By Tom Henderson • Staff Writer • 

Bonamici, students talk gun violence

Only online subscribers may access this article.

One-day subscriptions available for just $3. Click here for one-day access.

For all other subscription offers, click here.

Already a subscriber, please .

Comments

Yupjoe

SSRI’s....bad for some. Why is nobody talking about SSRI’s? Are 100% of these young-people incidents SSRI cases? Or just 90%? These have horrible side-effects for many who take them or try to get off of them. As Obama said, our medical system is broken.

Rotwang

Newsflash - all guns are meant to hurt people. That's how you stop a threat. There are documented cases of good people using their ARs to do just that. It's all in the training and range practice. And, what's this nonsense about a Five Guys parking lot? They already made private sales illegal without OSP checks.

REB

The killer in Sutherland Texas was killed by an ex NRA instructor who ran from his house towards the gun fire (in his bare feet) and managed a fatal shot to an unprotected area (killer had bullet proof armor on) with his AR 15. Just one of many instances of lawful and brave actions that comprise over 100,000 acts of self defense by firearms each year---many of which consist of just displaying the gun to stop criminal violence.

Rotwang

I don't blame anyone for being afraid at school, where the only one likely to have a gun is the criminal who cares nothing about laws, but knows that everyone inside is disarmed. If Bonamici wanted to make things better, she'd work to end the asinine laws which turn government facilities into easy targets for criminals.

Trafik

Somebody’s watching a little too much television.

A couple weeks ago, two Portland news reports caught my attention on the same day. In the first, a grand jury declined to bring charges against a U-Haul employee who fatally shot an armed man attempting to rob him at work. The employee used his lawful sidearm to dispatch the would-be thief, thereby ending an attempted armed robbery. While the taking of a life is always regrettable, the circumstances in this case might have predicted such an unfortunate outcome. I knew when I saw the report that gun enthusiasts would use this case to illustrate the life-saving benefits of concealed carry.

If only things were that simple. For every one of these private-citizen-saving-the-day-with-a-lawful-firearm success stories, there are 10 or 12 other examples of legally carrying morons who commit idiocy with their lawful weapons.

The second report detailed a hit-and-run accident where a pickup truck hit a traffic barrier and several vehicles in the northbound lanes of I-5 near the Fremont Bridge. An apparently well-meaning citizen unholstered his lawful sidearm, firing multiple shots at the fleeing truck in an astonishingly stupid attempt to shoot out its tires. Only dumb luck prevented injuries from a hail of slugs ricocheting off concrete and cars. Of course, the shooting doofus didn’t hit his target.

When a yahoo who watches too much television is considered equally qualified with someone who has completed tactical weapons training or possesses actual combat experience, something’s wrong. It’s way beyond time to require potential carriers to demonstrate basic levels of intelligence, proficiency and self-discipline before we hand out gun licenses and concealed carry permits. As it is, we’ve got tens of thousands of Barney Fifes running around out there just itching to save the day. But unlike Barney Fife and his one bullet, they’ve got 10-round clips, locked and loaded.

tagup

Seems like it might be hard for law enforcement (or other good guys) to tell who the bad guys are when everyone is walking around with there weapons drawn...maybe the good guys can wear their MAGA hats so we know who they are..(or are those the bad guys?)...:)

Mudstump

The ABC News 20-20 did a little research on the subject of "a good guy with a gun" a number of years ago. Here is what they said...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezzskoEB0Gc

Rotwang

Trafik, the government-controlled media, as a rule, doesn't seek out or publish stories of responsible armed citizens actually stopping criminal threats - mostly without firing a shot. The mere presence of a firearm in the hands of an armed citizen deters crime. I'm sure that gun-grabbers such as yourself delight in reading every foolish attempt to shoot out the tires of a vehicle - and can cite them in comment threads like this one. But, they are exceptions to the majority of armed citizens with concealed-carry permits, who use their tools responsibly.

And - they're magazines, not clips, unless you're talking about something like stripper clips.

Trafik

Ah, now the conspiracy comes out.

You know, Rotwang, as I’ve stated, I’m a Republican so I get the not-so-mainstream-media reports, too. Those reports often feature firearms buffoonery—but they tend to reframe those incidents more as “doofus saves the day” sort of things. I liked one particular report this week where a mother-daughter tag-team shot up a would-be armed robber in their Oklahoma liquor store. They won, but not until one had been disarmed and pistol-whipped by the offender. After watching video of the event, I am convinced this female Laurel and Hardy had Providence on their side as their deadly antics could’ve so easily resulted in death for one or both of them, in addition to the hapless thief. But, boy howdy, they were painted as able heroines! Rotwang, you have far more faith in the life-or-death firearms skills of your fellow humans than I do.

And when I said “clip,” I used the vernacular because this forum reaches a broader audience than solely firearms purists. I will continue to underscore my ignorance by using “clip” when posting in mainstream forums. I do know the difference, thank you.

Web Design and Web Development by Buildable