What should the nation focus on to stop these tragedies?

Clearly mental health is MORE important, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't have a meaningful discussion of gun control. Of course that doesn't happen, and it probably won't happen. Pretty much every debate over gun control ever boils down to one side fighting tooth and nail for their right to not be slightly inconvenienced ever, turning even the most rational arguments an blowing them out of proportion into outright conspiracy theories or 1st Amendment-assaulting culture wars, while the other side says they are stupid and overreacting because they don't own guns and so THEY aren't effected by gun control laws at all, Pretty easy to talk a big game when conveniently, you don't have to sacrifice anything, and get to culture a smug sense of moral superiority.

The stigma needs to be removed from people with mental issues and their families.

I find it strange that the government wants to control guns but ignores games like Shoot The Kindergarteners, and the one where you spin a baby by a rope around its head until its head pops off as a form of abortion as it comes out of the mother. We have Hollywood putting out movie after movie of people killing masses of people as entertainment. Finland had a school where kindergarten children where shot and killed and finally the online game was pulled. See any connection to insanity and what these people play and watch? Gun control wont stop the insane and criminals from committing mass murders. We have ignore drive by shootings where several people are killed or injured and the fact the people behind the guns are not registered gun owners.

Mentally-ill people will always be with us, but their affects on the public were contained until former-President Reagan destroyed the mental healthcare system that addressed their needs. It is time to restore that system. It is a national security issue.

I remember when that happened too! The streets of every city in the US were flooded by mentally ill people who were suddenly labeled as "homeless" when they belonged in mental hospitals. The system of caring for the mentally ill in America does need to be restored but that would not have stopped Lanza who was from an affluent family with access to proper treatment for mental illness. Stricter gun laws wouldn't have applied here either as Nancy Lanza would have passed a background and psych check.

Good point. However, I think Lanza is the exception in terms of access to mental healthcare, and the fact that he didn't have to purchase the weapons.

I'm not sure about Lanza being the exception in terms of access to mental healthcare or to guns with relation to mass murderers who methodically plan heinous crimes. The trend in so many of these tragedies is fairly consistent and most of the mass murderers had not acted out violently before, instead it's being harbored in their minds. Look at many of the common traits they share.

http://www.drtomoconnor.com/4...

Stop making it easy to get assault weapons first. Then I definitely think that schools need more security, but not armed teachers. There are many crazy teachers as well, and keeping a gun in a safe enough place so that the kids can't get to it, probably makes it too inaccessible for a teacher to get to in an emergency like last week. The problem needs to be addressed long before they get to a classroom, they need to be stopped at the border of the school grounds by trained security (preferably ex-military), big preferably, with guns. Cowards shoot children because they are defenseless. They aren't nuts enough to try grown men and women who are not playing, and if they do, then its handled.

We already have a proven model to deal with this. Inner city schools addressed this in the 90's (Joe Clark/Lean on Me era) and cut drug dealing and school violence tremendously and effectively. This is no different. They mobilized community, increased security, trained good kids what to look for and took measures to make sure that crazies with guns could not get in and took it seriously. It had a huge effect. The same efforts need to be applied in this situation in the suburbs and small towns. Still crazies with guns trying to get in to hurt our children. Use the same tactics.

The mental health issue is a far more serious problem than guns. Bad people will find bad ways to get them.
We have oh so many citizens in need of help that it is truly sad. They can't get the help they need because of the cost. How sick is THAT?

Although an Australian, I was 'discussing' (albeit loudly) this issue with an American friend of mine. He says that if someone is mentally unstable, and has murder on their mind, they will find a way to do it- he cited the recent stabbing of 20 odd school children in China as an example.

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/1...

But the fact is, guns make it easy for a person to murder multiple times within minutes. I believe it is too late for gun control in America. The US buys well over half of all guns manufactured in the world- with an average of 90 guns per 100 people registered....

Mental health care may be an answer. But also, people need to be taught to, not just see the warning signs that indicate something like this may be about to happen, but to ACT on that gut feeling they have that something is seriously wrong. This type of premeditated violence does not just happen out of the nowhere- someone, somewhere must have know something.....

Interestingly, none of the 22 children attacked in China, to date, have died from the knife attack.

The liberals are using a sick boy,who had mental problem as their poster boy.Shame on them.

Stop calling the mass murderer and terrorist a sick "boy" at 20 years old.

. I'll call them boys, you can call them what you want... It's called freedom of speech.

Alrighty then but those "sick boys" as you choose to call them are terrorists and mass murderers. The media has painted a picture of the kid next door but I choose to see them for what they really are. Do you actually believe that 2 weeks later law enforcement and no one else can product a current photo of Adam Lanza? Maybe that's because they would rather have you believe he was a just a "boy".

It would get rid of the people who start the massacres in the first place and would lower the demand for gun control.

Getting rid of Liberalism!!

and hiring armed guards at the schools. when schools claim to have a gun free zone they are just asking for trouble. no guns easy target.

Mental health for normal and disturbed personalities has to be the issue. The idea that a gun is a solution to a problem is short-sighted an in a manner of thinking always a person to be judge, jury and executor. Most gun murderers are people who know the victum. Murder should not be an acceptable answer to a problem. Therefore, I feel we have to address gang killings, marital problems, anger isssue and lastly the deranged. The cost will be enormous ... are Americans ready to foot the bill.

A gun is not a danger unless someone will pick up and have intent to use them / it in a negative way.

Its not even a purely mental health issue----we need to go back to a country were people have respect for others, and educate people to respect the freedoms that we have (like guns) and not that life is a Hollywood movie or video game that glorifies killing or hurting others. Im not blaming the movies or games directly either---but many in our society have lives that ARE those things and nothing else.

MORE PEOPLE DIE AT THE HANDS OF DRUNK DRIVERS than by guns (if you eliminate those that are committing felonies or suicide at their time of death) ----why aren't people screaming for stricter DWI laws or 1 DWI and you lose your license forever?! Millions of irresponsible could-be killers every weekend kill 10,000 ..but 10,000 people killed a year is apparently an acceptable number for the drunken masses...no need to take away a driving "PRIVILEGE" unless you have 2, 3, or if you have a good lawyer 4 of 'em.

Yet one crazy kid that steals his parents guns (a felony) and kills people with STOLEN guns (coupled with other random shooter wackos) are going to end up torching a "CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHT" of over a hundred million gun owners because of how short sighted people in this country have become...

and....ps---ONE armed teacher could've save most of those lives... just one.... but politicians made a law decades ago that says you cant have a gun within 1000 feet of a school... That law worked worked super duper well at sandy hook to stop that shooter---great job politicians...crazies and criminal dont listen to laws jackasses.

Some of that blood lies on the hands of the stupid short sighted politicians that have refused to let free people of America protect themselves from these nutjobs...

Personal responsibility and fitting punishment of violent criminals.

close schools and have online school

There are no reasonable gun laws that would have prevented this tragedy. Yet good mental health care could have. There is a real shortage of mental health care providers where I live there are waiting lists of about 9 months to see someone.

I agree, no reasonable gun law or laws would have stopped this mass murderer from committing this horrific crime. However with his mother's income there was nothing barring Lanza from mental treatment or a long hospital stay. Typically mass murderers have a warped sense of entitlement, are coddled at home during childhood and completely unprepared for the real world. They want the world at large to pay for their pain. Part of this is a parenting issue.

So true, many people don't understand the importance of parenting on the future of the world. Sorry so long before reply but due to the weather I've been unable to socialize on line.

which would mean rounding up most the OWS crowds.....

Get batboy out of that room and destroy that Xbox Just the little I have played the dumbass games for the first couple of minutes everything seems like the game walking thru a room opening a door entering open space looking for the enemy add the other ingredients and hours if not days lost in the digital maze and access to a weapon you have what we have gotten.... psychosis.

Both.

we need to eliminate the laws that prevent conceal carry permits and eliminate gun free zones so that evil doers have a fear that someone there will kill them if they misbehave.

Guns have a way of falling into the wrong hands, on any given day many of us suffer from mental issues, some worse than others. A gun that shoots one time and kills 20 or more people, is a force to be reckoned witih, why would someone in the civilized world want one. I choose to put my faith in God, and I trust him to be my protection. Mental Health Care covers many facets, when we have someone in our family that is mentally distrubed, I think that for that person and all concerned we should discern their actions, and most certainly if we know that they have a problem, all guns should be under lock and key. Both of these situations need to be focused upon, because often time they go hand in hand.

Speaking for myself: I am mental. I have a conscious and would not even think about doing these unspeakable things to other people, especially children.

Where's the right answer, which is ....

BOTH ....?

Combination of both probably. The shooter wasn't the one that obtained the firearms - it was his mother. Banning assault style weapons - except for military - limiting the number of bullets in ammunition clips - sounds like a good idea.

Number one it was not an automatic, those are already banned. Number two the Government has no right to do anything. Remember the 2nd amendment was written for WE THE PEOPLE to keep the government in check, and not the other way around where libs are so dumb, they think that the government should keep the American people in check.

Chill. I believe in the right to bear arms. I didn't use the word automatic - I said assault style weapons.

how does how a gun looks have any effect. There are no assult weapons that you can buy. whether a gun is a semi automatic and looks like a pea shooter or looks like a m16 or ak47 is just a feel good argument.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

only solution is to eliminate some of the restrictions for concealed carry permits and get rid of gun free zone where almost every mass shooting has occurred in last 50 years.

I'll have to disagree - keeping schools a gun free zone - I completely agree with.