>>>Answer the question John -- do you think Russia meddled with the election or not? Or do you agree with Trump that it's all a hoax? It's a yes or now question that you can answer unless you're chicken to answer it. If that's the case then don't bring it up anymore and just move along.
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>I'm not obliged to respond to inquisitorial straw man badgering when I'm confident I can understand what Mueller is saying, thanks. Meanwhile Trump has confirmed previous contentions about what he called a hoax- needless to say, not your paraphrased worst possible interpretation- and the media has quietened down, perhaps in realization that their every attack on deplorables and US institutions is a free gift to Putin. At least I assume it's free...

You're not obliged to respond - and I see why you will not. It's clear beyond any doubt that Russia meddled with the election. Trump has called it a hoax. You do not want to admit any of this because you've tried to say otherwise. In other words -- you'd have to admit you're wrong. Enough said.
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>>>That is one of the dumbest argument against gun control there is. It ranks right up there with only criminals have guns so why bother. Dumb dumb dumb.
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>SM # 1019. it's an argument against "we've got to do something and he used an assault rifle so lets ban those."
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>If it's any help,check out this site to see how easily a licensee can buy AR-15-style weapons in New Zealand without a single mass shooting involving such weapons since the 1990s. Not one. https://nzar15.com Bump stocks are a grey area though probably will be banned as there's no legitimate civilian purpose.

After the Las vegas mass shooting where the guy used bump stocks there was an attempt to pass a law regarding those. Guess what -- thanks to NRA and the paid off politicians - no dice.

>>>The easy and obvious of addressing the semi-automatic weapons and things that turn them into fully automatic can be dealt with first tough. The handguns (which as you pointed out is actually a larger problem) is going to be harder to address from a legislative standpoint. The problem we have here is that anytime there is ANY attempt at any sensible legislation the NRA and others come out and claim that it's all an attempt to take away 2nd amendment rights -- so nothing ever even gets started.
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>We'll see. FWIW, a 16-year-old can get a firearm license and legally buy a semi-auto NATO weapon in NZ, with approximately 0% chance it'll be used to shoot up a school. S/he can't buy a handgun though, without being an accredited member of a pistol club with recorded annual attendances and sign off from the club. Result: NZ's firearm massacres since the 1990s can be counted on your fingers and mostly involve shotguns.
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>If you're tempted to retort that NZ is different from US- then perhaps figuring out that difference may be worth at least some energy if you want to fix the problem,, not the blame.

Well they are different. At the end of the day here, the problem is the guns.

>FWIW, Cruz couldn't have bought a handgun either, because he's not 21. And you've already got a 1996 law that blocks firearm purchases if you have a domestic violence misdemeanor. So the idea that no laws ever can be passed because of the NRA, seems a bit paraphrasy. Now might be a good time for everybody to take a big breath and commit that something needs to be done and there needs to be an outcome/result focused bipartisan response, not a bitterly contested input-focused knee jerk.

That's one of Paul Ryan's 100% worthless response that he uses EVERY TIME this happens -- oh no knee jerk response -- lets just sit on our ass and do nothing. That is also 100% unacceptable. The problem is the guns.

>What you especially don't want, is to go through all the turmoil of a rifle ban- and the perps simply switch to something else. Which is what they see in the UK with strong gun comtrol but knife and acid attacks on the rise. These days there's some pertty nasty handguns out there too... considering that most modern handguns (except revolvers) are semi automatic and often have extended clip options. With school shootings tending to be up close and personal in corridors and classrooms, a modern pistol with a bag full of magazines is more easily concealed than a rifle and can be just as lethal at that range. In particular: if this truism is what the NRA proclaims/predicts and they turn out to be correct- then congratulations, you just made them bullet proof.

I would have to agree with that. the problem is the guns -- and not just the AR15 type guns either. Semi-automatic hand guns and clips that hold a zillion bullets is ..in my eyes anyway ...are. more dangerous than a riffle for the very reason you said -- it is easily concealed. And we do not need 'open carry' laws or laws that let any dipsh_it carry a concealed weapon just because he wants too. There are a lot of changes that need to take place. If they ever get around to happening they won't happen all at once - but geeze we HAVE to start somewhere - and saying 'now is not the time' or that 'what we need is a good guy with a gun' doesn't cut it.