Yet we're still talking GUNS.

And at least in my own opinion, I've come to regard ALL guns as murder machines. Because it's proven again and again what they do. They KILL. They KILL people. They KILL students. They KILL our kids. They KILL our loved ones. But then again, I'm one of those utopians who want to see ALL guns gotten rid of. As impractical and unrealistic as that kind of goal is. It's still one of mine.

And I say the following with all respect to your point, AncientGeezer. Not trying to be flip here, but precious few people by now even remember Virginia Tech. As I've watched the discourse in the wake of this latest St. Valentine's Day Massacre in Parkland Florida, people bring up Newtown all the time. That's still fresh in the mind. Recent enough. Las Vegas. That was just last fall, very much indeed recent enough, and with a body count that is damn near beyond imagining. The Pulse nightclub massacre is also brought up. Probably because it was in Florida, and it, too, was recent enough, with staggering numbers of casualties. But Virginia Tech more often than not is left off the list.

And seldom do you hear about San Bernardino. OR Santa Monica City College. Or Umpqua Community College in Oregon. Or Fort Hood, Texas. Or, hell, even that mass shooting of those sweet peaceful church people in Charleston.

Maybe it's because there are so DAMN MANY of these by now, that all but the most anal-compulsive detail people forget about, after awhile, because there are too many to count.

It's DEFINITELY a WMD - a Weapon of Mass Destruction.

And words can be weapons. The bad guys know this and know it well. And with the Frank Luntzes of the world, they've been thoroughly and relentlessly schooled in it. They're unfortunately quite the experts at it. They use words as Weapons of Mass Distraction.

I believe that WE can play that game, too.

Lately I've started referring to AR-15s as NRAR-15s. WE TOO can use and manipulate words to shit on their favorite concepts and turn them toxic. Make them sound bad. Make them sound distasteful. Make them sound off-putting, like that's something you wouldn't want to be involved with, or associated with. Alienate them. Help them start associating their beloved machine guns and assault rifles with bad things, undesirable things, unpopular things, unappealing things. They embrace those massacre machines? Then we need to add a cost to doing that.

I'm always reminded of the phrase "tax relief." Putting those two words together implies that "tax" is a negative word or concept - something from which "relief" is needed. See how it works? You then have the very clear implication that "tax" is bad, alienating, negative, something to be avoided or prevented or opposed or nullified. Poison the well.

These aren't "guns" or "rifles." That makes them sound beneficial, benign, okay, harmless, even desirable. That's why we should call them by what they really are: massacre machines. Murder machines. Murder weapons. Terror weapons. Domestic terror weapons. Kid-killers. Student-killers. Child-killers. And yes, even baby-killers. (Also adds insult to injury to all those gun nuts who ALSO call themselves "pro-life." And ANYTHING that plasters hypocrisy on THAT part of the picture is a VERY good thing. Wouldn't it be cool to hijack their favorite anti-choice memes, "baby-killers", and put that term to work as weapon on OUR side? Now THERE'S "asset forfeiture" for ya!)

"School Shooter Weapon"

I just heard Chris Matthews use that phrase, "School Shooter Weapon," to refer to the AR-15.

I think that's a BRILLIANT tactic for framing, messaging, and perception management on the whole damn miserable gun proliferation crisis. Let's start attaching the horrifying and heartbreaking real-life nightmare of school massacres to that label. "School Shooter Weapon." AR-15s should be known AS that. Call it what it IS. A gun-of-choice for mass-murderers. It's also the truth. We should encourage that, and spread-spread-spread it. Help manage the perception. We want the AR-15 contaminated by what it's DONE. What it MADE happen. No knife of any sort or length did that. No car did that. It might ignite a mood change, a cultural change, in which this damnable massacre machine starts to fall out of favor with gunners.

What if we were to render that accursed mass-murder machine so toxic that nobody wants to own or collect or otherwise possess it anymore?

Indeed. I'd go so far as to say you can't be "pro-life" if you're pro-gun.

Because guns KILL. That's what they're designed to do. Wound, maim, and KILL. Guns don't kill people? People kill people? Yeah. People kill people - WITH GUNS.

And as that most eloquent young high school student, Emma Gonzales, stated recently (after surviving that horrible massacre at her school last week), there wouldn't have been this much death and carnage if the attacker had used a knife.

Welcome to DU, grandpa mike1.

That smug, smirking, miserable mouth-breather makes me almost makes me gag. I mostly watch MSNBC, except when Andrea "her emails! Her emails" Mitchell comes on.

But CNN has the obnoxious Jack Kingston AND religious fanatic Rick Santorum AND smug jerks like S.E. Cupp on frequently, so it's not possible for me to watch that network for long. Besides, I think they still invite Jodyanne Jerk-me-off (that's what my husband calls Kellyanne Conway) for frequent interviews. That alone is off-putting, just by itself.

The Watergate era taught me "don't buy books by crooks." Motherhood taught me not to reward or reinforce bad behavior. So I don't watch when those jerks are on camera. I refuse to reward them with my viewership. Life's too short!

Welcome to DU, cungar2000.

That's another good idea. It just might have to be shoved, forcibly, into their faces. They're coddled like nobody's business, and are surrounded by security on Capitol Hill. They have NO clue.

Granted, one of them actually did get shot. Democrat Gabby Giffords. And nothing was done.

Another one of them actually did get shot, too. republi-CON Steve Scalise. And nothing was done. He himself even said it hadn't changed his mind about maintaining the status quo - not touching the issue of gun violence.

Hell, Ronald Freakin' Reagan got shot! And nothing was done. His security people took bullets for him, too. One of them died. Another was permanently damaged and spent the rest of his life in a wheelchair. Reagan TOO advocated doing nothing! Wouldn't touch it. Several months before this happened to him, John Lennon was shot and killed, and the then-President-Elect bemoaned the tragedy but made sure to add that "...but we can't take anyone's guns."

We were MADE to watch that when I was of age to start Driver's Ed. It was mandatory.

It was part of the lesson plan.

And it made you stop and think and get serious REEEEEEEEEALLY fast.

As horrible and grizzly as it sounds, maybe we've come to this. Maybe we need to do this. SEE what those massacre machines do to the human body. SEE FOR YOURSELF. Then try to convince anyone that AR-15's are okay for civilians to own.

Welcome to DU, honest.abe!

Michael Dukakis once said "the fish rots from the head."

There is a reason why trump fawns over the Russians. Blames everybody BUT the Russians. Damn near blows kisses to Putin. NEVER says anything negative about Putin. There's a REASON for this.

Either he's their go-to money-laundering partner, or the banks over there are deep into him (having lent him money), or the oligarchs are deep into him (having lent him money), or maybe he's already heard from a well-connected operative who's reminded him of what can happen when Putin thinks one of his pets isn't obeying or performing up to expectations. Maybe he's already being blackmailed.

Got 'em here, too.

I don't even waste time listening to that knee-jerk crap.

For these gun-humpers and NRA apologists/whores, it's NEVER the time to talk about this.

And no fill-in-the-blank-here alleged "law" would have prevented this latest tragedy.

And thoughtsandprayersandthoughtsandprayersandthoughtsandprayersandthoughtsandprayersandthoughtsandprayersand...

I just don't bother with this shit anymore. It won't change my mind, or make me shut up, or stop me from - YES, gun-goons, doing EVERYTHING I can to take your damn guns away! NO civilian needs an AR15! NONE. The only reason for some civilian to own one of those massacre machines is that they fancy the idea of being able to kill the maximum number of people in the minimum amount of time. THAT, to me, is the very essence of a NOGOODNIK. A textbook definition of a NOGOODNIK. And a nogoodnik has NO business getting ANY kind of gun, much less a professional, military-style massacre machine.

They can ship out to the war front in Afghanistan if they want that badly to be Johnny Shoot-em-up.

I learned as a mother that you don't reward or reinforce bad behavior. And if the kids can't play nicely and peaceably with their toys, you take their toys AWAY.


And let's just remember this: They call it an ASSAULT rifle. The AR15 is an ASSAULT weapon, NOT a defense weapon or defensive weapon/rifle/gun. It's an ASSAULT rifle. That's an active word, not a passive word. "Assault" is an active word. When you assault someone, You. Are. On. The. Attack. And ACTIVELY so. There's nothing passive about it. And you're not "defending" SQUAT.