How do you know Nancy Lanza was mentally incompetent?
Helene Send a noteboard - 29/12/2012 07:06:40 AM
Everything I've read about her made her sound perfectly reasonable. A bit of a gun enthusiast, but nothing particularly wrong with her. She had a troubled son, but she was a happy and generous person with a good head on her shoulders.
Uhm... so it would be better if either Nancy or Adam had the gun? It's a simple question, would or wouldn't the situation have been better if there hadn't been guns in either their hands? I think the situation would have been better if there hadn't been guns. Apparently you disagree? To be sure, I'm just asking about this situation, it's not an analogy for total gun bans across the US.
That really annoys me, because 90% of America rejects BOTH views and always will, but the small radical fringe demanding each makes the others alarmism plausible when both SHOULD be dismissed as absurd. We cannot have effective reasonable gun control because absolutists on both sides dominate the conversation, even though virtually no one supports either.
First of all, I'm not in the US, so what I think has no impact. Second of all, where on earth do I say all guns should be banned? I'm just saying that where you apparently prefer a shoot out between mother and son, I think it would have been better if neither of them had guns.
Oh no, there's a Dutch person with an opinion, which turns gun rights radicals into unreasonable people! That's really a bizarre position to take. Especially because I haven't said that I think all guns should be banned.
is actually better, according to you, than a situation where neither of them have guns?
Why must it be all or nothing? Guns for all or guns for none?
Uhm... so it would be better if either Nancy or Adam had the gun? It's a simple question, would or wouldn't the situation have been better if there hadn't been guns in either their hands? I think the situation would have been better if there hadn't been guns. Apparently you disagree? To be sure, I'm just asking about this situation, it's not an analogy for total gun bans across the US.
That really annoys me, because 90% of America rejects BOTH views and always will, but the small radical fringe demanding each makes the others alarmism plausible when both SHOULD be dismissed as absurd. We cannot have effective reasonable gun control because absolutists on both sides dominate the conversation, even though virtually no one supports either.
First of all, I'm not in the US, so what I think has no impact. Second of all, where on earth do I say all guns should be banned? I'm just saying that where you apparently prefer a shoot out between mother and son, I think it would have been better if neither of them had guns.
Gun rights radicals insist all gun control=gun bans, and I cannot dismiss them by saying, "no one wants to ban all guns," because, look, here you are.
Oh no, there's a Dutch person with an opinion, which turns gun rights radicals into unreasonable people! That's really a bizarre position to take. Especially because I haven't said that I think all guns should be banned.
This message last edited by Helene on 29/12/2012 at 07:07:35 AM
When guns are a big national issue, how do reporters & pundits not know facts about them?
- 21/12/2012 05:33:14 PM
1695 Views
You don't hunt by walking into a classroom and shooting 20 deer
- 21/12/2012 05:56:16 PM
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You're actually not right on that one
- 21/12/2012 07:49:53 PM
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That wasn't the point I was making
- 21/12/2012 09:49:40 PM
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You should probably clarify it then
- 21/12/2012 10:47:26 PM
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His post was perfectly clear. Yours seemed like a response to an entirely different post.
- 21/12/2012 10:53:39 PM
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Explain that remark, it is not obvious to me *NM*
- 21/12/2012 11:00:10 PM
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I think
- 21/12/2012 11:13:34 PM
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Thats' easy, there is simply no such thing as a 'hunting rifle'
- 21/12/2012 11:17:41 PM
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I'd say the expert gunsmith
- 21/12/2012 11:28:02 PM
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I'm also an expert at math and physics, should I be more forgiving about those too?
- 22/12/2012 12:38:45 AM
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Re: I'm also an expert at math and physics, should I be more forgiving about those too?
- 22/12/2012 01:00:18 AM
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Well I appreciate your calling it pedantic when you aren't an expert, thanks for correcting me
- 22/12/2012 01:15:08 AM
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Re: Well I appreciate your calling it pedantic when you aren't an expert, thanks for correcting me
- 22/12/2012 09:35:38 AM
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I thought I was being perfectly clear.
- 21/12/2012 10:57:35 PM
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A bit of an aside, but I was reading that the gun used in the attack can be bought in Canada too.
- 21/12/2012 06:14:01 PM
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you're largely correct, which is why we need stronger laws on ownership not guns per se
- 21/12/2012 09:39:14 PM
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I can't think of a better reason than self defense
- 21/12/2012 10:33:26 PM
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He is right about Australia
- 21/12/2012 10:46:27 PM
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No kidding 
- 21/12/2012 10:59:28 PM
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- 21/12/2012 10:59:28 PM
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If you knew all that
- 21/12/2012 11:02:38 PM
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Because I used wiki of course
- 21/12/2012 11:21:25 PM
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He said ""self defense" is not a valid excuse to own a lethal weapon"
- 21/12/2012 11:34:59 PM
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Yes,which is un-cited, but I did prove it's a valid excuse to use one, so...
- 22/12/2012 12:36:19 AM
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The difference between allowing someone to defend themselves with a gun they have
- 22/12/2012 01:09:40 AM
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Which you apparently think they shouldn't be able to obtain? Catch-22 comes to mind.
- 22/12/2012 01:17:25 AM
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Re: Which you apparently think they shouldn't be able to obtain? Catch-22 comes to mind.
- 22/12/2012 09:51:51 AM
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A wood chipper isn't a gun, and evidence without proof isn't evidence
- 22/12/2012 06:10:34 PM
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If only you'd asked him for a citation rather than just saying you thought he was wrong eh? *NM*
- 23/12/2012 12:29:30 AM
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I think you are on the right track, but to the wrong destination; "lethal weapon" is redundant.
- 21/12/2012 11:05:29 PM
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My read is that the 2nd Amendment not only allows, but mandates, cop-killer bullets.
- 22/12/2012 12:45:04 AM
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Does the Second Amendment protect the rights of felons and the mentally incompetent to have guns?
- 22/12/2012 02:35:16 AM
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Court rulings have determined that your Constitutional Rights can be restricted for felony/insanity *NM*
- 23/12/2012 12:59:31 PM
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Activist judges should not make law. 
- 23/12/2012 02:04:42 PM
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- 23/12/2012 02:04:42 PM
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I agree, but the courts have already ruled that way so we are stuck. *NM*
- 26/12/2012 03:03:35 PM
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Then I guess we need the courts to rule gun owners need screening, training and licensing.
- 26/12/2012 03:46:05 PM
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No, if you want to restrict the 2nd (or any other amendment) amend the Constitution
- 26/12/2012 07:56:19 PM
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I do not want to restrict the Second Amendment, only enact the regulations it explictly allows.
- 26/12/2012 08:50:09 PM
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I disagree with your interpretation. The simple EXISTANCE of the BoR makes it binding on the states
- 27/12/2012 03:46:17 PM
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"Congress shall make no law..." restricts the STATES? How, exactly?
- 28/12/2012 03:03:19 PM
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The 2nd amendment does not mention Congress in any way. There is that reading issue again.
- 28/12/2012 10:02:41 PM
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You said, "the Bill of Rights," not "the Second Amendment."
- 28/12/2012 11:10:00 PM
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Copy-N-Paste, get over it. we are specifically discussing the 2nd amendment, not everything.
- 29/12/2012 02:24:30 PM
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Some semi-autos are easily modified for full auto fire, making the distinction one w/o a difference.
- 21/12/2012 10:53:59 PM
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Correction: virtually all semi-automatics are easily convertable
- 21/12/2012 11:23:35 PM
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I have seen nothing on turning a semi-auto BAR into a fully automatic one.
- 22/12/2012 01:11:12 AM
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What's a BAR? In any event, link a diagram and I'll let you know
- 22/12/2012 01:26:31 AM
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Confusingly, there are two: The BAR you and I think of, and the "Browning BAR," a current semi-auto
- 22/12/2012 01:07:30 PM
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Department of Redundancy Department gets to name a lot of stuff, like "Milky Way Galaxy"
- 22/12/2012 05:01:45 PM
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It only bothers me when people who know better speak of "the Glieseian solar system." 
- 26/12/2012 05:33:34 PM
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- 26/12/2012 05:33:34 PM
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Both terms are pretty stuck now
- 26/12/2012 10:48:38 PM
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You realize that encourages rather than discourages my opposition to the usage, right?
- 27/12/2012 01:23:15 AM
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- 27/12/2012 01:23:15 AM
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Well I can't say it surprises
- 27/12/2012 04:29:06 AM
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Yes the media is using terms incorrectly but the point still stands.
- 22/12/2012 03:02:18 AM
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Re: Yes the media is using terms incorrectly but the point still stands.
- 22/12/2012 04:12:30 AM
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Yes people can always still kill each other, humans are very ingenuitive
- 22/12/2012 04:42:04 AM
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I took a driving exam when I was 16, and have never been tested since, nor will I ever be.
- 23/12/2012 01:17:05 PM
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Never is a long time; just renewing a license requires retaking the eye exam most places.
- 23/12/2012 02:16:54 PM
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Rather hard to do an eye exam online or through the mail.
- 26/12/2012 03:08:06 PM
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Yes, it is, which is why I have always had to go by DPS for a new license.
- 26/12/2012 03:50:04 PM
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Tennessee and Florida pass them out like candy. For several years TN offered a no ID license
- 26/12/2012 08:02:39 PM
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I still find it odd they require no eye test, that either allows the blind drivers licenses.
- 26/12/2012 08:58:57 PM
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Oh yeah, we have wandered off course *shrug*
- 27/12/2012 03:55:55 PM
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Voter registration while getting a drivers license is distinct from the ease of licensing.
- 28/12/2012 03:35:34 PM
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Re: Voter registration while getting a drivers license is distinct from the ease of licensing.
- 28/12/2012 10:14:32 PM
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If you can prove someone voted illegally, call the ACLU and claim your $1000.
- 28/12/2012 11:18:38 PM
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puhleeze.... election fraud is a fact. Pick a state, ANY state, ANY election...
- 29/12/2012 02:41:40 PM
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Clip size is meaningless, semi-autos and even revolvers can be reloaded VERY quickly. *NM*
- 23/12/2012 01:20:59 PM
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1997 North Hollywood Shootout
- 22/12/2012 04:07:39 AM
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typical NRA bullshit response
- 22/12/2012 04:53:40 AM
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typical Moondog bullshit response
- 23/12/2012 01:06:12 PM
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of course! there is no connection between having a gun and shooting someone. got it 
- 23/12/2012 02:33:18 PM
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- 23/12/2012 02:33:18 PM
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There is no corelation between decidng to kill someone and what tool you use.
- 26/12/2012 03:11:08 PM
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By that logic no one needs a gun for self-defense; a coffee mug is perfectly adequate.
- 26/12/2012 09:06:51 PM
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I can kill you with my coffee mug... RESPECT THE MUG but I wouldn't, I might spill the coffee.
- 27/12/2012 04:08:52 PM
861 Views
So you are saying you do not need a gun then? I will keep mine anyway, thanks.
- 28/12/2012 04:19:03 PM
962 Views
- 28/12/2012 04:19:03 PM
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You covered a bunch of different things, and completely misrepresentted what I wrote
- 28/12/2012 10:28:24 PM
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Home made explosives are pretty much always illegal; I did not want to overlook legal ones.
- 28/12/2012 11:44:19 PM
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Re: Home made explosives are pretty much always illegal; I did not want to overlook legal ones.
- 29/12/2012 03:31:01 PM
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Laws against murder failed to prevent that, too; clearly they are ineffective and should be repealed
- 22/12/2012 06:02:24 AM
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Such laws were never intended for prevention, they define actions that will be punished. *NM*
- 23/12/2012 12:57:57 PM
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So do laws against getting a gun without screening, training and certification.
- 23/12/2012 02:01:32 PM
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Then CHANGE the Constitution, don't ignore it. *NM*
- 26/12/2012 03:12:11 PM
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I am not suggesting either changing or ignoring the Constitution.
- 26/12/2012 04:01:02 PM
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Yes you are.
- 26/12/2012 08:06:01 PM
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Learn logic, and stop needlessly trying to teach me grammar.
- 26/12/2012 08:55:25 PM
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Lear to read, and I won't have to
- 27/12/2012 04:28:59 PM
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Ironically, you misspelled "learn."
- 28/12/2012 05:15:17 PM
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- 28/12/2012 05:15:17 PM
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I know, I thought about going back and fixing the typo, but thought it was funny so I left it. 
*NM*
- 28/12/2012 10:34:06 PM
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*NM*
- 28/12/2012 10:34:06 PM
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2 commas or 4 makes no difference one is a 12D the other is a sentance.
- 28/12/2012 10:55:31 PM
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It makes a huge difference when (incorrectly) claiming to know the text.
- 28/12/2012 11:31:51 PM
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and by REGULATED, the authors meeant "able to use it effectively"
- 29/12/2012 03:47:57 PM
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You are wrong.
- 22/12/2012 12:14:40 PM
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That explains much; I read somewhere Brits are averse to it.
- 22/12/2012 01:17:15 PM
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What bemuses me about this thing with Adam Lanza, is that his mother had 5 registered guns
- 23/12/2012 07:10:26 AM
1006 Views
She also had many knives, and blunt objecs around the house. Tools are only as good as the user
- 23/12/2012 01:10:58 PM
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So clearly she wasn't prepared enough... btw, do we know she was sleeping?
- 27/12/2012 10:52:03 AM
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That she 1) was in bed, 2) had guns for self-defense and 3) was shot 4 times strongly suggests sleep
- 28/12/2012 11:49:20 PM
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She was asleep with him in the house.
- 23/12/2012 02:24:47 PM
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LOOK, look, there is another one...
- 26/12/2012 03:13:45 PM
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I find the absolutist ant/pro-gun positions equally dangerous and absurd.
- 26/12/2012 04:20:37 PM
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So we should just *kinda* ignore the Constitution *this* time... But what about NEXT time...
- 26/12/2012 08:08:12 PM
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No, we should enact gun regulation the Constitution explicitly empowers.
- 26/12/2012 09:02:12 PM
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Which would be... NONE. *NM*
- 27/12/2012 04:31:53 PM
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"A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state...."
- 28/12/2012 05:14:49 PM
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Your point being?
- 27/12/2012 10:47:29 AM
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I am certain it would have been better, though not good, if she had been awake and shot him.
- 27/12/2012 02:16:13 PM
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So the situation of Nancy and Adam shooting at each other
- 28/12/2012 07:44:12 AM
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No, I believe they were both mentally incompetent to have guns; that does not mean EVERYONE is.
- 28/12/2012 02:19:51 PM
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How do you know Nancy Lanza was mentally incompetent?
- 29/12/2012 07:06:40 AM
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As a father, I would rather kill my own child than have him kill 26 other people.
- 27/12/2012 04:35:02 PM
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And as a father, you are somehow clairvoyant?
- 28/12/2012 07:43:08 AM
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Nice flippant unthinking reply, you and moondog should get together. *NM*
- 28/12/2012 04:55:14 PM
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How is my reply flippant? Your statement was unthinking, not mine.
- 29/12/2012 06:59:04 AM
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YOU asked if it would have been better for her to kill her own child instead, I answered.
- 29/12/2012 03:52:02 PM
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I asked if a shoot out between mother and son had been better, not whether she should have killed
- 29/12/2012 08:54:09 PM
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You make no sense.
- 31/12/2012 06:07:50 PM
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I make no sense to you because you probably just don't understand my point.
- 01/01/2013 08:09:11 AM
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Maybe the heat death of the univers occurs before you finally have a cohearant thought
- 01/01/2013 07:34:31 PM
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You do realize that resorting to personal attacks reveal an inability to make sound arguments? *NM*
- 02/01/2013 06:01:33 PM
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That is not an ad hominem attack, and your prior post was not very logically coherent
- 02/01/2013 08:59:16 PM
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Instead of actually showing why my arguments would be incoherent or why I'm immature, he just said
- 05/01/2013 02:02:23 AM
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