As authorities continued Saturday to search for answers in the unthinkable deadly shootings at a Connecticut elementary school, local gun shop owners and gun advocates said stricter gun laws would not have prevented the tragedy from happening.
The massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where 26 people were shot and killed Friday, was the bloodiest attack against young children in the nation's history. The shooter also killed his mother and himself.
The shootings have again pushed the debate on national gun laws into the spotlight.
Pueblo gun enthusiasts condemned what they called knee-jerk reactions that blame guns for senseless individual acts.
"It was such a tragedy. There is no explanation why a target was made for this crazed individual who did this. There obviously is more involved than guns," said Leonard Jimenez, with the Pueblo Municipal Shooters.
Jimenez, a shooting instructor, said guns are an issue but there is a big flaw in society when it comes to dealing with people who have mental, emotional or other behavioral problems openly.
"The gentleman (John Holmes) in the Aurora shooting had many red flags that nobody paid attention to. It's our early understanding that the gentleman in this shooting also had much difficulty that may have been ignored," Jimenez said. "We have to remember that a gun took all these innocent lives, but also a gun could have stopped it."
Gary Johnson, owner of Johnson Sport and Ski, said there needs to be a better system of getting people with issues the help they need before tragedies like this occur.
The gunman identified in the killings Friday purportedly used a .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle.
"Reports say that the guns he used were his mother's and they weren't his . . . I don't see the guns as the issue, I see the issue as the people that have the guns in their hands," Johnson said.
"I don't know how you could have stopped him from getting the guns if they were his mother's. That has nothing to do with the gun laws because I am assuming she had them legally."
Brad Emerson, co-owner of Arctic Shooting Supply, also said his heart and prayers are with the victims.
"There are just some things that you can't prevent. In my opinion, the gun was just a tool he chose to use. People forget that gun laws in general are made for law-abiding citizens," Emerson said.
"People that go out and commit crime are not law-abiding citizens. So the laws will have zero effect on them because they don't obey them anyway."
Epie Martinez, owner of Silver Gun Sports, agrees that it was the person behind the gun who took the actions and not the gun itself.
"I know 95 percent of my customers personally and I know the rest are still required to go through the same background checks," Martinez said.
Martinez questioned why other "tools" that lead to tragedy aren't being looked at.
"What about drunk drivers, are they coming down on the alcohol industry? Cancer kills and smoking is still allowed and I don't see you having to have a background check to get cigarettes," Martinez said.
Jimenez said it would help if people would understand the need for gun training and if parents are aware of what is going on in their own family.
"More gun laws will not stop these kinds of things. If people are intent on hurting and killing, they will find other methods which may be more drastic than a handgun," Jimenez said.
The massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., where 26 people were shot and killed Friday, was the bloodiest attack against young children in the nation's history. The shooter also killed his mother and himself.
The shootings have again pushed the debate on national gun laws into the spotlight.
Pueblo gun enthusiasts condemned what they called knee-jerk reactions that blame guns for senseless individual acts.
"It was such a tragedy. There is no explanation why a target was made for this crazed individual who did this. There obviously is more involved than guns," said Leonard Jimenez, with the Pueblo Municipal Shooters.
Jimenez, a shooting instructor, said guns are an issue but there is a big flaw in society when it comes to dealing with people who have mental, emotional or other behavioral problems openly.
"The gentleman (John Holmes) in the Aurora shooting had many red flags that nobody paid attention to. It's our early understanding that the gentleman in this shooting also had much difficulty that may have been ignored," Jimenez said. "We have to remember that a gun took all these innocent lives, but also a gun could have stopped it."
Gary Johnson, owner of Johnson Sport and Ski, said there needs to be a better system of getting people with issues the help they need before tragedies like this occur.
The gunman identified in the killings Friday purportedly used a .223-caliber Bushmaster rifle.
"Reports say that the guns he used were his mother's and they weren't his . . . I don't see the guns as the issue, I see the issue as the people that have the guns in their hands," Johnson said.
"I don't know how you could have stopped him from getting the guns if they were his mother's. That has nothing to do with the gun laws because I am assuming she had them legally."
Brad Emerson, co-owner of Arctic Shooting Supply, also said his heart and prayers are with the victims.
"There are just some things that you can't prevent. In my opinion, the gun was just a tool he chose to use. People forget that gun laws in general are made for law-abiding citizens," Emerson said.
"People that go out and commit crime are not law-abiding citizens. So the laws will have zero effect on them because they don't obey them anyway."
Epie Martinez, owner of Silver Gun Sports, agrees that it was the person behind the gun who took the actions and not the gun itself.
"I know 95 percent of my customers personally and I know the rest are still required to go through the same background checks," Martinez said.
Martinez questioned why other "tools" that lead to tragedy aren't being looked at.
"What about drunk drivers, are they coming down on the alcohol industry? Cancer kills and smoking is still allowed and I don't see you having to have a background check to get cigarettes," Martinez said.
Jimenez said it would help if people would understand the need for gun training and if parents are aware of what is going on in their own family.
"More gun laws will not stop these kinds of things. If people are intent on hurting and killing, they will find other methods which may be more drastic than a handgun," Jimenez said.