Student on Shooting: 'I don't want something like this to ever happen again'

AMEN!! SGT Gregory Lawritson

Patricia Overmeyer - The point is that it is only when a firearm is used that politicians start calling for tighter controls. Everyone gets worked up into a froth, and nothing changes. The change has to come at the human level. People need to be able to see people as more than an obstacle. You and I disagree on the gun control issue, that is obvious, but I think we agree that a change is needed to prevent these tragedies from happening. It is a matter of how we get there. I have a very pessimistic view on it. I don't think we can get there. I think the young man in the video is right, we have normalized this kind of violence. It is a cycle. Violent act, outrage, acceptance, complacency, repeat. I firmly believe that there are wicked people in the world who will cause harm to others because they can. How do you stop those people from acting? In this case, the shooter posted on social media that he wanted to attack the school. He was expelled with disciplinary issues. There were red flags. Yet there was no intervention. Now seventeen people are dead. That cannot be changed.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43070359

Patricia Overmeyer—You may want to revisit/review the ‘18 School Shootings in 2018’ narrative. Even the Washington Post doesn’t buy it

https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/no-there-havent-been-18-school-shooting-in-2018-that-number-is-flat-wrong/2018/02/15/65b6cf72-1264-11e8-8ea1-c1d91fcec3fe_story.html

Thank you Major. But I still think that you need to include several of these incidents which others are saying shouldn't be included. A gun on a school campus for any reason should be completely unacceptable. The fact that a police officer's gun was fired on campus by a child still equates to a school shooting. Granted, it didn't result in any injuries, but why shouldn't it be considered a school shooting? The fact that a young person brought a gun onto a school campus and committed suicide in the bathroom still equates to a school shooting. Granted, it only resulted in one person dying and he really wasn't a bad person, just a kid with depression. So only because it wasn't a "bad person" who brought a gun onto the campus and no injuries were reported then it shouldn't be considered a school shooting?
How are we really tracking gun violence, whether on school campuses or elsewhere? Paul Ryan says he wants gun violence data but has voted to ensure the CDC can't collect gun violence data. He inserted a section into the ACA which forbids medical doctors from discussing gun issues with their patients (i.e. do you have weapons in your home and do you have child locks on them) and he voted to reduce mental health insurance coverage. The President says we have to address the mental health issue involved with guns, but then decides to terminate an executive order which regulated the ability of people with mental health issues from obtaining a gun. We can't even give the victim's families the decency of an up or down vote of whether there should be more vigorous background checks, or to stop gun shows sellers from not having to conduct background checks. All we can do is say "my thoughts and prayers", wait for the news cycle to move on to something else, and forget about it until the next major shooting. It makes no sense.

Patricia Overmeyer - "A gun a school campus for any reason should be Unacceptable" is beautiful rhetoric, and in a perfect world it would be true. We don't live in a perfect world. We live in the real world where wicked people do bad things to innocent people. That is the exact reason that responsible gun owners should be carrying their firearms. The reality is nothing is going to stop violence from happening. It can be mitigated, but it cannot be stopped.
"he voted to reduce mental health insurance coverage. The President says we have to address the mental health issue involved with guns, but then decides to terminate an executive order which regulated the ability of people with mental health issues from obtaining a gun." This i totally agree with you on. Until mental health is treated as seriously as physical health, there will not be a reduction in these incidents. Mental health is a serious issue, not a punch line, but all too often it is treated as the punch line.
A child accidentally discharging a holstered firearm I would agree is a school shooting, but I would not call it gun violence. There was no violent act. There was a curious child who pulled the trigger. In that instance I want to know why the office wasn't paying attention. He is responsible for that weapon. He is also responsible for it not being discharged by a third grader. I have had firearms in my house with young children around. I carried a pistol when I was working security. I unloaded it outside, put a lock on it, and stored it where the kids could not reach it, in a room they knew not to go into. When it was on my person I was always aware of when someone was within arm's reach. It is not just about gun safety, it is personal safety. The point here is that some of these issues could have been prevented with a little common sense and good safety practices