#(fillinthecommunity)strong…

Thoughts and prayers, Gene - thoughts and prayers. I could not agree more with your concern. "A?well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the?right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed." So - it seems the founding fathers had a very specific mindset behind the right to bear arms, and automatic weapons for the masses is not it.

Thank you, Gene. This is such a complex topic.?The Lewiston shooting affected me directly; this is where I grew up.?I never thought anything like this would happen where I live (sound familiar?), and I would lose people I cared about. ?No one wants their freedoms removed….but maybe by making a few changes, it will be a bit more difficult for someone to pull off a mass shooting. ?Making small changes sends a message.?Doing nothing sends a louder one.

With all due respect Gene, I think your premise is flawed slightly. There is no doubt that what happened in Maine is a tragedy. The reality is that if tomorrow you were to ban semi-automatic weapons that specifically shoot a traditional .223 round it would take years for the weapons and the ammunition to be obsolete. What would be the incentive for someone to give up their AR-15 weapon? Let me make a suggestion that members of Congress should look into to resolve this matter. If you want to stop a car from driving you don't ban cars you ban gasoline. In this case, if you don't want someone who is mentally unstable to fire an AR-15-type weapon into a crowd you restrict ammunition sales. For too long we have been focused on the types of guns rather than what ultimately is taken out of the victims prior to them passing away. a bullet fragment. Cars that have no gas in them tend to stay in the garage. Keep up the great work you do.

When humans cannot or will not recognize human failure, partisan posturing ensues.