Cosmo_ac said:
It was never about more concern for the person with t=he gun then the victoms. It's the fact that some poeple see/read/whatever, about a kid, who more then likely is either way messed up, or totally terified and doesn't know any way out, brings a gun to school, and is stopped, without killing anybody or hurting anybody, and you say "Dang, they just could have killed him."
Yes, that's exactly what I say. Are you forgetting that he fired this gun in school? It's a miracle that nobody was hurt, let alone killed. I know school can be hard, and at times terrifying. I went to school during a time when guns were much easier to get hold of than today. I knew plenty of messed up kids of all kinds...nerds, freaks, greasers, jocks, you name it. And I wasn't exactly batting a thousand myself, truth be told. My point is never once did I hear of anybody bringing a gun to school, let alone firing it. You speak as if this could be explained by fear and confusion. That might explain accidently walking into the girl's room, but it sure as hell does not explain unloading a magazine at your classmates. All you see was that nobody was hurt and you think oh it wasn't that bad. But while nobody was hurt, none of us know just how close that came to not being true. If an adult went into a department store and started shooting at the walls, would you blame the cops that shot him? If I shoot at a cop but miss, do you think the judge will say "well the important thing is nobody got hurt."?
cosmo_ac said:
As far as punisment goes, i certainly don't think that they should simply be let off the hook. However, i'm not so Black/White as you are. If a soldier kills a civilian during war, should they be given the chair or gas chamber?
War is a different animal altogether, and not really relevant to this conversation. You still haven't said just what punishment you deem fitting for this poor confused misunderstood youth who just got a little scared and vented his frustration along with a classroom wall or two. Perhaps he should be made to clean the erasers after school?
cosmo_ac said:
And say that the police did kill them. would thjat stop guns from getting in the school? Hmmm.... let's think now...Has capital punishment stopped people from killing in those states? Or countries for that matter?
The goal in killing the kid is not to stop the flow of weapons. The goal is to set an example, so that the next kid that's stupid enough to consider bringing a gun to school might just remember what happened to the first kid, and think twice about it. Hmmm...Okay I'm thinking. No, I'd say the capital punishment has not completely eradicated murder. Has it had an effect? Who can say? It's logical to assume that many (though certainly not all) would-be violent crime perpetrators would be deterred by the death penalty. If they are of the sort to way out possible consequences, they just might decide it isn't worth it. And these would be the ones we never here about. There are also other reasons to support capital punishment. Overcrowded jail cells. Taxpayer's money paying for prision facilities, food, education, etc. Failure of current rehabilitation methods. Need I mention Willy Horton? Capital punishment has a 100% success rate of rehabilitation. There are no repeat offenders.
Lord, what are we coming to, if our children are trying to kill each other? What, I ask you?
