Matt Bors for December 31, 2012

You mean like the advice given to deal with bullies.

Usually if I disagree with a position I can at least imagine why someone might hold it. For instance, I disagree with conservative economic policy, but I can imagine why someone would think that the debt is an immediate crisis (rather than a long term problem, as I think it is). But when it comes to this idea that the solution to gun violence is to put guards in all the schools, well, my mind just boggles. I just can’t imagine why anyone would hold that opinion. It’s not just that I disagree, I can’t believe anyone would seriously propose that. I’m not sure where a dialogue on the question could start, it just seems so looney.

You mean like the advice given to deal with bullies.There’s an ever so slight difference between an unarmed bully and a nut case blasting away with a military grade semi automatic assault rifle.

Here is my New Year’s Gift to My GC friends.If you like political comedy, and parody songs, these bipartisan folks will make everyone laugh, or grimace in equal measure.^http://www.capsteps.com/radio/^I’ll put this under a couple of other Dec 31 toons.Happy New Year NeighborsC.

Ok…did Megan actually write something that remarkably stupid?

1. Bullets ARE faster than fists, especially for we who have become “old farts”.

2. HOWEVER, it might be important to note that in the REAL WORLD, in the Giffords incident, the shooter was taken down by a guy WITH a gun, and permit, who DID NOT USE THE GUN! He also had help from others who jumped the gunman when he had to stop to reload. Which is why, 1. guns don’t always save the day, and 2. reducing maximum magazine capacity, to force reloading, even a new clip, DOES reduce the number of rounds fired before someone “in the crowd”, can react, and put a stop to the incident.

The Colorado movie shooting stopped when the shooter ran out of ammunition, and went to reload.

The Connecticut shooting ended when the ammunition ran out.

3. Tell me again how large capacity magazines in AUTO loading weapons don’t increase the kill? Yes, NRA and other arms “experts”, and auto-loading weapon IS an “automatic” weapon, as opposed to bolt action, lever action, pump, or revolver, single action or double action, it is NOT whether a single trigger pull releases one, three, or 50 rounds. If the gun puts another bullet in the chamber on its own, it IS an “automatic” weapon, whether pistol,, rifle, or shotgun.

I wonder why having a bike means he doesn’t also have a car or truck?

Did I miss a new law or is there another logic fault, howie?

No Harley no necessarily evil at all, but perhaps a danger to as many innocent honest citizens (or children in school, for God’s sake!) as they would be to the criminals among us.

Perhaps, even a danger to themselves, as some of our fully trained police have even been killed or injured by their own weapons.

Neither I, nor you, nor anybody else, has a total answer to this very complex and human problem. But I must admit having more and more armed guards or citizens does not impress me as the way to a safer society.

Sorry if that goes against your feelings, but I think it is the truth.

Have a very Good New Year!!

No stickers, but I don’t see how me or anyone else having a gun would have made for a better result than the gunman getting what ha wanted and being arrested two days later each time. If I had carried a gun, I could not have used it while the other gun was pointed at me. If I had drawn it afterwards, what is the result? If he has turned to leave, my life and everyone else’s is no longer in danger, so it is no longer self defense but murder. (There are police reports and court cases upholding the verdict.)If someone else had drawn a weapon, there is a chance of me being hit by them (I would assume they would be on the other side of the robber) or the robber pulling the trigger on me first. Also, had another person fired, the robber would squeeze his trigger after being startled or hit as a reflex, resulting in my death.I don’t trust guns in the hands of untrained civilians, and I do feel safer when I know they are not around. Most robberies try to avoid shooting people, since a 1 to5 year sentence is better than 25 to life. As far as mass shootings, adding more bullets to the confusion would only up the body count.

Lapierre had a perfectly workable solution to the problem of gun violence in schools. Just put in enough armed guards to handle the situation. I estimate the average school would require about 10 armed guards to cover all of the doors.

Where would we get the money to pay them? No problem, just tax each sale of weapons or ammunition enough to cover their salaries. That wouldn’t just cut down considerably on the sale of guns, it would be a big help in finding work for returning vets.

If you’re wondering if I’m serious or this is satire— frankly so am I.

I agree it should have made more press, but, “SHE” was a trained law enforcement officer, carrying an “off duty” weapon, NOT a school teacher whose career choice did NOT include firearms proficiency.

This actually enforces the point we’ve been making – the hero was a trained police officer, NOT a gun toting vigilante. I trust an off duty officer to make the right judgement call as to when and how to fire a weapon in a stress situation like that, not you or anyone else who just wants to excercisr their second amendment rights. That could have made the situation far worse. It’s funny that this supposedly happened in Texas. I have to work there quite a bit, particularly Houston and Lubbock. This past year I kept hearing about how everyone there felt safe because “everyone” carried a gun. How many people in the restaurant or on the street were also carrying guns, and when it came to deciding whether to fire and stop this person or run away and save themselves chose the latter? The way everyone talks about guns down there, I would expect that person never would have made three steps after killing his girlfriend. I guess it’s all talk.

Maine does have a concealed carry law, but nobody came forward to say they had a gun. There are also no stickers around saying “gun free zone” anywhere.What invalidates your argument is the fact that Taxas, which has a culture of gun carrying, still has a higher crime rate and murder rate than all of the New England states. If gun carrying were a deterrent, the opposite would be true. I feel much safer entering a bar in Portland or Boston than I do in Lubbock, where I see a bunch of drunken gun carriers sitting around fondling their sidearms while they drink.

Running away and cutting every three seconds doesn’t work for children cornered in a classroom with no escape exits.

The smug expression on McMegan in the first panel is perfect.