Make the violence against Newtown children our last wake-up call. If we continue to allow access to assault weapons, future mass murders are on all of us. Our country needs to adopt immediate legislation that works to control firearm violence.

I am a mother, an attorney, and a concerned citizen. The gun violence that occurs in this country every day is unconscionable. Our leaders have the duty and obligation to stand up and fight for the rights and protection of all citizens by pushing back against the twisted misinterpretation of the 2nd Amendment advocated by the NRA.

"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." The “right” of the people to keep and bear arms is deemed necessary in order to protect the security of a free state. However, arms have evolved over the past 200 years so that an individual’s arms could not possibly protect us from the military force of any country. It also specifies that any militia (for which the arms are deemed necessary) should be “well regulated”. It does not say who should regulate it, and as we have seen, there is no well regulated militia. There is no well regulated gun ownership that has been able to protect us. Finally, the purpose of this amendment is the “security of a free state”. How free are we if we can’t go shopping or send our children to school without being threatened by a mass shooting? This amendment restricts, rather than protect our freedom.

Citizen Right to Bear Arms The Second Amendment made sense 225 years ago, but is no longer functioning as intended. The founders were concerned about British retribution and the tyranny of the central government. The amendment has now clearly outlived its original meaning. The founders did not intend or envision that every citizen should have the ability to amass and store the kinds of deadly weapons available today. The theoretical risk that the central government might assault the People must be weighed against the actual fact that many of our unbalanced citizens have and are continuing to assault the People, including Children. In the last 45 years, 400,000 US citizens have been murdered by other citizens using firearms, virtually the same number as US deaths during all of World War II. There is a clear and present danger due to the increasing frequency of such events, and particularly the rising number of victims during each event. Public Safety and Militia Political communities such as cities, counties, states and certain special agencies should retain exclusive authority to possess weapons to enforce laws and ensure public safety. They can be tasked also with serving as a militia on behalf of the people during times of strife. Enforcement Upwards of 300 million guns are currently in circulation. Passing these Second Amendment changes would in theory make criminals of all who possess them. It would not be practical to try to collect all these weapons. Therefore under this proposal, people now legally licensed to own a gun would be grandfathered in. However, the government would appropriate a substantial amount of money to initiate a gun buyback program aimed at purchasing as many legally held guns as possible. In addition, the government would allocate resources to confiscate guns held by those without legal authorization to do so. Summary Therefore the Second Amendment's prescription on "the right to the People to keep and bear arms" should be repealed, and replaced with a provision calling for public safety agencies to be tasked with serving also as a ready militia on behalf of the People in times of strife, and that these militia should be "well-regulated" in a meaningful sense, and strictly controlled. Civilians should be allowed to join militia in times of strife.

There have been seven mass shootings in 2012, the most recent, the horrific murder of twenty little ones and eight adults at their elementary school. Our nation's children deserve better from the adults they count on to protect them. Their lives are not acceptable collateral damage in the bid to allow adults to own more guns.

In an effort to thwart killers who wish to make their mark in history by the massacring of innocent lives, such as in Newtown, CT, I propose a law making it illegal for the media to reveal identifying information about a multiple homicide killer. We must insist that these murderers die anonymously and drift off into obscurity, thereby not achieving their ultimate goal. Violators of this law would be subject to civil lawsuits by the victims' families.

the founding fathers had the good sense to add amendments to their less than perfect original-lets do them proud and debate and then fix this "enabler" of unintended consequences.

To totally ban all violent video games that "de-sensitizes" people from the the gross and graphic nature of "murdering" people/animals, etc. The effect of losing the sense of reality and even transgressing the games to real life. Definitely much more damaging than violence on TV and movies. Almost like training or brainwashing a person to either bring out the participant's aggression to act upon or to condone the behavior in the game(s).

Coal ash is contaminating our rivers, lakes and drinking water supplies here in North Carolina. Coal ash contains a number of toxic heavy metals including arsenic, chromium and selenium, among many others, and is often stored near waterways in unlined impoundments. The state is aware of the pollution, but has yet to take action. We need the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to issue comprehensive rules on coal ash disposal.

As we mourn the unfathomable loss of innocent young lives and the lives of fellow educators who died protecting them at Sandy Hook Elementary, the girls' school community must come together to lead the the dialogue in support of secure schools and stronger gun control legislation. The girls at our schools want all girls across the globe to have the opportunity to learn in safe learning environments. Let us use the strength of our coalition to ensure such a safe space continues to exist for each of our own girls.

Guncontrolnow

This petition specifically asks that the sale of firearms to be limited to single shot and for all other firearms to be outlawed for civilian use. It would: 1. Save many lives 2. Prevent mass killings 3. Provide achievable goals for legislation 4. Avoid the legal challenges involved in changing the United States Constitution's 2nd amendment 5. Open the way for a safer society There are a number of petitions for gun control. You are able to sign as many as you like. Although some people would like to see guns outlawed completely, in my estimate, this isn't something achievable, in the near term, if at all. It is a matter for the Supreme Court and would require a change to the US Constitution. In the aftermath of the Newtown shooting, gun control is being reviewed by the government. The Senate has added gun control to the agenda when it resumes in January. Unless people specifically ask to limit gun bullet/cartridge capacity, something less effective is likely to be proposed. Why is it important to sign: Only if people ask will politicians have the confidence to push for this specific proposal. If you are unfamiliar with firearms. A single shot gun can be used for hunting, but it is time consuming and makes it very difficult to shoot multiple rounds in succession. In Newtown it was reported that over 100 rounds were shot. Even gun experts admit that limiting the number of bullets in a semi-automatic gun to a smaller magazine will not have a significant effect because the magazines can be changed very quickly. It is the fast, shooting speed, high capacity and ability to rapidly reload semi-automatic firearms and assault weapons that has contributed to the high death tolls in mass shootings. As long as firearms are sold that are semi-automatic, and use magazines to load multiple bullets there will never be enough background checks, laws, or legal barriers to ensure that these mass murder weapons are kept out of the wrong hands. If you look at recent events these weapons were purchased legally. Although Newtown was the second highest death toll of any single mass shooting. The tragedy behind this is that the NRA and other lobbyist recently defeated the ban on the proposed sale of 30 round assault weapons in Connecticut. Now, without apology, they heartlessly suggest how it might not have made a difference.... Their solution, do nothing. We know better! Make only guns with a single shot capacity legal. This would have saved many lives. Thank you for signing the petition. Please tell your state representative to support this gun control proposal.