Weather
Gun Control Debate Reaches Alaska After School ShootingAlaskans generally opposed to more gun restrictionsRelated Content
ANCHORAGE - In the wake of the tragedy in Connecticut, there has been a call to put more restrictions on guns nationwide. One of the most vocal advocates for gun control after students at Newtown were gunned down was Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He called for the national goverment to do something: "We need immediate national action from the president and congress. It should be at the top of their agenda," he said in a speech. Second Amendment rights are important to Wayne Ross, who is a board member for the National Rifle Association and advocate for gun rights in the state. He said people that want to restrict gun sales have the wrong priorities. "We need to regain a bit of moral ground in this country. We have laws agains murder, we have laws against carrying arms on school grounds. It's just feel good legislation." And based on your comments on Facebook, it appears Alaskans agree. One viewer wrote on the KTVA page, "If someone wants to use armed forces to cause harm, they will find the means of obtaining that weapon." None of the respondents were in favor of tougher laws. It isn't surprising if you look at the statistics. The Brady Campaign, in favor of gun control, wants the United States to make it more difficult for criminals to get their hands on guns. They rated every state in the nation on a scale from 0 to 100, 100 being the most restrictive. Alaska's score was 0. The organization said it's because "Alaska has weak gun laws that help feed the illegal gun market and allow the sale of guns without background checks." The Centers for Disease Control also reports Alaska has the third highest rate of firearm deaths. Only Louisiana and Washington D. C. have more. |
This content requires the latest Adobe Flash Player and a browser with JavaScript enabled.
Click here for a free download of the latest Adobe Flash Player.
|
You have indicated this comment should be removed.
The comment has been submitted for review. Thank you .
Rick said on Saturday, Dec 22 at 12:14 AM
One of the great things about Alaska is less gun control. When people say Alaska had so many deaths by gun; they should look into the facts. Death by a gun does not only mean murder. It can be suicide or even an accident. My family enjoys target shooting and hunting with our guns and our children respect guns and know what they can do. Guns are not the problem; people are the problem. If guns kill; I am sending mine out hunting to see if it can bring back a nice moose. People kill and they do not always use guns. If guns are controlled more; they will use another weapon. Gun controls only affect law abiding citizens and criminals will still have their guns. Disarm the citizens and the criminal have no deterrent . Keep Alaska gun friendly and our citizens armed to protect each other and property.
109798446Forfreedom said on Friday, Dec 21 at 11:58 AM
I agree with you cooljulie, there was just another story of a gun purchased by a federal agent that was used in another murder.... Lets keep our constitution rights, ALL of them!
109765746money money money said on Thursday, Dec 20 at 2:12 PM
it's all in the richer investments of those who know how to play the strings of the "vulnerable" adults.. they buy stocks...then trigger a "outburst" with invoking drama with that strong arm religion and we have what happened...I would like to see Skarah's stock portfolio since she is all gung ho on 'load and reload' when she can't even shoot one but those ritcher investments are worth it!!!
109690821kenai123 said on Wednesday, Dec 19 at 8:37 PM
We should not be creating a gun control Task Force; we should be creating a Violent Content Task Force. That VC Task Force should then suggest all of the many possible ways to reduce Violent Content. So how do we fix The Violent Content Mess we have allowed to developed? We can create legislation which taxes the violent content industry very much like we have intensely taxed the tobacco industry. We can attempt to suppress violent content everywhere by making it really cost a person trying to access it. We can even force television networks to reduce their violent news content by taxing each additional second they use to publicize violent content. DVD's could be given a specific Violent Content Rating and then be taxed more for higher violent content. High VC taxes could also be used to reduce the price of NVC, non-violent content. All these violent content taxation funds could also be deposited into a trust fund which could be use to compensate victims of violence. Th
109626155Reducing Violent Content. said on Wednesday, Dec 19 at 8:34 PM
We should not be creating a gun control Task Force; we should be creating a Violent Content Task Force. That VC Task Force should then suggest all of the many possible ways to reduce Violent Content. So how do we fix The Violent Content Mess we have allowed to developed? We can create legislation which taxes the violent content industry very much like we have intensely taxed the tobacco industry. We can attempt to suppress violent content everywhere by making it really cost a person trying to access it. We can even force television networks to reduce their violent news content by taxing each additional second they use to publicize violent content. DVD's could be given a specific Violent Content Rating and then be taxed more for higher violent content. High VC taxes could also be used to reduce the price of NVC, non-violent content. All these violent content taxation funds could also be deposited into a trust fund which could be use to compensate victims of violence. Th
109625946Ted said on Wednesday, Dec 19 at 3:14 PM
Senators Begich and Murkowski’s refusal to discuss gun law changes at this time “because the school massacre is too recent and emotions are too raw” is the equivalent of their refusing to discuss building code changes after a natural disaster “because the damage is too recent and emotions are too raw”. Are they telling us that we should just sit back and wait until the memory fades, while congress continues to play politics as usual? Their suggestion that congress should focus only on mental health improvement, instead of enacting laws to reduce gun mayhem - is the equivalent of their suggesting that congress should focus only on global warming prevention, instead of enacting laws that will reduce its impacts.
109607625Anonymous said on Wednesday, Dec 19 at 12:05 AM
"Each year, approximately 5,000 persons under the age of 21 die from causes related to underage drinking." Are you holding alcohol producers responsible? Are you actively boycotting these products? Are you demanding legislation reform to prevent 5,000 deaths next year? Have you or someone you know ever driven under the influence of drugs or alcohol?
109549986Kevin S said on Tuesday, Dec 18 at 9:42 AM
@ David - You are mistaken. Many people want to take guns away from their owners. That is why the Supreme Court had to rule on the matter of individual gun ownership. Restricting magazine size won't stop these crimes and will impact individuals ability to protect their homes and families. The Second Amendment wasn't created for hunters. It was designed to give citizens the ability to protect themselves from an oppressive government.
109492906Mark said on Tuesday, Dec 18 at 5:46 AM
More gun restrictions is not the answer. how about a law banning all these violent games that children play all the time that are giving them unrealistic consequences to their actions. how about fathers teaching their children about importance of gun saftey how about improving the economy so both parents don't have to work and leave their children unsupervised. how about bring religion back to the household to teach them the difference between right and wrong and let us not forget the media, how they splash all these crimes across the planet, giveing more ideas to those seeking attention. there are many more avenues to look at than targeting our firearms.
109471246herb said on Tuesday, Dec 18 at 2:03 AM
"Cause the registration of all firearms on some pretext, with the view of confiscating them and leaving the population defenseless." --Vladimir Ilich Lenin
109461756Big Dan said on Monday, Dec 17 at 9:34 PM
David, they are not "clips" they are magazines, and assault rifles are already banned. Have you seen and selective fire rifles in the local gun stores? I didn't think so. What you are referring to as assault rifles are nothing more than semi automatic hunting/target rifles. I know many people who hunt with semi automatic rifles, whether it be a Browning, Remington, Ruger, Colt, Bushmaster, Stag arms, etc.
109453811Wallace Scott said on Monday, Dec 17 at 9:32 PM
We have laws agains murder, we have laws against carrying arms on chool grounds. It's just feel good legislation." Time for learning how to spell when publishing. Come after Alaskan guns and it will not be good for anyone.
109453675tim said on Monday, Dec 17 at 9:27 PM
feel good laws dont get rid of crazy people.less people die of gun related crimes or accidents than drunk drivers or choking on your dinner.and that is stated in the fbi and cdc web sites for statistics.clean up the garbage that we feed our childrens brains every single day and it may make some never think about certain crimes.but,it might be to late.we are a country of hate and we all hate someone for something.its sad and i see why people live in alaska.
109453386David said on Monday, Dec 17 at 9:15 PM
We have traffic laws against speeding. Many (perhaps most) drivers speed at times whether the speed limit is 30, 55, or 75. Therefore should we repeal all laws against speeding since some drivers always will violate them? It's the same with guns. No one wants to take guns away from gun owners. But we need restrict assault weapons, large ammo clips and regulate guns the way we regulate cars (tests, licenses and fines for violating laws, etc.) This will not prevent all gun deaths but if it prevents some, that many more people will be alive and that many more children will grow up and live.
109452796Roy said on Monday, Dec 17 at 9:10 PM
So no one is going to comment on how ridiculous that is even though our laws on guns aren't restrictive it's not like we're leading the nation in gun crimes or crimes period. The most dangerous states in our union have the most restrictive laws. I would walk the streets of any city in Alaska at night before I walk the streets of major cities in CA, NY, MA, and especially D.C. be it day or night.
109452626Yuuup.... said on Monday, Dec 17 at 8:22 PM
Highest due to what? suicide and accidents.
109450905cooljulie said on Monday, Dec 17 at 8:20 PM
Alaska has the higest rates of a lot of things. We choose to live here because we want the freedoms promised us in the constitution. I think the CIA has fed the illegal gun market way more than Alaskans ever could.
109450826Add a comment
Most Popular