Thoughts on Newtown

In no particular order:

1. Feeling a planet of grief and sorrow for those lost lives, the survivors and those who lost loved ones.
2. I'm not aware of a cogent argument in favor of legal possession of automatic assault weapons.  And if there isn't one, why is it legal?
3. I fear stigma and prejudice because the shooter was reported to have asperger's
4. This is incoherent.  Jared Loughner has schizophrenia and, as a result is, disabled.  Does ASAN believe that there is no connection between his disability and his actions?
5. People across the neurological spectrum - from neurotypical to asperger's to schizophrenia - have murderous impulses.  And someone who has murderous impulses is probably more likely to carry out the commission of a murder.  Murderous impulses may correlate to gender (e.g., male) and it may correlate to a neurological condition or a mental illness (e.g. sociopath) or it may not (e.g., the Oregon mall shooter).  But to focus on screening a certain group misses the point because perfectly sane people have murderous impulses.  To make this world safe for our children, prevention must focus on preventing a person from converting that murderous impulse into a murder: gun control.
6. If the mother of the shooter didn't die, she'd have blood on her hands.  She failed to secure her cache.  If you own a gun, and you fail to secure it, and that gun is used in the commission of a murder, it may not be a crime, but in this blogger's opinion, you are morally culpable.  If you can't secure your gun, don't own a gun. Period.
7. Congress and the President have blood on their hands for not waking up sooner.