To: JohnD who wrote (134129 ) 3/6/2001 1:18:48 PM From: tejek Read Replies (3) | Respond to of 1573691 These weapons are not the stuff made in the last 10 years or so. They are, in many cases, "left-overs from WW2 vets and guns legally purchased from the '50's through the '80's or so. Think about it-most of these guns have been laying around, in many cases because nobody cared, or made an effort to get rid of them~ Also, when somebody died the this stuff was frequently given to relatives, etc. I grew up in a city (pop. 100,000) in the industrial northeast, but the majority of weapons I've come across have been in small, rural towns where farming was once common JohnD, The weapons that these kids had at Columbine were not stuff that had been lying around for a few years. I don't remember if they had uzi's but they did have some pretty hi-powered weaponry....the kind you would expect would only be available in the inner city. I think that you are not alone in thinking that things are the same as when you grew up when it comes to guns. However, I think the kids are basically the same....more advanced but what's changed is that they have greater access to some powerful guns that have hi-tech elements. These guns have proliferated throughout are society in the last ten years, and are as available in suburban Kansas City as they are in inner city Baltimore. These kids just like kids in the past do not have the emotional development to see past their actions to the consequences. So once they get their hands on these weapons, they act upon their feelings...for the first time they are able to equalize the power of their oppressors....and they go and kill.....and we adults wring our hands and want them executed. And yet its we adults who are the ones who administer and enact the gun laws and we are the ones who continue to ignore the social stratification that goes on in our hi schools. Wasn't it only about 7 years ago that a TX mother killed her daughter's rival on the cheerleading squad? Its very scary this need to be popular! ted