IS LOCKED UP AND THEREFORE NOT ACCESSIBLE QUICKLY IF SOMEONE BREAKS IN. AND IF YOU CLAIM YOU NEED IT IN CASE THE GOV'T DOES SOMETHING.... YOUR AR15 IS NOTHING AGAINST THE LARGER WEAPONS AT THE GOV'T'S DISPOSAL.  I PERSONALLY LIKE THE AR15-IT'S A LOT OF FUN TO SHOOT. BUT I DON'T FEEL I NEED TO HAVE IT IF IT WILL MAKE OTHERS SAFER. I'M NOT THE ONE WHO'S EMOTIONAL ON THIS-IT IS YOU WHO ARE EMOTIONAL ABOUT THE POSSIBILITY OF NOT BEING ABLE TO BUY MORE ASSAULT WEAPONS. AS FAR AS HANDGUN DEATHS, THAT'S REALLY A DIFFERENT DISCUSSION, AND I'M THE FIRST PERSON TO PROMOTE THE DATA ON DEFENSIVE HAND GUN USE, WHICH IS OFTEN OVERLOOKED OR IGNORED BY THOSE WHO WANT TO DO AWAY WITH ALL GUNS. I HAVE READ THE ASSAULT WEAPONS BANS (VERY BORING READING, ACTUALLY) AND READ JOHN LOTT AND OTHER (BOOK-THE BIAS AGAINST GUNS) BECAUSE I'M TRYING TO FIND THE COMMON GROUND-WHICH IS THAT NEITHER YOU NOR I WANT INNOCENT PEOPLE TO BE HURT OR KILLED. THAT'S THE FOUNDATION. FROM THE FOUNDATION, WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE? AS GUN OWNERS, YOU AND I BOTH HAVE A DUTY TO MAKE SOCIETY SAFER.

 Renee's rant after this guy's continual ignorance:

" never mind this one, Lionel-he's so stuck on his guns that he can't see past the blinders on his face. he is absolutely inflexible and tyrannical and the conspiracy theorist whose conspiracies have never, and will never come to fruition. All he cares about is his guns-nothing more. Most gun-freaks are this way. Even my own husband has gone overboard, freaking out that "OMG! I might not be able to buy assault rifles any more-never mind that we have our own armory here-it's not good enough. It's become so ingrained in our culture to oppose any regulation, despite the fact that nearly every other area of our lives are regulated in some way, that the mere possibility of regulation sends guns freaks over the edge, into a spiral, unable to see anything but what they believe to be their rights. It doesn't matter how many Gabriella Giffords are shot, how many Sikh gurdwara's or Jewish temples are shot up, or how many classes full of kids are shot, either at a K-12 school or a college or a theatre or anywhere.. All that matters to these gun freaks is their PERCEIVED rights-no one else's right to a safe life trumps their right to the extreme toys. They are the most inflexible and inconsiderate people in our country. I'm a gun owner and I'm willing to be flexible, knowing that the MAJORITY of guns types will still be available to most law abiding citizens. His view is very rigid and trumps any ones else's right to safety."