California has some of the harshest, strict gun laws in the nation.
Fat lot of good it did.
To get an idea of what the US President will do about this latest tragedy, his response was to copy and paste a previous "thoughts and prayers" tweet from the gun massacre in Texas, without first replacing the name of the town or the state. The complacency about gun massacres goes to the top.
12
How on earth was this nutcase, a man with multiple felony arrests who terrorized his neighbors able to get guns in one of the most restrictive states in the country. Something is very wrong here.
12
That's what a "culture of guns" means. Your second amendment needs an amendment.
6
Gun-control laws are euphemisms promoted by control freaks who endeavor to control people's behavior, since guns are inanimate objects not subject to laws. In and of themselves, such laws increase violence, for they require violence to enforce them, and, pursuant to the axiom that violence begets more violence, gun-control laws result in more reactive violence than any violence they might possibly prevent. Furthermore, gun-control laws will be contemptuously ignored by virtually all good people who value liberty above statist regulations by legislators whose primary concern is their own self-interest..
Keep it up! When control freaks beat the drums for more control legislation, the single most notable result is that thousands of Americans rush to the nearest gun dealer to purchase a gun or another gun or stock up on ammo before it becomes illegal. That unintended consequence is why guns and gun ownership in American increased more during Obama's regulation-happy administration than during any other 8-year period in the nation's history. (Thanks, Barack.)
Finally, since people like me view such freedom-controlling laws with utter contempt and won't obey them, progressives like the denizens of these comments, who will be inclined to obey such contemptible edicts, will find that their worst enemies--those of us who value liberty above misplaced "security"--will be in possessions of sufficient guns to ensure our freedom regardless of such stupid laws.
1
Tennessee...? I'm not surprised.
8
When will the majority of Republicans start acting like rational, sensible, and caring human beings by passing sensible gun safety laws? The Republicans, as controllers of both the House and the Senate, are the only ones who determine what comes to the floor of both bodies, and up to this day they refuse to annoy the NRA by promoting universal background checks for all potential gun owners.
6
"...took aim on Tuesday at people at an elementary school..." Yet another mass shooting by a white man. A truly home grown terrorist, Mr. Trump. But what are the results? A numb population, hopeless and helpless to stop these on-going massacres of innocent people. A cruel and powerful NRA which more than oil controls this nation. An amoral GOP-led Congress which calls itself "Christian." And finally, the cruelest, the most amoral of them all...Trump. This pathetic, inept president couldn't even get his condolences straight..first tweeting them to Texas once again. But why should he care? After all, it's just California.
11
Why not reopen the former mentaal hospital, Fairfield Hills Hospital ,in Newtown, CT where Adam Lanza went on his rampage nearly 5 years ago? I suggest the first lifetime residents should be our insane Congress that will not enact reasonable changes in background checks and gun control.
9
Lay this at the feet of the NRA and GOP... Legislate!
10
Ho hum. The mass shooting of the day. The real horror is that we are becoming numb to the near-daily massacre while our leaders don't care about the lives lost, so long as they continue to get their checks from the NRA.
16
NRA should answer the question: If a dispute with a neighbor leads to a shooting rampage, then how can NRA stop the mass shooting gun violences? Guns are everywhere. Neighborly disputes are everywhere. And so it will be impossible to prevent the mass shootings like this one.
7
I can hear the Democrats saying "Nobody wants to take away your guns". Well, I do. Confiscate them. Melt the steel, recycle the plastic. Disarm the police after that. Then work on the obscene military industrial complex. Our country's mainland has not been threatened by invading armies since the War of 1812. So please no one tell me how the military is keeping me free.
America stands for death. We kill foreigners abroad and increasingly turn on each other. I can't believe the majority of my fellow citizens truly espouse violence. Time to demand change!
36
At McDonalds, movie theatres, nightclubs, concerts, schools, sleepy little towns, churches, on city streets. As an Australian reading about these random shootings and massacres occurring almost daily in your country I would be afraid to set foot on your soil, for fear of being shot and killed. Despite its first world status there should be a travel warning for the USA.
7
PLEASE do not make this a "second page" story! There is something incredibly wrong with our country that this continues to happen and we must not be complacent, especially as a news source. It is important to keep putting this out there for people to remind them that we are a sick country.
47
Why is this not a banner headline at the top of the Times webpage? Please do not become inured to the horror.
46
I agree with Steve. How is this buried near the bottom of the page?!
19
I was shocked and disappointed not to find any mention of the shooting on the front page where you took ample space for holiday cakes and more dribble about Roy Moore.
18
Tragic consequences for a quiet place in America. But, why do commenters keep requesting that the Congress and Senate in Washington do SOMETHING? We the people are the government so it is up to us citizens to vote for life not death.
15
California is the nirvana of Gun Control.
Where is all the commentary by mainstream media regarding the effectiveness of California Gun Control Laws, and how well they work? Why do they want to have these enacted nationwide?
1. Schools are Gun Free Zones (SB-707 Firearms: gun-free school zone) Thank God the school was able to lock down in time to bar access by the manic. It would have been a tragic testimony on how effect this law really would have been. I will give you a hint: Sandy Hook Part II
2. Gun violence restraining order - the restrained person to surrender to the local law enforcement agency all firearms and ammunition in his or her custody or control, or which he or she possesses or owns. (AB-1014 Gun violence restraining orders)
3. California is the first and only state in the nation to establish an automated system for tracking handgun and assault weapon owners who might fall into a prohibited status (SB-140 Firearms: prohibited persons)
2
"Where is all the commentary by mainstream media regarding the effectiveness of California Gun Control Laws, and how well they work? Why do they want to have these enacted nationwide?"
Enacting gun control laws nationwide is the only way gun control will work. Guns flooding into places like Chicago and NYC and areas with strict gun control laws are coming from Southern states with practically non-existent laws. There's no reason to take away country folks' hunting riffles and such, but nobody needs an arsenal of weapons for self-defense or for hunting. As a single woman who has lived in some very sketchy neighborhoods, I have never felt the need for a gun for self-protection or for anything else, for that matter. I often wonder what people are really so afraid of when they say they need a weapon for self-protection.
4
Play the broken record; "now is not the time to talk about gun control." Lets just let any doofis, with dreams of martial glory, buy a gun.
7
Instead of thoughts and prayers, we can act and send a check to Everytown for Gun Safety, Mike Bloomberg's group, and to the Chris Murphy re-election campaign. Bloomberg and Chris Murphy, among many others, are fighting the NRA with new tools, energy, leadership, and strategies. If we get behind them, we may not be reading these grisly stories 3 times a week.
It might also be helpful if leading newspapers like the NY Times published a graphic with the contributions of the NRA to our political leadership, every single time one of these slaughters happens. We should be reminded, each time, who helps to enable this violence, with their cheaply bought votes.
23
And, yeah, I just sent a small donation to the Murphy campaign. And Everytown. The NRA counts on us to be passive and bludgeoned into numbness. Not on my watch.
12
Two days ago there was a lock down at my child's school. It was not a drill.
A man was spotted by a jogger in the area dressed all in black carrying a gun.
I do not live in a city. There's something very wrong with the fact that our children become potential targets for lunatics with weaponry. That they can't go to school in peace knowing they are safe within the walls of education.
And we wonder why our kids are so stressed out? We've lost our collective minds. I hope that the lawsuit in the Conn. Supreme Court by the parents and survivors of Sandy Hook gets done. Timely incident to help their case. Hopefully.
44
I too wonder why these deranged people target schools full of innocent children and their teachers.
I also wonder why they target churches full of peaceful worshippers, or movie theatres full of people enjoying the latest film, or concerts packed with people looking forward to hearing a favorite singer. I cannot help but wonder why they target WalMarts full of shoppers minding their own business, or shopping plazas where people have gathered to meet a local politician, or university campuses full of students striving for a degree and a better future.
But the other side of this sad coin is that I've grown tired of wondering about the whims of angry, disaffected lunatics. They're crazy and mean and dangerous; nothing and no one is going to change them, but we can change how we react to them and how we keep people safe from them and their murderous whims. We need efficient gun control laws in this country. We need citizens of all political persuasions, along with responsible, law-abiding gun owners, to stand up and demand better for this country and its people. If we don't all work together, nothing is going to change and this sort of stuff will become normal. And it isn't normal. Not now, not ever.
6
He stabbed a neighbor and the judge didn’t prohibit him from having guns?
I tutor in a school in Seattle and often think about this scenario and what to do.
There is one solid thing to do since we can’t seem to stop the flow of guns. Regulate and heavily tax bullets.
16
So, this is the new "Normal"!
School invasion with assault rifle, four random dead people and ten wounded does not even make the front page!
It's like we have accepted gun violence the way we accepted traffic deaths and injuries in the 60's. Are we in for another 40 years before we wise up that it costs less to prevent gun violence than to suffer the costs of accepting it?
When will enough innocent people die to break the "traditional" view of guns in this nation?
16
I'm sad and I'm ANGRY. This last shooting happened here in my own county, not 20 miles from my small ranch and home. Yes it is a rural area where guns are common on ranches and farms. I own 2 guns myself. But this madness is going to destroy what this nation. We are sliding fast.
Guns are tools, not toys. The level of anger and instability in this country is apparent to all. There is no easy, one solution fix for this, but some tighter control of guns should be a place to start. Semiautomatic rifles are weapons of nightmares.
Gun control alone will not solve the problem of huge swaths of folks feeling lost and angry and hopeless and not knowing how to cope. This is a very complex social ill that has been building for years, but stricter gun control is certainly a place to start.
Gun control measures are a required foundation for national wellness.
19
So the State with the loudest mouth on this issue cannot police itself in this regard? Can't keep guns away from the unhinged, the abusers, the medicated let loose on the streets? Aren't your judges properly indoctrinated? Many laws, little proper enforcement. The continuing story of feckless liberal governance.
I don't understand you. The problem is that...California's governance is too "liberal"? What would have been "proper enforcement"? Are you arguing that random Californians deserve to be shot in public because people in the state have "loud mouths" about their politics? What is your point?
8
There are already 350 million guns in America.
It's too late. This is never going to end.
10
And BILLIONS of bullets for all those millions of guns. What a frightening world we live in......not frightening from without, frightening from WITHIN.
2
And each and every year how many are added to this arsenal?
6
Maybe not to late if something is done.... But the likelihood of that seem dimmer every day. And who wants anything like Marshall Law (what we'd need at this point really) at the hands of this moronic, insecure Little Caesar? More guns, more rage, shootings seem bound to increase.
1
There is no defense for allowing a violent man who has already knifed a woman to have guns of any kind, and yet here we are. Again. Everyone who lived anywhere near this man would have had to either evacuate or be prepared to be shot at at every moment in order to avoid what happened—guns drawn, doors locked, no driving around, children indoors at all times. With the lax gun laws we have and the number of weapons out there, ordinary citizens don't stand a chance.
12
As usually there will be a lot of "thought and prayer" but no action. And by the way, were are the good guys with a gun who are supposed (according to the NRA) to stop those massacres?
7
Still too early to talk about gun control?
Because we can always wait until the next time some nut armed to the teeth kills a bunch of innocent people.
11
The 2nd amendment can be interpreted many different ways.
One is that it is a right and taken to its logical conclusion, we've seen how that turns out.
The other is that it's a responsibility (a.k.a. Switzerland) maybe we should try their way.
8
Or Australia where its a 'need to own' where I could see a rancher needing an ar-15 to protect his livestock from a pack of coyotes or maybe dingles there.
But a computer programmer from Sydney not so much.
3
I just logged in to see if the NYT had covered our "good news story" of today and, yes, it had (our same-sex marriage vote result) but of course my attention was drawn to the words "shooting" and sadly I find myself reading about the sad happenings in California.
I'm always interested to read comments which mention Australia's gun laws and I should point out it's not that there are no guns in our society, we still have people that have guns to hunt; people that belong to gun clubs et cetera. The difference is access to firearms is very highly legislated, restricted and controlled, including long waiting times to acquire any firearm. And of course in any society there are always some illegal guns around.
From what I've read pigs will fly before a buy-back scheme happens in the USA but what about another monetary incentive to not have guns? Perhaps impose a yearly "super" tax on any gun owned? A much heavier tax for assault weapons or ownership of multiple firearms. On initial purchase a tax number could be gained and an automatic yearly levy maintained -
until firearm is no longer in that tax-payer's possession. Just food for thought.
17
Does the NYT report on Donald Trump's erroneous tweet concerning the shooting?
6
They will. What I would like to see is a special little section that reports every time he goes to one of his own golf clubs or entertains government employees, foreigners or corporate types at his own restaurants. I would like to see, in ink, just exactly how much this man is billing the American taxpayer and putting the money in his own pocket.
10
Let me guess, this is not the time to talk about gun control. Not letting anyone with a history of mental illness, domestic abuse, restraining orders, and arrests have a gun is not taking guns away from normal people. Keeping a list of where guns are in this country and setting a limit on the number owned is not keeping guns away from sportsmen. Removing semiautomatic rifles from non police or service members is not going to keep you from going to the range.
Wake up America, and especially Congress, enough is enough!
47
Regarding "wake up, America," alas, Ann Winer, America is awake, as is Congress. This is not about waking up, and applying logic to a problem. Everyone is already fully awake.
This is about money and power. There is money to be made selling guns, and, ipso facto, as many guns as possible will be sold. Gun manufacturers are not total idiots, so they are willing to spend some of their ill-gotten profits bribing politicians to do their bidding. Depressingly, politicians on both sides of the aisle are for sale, and they are surprisingly cheap. The final link in the chain is that the oligarchy has crafted a strategy to legally expand their chokehold on the economy, and this strategy is to convince the more primitive half of our society that owning a gun is more important than having your child be safe while attending grammar school. This conversation provides endless distraction while their pockets are being picked.
The only way to attack this problem is to attack the bribery of Congress. Imagine if bribing a Congressman or receiving a bribe as a Congressman were a capital offense, and this statute was vigorously enforced. Our gun problem would be solved in a week.
Until bribery of Congress is addressed, we are doomed to an endless stream of "thoughts and prayers" from an endless supply of corrupted officials.
3
Kevin Janson Neal, 44. Another white male? Everyone get your "thoughts and prayers" ready. I'm guessing no demands for the roundup and deportation or profiling of all white men.
11
So this is what we have come to - applauding elementary teachers for effectively shuttling innocent little kids into lock-down (and thank god they did) so that yet another loser guy with anger issues can exercise his "2nd amendment right" to purchase and shot off a military grade assault weapons.
Most Americans (including responsible gun owners) and all of law enforcement do NOT want these WMDs, used for massacre, available to civilians. And where is our feckless congress on this ?
Too busy drowning in the bottomless trough of blood-stained filthy rotten money set out for them by their masters- the NRA.
Shame and mortal sin on every single one of them (you too my hero John McCain, recipient of the most NRA dollars (over 7 mill). My guess is you will all be haunted for eternity by the slaughtered victims.
15
Enough.
4
Same story different day. When will voters through these bums out? People just don't care. Sickening!
5
Send Pence in so he can pray.
7
Matthew, chapter 26, verse 52. Converte gladium tuum in locum suum. He who lives by the sword, dies by the sword.
Ultimately, gun owners are cowards.
3
It's pathetic. Mass murders are now so common that they don't make the front page of The Times.
10
America... get up... speak up... think...defeat the NRA...live your lives completely.
6
Another day, another bloodbath. Nothing to see here, folks.
Thanks, NRA. Thanks, GOP. Mission Accomplished.
9
Yep, another nut case with gunS! When will Congress stand up to the NRA? They use the 2nd amendment as a shield. Our founding fathers are flipping in their graves at what we have allowed the NRA, and our cowardly politicians to do. Their goal was for the protection of their families with muskets, not semi-automatic, and automatic weapons that serve no purpose other than killing as many as you can in modern war fields—not small towns, music festivals, grade schools, nightclubs, theaters, and churches. Serious laws need to be passed now to take away these guns, and spot their sale in the future.
7
The politicians in the House who ignore these killings and ignore our pleas against arming citizens with weapons of war do not exist in a vacuum. They're elected by the citizens. That's us. So...what the heck is wrong with us? We complain about their inaction, yet half of us don't even bother to vote. It's not just the GOP and the NRA with blood on their hands. It's us as well. "We the People."
7
In the old days, people went "Berserk" and did it the old-fashioned way with swords, Axes and farm implements even… Those were/are the Viking form of cabin fever etc. Nowadays, it's just too easy to hold your finger on the trigger, And spray bullets.
I think this is an-American phenomenal but I would have to look at a lot of data to determine if it's just that: Whether it's just stupid Americans with their guns, 2nd amendment and NRA blah blah blah rights, or a phenomenal that's worldwide
As I remember in Sweden, most people know how to use, or own a firearm, but mainly for hunting purposes. Despite The tragic assassination of the prime minister Oloff Palme, by a mentally unstable, I don't believe there has been an uptick berserk episodes
3
It's gotten to the point were "only 4 killings" and "just a couple of kids injured" is (no offense to the Times) second page news. We got off easy, eh?
What have we become as a nation?
6
Can we please start including data on who sold the guns and ammo to this week's berserk gunman, what their net profit was compared to those who sold guns and ammo to last week's berserk gunman, and perhaps their rationale for selling what seems to frequently be military grade weapons to the insane?
1
Sad to say, but what what else is new ?
Too many guns. When will we ever learn ?
3
Worst of all, the backstop for all this bloodletting—the United States Congress—is as mute as a stone when it comes to these things. They only thing that will convince them is if—may God forbid—their own kids get gunned down in their schools. Meanwhile, we lose our own. Absoutely disgusting to this writer. There is no excuse—none—for these continuous mass murders without even lifting a finger to mitigate them.
9
Shootings are so common that they don't even make the front page anymore. Sad commentary on the state of the nation.
3
Americans doing, once again, what America does best!
2
Read the top two Readers’ Picks, TJ McWoods and Meinertzhagen where everything that needs to be said is so well said by them. Then send them to your representative in the US government with your letter telling him or her not to waste their time giving us one or more of the statements listed by Meinertzhagen. Tell them also you would like to be able to remain in America, but one where your child might on any given day face what American children have faced in their school.
The Times can use Meinertzhagen’s comment to save us the trouble of writing comments in the future. After each standard response listed in that comment, for example "let us pray", the Times can enter the names of the most prominent figures offering that response.
And, since nothing is going to change, a new memorial can be created in the nation’s capital, one modeled on the Vietnam memorial, where the names of those killed will be engraved in an ever-lengthening list.
Comment sections will no longer be needed since we who write comments have long since found it impossible to say nothing new so why try?
Only-NeverInSweden.blogspot.com
Dual citizen US SE
2
Innocence lost is hearing your kindergartener describe how she crawls into her cubby for a lockdown drill at school.
3
“He shoots a lot of gunshots at night, in the morning, like a hundred rounds.” And yet using your property as a personal firing range is legal, even if your property is a half acre here in NC. This country is kill crazy and guns are fueling it.
5
All the gun laws that progressives have been calling for for months ARE in place already in our nearly socialist California. Now can you see that it's not a gun rights issue, but a crazy & violent person issue?
Nearly everyday we in America face a shooting rampage that kills a lot of people, by a mentally ill guy who has all the access he could ever want to whatever kind of high-powered rapid fire guns.
Let me repeat that:
Nearly everyday we in America face a shooting rampage that kills a lot of people, by a mentally ill guy who has all the access he could ever want to whatever kind of high-powered rapid fire guns.
Let me repeat that:
Nearly everyday we in America face a shooting rampage that kills a lot of people, by a mentally ill guy who has all the access he could ever want to whatever kind of high-powered rapid fire guns.
Let me repeat that:
Nearly everyday we in America face a shooting rampage that kills a lot of people, by a mentally ill guy who has all the access he could ever want to whatever kind of high-powered rapid fire guns.
You're tired of reading the same thing above?
But you're not tired of reading about another mass shooting?
Hmmm?
3
Only four deaths from the latest gun related mass killing. That is much better than the last two that made the news....proof that our thoughts and prayers are working. Keep it up, Republicans. This is progress!
3
Please spare me the usual “thoughts and prayers” or the even more annoying. “(Insert wife’s name here) and I are saddened” by elected officials who sit on their hands.
1
And Trump even tweet condolences to the right town!!??
1
Women, do not think that a restraining order for a man that has harmed you will be the solution. It enrages these disordered men and then they are out to kill you. No stopping these men when they are enraged.
5
“Thoughts and prayers” = “Let them eat cake”
1
Shocked not at all. Massacres are becoming an everyday occurrence in the U.S- as American as apple pie.
Gun control is a no -brainer. But I don't think that's the only answer. What we have to ask is: what is going on in this country ? What's happened to the American psyche ? The guns have been around a long time, but never have we seen a period of so many mass murders.
An answer may lie in the U.S. slide into a third-world country. The prosperity, the good years are long behind us.The U.S. imperial role is deteriorating and if you don't think this has an effect on people than you've got your head buried in the sand. Historically as an imperium ends, chaos and anarchy reign.
34
It may bear some relation to the countless numbers of mostly young male Muslims who have unleashed terror attacks ion the US and other countries as well as all of those who have gone over to join ISIS and its ilk. These men seem to be angry that they are not making it at the level they feel they deserve. They aren't "respected". They decide that they are the victims of injustice and they want others to pay for it. They often have backgrounds as petty criminals, are guilty of domestic violence etc. I don't see a big difference between these guys except that one supposedly kills "for Allah" and the other kills to make others feel their pain perhaps.
1
The shooters throughout this sordid history in America have almost exclusively been white men.
4
It's time for the people who believe that they are responsible gun owners to insist that our nation come up with ways to keep guns out of the hands of people who intend harm to others. Those who believe they are responsible gun owners and the NRA have eloquently made their case that the 2nd Amendment protects their right to own and use firearms. Their passionate defense of that right falls short because they fail to acknowledge that we all have a right to avoid being injured by a weapon used irresponsibly. I'm real tired of being told that there's nothing to be done except hope that legal gun owners don't use their guns irresponsibly and hope that people don't illegally obtain guns.
8
either report it as ongoing normal life like road accidents, or become a sane nation and change the gun laws where offenders face serious jail time.
4
How did this criminal have guns? He stabbed a woman and his neighbors said he would fire his gun all night long. Why weren't his guns taken away. Oh, that's right gun owners have more rights than everybody else.
14
Australia knew what to do and did it. Buyback assault weapons. Mass shootings are now near zero. Here in America, you cannot own weapons of war. You cannot own Stinger Missiles, rocket launchers nor hand grenades. It’s time now to outlaw assault weapons and large magazines. They have no other purpose than to kill people. Your gun must be single shot, pump, lever or bolt action, no magazines larger than six.
But your Republican politician takes “political donations” from the NRA and arms manufacturers. If you persist in voting for Republicans, you have only yourself to blame when death comes to your door.
6
"Only" 4. I bet this won't even make the top stories over at Fox News. I'm seeing a pattern here - the two things that remain the same are guns and people. We should do more to regulate one of those two things.
2
Pretty soon the headlines will be about the days there are NO shootings. Never mind, there'll be more thoughts and prayers today.
3
“This incident, as tragic and as bad as it is, could have been so much worse if it wasn’t for the quick thinking and staff at our elementary school,” Mr. Johnston said.
Yes, we're very fortunate that mass shootings like this happen regularly enough that schools have a plan of action ready to implement through prior training in the event of an armed gunman! Isn't America great?
10
About 15 years ago, my then congressman told someone that the NRA is more powerful than Al-Qaeda. He then voted not to extend the assault weapon ban.
The NRA exists to help the gun industry reap huge profits. It's tragic that Big Gun has legal immunity thanks to an act of Congress.
The only hope now is the lawsuit that the Sandy Hook families are courageously pursuing.
5
Reagan helped Rs ram a bill through Congress in the 80s that expressly exempts gun manufacturers from traditional products liability actions (the same kind of suits that brought big tobacco to heel and that resulted in safer cars and safer appliances). Gun deaths soared after that. Did anyone ever ask why Mr. Free Market himself carved out a cozy little special niche for one special industry ? Well, it wasn't for the public health and safety. It was just for the money. Congress has been for sale to NRA ever since.
If it doesn't make you throw up, it should.
2
I would like to hear more thoughts and see more action on how to handle people who are potentially developing into these sociopathic shooters. The mental health system as I know it (and I know it pretty well) is not set up to manage someone who is currently not posing any threat but could go off the rails in the future. Without a report of crime, our system does not allow for locking up, and this is a good thing. But.
I have a family member who actually cant seem to get more services for his very very complex collection of mood disorders, because his local system (Boston hospitals!!!) has actually tired of dealing with him. They have effectively turned him away, saying "we can't help you anymore." He does not have any close family to be involved with his care (I live 1200 miles away and frankly do not want to deal with this person at all), and he is functioning higher than many people. But someday, I fear, I might see his name in the news, and wonder still what should have been done.
Ideas (realistic, practical, and thought out please)?
3
"It could have been worse than it was." That's what a leading local law enforcement official is saying on the television this morning. Seems like I heard a similar statement after the Las Vegas attack.
I'm just curious what the "official" number is for an acceptable mass murder?
5
Having left the US years ago I have been believing that there are other countries that have as much freedom as the US claims . I have been proven wrong: no other land has the freedom to sell weapons to the deranged.
5
In the 2nd amendment it states a well regulated militia. It's already in the constitution to regulate.
6
Counted thirty-two different firearm magazines at my local Walmart yesterday. My country. Land of conspiracy theories and deep distrust of government.
6
Many great , intelligent comments regarding gun ownership and the 2nd amendment, but like many things wrong with our so-called democracy, nothing will be done about it. "Let them rant," say the politicians, "By tomorrow all will be forgotten."
2
The saddest part is how this is all connected.
Our politicians take private money from the wealthy and do their bidding. The social contract is rent: unions busted, jobs shifted sway, wages stagnate while private and public benefits disappear. The middle class is under assault. Anger increases.
In order to promote such a minority agenda, politicians promote fear and rage in order to convince the majority of white voters to support their own further demise. The tax bill is only the latest attempt.
Government is repeatedly disparaged precisely because it is the equalizer to concentrated wealth and lopsided power. Yet the aggrieved white voter is trained to believe it causes all his problems. Government for sale causes a further loss of faith.
The NRA successfully promotes guns as a way to provide an illusive sense of safety easily accessible to the aggrieved voters. Instead of safety carnage only gets worse.
Geez. Are there any bad choices being made here?
5
Tme for another round of "thoughts and prayers" from our DC politicians. (C'mon, boys, speak up.) It really helps us to know you are all thinking and praying. Yup. It really helps.
I would think you all would have your "thoughts and prayers" comments pretty well memorized by now.
3
La Malfa, Congressman for this town, accepted campaign donations from the NRA. He opposes rational gun control. Maybe now that a mass shooting happened in Tehama he will rethink his priorities.
6
Again, more innocent victims as the price to be paid so the pro-slaughter bunch has the freedom to "bear arms."
3
Lather, rinse repeat. Another day, another mass shooting. Ho Hum. "Only" 4 killed and 10 wounded this time so no records to be broken here. Below the fold news.
What on earth is the matter with us? Why have we not done anything? Had the gunman been able to get into the classrooms we could have had another Sandy Hook. Obviously being crazy and stabbing one's neighbor isn't enough to have one's guns taken away. Are we only going to see action on this when the elected officials in our government experience personally the devastation wrought by our love affair with guns? What will it take til we have finally had enough?
4
How so very sad. This horrible situation received very back-page coverage today. Have we become so callous as a nation? I am outraged.
4
Previous articles have stated that the majority of these mass shootings is committed by "sane" individuals. I think a new definition of what constitutes "insanity" is in order. Does a "sane" person randomly murder a total stranger? This is not to suggest that such an individual is legally "insane" and that he (it is almost always a "he") no longer knows right from wrong and should be immune to prosecution. But such a person is clearly mentally ill.
1
If he was considered threatening enough to warrant a restraining order against him, why was he allowed to keep his firearms???
4
Men have simply gotten out of control and are going over a cliff. When will our government wise up and prevent dangerous people from owning guns? When will our government outlaw weapons of mass destruction? When will our government decide that our right to stay alive and safe is more important than the rights of gun owners to possess killing machines? When will the Republicans stop obeying the National Rifle Association in order to protect gun manufacturers? Have you no shame? Have you no care or love for your fellow citizens, who you are supposed to serve?
4
America's gun culture is part and parcel one with America's military-industrial complex. Most gun enthusiasts are ex-military. The military's first function is to strip a civilian of his reverence for human life to kill the enemy. Once this taboo is broken down, the seeds of paranoia take root because once you've killed, you can be killed. It's like karma. Then the military discharges you into a society where life is revered. You're like a fish out of water. Capitalism is very much like war and uses the same language: fight for survival, strategy, destroying the enemy, etc. This doesn't help reintegration. The ex-soldier feels naked without a gun. This may not describe the nutjob who went on a killing spree, but it does illustrate the futility of trying to change the Second Amendment in our military culture.
If you want a less violent domestic culture, we need to be a less violent country vis-a-vis other countries.
3
This would not have happened in Australia
2
He had a restraining order against him and he was still allowed to possess guns???? It seems ludicrous to me that we can't at least agree on universal background checks to prevent anyone with a mental illness or criminal history from possessing firearms. This would not prevent any law abiding citizen from owning a gun, so no reasonable gun advocate should oppose this. Come on people! Let's at least try to make it hard for people who shouldn't have guns to get them. Do we need to fight about that too?
4
"the gunman ... first shot a woman near his home with whom he had an continuing dispute. But the remaining victims were shot at random"
Why "But"? -- as though it's understandable that the guy was just shooting someone he knew, and the rest of the victims were a surprise.
No, this is another case of angry white guy with semiautomatic terrorizing a community. No surprise at all, rather the new normal.
2
The gunman had previously knifed a woman with whom he had an argument.
The judge issues a restraining order for the gunman not to go near the woman.
The judge allows the gunman to still have guns.
The gunman goes on a rampage, and kills 4 people, including the woman with whom he had knifed previously.
What am I missing here?
81
Perhaps the judge did not know the gunman still had guns? Perhaps there was no further questioning of the gunman or search of his residence to ensure this? Maybe he got guns after the knifing incident? Hmmmmm.....
1
Plus a neighbor says he regularly fires off a hundred rounds at home.
1
What you are missing is the fact that this is a white man. A white man has the privilege of being a menace to society out in the open with no shame or fear of being locked up or put down. It is his right. Ultimately, this is the what the gun lobby is fighting for. Were this man not white, he would have been hounded and harrassed by his parole officer and be sitting in a cell for violating it, if not outright killed.
3
How could this happen after Obama took everyone's guns away?
68
I know! how is this possible! I think the Times needs to do some deep investigative reporting and look in to this.
And please, will the Times et al. please spare us lengthy profiles of the shooter and articles about his motives? He and his ilk should get as little publicity as possible.
26
@James. I disagree. These killers should be publicized so people will learn how varied the killers are and that the only dependable common denominator is that military style guns are too available.
1
More publicity is needed as this shooting spree is barely a footnote and the incident so common that virtually no one even notices. We are numb to this type of behavior unless the death toll is higher. All of these killings must be widely exposed if we are ever to face our foolishness with guns in this country.
Thank you I agree. The media needs to make an effort to minimize the publicity this shooter gets. We are dealing with an epidemic, and we need to stop it from spreading even more. The media can play a big role in this. Major media outlets need to get to together and agree to only give the attention to the victims and the heroic people who help.
It’s now become routine. Who needs foreign terrorists when every single day somewhere in the US people are shot and killed. And what is the point in saying anything anymore about gun violence when nothing changes. It’s hopeless. The reality is this is the new norm in the US. If seeing kids gunned down in cold blood on a daily basis isn’t enough to move the majority of public to stop voting for mostly Republican lawmakers beholden to the NRA nothing will do it. It’s totally sick. And if you have kids and want them to be safe your only real option is to leave the US.
92
Next, instead of enacting sane sane gun control laws, the Republicans will call for an examination of the gunman's brain. That's for when it's an American white shooter. If he had dark skin, then he'd be called a terrorist. Our violent culture obviously fosters and empowers crazy heavily armed white men. How many more all be sacrificed on the altar of the second amendment?
1
Adopt NJ’S gun laws. Period. STOP the trafficking of illegal guns.
14
My sentiments exactly!
Stop the trafficking of ALL guns. But we'll get used to such deaths, just as we are getting used to the monster in the you-know-which-house. (I'm afraid we won't have freedom of speech much longer. Fascism, you know.)
Repeal the Second Amendment and permit our lawmakers to enact common-sense laws regulating the ownership, possession, and use of firearms.
67
OUR lawmakers? Common sense?
1
No "repeal" needed. It states in the 2nd amendment a well regulated militia. But you know, people got agendas of their own and will only see what they want to see. Just like how the part of the 1st amendment Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, OR PROHIBITING THE FREE EXERCISE THEREOF. Technically children should be allowed to pray and teachers too but you know...agendas.
Repeal the 2nd amendendment....period.
2
I am beyond disgusted with my country. WE are the problem. I've not heard of one march planned on Washington, D.C., after Vegas, after Texas. Have we become that apathetic? Have we simply thrown up our hands to the NRA so to speak, because we are THAT certain that we are powerless to effect change?
60
Let's plan the march!
1
Marches do nothing. The media doesn't even cover marches and if they do the other half of the media calls it " fake news". I don't know what the answer is but its probably not going to stop until, god forbid, a couple of high profile politicians children are involved. The hypocrisy is so disheartening. I am all for owning fire arms but this is getting crazy.
I heard Thom Hartmann talking about this and I think he's got a great idea. We need to register guns and gun users the same way we do with drivers and cars. You have to take a hands on practical class to learn how to use a car and and pass a test to get a license to drive, you must register your car and you must have liability insurance for your car. It seems so reasonable to do this same thing with fire arms. However I am very aware that when it comes to fire arms "reasonable" is the last word that enters the debate.
1
Let people buy and keep guns. But first, they should serve a two-year tour of duty in a hot spot America is engaged in. I am sure our NRA leadership, be the patriots that they are, will be the first to sign up, or not.
30
If "arms" includes any gun, why does it not include rocket launchers and nuclear bombs? By limiting arms to guns and rifles (coincidentally, those are the money makers for the NRA industry), the regulation of arms is already implied, i.e., it is limited to guns and rifles. If an assault rifle is within the scope of the intention of the framers of the Constitution, surely they also intended the use of personal rocket launchers?
I just do not understand the rationale as to the regulation of arms. Either acknowledge that restriction is implied in any argument, and refine that restriction to something that is reasonable for the safety of those of us who want to peaceably assemble, or just go crazy and blow the country up with tanks and missiles and bombs. Why do we accept the artificial constraint established by the NRA and its henchmen, that is, that a firearm can not be regulated but other weapons are not allowable?
32
And all the congressman with NRA 'A' ratings won't even notice this story. Give me a GOP with an 'F' rating and you might get some respect.
We feel almost lucky that those quick-thinking employees locked the classrooms. I guess it's time for remote-activated locks and bullet proof doors in schools now.
25
An 'F' rating from the NRA should be grounds for shouting for joy.
Shirts should be made that say, "My representative is an honor student. The NRA gave him an F."
1
Is it yet time to rename the GOP as the "Thoughts and Prayers Party" or the "2nd Amendment Party". Either one rings true for me.
41
How about calling the GOP:
Guns
Over
People party?
62
This would make a great t-shirt! I'd order one in a heart beat.
If these shootings are all the fault of Republicans, why were there no drastic changes to gun laws during the 16 years of Clinton and Obama? Columbine occurred under Clinton and Newtown during Obama's administration. Neither proposed sweeping legislation or relentlessly urged the public to pressure GOP lawmakers to change their position.
I think it’s time for a Bring-Your-Gun-To-Congress day. The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed, right?
47
Middle East terrorists are wasting their money on terror cells in the US. They would be more effective simply funding the NRA.
102
You mean, join Russia in funding the NRA?
Another crazy person with an assault rifle. How could anyone possibly have predicted it would happen?
56
Gov. Jerry Brown said: “Anne and I are saddened to hear about today’s violence in Tehama County, which shockingly involved schoolchildren. We offer our condolences to the families who lost loved ones and unite with all Californians in grief.”
What Governor Brown should have said is that he is ordering an emergency session of the legislature to ban gun ownership from people out on bond for violent crime, and also immediately prohibiting all assault weapons in the state of California, and demanding they be turned in under penalty of jail.
73
Why? All anyone has to do is run up to Reno or over to Vegas and get all the firepower they need. This needs to be a national effort. And we ALL know what that means: NOTHING! will be done. Again and again and again.
Apparently, life is cheap in the UInited States. Especially those of school kids.
1
I don't consider anyone owning a weapon designed for mass-killings to be safe.
Ownership of such weapons is prima facie evidence of unfitness to own such weapons.
64
I know. Let's arm the schools. Machine guns atop each school. Then, I am certain, all American kids will be safe. More guns equals more safety, right?
32
Good idea.
4
Five people died today and several children were injured and traumatized. This story barely made it to day news and has received very little coverage tonight--it is about tax cuts for the rich and Roy Moore.
Why, even the thoughts, prayers, and moment of silence are gone. It is now another day, another mass shooting. Enjoy your evening.
70
- because not enough people died, I would say.
1
He was "crazy" firing hundreds of shots at night and in the morning. He had a judicial restraining order....yet he could possess and buy firearms. So who's crazy, the shooter, or the system that enables people like him?
112
both.
1
If annually, many thousands of U.S. citizens were being routinely slaughtered in a far flung country, the US government would demand answers. They would call for inquiries and possibly even condem those foreign nation's for being so inept. Some might even suggest sending in the military.
So why are the deaths of thousands of Americans different when they take place in California rather than Kuwait?
34
Save your prayers, he is not listening. But, does it not seem to be time that god removed free will from these men and stopped them from doing these horrific things to helpless, innocent people.
6
How is it that a crazy person, a felon with a a pending case could get hold of a semi automatic rifle and two handguns? How could he have been shooting rounds at night, and in the morning for several days and the cops were not called by neighbors to report him and check on his permission to own guns given his previous record? This at a minimum. Are these "incidents" an X-ray of the status of this country's "soul"? Sounds like the days of the wild wild West all over the country. No more prayers, please. We want action.
29
Recent events prove that we all have to avoid people and places not gone through Trump's "very extreme vetting" process.
7
I would be interested in a thorough examination into the psychology of people who response to frustration and conflict by violence toward people who were uninvolved. Not mere statistical correlations but something that attempts to offer some kind of understanding. What goes wrong in these people's souls? Is there something in the culture that promotes this kind of reaction?
7
@KBronson
I applaud your intellectual curiosity and quest for understanding.
I myself, however, am far more interested in what was going on in the mind of the judge who let this shooter go free on bond, with no restrictions on gun possession, in what is at one point in this article referred to as a "dispute" with a neighbor, but at another point detailed as a dispute in which he "threatened" one neighbor and "stabbed" another, a woman, who was one of those killed today.
Now that #45 and his gang are rapidly filling long vacant judgeships with people who follow the right wing party line and the bidding of the NRA, and possible worse, whom the ABA ranks as "unqualified," watch for more such mis-judgments from the federal bench as well. (https://www.npr.org/2017/11/09/563133699/lawmakers-advanced-5-of-trumps-...
Over and over, we read about shootings like this, by people already identified as domestic abusers, or violent neighbors or co-workers who will never ever be even temporarily deprived of their right to possess firearms until the wife, the kids and the dog, or the boss and 6 co-workers, or three neighbors have been deprived of their right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
I can still become outraged and depressed by the weekly servings of mass slaughter, but I do wonder when I, like many others, will become numb and accustomed to the "new normal".
20
No longer a headline. Even the NY Times is becoming numb to the shootings in the US.
37
It’s a developing story. Very little information has been released — even the gunamn’s name is not released pending notification of family. The story should move up in the news when the all the names are released, and more is known about the shooter.
1
If only those kindergartners had guns, this tragedy could have been avoided. Signed,
Your Friendy NRA
27
So true.
1
shots, thoughts, prayers - rinse, repeat - courtesy of the NRA and its spineless supporters in Congress
31
And in the White House.
4
OK....Let's see if our prayers help this time......They sure were helpful in last week's mass murders as well as those in Las Vegas! Keep those thoughts and prayers coming and this problem will be solved!!
26
This country is being held hostage by a group of lunatics who prefer 1000s dead every year, to giving up their fantasies of self-defense and armed insurrection.
29
Thanks, NRA. Thanks, GOP. Another day, another bloodbath.
31
Is it time for thoughts and prayers, building a wall, or banning Muslims?
10
So many worthy candidates for NRA man of the year.
13
And it happens again, and again, and again.
Nothing will be done until we begin to badger our politicians night and day, and run the NRA-owned puppets out of office.
17
How could the shooter fire 100s of rounds every night, yet law enforcement took no action.
12
JaneR, I don't know. I hunt deer and practice on our rural property. I call the neighbors to let them know when I'm target shooting. And I do it during daylight.
What puzzles me is that the police had complaints about the guy and did not keep an eye on him. The restraining order only came the day before this tragedy.
We simply have to do more. If, like the shooter in Texas, we find he passed a background check because of an error, that's where we can start fixing our broken system. We can also make it illegal to transfer any gun without the FCIS background check. I've passed it 3 times in 16 years and it's no burden on big sellers, and small ones can use a licensed dealer to run the check for a buyer. One shop can make money doing that at a gun show: no check, no purchase.
Because 2nd Amendment.
Mass shootings are now minor news for the NYTimes, well below. Below the travails of UCLA players alleged stealing of sunglasses. Below Jeff Sessions lies, and analysis of a non-investigation of Clinton. Yep, mass shootings are hardly news at all
15
One day, all these gun fanatics will have a chance to meet with all the children who were killed by the gun in this country.
They'll ask WHY???
And they'll answer proudly. 2ND AMENDMENT!
I read conservative newspaper to see what they say about this issue. They all claim they are warm and empathetic people. But every freaking time, they'll say this is a complicated issue and will never give a concrete solution.
Cowards!
At least we are here trying to find a solution, however incomplete it may be. You guys just stay back with your hearts and prayers. I'm Christian, and Jesus will never approve of prayers without any action. You guys are the proverbial pseudo-Christians who drown while praying when helps show up to rescue.
9
What is conveniently missing in the 2nd amendment argument is the line that says well regulated militia(citizens). Regulation!
And it goes one and on and on....
5
Just another day in the US of NRA. Another second amending. Why bother? Sorry, don't feel sorry for anyone after this second amending either. You americans want this.
8
Don't go laying this gun-obsession on "all" Americans.
1
Anyone who votes Republican is voting for the NRA and gun violence to continue and escalate. They really care more about having guns everywhere than anyone’s safety including that of family members. Total insanity. The Aussie got it right but what happened there will never happen here, unfortunately.
3
A neighborhood dispute used to end with a fist fight. Now it's a murderous rampage.
9
Guns are like cars: they offer substantial benefits in certain circumstances and threaten the general public when under the control of people who, permanently or temporarily, use them in ways that threaten the rights of others to live safely and normally. The NRA is, like Big Tobacco, all about keeping their income flowing even when their industry is being really challenged. What part of 'a well regulated militia' do the Second Amendment zealots not understand? We are wasting our time with 'gun control', and not just because of the cockamamie resistance so far, but because that's about as pertinent as building the wall on the Mexican border: what we REALLY need is:
--limits/tracking of ammunition (Las Vegas shooter)
--judicial authority to permanently or temporarily confiscate weaponry or access to weaponry by individuals who have demonstrated irresponsibility (this is already in place, at least here in Georgia, for hunters who violate wildlife policies: you 'shine' deer, they get your truck, boots, rifle and you never pull that again)
--greater accountability for all stakeholders in reporting aberrant behavior: Air Force didn't turn in the Texas Church shooter when they should have: pay up big. You did nothing when Uncle James Huberty said he was going out to hunt humans: the lawsuits costs you your house
7
This is in "other news" because mass shooting happen almost every day.
Is it maybe a bit good that it's in "other news" because it doesn't glorify/ indulge the shooter with his awful attack and awful face plastered on the front page with a banner headline? Maybe if we seem less impressed it will happen less? Eh. Probably not.
6
I think it is pretty clear that there is a class of dangerous people in our nation who need extra background checks before they can be given permission to buy guns: White Men.
Enough already.
12
Notice this mass shooter also assaulted a woman and yet he was more protected by the system than she was.
1
White men tend towards the mass shootings that make the news. Black men just shoot each other in their own neighborhoods and mostly don't make the news. The common denominator though is men shooting guns and killing people.
Let people have maybe small handguns and/or a hunting rifle. Otherwise, take away the guns. That's right, since none of us can ever advocate any kind of gun policy changes without the NRA etc. claiming the government's coming to take the guns away...Since they won't talk about anything or be sensible at all....Take them away. Yeah, second amendment, whatever. Slavery was legal once too, right? Our constitution was not written by God, it was written by people. There is no longer slavery. God willing, someday we'll eradicate these tools for killing human beings.
19
No worries! It's not a "gun" issue!
3
I guess someone will find that thoughts and prayers are poor mechanisms in preventing the next shooting.
5
The almost unlimited ability of any person to own guns, including criminals thanks to a lack of state and federal regulation, is a de facto right to use those guns to kill.
That's what guns are for...to kill people.
Gun nuts values their gun rights more than they value the lives of their own children.
It's literally insane.
17
If people would read the 2nd amendment including those that love guns so much, they would see in the 2nd amendment it calls for regulation. People have been pushing their agendas to override the constitution to support their own delusional entitlements.
1
Neighbor is reporting the shooter was a known Felon and had terrorized the neighborhood for quite sometime
Additionally the shooter was known to fire guns in the early morning hours
It is illegal for a convicted felon to have a firearm.
Also shooter was apparently a domestic violence offender
California with all its restrictive gun laws and they still can't enforce one that's been on the books for decades
You're a felon and you have a gun - You go back to jail...
https://twitter.com/JimSchultz_RS
9
You would not believe how many crazy people in my state have guns. They are everywhere. I had a neighbor where I used to live who drove around with a handgun in his pants and was a very scary crazy guy; no one would cross him because we all knew he was armed. At a big meeting on a development issue it got a little scary as he was there and we knew he was armed as usual. Guns are a sacred cow in Vermont. Most are not using them to shoot Bambi and put dinner on the table despite protestations to the contrary.
1
Just shows you if the victim is female and the perp is a white male...how little they care about her. He comes first.
"You would not believe how many crazy people in my state have guns."
Same here.
I thought I was having a heart attack so I called 911 but they said “now is not the time to talk about myocardial infarction”
19
I guess he qualifies as "a well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State".
11
Not counting today, there have been 13,559 gun deaths and 317 mass shootings in the US so far this year (gunviolencearchive.org). Had enough yet? Ready to change something? No? Well then. . . . . Carry On.
18
The definition of insanity:
Doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.
As usual, thoughts and prayers to all the bereaved and speedy recovery to the wounded.
Next!
Maybe the only way we will change this would be if other countries warned their citizens that the US was too dangerous to visit and prevented them from coming here. If tourism dropped to zero maybe at last we'd see some action.
1
The NRA is indirectly responsible for all the mass shootings in America. It is time they were stopped. We need stern gun laws like those in Europe. Where are they? Lives are important. Gun profits are for the devil.
10
At least there is one less dangerous gun owner on the planet. No community is safe from guns.
3
Jerry Brown's commented this shooting "...shockingly involved schoolchildren".
Who's shocked, exactly? I'm shocked more children weren't involved.
Another day in America, another mass shooting.
Or perhaps it's "only" a mini-mass shooting.
7
Gun nuts are correct. Guns don’t kill people. It’s the American culture. Where else in the world do supposedly educated elected officials actually preach gun ownership as the main solution to the problems that their constituents face?
20
Stabbed a woman in a domestic dispute a few years back and still has access to a gun. Just like the church killings last week or did forget about that already?
15
Oh look, another opportunity to offer Thoughts And Prayers! I guess THAT must be what Republicans are praying for, since that is what we are getting.
9
Don't worry everybody! Speaker Ryan and his colleagues will pray for those who were killed and those who lost loved ones. Everything will then be alright. Problem solved!
11
Four dead. Does that meet the `thoughts and prayers' threshold? Or does it have to be at least double digits? My guess is that this latest act of American bloodshed won't even produce a syllable about gun control or gun safety. Despite the fact that this could have easily been another Newtown. Remember Newtown? I know the murder of 20 little children happened a long time ago; the list of American carnage has grown long since that day. No, the killings in Northern California are just another day in America. Some day down the road to the glee of the NRA we, like Jeff Sessions, we might even say we don't recall the incident.
10
I just feel so sick. So sad. I'm so sorry for those children and that community.
7
Perhaps it’s time to reframe the discussion. The status quo is regular mass shootings and a gun violence rate far in excess of other developed nations. So long as we adhere to the status quo - minimal firearm restrictions and whatever else we are/are not doing - the deaths will continue. That is the cost of the NRA’s 2nd amendment policy position. So long as we admit that, and make a conscious choice to continue as a nation in such a light, we will have at least made an honest, if deplorable choice.
If, however, we decide we value human life we MUST do something different, and let’s look to the laws of nations that have much lower gun violence rates as a starting place.
9
Can ANYONE justify the use of assault weapons (not small firearms) by civilians in the US. Assault weapons are for assault, period, not for self defense or hunting. In fact, they have been used consistently and exclusively for mass murders and carnages , which now have become routine in this country.
NRA's overpowering influence on our elected officials, and especially GOP candidates, against even a modicum of control over assault weapons, makes them equally culpable with each and every mass murderer, and should be treated as guilty partners to these mass murderers, subject to prosecution.
9
This is exasperating. This is exhausting. Why must we keep enduring this and numbing ourselves to this type of extreme violence? Any other type of attack would prompt some sort of reaction to pass some sort of legislation aimed at reducing the risks of such an attack. But why is it when a shooting happens, the right continues to shrug it off like it is some rare occurrence.
When is the right time to ever talk about gun violence and gun control in this country? A previous NYT quote from Dan Hodges said it best: “Once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over.”
9
Ah, but these children were not "unborn."
9
We most certainly do not need any restriction whatsoever on any kind of gun, ammunition or gun-accessory, such as bullets that pierce body armor, silencers, and converters that make semi-automatic guns work exactly the same as machine guns. No regulation at all is needed. None whatsoever.
Instead, we require a simple judicial declaration that guns by their very nature are inherently dangerous, and therefore every manufacturer, distributor, retailer and owner of any gun, ammunition or gun-accessory is absolutely and strictly liable for any harm that it causes, with no exceptions permitted.
It is called the doctrine of "ultrahazardous liability." It already applies to live electrical lines. It should apply the same to guns, ammunition and gun-accessories. If you make, sell or own any such merchandise, you must be held absolutely and strictly liable for any harm traced to the merchandise, with no exceptions permitted on any ground.
Over time, problem solved.
10
In Europe, after terrorist attacks, people were willing to sacrifice some freedom for safety. In America, it goes the other way around.
7
I'd like to remind everyone that it is too early to talk about gun control... actually, I'd like to remind everyone that at this point, it is also entirely too late to talk about gun control.
8
I just read many of the comments and believe it or not it made me feel good. Not in the sense of happiness but in the satisfaction that there are so many people with whom I agree with regarding these shootings. The madness of it all and the number of innocents is horrific. I would be terrified if I knew my next door neighbor was a gun owner. I am afraid of guns and people who consider them to be a panacea for our problems and are willing to expose their families to these weapons, especially their children. What madness to think that guns are wonderful. My husband was in the army and could use any gun but never never would we have a gun in our home.
9
We truly have a national insanity about guns. If there was a disease that killed 100 people a day, 35,000 a year, year after year, we would do something about it. Money would be spent finding a cure. We certainly wouldn't have a law that makes it illegal to study the problem. If we found the cause was a common product, we would make that product illegal. We would hold the manufacturers liable for the damage it causes.
Scientists study ways to prevent diseases that kill us. Heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, high blood pressure, etc.
We make cars safer. We make factories safer. We make food and water safer (at least we used to).
Generally, we try to make the country safer.
The exception is guns, a "tool" whose purpose is to kill people and, when used properly, does that quite effectively. We have a powerful organization that wants more people to have this killing machine. And to take it wherever they go. They've convinced millions that this dangerous product gives them freedom. The result is an epidemic of death and violence.
We have a national obsession with guns, and it's killing us. We need help.
12
Too many weapons, magazines that hold too many rounds and the price per round is too cheap. Also, limit the number of weapons and rounds one may own, and they may only be used at a range or while hunting. Locked in a lock box to and fro said venues.
If found breaking any of the laws, huge fine and imprisonment.
Signed,
An owner, and hunter. All of my siblings and friends agree.
Plus this is homegrown terrorism. Be upset, be angry.
Get in touch with your representatives and make them do something.
Thoughts and prayers go nowhere.
7
I support hunters and responsible gun owners. However, I understand keeping a gun in your home endangers your family far more than guaranteeing their safety. The massacre of innocents we have occurring in our country now is pure lunacy. The political body is paralyzed by the money they receive from NRA lobbyists. "Drain the swamp", indeed.
3
Because of the remote location and the relatively small number of dead, this story will likely fade out of our consciousness very soon. But if I am not mistaken, this story is worth following up on. Typically, we hear lots of anti-gun statements sfter a shooting like this. But, if I am not mistaken, this is big hunting and gun ownership country, When have we heard from 2nd Amendment enthusiasts affected by a shooting like this? This is definitely a story worth telling.
4
Thank God for the quick action of school officials and teachers! This could have been another Sandy Hook. It's bad enough, but it was on a trajectory to be so very much worse. I can't imagine the terror these schoolchildren felt. WHEN will our country value more highly the safety and education of our children than the "right" of a violent man to own military-style weapons and use them to act out his rage?
8
And the terror will remain with those children, and their families, long after the gunman is (dead and) buried. Terror enough to last a lifetime, and it could happen again tomorrow.
1
What does it say about the culture of this country that the story of the latest multi death shooting is found in “other news?”
29
Volumes.
3
I'm so sorry for all the people impacted by this shooting and for the pain, grief, and slog to recovery that is coming. I'm sorry too that all they are going to get is platitudes, and "thoughts and prayers", and half of the country being OK with their loss because of some misguided beliefs about "freedom".
Every time this happens, I think back to the last few times we were told "now is not the time" and wonder if now could please be the time to talk about Newtown, or Pulse, or anything else in our rear view mirror,. Because all we have to look forward to now is more carnage followed by more loosening of regulations to arm more people, because these shootings are hugely profitable for the gun industry, as they cause people to feel unsafe, and they offer more guns as the solution to gun violence. It's like trying to cure cancer by saying we all should smoke more, over and over and over and over.
163
The NRA contributed to our Congressman’s election campaign. This Congressman is against gun control and is a big time Trump supporter. He needs to go.
1
Continuing carnage followed by platitudes -- yep, that's the future. And what should that tell us? It's not a quantum leap to conclude that the United States is dissolving into a banana republic at best. Or are we perhaps descending even further, on the way to becoming a land of state-sponsored anarchy and mindless bloodshed? Wait a sec. Are we already there?
How depressing and horrifying that every week now in this land of the free, innocent,unsuspecting people are killed by guns. One after another,these shootings go on. People are horrified, call for more regulation on guns and are totally ignored by those politicians asking for our thoughts and prayers. We've done enough of that already. When our government allows people with mental illness to buy as many guns as they want,we're operating in a deep,dark vacuum where our elected leaders choose to let the minority access guns to murder the majority. The right to own guns doesn't mean the right to kill innocents. Whatever the assorted demented reasons there are why the shooters act this way,if our government ignores it all and bends to the will of the NRA, there will continue to be mass killings and wounding and trauma to innocent people
70
These are the stats, tallied daily. http://www.gunviolencearchive.org/
It seems like elementary schools and also churches have become easy targets for murderous men with guns. Surely some of these are so-called copycat crimes, like renting or stealing trucks to kill pedestrians with on crowded streets. It just seems like no one cares any more who dies or gets hurt. There is something deeply and obviously wrong with our country that we value guns more than the life of a child.
28
"If Australia can ban guns why can't we?"
Google "gun crime in Sydney" and inform yourself.
Criminals have guns down there, and citizens don't.
Authorities are trying to waive search warrants for guns down there.
4
If you listen to bogus right-wing websites, yes. But if you look at peer-reviewed studies from academic researchers, crime dropped considerably. Here's one example:
"For Australia, the NFA seems to have been incredibly successful in terms of lives saved. While 13 gun massacres (the killing of 4 or more people at one time) occurred in Australia in the 18 years before the NFA, resulting in more than one hundred deaths, in the 14 following years (and up to the present), there were no gun massacres.
The NFA also seems to have reduced firearm homicide outside of mass shootings, as well as firearm suicide. In the seven years before the NFA (1989-1995), the average annual firearm suicide death rate per 100,000 was 2.6 (with a yearly range of 2.2 to 2.9); in the seven years after the buyback was fully implemented (1998-2004), the average annual firearm suicide rate was 1.1 (yearly range 0.8 to 1.4). In the seven years before the NFA, the average annual firearm homicide rate per 100,000 was .43 (range .27 to .60) while for the seven years post NFA, the average annual firearm homicide rate was .25 (range .16 to .33)
Additional evidence strongly suggests that the buyback causally reduced firearm deaths. First, the drop in firearm deaths was largest among the type of firearms most affected by the buyback. Second, firearm deaths in states with higher buyback rates per capita fell proportionately more than in states with lower buyback rates."
2
Yes, there are guns there. There are guns everywhere. So look at the chart in a recent issue of the Times on frequency of gun deaths by country. If it doesn't make you think that Australia and others are on to something, then you're part of the problem.
5
Google "mass shootings in Australia"...... let me know what you find after they restricted guns. Then google "mass shootings in America".....
2
Imo, this story is more important than the Sessions story. And yet there is his mug, pic after pic. We know what he looks like already.
We have a national crisis in these crackpots with guns killing others randomly or not. Our limpid response to Sandy Hook was probably a message -- that the only price to pay is your own death, which is clearly part of the design in almost all of these cases. The comments here about the NRA and Republicans and blah blah will not bring us change; nor will the knee jerk comments about the constitution. What worked today, a little, was trained people protecting a building, and what worked the other day was an armed citizen stepping up at almost the right time (no fault of his). This inner violence we have is our greatest problem to solve, and we better get busy doing just that. Bickering just means more will die, and it also means we lose ever more global status. I have zero mercy or empathy for anyone of these lunatics, but I'm done enduring it all. It's just bad and needs to stop and we should be able to come up with something. Forget Sessions for a bit; he's no more important than our kids, friends, families, and ourselves. Can't we please come to the table to stop kids from being shot????
14
These stories of random killings are becoming so repetitious as to approach the boring. A new form of representation is needed; perhaps the numbers killed broken down into different colours for either sex - blue for male, red for female and for children under 14 years purple. Since so many seem fascinated by the weaponry used added interest could be given by describing, in detail, the weapon used and the history of its maker. The all would be paid for by the NRA which they could accompany with such platitudes as 'condolences to the victims' families, a call for prayers and NRA membership information.''
8
Tomorrow, there will be interviews in the town and someone will say "This is a safe little town. We don't expect this in our nice little town."
There are lots and lots of little towns and each week or two, one of them has a shooter but there are lots and lots of little towns.
14
It is too soon to talk about talking about not talking about what we need to talk about. But our prayers are with those who are not ready to talk about what we need to talk about not talking about.
17
My thoughts and prayers also take in all those who are going to be killed by guns. We just don't know the place and names yet, but if any of you are reading this, know that you are in my thoughts and prayers. Thank you for being there to pray for.
1
When will we start calling the NRA for what it is - a domestic terrorist organization that promotes guns and violence.
127
never
Thank you Patrick Ryan for telling it like it is...I couldn't agree more. How do we get others to agree?
1
Thanks VMAR. I guess it begins in our communities and trying to hold respectful dialogue with one another about this important issue of the need for gun control.
Here we go again with another pointless round of comments making superior clucking noises about how if only we got rid of every gun in America these shootings would automatically cease. If Australia can ban guns why can't we? Naturally every shooting is automatically the GOP's fault because they're all NRA stooges. Never mind that all California's ultra liberal Democratic governor could do was express that his thoughts and prayers were with the victims at this terrible time. But even Governor Brown isn't going after anyone's guns anytime soon.
We might as well get used to the fact that we Americans are not safe anywhere from coast to coast. Welcome to the new normal.
Oh here's something else to think about--not a single gunman involved in a mass shooting belonged to the NRA.
6
AR-15 assault rifle that had just been deemed the NRA’s 2017 Gun of the Year.
“We're real excited,” a representative says in the video. “It’s actually the first time the NRA ever featured an AR-15 as the gun of the year.”
Fans of the Daniel Defense AR-15 included Stephen Paddock, who had at least one of the weapons in his hotel room. Paddock needed only the bump stock to make it into a virtual machine gun that could send violent death raining down on the defenseless crowd below."
Paddock really ought to have paid the $40 annual NRA dues.
8
Re: your last paragraph: NRA members, as opposed to the NRA itself, are quite responsible. I saw a recent poll in which 92% of NRA members were in favor of some gun restrictions and in favor of registration. The NRA was originally an organization for hunters. Hunters don't need assault weapons and most hunters are relatively responsible.
And Republicans ARE NRA stooges. Show me one Republican who is not an NRA stooge - there aren't any. They're not all necessarily in the pocket of the NRA, but they're scared to death of a primary challenge paid for by the NRA. And yes, all Jerry Brown could do was express his thoughts and prayers because Republicans keep stopping any meaningful gun restrictions whatsoever.
8
But they sure had easy access to rifles that carry multiple rounds and can be fired rapidly with or without adjustments or add ons. Please read my comment above.
Your thoughts and prayers mean nothing.
And, these are our very own homegrown terrorists.
What's wrong with what Australia did, what other countries do? The don't have the deaths that are piling up day after day like we do.
I will not stand for the new normal, it's not. More the ongoing pathetic.
4
This isn't a mental illness problem; this is a gun accessibility problem. And you wanna know something else? It will continue to happen again and again and again BECAUSE WE TOLERATE IT.
Every time there is a mass shooting, we send thoughts and prayers and cluck our tongues but take no action to prevent weapons of rapid murder from being sold to anyone with the cash to buy them.
WE TOLERATE THIS.
The day we stop tolerating mass murder will be the day we are probably all dead, because so far, no one wants to admit we are _not_ the solution, we are the problem.
https://wifelyperson.blogspot.com/
46
My God, how many people and children must die before society understands some people should never own guns?
40
I think Bob Dylan wrote a song that discuss this issue, How many roads must a man walk down, before you call him a man..."
5
I think society understands that very well. The problem is how to legally identify them and prevent them from doing so.
3
Jay, "society" understands nothing. We've, what? 330 million of us. We cannot agree on anything.
What we have is a Second Amendment in need of clarifying, but that would take a change in the Supreme Court. It will take generations. But we'll do it.
While one can argue about the point de jure, the NRA is de facto a terrorist organization. If our government won't do anything about it, Interpol should issue an arrest warrant for its leadership should they dare to step outside the US.
26
Governor Brown's statement says that today's mass shooting "shockingly involved schoolchildren."
Shockingly? Our country has been cool with people murdering schoolchildren since December 14, 2012.
50
our hearts and pr...oh right it's too early
14
Please please please give us gun control laws. Please!
26
California has among the strictest gun control laws in the country. Maybe they should try Vermont's approach?
1
Well they're not very strict at all if a guy who allegedly stabbed a neighbor earlier this year and was out on bond still owned guns.
7
When will this stop? We should assume when the payoff of political campaigns stop accepting donations from an industry that protects itself and it’s profits under a 1791 ratified amendment. Greed.
18
gun lobby says people are safer with more guns. time to start arming our school children. but what's the best age to start? infants can't pull the trigger but maybe voice control would work for them...
15
Are we so inured to this type of news that it fails to even make it above the fold? Apparently senseless gun violence isn’t Top News these days.
21
The truth is that the vast majority of Americans are not concerned that there are over 300 milliion guns and more than 33,000 gun deaths a year in this country. Those who clamor for stricter gun control only do so when people are killed in random shootings. Such incidents naturally makes us fear for our own safety. The problem is that once these incidents fade from the headlines we go back to telling ourselves that these incidents are very rare and that we are more likely to be hit by lightning than to be randomly shot. If we don't acknowledge this attitude and deal with it nothing is going to change.
15
That is patently false. Many of us are working towards gun control all the time. What do you need as proof? Ads in the papers? Tattoos? It's a legal process, not a hit movie.
14
Seagazer: I was referring to the general public, not to active gun control advocates. Keep up the good work.
Another week, another mass shooting. Didn't we all predict this last week? And won't there be another one next week, and the week after, and the week after? And so the abnormal becomes the norm, and Congress does absolutely nothing.
140
And Congress does nothing?
And your point being, that you expect Mitch McConnell or Paul Ryan to care about this issue?
Congress is controlled by the GOP.
It is the GOP, not Congress, that is NOT doing anything.
10
"Anne and I are saddened to hear about today's violence in Tehama County, which shockingly involved schoolchildren."
Really? Given the many, many school shootings we as a nation have had to endure without any real change in gun control in response, are we shocked that this next shooting happened and involved schoolchildren? I'd sadly argue there is nothing shocking about it.
1
Don't you know? It's too soon to talk about it, to politicize it.
Conveniently for many politicians, mass shootings happen so often, there will never be a time to talk about it. Funny how they're so "politically correct" on this issue.
2
Trump will again say that it's a "mental health issue."
I'm willing to bet that many of the people who are armed to the teeth in this country are mentally ill, which includes depression and paranoia.
Something's got to be done about this problem. Congress can't ignore it anymore.
26
Yes, it's a mental health issue (although mental health experts will tell you that it's not) because anyone who feels the need to own assault weapons and tons of weapons is indeed mentally ill.
5
"It's a mental health issue!" he cries, as he slashes funding for mental health services by 400 million dollars.
2
Saying it's a mental health issue (a NRA lie) is just a cowardly retreat from the truth: the bottom line is access to weapons. No gun no crime. I do not believe that these shooters (how about calling a spade a spade...they are murderers) are any more 'mentally' ill than the average person on the street. But since they have the right to own as many guns/ammo as they want, intimidating and then murdering people is as easy as having corn flakes for breakfast.
1
On important occasions, people sometimes say that there are no words to express their feelings. It can be trite or over-stated, but on this occasion, after far far too many like it, I really have no more words, and therefore no way to understand. I'm in numb, gaping silence.
15
Freedom, American style. The freedom of people with guns to kill anyone they chose, anywhere, anytime. A freedom that is used without restraint. If this country isn't unraveling before our eyes, it sure feels like it.
38
All to "get back at a neighbour".
Really, that's all it takes. Somebody on the other side of town has an everyday domestic dispute and boom, your child is dead.
Are you proud to be a country where that is true?
There's lots of things my country could do better but when a gunman shot up schoolchildren over here we banned guns. And it worked.
46
What maddens me about these scenarios is their predictability. According to a neighbor of the assailant, he was "shooting a lot of bullets lately, hundreds of rounds, large magazines...He’s been threatening us.” Good grief! When someone begins hoarding ammunition, it can't be good. Those bullets had to be bought, along with the man's gun, or guns. Why wouldn't law enforcement know about this and respond proactively? There should be a registry of all guns and ammunition purchased, and owners should have to periodically update the status of their firearms. Every time I buy a book at Barnes and Noble, a "you might also like" list appears on the receipt--because my purchasing habits are being monitored. Why is there no such system for monitoring the purchase of guns and ammunition? When someone begins stockpiling such things, it should warrant official notice:"Mr. Smith, we see that you've been buying up a mess of ammunition lately. Anything you'd like to share?" Under Mayor Giuliani, crime in New York was reduced through the "broken windows" theory of policing. This approach has its drawbacks, yes, but it was effective. Why not take a similar approach to gun crime, focused on local or individual concerns--to forestall large-scale problems? If people must register their firearms with a national database and routinely confirm the status of their guns, and if their purchases are monitored, such that any unusual activity is investigated, I have to think it would save lives.
16
The police must have been afarid of him, but they shouldn't be. Pre schoolers are more likely to die from a gunshot wound than police. Look it up.
2
Because the next step will be gun confiscation followed by tyranny. That is what the Nazi's did in Germany. First registration, then confiscation, then the Gestapo.
1
For an area that hardly ever gets snow, Louisiana sure has some slippery slopes.
2
Gov. Brown offered condolences for a shooting that "shockingly involved schoolchildren." Really? After Columbine and Sandy Hook, he was shocked that children were shot at school.
One person tries to blow up a plane; we all take our shoes off. Multiple people shoot children at school and we do nothing.
22
But aren't you shocked, too? I know I am. We still hold children's lives dear, even though it's happened before. It shocks me no less. Don't tell us to stop being shocked that someone would kill our children senselessly: We didn't do it.
4
When all parents, including those who are members of the NRA, have to worry about the safety of schools, places of worship, movie theaters, concert venues, etc. then something will be done.
19
No it won't because Congress does not respond to the needs of Americans. They respond to the needs of the NRA, partially because of campaign contributions and partially because they're afraid of a primary challenge by an even more Conservative candidate paid for by the NRA.
1
Republicans in Congress are trying to solve this urgent problem by working on tax breaks for the super-wealthy and taking away healthcare from millions.
233
Thanks for thinking that I'm "super wealthy". I'm not, really, but I stand to save close to 2000 annually in fed taxes. Sadly, that will just about cover the increases in my familys health insurance premiums that have occurred over the past 4 years.
1
Because the Republican Party is slowly sabotaging the ACA.
1
For forty years I worked on a military base in Germany and never feared someone would shoot me or my children, on or off base. I came back to America six years ago and understand the urge to buy a gun. Our gun culture breeds fear, the NRA encourages self protection while our leaders offer thoughts and prayers when mass shootings occur, but nothing changes. I had no fear in Europe, here I doubt myself and my decision never to own a gun.
63
You are right. It is horrible. This gun culture mentality rips to shreds the social contract. The more you buy into it, the more sense it makes. It is not a democratic mindset, but a feudal one. It is not about liberty, but about base human instincts. It is an enemy to a republic with a lower case "r". It is simply, anti-American to the core.
19
Guess we just need to confiscate guns and run the country with Prussian military discipline.
So....you are saying that you felt that your family was safer living on a military base with armed guards at the gates....but you have a problem with me owning a few handguns and rifles?
The first clause of the Second Amendment makes it perfectly clear that owning armaments entails a public responsibility. In keeping with the letter and spirit of that clause, every gun owner should be automatically enrolled in either the National Guard or military reserves, with the periodic training, exercises, and monitoring of conduct such service entails. How many shooting deaths would be prevented by such a provision, while still allowing citizens the right to bear arms?
163
Great idea!!
7
In Louisiana adult males are by statue in the militia until age 62.
Read the Heller decision. The prefatory clause is hardly 'perfectly clear.'
I don't like the NRA but I don't think this is an NRA problem. It's right a wing news problem, These men have been convinced that their poor outcome is not their responsibility. They have been trained to believe that their poor outcome is due to the "others" and that the "others" have no value. Gun control is not going to fix this.
13
Gun control might not "fix it", but it couldn't do any harm, could it? People who believe that their problems are the fault of "others" have little reason not to shoot these "others, if they can easily get their hands on the guns to do so.
39
Right. It can only fix it in every other country. Just not here, right?
15
I think the todays citizens aren't responsible enough to own a gun.
8
Great another mass killing. I am so bored. This gives me something to do. Write about it in the com box. Best are the active shooter variety. Tune into the news on tv. A break from routine. Way better than watching reruns on TV. Especially if you have a bunch of dishes to do, and you can tune in and hear what is going on even on radio. Makes the chore much easier to tolerate. Reality TV is awesome!!
10
I am saddened by your cynicism, Philip, but even more saddened by our collective inability to act. Is it as a result of NRA contributions to candidates? Or, is it because we are conflicted about our "gun-slinger" mentality. Carrying a six-shooter may have been important in the wild-west, but haven't we become civilized and placed our trust in appropriate law enforcement entities in the past 200 years? Personally, I want to rely on a professional, not a "good guy with a gun."
4
I find it terribly sad to live in a country where a substantial portion of the populace love firearms more than they love people.
160
Over the 15 year period from 2000-2014 the death rate from mass shootings in the U.S. was 1 in 1.5 million. That averages out to 1 in ten million per year. Many of those mass shootings victims were not random but were the targets of gang or drug trafficking related disputes so the risk for law abiding citizens is even less. Tragic as it is for the victims and their families, it is not something that rational people walk around worrying about on a daily basis.
1
Yet it happens with this frequency in no other developed country. Shouldn't we at least ask what could make us as safe as everywhere else?
38
I disagree. I worry about random gun violence. I worry that someone carrying a gun will have an "accident" around my children. I worry when someone gets angry in a ticket line they might have a gun. Also the death rate is absolutely not the right measure. For each one of those who died there are more injured. Just cause you don't die doesn't mean your aren't impacted, sometimes in smaller ways (always the bum leg) sometimes bigger (can't walk ever again). Let alone the trauma. In texas the ones that didn't die, the children had to watch the slaughter? As a nation we endure the idea that movie theaters, hospitals, schools, churches, can all be places of slaughter? Your statistics offer no assurances.
4
Right. Safety in numbers. Very reassuring. Guess we can just allow events of this nature just sort of roll of us and not get stressed about trying to do anything about them.
2
Searched in vain for any reporting of this story on television this afternoon. I though the Sessions hearing might be interrupted, but no; not even a mention at the top of the hour. Schoolchildren wounded. Guess that's just not awful enough anymore.
37
Not sure why we try to ascribe trivial, individual motives-- domestic disputes, mental illness, online radicalization, etc-- when we are dealing with an endemic problem. Americans, usually white men, are alienated and disillusioned by the failure of the American Dream. Neoliberalism denied them the upward mobility and social primacy they feel entitled to and so they lash out violently. Same reason Trump was elected.
21
your not sure but you speak with such certainty. I'm simply not sure. why is such a difficult question to answer with certainty. especially when the doer is dead.
I pray that we, as a nation, come to our senses and put an end to this ungodly proliferation of deadly weapons which causes huge numbers of innocent dead and wounded individuals in our cities, towns, and countryside, in our schools and churches, in our places of gathering for eating or amusement. Put a stop to this Unholy Carnage. Say No to more weapons of mass destruction like military rifles with large-capacity magazines. Let us choose life.
28
And if the so called Founding Fathers sanctified Epicycles, outlawed zero and the profligate use of i ( believe it or not this was tried in France in 1848), and hanging around street corners for no earthly reason ? Whilst few would be quite so foolish to hold those men- and they were a ghastly lot- responsible for these repeated horrors, it would be an infantile folly to cling to an antiquated conflation of "freedom" with the "right to bear of arms". Gandhi,, oddly enough, didn't require this absurd freedom to chuck the Brits out of India.
8
I am an ex-pat american living in Australia for the past 13 years. I have not met, nor will I ever meet, one Australian who sends their child to school thinking today could be the day that little Jill gets shot by a well armed thug. No one goes to work here wondering if a work cohort will have a bad day and decide to take it out on them with a gun. No one in Australia is afraid of thugs with guns. I am an ER nurse at a large+ hospital and have seen less than 10 gunshot victims in 13 years. I work night shift weekends. All these victims were shot with either rim fire .22's or bird shot .410's. They survive. Civilized countries with strict gun laws make for a happy, fearless nation.
495
Wish we could join you.
6
Same in New Zealand. And I'm sure we and our Australian neighbours feel much *more* free because of it.
4
I'm in Melbourne for work this week and live in Northern California. I don't want to leave.
4
no more thoughts and prayers, sensible gun control now.
120
This happened in California - the home of the "most sensible" gun laws in the US...
4
Yes, Rich, but as we know in NY guns travel easily amongst US states. Canada and Mexico both have better controls over what I will loosely call nonhunting firearms than much of the US. With those countries as buffers there is little reason to think that if we decided to do so the US could not have success simillar to what Australia has rather recently enjoyed with their ocean buffer. We could start by limiting the types of weapons that civilians are allowed to own and by licensing guns and requiring insurance in case they cause injury similar to how we treat vehicles.
8
Except CA does allow military style rifles. Until this summer, anyone with a high capacity magazine could keep them and import more from out of state. Now that is not allowed but we are doing nothing to get rid of the high capacity magazines. We may haf the best in the nation but our gun laws are not all that great,
4
Another day in America, more random killing. More guns in the US = more gun deaths in the US. No more analysis needed. Seems that is OK with the leadership of our country and some segment of our population. Very sad, very scary, seemingly very unnecessary, and very uncommon everywhere else in the world outside of war zones....
77
The vast majority of Americans have literally begged for putting a stop to the NRA. But money means more than the lives of our children both to them and our heinous government.
127
Will there come a day in the U.S. when flags everywhere are permanently at half-staff because of the frequency of
these incidents? I fear we are marching ever closer to that day. How sad to think my future grandchild might question why the flag is being flown at the top of the pole.
183
Critics of violent video games claim that virtual violence desensitizes us.
But what really desensitizes us to violence is RAL violence about which almost no one in power cares.
2
What is there to say at this point? If mental health is the sole issue, then we have the most mentally sick developed country by far.
45
Dear Me,
It's been pretty well established that mental illness has the same incidence in all industrialized nations (and probably goes unrecognized in less advanced nations). The sole issue is that we have nearly as many guns as we have people, more guns per capita than any other nation.
6
If only there was some common thread linking these mass shooting, some common fact or shared element that makes these shootings possible, then we could get to work solving this problem.
32
how about 44% of the world's guns and a culture of violence, incipient paranoia that someone is out to get you and justification from a two hundred year old piece of legislation for distinctly modern behavior?
63
Mental illness? Domestic Violence? Evil? Or, do you prefer to blame an inanimate object that he illegally obtained?
1
"The common thread": too many guns (especially semi-automatic guns).
28
What a terrible tragedy.
But we need to respect the usual rules for discussion.
1. This is not a time to politicize this and talk about gun control. ‘They’ will let us know when that time for discussion arrives.
2. What we really need from our countries leadership is ‘thoughts and prayers.’ That’s all we need. It’s worked beautifully for the 556 mass shootings so far in 2017 (yes, that is the real figure).
3. The problem is the mental health of the shooter. It’s not a gun problem. And talking about Republican’s allowing those with mental health issues increased access to guns earlier this year…. Don’t talk about that. That’s politicizing it.
4. The answer – as always – is more guns. Had those elementary school students been armed, the number of dead kids could have been decreased. Maybe.
5. It’s not the guns fault. People can kill with cars. But don’t talk about also licensing and insuring for guns like we do for cars, as that is different. It’s also not the fault of opioids, grenades, and antitank weapons. Those should also be legal. As it is also not their fault.
Lots and lots of thoughts, hopes, and prayers. Amen.
432
Well said, thankyou...
3
Well done, Lord Meinertzhagen.
Let us pray.
3
Forget guns! They are sooo 20th century! Nuclear weapons! That's the ticket. I can tell you, if everyone had a nuclear weapon people would be a lot more polite to each other!
1
And we have gotten to the point when a shooting involving schoolchildren is not even headline.
204
The national pastime is no longer baseball, it's mass shootings.
100
After ONLY 4 deaths, good men with guns stopped a bad man with a gun. The 2nd Amendment fanatics can go to town with that one. Except for ....
- it was policemen with guns that shot the bad guy, not the mythical concealed carry citizen arriving on the scene and taking care of things before riding off into the sunset (or the endless news cycle interviews)
- the 4 victims will never be brought back to life, their families will not grow old with them and celebrate many happy events with them. Somehow the 2nd Amendment hero of myth never has the power to prevent the deaths
My thoughts and prayers really do go out to the families of the victims. If I were a legislator, I would do more, I would push for actual legislation that might prevent future incidents.
44
a lot of talk but the representatives you vote for has what gun agenda? perhaps time to put gun control on top of the list instead of Republicans or Democrat?
1
Well, the Texas shooting actually was stopped a good guy with a gun.
And you are much more likely to be harmed by a police officer misusing their firearm than you are a private citizen with a concealed carry permit. But facts are pesky things.
1
Gene, here's a pesky fact for you. A gun in the home is much more likely to be used to shoot a family member than an intruder.
5
All these bodies are just the cost of doing business for the NRA, Congress, and gun makers. To end this madness, we must follow the money.
30
Sadly, this is a one day story. Not enough killed and wounded. As a rule of thumb, you have to reach double figures of dead people to generate sufficient click-throughs.
Cynical, you say? Hardly. Editors know that common, garden variety shootings don’t merit much in the way of anything more than garden variety coverage. Mass deaths in the U.S. have lost their power to shock and anger. The new benchmark was set with Sandy Hook; if you want people to pay attention, you have to have more than 25 victims, preferably young children or people enjoying themselves in school, church, a night club, or a concert.
But even with all that, it’s not ever enough to change minds in the NRA-controlled Congress. Which begs the question, what WILL it take?
46
the 500 who were shot in Las Vegas doesnt raise alarm either.
5
Australia set a great example - look up the details of what they were able to accomplish in radically reducing gun violence after one more massacre too many. One part of it is a massive gun buyback campaign. Yes, it would be expensive - you have to tempt people with enough money to turn in guns.......how much is too much to spend to defend the lives of children just going to and from school? BUT THERE IS NO JUSTIFICATION FOR SELLING SEMI-AUTOMATIC, MILITARY STYLE RIFLES. NONE!
40
Another day, another domestic abuser with a gun. This is 2017 in America. Please excuse my apathy while offering "thoughts and prayers" to the family.
66
Yet another day of thoughts and prayers and it not being the time to talk about guns.
37
There are approximately 315 million people in America and somewhere over 300 million guns. There once was a time when distraught or mentally ill person might go on a rampage and someone might get stabbed or run over.
Now those outbursts are with guns and this community is fortunate that even more people weren't shot. This is why the founders qualified the right to bear arms with the words "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State..."
Today the flood of guns of all types have nothing to do with "a well regulated militia." But they have everything to do with the escalating violence that they have wrote on our society.
279
Hardly "well regulated" or even "militia" is it?
6
The well-regulated militia is the National Guard, not a bunch of yahoos with self-esteem problems who need guns to feel important. We need to put this "right" to bear arms to bed and recognise that the second amendment is being well looked after without any "help" from nuts and cranks.
4
REPEAL the Second Amendment.....!
5
Another shooting?
Next!
Disgusting how much power the NRA holds over the country.
169
I think we are WAY overdue in restricting automatic weapons on the open market. Let the Republicans enact said limit and point to it with pride in having achieved something positive.
60
Semi-automatic, not automatic.
That said, for the gun advocates who would be all over Brad for his mistatement, it hardly makes a difference given that semi-auto civilianized military weapons can easily be pushed to a full-auto rate by a practiced shooter or a device such as a bumpstock, and can easily be tooled to be full-auto. That is what the Texas shooter did - ordered parts, tooled them together and bingo: 26 dead.
9
There's that ubiquitous description or words "Domestic violence".
Can we call it what it is, Violence, alone.
These violent individuals should be taken more seriously and into custody.
Just because it is violence 'only' towards your spouse/partner, children or other family members does not make them any less violent or dangerous towards society.
Talk to any experienced law enforcement officer and they'll tell you the least liked and most dangerous call responses are to those "Domestic" ones.
Call them what they are, terrorists.
54
I get your frustration. But calling it by any other name might actually detract from the attention domestic violence requires. If anything else, we're seeing a pattern here: domestic violence is often a precursor to mass violence.
24
Gee, can we talk about guns now? How about now?
235
Where was the "good guy" with the gun? Las Vegas, Sutherland Springs, Orlando, all these incidents and more shatter that myth.
37
1. California doesn't issue gun permits to "good guys" without badges.
2. Where was law enforcement? This shatters the myth that cops can protect us.
3. So even California's gun laws couldn't prevent this? The only thing left is confiscation of all firearms. Is that what you're advocating?
6
If you think advocating confiscation of firearms is bad, take a look at San Stackhouse's alternative above.
2
3. Yes.
8
My head hurts from this. I don't even want to hear the details.
23
Different State, different day and guns- same horrible outcome. But it will be too soon to talk about it- and it happens again.
40
It's getting so I'm not surprised when I see a headline about another shooting somewhere in the US. That is so sad. I fear the loss of the presumption of safety that most people have when they leave their house to do something like shop, or work, or learn. When we no longer feel safe, as humans we are less capable of creativity, compassion, community, even love. Where are we headed? Further into a fear-based culture? Why are more people not speaking out to demand that our elected officials do something to increase public safety? I guess fear is a comfortable rut for many. A place from which one can complain about others, defend against others, and further dig into silos. I work at being an optimist and reaching out to understand others. I know how hard it is to not let fear determine my actions. In the case of guns, my fear for all of us in the US spurs me to take action to urge sensible limits on who can buy guns, what kind of guns they can have, the kind of training they need to buy one, even requiring licenses, and shutting down the gun show loopholes. Yet I still am dependent on elected officials doing the right thing. Maybe all these shootings will lead to a tipping point in public opinion, where it can at long last outweigh the financial heft of the NRA.
34
Yet again we have gun violence. There has to be a stop to these senseless acts in spite of the NRA. When will America come into the modern world? This man should never have been allowed to buy guns! The current view on gun ownership has to be changed to eliminate semi automatic rifles as a start. we cannot stop people from owning guns based on current laws but we can control who buys what and demand that better background checks are enforced. Enough is enough.
28
Another man with a gun. Just another day in America. Every day a man, somewhere in our vast land, decides to shoot up a bunch of people. We have a mass shooting every day, but only a few get coverage. Ain't the first, won't be the last. Move along now. Nothing to see here.
96
Another day, another mindless mass shooting in America. What's the frequency now? One a week?
When will we be able to make it stop?
29
Turn on your TV tonight and count. How many guns do you see on screen in a typical drama? In whose hands? To what purpose? The gun has become integrated and normalized in dramatic TV shows. It is they who are the stars. They move the plot and the characters. People have become secondary as brandishers or targets.
We won't be able to make any headway in gun control until we de-glorify and de-fetishize gun culture. Are there really "good guys" and "bad guys" when it comes to guns? The gun serves one purpose: to kill and maim. But why is it fetish object? The Frontier is closed. The Wild West has been tamed. So why the continued glorification of the gun?
Before we can discuss gun control we have to address this emotional issue. When it's no longer sexy to have guns, we can talk about limiting their use.
8
I believe the rate is now approximately one per day.
10
Another one, who "Should Have" been intercepted.
Another one, who should have never been allowed to posses a gun.
Creeps like that owe much to republicans, and to our so called president (A confessed molester, whom we did not vote for).
53
“Anne and I are saddened to hear about today’s violence in Tehama County, which shockingly involved schoolchildren."
Shocking? Not anymore in this country.
39
The Connecticut Supreme Court has in its power today an avenue with which to begin to rid our nation of this misery in a reasonable manner. Hold the gun manufacturers liable for the marketing messages used to sell these weapons of mass murder. One would hope that an insurance requirement would be imposed on weapons commensurate with their killing capacity and fitness for whatever legal purpose. A battleground killing machine has no business in the hands of civilians in small town or large town America. If you have to own that weapon then figure out a way to insure yourself for the damage you can reap by owning it. Put a price tag on these lives and the mayhem caused with these guns and pay for it.
http://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-news-sandy-hook-gun-supreme-c...
89
Another domestic abuser turned violent shooter. When will it end?
23
Breaking news: GOP offers thoughts and prayers.
285
Exactly.... If I hear one more politician use this now meaningless cliche, I will have a mental breakdown. WHEN is our nation going to try to remedy this abhorrent situation and stop letting the NRA ‘buy’ members of Congress. I never thought I would become ashamed of our country....
16
And so does Gov. Jerry Brown.
NOW is it time to talk about gun control?!!
I know, guns don't kill people, people kill people. No, people with guns kill people.
Control guns or guns will control us.
131
No, no, no. Thoughts and prayers. Time for thoughts and prayers.
2
Why would it be time now? If a roomful of young children has already been killed and we didn't have gun control, what makes you think this will do it?
1
Please take their guns away first and then, after a pysc exam (that they pass) give them back sparingly.
18