To go a bit deeper into one aspect of the responses to the Connecticut mass murder yesterday: When something like this happens, the very first thing most people ask is usually “Why?” – and that’s the wrong question.
Why is irrelevant. It’s only useful in retrospect. There’s a different “why” for each one of these grotesque incidents, and there’s no way we can ever hope to anticipate every last one of them.
What we can do, the one thing that can make a real difference, is to change the easy access to the another aspect of such things, the how.
There are simply too damn many guns out there, and too many people who think that it’s the single most important part of life. Or they come up with some weak-sauce rationalization of defending themselves, or their property.
Unless you hunt to provide food, or you’re in law enforcement or the military, you have very little reason to own a firearm. If you feel you need to defend yourself badly enough to have to carry one on you regularly, maybe it’s time to ask yourself what you’re doing in such situations that often. Or look even deeper into yourself and see where so much fear is coming from.
If that guy’s mother had not LEGALLY purchased the three weapons he used, she and 20+ other people would be alive today. How safe does she feel right now?
Oh, that’s right. She can’t feel anything. She’s dead, killed with one of the guns she brought home.
Your first challenge, America, is to stop making it so easy for the deranged, and for the common criminal lowlife, to take the lives of others.
Everyone calls out for President Obama to call for more control measures. That’s fine, let’s see them get through Congress and pass a Supreme Court test when that bench has a “bend-over” majority for such right wing shibboleths as “Castle doctrines” and “Stand Your Ground” laws.
Was Trayvon Martin not also standing his ground when George Zimmerman murdered him? What’s the differential there?
Your second, harder challenge is to stop feeling that guns are the solution. If that’s your real worldview you have a problem.
That problem is fear.
Your fear of others. Your fear that you can’t quite cope with life without the ability to take someone else’s at a moment’s notice.
Grow up, America. It’s long past time.
Edited to add: I don’t owe you anything, least of all tolerating obnoxious commenters. Get inflammatory and you’ll get gone.
The Angriest Liberal 
All good points but unfortunately most of those on the Far Right live in that constant state of fear. Just take a look at how the FR bloggers, TV and radio push the FEAR. Fear is used to control others.
Want the violence to stop then push for meaningful legislation that would regulate and stop the constant FEAR MONGERING. The gun use is a symptom. The main disease is Multimedia fear mongering. Stop the fear mongering and the violence will steadily go down as people descend out of Fight or Flight mode. As the adrenaline rush goes down the ability to think will increase.