AD1184
Celestial
America has been awash with guns since before its founding as a nation state. Britain used to be similar prior to 1918 when there was a mass confiscation of firearms by the government as they feared an armed revolution over the disastrous impact of the First World War. However, the use of firearms by individuals to kill multiple strangers (and often themselves) in an apparently motiveless fashion is a much more recent development, occurring around the midpoint of the last century, and then accelerating from there. People can blame guns, and thus confiscate guns, but is no one interested in why there is such an explosion in murderous violence? You could prevent mass shootings by taking away guns, but massacres have been perpetrated by other means, such as with motor vehicles, and even by crashing jet airliners. There was a massacre in Nice, France, six years ago where the perpetrator used a lorry.
There is something not right in the minds of those who do such things, and often they are habitual users of mind-altering drugs, of both the legal and illegal types. In particular, the perpetrators often take either cannabis or SSRI-type antidepressants. If you read a report in the press of a random act of ultra-violence--not necessarily a mass shooting, it could be a particularly brutal attack on an individual--very often you will find the perpetrator is a cannabis user.
There is something not right in the minds of those who do such things, and often they are habitual users of mind-altering drugs, of both the legal and illegal types. In particular, the perpetrators often take either cannabis or SSRI-type antidepressants. If you read a report in the press of a random act of ultra-violence--not necessarily a mass shooting, it could be a particularly brutal attack on an individual--very often you will find the perpetrator is a cannabis user.
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
Pot? You been watching Reefer Madness ?
I agree there are underlying social causes and access to types of firearms that should have been restricted. The BATF restricted full auto imports over 50 years ago and heavily controls their licensing. A version of that is in order, IMO. OK next time the shooter uses a different firearm that can’t burn through those 375 rounds quite as fast - if that were the case in TX or Sandy Hook there might have been fewer lives lost. Worth it and nobody’s screwing with my 2nd Amendment rights.
Other factors include the profusion of extremely graphic games, movies, media. The anonymity that is inherent online and concurrent changes in our real world
behavior toward one another - a tendency toward depersonalization - is in the mix too
Dejan Corovic
As above, so bellow
... just middle aged man who are not members of AE forum. They are all crazy.
Rick Hunter
Celestial
You already have to be 21 to buy a handgun, that has been federal law since 1968. It wouldn't hurt my feelings to make it 21 for so-called assault weapons as well. Personally, I would be fine with saying that only the military could have these weapons. Civilian police are still civilians, and they shouldn't have military firepower. A pistol and shotgun will take care of most miscreants effectively.
Another thing that nobody talks about is, look at how television and movies are just awash in gun violence. Even if it's the good guys pulling the trigger, doesn't this sort of normalize the idea that people shooting each other is a normal and common way to resolve problems?
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pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
Didn’t know about the handgun age. My nephew just turned 18 and had been talking about one. Thought it was a state reg - never had a reason to encounter that
wwkirk
Divine
You'll like this.
Heroic officer rushed into Uvalde school with barber’s shotgun to save daughter, wife
An off-duty US Customs and Border Protection agent fearlessly rushed into Robb Elementary School with his barber’s shotgun and rescued dozens of children and his daughter after his wife texted him that there was an active shooter.
Jacob Albarado had just sat down for a haircut when he received the horrifying message from his wife, Trisha, a fourth-grade teacher at the Uvalde, Texas, elementary school, he told the New York Times.
“There’s an active shooter,” she wrote. “Help,” she sent before sending a chilling: “I love you.”
He immediately leaped out of his seat, grabbed the barber’s shotgun and sped off toward the school.
wwkirk
Divine
How should law enforcement react to active shooter situations in schools or elsewhere? Careful tactical assessment or immediate entry/engagement?
Uvalde, Texas, residents respond to revelation police waited to engage mass shooter
A parent's view
"If you assume that you have a barricaded subject—you cannot assume that," Uvalde resident Laura de la Cruz told Fox News while holding back tears. "You know it's a school, you know children are in there, you know the time, you know kids are in those classrooms."
An official's view
Department of Public Safety Director Steven McCraw said police didn't immediately engage the shooter because "the on-scene commander at the time believed that it had transitioned from an active shooter to a barricaded subject."
A parent's reply
In response to the officials comments, de la Cruz told Fox News: "You go, you get fired at, you fire back and keep charging. There were 19 people on site to one shooter. One goes, if you get killed, the next one goes. You just keep going," she continued. "You got to out blast this guy."
[I can see both sides. For the children's sake, you want and hope the police to set aside risk and rush right in. This, of course, is what we expect from TV and movies. On the other hand, supervising want to prevent needless deaths and injuries of those under them. - Yet, it's hard to get past the fact that waiting gives the perp more opportunity to kill people.]
Police face questions over timeline of events surrounding Uvalde school shooting
Uvalde students' reported 911 calls should have prompted a 'Charge of the Light Brigade': Former FBI official
Rick Hunter
Celestial
One thing that is worth mentioning here is, in the USA courts have held many times that the cops have no legal obligation to protect anyone. Now, I'm sure most of them definitely want to protect people but they probably won't suffer any repercussions for not doing so. Also, for better or worse law enforcement is not a profession that tolerates independent thinking and people deviating from what they are told to do, regardless of the circumstances. If the higher ups told the cops to stay outside that is what they are trained and expected to do, regardless of what the circumstances on the ground might be.
wwkirk
Divine
Agreed. Any criticism or queries should be directed to the higher-ups in the field and the policy setters.
michael59
Celestial
And that is what I meant when I said the above. As soon as I realized they were unable to act, I would have found my own way in. That's what this guy did:
Heroic officer rushed into Uvalde school with barber’s shotgun to save daughter, wife
Isn't that why we have trained specialty groups like SWAT, where were they? I guarantee they would have been there if money had been involved, like a bank robbery/hostage situation.
nivek
As Above So Below
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's husband arrested in California, charged with DUI
Paul Pelosi, House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi's husband, has been arrested after allegedly driving under the influence late Saturday night.
Paul Pelosi was arrested in Napa County, California at 11:44 p.m. on Saturday night, and was charged with driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher as well as driving under the influence of alcohol.
The arrest was first reported by TMZ.
He was booked into jail at 04:13 a.m. on Sunday, and released at 7:26 a.m. according to Napa County records.
(More on the link)
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Paul Pelosi, House Speaker Rep. Nancy Pelosi's husband, has been arrested after allegedly driving under the influence late Saturday night.
Paul Pelosi was arrested in Napa County, California at 11:44 p.m. on Saturday night, and was charged with driving with a blood-alcohol level of .08 or higher as well as driving under the influence of alcohol.
The arrest was first reported by TMZ.
He was booked into jail at 04:13 a.m. on Sunday, and released at 7:26 a.m. according to Napa County records.
(More on the link)
.
nivek
As Above So Below
'This is why we need the 2nd amendment!' West Virginia mystery woman is hailed as a hero for using legally-owned pistol to kill criminal armed with an AR-15 style rifle at a graduation party
A West Virginia woman is being hailed a hero for using her legally-owned pistol to shoot and kill a criminal armed with an AR-15 after he opened fire at a graduation party last week.
The woman has not been named by police and she has not come forward to identify herself since the incident on Wednesday, just a day after the massacre in Uvalde.
The gunman was Dennis Butler, a 37-year-old criminal who had already been cautioned for speeding near children when he drove to the graduation party that was being held outside at the Vista View Apartment Complex in Charleston, West Virginia.
He had been told to stop driving so quickly while children were nearby. He drove away then returned with an AR-style assault rifle and opened fire.
The woman was among guests at the outdoor party. When she saw Butler open fire, she immediately pulled out her weapon and shot at him.
It's unclear exactly how many people were there but police described it as a 'crowd'.
Miraculously, no one was injured.
The woman then pulled her legally-owned gun out of her purse and shot and killed him. At a press conference on Thursday, Charleston Chief of Detectives Tony Hazelett praised the woman as a hero.
'Instead of running from the threat, she engaged with the threat and saved several lives last night,' he said.
.
A West Virginia woman is being hailed a hero for using her legally-owned pistol to shoot and kill a criminal armed with an AR-15 after he opened fire at a graduation party last week.
The woman has not been named by police and she has not come forward to identify herself since the incident on Wednesday, just a day after the massacre in Uvalde.
The gunman was Dennis Butler, a 37-year-old criminal who had already been cautioned for speeding near children when he drove to the graduation party that was being held outside at the Vista View Apartment Complex in Charleston, West Virginia.
He had been told to stop driving so quickly while children were nearby. He drove away then returned with an AR-style assault rifle and opened fire.
The woman was among guests at the outdoor party. When she saw Butler open fire, she immediately pulled out her weapon and shot at him.
It's unclear exactly how many people were there but police described it as a 'crowd'.
Miraculously, no one was injured.
The woman then pulled her legally-owned gun out of her purse and shot and killed him. At a press conference on Thursday, Charleston Chief of Detectives Tony Hazelett praised the woman as a hero.
'Instead of running from the threat, she engaged with the threat and saved several lives last night,' he said.
.
Rick Hunter
Celestial
This just irritates the shit out of me. The rotten news industry mostly ignores instances where a good person with a gun saves others from an evildoer. I guess I shouldn't be surprised, given that they ignore or bury good news in general.
pigfarmer
tall, thin, irritable
I'm curious to know what NY will do about this - a state with a history of knee jerk reactions. Again, snap your fingers and all AR/AKs disappear forever, except for military and law enforcement and I'd be OK with that. But what venal grasping politicians actually do is get their teeth into one particular detail and run with it. Probably suggested by an aide because most don't know much about the topic. This is why they took pains to outlaw bayonet lugs - because of all the mass bayonettings. After Las Vegas is was bump stocks. Had to look that one up. Yeah, bump stocks were the problem not the clever lunatic in a tower and a room full of long range weapons. Gov.Hockeypuck will probably come up with something - outlaw a black finish or make all left-handed people shoot righty or something equally germane.
In NYC at one time after you registered your handgun you had to provide proof of owning a safe and it might actually be followed up on and inspected. I don't live there but personally never leave a loaded or operational firearm outside the safe, ever, and yet people leave them in night stands and vehicles for toddlers and thieves to find. If it's loaded it's on my person or in my hand.
I got my permit back in the 80s and have no idea what the current requirements are but don't think they've changed drastically. Then and now if you want to join my pistol club - a large and well established one - you have to take some classroom instruction and a safety course before you're allowed. I am not a member or fan of the NRA but despite their inherent Evil they have provided a framework for NRA certification for the instructors that teach these courses.
What I'm saying is that people with guns should have some accountability for their whereabouts and instruction in their use. Alec Baldwin. And yes, it appears that it has to come from a civil mandate. There are traffic laws I have to obey that don't impinge upon my personal freedom and if I behave foolishly with my vehicle I am definitely accountable for it. Ask Nancy Pelosi's husband about that today.
In NYC at one time after you registered your handgun you had to provide proof of owning a safe and it might actually be followed up on and inspected. I don't live there but personally never leave a loaded or operational firearm outside the safe, ever, and yet people leave them in night stands and vehicles for toddlers and thieves to find. If it's loaded it's on my person or in my hand.
I got my permit back in the 80s and have no idea what the current requirements are but don't think they've changed drastically. Then and now if you want to join my pistol club - a large and well established one - you have to take some classroom instruction and a safety course before you're allowed. I am not a member or fan of the NRA but despite their inherent Evil they have provided a framework for NRA certification for the instructors that teach these courses.
What I'm saying is that people with guns should have some accountability for their whereabouts and instruction in their use. Alec Baldwin. And yes, it appears that it has to come from a civil mandate. There are traffic laws I have to obey that don't impinge upon my personal freedom and if I behave foolishly with my vehicle I am definitely accountable for it. Ask Nancy Pelosi's husband about that today.
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Rick Hunter
Celestial
Sadly, I'm sure they are feverishly working right now to come up with something even worse than the SAFE act. I'm an NRA life member and I don't agree with everything they do by any means. However, I think that without them our gun rights would have been whittled down to practically nothing by now. Let's face it, the anti-gun crowd isn't afraid of anybody else.
I think there are some specific gun laws that could be strengthened without infringing on rights. Like, mandate that all transfers of handguns go through an FFL dealer just like a regular retail sale. Raise the age to purchase a detachable mag center-fire autoloading rifle or shotgun to 21. Actually give prison time to people who provide guns to those who can't have them. I think, if nothing else, this would help cut down on the inadvertent transfer of guns to criminals.
I think there are some specific gun laws that could be strengthened without infringing on rights. Like, mandate that all transfers of handguns go through an FFL dealer just like a regular retail sale. Raise the age to purchase a detachable mag center-fire autoloading rifle or shotgun to 21. Actually give prison time to people who provide guns to those who can't have them. I think, if nothing else, this would help cut down on the inadvertent transfer of guns to criminals.
nivek
As Above So Below
I'm not opposed to a ban on assault weapons for civilians, there's plenty of other lethal weapons readily available to the American public as well as through the criminal channels...The latter is one reason why we cannot thin out the weapons available to the public, the criminals and underground organizations can still get them regardless...
I'd also suggest if there isn't going to be a ban on assault weapons then raise the legal age that a person can buy them, raise the age to 25 for instance with stricter background checks and hurdles to get one...
One thing I read in the news this morning that Biden is considering and I thought that is a very good idea...He suggested destroying that school where the recent shooting took place and rebuild a new school in its place given so many children are likely traumatized from this shooting...
...
I'd also suggest if there isn't going to be a ban on assault weapons then raise the legal age that a person can buy them, raise the age to 25 for instance with stricter background checks and hurdles to get one...
One thing I read in the news this morning that Biden is considering and I thought that is a very good idea...He suggested destroying that school where the recent shooting took place and rebuild a new school in its place given so many children are likely traumatized from this shooting...
...