The almost unlimited right to own a gun is a de facto right to use the gun to kill others.
It's not surprising that these "tragic" event are now happening more and more frequently.
But unlimited gun rights is something that Americans value more than they value even the lives of their own children.
It's not surprising that these "tragic" event are now happening more and more frequently.
But unlimited gun rights is something that Americans value more than they value even the lives of their own children.
4
I just now learned that a family member witnessed the studio city shooting, which was, thank a God, only suicide by police officer. My kid saw a gang shooting when he was two, on a main drag during rush hour. A few years ago, my husband was coming out of our hotel as a bounty hunter and his assistant, armed for bear, swarmed through the lobby to catch a target.
Enough. Enough. 240 mass shootings in 240 days. It's more than time for gun control. And don't tell me being armed in amy of those situations would have helped. That bounty hunter, for instance, went in fully armed, with assault weapons at the ready, though a hotel lobby!
Enough. Enough. 240 mass shootings in 240 days. It's more than time for gun control. And don't tell me being armed in amy of those situations would have helped. That bounty hunter, for instance, went in fully armed, with assault weapons at the ready, though a hotel lobby!
2
How was a person like this shooter with a record of violent threats and mental illness able to buy guns.
Love of our guns is in our American DNA. We will never not have them in this country - legally or otherwise.
Sociopathy is in the human DNA, and I truly believe America really excels at nurturing this.
There is no single fix that will stop these horrors. That's a tough fact to come to terms with, but it is a fact. Guns, isolation, mental illness, Neo-Nazi propaganda, testosterone-fueled myths of manhood, etc. all combine to create a sludge that that is stickier and more rank that hot fresh tar. It sticks to all of us, hardens on us, weighs us down as a society. Isolates us.
And in isolation the sludge stews on.
Sociopathy is in the human DNA, and I truly believe America really excels at nurturing this.
There is no single fix that will stop these horrors. That's a tough fact to come to terms with, but it is a fact. Guns, isolation, mental illness, Neo-Nazi propaganda, testosterone-fueled myths of manhood, etc. all combine to create a sludge that that is stickier and more rank that hot fresh tar. It sticks to all of us, hardens on us, weighs us down as a society. Isolates us.
And in isolation the sludge stews on.
2
A week where another white man goes on a killing spree in a neighbor near you, and another white police officer confronts an unarmed African American, which then ultimately leads to her death.
2
The Charleston shooting, the Chattanooga massacre, and now this? What is wrong with our leaders? If this is not sufficient cause to introduce strict regulations on the ownership and use of guns, I don't know where we will be in the next decade with gun violence escalating so rapidly. The "logic" of the gun nuts and the NRA would be laughable, if the situation were not so grim and grisly.
7
An unstable loser and his guns. The story of modern America.
10
So far this year, there have been 204 mass shootings, in only 204 days according to the Washington Post. Like the ancient Assyrians, we are a nation addicted to violence. We celebrate it in our movies, on TV and in autumn by our gridiron gladiators. Our military industrial complex has profited off of it for decades as Eisenhower prophetically warned over 60 years ago. Our love affair with guns and weapons verges on idolatry yet we feel no safer despite the presence of over 250 million guns in this country. Within our culture of violence, add the ready availability of guns and the lack of treatment available for millions of people who suffer from very serious mental illnesses and it is surprising that they are not more Lafayettes, Charlottes and Auroras. Until we have the political will to address
these problems, tragically these attacks will only proliferate. We are becoming the willing participants in our own national self-destruction. To paraphrase the words of Jesus of Nazareth, "nations that live by the sword will die by the sword."
these problems, tragically these attacks will only proliferate. We are becoming the willing participants in our own national self-destruction. To paraphrase the words of Jesus of Nazareth, "nations that live by the sword will die by the sword."
7
Why is he called "gunman" instead of "terrorist"?
6
You clearly don't know the definition of terrorist. There is no political motivation evident in this incident. Terrorism involves at least some semblance of political motive. That's why Dylan Roof and this gunman are not referred to as terrorists.
2
Dylan Roof wanted to incite a race war. If that isn't political what is?
2
Louisiana has some of the weakest — if not the weakest — gun laws in our nation. For example, Louisiana recently enacted an NRA-backed state constitutional amendment providing that “[t]he right of each citizen to keep and bear arms is fundamental and shall not be infringed,” and that “any restriction on this right” will be met with maximal skepticism by the states’ courts. In addition, the amendment stripped out language permitting the state legislature to “prohibit the carrying of weapons concealed on a person.”
Likewise, Louisiana does not require gun dealers to obtain a state license. It does not limit the number of guns that may be purchased at one time. It forbids local governments from regulating firearms. And it has no laws restricting assault weapons or .50 caliber rifles. One study of all 50 states’ gun laws concluded that Louisiana has the laxest gun laws of any state.
The NRA that this absence of gun regulation is a good thing, in part, because it enables armed vigilantes to gun down murderers like the man who perpetrated the shooting in Lafayette. But the high rates of gun violence in Louisiana argues strongly against this conclusion. A 2013 report by the Center for American Progress examined all 50 states according to 10 factors related to gun violence. Louisiana received the worst rating of any state on several of these factors, including overall firearm deaths from 2001-2010, firearm homicides in 2010, and firearm homicides among women from 2001-2010.
Likewise, Louisiana does not require gun dealers to obtain a state license. It does not limit the number of guns that may be purchased at one time. It forbids local governments from regulating firearms. And it has no laws restricting assault weapons or .50 caliber rifles. One study of all 50 states’ gun laws concluded that Louisiana has the laxest gun laws of any state.
The NRA that this absence of gun regulation is a good thing, in part, because it enables armed vigilantes to gun down murderers like the man who perpetrated the shooting in Lafayette. But the high rates of gun violence in Louisiana argues strongly against this conclusion. A 2013 report by the Center for American Progress examined all 50 states according to 10 factors related to gun violence. Louisiana received the worst rating of any state on several of these factors, including overall firearm deaths from 2001-2010, firearm homicides in 2010, and firearm homicides among women from 2001-2010.
16
Chicago (also, Detroit and Washington DC) has the strictest gun laws in the country and the highest per capita gun related murders and crime. Evil can happen anywhere but, criminals prefer gun free zones.
We've done our society a great disserviice by closing the large mental health facilities that once were commonplace around our country. As indicated by the problems at Rikers Island, our prisons are not properly equipped and staffed to handle the mentally ill. It is ironic that one of those facilities was located within a few miles of where Adam Lanza, the Sandy Hook, CT shooter, once lived. The Fairfield Hills Hospital buildings still remain in decay on a large campus, in Newtown, CT largely due to the high costs of demolition of asbestos-laden structures.
5
The scourge of seriously mentally ill people loose on our streets was caused by both Conservatives and Liberals.
Conservatives refused to fund federal psychiatric facilities, while insisting that the state will take care of the problem in 'group homes'.
Liberals insist that the seriously mentally ill should be able to decide for themselves if they want to live on the streets, while insisting they are 'no dangerous that the rest of us'.
Conservatives refused to fund federal psychiatric facilities, while insisting that the state will take care of the problem in 'group homes'.
Liberals insist that the seriously mentally ill should be able to decide for themselves if they want to live on the streets, while insisting they are 'no dangerous that the rest of us'.
One country under 270 Million "guns".
6
And 0.000000888888889% of those 270 million guns killed people in the U.S. so far this year. (240 guns)
1
Something is terribly wrong with our approach to the severely mentally ill people in this country. Recently, we've had Adam Lanza - the killer in Sandy Hook, CT, the student at Virginia Tech, Dylann Roof ( the killer in Charleston), James Holmes, the Aurora theater killer and now this crazy man.
Our court system should be modified to give judges to commit these people who are "a danger to themselves and others" to long-term care without the opportunity for voluntary AMA (against medical advice) release back into public life.
Minimally, none of these men should have been given the opportunity to acquire guns.
Our court system should be modified to give judges to commit these people who are "a danger to themselves and others" to long-term care without the opportunity for voluntary AMA (against medical advice) release back into public life.
Minimally, none of these men should have been given the opportunity to acquire guns.
6
As these tragedies continue (following Charleston, for example), the political power of the NRA actually becomes more evident. For instance: how many of the 535 Members in our congress owe something to the NRA who help to finance campaigns?
What actually takes place when there is a move to legislate "gun control" in our troubled republic?
Just wondering.
What actually takes place when there is a move to legislate "gun control" in our troubled republic?
Just wondering.
8
I think I am going to go about the mass murder by stabbing in Oklahoma yesterday, 5 people died. I think it will give me a good indication of what a gun-free-zone world will be like.
1
The right to bear arms may be needed by police authorities, and by the military. The right to bear arms may be used by families for their protection. However, it was also used by the individual mentioned here who murdered human beings to satisfy his own twisted view of life. Multiple mental disorders may be at the forefront of these twisted minds. But the right to bear arms is also used by criminals, the mafia, the Mexican Mafia, drug cartels, drug traffickers, street gangs, the "hell angel's" and other motorcycle gangs, rapists, aryan nation racist groups, skinhead racist groups, KKK, neo nazi groups, and other criminal groups. These criminals will always have weapons legally or illegally.
Several items are aiding and abetting these horrific murders; mental disorders, the lack of parental discipline in the home; the lack of religiosity in the home; the lack of intact families and the excess of single female homes; the more indecent, immoral, and violent movies which today's movie and TV producers and directors are creating specifically targeting children, including violent gaming; and the misconception that constitutional freedom means you can do whatever you wish.
The supreme court and the media needs to stop telling psychiatrists and psychologists what forms of therapy they need to use or not use, and what disorders to remove from the DSM. That nonsense needs to stop.
Several items are aiding and abetting these horrific murders; mental disorders, the lack of parental discipline in the home; the lack of religiosity in the home; the lack of intact families and the excess of single female homes; the more indecent, immoral, and violent movies which today's movie and TV producers and directors are creating specifically targeting children, including violent gaming; and the misconception that constitutional freedom means you can do whatever you wish.
The supreme court and the media needs to stop telling psychiatrists and psychologists what forms of therapy they need to use or not use, and what disorders to remove from the DSM. That nonsense needs to stop.
That's right. Strongly religious people never kill other people.
6
Web is being ironic.
1
There was no need of identifying the killer; because when he is non-Muslim, he must be SHOOTER, GUNMAN, or anything else but not TERRORIST. Soon his family members, church members, school teachers and friends will describe him how good he was and blame his mantle health; economical condition,bad parenthood, bad marriage and so on.Soon he will end-up in HEALTHCARE facility for a life at the tax payers expenses. When we will start saying spade is a spade????
2
No political motive, so he's not a terrorist. Buy a dictionary. Also, the gunman is dead so he will end up in the ground, not the healthcare system.
1
NRA and GOP view these preventable, violent acts as a small price to pay for the right of the populace to carry military style weapons. Their solution will be to advocate more guns carried by more people, resulting in more unnecessary violence. If the Sandy Hook preventable tragedy couldn't generate enough support to change gun safety laws, nothing will.
10
It is not just guns although their easy availability is part of it. It is our national gun festish. Guns have been promoted as freedom, as standing up to whatever, as not having to take it, as self assertion, as defending yourself against whatever offends you. The result, an enormous number of gun deaths of which these types are simply the most dramatic. Guns make us focus on us and how we feel at the moment and not the social fabric.
7
Again! How many more times? Ask the NRA. Ask the Senators and House members how much blood they want flowing in the theaters, churches, schools, and malls. Who are they protecting with their gun rights laws? I hold them accountable for their criminal neglect of law and order. They have allowed for the the murder of innocents in the public places of America.
15
I was born and raised in Louisiana. I moved to NYC in 1988. I don't believe where this occurred has anything to do with the crime; it could have been in any of a number of states. The one change in our society which I have seen so much more of between then and now is the amount of people carrying guns; especially handguns. It has reached epic proportions. You give people enough weapons, they will be used; somehow, or someway. When you compare a country like Ireland (which allows no handguns) to the US, the number of shootings (per capita) go down by a huge factor. It is a shame to see the fabric of our great country being ripped apart like this. Unfortunately, episodes like this have become the rule, when they used to be the exception. Shame on us.
28
I am sure the Irish Republican Army still has a trove of handguns stored away for the day when they'll have to start knee capping again.
Having nothing to do with this discussion...
1
Every gun death and injury in the U.S. is part of the price of the 2nd Amendment, and at every occurrence, its supporters must be pressed to acknowledge that price, and be asked if they feel it justifies the benefits of gun ownership.
18
I've been on the side of the right to own guns (although in favor of background checks and licensing), but now I'm DONE. I don't care if the constitution "guarantees" the right. My right to LIFE, LIBERTY and the PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS trumps anyone else's right to own a gun. If people can't go to church or school or a movie without fearing for their life, who's rights matter? Sure we need more mental health treatment in this country. We need a lot of things. But what we need most is FEWER GUNS!
32
Let me guess, the media will come up with some vague statements from acquaintances that he was somehow "mentally ill" or "depressed" and that an analysis of his computer will show that he was "radicalized" by something online.
5
Nailed it.
http://news.yahoo.com/john-russell-houser--what-we-know-about-louisiana-...
Alleged mental health problems and
"The Hatewatch Blog, which is run by the Intelligence Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, uncovered that Houser posted about his fondness for Hitler, neo-Nazis and lone wolves on several online forums.
http://news.yahoo.com/john-russell-houser--what-we-know-about-louisiana-...
Alleged mental health problems and
"The Hatewatch Blog, which is run by the Intelligence Project of the Southern Poverty Law Center, uncovered that Houser posted about his fondness for Hitler, neo-Nazis and lone wolves on several online forums.
6
Do you mean to say that you think someone who goes into a movie theater to randomly murder people about to watch a movie isn't somehow mentally ill?
No, I think we too easily have decided to throw the words "terrorist" and "mentally ill" around without really understanding what is going on. What if we framed the discussion more along the lines of "His country was invaded and government overthrown by people who have a different set of beliefs and standards of morality and he wants to drive them out"? Or "He felt alone and angry in a society where he did not have the skills or opportunity to hold a job and have a decent place to live and decided to take that anger out on a society in which he did not fit". "Kills people = mentally ill" is way to easy of an answer and also stigmatizes the mentally ill. "I heard the voice of God and he told me to kill people" is mentally ill. "I'm angry and depressed because I am a loser" is sometimes just a part of life.
According to the NRA, if every patron in the movie theater had been armed, this wouldn't have happened. Yeah, right. Maybe the actors in the movie should have been armed also. Gun happy Americans are MORONS. The experiment has been run and the results are in: countries with sensible gun laws have many many fewer gun deaths than does the U.S. Wake up people!
20
And just when did the NRA say this? Or are you putting words into another's mouth to serve your own interests?
The NRA said it after Sandy Hook- everybody should be armed. The whole country should be walking around with weapons. They push this agenda- because it is money in their pocket. They are on the Board of Directors of Gun Manufacturers. They get money from gun mftgers too.
6
All countries have just as much murder. The choice of weapons is the only difference. If you take Chicago, Detroit, and DC (all of them have the strictest gun laws) out of our statistics, we have a very low murder rate. You are just confused.
If I believed gun control would help, I'd be on it in a second. But I think the evidence suggests otherwise. Drugs are illegal. they are easily acquired and often abused. According to Business Insider, the global black market has a higher GDP than any country but the US. and employs half the world's work force. Bogus pharmaceuticals, electronics and software are among the most lucrative black market goods. And there are hundreds of thousands of guns stolen just in the U.S each year. The illegal gun trade is extremely lucrative and those involved in it will not go quietly. It's common sense that, legal or illegal, the profitable trade in drugs, pirated software, guns and other contraband will not be affected. And maybe you buy the knock-off designer items on sale everywhere. I don't know what makes anyone think that gun control will end gun crime. But if you have a convincing argument that laws against guns will work any better than laws against marijuana, please share.
2
What do you think would help?
2
I assume you meant your comments to be ironic, since, of course, no one has gone into a movie theater or other public facility and randomly selected people to kill with software, illegal electronics, designer jeans, drugs, etc. Typically they use a gun of some type don't they?
4
Michjas: Your comment might make sense if we're talking about banning guns, but no one is talking about banning guns, or "laws against guns," so your comparison to marijuana and/or the black market makes no sense.
I don't believe anyone thinks gun control will "end gun crime." But it's just common sense that regulations (i.e., stronger background checks, closing of loop-holes) on guns would cut down on the senseless killing.
I don't believe anyone thinks gun control will "end gun crime." But it's just common sense that regulations (i.e., stronger background checks, closing of loop-holes) on guns would cut down on the senseless killing.
5
Thank goodness that we interpret the 2nd amendment so that nuts and felons can get guns. In United States v. Cruikshank (1876), the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that, "The right to bear arms is not granted by the Constitution; neither is it in any manner dependent upon that instrument for its existence" and limited the applicability of the Second Amendment to the federal government.[9] In United States v. Miller (1939), the Supreme Court ruled that the federal government and the states could limit any weapon types not having a “reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia”
What happened to 'well regulated'?
What happened to 'well regulated'?
10
What happened was that radical right-wing Supreme Court justices were appointed by Reagan and two Bushes, justices who believed that "strict constructionism" of the Constitution authorized them to completely excise the well-regulated militia part of the Second Amendment. This argument began to be made by the NRA and other peddlers/lovers of firearms in the 1980s, and finally got a sympathetic ear from people like Scalia, Thomas, Alito and Roberts. Former Chief Justice Warren Burger, not exactly a flaming liberal himself, called the truncated interpretation of the Amendment a "great fraud perpetrated on the American people" by dishonest men and organizations with a commercial, not patriotic, motive. We see the bloody results of this fraud today.
Vote in gun control politicians. That's the only way left. Enough is enough.
12
ENOUGH! This is totally crazy. Every day more more more more reports of innocent folks getting killed and maimed from gun violence. If our government officials will not do anything about it, it's up to we the people. Starting RIGHT NOW, TODAY, those of us who own them, please surrender your fire arms to local law enforcement for immediate destruction. And the rest of us, boycott ALL businesses selling guns until they every last one is removed from the shelves and the bloodshed ends. Envisioning emtpy Walmart parking lots from sea to shining sea.
18
Still not the right time to talk about gun control laws?
21
6/17: Charleston, 9 killed. 7/16: Chattanooga, 5 killed. 7/23: Lafayette, 3 killed. 3 mass shootings in just over a month. 17 lives taken, more lives forever altered. We're headed towards one per week. At some point, events like this will cease being news and become an accepted part of our lives. I guess that's the kind of world in which we want to live, as civil discourse on what to do about this trend is impossible. Gun control? You can't even get that phrase out before the 2nd Amendment die hards start screaming about "freedom" and the Constitution. Yes, I'm sure this is just what the Founding Father's had in mind. AR-15 assault rifles. People not safe in places of worship. Children not safe at school.
With gun control off the table, we move to the mental health of the shooters. Everyone seems to agree that we need better access to mental health professionals. But this costs money. The GOP will start screaming about how things like universal healthcare is socialism. Yet, they can somehow find billions of dollars to fight wars (let's bomb Iran!) and lock up non-violent drug offenders for decades (thugs and junkies!).
I have an acquaintance that is rabidly pro gun. He also has 2 small children. I guess this is the world he wants them to grow up in. A world in which teachers will be armed, people sitting next to them in the church pew will be packing heat and they can't enjoy a simple childhood pleasure like going to the movies.
Welcome to America.
With gun control off the table, we move to the mental health of the shooters. Everyone seems to agree that we need better access to mental health professionals. But this costs money. The GOP will start screaming about how things like universal healthcare is socialism. Yet, they can somehow find billions of dollars to fight wars (let's bomb Iran!) and lock up non-violent drug offenders for decades (thugs and junkies!).
I have an acquaintance that is rabidly pro gun. He also has 2 small children. I guess this is the world he wants them to grow up in. A world in which teachers will be armed, people sitting next to them in the church pew will be packing heat and they can't enjoy a simple childhood pleasure like going to the movies.
Welcome to America.
35
My thoughts and prayers are with the families. That said, Congress has blood on their hands.
12
Republicans in Congress
13
This incident is "terrorism". Think about it, in the Middle East a lone suicide bomber enters a market, and kills 15 people. In the US, a lone gunmen enters a movie theater, now for the second time in 3 years (Colorado and now Louisiana) and kills 12, wounding 70, and killing 2 respectively, Sandy Hook elementary, and a kid sits in bible study then kills 9 people in S. Carolina, and of course don't forget Timothy McVeigh.
Not everyone in the Middle East is a terrorist or religious extremist, and the vast majority of Americans are not bad actors. However, an inescapable pattern is emerging; the same profile of person and pattern seems to be white male, hates the government, loner, educated in some cases, uneducated at other extreme, low achiever--in general just pissed off.
What makes this fascinating is there is a group of people across our country, with whom this mindset, and to a lesser extent this behavior seems to resonate. The great irony of all this is that this mindset of separatism, hate, extremism, combined with this visceral, under the skin words of Donald Trump resonates with a very vocal, and growing set of people in this great country.
Not everyone in the Middle East is a terrorist or religious extremist, and the vast majority of Americans are not bad actors. However, an inescapable pattern is emerging; the same profile of person and pattern seems to be white male, hates the government, loner, educated in some cases, uneducated at other extreme, low achiever--in general just pissed off.
What makes this fascinating is there is a group of people across our country, with whom this mindset, and to a lesser extent this behavior seems to resonate. The great irony of all this is that this mindset of separatism, hate, extremism, combined with this visceral, under the skin words of Donald Trump resonates with a very vocal, and growing set of people in this great country.
11
ENOUGH! This is totally crazy. Every day more more more more reports of innocent folks killed and maimed from gun violence. If our government officials will not do anything about it, it's up to we the people. Starting RIGHT NOW, TODAY, everyone who has a gun, please turn them in to local law enforcement to be immediately destroyed. And the rest of us, boycott all businesses who sell guns until they are all removed from the shelves and the bloodshed ends. We the people have the right to live in peace.
5
Another "Gun Free Zone"?
2
When I was little and heard about evils, I asked 'Why doesn't the government do something'. Thank God I grew up.
American exceptionalism at work, a mass shooting a week. No sane gun laws need apply, no candidates brave enough to propose any either. KA
9
Gov. Jindal says he's "horrified and shocked?" Horrified, yes. But shocked? Spare me. Nothing about this is shocking given the state of our country's - and Louisiana's - gun laws. Let's stop talking about gun violence like it's some kind of unavoidable act of nature. We can do something about this; politicians like Jindal (and the people who vote for them) are actively choosing not to. The silent majority needs to speak up. The gun lobby does not speak for me.
38
Then the "silent majority" needs to get to the voting booth.
1
LA is the gun murder leader in the US. There are multiple pictures of Former Gov. Jindal, his wife and three children holding all kinds of weapons. He has signed bills allowing weapons to be brought to churches, schools, everywhere.
When asked about gun regulations, his recent response was that this is not the time. When is the time?
When asked about gun regulations, his recent response was that this is not the time. When is the time?
1
I wonder whether he was part of a well-regulated militia.
10
Gov. Bobby Jindal described it as “senseless” and said “When these kinds of acts of violence happen in a movie theater, when there’s no real good reason why this kind of evil should intrude on the lives of families who are just out for a night of entertainment, I know a lot of us are horrified and shocked,” Mr. Jindal said.
Bobby Jindal also said in 2012, [[In Louisiana and all across America, we love us some guns and religion."]]
Bobby Jindal also said in 2012, [[In Louisiana and all across America, we love us some guns and religion."]]
9
If the person doing the shooting was not an illegal immigrant then this really should not be news, in fact anyone can see that if everyone in the theater had a gun then they could have all shot back at the suspected gunman and saved themselves.
somehow a whole theater of people shooting in the dark does not really sound very comforting. As long as guns are easy to get they will always be a problem.
somehow a whole theater of people shooting in the dark does not really sound very comforting. As long as guns are easy to get they will always be a problem.
8
Gov. Bobby Jindal described the shootings as “senseless.” Looking for sensibleness in Louisiana shootings may be fruitless. To paraphrase NRA, the answer to a senseless shooting is senselessly setting rounds loosely on accidental paths to whatever gets in the way. The Colorado movie shooter described his shootings as sensible. One who believes that is senseless.
2
As the NRA likes to remind us, in cases like these the ushers should have been armed. And the guy in the ticket booth. And the kids behind the concession counter. And the little lady who replaces the toilet paper in the bathrooms. And, naturally, every single one of the dozens of people in the theater. Then everything would have been all right.
25
Show me where the NRA said that. Or, like another commenter here, you are just railing on them because they have different views than you.
The NRA has consistently said that the answer to gun violence and other kinds of violence is more guns. 1) After Sandy Hook, the NRA prescribed filling the public schools with weapons by posting more armed guards. 2) The NRA pushed the narrative that women at colleges and universities should be allowed to carry guns to protect themselves from rape. 3) Wayne LaPierre said that the "only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun." 4) After the Charleston massacre, an NRA board member said the victims might still be alive if the pastor had allowed parishioners to carry guns in church. 5) The NRA pushed through legislation in Virginia allowing guns in bars, and is trying to do the same in Tennessee. If you do not see enough support there for my little satirical takeoff, I cannot help you. And yes, I am indeed railing at the NRA, not because our views differ, but because their narrative about gun use and ownership flies in the face of fact, and insults Americans' rights to live and pursue happiness.
1
#1-Posting armed guards (usually policemen) is not "filling the schools with guns", and many schools already had them.
#2-The NRA is not the only ones with that idea.
#3-Mostley correct unless the gunman kills himself before the police (good guys with guns) arrive, or an armed citizen stops them (not very often).
#5-Not just anyone off the street, but legal concealed carry permit holders.
I let my NRA membership lapse many, many years ago because they ceased to be advocates for responsible gun owners and became too big for their britches (like many labor unions), but SOME of their agenda items make sense and many people forget that ANY gun law will be ignored by criminals or anyone intent on doing harm to others. Most responsible gun owners are not involved in any type if illegal activity, just a most Muslims are not involved in jihad.
#2-The NRA is not the only ones with that idea.
#3-Mostley correct unless the gunman kills himself before the police (good guys with guns) arrive, or an armed citizen stops them (not very often).
#5-Not just anyone off the street, but legal concealed carry permit holders.
I let my NRA membership lapse many, many years ago because they ceased to be advocates for responsible gun owners and became too big for their britches (like many labor unions), but SOME of their agenda items make sense and many people forget that ANY gun law will be ignored by criminals or anyone intent on doing harm to others. Most responsible gun owners are not involved in any type if illegal activity, just a most Muslims are not involved in jihad.
I, like Governor Bobby Jindal, am also "horrified and shocked” at yet another "senseless" act of gun violence. However, unlike Governor Jindal, who has promoted and signed over a dozen bills making access to guns easier and allowing so-called "concealed carry" of weapons, I'm not surprised. Mr. Jindal has boasted of his pro-gun accomplishments in addressing the NRA convention and now, of course, is seeking the Republican nomination for President. Until politicians like Bobby Jindal realize that their actions have potentially deadly consequences, we will continue to see, as we already have, an endless series of such "senseless" gun-related massacres.
20
Bear in mind, that any gun laws will be ignored by criminals, or anyone wishing to shoot up someplace.
According to www.shootingtracker.com this became the 306th multiple shooting this year in the US. Fully 21 of those involved four or more fatalities.
Watch the evolving news coverage, and notice the difference in terms used across a broad spectrum of media, depending on the religion of the shooter.
America's nearest competitor for gun ownership in the world is Yemen, whose citizens possess firearms at about 69% our rate. By far, American gun deaths trump those of every other peer nation, sometimes by a factor of 10 or more.
So, have we had our "Australia moment" when we awaken to the true cause of this ongoing American tragedy? Hardly.
No, that is slated for several years down the road, after perhaps hundreds of thousands of men, women and children now alive have been laid to rest. Some senator or congressman will need to suffer an unbearable personal loss before we snap out of it, and realize that gun proliferation is at the root of this awful epidemic.
Watch the evolving news coverage, and notice the difference in terms used across a broad spectrum of media, depending on the religion of the shooter.
America's nearest competitor for gun ownership in the world is Yemen, whose citizens possess firearms at about 69% our rate. By far, American gun deaths trump those of every other peer nation, sometimes by a factor of 10 or more.
So, have we had our "Australia moment" when we awaken to the true cause of this ongoing American tragedy? Hardly.
No, that is slated for several years down the road, after perhaps hundreds of thousands of men, women and children now alive have been laid to rest. Some senator or congressman will need to suffer an unbearable personal loss before we snap out of it, and realize that gun proliferation is at the root of this awful epidemic.
18
Unfortunately even the shooting of a well- loved Congresswoman ( Gabby Gifford ) did not wake up Congress
5
Why is this news? Seems to me this ought to just be considered a freedom tax.
6
In addition to the efforts to bring sensible regulation to the "unfettered" gun-buying parts of the country, we could also use a cultural advertising campaign to combat America's love affair with personal firearms. "Guns are not cool, guns are not masculine. Guns are for cowards, like this guy."
9
I'm getting numb to the whole thing. I have to remind myself that there are real people hurting in all of this. But when you live in a country where the powers that be only listen to those with a vested interest in keeping the status quo, then I'm not sure how I'm supposed to keep from getting numb.
9
Really, America? Really?
6
Here's an idea for the NYTimes, and, frankly, any other news outlet that runs this story:
Let this shooter be forever known as "Lone White Male." We don't need a description, a family profile, insider analyses of his delicate mental state (or his political leanings), or a timeline that calculates his sociopathic projections. We don't even need to know his name.
As has been demonstrated time and again, these isolated young men do this for notoriety and recognition. In part, this is a response to a society that has ceased to care about them--refusing to provide accessible, non-stigmatized mental healthcare, or to see young men's plummeting rate of employment as a full-on national crisis. It doesn't help that we will readily--almost joyfully-- give them access to firearms.
So, for me, he remains "Lone White Male;" privately disturbed, and publicly abetted by policy failings.
Let this shooter be forever known as "Lone White Male." We don't need a description, a family profile, insider analyses of his delicate mental state (or his political leanings), or a timeline that calculates his sociopathic projections. We don't even need to know his name.
As has been demonstrated time and again, these isolated young men do this for notoriety and recognition. In part, this is a response to a society that has ceased to care about them--refusing to provide accessible, non-stigmatized mental healthcare, or to see young men's plummeting rate of employment as a full-on national crisis. It doesn't help that we will readily--almost joyfully-- give them access to firearms.
So, for me, he remains "Lone White Male;" privately disturbed, and publicly abetted by policy failings.
5
Hurrah!
First thing I said this morning, when my husband mentioned the shooter was identified: "I don't want to know his name. Have they identified the victims?"
First thing I said this morning, when my husband mentioned the shooter was identified: "I don't want to know his name. Have they identified the victims?"
Thank you NRA! Thank you Congress! Thank you Republican Party for being much to fearful of the NRA to actually do something about this violence that has become a more common occurrence in our lives to the point we are not shocked by it anymore and instead our reaction is "Not another one?!" If what police are saying is true, this man had a criminal record. Had we had the criminal background check system proposed after Newtown, this man might not have had access to a gun to commit this act on a Thursday. The fact that this happened while the jury in Colorado is deliberating in the sentencing phase of James Holmes murder trial for doing the exact same thing three years ago in Aurora is just stunning. We hear and see in legislative acts from Republicans their obsessive intent and action to legislate and regulate the legal and constitutionally protected medical procedure that is abortion yet they will do NOTHING to better regulate and keep guns, also a constitutionally protected right out of the hands of those that should not have them. They fight every attempt to even stop any attempt to study gun violence and held up the nomination of Dr. Vivek Murthy for Surgeon General last year because he dared speak about studying and addressing gun violence in our society. This kind of violence has infected us for far to long and I am so very sick of it.
23
And the NRA says: Lock and Load baby!
And Joe Schmoe ask: Is there anyone out there with the courage to do the right thing, to say enough is enough, to overlook influence, to act on principle, and too have the courage represent change in the gun laws that allows us to feel safer. Or should I just start wearing a bullet proof vest everywhere? God, I love being an American!
Ed
And Joe Schmoe ask: Is there anyone out there with the courage to do the right thing, to say enough is enough, to overlook influence, to act on principle, and too have the courage represent change in the gun laws that allows us to feel safer. Or should I just start wearing a bullet proof vest everywhere? God, I love being an American!
Ed
12
“When these kinds of acts of violence happen in a movie theater, when there’s no real good reason why this kind of evil should intrude on the lives of families who are just out for a night of entertainment, I know a lot of us are horrified and shocked,” Mr. Jindal said.
"Trainwreck: America's Unlimited Access to Hand Guns"
"....when there’s no real good reason."
"Trainwreck: America's Unlimited Access to Hand Guns"
"....when there’s no real good reason."
6
My heart breaks for these families and all of those in the theater who's lives will never be the same. But when will we as a country realize this is NOT normal? No one should be shot dead while watching a movie with friends, or worshipping with their families, or going to school. How many more people must die for us to all cry out and demand our elected officials protect us? Pass gun safety laws, require background checks, make it safe for us to go to church, to school, to the movies.
19
Can't wait for Republicans to tell us this isn't a good time to talk about gun control.
Whoops. Too late. Bobby Jindal, when asked about gun control at a press conference last night said "let's focus on the victims right now. Tonight's not the night." It will never be the right time with Republicans. They made that clear after Newton and reinforce it with every subsequent massacre.
I was born in Lafayette. Lived with my family there until I was 7. My father graduated from University of Louisiana Lafayette. My brothers and I were allowed to ride our bikes fairly far from home and my parents didn't have to worry about anything worse than a scraped knee. How times have changed.
Whoops. Too late. Bobby Jindal, when asked about gun control at a press conference last night said "let's focus on the victims right now. Tonight's not the night." It will never be the right time with Republicans. They made that clear after Newton and reinforce it with every subsequent massacre.
I was born in Lafayette. Lived with my family there until I was 7. My father graduated from University of Louisiana Lafayette. My brothers and I were allowed to ride our bikes fairly far from home and my parents didn't have to worry about anything worse than a scraped knee. How times have changed.
25
Ho, hum. Another mass murder, fortunately with lower than usual deaths.
We can expect the usual from the gun nuts, "we need more guns", "if everyone had a gun......"
Well, chances are in Louisiana, half the audience was "packing". Where were the heroes when we needed them to begin blasting away at the gunman?
"Oh, it was just another crazy person (probably true). This isn't terrorism (unless we find out he was a Muslim)"
This plethora of gun killings just seems to further harden the position of the gun crazies who control the political agenda.
Meanwhile Republicans are consumed with retribution against Trump's immigrants, like the killer of Kathyrn in California. He was not "just another crazy person" but an "illegal immigrant bent on raping and killing just like all those people". Let's round them up, but leave all the law-abiding Americans with their AK 47s alone.
We can expect the usual from the gun nuts, "we need more guns", "if everyone had a gun......"
Well, chances are in Louisiana, half the audience was "packing". Where were the heroes when we needed them to begin blasting away at the gunman?
"Oh, it was just another crazy person (probably true). This isn't terrorism (unless we find out he was a Muslim)"
This plethora of gun killings just seems to further harden the position of the gun crazies who control the political agenda.
Meanwhile Republicans are consumed with retribution against Trump's immigrants, like the killer of Kathyrn in California. He was not "just another crazy person" but an "illegal immigrant bent on raping and killing just like all those people". Let's round them up, but leave all the law-abiding Americans with their AK 47s alone.
10
And the beat goes on, as the song goes. We can't prevent everyone with mental illness from harming others. It's impossible. But ours is one of the last "great" societies to enable such a person to be armed to the teeth and leave a trail of human carnage in just a moment of rage.
Since we're children we're taught that the right of voting is worth fighting and dying for. Yet we're never allowed to vote on gun rights, something people die over every day in America.
Since we're children we're taught that the right of voting is worth fighting and dying for. Yet we're never allowed to vote on gun rights, something people die over every day in America.
12
Until The People understand that this tragedy and all those like it are acts of domestic terrorism and demand sensible gun control, with registration and insurance of deadly weapons, we will just keep seeing an increase of this senseless violence.
8
Someone (Times? Huffpo?) should start a dedicated page for condolences, in addition to the usual comments about gun laws or lack thereof. Many people feel a need to mourn together; they feel that political comments are premature and insensitive as each lunatic-with-a-gun article gets published. Providing separate places for condolences and rants seems warranted, because we are in for many, many more of these articles. Heck, go all the way. One comment section for condolences, one for conspiracy theorists, one for the gun control advocates, one for the NRA; we're all talking across each other anyway.
1
Again, horrified by the violence wrought by guns and men (when was the last time a women shot up a movie theatre, restaurant or school?). When will we have the guts to confront the NRA and realize arming the nation is not going to stop the violence. We need to make obtaining a gun really, really hard and make sure the only people who have a gun are stable, without a criminal record and are trained. Spare me the the second amendment speech, everyone reads it out of context to justify arming the nation. That sentence fragment before the comma is always left out (...a well regulated militia....the right of the people to bear arms...). It was written so colonists could keep a gun in the house in case an army needed to be raised, cheaper than maintaining a standing army. The NRA has twisted its meaning and the result is a crazed obsession with guns. It is more complicated to adopt an animal than it is to own a gun in this country, that is ludicrous.
8
I too am aghast at the continued violence that you correctly attribute to guns and men. And I yield to no one in my disgust at the NRA and the fraud it has perpetrated on the American people by twisting the Second Amendment and persuading radical right-wing Supreme Court justices to do so as well. But I don't think it's fair to blame the NRA all by itself for the blood in our streets, churches, theaters, schools, etc. It's not as though the NRA's message were falling on deaf ears. There are thousands upon thousands of deluded men -- yes, men, and mostly white men -- in this country whose paranoia, barely checked aggression and hostility toward many other Americans make them a perfect and vulnerable target for the message. These men will not listen to reason about firearms because, by gosh, they're gonna "defend their homes and womenfolk" and will not hear that they actually endanger their families -- not to mention everyone else -- by possessing guns. Unfortunately, the crazed obsession that grips men like this cannot be placed entirely at the NRA's door.
In America, we solve our problems by killing. The only thing these after the fact "police investigations" do is create the illusion that we're in control. We most certainly are not. Stay tuned for the next massacre and "investigation."
4
Guns kill people. (The left.) People kill people. (The right.) People with easy access to guns kill people. (Common sense.)
8
Kevin, I am most definitely a person of the left, and I have always felt that No. 3 represented reality. I think you'll find that a lot of other folks on my wavelength on the political spectrum check box No. 3, too.
Just hours before the Lafayette carnage, President Obama declared in a BBC interview, "If you look at the number of Americans killed since 9/11 by terrorism, it's less than 100. If you look at the number that have been killed by gun violence, it's in the tens of thousands."
The gun lobby tells us that US citizens need ever more guns (more than one, on average, for every man, woman, child and infant in America) to protect against terrorists, "criminals," "big government," Democrats, and persons of swarthier complexion and non-Anglophone origin.
By such logic, we are literally killing ourselves in droves to protect against the occasional shooting. This is not merely misguided policy; it is outright lunacy.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
The gun lobby tells us that US citizens need ever more guns (more than one, on average, for every man, woman, child and infant in America) to protect against terrorists, "criminals," "big government," Democrats, and persons of swarthier complexion and non-Anglophone origin.
By such logic, we are literally killing ourselves in droves to protect against the occasional shooting. This is not merely misguided policy; it is outright lunacy.
www.endthemadnessnow.org
14
How many times will we have to hear about these senseless shootings before we get serious about keeping guns out of the hands of criminals and mentally unstable people? We have more deaths from gun violence that any outside threat from other countries.
4
One wonders how Bobby Jindal feels about America's singular gun problem now.
Likely answer: No different.
He's passed endless laws expanding gun rights. He speaks at NRA conventions. He favors concealed carry. Louisianans wanted some of these rights, and cheered the passage of these laws
It begs the question: was it worth it?
Yes, this is a tragedy for these families, but our prayers and our platitudes do NOTHING for these people. It's all hollow and soundless and will never bring back their loved ones who had the audacity to think they could go to the movies in safety in America. We call all sit here and type out our sadness and our frustration and name all the shootings we remember and lament, but in the end this is what our leaders are doing for us...and what we are doing to ourselves.
WHEN WILL WE DECIDE ENOUGH IS ENOUGH?
Likely answer: No different.
He's passed endless laws expanding gun rights. He speaks at NRA conventions. He favors concealed carry. Louisianans wanted some of these rights, and cheered the passage of these laws
It begs the question: was it worth it?
Yes, this is a tragedy for these families, but our prayers and our platitudes do NOTHING for these people. It's all hollow and soundless and will never bring back their loved ones who had the audacity to think they could go to the movies in safety in America. We call all sit here and type out our sadness and our frustration and name all the shootings we remember and lament, but in the end this is what our leaders are doing for us...and what we are doing to ourselves.
WHEN WILL WE DECIDE ENOUGH IS ENOUGH?
47
Bobby Jindal says there is no good reason for this to happen. He is wrong. The proliferation of handguns is the reason. Guess he's right to the extent that it is not a "good reason" Why is the U.S. the only Western nation to permit, if not encourage widespread ownership and use of death machines?
Total sadness for the victims and their circles of families and friends. Hasn't this happened often enough that it's time for a realistic response? Clearly giving more people the "right" to carry and use handguns is not preventing these attacks.
Total sadness for the victims and their circles of families and friends. Hasn't this happened often enough that it's time for a realistic response? Clearly giving more people the "right" to carry and use handguns is not preventing these attacks.
24
Former Gov. Jindal has helped to make and maintain LA #1 in gun deaths. He is pro NRA and poses frequently with different guns in different locations.
Thanks to his budget cuts the safety net for mental health care is non-existent. The demolition of services has been aided by a legislature that has not opposed any of these measures.
Nothing will change in LA under new leadership is elected. If that is even possible.
Thanks to his budget cuts the safety net for mental health care is non-existent. The demolition of services has been aided by a legislature that has not opposed any of these measures.
Nothing will change in LA under new leadership is elected. If that is even possible.
Another Win-Win for the Gun Industry and Its Elected Lapdogs
America's weekly massacre.... brought to you by the NRA, the gun industry, cowardly politicians, TV-addled paranoids, and corrupt judicial interpretations of a "well ordered militia." The more bystanders who are slaughtered, the more guns these phallic-gripping ape-men sell and buy. We need to sue the hell out of states, companies, executives, lobbyists, and municipalities who actively prevent a rational modern accounting of privately owned weapons and ammunition.
America's weekly massacre.... brought to you by the NRA, the gun industry, cowardly politicians, TV-addled paranoids, and corrupt judicial interpretations of a "well ordered militia." The more bystanders who are slaughtered, the more guns these phallic-gripping ape-men sell and buy. We need to sue the hell out of states, companies, executives, lobbyists, and municipalities who actively prevent a rational modern accounting of privately owned weapons and ammunition.
37
Sadly, these tragedies are becoming almost routine. Barely a week passes by without another person, on some silly pretense, or for no reason at all, kills some people. We have become so inured that we don’t even stop and ask “Why?” anymore. For human lives so cruelly lost.
One of these days, we will simply have to wake up from our collective, NRA-induced slumber, and address this out of control culture of trying to solve problems, or making statements, by using guns. Unless we do so, we do not have a right to call ourselves a civilized or advanced nation.
Really, except for running hot and cold water, and flushing toilets, how are we different from some war-torn Somalia-like country in how some of us go about settling our mostly imaginary grievances? I will appreciate some NRA member to enlighten me here.
RIP. That is all I can say. Until the next one.
One of these days, we will simply have to wake up from our collective, NRA-induced slumber, and address this out of control culture of trying to solve problems, or making statements, by using guns. Unless we do so, we do not have a right to call ourselves a civilized or advanced nation.
Really, except for running hot and cold water, and flushing toilets, how are we different from some war-torn Somalia-like country in how some of us go about settling our mostly imaginary grievances? I will appreciate some NRA member to enlighten me here.
RIP. That is all I can say. Until the next one.
18
I wonder what the NRA will say? All cinemas should have armed guards?
Then the sort of person who commits this all too common crime will hit supermarkets.
Winston Churchill said that America does the right thing when it has tried everything else; we seem to be trying everything except what is seen to work in other countries, which is gun control laws.
We no longer live in the wild west, we should not think that more people crying guns will solve the problem of violence in our country, it only exacerbates it.
Then the sort of person who commits this all too common crime will hit supermarkets.
Winston Churchill said that America does the right thing when it has tried everything else; we seem to be trying everything except what is seen to work in other countries, which is gun control laws.
We no longer live in the wild west, we should not think that more people crying guns will solve the problem of violence in our country, it only exacerbates it.
15
Google "Gun Laws in Louisiana." There are no gun laws in Louisiana, except pertaining to concealed handguns. No background checks, no permits, no limits on magazine sizes, no registration, and cities are strictly prohibited to override the state's lack of regulation of guns.
19
This is an awful night for Lafayette. This is an awful night for Louisiana. This is an awful night for the United States. But we're not going to talk about gun control.
27
A gun cannot shoot or operate by itself. It takes Human intention and action to use a gun in a malicious manner. The shooter is at fault and not the weapon. This is not a Second Amendment issue.
1
Yes it is. Developed countries with stricter gun laws have far lower gun homocide rates than the U.S. This is a fact and you need to come to terms with it.
3
Guns were invented to make it very easy to kill. It is the choice of cowards and your mantra "guns don't kill, people do" is getting really really old and is also incorrect.
3
So, a man with a criminal record could buy a gun. Was this a gun show transaction without a background check?
5
Yet another tragedy. We should all hang our heads collectively!
4
They don't know much else but they know the killer was a "Lone white male"
2
White men with guns can't seem to create enough bloodshed to satisfy themselves. One thing I will never understand is WHY suicidal men can't be content to just kill themselves instead of killing other people in the process. To would-be angry men who want to commit suicide: seek professional help or, barring that, understand that suicide is a private act and by its definition does not involved others. Thank you.
12
As a law abiding citizen, I plan on getting some guns before the inevitable call from the left to ban them. If successful, you'll only stop law-abiding people from buying them, not crazies or criminals. You can never stop those people. If you think trying to make them stop will prevent tragedy, you're just naive.
2
Why does gun control work in other developed countries but it just can't possibly work here?
4
AC: No one is calling for a ban on guns, but some sane regulation might stop some of the senseless killing.
By your reasoning we should have no laws at all because crazies and criminals won't abide by them anyway. So let's do away with speed limits and drunk driving laws to start, then let's do away with locks on our homes and cars, because, you know, "you can never stop those people" who want to break in.
By your reasoning we should have no laws at all because crazies and criminals won't abide by them anyway. So let's do away with speed limits and drunk driving laws to start, then let's do away with locks on our homes and cars, because, you know, "you can never stop those people" who want to break in.
3
Exactly!! There's certainly nothing crazy about going out now to get all the guns you can ahead of the inevitable government ban and seizure. While you're at it better stock up on ammunition too...
1
I'd comment here that this is another example of why we need tighter gun control laws,but the NRA & company would say I'm just exploiting this tragedy.
So I'll speak up instead for all those American who would like to be able to go shopping, to the movies, to church or synagogue or mosque, to college, to a restaurant or bar without having to worry about someone with a gun using them for firing practice. Perhaps if we had as well-financed an organization as the NRA to stick up for our rights, we'd achieve our goal.
So I'll speak up instead for all those American who would like to be able to go shopping, to the movies, to church or synagogue or mosque, to college, to a restaurant or bar without having to worry about someone with a gun using them for firing practice. Perhaps if we had as well-financed an organization as the NRA to stick up for our rights, we'd achieve our goal.
13
How many repeat performances of senseless gun violence do we need before we decide to tighten our gun laws?
8
This is getting to be an out-of-control problem in America. At what point is this sort of gun violence going to convince the majority of those who live in this country that we need to enact sensible, reasonable gun control laws? What we are doing now in regards to gun control isn't working.
In the meantime, apparently, we need to tighten up security in all public places where large numbers of people gather, such as movie theaters, sports arenas, etc. Install metal detectors at the entrances, and make certain the fire escape doors haven't been propped open for easy access from the outside. Also, get the lights on in these theaters as soon as emergencies arise. The movie patrons are sitting ducks for these wingnut sociopaths.
3
C'mon Gov Jindal, where's that age old mantra that guns don't kill people? Kinda hard to say when it's close to home ain't it.
4
This will change nothing.
When we as a country decided in the wake of Sandy Hook that gunning down children was acceptable, the gun debate was essentially settled.
When we as a country decided in the wake of Sandy Hook that gunning down children was acceptable, the gun debate was essentially settled.
53
This will result in more calls for gun control when what we really need is mental hospitals. What happened here is done. We need to focus on the next mass shooting and what can be done to prevent it. Mental hospitals are one answer.
2
Have you ever looked at how safe other countries are? Those that have strict gun controls???? Like, let's say, Australia???? Which enforced strict gun control and outlawed certain types of weapons after the 1996 mass shooting in Port Arthur, Tasmania. Since then, there have been two mass shootings in Australia as compared to one every two weeks in the U.S.
So, you seem to be arguing that we have more mentally ill people than any other country; whereas many of us would argue that easy access to weapons facilitates murder. I think the numbers support our argument.
So, you seem to be arguing that we have more mentally ill people than any other country; whereas many of us would argue that easy access to weapons facilitates murder. I think the numbers support our argument.
3
With mass shootings now taking place on a weekly basis, I suspect "Now's not the time" will never become "It's finally time to talk about our gun problem".
10
Our terrorists seem to be more lone white males than any others, no matter how we demonize the 'others'...and what is our problem with gun control?
33
Just another day in America....now there will be memorials and tributes and the laying of wreaths and empty platitudes and NOTHING will be done about gun violence in this country.
36
This is the outcome of a armed society.
( and I am awaiting the post that says : If only everyone had been armed in that theatre !)
( and I am awaiting the post that says : If only everyone had been armed in that theatre !)
21
Me too. And for the post that says "guns don't kill, people do." Which is utter NONSENSE because guns were invented to kill.
3
This endless marathon of reckless shooting and killing is simply mind boggling and pathetically sickening. How many more senseless and reckless deaths will it take for conscious American citizens to say enough is enough, and throw away the so-called constitutional right to bear arms to the dustbin of history, where it rightfully belongs? Amend the constitution--get rid of this madness of owning guns. It is not the eighteenth century rural America--wake up. Get rid of guns from the streets, even from the Police. As any ordinary citizen can own guns, even concealed guns, police needs even more powerful guns. It's a maddening competition for violence, it's a profit-mongering gun-business that creates havoc to the society. Nobody is safe, nor children in school, nor movie watchers, nor passersby, not police, nobody. The ordinary course of life is in danger, in constant danger. Get rid of guns from the street--amend the constitution--today's America needs nothing less than that.
25
My deepest condolences to the families of those killed. They didn't deserve to be at the mercy of another maniac with a gun. As a nation, we can't keep letting people get gunned down by lunatics. Can we please have stronger regulations on guns?
25
When is the United States going to get practical gun control laws like the rest of the developed world?
18
Another week, another triumph for the unfettered right to bear arms.
26
This makes the news because it occurred in a theater. The fact that probably about another dozen Americans were killed by guns last night won't make the national headlines and yet they are just as dead.
39
It makes the news because it is seemingly random; violence in a public space; and the unfortunately high number of casualties. Gun violence (and other forms) are reported as well, just not so much nationally.
When asked at a campaign event in Iowa what he would do about gun violence , Jindal replied "gun control is being able to hit your target."
2
The United States relies heavily on state--not federal--law to regulate the private sale of firearms. Let's take Alabama. In Alabama, you are essentially allowed one violent crime before your gun rights are revoked. It isn't enough to have a clearly documented history of mental health issues, a wife that petitioned a judge to involuntarily commit you to a hospital out of fear for the safety of others, or to endorse the views of Adolf Hitler across various--and easily accessible--social media platforms. This is all information about the Louisiana shooter that has been easily attained and widely reported by multiple sources since the shooting.
"Despite a history of mental problems, (Louisiana shooter) Houser was still able to legally acquire the semiautomatic pistol used in the shooting from an Alabama pawnshop because he hadn't been convicted of any serious crimes." -CNN
When guns are socially and legally prevalent, they end up in the hands of people who should not have them. While we will never be able to control people, we can make a better effort as a country to control what they carry with them.