Regarding the girlfriend, I'd also be curious to know.... she said that after he gave her a ticket to the Philippines and money for a home there, that she thought it was his way of 'breaking up with her'. Did she then try to reach out to him to share her concerns or ask why he might be 'breaking up with her'? Did they have any type of communication since she arrive in the PHilippines? In this day and age, people can still talk, even when halfway around the world. What was the content and tone of their recent conversations?
2
Marilou Danley should not be made a scapegoat or be seen as an accomplice. There is already evidence that the man never shared any info with anyone. Newscasters, journalists and police are soon going to have to apologize to this woman. Sending her away was probably the last decent thing this shooter did. He was all about cash, he figured a hundred grand would make up for his madness.
2
Just a reminder that France has extremely strict gun controls and yet 128 people were murdered by terrorists in a theatre. Evil will triumph every time if the attackers are not afraid to die.
2
I think the bigger question from this tragedy is how does someone that is being prescribed mood-altering anti-depressants be allowed access to guns? Wouldn't the government background check system address this issue at the time of purchase?
It is difficult to understand that the shooting lasted around 9-11 minutes, but it took nearly 70 minutes for the police to breach his door. Why did he stop shooting for nearly an hour, when it is clear from the pictures he still had more ammunition in his room and nothing stopping his continuation of the massacre?
It doesn't add up...
It doesn't add up...
9
Why do we have any weapons that can be used like a machine gun? There is no credible civilian purpose for that: read - non-militia, in bill of rights terminology, assuming that document still be a real reference point for all this madness.
The NRA. their Gun Corp puppetmasters and the political leaders they co-opt all have yet another swimming pool worth of blood on their hands.
The NRA. their Gun Corp puppetmasters and the political leaders they co-opt all have yet another swimming pool worth of blood on their hands.
3
My friend, the father of two young children, says "What kind of country is this where they have active shooter drills in kindergarten?" Parents like him can be a base for protest, instead of mere outrage. Don't wait for legislation. Start at your school. Do you really think you need an active shooter drill? What other ways could you prepare children for an emergency without putting into their heads at age 5 or so the omnipresence of guns?
1
I can't remember after what mass shooting he said it - there were so many during his presidency - but President Obama said to solve this we need to become single issue voters. Just like them. We need to make this the only issue that matters in our vote, just like they do. And the more I read comments from gun owners who themselves fervently support restrictions on weapon type and ammunition, etc., the more I feel they need to be the loudest voices in this fight because they hold the most credibility to the other side.
3
Find out who modified the 3 rifles and looking into his pass , he had killed someone before most likely by a gun. He doesn't seem to be mechanic so this took an individual who knows the gun stock mod. A person who has never kill an individual before would never be that compose. There is a hidden history there surely. Check for unsolved murders in his living location in the past. No one decides to awake one morning and plan on killing individuals except when in anger.
3
We know that Russia is trying to destabilize our country. We know they are taking extraordinary measures of trying to turn Americans against each other in every way possible, planting false news stories to create confusion and distrust. What if they are behind these mass shootings in some way that we don't yet understand?
I don't want to start any wild rumors. Consider this as informed speculation which should not be taken as fact unless there is some good proof. We know someone bombarded the embassy staff in Havana with sound waves or some type of microwaves or other unseen waves so as to make people at the embassy ill and some to lose their hearing. We know that the old Soviet Union, and the KGB of which Putin was part, was expert at spreading misinformation that people accepted as fact around the world, in at least one case causing an American in Central America to almost be beaten to death because of an unfounded rumor.
We know Putin has had people killed. We know that Alexander Litvinenko, a former member of the Federal Security Service in Russia was poisoned with plutonium. What are they not capable of doing if they think it will benefit them? They appear to have no limits because they have found ways to go to war without actual combat.
I am not saying this is happening, but it should be investigated. If our govt. has any evidence that people are being brain washed and used as tools for mass killings, they must tell us. Could these be Manchurian murders?
I don't want to start any wild rumors. Consider this as informed speculation which should not be taken as fact unless there is some good proof. We know someone bombarded the embassy staff in Havana with sound waves or some type of microwaves or other unseen waves so as to make people at the embassy ill and some to lose their hearing. We know that the old Soviet Union, and the KGB of which Putin was part, was expert at spreading misinformation that people accepted as fact around the world, in at least one case causing an American in Central America to almost be beaten to death because of an unfounded rumor.
We know Putin has had people killed. We know that Alexander Litvinenko, a former member of the Federal Security Service in Russia was poisoned with plutonium. What are they not capable of doing if they think it will benefit them? They appear to have no limits because they have found ways to go to war without actual combat.
I am not saying this is happening, but it should be investigated. If our govt. has any evidence that people are being brain washed and used as tools for mass killings, they must tell us. Could these be Manchurian murders?
2
This is domestic terrorism. Why do our lawmakers call these mass shootings what they are?
I believe in the right to bear arms, but for what purposes does an automatic weapon serve any civilian? The machines are made to hit multiple targets in a short time period. Why would anyone need that much for self defense?
At minimum, there should be substantial restrictions on who can procure this specific type of weapon.
I believe in the right to bear arms, but for what purposes does an automatic weapon serve any civilian? The machines are made to hit multiple targets in a short time period. Why would anyone need that much for self defense?
At minimum, there should be substantial restrictions on who can procure this specific type of weapon.
3
Any type of automatic weapon is only good for killing people. Rifles and guns for hunting animals are reasonable; even pistols are not in the category of automatic-style weapons, but they are still designed to kill people, not animals.
It's time for Congress to take a stance on these types of weapons.. We have plenty of military and military reserve units here; those who want to play with such weapons should join up.
Minimally, lawmakers need to deal with the plague of automatic-style weapons to keep ourselves and our children safe.
But don't hold your breath. Republicans seem to believe that we need weapons so that we can exact vengeance? justice? at any time we wish.
How many private gun owners opened fire to take down this killer? hmm?
It's time for Congress to take a stance on these types of weapons.. We have plenty of military and military reserve units here; those who want to play with such weapons should join up.
Minimally, lawmakers need to deal with the plague of automatic-style weapons to keep ourselves and our children safe.
But don't hold your breath. Republicans seem to believe that we need weapons so that we can exact vengeance? justice? at any time we wish.
How many private gun owners opened fire to take down this killer? hmm?
3
I don't know but the hotel could very well be a gun free zone. So that would mean most law abiding gun carry permit holders would have left there weapons in their cars. Of course the shooter would have ignored this and planned on it.
1
Stephen Paddock’s brain should be kept by one of the brain research institutes. Once neuroscientists have an atlas of normal brains, they could compare it with Paddock’s brain to see if his was different in any way.
1
The companies that manufactured and marketed the bump stocks used in the shootings will face a slew of lawsuits.
They will soon be out of business for their odious contraptions that have no legitimate question purpose.
They will soon be out of business for their odious contraptions that have no legitimate question purpose.
1
The baristas at his local Starbucks said he was a horrible person who regularly belittled his girlfriend whenever they went there for coffee. Also, it's bee reported that he was recently prescribed medication for anxiety. So something was going on. Ask yourself, how likely it would be for you to get up one morning and start planning to massacre people. And he apparently started buying more weapons in October 2016. There was something wrong with him. They should check with his doctors.
7
I think you have brought up an excellent point. From what I read, the drug that he was taking causes very aggressive behavior. How was he able to buy guns taking this stuff? Why doesn't the Government's gun background check address this issue?
1
I'm sorry but I worked in hotels, if a guest has a "do not disturb" sign on the door and housekeeping has not been able to enter the room after 24-48 hours, security is usually called up to check on the guest/room. A. guest could have committed suicide or died of natural cause or B. something is off. The same way that maids were instructed after 9/11 to look for certain details such as hair dye in the sink or excessive hair (from shaving once head or body - most muslim terrorists will shave their entire body before a suicide mission). So I am a bit shocked that certain procedures were not followed here and I am sure hotels around the country will be reviewing theirs.
7
There's plenty of blame, and rightly so, to direct at the NRA and their purchase of mostly GOP politicians. But there should also be a discussion about our entertainment industry's alarming reliance on mindless violence solely for violence's sake. Look at the lineup of television and movie options, not to mention video games. We're being force-fed a steady diet of violence that we willingly consume and emulate. As our society gorges on violent entertainment, we are interrupted, initially with just the occasional hiccups that are now frequent and full-throttle regurgitations of a noxious byproduct of our binging - insane mass shootings. After looking around in momentary dismay, we then promptly return to the table of mayhem and murder and continue the savage orgy. The corporate entertainment industry has become fat and lazy and reliant on the lowest common denominators of storylines. For a change, serve up more that feeds the heart, mind and soul.
2
The proposed automatic modifier ban isn't near enough. We need to be following Canada and Australia. Things like this will keep happening if we don't.
3
So many different types of guns, capable of killing in many different ways. The slaughter of strangers by military style guns. The suicides at home whereby 22,000 Americans in crisis end it all. The rage at a domestic partner ending in a shot of death.So we have many types of mental health crisis individuals who can get the gun tailor made for the job they have in their sick mind.
As a society, Americans are totally okay with this. Hey, it's the people not the guns. Hey, it's the guns which allow people to act out their violence.
Either way, we fail to see the situation for what it is and how it feeds upon itself.
The GOP does not want to invest money in any kind of health care, let alone mental health. We are left to cope on our own. And the GOP does not want to entertain any gun laws which would 'infringe' upon the God Gun. In fact, trump's first law as President was allowing the mentally ill to be allowed to buy guns.
Ignorance meets greed in a perfect storm. Thousands of victims every year left to their families grief and pain.
As a society, Americans are totally okay with this. Hey, it's the people not the guns. Hey, it's the guns which allow people to act out their violence.
Either way, we fail to see the situation for what it is and how it feeds upon itself.
The GOP does not want to invest money in any kind of health care, let alone mental health. We are left to cope on our own. And the GOP does not want to entertain any gun laws which would 'infringe' upon the God Gun. In fact, trump's first law as President was allowing the mentally ill to be allowed to buy guns.
Ignorance meets greed in a perfect storm. Thousands of victims every year left to their families grief and pain.
3
The GOP keeps saying that the recognition and treatment of mental health issues would do more to solve the gun crisis than stricter laws. But it’s funny how they seem to forget that in their constant assaults on health care and other human and social services.
Using mental health as an excuse not to confront all the issues surrounding gun violence, and refusing to give the support and resources mental health providers need to care for those so afflicted, is offensive and cynical beyond words.
Using mental health as an excuse not to confront all the issues surrounding gun violence, and refusing to give the support and resources mental health providers need to care for those so afflicted, is offensive and cynical beyond words.
1
So why are Americans more violent than other nationalities?
We live in the wealthiest nation in the world. In fact, we have 25% of all the wealth in the world. 25%!
Even the poorest people in the US wear clothing without holes and patches.
But we kill ourselves and each other more than in any other nation.
Less than 100 years ago, the gun in America was a tool. Today, it is a toy. We are so rich we can afford to go through box after box of ammunition just for fun. And we enjoy that play so much that we would rather see other people die needlessly than stop playing with increasingly more lethal instruments of murder.
We are in an arms race where weapons that were once for war are now for civilian use. The size and scale of mass murders keeps growing.
In a few years, autonomous and robotic weapons will be available. What will mass murder look like in 2070? Will one crazy person be able to kill thousands within 10 minutes? And will that seem normal to us?
I have such a bad feeling about all of this. A future where every citizen is armed to the hilt with military weapons is a future where the civilian is extinct.
What will stop us from turning on each other? We already have the anger and the paranoia and the false accusations.
Without the "well-regulated" portion of our Second Amendment, we are setting ourselves up for a Lord Of The Flies barbarism where every single one of us must be a warlord gangster to survive.
We live in the wealthiest nation in the world. In fact, we have 25% of all the wealth in the world. 25%!
Even the poorest people in the US wear clothing without holes and patches.
But we kill ourselves and each other more than in any other nation.
Less than 100 years ago, the gun in America was a tool. Today, it is a toy. We are so rich we can afford to go through box after box of ammunition just for fun. And we enjoy that play so much that we would rather see other people die needlessly than stop playing with increasingly more lethal instruments of murder.
We are in an arms race where weapons that were once for war are now for civilian use. The size and scale of mass murders keeps growing.
In a few years, autonomous and robotic weapons will be available. What will mass murder look like in 2070? Will one crazy person be able to kill thousands within 10 minutes? And will that seem normal to us?
I have such a bad feeling about all of this. A future where every citizen is armed to the hilt with military weapons is a future where the civilian is extinct.
What will stop us from turning on each other? We already have the anger and the paranoia and the false accusations.
Without the "well-regulated" portion of our Second Amendment, we are setting ourselves up for a Lord Of The Flies barbarism where every single one of us must be a warlord gangster to survive.
21
"So why are Americans more violent than other nationalities?"
Access to guns. This type of access occurs nowhere else in the world. It's that simple.
Access to guns. This type of access occurs nowhere else in the world. It's that simple.
5
In fact, Mexico is far more dangerous than the United States. Hundreds of millions of people in this country live in peace under the protection of our law enforcement officers and will never be the victim of a shooting. That may not comfort those who have been, but it is an unavoidable fact.
2
With the type of violence that is continuing unabated in America and shows no signs of being dealt with, a wealthy nation can become poor fairly fast. Ultimately, it comes to quality of life issues and its potential negative affect on businesses and attracting quality people to the nation who because they feel America is too violent may decide to go elsewhere. Not everyone is interested in having to live in a gated community to feel safe. When that predominates, like or not, your then looked upon as a "banana republic".
1
This is simple logic. America is a highly advanced country dominated by an ideology of guns and world conquest.
During times of uncertainty and fear, some mentally ill people snap up and use guns to express their rage or frustration.
The question is: why does the majority of sane Americans are so powerless to end the bloodshed?
During times of uncertainty and fear, some mentally ill people snap up and use guns to express their rage or frustration.
The question is: why does the majority of sane Americans are so powerless to end the bloodshed?
9
What if all us of in favor of gun control joined the NRA and swamped its membership, establishing a large majority that can then vote the NRA out of existence?
18
My guess is, like American democracy, the leadership would ignore the wishes of the masses.
4
My guess is that your the in minority if you want to ban all guns. Try this, Trump is president so he says due to the mass shootings we are going under Marshall Law. Then he says members of the armed forces are going to come in to your homes and they can stay as long as they like and we are to treat them as guest. Next all churches will be closed until further notice. What can we do to stop that?
So with the cameras and multiple rifles and abundance of ammo where were his accomplices? Two firing points for one guy?
6
Lets face it - unless their own kith and kin are in the line of fire, politicians from either side of the aisle are unlikely to feel concerned enough to enact tough gun legislation. The rest of the electorate, to them, is an expendable lot whose presence matters only during a campaign and ballot casting period.
As for everybody else that likes to call this as the act of a "lone wolf", "sick and dastardly person" etc.- they are all correct. But likewise with a lone wolves and sick people from other walks of life - religion, nationality, color of skin - notwithstanding. Otherwise, a consistent story line for this massacre would observe that a White Christian Terrorist armed to the hilt by the NRA killed scores of innocent Americans.
As for everybody else that likes to call this as the act of a "lone wolf", "sick and dastardly person" etc.- they are all correct. But likewise with a lone wolves and sick people from other walks of life - religion, nationality, color of skin - notwithstanding. Otherwise, a consistent story line for this massacre would observe that a White Christian Terrorist armed to the hilt by the NRA killed scores of innocent Americans.
3
Are NRA and gun manufacturers orchestrating these mass murders to boost sales? They've been losing profits badly past year. Mass shootings always spike up sales because gun owners get whipped into a frenzy of fear that "the state will take their guns away" so they promptly run to shops to stack up a few dozen more AR15s. Works like a charm.
4
I am writing this comment publicly because our nation is traveling down a very dark path that needs to be ended immediately. These mass killings are becoming commonplace, and the death count seems to rise after each new tragedy. However the fact remains that the NRA has the strongest lobby in America, and they were able to squash any significant gun control legislation after 20 little children were slaughtered at Sandy Hook. Guns are not going away altogether, so we must take the NRA on collectively one step at a time.
I believe that a great place to start will be to get "bump stocks" outlawed, which allowed Stephen Paddock to inflict as many casualties as he did. For those of you not familiar with a "bump stock", the NY Times posted an article on 10/2/17 which describes it in layman's term. Long story short, a bump stock is a legal accessory for a semi-automatic AR-15 that turns it into a fully automatic machine gun capable of firing 90 rounds in 10 seconds. Military grade automatic machine guns fire 98 rounds in 7 seconds according the article: https://nyti.ms/2yEfvmX . This article also provides a youtube link showing how easy and fast it is to install a bump stock.
My goal is to encourage everyone to share this information, and then take action collectively by writing to your local politicians and demanding that this "bump stock loophole" in gun control be outlawed. This is intentionally a baby step, but it is an achievable goal.
I believe that a great place to start will be to get "bump stocks" outlawed, which allowed Stephen Paddock to inflict as many casualties as he did. For those of you not familiar with a "bump stock", the NY Times posted an article on 10/2/17 which describes it in layman's term. Long story short, a bump stock is a legal accessory for a semi-automatic AR-15 that turns it into a fully automatic machine gun capable of firing 90 rounds in 10 seconds. Military grade automatic machine guns fire 98 rounds in 7 seconds according the article: https://nyti.ms/2yEfvmX . This article also provides a youtube link showing how easy and fast it is to install a bump stock.
My goal is to encourage everyone to share this information, and then take action collectively by writing to your local politicians and demanding that this "bump stock loophole" in gun control be outlawed. This is intentionally a baby step, but it is an achievable goal.
8
The 'bump stock' is little more than a plastic accessory to the weapon. It can be produced on a 3D printer. Even if the sale of it is outlawed, determined psychopaths will make their own. We must understand that a determined killer is very dangerous...it is no cold comfort that more people were killed by getting run over by a truck in Nice than shot and killed in Las Vegas.
1
Is there a level of killing for which gun advocates would consider increased restrictions? 100? 1,000? 1 million? 100 million?
6
Where is the NSA and what is there mission statement? They let Snowden walk, gave the world a program(s) to hack into nearly anyone's accounts, spied on candidate Trump, even before he was the nominee, and now a lone wolf searching the internet for ways to get cameras, automatic rifle technology, and other things on line that should have set up a big red flag. This on top of the cash transfer to his girlfriend's account in a foreign country.
This much we know, the NSA has all the money it needs by the barrel full, and no accountability if it is doing what their mission actually is.
Cut it, give the money to Puerto Rico.
This much we know, the NSA has all the money it needs by the barrel full, and no accountability if it is doing what their mission actually is.
Cut it, give the money to Puerto Rico.
2
I'm tired of the knee-jerk reaction of "we got to pass some law". Laws can't stop homicides like what occurred in Vegas. It would be nice if the solution were so easy, but it is a much more difficult problem. We are a violent culture. In the last few decades each of our leaders has killed thousands, if not tens of thousands of people, many of whom were completely innocent. From Viet Nam to Iraq to Yemen, the US Government has been a killing machine--in a state of perpetual war. It is sad to say this, but our political leadership is also an influential moral/cultural leader.
The people of this country are ok with brutal, indiscriminately violent invasions of other countries and drone based hand picked assassinations at the direction of the president. How do we experience this then ponder how it can be that individuals in this culture engage in brutal, indiscriminately violent acts?
Blaming the NRA for mass killings is a dodge: people need to look at their own government and their own culture, not just point at a political scape goat.
The people of this country are ok with brutal, indiscriminately violent invasions of other countries and drone based hand picked assassinations at the direction of the president. How do we experience this then ponder how it can be that individuals in this culture engage in brutal, indiscriminately violent acts?
Blaming the NRA for mass killings is a dodge: people need to look at their own government and their own culture, not just point at a political scape goat.
5
The NRA controls many in our government. They control what research can be done into gun violence (essentially none). They rile up gun advocates, convincing them that any gun control is the same as the government taking away every single person's guns. All of them. And they are responsible for hiring trolls who swamp comment streams, just like the Russian trolls, and cast doubt and dispersions on any idea of sensible gun control. I blame them for a lot of this. Their profits are all they care about and they are drenched in our blood.
3
It's a combination of all of the above. But saying that 'bad people will manage to do bad things, with or without a gun, so we shouldn't enact any limits or bans', is like saying 'outside terrorists will always find a way to kill the 'non-believers', so why bother having airport security checks, why bother having no-fly lists, etc.
1
Would a musket do this? Those were the "arms" referred to in the second amendment to our constitution. They did not have grenades, automatics, helicopter gunships, poison needles, poison gasses, and other devices we now could consider ourselves being "armed" with. Muskets. That was it.
10
The bill allowing silencers is now on-hold. But for this latest event, it would be going full force. This is an example of what is wrong with congress and our political system. (Hint: combined effect of politics and money.)
1
You are absolutely correct. A weapon that can kill 59 people and injury 500 others in a matter of minutes is decidedly not what the framer's had in mind when they wrote the Second Amendment. You don't buy an Uzi to zero Bambi on your hunting trip. Nor do you buy one for personal or home protection. The only reason to own an automatic weapon is to kill lots of people.
2
The gunman's motives? How about this - "I have a lot of weapons that can kill a lot of people, so that's what I'm going to do." Guns and the slavery to the worship of guns are a sickness in America or should I say, in many Americans. Certainly, they are an indelible part of our history, for better or worse, and for much of it, mere mythology. But somewhere along the line, the urge for some added protection against threats both real and exaggerated morphed into an addiction to the kind of power guns seem to give one when holding one. I was a gun owner for most my 62 years, well-trained and skilled. At some point, even after years of living is some nasty neighborhoods, I realized how useless they were to me. They were melted down. Hunters, keep your long rifles and shotguns, good hunting to you. Homeowners and heads of families, keep your handgun - safe and cared for and unavailable to the inexperienced and unknowledgeable. Collectors of rare historical arms, display them safely and disseminate their history without cant. Owners of vast arsenals of military grade weapons and high caliber pistols and revolvers with thousands of rounds, waiting for a "revolution" against liberalism or a "stand your ground moment" - eternal shame on you.
4
These articles outlining exactly what weapons the killer used, how he augmented his guns, exactly how he rearranged furniture and broke windows- they feel like recipe cards to me. Any untreated psychopath who has been dreaming of such heinous acts is feeling inspired, motivated, and educated right now. What our press should be publishing is how to get help if you feel unstable. How to reach out if you are having dangerous intrusive thoughts, and, perhaps most importantly, how families, spouses, friends, and girlfriends can get help if they suspect a crime is about to occur. These are the things we need to fill the papers with right now. Not a print out of this man's Santa List of automatic rifles and a "Mass Shootings For Dummies" transcript. When can we agree that the desire to know (and tell) every nuance might be to our detriment as a society?
10
Isn't it interesting how the media is becoming more and more complicit in our tragedies. They contributed to Trump's becoming president by giving him free publicity every single day during the primaries. He was always interviewed in front of a Trump property. Now the media is making as much ado about this tragedy as they can for click bait. They need to ratchet it back.
3
On this mass murder one is not going to find an answer to the questions we would like to know the answer to. He planned it this way, new exactly what he was doing and left no trails for law enforcement to find. His one mistake in being located was the heat/smoke from the guns and the fire alarms being set off, this was his inexperience or oversight(?). Many more would have been wounded or killed.
My heart felt sorrows and prayers to all in this tragedy for your loss of life liberties and the pursuit of happiness. Tears come to my eyes, as in Newtown and similar tragedies. One cannot imagine the feelings of loss you must feel for your loved ones.
Perhaps now our Government will see the need for many changes(they are refusing to confront on this issue) for the welfare of the people they are representing and take some steps to rectify a very, very bad policy issue regardless of the NRA/ 2nd Amendment advocates perceived rights of a one man 'militia'. Seventeen seventy six was a different time and place 240 years ago.
This policy is just wrong today for many Americans and needs to be addressed and changes made.
My heart felt sorrows and prayers to all in this tragedy for your loss of life liberties and the pursuit of happiness. Tears come to my eyes, as in Newtown and similar tragedies. One cannot imagine the feelings of loss you must feel for your loved ones.
Perhaps now our Government will see the need for many changes(they are refusing to confront on this issue) for the welfare of the people they are representing and take some steps to rectify a very, very bad policy issue regardless of the NRA/ 2nd Amendment advocates perceived rights of a one man 'militia'. Seventeen seventy six was a different time and place 240 years ago.
This policy is just wrong today for many Americans and needs to be addressed and changes made.
3
Prosecute the NRA under RICO. Force it to disband. Cease their ability to buy members of Congress.
Then, let's see how long it takes to get sensible gun control legislation through the legislature. Sensible items like background checks, whether at gun stores, gun shows or private sales, gun registries, limits on ammunition sales--all things that something close to 80% of us want to see enacted, but Congress refuses to do because they're afraid of angering their paymasters at the NRA.
Then, let's see how long it takes to get sensible gun control legislation through the legislature. Sensible items like background checks, whether at gun stores, gun shows or private sales, gun registries, limits on ammunition sales--all things that something close to 80% of us want to see enacted, but Congress refuses to do because they're afraid of angering their paymasters at the NRA.
10
"Prosecute the NRA under RICO"
As this comment shows, there's a big difference between typing and understanding. RICO isn't just some roving mandate for the government to go after things you don't like; there has to be an underlying crime. And no, advocating for gun ownership and pro-gun laws is not a crime. There's that pesky First Amendment again.
As this comment shows, there's a big difference between typing and understanding. RICO isn't just some roving mandate for the government to go after things you don't like; there has to be an underlying crime. And no, advocating for gun ownership and pro-gun laws is not a crime. There's that pesky First Amendment again.
6
There are roughly 1500 children shot every year. That seems like a crime to me. There have been hundreds and hundreds of people killed in mass murders. There have been 520 mass murder attacks with guns in the last 470 days. That seems pretty criminal to me.
3
So now we know that it is not possible to stop someone making a semi-automatic assault rifle automatic and then shooting several hundred people for no particular reason. Everyone who doesn't support an assault rifle ban is complicit in any future event.
10
I suppose Vegas concert-attendees should be proud that the death toll was so low -- only 59 compared to thousands fr Katrina.
14
I find it hard to believe this guy was just some kind of a nut. His modus operandi was far too sophisticated...not the work of an amateur...
10
According to neighbors where he lived in several communities, he was surly and stand-offish. I know this doesn't mean much, but it does belie an antisocial personality.
As they say ‘you see what you want to see’. We’ve already heard that local Starbucks employees said that they often observed Paddock berating his girlfriend in view of others, at SBUX. And she’s his Filipina gf. So not surprising that a misogynistic, clearly angry man would target such a woman, likely to see him as her 'knight in shining armor'. I’m sure she liked the lifestyle she had with him. But deep down, there’s simply no way she didn’t realize something was ‘off’ about this guy. As neighbors reported, they didn’t go out much, didn’t socialize with anyone in the neighborhood, always had their shades closed, etc. But yet, supposedly when the girlfriend was alone, she’s described as so friendly and outgoing?
And then there’s this comment she made to her brother over the phone, and shortly after the rampage: “Relax, we shouldn’t worry about it. I’ll fix it. Do not panic. I have a clean conscience,’” he said. Hmmm… I don’t know about you, but I find that extremely odd. Relax? We shouldn’t worry about it? I’ll fix it? I have a clean conscience? This sounds more like the talk of a er… ‘calculated’ person? A person trying to ‘prove’ their own innocence? If that were me, and I were TRULY in the dark about all this, and TRULY shocked, that is not the kind of language I’d be using. In fact, I’d be saying things like ‘I am F’ing sick about this…I feel like I am going crazy…I need a sedative, etc.’
And then there’s this comment she made to her brother over the phone, and shortly after the rampage: “Relax, we shouldn’t worry about it. I’ll fix it. Do not panic. I have a clean conscience,’” he said. Hmmm… I don’t know about you, but I find that extremely odd. Relax? We shouldn’t worry about it? I’ll fix it? I have a clean conscience? This sounds more like the talk of a er… ‘calculated’ person? A person trying to ‘prove’ their own innocence? If that were me, and I were TRULY in the dark about all this, and TRULY shocked, that is not the kind of language I’d be using. In fact, I’d be saying things like ‘I am F’ing sick about this…I feel like I am going crazy…I need a sedative, etc.’
8
so in my country here mass murder by firearms is to be treated like a natural disaster such as a hurricane or tsunami
nothing will be done to change the situation there is just too much money involved the folks who make guns and ammo are making money and they're not about to let that be stopped
so here it is my fellow americans you just have to hope that you are not at the beach when the next hurricane hits and hope that you aren't there when the next crazy bastard decides to open fire and if that's what the founders had in mind when they wrote the second amendment then they were crazy too
but i doubt it
nothing will be done to change the situation there is just too much money involved the folks who make guns and ammo are making money and they're not about to let that be stopped
so here it is my fellow americans you just have to hope that you are not at the beach when the next hurricane hits and hope that you aren't there when the next crazy bastard decides to open fire and if that's what the founders had in mind when they wrote the second amendment then they were crazy too
but i doubt it
6
Legislators have no problem at all with regulating sudafed and other methamphetamine precursors, regulating who can be issued a driver's license, and how much money you can move in and out of bank accounts without federal reporting. How could it possibly be so hard to regulate and register how many rounds of ammunition gun enthusiasts purchase? There are many weak arguments for the status quo, and of course they're all appearing here today.
Legislative inaction is criminal.
My prediction for 2018: High-rise hotels will have metal detectors and enhanced security, outdoor concerts in urban areas will become a thing of the past, and the average citizen will be paying for these changes. How is this fair to the majority of Americans who don't choose to have a lethal arsenal at their disposal?
Legislative inaction is criminal.
My prediction for 2018: High-rise hotels will have metal detectors and enhanced security, outdoor concerts in urban areas will become a thing of the past, and the average citizen will be paying for these changes. How is this fair to the majority of Americans who don't choose to have a lethal arsenal at their disposal?
16
I don't own a gun. I have shot a few guns, not to many times, and have never hunted with one, or hunted for that matter. Both of my parents grew up during a time where hunting put food on the table, it was not a sport but meals that they used guns for, in the case of both of them 22 rifles, My mom was really short and said that the gun was almost as tall as she was. My dad served in the military and was an expert marksman, but really didn't want to kill people, though as a forward air controler in vietnam killed a lot that way. So I am okay with control guns for the most part, why have a weapon of war unless you are a collector. Not shooting a gun is not going to break it, it won't spoil if you have treated it right. so collect don't shoot. But I am a lone voice out there, people want to see the bang bang target hits and feel the power of the sword like godly death ray space lasers...I know I mixed a lot of killing weapons, but you all know that guns are still going to be part of america well into the next decades. they should be regulated a bit better.
But the lone wolf killers are not goung to be easy to hunt out and stop, they aren't fly by drive by gang killers types, they are a totally different mental arrangement. Starting with kids we have to steer them away from the need to go shooting as much, but games have shooter bits too, then the swords and killing seems to be locked into our DNA we can be peaceful, only Jesus was perfect.
But the lone wolf killers are not goung to be easy to hunt out and stop, they aren't fly by drive by gang killers types, they are a totally different mental arrangement. Starting with kids we have to steer them away from the need to go shooting as much, but games have shooter bits too, then the swords and killing seems to be locked into our DNA we can be peaceful, only Jesus was perfect.
1
If someone plans this meticulous, there is, realistically, no defence. If you outlaw guns, such an individual will switch to other means, some of which have proven to be more effective, such as lorries.
The 19 ton lorry in Nice forced its way through the police barriers—a police car, a crowd control barrier and lane separators, than killed 86 people and injured 458 in less than 4 minutes.
The 19 ton lorry in Nice forced its way through the police barriers—a police car, a crowd control barrier and lane separators, than killed 86 people and injured 458 in less than 4 minutes.
3
So according to your rationale, we should do nothing to try and limit the amount of weaponry a single private citizen can accumulate? Seriously? Just throw our hands up in the air? So then let's get rid of airport security checks while we are at it. And no-fly lists. Cuz these external terrrorist groups are really meticulous, and if they can't get on a plane, they will just 'switch to other means'. So yeah, let's make our airports and planes wide open now. Bring whatever you want on board, and let's allow for passengers to visit the cockpit as well and chat up the pilots.
2
I don't doubt this man's prowess as a mastermind of strategy. I would say that he already had a leg up starting with "I will gather a few machine guns, pick an elevated vantage point with great visibility, and open fire on a corralled multitude of unsuspecting civilian concert-goers."
Now we just need to figure out what he was defending himself and his family from. Because, undoubtedly, that is the reason he needed and was able to purchase semi-automatic weapons, the gadgets to improve them, and the ammo to use them, right? Because, in the United States, all children are above average, the unregulated free market levels the playing field, and only morally (and altitudinally often times) elevated avengers use combat-ready weapons on civilians.
Now we just need to figure out what he was defending himself and his family from. Because, undoubtedly, that is the reason he needed and was able to purchase semi-automatic weapons, the gadgets to improve them, and the ammo to use them, right? Because, in the United States, all children are above average, the unregulated free market levels the playing field, and only morally (and altitudinally often times) elevated avengers use combat-ready weapons on civilians.
1
It's so sad to see so many innocent lives taken away
May they rest in peace.
Looking from the outside in I am amazed that a modern democracy could allow its citizens carry weapons.
We don't even allow our police force carry weapons yet crime is low and gun crime is a rarity.
What was a constitutional right at the foundation of a state may not work today.
It appears to me that the cost of such a right may be too much too bear.
May they rest in peace.
Looking from the outside in I am amazed that a modern democracy could allow its citizens carry weapons.
We don't even allow our police force carry weapons yet crime is low and gun crime is a rarity.
What was a constitutional right at the foundation of a state may not work today.
It appears to me that the cost of such a right may be too much too bear.
11
Among his last known jobs - noted in the last paragraph of the article - "an Internal Revenue Service agent from 1978 to 1984; and as an auditor focused on defense contracts, a job he held until 1985" - may well offer some interesting clues, both to his psyche - and to at least part of the source of his wealth.
Did he amass that huge arsenal as an arms dealer? If so, isn't it likely there are more caches of weapons in other properties or in storage facilities? Yes, some of his weapons have been tracked to legal sources - but have all?
And if that's the case, who are the other players - partners, sources, and buyers?
Were the U.S. authorities - or other entities - closing in on him? Or did he only believe they were?
Had he sustained major gambling losses recently?
Was he growing increasingly paranoid? Or was it some combination of all of the above?
And why target that particular concert and attendees? Was it only because of the opportunity for mass murder - the vantage point of a high-floor hotel window overlooking a large crowd?
Yes, many of us do want to know these answers. We especially want to know if there are others involved - which has not been ruled out - who should be brought to justice.
Did he amass that huge arsenal as an arms dealer? If so, isn't it likely there are more caches of weapons in other properties or in storage facilities? Yes, some of his weapons have been tracked to legal sources - but have all?
And if that's the case, who are the other players - partners, sources, and buyers?
Were the U.S. authorities - or other entities - closing in on him? Or did he only believe they were?
Had he sustained major gambling losses recently?
Was he growing increasingly paranoid? Or was it some combination of all of the above?
And why target that particular concert and attendees? Was it only because of the opportunity for mass murder - the vantage point of a high-floor hotel window overlooking a large crowd?
Yes, many of us do want to know these answers. We especially want to know if there are others involved - which has not been ruled out - who should be brought to justice.
7
I hope that an autopsy will be performed on the gunman. It's just possible that such irrational and otherwise unexplainable activity may be related to a brain tumor or brain infection. Gambling, especially compulsive gambling coming later in life, is often related to brain abnormalities. And brain infections, especially by the parasite toxoplasma gondii (causing toxoplasmosis) has been strongly linked to increased risky behavior.
We also now know that some criminals convicted of violent offenses that seem related to lack of impulse control show brain damage on CT scans.
An autopsy should look for these possibilities - to possible provide an explanation for the otherwise unexplainable.
We also now know that some criminals convicted of violent offenses that seem related to lack of impulse control show brain damage on CT scans.
An autopsy should look for these possibilities - to possible provide an explanation for the otherwise unexplainable.
3
The shooter played video poker. That involves a machine
Periodically, those who read the Las Vegas news stories see tiny news articles saying that a certain person has had a "big win" on a gaming machines, but the casino refuses to make payment on the win, claiming that their machine malfunctioned. Gaming regulators and Nevada courts usually back up the casino
Invariably, a regular gambler who thinks he has been stiffed by a casino will say "I'll never visit any X brand casinos again"
The casino chain where the shooting occurred has a boatload of nice casinos. They consolidate all of their casinos into one "players club card" so their customers can use the card to accumulate bonus points at all those casinos, and then spend the points on meals
The same casino company owns both the Mandalay Bay and the land diagonally across The Strip where the music festival occurred on Sunday
I suspect this shooter had a players club card there. The information tied to that players club card is private and proprietary, never released to the press. The casino chain is likely to have looked at the shooter's players club account as soon as they knew the shooter's name
Las Vegas Metro Police and FBI probably had the opportunity to look at the shooter's players club information
If the shooter had a long time-gap without the shooter using his players club card in the months before October 1 2017, that might give law enforcement a hint that the shooter was not happy with MGM for some reason
Periodically, those who read the Las Vegas news stories see tiny news articles saying that a certain person has had a "big win" on a gaming machines, but the casino refuses to make payment on the win, claiming that their machine malfunctioned. Gaming regulators and Nevada courts usually back up the casino
Invariably, a regular gambler who thinks he has been stiffed by a casino will say "I'll never visit any X brand casinos again"
The casino chain where the shooting occurred has a boatload of nice casinos. They consolidate all of their casinos into one "players club card" so their customers can use the card to accumulate bonus points at all those casinos, and then spend the points on meals
The same casino company owns both the Mandalay Bay and the land diagonally across The Strip where the music festival occurred on Sunday
I suspect this shooter had a players club card there. The information tied to that players club card is private and proprietary, never released to the press. The casino chain is likely to have looked at the shooter's players club account as soon as they knew the shooter's name
Las Vegas Metro Police and FBI probably had the opportunity to look at the shooter's players club information
If the shooter had a long time-gap without the shooter using his players club card in the months before October 1 2017, that might give law enforcement a hint that the shooter was not happy with MGM for some reason
7
We are struggling to find the motive of this gunman who was never conspicuously mentally ill, who was able to methodically work out over a very long time how to achieve his goal of killing more than any other American shooter. I can't help thinking of the character in Breaking Bad who was so cool headed about his terrible pursuit as to remain undetectable for years, and in the end confessed that he did it all simply because it made him feel high and powerful, far above the range of normal responsible citizens. Could the explanation for his motive be that simple? How can someone aspiring to such ultimate deadly goal in life be identified as mentally ill and a danger to society?
4
A few facts to accompany those in the article and all the speculations and strong feelings in the comments:
Yes, the U.S. suffers from an epidemic of gun violence, compared to 95% of other countries.
But over half of our gun deaths are suicides. Most of the rest are domestic violence of some kind. Or gang violence related to the black market.
Your chance of gun injury or death are considerably higher if you live in or visit a home with guns inside than if you avoid them.
Your chances of being assaulted or killed by a stranger are small, and have decreased back to the rates of the 1950s after a 6-decade rise and fall that peaked around 1990.
People who talk about suicide or other self-harm, or speak seriously about harming others, are in immediate need of professional health care, which would be an excellent use of tax dollars, in terms of return on investment.
Yes, the U.S. suffers from an epidemic of gun violence, compared to 95% of other countries.
But over half of our gun deaths are suicides. Most of the rest are domestic violence of some kind. Or gang violence related to the black market.
Your chance of gun injury or death are considerably higher if you live in or visit a home with guns inside than if you avoid them.
Your chances of being assaulted or killed by a stranger are small, and have decreased back to the rates of the 1950s after a 6-decade rise and fall that peaked around 1990.
People who talk about suicide or other self-harm, or speak seriously about harming others, are in immediate need of professional health care, which would be an excellent use of tax dollars, in terms of return on investment.
4
NRA Republican led government will not take action to curb gun violence and proliferation of guns. Almost like they've decided that "living by the gun and dying by the gun" is the preferred mode of death for US citizens.
Like so many minefields saturating the countryside, the NRA Republicans have planted seeds of our destruction, one bullet and one firearm at a time. The NRA Republicans would have our gun plague be a disease that is immune from any measures American society can take. A super virus from which there is no cure.
Unless we vote them out of office.
Like so many minefields saturating the countryside, the NRA Republicans have planted seeds of our destruction, one bullet and one firearm at a time. The NRA Republicans would have our gun plague be a disease that is immune from any measures American society can take. A super virus from which there is no cure.
Unless we vote them out of office.
3
Actually, most gun violence takes place in inner cities--which have the strictest gun regulations and have been run by Democrats for decades.
1
I've just read of the staggering amounts of money that the NRA contributes to the campaigns of your law makers, John McCain leading the list at over 7 million dollars.
A simple question from a Canadian who obviously has no idea of how such things work: exactly why is an organization that is apparently dedicated to at least facilitating gun violence legally permitted to make any such contributions? Are they not effectively buying your politicians - and thereby subverting democracy - so that their violent agenda can live on into the foreseeable future and beyond?
A simple question from a Canadian who obviously has no idea of how such things work: exactly why is an organization that is apparently dedicated to at least facilitating gun violence legally permitted to make any such contributions? Are they not effectively buying your politicians - and thereby subverting democracy - so that their violent agenda can live on into the foreseeable future and beyond?
8
"exactly why is an organization that is apparently dedicated to at least facilitating gun violence legally permitted to make any such contributions?"
I am no fan of the NRA, but to say that the NRA "is an organization that is apparently dedicated to at least facilitating gun violence" is just silly. Every year, thousands of people die in car wrecks, and medical mishaps. So would you say that GM is "apparently dedicated to facilitating death by car accidents." Every year, thousands die of drug overdoses and medical mishaps -- would you say that the AMA and big pharma are "apparently dedicated to killing sick people?"
I am no fan of the NRA, but to say that the NRA "is an organization that is apparently dedicated to at least facilitating gun violence" is just silly. Every year, thousands of people die in car wrecks, and medical mishaps. So would you say that GM is "apparently dedicated to facilitating death by car accidents." Every year, thousands die of drug overdoses and medical mishaps -- would you say that the AMA and big pharma are "apparently dedicated to killing sick people?"
3
There´s blood of hundreds of innocent victims on the hands of Republican congressional leaders, the NRA, and of all those who oppose any kind of gun control legislation, just for financial profit or to hold on to political power. How can these people sleep at night with so much guilt on their consciences.
3
Guns make small men- feel Big. Oliver Gaspirtz
And, there you have it America. The truth about an America that has most certainly- lost its' way.
And, there you have it America. The truth about an America that has most certainly- lost its' way.
4
This whole thing reeks of cover up, to the point where I find myself wading into conspiracy theory territory.
5
It's not really a game. You might find some other entertainment while the professional investigators do their jobs.
5
Why?
1
I'm not a conspiracy theory person but this doesn't compute. The guy is a senior citizen with no prior record. Suddenly he has an arsenal, can wire surveillance and the strength to hold the gun steady from more than one window for that long?
4
"He set up two cameras in the hallway, including one on a service cart, and a third camera over the suite door peephole." How did nobody notice this? How could it not even raise one eyebrow in the hotel? How do lunatics have such easy access to military grade weapons? Every country has lunatics, but only America provides ammunition to their psychopathic delusions.
17
Spent endless time in soulless casinos wasting his life. Hateful to his neighbors. Verbally abusive to his girlfriend. A lost hate-filled man with literally nothing going on. Maybe he just wanted to go out big; have his name in the papers for a few days. To "matter". Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar and perhaps this man was simply a human nothing, a mere flyspeck. And he still doesn't matter. This will be the last I read or write of him: he was and remains a waste of time.
13
There are plenty of old men whose only entertainment is to stomp out flaming bags of poo, and yet most don't shoot up crowds of innocent people. And this guy wasn't that at all - he had small private planes and was quite wealthy.
1
Yes. You're right. I'm done too; thank you for putting it so clearly.
1
We don't care to know about the gunman nor his motifs. Tell us about the victims! Tell us about the politicians who are not supporting the gun laws, who are they, did you interview them? Did you ask each one of them why they support assault weapons that belong in war zones to be available to be purchased in our streets? Have they seen the wounds that the victims suffered? Why don't you, NYT or any media outlet show the gruesome images to these gun loving politicians and people, don't you think the people who support the assault weapon purchase should see the consequences of their folly?
11
The only motive I can think of is that he lost his legal case against a casino and has been harboring hate ever since. People snap but when they take their rage out on innocent people it is cowardly and sick. Probably thought he would hurt the casinos business. Fat chance of that.
3
In regards to a motive: He was the eldest of his siblings. He was old enough to have memories of his father. He potentially felt abandoned by his father.... He eventually learned the truth about his father. There are several things in this horriffic mans life that are 'similar' to his fathers. For example: His father made up all kinds of stores like the one that he flew planes. This guy actually a pilot. His father ran a business involving bingo / gambling. This monster was a big gambler. People were so surprised when his father was caught for the bank robberies - He was respected by people, led a life.... This guy led the same kind of life. No run in's with the law, went to college, millionaire... He 'snaps'?? / 'plans this' / = mentally ill?? When you read about his father it mentions that he was also mentally ill. Can you see what I'm trying to get at? We need to be careful & not label someone. I don't have the expertise to... Simply put, I can't help but wonder if this man was seriously mentally ill secondary to the 'trauma' that he experienced has a child due to his father being a criminal / vanishing from his life, and if his father was mentally ill there may be a genetic component that placed this monster at a greater risk of being mentally ill. This is just a thought. 58 people were murdered by this man that had enough firearm to start his own army - We need to stand up against the NRA and GOP legislators and do something about gun control.
5
All this speculation and "research" into the killer, his past, his motives, his psychology -- it's all just a way to avoid spending ink on the real issue: guns. There are homicidal nutjobs everywhere in the world. The difference in the US is that homicidal nutjobs have access to weapons of mass destruction.
21
I'm not interested in spending our tax funds investigating the "why". There have been and always will be crazies and murderers. Whatever his motivations, none will provide an excuse for what he did. I'm more interested in "how" this happened, and most importantly, "how" to prevent this from happening again.
I don't know how the NRA and GOP legislators go to sleep every night. They have the blood of thousands on their hands. They are complicit.
I don't know how the NRA and GOP legislators go to sleep every night. They have the blood of thousands on their hands. They are complicit.
23
If James T. Hodgkinson had used weapons similar to those used by Stephen Paddock, maybe things would have been different in Las Vegas.
1
October 4,2017
The killer Paddock was a total lost and more likely a dead soul - judging from this reporting it appears the man lived in rage and inferiority that exploded to his delinquency to revenge for life's as unfair -and the archetypal payback to the world that seeks moments of joy and celebrations with family and friends.
When love dies, and the sickness if massive Paddock was unable to find the remedy in professional guidance and Rx and we all are having to ask how many are out there in the country that would lose is in a sea of blood and suicidal terror for the final curtain of death and deaths.
jja Manhattan. N.Y.
The killer Paddock was a total lost and more likely a dead soul - judging from this reporting it appears the man lived in rage and inferiority that exploded to his delinquency to revenge for life's as unfair -and the archetypal payback to the world that seeks moments of joy and celebrations with family and friends.
When love dies, and the sickness if massive Paddock was unable to find the remedy in professional guidance and Rx and we all are having to ask how many are out there in the country that would lose is in a sea of blood and suicidal terror for the final curtain of death and deaths.
jja Manhattan. N.Y.
4
Sounds like trump.
2
What the media must focus on is the lack of gun control on assault weapons, automatic weapons and other accoutrements that made this carnage possible, not the motif of an obviously sick unhinged sociopath evil man. I believe Media should not sensationalize these events and the killers and give any attention to these mad people, whatever their motifs, we should keep our focus on how to make sure it does not happen again, on the victims and how to help care for victims and those traumatized and work together to make USA part of the civilized world by changing policies and demanding our politicians to listen to our demands and concerns.
9
There's lots of conflicting things being said by the brother. Maybe the brother and him were drug dealers and laundered their money at the casino into legal money that they then put into properties. Lots of drug dealers end up drug addicts and commit terrible crimes on drugs. I'm guessing the girlfriend could
've been in on this as well. If she was, then that's probably why she ignored 47 machine guns in the house.
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/news/canada/how-bc-casinos-are-used-to-launder-...
3
Verified (grisly) photos on-line show paper and pen out on a table, indicating Paddock left a note. Let's learn what that says.
5
NO gun legislation will happen as long as Wayne LaPierre and the NRA exist. That's the truth of the matter. The NRA holds such sway over our elected representatives, they might as well be appointing them themselves.
The only way anything will ever change is for VOTERS to start paying attention and stop electing anyone that is being supported by the NRA. The NRA, with Wayne LaPierre as its leader, is a terrorist organization just as surely as ISIS is a terrorist organization. There is no need for them in the United States whatsoever.
14
The biggest gun problem in the US remains urban homicide by handgun and the progressive liberals deliberately choose to ignore that fact. They prefer to scream about harsh sentences for urban offenders and racist cops that are the cause of urban crime statistics. They prefer to demonize Republicans, the NRA, and their dreaded AR-15s. Its pure lecturing and politics for the liberals as they clearly do not want to reduce gun violence. No wonder no one is listening to them.
5
If only this guy just had a handgun.
4
People who knew the gunmen and associates of mass gun killers say they were oh so nice. They're shocked, they say. They're stupid.
2
Honestly, at this point, why are substantial FBI and other law enforcement resources going into determining the killer's "motives." Does it make us somehow feel better that we are "doing something?" Because it seems like a waste of time, unless that information is going to be put to use to prevent such attacks in the future, something we all know will not happen.
5
1. The first step in this dialogue is to establish the facts.
2. There are only cosmetic differences between AR-style rifles and regular semi-auto hunting rifles. The rate of fire is the same. There are no features that make AR-style more lethal.
3. Magazine capacity can be regulated, but it only takes a few seconds to change magazines.
4. Full auto rifles are already tightly regulated. Bump stocks were approved by the BATF. Bump stocks and other trigger attachments could be banned.
5. Suppressors can be bought today by anybody who passes the background check and pays the tax stamp. Suppressors only reduce the sound below 140 Db (the safe hearing threshold). The gun still goes bang. Hearing protectors decrease hearing to the point where they affect the ability to hear other important noises (like instructions from other folks).
6. The Secret Service study of mass shooters basically said there were seeking infamy and often sought to outdo past shooters. Some folks have suggested banning their names and photos as a counter-measure.
7. The leading cause of death for under 46 y/o is trauma; 148,000 a year die from trauma. We could potentially save 30,000 lives/year by giving everybody in the US basic first aid training (see the NAS report). There are other initiatives that could help.
8. The point is to focus on solutions based on facts. If you want to save 30,000 lives/year, then push for free first aid training for all.
2. There are only cosmetic differences between AR-style rifles and regular semi-auto hunting rifles. The rate of fire is the same. There are no features that make AR-style more lethal.
3. Magazine capacity can be regulated, but it only takes a few seconds to change magazines.
4. Full auto rifles are already tightly regulated. Bump stocks were approved by the BATF. Bump stocks and other trigger attachments could be banned.
5. Suppressors can be bought today by anybody who passes the background check and pays the tax stamp. Suppressors only reduce the sound below 140 Db (the safe hearing threshold). The gun still goes bang. Hearing protectors decrease hearing to the point where they affect the ability to hear other important noises (like instructions from other folks).
6. The Secret Service study of mass shooters basically said there were seeking infamy and often sought to outdo past shooters. Some folks have suggested banning their names and photos as a counter-measure.
7. The leading cause of death for under 46 y/o is trauma; 148,000 a year die from trauma. We could potentially save 30,000 lives/year by giving everybody in the US basic first aid training (see the NAS report). There are other initiatives that could help.
8. The point is to focus on solutions based on facts. If you want to save 30,000 lives/year, then push for free first aid training for all.
5
Driving kills a lot of people too. The problem is the same as with terrorism. The notion that these monsters *intentionally* kill innocent people is what drives us to spend more money on things that will provide a *relatively* smaller reduction in overall harm to people.
1
People want guns because of fear, but it's self-perpetuating. The more guns we have, the more we need.
I have a very conservative friend, and she's so full of fear. She won't let her teenage kids lock the door to the bathroom, in case they fall down and hit their heads. She keeps knives by her windows, in case there's a home invasion and she needs to cut the screens to get out. When her chldren were tiny, she was afraid someone would come in the window and kidnap them. She is quite wealthy and lives in a good neighborhood with little crime--but says "the Latin neighborhood" (also not particularly high crime) is very close. These are the people buying guns to keep themselves "safe" and who fight against gun control. It's bewildering and sad.
I have a very conservative friend, and she's so full of fear. She won't let her teenage kids lock the door to the bathroom, in case they fall down and hit their heads. She keeps knives by her windows, in case there's a home invasion and she needs to cut the screens to get out. When her chldren were tiny, she was afraid someone would come in the window and kidnap them. She is quite wealthy and lives in a good neighborhood with little crime--but says "the Latin neighborhood" (also not particularly high crime) is very close. These are the people buying guns to keep themselves "safe" and who fight against gun control. It's bewildering and sad.
6
Well said. There was an interesting study done of both conservatives and liberals. Their brains were scanned, finding that the conservatives brains were more active in the part of the brain called the "reptilian brain" where usually fight or flight is triggered. The liberal brain was most active in the frontal part of the brain where empathy and compassion are said to be triggered. The conservatives I know, and love are often the most fearful and worrisome people...I know.
Who cares what his motives were? He might have been having a bad day, just lost his job, had a row with a colleague - his reasons to do what he did are not important here.
What IS important, is that he was able to carry out his intentions to kill so many people because of the ease in which he could obtain multiple guns.
If he had not been able to obtain the guns he might have 'punched someone's lights out" or 'smashed his car into a lamp-post' or used a knife to attack someone. As bad as these other outcomes might have been he would NOT have been able to kill 59 people and injure hundreds of others.
Enough with all this analysis of why it happened. STOP the method by which these people were murdered and injured - the proliferation of guns in this country and the ease by which to obtain them.
What IS important, is that he was able to carry out his intentions to kill so many people because of the ease in which he could obtain multiple guns.
If he had not been able to obtain the guns he might have 'punched someone's lights out" or 'smashed his car into a lamp-post' or used a knife to attack someone. As bad as these other outcomes might have been he would NOT have been able to kill 59 people and injure hundreds of others.
Enough with all this analysis of why it happened. STOP the method by which these people were murdered and injured - the proliferation of guns in this country and the ease by which to obtain them.
11
I have to wonder if Vegas hotels knew of a looming possible threat. I was at another Vegas luxury hotel 3 weeks ago for five days and was astonished at the security presence in the hotel and casino. I've been staying in Vegas for years and have never seen anything like it.
Bomb-sniffing dogs in the casino a few times a day and at night, massive security presence everywhere.
Of course I have no idea if all of that has anything to do with the shooting, but everyone in our group had never witnessed the level of security we saw.
6
These horrific mass shootings are going to continue until our laws are changed to ban military assault weapons, which are the firearms of choice for domestic terrorists to inflict massive carnage and have no place in a civil society. Unfortunately, sensible gun safety legislation will never happen as long as Congress is in the pocket of the NRA and the gun lobbies. It’s time for the American people to stand up to Congress and the NRA and start boycotting tourism in states such as Nevada and Florida which have lax gun laws. Maybe then Congress would begin to take the issue of gun violence in America seriously.
6
The US Congress obviously isn't just in the pocket of the gun cult, it is held under gunpoint by it.
3
Frankly absolutely nothing will change until our elected leaders and their families start getting gunned down on a frequent basis. They could care less about any of us regular folk. That's been proven over and over again.
13
A congressman who was recently shot is back in the House. Let's see how he votes going forward.
This man imagined this heinous behavior long before he did it. In his mind he conceived of the murder of strangers and constructed the whole thing in his mind long before he took steps to make it happen. Then he took great pains to plan and carry out what he'd imagined. He mostly kept it to himself so that nobody would interfere to prevent him from his aspiration to destroy the lives of all the many strangers who he would. How can society protect the people from this kind of a threat?
6
I am 67 years old, and I have abandoned any hope for this country. Not for its people, but for America as an entity. Our government is corrupt and craven beyond conception. Bigotry and racism are endorsed (so as not to antagonize "the base"), morality is for fools, and congressmen and congresswomen are open for business 24/7, i.e. show me the money. It is and has long been obvious that the NRA owns the GOP; that is out there for everyone to see. I don't think it is the American people so much as the American government which perpetuates this vile, money-driven evil. Trump is merely the most recent tip of an iceberg which has been floating through our public life for quite some time now, destroying everything in its path. I keep trying to think that there is nothing particularly pathologic or vicious about the collective American psyche, but every time something like this happens---and consider that, these horrorshows are regular events---and listen to "regular Americans" or even "irregular Americans" (like Bill O'Rilley) talk about mass murder as the price of freedom, and wax on about how important their guns are, the more I despair and do begin to believe that there is some deep, disturbing paranoia/mania/collective evil at the heart of America.
23
Seems like the guy really doesn't have any useful skills. He worked at a postal carrier, at Lockheed Martin in the 80s, and then it trails off. How did he come so independently wealthy?
3
Well, much like another famous guy with no real useful skills, he went into real estate...
3
Sounds like Trump.
2
Real Estate.
2
It may fascinate the imagination to consider the level of preoccupation and sophisticated detail that went into this, but the end result is the same as a truck driver driving a big dumb truck down a crowded sidewalk. Do we really need to flatter this guy and honor him by being enthralled with his planning skills?
4
Frankly - I don't think he could pull it off alone.
Let's be clear:
Congress and the President create the laws regarding firearms.
Congress so far collectively block laws to keep "convert to fully automatic" equipment from sale to the general public. Congress blocked legislation as recently as after the Sandy Hook Elementary massacre to add the FBI/ATF's ability to screen a person's background for mental illness.
However:
Congress gets Capital Police protection from gun violence. Just ask Steve Scalise, who still loves guns!
The President of the United States & his children get Secret Service protection for life.
Wayne LaPierre of the NRA doesn't leave home without armed protection.
The average American is left having to dodge bullets as they go about their lives...thanks to the laws or inaction done by the President, Congress and the NRA who have armed protection for themselves.
Does this make any sense to you?
6
reading comments.americans love their guns.fine.but to make them into machine guns is probably not the best idea.
7
Here is what Nevada's Heller gets from the NRA: Hold him responsible
Dean Heller $108,515 Republican District 2
5
I endorse the second amendment. Let's give everyone a gun: A MUSKET!
6
This man was a mass murderer. Plain & simple. Stop trying to find labels like "demented," "deranged," "mentally sick"---the guy was actually quite normal, highly rational, wealthy, white and even had a girlfriend. This mass murderer was no different then the normal, official, military drone operators that are instructed to kill from a distance innocent civilians (aka "collateral damage")----not unlike the distance Mr. Paddock had with his shooting gallery victims.
The motive was obvious: kill...and TERRORIZE!
8
I'm certain the next maniac in line will - plan even MORE "meticulously"...bet on it...
Maybe get some 50mm cal. and grenade rifles from a GUN SHOW parking lot.
Ain't America Great Again...
6
I don't think Mr. Paddock's motive will ever be known. The only clue so far is his absent father's criminal psychopathy, likely giving him a genetic warp plus loss and power issues at the core of his identity. His brother's mystification may just indicate the repressed depth of it.
Something as simple as having viewed a concert crowd below on a previous casino excursion, perhaps combined with some mental deterioration or internal crisis, may have set off a psychotic, obsessive power fantasy train that led to this utter tragedy. RIP and peace and healing to all, including all responders and witnesses.
It would be interesting to know whether any useful brain tissue survived his suicide for examination. It will also be interesting to see how our society may deal with the overly easy availability of his weaponry smorgasbord, which must have some range and hardware tech nuts just marveling and salivating over. And there are many responsible gun owners in this country, indeed most of them - it's a classic dilemma of drawing a regulatory line to exclude and manage the few who are irresponsible or simply unstable. Not to mention being able to identify them before the fact.
I doubt any workable solution will arise, and not just because of our current fraught politics and cultural strife. I'm mostly not sure there IS a workable solution.
1
The compulsion to kill others in the act of killing oneself is an extreme form of narcissism.
7
Most gun owners would never install a 'bump stock' or similar modification which would alter function of a gun. They're junk, and a travesty, and for that reason pretty much a non-issue. What Americans need to pay close attention to is the very real possibility that the state will use this tragedy as an excuse to take away other, more precious civil rights and liberties.
3
I can't help but to be baffled by the collective thought, that there were "no signs of extremism". Isn't amassing over 40 high powered rifles, a sign of extremism? Anyone who is stockpiling this amount of weapons should be extremely vetted and put through rigorous psychological testing of why they think that is necessary for self defense.
Most would amass this type of weaponry do so out of fear of the federal government. Isn't that a reason to not be allowed to have weapons of "mass destruction", if they possibly could turn them on our own soldiers or police officers. Enough is enough. I'm not advocating taking away all firearms, but when it comes to stockpiling weapons and ammo, there has to be a motive there.
Also, he was a known gambler which itself should bring its own extreme vetting. Gambling is an addiction which causes depression, if your taking firearms from drug addicts and felons, than gambling addiction should be another reason to take away firearms. Please stop saying there was no warning signs. There were many clear signs, now do something to stop this from happening again soon.
6
Is it possible to get a list of members of Congress who accept money from the NRA, how much each received, and how each voted on gun restrictions.
There are limits to the first amendment: you can't yell fire in a crowded theater.
There are limits to the sixth amendment: few enjoy a speedy trial.
There are limits to the fifteenth amendment: many rights to vote are violated.
There should be limits to the second amendment. Assault weapons should be banned. Pistols and rifles are good for target practice and hunting. Assault weapons are good only for mass carnage.
We need to know how to change the minds of Congressmen and women who support the see no evil, hear no evil, say no evil.
3
Simple question: If guns are the problem then why is the violent crime rate decreasing? If guns are the problem why does my state, which ranks among the most heavily armed in the country, have such a low crime rate? If guns are the problem why has my state, which allows civilians to carry in SCHOOLS, seen no school shootings?
Explain.
3
You need to tell us where you live for us to answer, but if it's Nebraska, not so low. (It can't be Colorado, because they've had school shootings galore.) By the way, EVERY state has had school shootings. You just may not have had a mass school shooting--but Nebraska has had a mass mall shooting, and you have a very low population.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_in_the_United_States_by_state
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Murder_in_the_United_States_by_state
1
Its a simple, emotional reaction to blame the gun when there are larger societal problems at fault.
1
It is disingenuous to say that your question is a “simple” one. First of all, there are too many variables to say why overall crime rates are decreasing nationwide. Are you talking about crime in general or only about crimes in which guns were involved? Could it be that more humane policing and immigration policies have led to increased cooperation with law enforcement? Moreover, a temporary absence of crime in your area is not an indicator of potential risk. In the case of Las Vegas, it only took one “outlier” to cause huge carnage.
It’s hard to believe that *more* guns on the street would be helpful. It’s also hard to believe that putting military-style semiautomatic weapons in the hands of loosely trained and vetted individuals is a good thing. The US suffers over 30,000 gun deaths a year, plus tens of thousands more injuries. These US rates are *much* higher than those for other industrialized nations. If we really want to see what’s going on, how about starting by lifting the absurd congressional “Dickey” rule that specifically prohibits CDC research into gun violence as a public health issue?
It’s hard to believe that *more* guns on the street would be helpful. It’s also hard to believe that putting military-style semiautomatic weapons in the hands of loosely trained and vetted individuals is a good thing. The US suffers over 30,000 gun deaths a year, plus tens of thousands more injuries. These US rates are *much* higher than those for other industrialized nations. If we really want to see what’s going on, how about starting by lifting the absurd congressional “Dickey” rule that specifically prohibits CDC research into gun violence as a public health issue?
4
Something isn't quite right about what the brother is saying; another scenario could be that the brothers made their millions from illegal activities, such as drug dealing, as I read somewhere that lots of drug dealers gamble at casinos. The properties and so called winnings from gambling are probably a front for legitimising their illegal drug running activities. The killer also owned two planes and the girlfriend and her partner also moved around a lot. Maybe they were drug dealers. I'm guessing the girlfriend was in on the drug running as well so don't expect to get the truth out of her.
4
Unfortunately, guns are prized more highly than life by those in power, and those who support them, in the United States. So there can be lots of 'planners' out there lining up our next massacre, all with the blessing of the NRA and those who would rather kill someone than give up their guns.
Australia and Great Britain care for their citizens, and to a degree each other, and passed laws that greatly decreased the number of any guns. Gun deaths dropped dramatically. Whodda thunk it. They would be the better bet for residence if you don't want to get shot. Plan on that, and kiss this country good bye. It apparently belongs to the so-called 'patriots' who are clutching their semi-automatics, bump stocks, and magazines in hopes that they get to play civil war someday. The rest of the civilized world will continue to care, and continue to hunt for cures for cancer, even though there is so much of it already out there........ I guess we should just give up on every little thing we may attempt to make life better and more secure. More important to hold on to that weapon designed to kill human beings, (since you can't eat meat riddled with lead.)
Instead, gun lovers insist that we admit defeat, that since we can't deny others their rights to their weapons, we accept with prayers and weeping and the deaths of our children and grandchildren, our husbands, our wives, our mothers, and our fathers because it's a 'Right'.
2
When is the august NY Times going to stop using the term, "gun control" and adopt the much less loaded term, "gun safety"?
4
I agree. The term 'gun control' makes gun advocates see Red. We don't want to take away their guns. Just asking for some common sense checks and balances.
(Great pun by the way...'loaded term'. ;-)
(Great pun by the way...'loaded term'. ;-)
2
Only about 20-30% of Americans own guns, and half of those guns are owned by just 3% of American adults (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/sep/19/us-gun-ownership-survey)... Stephen Paddock was one of this tiny minority of super gun owners. At the same time, 52% of Americans favor some form of stricter gun control, and 89% favor banning gun sales to people with a mental illness (https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/22/us/gun-ownership-survey.html).
The Supreme Court has held that the Second Amendment permits regulation of gun ownership, including regulations regarding concealed weapons, the carrying of weapons in certain areas, ownership of especially dangerous or unusual weapons, and ownership by persons diagnosed with mental illness.
The interest of a small minority in an unfettered right to own firearms should not outweigh the interest of the majority of Americans in our right to "domestic tranquility" and "general welfare," including the right to be safe from those who would use guns to commit crimes. There's just no reason sensible gun control can't happen except for the unwillingness of legislators.
4
My heart and prayers go out to the Victims and their families. However, I want to get back to the Russia probe and find out what is happening.
6
Vlad Putin is acutely aware of the divide in the US over guns, and Russia probably intervenes through US social media to exacerbate it.
3
Sure it's all about campaign money and self-enrichment but also remains bizarre and absurd how these 'representatives' are happy to defer gun legislation issues to the lobbied positions and statements of the NRA.
3
Ethically and morally, US lawmakers are personally complicit in these deaths and casualties by these weapons of mass destruction. They all know they could have prevented this latest gun massacre better but do nothing.
8
Is it time for a history lesson, or would it do any good?. One of my Dads favorite sayings was, "The guy pushin' the pencil can make the figures say what he wants them too". It can be broadly applied these days to apply also to the written as well as the spoken word in some cases (think spin). I have often thought as i'm sure many millions of our countrymen have that there is surely remedy to the gun violence in America, amending our guiding document. And I believe that is still true, but in times like this we want immediate action/relief..or at least the appearance of effort in that direction. We all know the arguments and stalls put forward by those that promote guns for whatever reasons from self defense in a dangerous world to, "the gov'mnt is on the way to kill you", and they have swept up all manner of gun enthusiasts think target shooters and hunters along the way. I keep coming back..in my mind to the words in the 2nd, "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms...". Now I realize these words have been scrutinized and hashed over for gosh knows how long. These militias (formed by/in the various states and only loaned to the Continentals) were the Army, and in the mood of the day their job was to protect the states, still as a militia they drilled, stayed "well regulated" and not oddly for the time were required by law to buy their own guns. It isn't that way anymore, that's my argument.
Paddock did not act alone. He had the NRA and the Republican party it owns behind him.
15
No wonder the "conversation" goes nowhere.
1
DS, the republicans vowed not to "converse" when Obama was elected. They've long since made clear that they demand their way and that only. We will have to outvote them in numbers large enough to overcome their gerrymandering and other unfair tactics. But they are doing so much harm that it's just a matter of time.
4
Guns not bombs? Apparently it's illegal in the US to possess the means to make even a tiny bomb but legal to possess 30 guns and ammunition that in minutes can result in hundreds or thousands of casualties.
4
I am increasingly dismayed and actually nauseated by the hand-wringing and puzzlement over this morbid event.
Experts and amateurs alike reach for, opine about, the possible deviancy, mental illness, terrorist angle or "trigger" event that might have led this offal to "light up" innocent concert goers.
No one, especially the clowns and profiteers who champion the universal ownership of military armament, bumps stocks, silencers, et al, will admit that any annoyed, peeved, slighted, disillusioned, sexually repressed, bullied, ignored, like-most-of- us-Americans in the right frame of mind, with the access to such lay-to-waste munitions, might commit the same sort of horror.
To face that simple reality, in this increasingly isolating world, would be to admit that there is no safe place left as long as these sort of weaponry remain in the hands of an "unregulated militia".
As long as our gun laws are bought and paid for, the arms industry will be rewarded with wartime profits whether in war or in 'peace'.
And the prologue to our Constitution ""We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America." will be as meaningless and hollow as a legislators call for "sympathy and prayers".
8
Well spoken, hear, hear
There is no sane reason not to have an electronic file that sends up red flags when an individual buys multiple firearms. If you want to accumulate an arsenal, it should not be a secret from law enforcement. They already know who has federal licenses for machine guns.
12
YES!!!!!
1
A basic google search will show you that there has been a lot of academic studies to show a link between pathological gambling and an inclination to violence-add childhood trauma into the mix and you have a potential ticking time-bomb.
2
"“We will be talking about gun laws as time goes by,” Mr. Trump said"
How much time? If past occurrences are anything to go by, he's way behind schedule and out of time already.
2
It's not too soon to talk about gun legislation. It's too late. It's too late for those poor innocent people who were doing nothing more than attending a concert. It's too late for those poor first graders who were in their classroom at Sandy Hook Elementary School. It's too late for the thousands of Americans already mowed down in our streets, movie theaters, work places and all the rest. Who will be next? It's truly a disgrace.
6
What a comedy? The FBI is baffled and wants to talk to people who crossed paths with Paddock. Lots of people seemingly criminally negligent crossed paths with Paddock as he acquired guns and lugged them into his room along with cameras and tripods. If ever anyone was flaunting signs of questionable dangerous activity it was Paddock. Did he have to wear a neon sign for the hotel people and the FBI and NSA to wake up to what he was planning? Surely if ever there was criminal negligence there is a large chunk of it to be divided up among a lot of terribly lax people who helped Paddock in his murders by acting dumb as he went about his evil.
1
If this is not the time to talk about an obsession control for you.
I won't VOTE for you to be my representative the next time.
2
Gun violence is like racism. I dont see and end in sight until Americans decide otherwise. Period.
2
Yep...that's the solution. Take the guns away from the people that didn't do it.
1
I'm a gun owner, Tim, but have zero desire for guns that exist to mow down people like grass before a scythe. They should be banned, and pretending that such a ban means taking away self-defense handguns is a falsehood that protects gangs, terrorists, and atrocity-workers, make no mistake.
1
NYTimes reports 'meticulous planning by gunman before the shooting'. Gee, ya think??!! Talk about stating the obvious.
Instead of us spending energy on trying to understand a 'motive', why can't we just accept the very apparent fact that he was mentally ill and extremely angry, and leave it at that?
Instead of us holding 'candlelight vigils' and 'holding hands with strangers', and making 'monuments' out of candles, balloons, teddy bears (...which, let's face it, will be scooped up within the week by a garbage truck and tossed into a LANDFILL...).... can we instead focus our time and energy on what matters? Which is.... figuring out a way for some level-headed, reasonable folks from BOTH sides of the gun debate, to come to the table, and find some middle ground.
We need to reduce the gun deaths in this country. Let's figure out HOW. Not 'why' this guy did what he did. Not wasting money and resources on vapid, utterly meaningless balloons, candles and stuffed animals. Has the US really become this collectively stupid? Do folks feel better...that they 'did their part'... because they left a candle on the ground and posted photos of it on social media? It's far more meaningful to just go to the site ALONE, have a moment of silence, say a prayer or some meaningful words if you want, and then see what you can do to effect change. But I am so tired of platitudes, of group candlelight vigils, of 'monuments' full of balloons and teddy bears, etc.
2
Well what I'm writing is pure hypothesis but as I run through scenarios I keep looking for a why. The best I can come up with is he killed, maimed and otherwise wreaked havok on innocents to get even with someone/something else. I'm taking the leap to consider the most likely Target to be the gambling ownership class of Vegas. My assumption is that of late he has been a big and I mean huge loser in some venue. Somebody important has his iou s and would be stripping him of all his assets if he hadn't engaged in the Carnage. He knew if he did what he in fact did ,the owners of the debt would rather burn the iou than attempt to collect on them because then they would be linked to the massacre.
So he sort of twisted his dad's bank robbing mindset into a way to deny his creditors. In his twisted mind having his assets dispursed to the bereaved families of his victims was more appropriate than paying off the bad bets.
This is the only scenario i.can come up with that fits the known facts. The sending of the remittance to the Philippines along with shipping his gf out is further proof that he knew nothing of his assets would otherwise survive.
Very sick
2
Ok, someone tell me how we know this murderer wasn't a terrorist or that this wasn't an act of terrorism? Why has this been ruled out so quickly and he is just a lunatic instead??? Is it because he's a white guy from USA ?? This makes no sense at all. Are we listening to the words of his Brother, who clearly has no idea what his brother was like or up to most of the time??? Why isn't this guy a terrorist?
4
Who cares what the label is? It isn't the point; it doesn't matter. The issue is the easy availability of weapons of mass destruction. Everything else is (gerund for self-abuse).
1
So if the gunman was a Muslim, the entire story on this would be very different. That's why it matters.
3
Mr. Paddock has laid down the "gauntlet". There will now be a perceived challenge - someone is going to want to do this bigger, badder, and longer. The dotards in congress don't realize this and their inaction will make the game possible. I'm sure someone's already looking to get to 100.
2
So after reading this article about the insane person's planning this do all of the commenters think that if guns did not exist this person would not have killed people? The Oklahoma City bombing killed 168 people and was done using fertilizer. So all of the commenters who think this insane person would have not killed if he did not have a gun are delusional. Is your plan to eliminate fertilizer? If he did not have a gun he would have done what the nuts did in Oklahoma did--drive a rental truck into the concert venue and set it off. So if you were successful in collecting all of the millions of guns in this country the notion that a mass killing would not occur such as the Oklahoma City bombing is false belief that you can do something to eliminate the possibility of a repeat of this incident. The insane person who shot all the people in Las Vegas would have found another way to kill.
7
https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/10/australia-gun-...
‘Reasonable’ liberals are not saying ‘guns’ are the problem per se. (Ditto for ‘fertilizer’.) But we need to consider what could ‘potentially’ be done and in the wrong hands. No Private Citizen should have the ‘right’ to possess such a COMBINATION and/or QUANTITY of items.
I think there are already laws that we can’t purchase certain combos of products/chemicals, and/or above a certain quantity, without a flag being raised. We are simply asking that this same thing be done with regards to guns. There is a point at which a ‘reasonable’ person should stop and ask ‘gee, I wonder why this person has purchased so much weaponry in the past few months?’
We need a national database that records/analyzes a person’s gun purchases, and that a ‘flag’ be raised at a certain point, at which time a ‘Hold’ is placed, until such time as the authorities can investigate further. I’m sorry if you feel that that is an ‘infringement’ on your individual rights. There are plenty of laws in this country which we all accept for the greater good, even if it DOES infringe on our individual ‘rights’.
Please don’t say that the application of these common-sense things are ‘un-American’, for that is a kneejerk comment that rings as hollow as liberals saying ‘guns kill’. All we are asking for is background checks, record-keeping, reasonable limits. And then you can do all the target practice, hunting and protecting your home that you want. Thank you very much.
3
Your logic is seriously flawed. By definition, if fertilizer were the easiest and most efficient way to kill, people would be using it. Every day. They'd be settling scores, intimidating people, getting rid of their romantic rivals, and committing suicide using fertilizer. But they don't. Instead, people use guns for all those things. Why is that? Oh, because guns are the EASIEST and MOST EFFICIENT and AVAILABLE way to kill. If you got rid of all the guns, what would happen? People would turn to the next easiest, most efficient and available way to kill. And it wouldn't be fertilizer. But don't tell me you'd have as many suicides, toddler deaths, and mass killings from other methods. Because the science just isn't there.
3
They didn't care when children were killed or when one of their own was shot this summer. Even the shootee doesn't care to vote against guns! Why would they care now? They're getting their payouts and being threatened by the NRA. Vote them out in 2018 and yell, scream, fax and text until then. Make their waking lives a noisy misery in the meantime.
6
Far stricter gun control is needed in this country to reduce the damage currently allowed for disordered individuals taking vengeance because of the black hole in their psyches.
Secondly, the United States as a culture and psychology as a profession ignores psychopathy at its peril.
Very few in criminal law enforcement, I am finding, recognize the Cluster B disorders--true malignant narcissism all the way on the continuum from borderline personality disorder to narcissism to anti-social personality disorder and psychopathy and the combination thereof (often occurring co-morbidly in the same disordered individual).
5
Agree with all you say except borderline personality disorder is not actually narcissistic, it is a disorder based in parental/caretaker failure to support separation/individuation, and the individual has difficulty with trying to discern his/her own skills, interests, and propensities. The individual is often too empathetic and fears abandonment.
This killer seems to have had anti-social personality disorder. Lacking empathy, enjoying high risk.
3
Epic fail by hotel security. Didn't it occur to anyone the same guy making repeated trips up the tower hauling luggage was a bit odd? There are cameras everywhere, that record. Unless the porter service hauled it for him. Which is worst. Where did he park his vehicle?
Nobody intervened.
You can't outlaw stupidity, and you can't outlaw evil.
5
repeated trips? hundreds of people come and go from a place like that every hour. So if his trips occurred over a several hour period, maybe via more than one entrance, no one would have been the wiser.
2
Someone bringing multiple bags into a Vegas hotel suite?! - stupid indeed.
1
I am puzzled at best -- ignorant or stupid, at worst -- as to why there is so much interest in trying to learn the motive of a presumed killer who is no longer alive to be tried in court. Somebody, please, educate me.
3
Agree. The motive is simple: he wanted to terrorize people. He invested thousands of dollars and a lot of ingenuity into figuring out how best to kill and/or hurt the largest number of people. And he LEGALLY bought everything he needed to do it.
I can think of two reasons, one emotional and one logical.
First, any time something like this happens, the natural human tendency is to try to understand or explain it. Most people are unwilling to write off things like this as an insoluble mystery of fate, or perhaps (ugh) "God's will." If we can explain it, it helps us to come to grips with it.
Second, knowing the "why" might just possibly help in preventing a future one. Unlikely, given that every psycho is psycho in his or her own way, but the possibility is there.
2
And what do we hear from our elected representatives? Yep that's right NOTHING! They seem to think saying the useless "let's pray for Las Vegas" will pacify the masses and the money rolls in from the NRA.
6
Perhaps he wanted to outdo his father.
1
Tell us, Senator McConnell. When will it be a convenient for you to discuss legislation to prevent psychopaths from stockpiling militarized weapons to commit rapid-fire murder on innocents. Tomorrow? Next month? Next year? You know perfectly well there are legislative remedies. You just won't consider them, which makes you complicit.
6
What's strange is that usually a terrorist or a mass murderer makes his goals purposely stated, proclaims them or makes them obvious. Maybe this case is closer to Germanwings Flight 9525 when Andreas Lubitz killed 150 people.
5
you may be right. And there is more than morbid curiosity that can be behind a desire to know their motives as that can give society a greater insight into this sort of psychologicsl pathology: how to recognize and arrest it.
2
The headline "FBI Baffled" -- maybe that was the guy's motive. His father was on the Most Wanted list. So his father had managed to baffle the FBI.
2
"The hotel staff is trained to look for anything suspicious, but the gunman’s behavior did not set off any alarms, the employee said"
Does this shake come with fries?! There is no way someone who looks like Paddock in his selfies could transport 18 or more firearms and thousands of round of ammo from his trunk to his room without one single person noticing he was "wrong".
Either this anonymous "employee" is lying or the average IQ of Mandalay employees is lower than a cranberry's.
3
I'm sure you would have reported the man that was taking suitcases to his hotel room... very odd indeed.
Paddock started taking Valium in JUNE of this year. Worked for the U.S. Postal Service and IRS, was a registered Democrat and did NOT attend any church.
Dad was a twice convicted bank robber (on the FBI's "10 Most Wanted" list) was smart (evaded the FBI for ten years), loved bridge, and was sent to prison when his son was only eight.
Steven Paddock was smart, a multi-millionaire off gambling, and had a "score to settle" with the USA's imprisonment of his father, but, ultimately, it was the drugs that created this problem and THAT neither Democrats nor our Bolshevik American media wants to talk about.
4
"Bolshevik American media" LOL!
Psychopath, sociopath, narcissist -this was MAN's ego. To tell his story, his father's story -before he left this planet.
Gun laws enabled him. Have ANY women committed a mass shooting? If we don't change the laws, someday there will be a first for that too.
1
I wasn't aware that women are prohibited from owning and/or using firearms in this country. Not sure, then, what you're trying to say.
"A sick man, a demented man,” "We are dealing with a very, very sick individual.” And nobody knows it better; and let me add, from self experience.
4
Any chance his point was just that he was capable of doing this?
That he was just showing the world... "Look how crazy this is!! I can amass my own arsenal fit for an army!! All legal!! Isn't this insane?!?"
Insane on so many levels.
2
Who cares what his motives were? The only relevant fact is that he had the guns. If he did not have the guns there would have been no massacre.
3
I had never heard the term "bump stock" before, as is probably the case with many other readers with minds occupied in endeavors other than high-powered semi-automatic guns. How can such a device be legally manufactured!
The video posted by the Times of Slide Fire's advertising is as blood-chilling as the actual footage from the Las Vegas murders. The invocations to the Constitution(!) in the film -used as an excuse to profit from a contraption that has higher killing efficiency as its only goal- are a clear proof that many things that should be illegal are not only "lawful", but also peddled at the expense of human lives while appealing to the lower instincts of fake patriotism.
This is not at all about gun control in particular, or even politics in general. This is simply about common sense, and basic human decency.
3
"This is simply about common sense, and basic human decency."
Both of which are notably lacking in the current administration, who apparently prefers lecturing hurricane victims not to be lazy, removing access to Planned Parenthood for poor women, and yanking health insurance from the old and chronically ill.
While golfing.
1
I wonder how Pete Brownell, or any NRA official for that matter, feel when they wake up on mornings following these tragedies. What possibly goes through their heads? Do they really just discuss the PR nightmare that would follow and instruct everyone to keep their mouth shut? How he feels time and again lobbying for policies and legislation that would allow people to kill more people? How rotten must be his mind to sign off on all of their "initiatives" and "public outreach".
3
I can not believe this man acted alone. I doubt he trained himself and it would at least seem he had logistical support. As sick as he may have been given his psychotic father, this man had some rationale for what he did. Maybe the search of his computers will turn up something. He hardly seems to fit the mold of some one who was radicalized to do what he did. It is so odd that though there is not evidence of Isis involvement( short of Isis saying he was one of theirs), it has all the earmarks of an Isis operation. And, if Isis did not have the idea before of what a soft target and ideal target this type of set up is, it does now. In a way Manchester was not so different.
2
Paddock has a right to an arsenal of military grade, expressly meant to kill and maim, while the injured survivors have no right to health care just the right to massive medical bills.
I don't care if you have a top of the line employment health insurance plan. If you were shot or caught shrapnel, you are going to get a substantial bill. Heaven help those who got shot and have no health insurance. Or some cheap no coverage plan the type of which the Republicans want to de-fang even further. Thank god they (The Republicans) haven't been entirely successful thus far.
If the Federal government is expected to pay for random natural disaster victims, where people lose their houses and everything. Then why should it not pay for the funerals and medical bills of mass murder victims? Who are maimed and die for some twisted interpretation of the second amendment? Adding salt to their wounds they are then expected to pay, probably more often than not, massive bills that come from the consequences.
3
Yes. And as long as they continue to be manufactured and sold, we need a large tax on weapons and ammunition dedicated to pay the medical costs, rehabilitation charges, and the bills the families of the murdered must bear.
I see that Paddock's girl friend has returned to the US. She has been identified as a person of interest and the FBI is under great pressure to get something useful from her. Those who understand police work know that this could a situation where Ms. Danley's rights are subject to abuse. If necessary the police will surely lie to her and threaten her. She needs to lawyer up and get immunity if she hasn't already. And the public needs to understand that that is not unpatriotic. There is a possibility of ant-immigrant prejudice here. People will say she had to know and now she's claiming immunity. I wouldn't be her for all the money in the world.
The rest of the world just looks on in total bewilderment at your gun culture and your culture of mass shootings. I've never known a single person in my entire life who owns a gun, seriously. It's just not part of our culture here in Canada. Of course there must be hunters here but not enough of them that I've ever met one, and the guns they use wouldn't be able to do what your mass shooters seem to do on a regular basis. How did it get so out of hand down there? It makes me want never, ever, to visit the U.S. again, which is a shame beause it's such a beautiful country with so many incredible people. So sad that the Republicans are in such deep and frightening denial. Wake up and look at the rest of the developed world! We're not doing this with the gun thing!
8
I’m kind of amazed that so much detailed information has been released about how this man set up his shooter’s nest. General information about the hallway and the room would have been quite enough.
We don’t need any more “how-tos” for the sick individuals out there who may see twisted glory in Paddock’s actions. It’s quite enough as it is that war weapons and their accessories are too easily available.
I realize people are going to do what they will. But why make it easier for them?
2
The pro-gun supporters and apologists keep up with the “a sick man, a demented man” mantra.
As evidence rolls in showing how prepared Mr. Paddock was for his heinous actions, it becomes more clear that he was less 'demented' than claimed -- it appears that he knew exactly what he was doing. The only reason that he was able to actually succeed in carrying out his atrocity to completion (or near completion) because of the practical lack of any killing machine -- or, as is known to some, gun -- restrictions.
3
There’s a reason this story doesn’t lead the news around the world. It’s because mass shootings in the US are as newsworthy as skirmishes between Israelis and Palestinians, military coups in emerging countries and high death tolls from natural disasters in poor parts of the world. As we wring our hands helplessly and ask how this could have happened again, the rest of the world marvels at our lack of insight.
There comes a time in every person’s life when they realize their parents were flawed humans who didn’t always get everything right. The US is a young country. We haven’t matured to the point where we can admit that the “Fathers of our Country” – authors of our Constitution – were fallible. Did the Second Amendment authors foresee and condone a future where one person could sit 32 stories above a crowd and fire military-grade weaponry unimpeded for 10 minutes?
The Second Amendment specifies that we have the “right to keep and bear arms”. It doesn’t say what types of arms. So, do we have the right to own suitcase nukes? Chemical weapons? Tanks? Perhaps if we’re lucky, some angry citizen will bring a legal case that he has a Second Amendment right to keep a tank or biological weapon in his garage. As long as the legislative route is log-jammed, and voters have no apparent influence on gun legislation, this might be the only way to open a dialogue.
1
A person checks into a hotel with some luggage, and then proceeds to bring in more and more, until he has "at least 10 suitcases" -- and "the behavior did not set off any alarms"?
Does this sound like normal hotel guest behavior?
1
I did check into a hotel with something like 10 suitcases. My wife and I went on a car trip to Washington DC and figured we can take whatever we want, including our blankets, portable cooler, dishes and cutlery, and an electric kettle - because we went for about 10 days or so and figured we wanted some home comfort. Besides, throwing it all in a trunk was pretty much free.
He knew the hotel’s security protocols pretty well.
1
Dear GOP "Christians": How many rapid-fire weapons, or weapons of any kind, would Jesus own?
7
At least this incident gives the lie to the ignorant notion that "if everybody carried a gun we could take out these jerks pronto". Anyone at the concert who was armed would have still been a sitting duck.
4
Imagine… the horrors of it all, while the world watches and we all, especially the many heartbroken family members who are trying to grasp and sort through a deadly and senseless loss of loved ones in what’s become known as the Las Vegas massacre, at the hands of a deranged sicko.
Imagine… the ironies and horrors, ironically the same phlegmatic lawmakers, politically correct hacks and divisive wastrels who are always quick to criticize the actions of first responders and or Police jumped on their adversarial soapboxes advocating gun control.
Imagine… wondering why a political agenda is more important then sharing prayers with or for those family members who just lost their love ones, and or espousing a speedy recovery for those survivors, in lieu of championing their repetitious and politically correct mumbo-jumbo regards their leftwing ideology.
Imagine… wondering if all the divisive drivel by politically correct wastrels isn’t the catalyst that emboldens sickos like the so-called Las Vegas shooter. I mean look around, if it isn’t the hooded hate mongers destroying property at the University of California Berkeley. It’s leftwing cultist shouting their divisive babble while destroying private and public property under the guise of their Fifth Amendment rights in the street of America.
Check for tattoos.
He is a coward for killing himself after what he did and he had to have planned that cowardly exit.
1
Nothing will change.
Next mass killing please.
2
Why are news outlets teaching the next whacko how to make their semi automatic an automatic one?! Why not just say "the gunman altered his semi automatic and leave it at that?!
2
Meticulous planning is the hallmark of a terrorist - and not, as Our President asserts, of a "demented" person.
1
Meticulous planning is not, unfortunately, beyond the ability of someone who also has some form of dementia (as I commented below about a form of dementia known as Lewy Body Dementia (LBD)).
The NRA is not to blame. I personally never heard of an NRA member doing anything even remotely like this. Why not blame the NRA for the shotings in Chicago? Because it does not fit the liberal narrative. The "bump stock" mentioned was cleared for sale by Obama's ATF. So if we are to blame a group for this, blame the ATF and the Obama admin for this atrocity. No law written or could be written would never stop an evil person from doing what he did. If not a gun, then a delivery truck loaded with fertilizer like OKC or just a truck like in France. That terrorist killed 86 with one truck and no gun. When an Islamic terrorist blows people up in a market in Kabul, the media blames the terrorist and not the religion he practices, but when some one with a rifle/pistol uses it to kill then you in the media blame the NRA almost as a Pavlovian response. Pretty sad.
17
i agree that most NRA members don't do stupid things like this. So why in god's name do they allow their organization to behave so stupidly regarding gun legislation, in defiance of all common sense??
Let's talk about the idiotic SHARE Act,vocally supported by the NRA -- if this guy had had silencers it might have taken another ten minutes for people to figure out he was shooting AT ALL, let alone figure out where the shots were coming from. Let's talk about the idea of a national gun registry, vehemently opposed by the NRA -- by the time this guy bought his 5th or 10th gun, and he wasn't a hunter or collector, maybe a red flag should have gone up. Let's talk about the idea of "no fly, no gun" -- if you're on a terrorist watch list, you also can't buy a gun. Surely we can all agree that that's sensible, right? And yet it was vehemently opposed by the NRA. Let's talk about the wide availability of armor-piercing bullets to anyone who wants them, widely supported by the NRA -- again, zero good reason for hunters or sportsmen to own these.
If you wonder why people tend to blame the NRA, the above would be why -- they have morphed from a rational organization focused on gun training and safety to a political organization that apparently will only be happy when everyone is issued an assault rifle at birth. When they can't even be bothered to support reasonable, intelligent, logical legislation, it should not surprise you that they are viewed with hostility.
2
I've heard nothing about this guy being or not being an NRA member. I'd pretty much guarantee he is. Do you have information he's not?
Most people who own guns in the US join the NRA. Chance are this POS was a member.
Most people who own guns in the US join the NRA. Chance are this POS was a member.
1
So, John, you feel that nothing can be done about societal mass violence....that it can happen anytime, anyplace, anywhere and we as citizens are just sitting ducks, waiting for it to happen again?
1
As others have mentioned, no feel-good legislation would have prevented this, nor will it prevent future shootings. You are either an advocate for a full outlawing of guns, which would have a realistic chance to give the results you are purportedly seeking, or you are simply spinning your wheels.
The trouble is, if you are for the former, you do not have popular support. The touted statistic of high percentages of people supporting stricter background checks, gun show loophole checks, etc is always the stat that is published because of it's the only stat you are able to grab onto as a liberal democrat.
When you start polling about full gun bans, you quickly find yourself in the minority opinion. It can be easy to forget in comment sections like this one, which is largely made up of your political peers. Yet, for all the talk of the NRA as some powerful conspiracy, in truth, it is so effective because it enjoys such widespread public support.
While everyone wants these tragedies to end, too few people are willing to scrap the second amendment or approve roundups of the many guns already owned. Like it or not, firearms have been deeply ingrained in our culture since the countries founding.
Do we trade liberty for security? It's undeniable that we have had no major terror attacks since 9/11, yet how many of you have had positive things to say about the TSA, The Patriot Act, or any of the other trades we made to get that security?
2
Oh stop with the "no laws would have prevented this" nonsense. How about a law requiring the authorities be notified when someone buys 33 rifles, bump stocks, and thousands of rounds of ammunition in a single year? My god.
8
"It's undeniable that we have had no major terror attacks since 9/11, yet how many of you have had positive things to say about the TSA, The Patriot Act, or any of the other trades we made to get that security?"
That is the point, if the NRA hadn't fought so viciously against sensible gun laws maybe we could say something good about it.
1
Do we trade liberty for security?
All the time. That's why you can't drive on the wrong side of the road. That's why you can't shout "fire" in a crowded theater. That's why you will be restrained on an airplane if you try to open the door in mid-flight. That's why you are required to pay income taxes (unless you are Trump) to support a bloated military to provide your liberty security even as we have a dangerous man in the white house taking up to the verge of nuclear war.
Do you get it now? Probably not.
2
As I've said before, if we American citizens are to try and solve this problem, the two sides need to find some common ground. We need level-headed, rationale folks from the two sides to come together.
As a 'liberal', I'd like to propose that we liberals try to better understand the perspective of the 'gun people'. We must do this, in order to enable a real 'conversation'. Most of us 'liberals' likely do not own guns and have no interest in guns. Speaking for myself, I am terrified of guns...don't want to be in the same room, don't want to see a gun, much less ever hold one in my own hands.
So some folks may like target practice with a gun. Some might like the 'power' they feel with a gun. Some may like to hunt. OK, I can accept that, even if it's not my thing.
Others feel they need guns just in case our government 'turns'...in case we find ourselves with a dictatorship, a police-state, etc. And while many of us 'liberals' might consider that paranoia or over-the-top, let's allow them that.
I think where we CAN potentially draw the line is regarding the AMOUNT of weaponry, the AMOUNT of ammo, the CAPACITY for rapid-fire bullets, etc., for any one individual to possess. If people want to have their guns, fine, but there's no reason we must 'allow' another citizen the right to own unlimited such items. We need to immediately create a National Database to track all guns and related accessories currently owned, the dates of purchase, the quantities purchased etc
1
Is it possible that he had Lewy Body Dementia, a form of dementia that can strike as young as the 50's or 60's? It is sometimes referred to as waxing and waning dementia. People with LBD can act normal to observers but can be suffering from persecutory hallucinations, which they hide from others. Of course, this is not an "excuse" nor does it mean that everyone with LBD is potentially a killer. Nevertheless, it could be a possible explanation for his behavior.
2
The article says that the police found a total of 47 firearms in his two houses and hotel suite. You can't tell me that his girlfriend didn't notice these firearms in their homes when she was doing the cleaning. (Their homes were small)
In another article I read that his brother said he wasn't interested in guns and only kept two guns in a safe at his home.
All the family, and the girlfriend, are going to say publically, what puts them in a good light. The only person I'd believe is the Starbucks Restaurant as their opinions are impartial.
(Maybe the media can pay the three girlfriends that the girlfriend went on holiday with, to tell them what her thoughts were when she found out what her partner had done and what she said to them about her partner.)
2
Interesting that Trump visited Puerto Rico to see the disaster site…
then visit Las Vegas to see the carnage site…
And comes away from them making statements that he got the same impression, from both places… able to determine in his mind that they were fairly equal in importance. At least in his mind…
What there is of it.
I am a republican and I am as much FOR gun control as any democrat out there. Why can’t we get a faction of sensible republicans to speak up?
2
If you want changes to gun laws, a potentially reasonable approach to tax law changes, and improvements to the AHA, you're going to have to vote Democratic in the midterms and beyond. If you like things the way they are or want them to get worse, then vote Republican.
3
"Made a meticulous planning..."
He had everything he needed to kill people. So, did the others who prepared themselves to go out and kill people and kids.
Just for a moment, just for a moment reflect the situations in this country...
* A white supremacist, racist in the closet as a president of our country.
* A divided country on women rights.
* A divided country on race.
* A divided country on gun control
* A divided country on the meaning of common sense...
We live in the Divided States of America. And this division falls on Washington and its leaders.
The White House talking point: "New laws won't stop a madman"
American politicians at their best. This mentality will be your downfall...
Great job America... You sound like any other 3rd wold country. You've lost your place and respect from the world...
4
Second Ammendment Terrorism.
3
The United States is being bought off by morons who elect morons like Donald trump (Rex tillerson's word for trump not mine). The free press needs to start needling house and senate members who are bought off by the evil NRA. The Loyal opposition, the hapless democrats, need to play the the tapes of the recorded gun violence a year from now linking it to every member of congress who is receiving windfalls of money from the gun lobby to expose the nightmares that these cowards are doing to our nation.
1
Now can we stop with the " sick " remarks? Since he was an average, native born, White male, it must be mental illness. NO. He was a class A jerk. I'd bet a huge sum that he was nearly broke, facing huge debts, and decided to go out NRA gangster style. The NEW record holder. Until the NEXT time. Thanks, NRA and GOP. Making America number ONE, in MURDER.
4
Can't take anymore of this, authorities are now combing every inch of property and every lead no matter how inconsequential. Yet between checking in last Thursday and Sunday, Paddock smuggled in an arsenal of weapons and probably kept housekeeping away from his room(s) for 4 days, yet this went undetected and aroused no suspicions. Are we so preoccupied and self absorbed or vanguards of privacy or possibly incompetent, that time after time we fall asleep at the switch and left with another memorial following a self inflicted tragedy. We are exceptional alright, give me a break !
1
Repeal the 2nd Amendment. The government starts buying the guns until they are all off the street. We don't need guns. Gun deaths are unacceptable. Not 59, 40, 30, 20, 10, not 1 person should die this way. Hunting, personal defense, protection from invaders or to form a militia against an unacceptable government at home are all dead issues. After all, it's an amendment, not embedded in the constitution. And amendments can be repealed.
4
I just read another article in the NYTimes (At Casino Hotels, Welcome for Guests Makes Security Difficult on Ocotber 4, 2017) and had to laugh.
This terrorist enters the hotel innumerable times to load his hotel suite with armaments, and then sets up 3 small video cameras to create surveillance for his suite, and ends up shooting a guard in the hotel. But it's much too difficult for the hotel to set up surveillance in a hotel.
I've heard of the surveillance that is set up in casinos in Las Vegas ,and corresponding casinos in hotels, and I had to laugh at the NYTimes article. To protect casinos from cheats, the camera system is more secure that Fort Know or any prison in the USA.But to secure a hotel is "very hard".
How hard is it to set up a camera and watch certain people coming into a hotel lobby innumerable times and loaded with enough armaments for a small troop of soldiers! Even if it was an innocent visitor to the hotel, wouldn't the hotel be "suspicious" of any guest entering a hotel with enough clothes and luggage to stay there for 2 months?
2
Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican majority leader, rebuffed questions about potential legislative action during his regular news conference Tuesday afternoon, saying that the massacre was being politicized. “Look, the investigation’s not even been completed,” Mr. McConnell said. “And I think it’s premature to be discussing legislative solutions, if there are any.”
Sen. McConnell knows there are no legislative solutions, because the GOP will never cave to the wishes of the majority of America over the NRA. It's Sen. McConnell who is politicizing this. A rational person would immediately look into how to prevent this from ever happening again.
6
Past tactics to combat the NRA haven't worked.
It's time to change tactics.
Show the carnage -- children's bodies, everyone's bodies. Shock with reality and truth. Does it show 'respect' to the victim's by failing to show what happened and continuing this veil that comes over the reality for political, greed, and any other reason?
Show the carnage. Let them try to sweep this away again. Myths must be busted, use of emotions FOR life and the living versus the forces of denial, greed, cowardice by Congress and corruption must fought -- and automatic weapons fire must be fought with the actual aftermath of that fire.
I'm done thinking anything else matters. We have lost control of our government. America has been taken hostage by the NRA and a series of corrupt (mostly GOP) politicians -- an amoral lot if there ever was one.
Time to wake up and finally change tactics!
10
After living in Virginia for 35 years, I have learned the difference between handgun purchases and long gun purchases. If you want to buy multiple handgun over a short period, you have to obtain a special paper. If you want to buy say 45 long guns like an AK 47, you are only limited by the number you can pay for and carry away. And the same for ammunition. 10,000 rounds? No problem. Given that Nevada and its neighboring states are said to have the most lenient gun laws in the US, I shudder to think how their laws are more lenient than Virginia's.
5
It will be very interesting to see what his girlfriend knows about Stephen Paddock. They lived together and she must have seen things that occurred in their homes. She had to have known about the numerous guns he obtained. Wasn't she a bit curious as to why so many? The investigators are going to probe her as to what she saw and heard. If there is anyone who knows about Mr. Paddock's inner workings, surely it is her. She seems to have been the only one who was his companion. What she knows may surprise us.
1
@VMK- Im def not defending the person who committed this selfish, evil, slaughter on innocent people, but trying to pass "some blame" on the girlfriend is beyond silly. Individuals are solely responsible for their behavior/actions. Im not responsible for any other adult actions: be it spouse or family or friends. Also, how may people live double lives, especially when the "sneaky" person has leverage over the other partner? the "dependent" partner will not question anything. Also, some people dont get involve in their partners hobbies/activities to care. Accoding to reports, the killer most likely sent her away so she will not be around to likely distract his plans.
The maddening conundrum about these incidents, which have become too commonplace, is why they are a recent phenomenon. Forty years ago, we had the same relatively easy access to firearms, including military style assault weapons, probably more extensive gun ownership as a percentage of the population and virtually unrestricted access to public spaces and other potential terror venues. You never, however, heard of mass shootings, much less the distressing news that a school, concert, or office party being a target of someone's disturbed rage and evil. Are these incidents a sign that our society has broken down entirely? What possible motive could motivate an evil person to kill first graders at a school or unarmed concertgoers at an open air country music festival as if they were a video game? we live in a relatively open society--there is little that could be done to prevent the crazy attack in Las Vegas. And we have enough firearms to arm almost the entire population. I fear that it is only a matter of days before we witness the next attack. We have to figure out and understand what is motivating these attacks.
5
Contrary to the continuing propaganda and lies that spew out of the NRA, there are actually very few countries, especially in the industrialized world, that ban firearms, yet, as the recent column in the NYT confirmed, compared to these other countries, whom are also open societies, the number of these mass killings in America is "off the chart".
One can only surmise the jacked up level of fear, paranoia and a feeling of alienation in America has a significant contribution to these horrible acts. Add to that the overall easy access and obsession with firearms and hatred of government seems to create an atmosphere of the willingness to act out these feelings with this extreme violence. Certainly, other countries have people with similar feelings, but the desire to carry through in the same way is not there anywhere near to the same degree.
So what is really going on? Is it an American society that is broken? These things don't happen overnight. The evidence seems to be pointing in that direction and sadly, the leaders are doing nothing to deal with these important issues, in fact, in many ways, they are making things even worse.
the 2nd amendment reads ... "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
i'm not sure how this single sentence can be interpreted as allowing unfettered access to weapons capable of killing hundreds in literally seconds. certainly the framers could not have imagined the existence of automatic weapons in a time when it required skill and about a minute to fire a single round.
i'll go so far as to say i believe in our right to bear arms but that state and local governments should have no authority to regulate the type of weapons private citizens, unaffiliated wth a "well regulated" militia can own is a perverse interpretation of the 2A. semi automatic weapons with large capacity are not hunting rifles - hunters don't spray 10s and definitely not 100's of rounds at their target. it's the exact opposite of ethical hunting. so weapons like those used in LV have one purpose - to kill people.
with very few exceptions ... an individual has no legitimate use for them.
let folks who want them have all the 4 or 5 round bolt action rifles or shotguns they need ... if you want to defend your "free state" join the national guard - you'll be issued the proper gear. but continuing to allow psychopaths access to weapons whose only real function is to kill people in large numbers quickly is simply immoral.
3
What baffles me is how Nino 'n them could assert that the framers' "original intent" was for us to dismiss half of what they wrote.
These days, it's hard to believe that as recently as 1994, a divided but functional Congress banned new assault weapons. It lasted until 2004 but was allowed to expire. Today, the litany of mass shootings is much greater, logging carnage far more frequently. Yet no action is taken. No debate occurs. The difference? The surgence of far right politicians and media. A current candidate for the U.S. Senate, Republican Roy Moore, recently waved his pistol at a public rally. The only consequences were thunderous cheers and his win in the GOP primary. A Republican Rep. was shot and critically wounded not long ago amid a gun attack on his party members. He remains as staunch a gun control opponent as ever. The right, attached umbilically to the gun lobby, acts as though mass shootings are as inevitable and unavoidable as spring rains and winter snow. Shoulder shrugs all around.
73
That was before the rise of hysterical liberalism and the push for socialism in the US. Now people want their guns.
". . . Though the Islamic State group has claimed that he was one of its followers,"
it is made clear that the suspicion many people have had about the daesh or Islamic fundamentalist groups which inevitably claim, after the fact, that all mass murders and outrages are committed by "members" of their organization, is in fact a way of swiping credit for the misbehavior and insane violence of anyone , anywhere. Once the alleged killer is dead or commits suicide, it is easy and safe to make such claims as the killer is not around to deny the claim. I have always suspected this as it is just too easy to make such claims. It is like insisting that the Sun rises every day becaue God lets it do so, or because Apollo rises from the bed of Dawn and gets his team hitched to the solar car, and then hauls the giant glow-globe along until it's time to let night take over.
It is all very poetic and probably makes the composers of these "just so" stories quite pleased with themselves. They can claim that all kinds of deadly activity is, in fact, secretly planned by them when, in reality they have no more idea of who does what and why, than the police or my aunt's cousin's three legged cat.
I wonder how many other groups of cuckoo , crazy people and mad revolutionaries are also claiming credit for this particular slaughter. . . .?
Anyway, it's nice to know that the idiots from Isis are no more "in the loop" then anyone else.
2
This is in no way a criticism of law enforcement, because, having stayed in the Mandalay Bay, I know how huge the place is, but what went on on the 60 or so minutes between when the attacker stopped firing and they blew open the door? The authorities say he was firing for 9-11 minutes, and the timelines show that the door was blown about 72 minutes after the first shot. what happened between those 2 events?
5
We should recall that constitutional freedoms, such as the alleged right to bear arms under the 2d amendment, are qualified freedoms, not absolute freedoms. Thus, they can be regulated where there is a sufficient government interest and the regulation is sufficiently narrowly tailored. I would say the government interest in preventing a sniper from shooting hundreds of bullets into a crowd is very high, so the kinds of guns used in such an attack can be highly regulated: like limiting the amount of ammunition sold to any specific person, no loopholes for gunshows, limiting magazine capacity, outlawing bump stocks, controlling transport of such weapons, etc.
8
WE THE PEOPLE MUST DEMAND that:
EVERY gun in The United States of America be registered on a national database. state licensed and fully insured for liability.
It's really quite simple. The information is readily available. Manufacturers already track every single gun, bullet, ammunition clip and "accessory" to track inventory and sales. Form an independent Citizen's Safety Bureau - like Senator Elizabeth Warren's Consumer Finance Protection Bureau - to control the database and make it available to law enforcement.
License guns at the same state agencies that license vehicles.
Insurers can figure out how much to charge per gun. Imagine if the families of every victim and injured person in the Las Vegas shooting could sue the gun insurer. Guns would disappear from the general population post haste.
WE THE PEOPLE must DEMAND and end to this horrid, senselses carnage.
8
None of what you suggest would have done anything to stop this guy from killing Trump supporters. Worse yet, he could have killed a thousand with his Ammonium Nitrate. Bomb.
I am completely for gun control and I think there is good argument that by limiting magazine capacities, extending waiting periods, having more extensive background checks, etc. will have a noticeable impact on the number of casualties in mass shootings. What I am not convinced of, however, is that the number of mass shootings or let's broaden the term, mass casualties for whatever reason will decrease. I firmly believe the legislative action that are being proposed can limit the number of casualties but is that all we're after? Sick, twisted people like Paddock will not be hindered by any of the legislative action above, they will simply find another destructive way to hurt as many people as they can. I think gun regulations is a good place to start but let's not lose sight of the larger picture as well--there are too many people in the US who have these tendencies to want to cause mass casualties ranging from little kids and teenagers to adults. In addition to gun control, maybe we should also be looking at why the US has so many people who want to inflict mass casualties--is it something about our culture or society, or is it the individuals themselves.
4
The Las Vegas Review-Journal has an article this morning, so far not picked up by other media, about medication prescribed for Paddock in recent months for mental health issues.
5
https://www.reviewjournal.com/
"We the people" can't defeat the NRA because they have the money to unseat any anti-NRA politician. But specifically GUN OWNERS and NRA MEMBERS can stop the NRA by changing its lobbying tactics and by speaking up, as NRA members, in favor of sensible restrictions, such as outlawing "bump stocks," high capacity ammunition cartridges, and other gun paraphernalia that enable mass shootings. NRA members can take over their own organization toward this end. That is only step 1. As a society, we should stigmatize the mentality that promotes gun ownership and gun "freedom" at the expense of everyone else's safety. The NRA makes too much money (indirectly) from gun sales to ever change its ways, though.
4
It's also obvious that, besides sensible gun safety legislation, we need to get money out of politics.
The wealthy and special interests now have a megaphone of money to drown others out and buy up politicians to do their bidding. The politicians pretend to be our representatives. Some are so secure in their positions, due to Gerrymandering, that they don't even have to pretend. Just a small population of the gullible is enough to keep them in paychecks, paid by the majority who voted against them, but can no longer vote them out due to their underhanded gerrymandering,.. their theft of our democracy.
This should alert everyone to how vacant their patriotism is, and how much they disrespect our flag and what Old Glory represents.
1
This is the cold hard truth, these weapons are being used for what they are designed to do.
11
After reading this, you must read Sheri Fink's adjoining article about Simpson and his EMT's and ambulances saving people. I was really moved. I'm still crying. God, please stop the madness.
1
"It is premature to talk about gun regulation." Has the NRA distributed talking points to all the people who accepted their money? It is disconcerting, to watch our elected officials acting so blatantly in service of the gun lobby.
An assault rifle is good for is killing a lot of humans in a hurry. We now have a textbook example of this. By definition, if you want an assault rifle, you probably need an psych eval, and you should not be allowed to have an assault rifle, or 19 of them.
Having grown up on a ranch, I believe everyone should know how to use a rifle (for hunting game meat ) and how to use a handgun (for stopping the raccoon that is eating the eggs in the hen house). Having worked in mental health, I understand that the fastest way to reduce the number of murders by gun is to reduce the number of guns available.
This episode puts the lie to the fantasy put out by the gun lobby, that you need to own guns for self defense. We now see that a .38 in your pocket is no match for automatic fire from a high vantage point.
Civilians ownership of assault rifles should be banned. Federal registration of gun ownership should focus on watching escalating gun ownership. People who live in the country and hunt wild game and water fowl can sensibly own a variety of guns, but someone who is hoarding hundreds of guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition is veering into criminal or crazy territory, and deserves to be monitored and evaluated, so the rest of us are safe.
67
All of this after-the-fact stuff is, sorry, just plain silly.
If you want to kill lots of people in America, it's easy: Just get a gun and do it. Who cares about motive? Who cares that he was able to get lots of guns into his hotel room? Any fool can do that when guns are common as candy and just as legal.
Now, if we want to start talking seriously about how to prevent this sort of thing, that's a conversation worth having, but, unless it involves repeal of the Second Amendment, we're just wasting breath. If bump stocks are OK, we might as well legalize automatic weapons. What's the difference?
Gun nuts are running this nation. And that's just plain nutty.
16
Mr. Paddock's meticulous preparation, narcissism, addiction to gambling, and his father's medical history of psychosis, should have kept him from purchasing weapons of war.
Any Congressional elected official who voted to allow more mentally ill individuals to purchase any gun, should be deployed to the North Korean border for several decades, to defend freedom.
6
Lets all stop talking about background checks, solid citizen, no record, so on and so forth.
The bottom line is any sane person can have a fit of rage when something goes wrong in his or her life, whatever it could be.
The fact that people have access to assault weapons, rapid fire weapons and unlimited ammo just adds fuel to the fire if this individual goes on a rage.
I never owned nor wanted to own a gun.
I never hunted , and I have nothing against the sport.
Yes people do live in rural areas where they feel the need to protect their family as i commented yesterday on another times article.
But giving the ability for people to purchase these type of weapons is just an outrage.
When will they change these laws , when someone does this on capitol hill or the white house.
6
I'm reading a lot of knee jerk responses and unfortunately none are to do with mental health, which America fails. Given the arsenal this man stock piled plus the explosives, one can logically infer his psychological well-being was poor. Gun control rhetoric nor new laws will stop these mass murders.
2
This law would solve all the problems:
EVERY gun in The United States of America must be registered on a national database, state licensed and fully insured for liability.
Just like cars.
9
The only thing a national database would solve is that we could find the people faster, it wouldn't stop mass murders from happening, which is the original poster's point.
I do agree that we should have a national database though, it just won't do anything to prevent things like this from happening. Paddock acquired his guns legally. Being on a national database wouldn't have stopped him from doing what he did.
1
I disagree, SH. And if every gun has to be registered, licensed and insured it would be much easier for law enforcement to track who is stacking up arsenals. Imagine if insurance had to pay every victim of these shootings.
4
The official story just doesn't add up. One guy did all this? I know there are complicated explanations but it just doesn't add up. I think we are looking at yet another false flag event...I know people freak out when someone says this but...and while I do agree that assault weapons should be banned, I don't think that is the issue here. I think the issue here is that we have a government that kills us, lies to us, and does all it can to maintain a state of constant war and fear.
1
Baruch !
One guy did all this? That could never happen.
You forgot to consider all those republicans.
One guy who, through the years, got a lot of help from the Mitch McConnell republicans.
More twisted evil gunmen are out there. They have been enabled by the obviously questionable mental stability of a republican who actually stole a Supreme Court seat from the People of the United States of America. That thief McConnell, who is still on the loose, but hopefully not for long. There are too many dead haunting him. The bullet ridden dead who will not rest until he is finally locked in a prison cell, unable to hurt the innocent anymore,...just awaiting his time.
So when was the first false flag event? And just what doesn't add up here?
1
Paddock was trying to spark a civil war. That I firmly believe will be the outcome of a thorough investigation.
Please destroy the Television and Radio venues that are spreading the rage and hatred that are feeding the fires. It's a matter of national security. I care deeply about freedom for all, but this is a national emergency unfolding and people's lives are more important that a profit motive that inspires turmoil and nurtures discord.
3
I am sorry, but the knee-jerk responses here are the very definition of reactionary. All this talk about "sensible legislation" is utterly pointless, as none of the half steps that most here are suggesting would have done anything to prevent this, or most of the other shootings we have become accustomed to. Are we forgetting that an assault weapons ban already was once put in place during a much more stable time? Did it make any bit of difference? Would those same assault weapon ban laws have truly prevented any of this?
Those of you demanding reactionary legislative action can at least be politically honest. You know good and well that no legislation will make a huge difference short of both outlawing all semi-automatic weapons, coupled with a full campaign of confiscation of the millions of weapons already in circulation.
Many states, like my own, don't even make you register long guns (read: most assault weapons), so there is not even an easy way of telling where all these weapons are located.
Like it or not, when the cat is this far out of the bag, only extreme options will ever be able to force it back in.
3
The NRA must now be seen for what it has become - a homegrown terrorist organization. The NRA has out-lived its day. It's time for the NRA's leaders and members to welcome and accept the need for new gun regulations. Time for the gun-madness that grips the United States to end.
3
There is much more to this story. I contend that the shooter was hired by the mafia to either create chaos or put Mandalay Bay out of business. Who knows?
The article says, "His work history was not completely clear; his brother has described him as a wealthy retiree. Mr. Paddock worked for the federal government for roughly 10 years, from 1975 to 1985, a spokeswoman for the Office of Personnel Management confirmed."
He wandered around the United States and kept a low profile. Anyone who makes their money in "real estate", as his brother said, has a paper trail. This man apparently has none and played at casinos as a "high roller". Follow the money. My bet is he will have had BIG payouts every few years - for mafia hits and chaos causing events. Looking forward to getting to the truth.
I smell Steve Bannon and Putin and their Robber Baron brethren. They love chaos. It keeps the "peon" minds off the destruction of OUR democracy, OUR civil societies and OUR planet.
3
I'm sure it was a Russian Steve Bannon conspiracy and not some radicalized leftist who was targeting Trump voters and trying to push gun grabbing.
Njglea,
I think your thesis is very far fetched and unlikely to have any merit. This is highly unlikely why he went on a killing spree but the truth will come out eventually. You have quite an imagination though.
If it was for money then why did he take his own life?
Can you refer to the killer not by his name, but as "gunman" or shooter, as much as possible? We do not always know why mentally disturbed individuals chose to do mass murder, but often they have admired past killers, and sought the attention given to shooters. Less attention to their names and photos might have some deterrent effect. And of course ammunition and gun control would be a big help.
42
To Republicans, it's always "too premature" to talk about solving any problems they profit from. With the enormous amount of lobbyist money pouring in from the NRA and related groups, we can be certain that adequately addressing insanely loose and lax gun laws, and removing military grade weaponry from the populace, is not something the Republican party will do now or "as time goes by".
Republicans are cowards, and they are corrupted by the overwhelming stranglehold the NRA has on our political process. Blood is on their collective hands.
6
Truly a tragic, poignant time for our country and our president. Once law enforcement has done its job and determined all the facts they can about the gunman and how he amassed such a huge arsenal, we can look at how the nation deals with assault weapons going forward. With so many killed and hurt the easy availability of military-style weapons that can be routinely converted to fire automatically will certainly need to be addressed. Madmen will always seek to use whatever means available to achieve their warped objectives. It's the responsibility of the rest of us to make those means as difficult to acquire as possible.
“Why did he do it? “ is always the question that consumes law enforcement and journalism for a week or so after the worst of the mass killings. And it’s a pointless exercise — a ritual undertaken to pretend that some effort is being made to “understand” how these things can happen. But we know how these things happen, and why he did it. He did it because he could — & because making and selling weapons of mass destruction is legal and profitable in this failing country.
Better questions: “Why did these people die?”
“Which of the supposed ‘freedoms’ protected by our culture of guns accrue to the dead?”
2
Why not tax and require insurance like we do for automobiles. Yearly registration as we do for our cars. The old saw about criminals having easy access to guns may be right but they are not accumulating weapons like this. The 22 hand gun does it for this criminal.
if sandy hook didn't change things what will??? Perhaps open carry in the District of Columbia and stste capitals county seats and municipal offices with those who support these gun rights wearing easily observable id. Being an easy target may do it for thise whi want to cling to the second amendment.
2
Trump on taking office: "American carnage stops now." Every journalist, every politician, every citizen needs to ask of this president: "Tell us NOW how you plan to stop the carnage. Tell us NOW what your policy is for stopping the carnage."
And they should keep demanding answers to those questions. Relentlessly.
And they should keep demanding answers to those questions. Relentlessly.
112
Ironic that Bannon & The Ghoul Miller used the word "carnage" over and over in the inaugural address. Did they know something we didn't?
"investigators were still at a loss to offer a motive"...?
The motive is that he was evil.
Here's a reason: This is what happens when you erase the knowledge or respect for God, His moral laws and authority, or respect for others from society.
It's not about guns, mental illness or medications - it's a heart issue about how children and adults are taught to handle anger, emotions and feelings in an absence of God's moral direction and authority.
2
...while others go on killing sprees because they claim God told them to do it. It seems dangerous and unwise to look to a fictional character for moral guidance.
4
Good luck trying to explain a Judeo-Christian moral philosophy to the NYT crew,... all you will get is rabid hatred, distain, and lectures.
Heaven helps those who help themselves.
So why don't we Americans get smart and do what other advanced countries do by having reasonable gun laws designed to protect the citizenry and make it more difficult by for "evil people" to kill others at whim or will thanks to the ready availability of guns, assault rifles, ammunition, and a gun culture that promotes rather than discourages guns as the solutions to problems.
I've seen these leaked photos. Why is no one asking what he wrote on that notepad? It was clearly used for something because of the placement of the pen and the direction it was laying on the table. If I had to speculate he knew his time was short, wrote down something, shot himself.
Our elected official have failed their performance reviews as leaders. Just like in the workplace, they have been given a performance improvement plan and failed. If we could just easily say "You're fired!" and make that happen that would be nice. But we can still fire them by selecting and voting for candidates who have vision and lead.
1
I'm not sure why the media were allowed to publish the name and photo of the girlfriend. Remember that at the time of the Newtown murders people were so angry at Adam Lanza that they often did not include his mother in the list of victims; after events like these a lot of public hatred can be targeted onto people who were close to the killer as if they too are responsible or could have stopped the person from committing the crime. Many of the comments on the NYT coverage have even come close to blaming her. We shouldn't make it easier for possible harassment by publishing her name and her photo for everyone to have access to.
1
Almost every form of gun is illegal in the United Kingdom, apart from use by some professions, such shotguns for some farmers, and even then every gun has to be registered. Gun crime is very rare in the United Kingdom.
Some argue that gun culture is not a “political issue”, but that’s exactly what it is because the government, any government, has a duty to keep its citizens safe and on this count the US government is failing miserably. The UK government, with all party agreement, took gun control on as a political issue and acted decisively after two mass shooting (Hungerford in 1987 and Dunblane in 1996) and we’re all very much safer for it. Australia did the same.
Of course a terrorist can use means other than guns to commit mass murder, as we know only too well in Europe. But I’m not aware that any of the mass shootings in the US in recent years were the acts of terrorists, that is people inspired by an ideology and organized in some collective way. So often the mass killers in the US appeared to everyone who knew them to be quiet, law-abiding people and everyone is always so shocked that they could carry out such an act. There are an awful lot of quiet, law-abiding people in the US who are, for reasons that escape me, armed to the teeth. It will happen again, and, as usual, no one will have seen it coming.
4
Only a profoundly sick and alienated society could produce as many mass murderers as the United States does. Discussions of gun control legislation and mental health funding are fine but don't go to the heart of the matter. The combination of the intense individualism fostered by American capitalist culture and the dehumanizing violence and militarism entailed by our domination of the planet predictably produces mass sociopathologies. These episodic massacres are only the most spectacular examples of a much wider range of morbid symptoms evident in our culture. The most pertinent item in Mr. Paddock's biography may well turn out to be his employment by Lockheed Martin, a company whose profit margins are directly tied to global rates of lethal violence. Whatever the causes, it seems clear that Mr. Paddock's millions were unable to prevent him from becoming an emotionally isolated and presumably profoundly unhappy person. It should be a cause of reflection that Mr. Paddocks acquisitions of wealth are widely accepted in our society as the most important measure of a life well-lived. Collectively digging ourselves out of the death culture in which we have all been to one degree or another socialized will not be easy. The first step is facing up to the ugly fact that a society built on the foundations of the genocidal slaughter of indigenous peoples, slavery and lynch law that routinely rains bombs down on other countries is not likely to be a healthy one.
3
The McConnell Modification
May I suggest that by blocking legislation or even consideration of whether bump stock kits ought to be legal, Sen Mitch McConnell may deserve to have this killing innovation named after him.
8
The gun manufactures are quite simply and openly trading profits for human life. Every time an incident like this occurs, there is a spike in gun manufacturer stock market valuations. THEY PROFIT HUGELY FROM INCIDENTS LIKE THE ONE IN LAS VEGAS. IT IS IN THEIR BEST CORPORATE INTEREST FOR SUCH INCIDENTS TO CONTINUE OCCURRING, so long as the status quo remains.
If there is a better example of psychopathic, predatory industry flourishing on the backs of suffering people, I have yet to know of it. The USA health care industry - another coddled Republican entity - is firmly in second place. It is probably at the top, but its victims go out quietly, without the same fanfare.
5
Charles Whitman.
Not a particularly memorable name. But a memorable act.
Despite what some say about how this event could not be foreseen, it doesn't take a Nostradamus to see how one act leads to another.
I'll make a prediction. Somewhere out there someone in America is planning to outdo Stephen Paddock, Timothy McVeigh, Eric Rudolph, etc. Taking notes. Stockpiling.
There is no level of security that will keep us safe. We can militarize our whole society, but we will only put ourselves more at risk. Any large gathering is vulnerable. Churches, schools, high school football games, a busy weekend morning at the grocery store.
We can cower in our homes while our society is destroyed from the inside out. And the rot comes from the top, not the streets of Chicago. Or, we can join together, really together, and retake our government from the moneyed interests, probably requiring us to rewrite our Constitution, which was flawed from the start. Only gun control, and a stern look at what it means to be American, will stop these massacres.
Since that isn't going to happen, keep your loved ones close and seize the day.
Not a particularly memorable name. But a memorable act.
Despite what some say about how this event could not be foreseen, it doesn't take a Nostradamus to see how one act leads to another.
I'll make a prediction. Somewhere out there someone in America is planning to outdo Stephen Paddock, Timothy McVeigh, Eric Rudolph, etc. Taking notes. Stockpiling.
There is no level of security that will keep us safe. We can militarize our whole society, but we will only put ourselves more at risk. Any large gathering is vulnerable. Churches, schools, high school football games, a busy weekend morning at the grocery store.
We can cower in our homes while our society is destroyed from the inside out. And the rot comes from the top, not the streets of Chicago. Or, we can join together, really together, and retake our government from the moneyed interests, probably requiring us to rewrite our Constitution, which was flawed from the start. Only gun control, and a stern look at what it means to be American, will stop these massacres.
Since that isn't going to happen, keep your loved ones close and seize the day.
8
The Pandora's Box has long been opened. No amount of gun control legislation (which I fully support) will change the mindset of those in this country who claim that gun ownership is a God-given right.
1
We don't need to "change the mindset of those who claim [unregulated] gun ownership is a God-given right." We just need to outvote them. Theyu are wrong about the 2nd amendment.
What is the reason anyone would want a "bump stock" on their rifle?
I'm sorry but they should be illegal. So should all semi-automatic weapons, and magazines with more than 5 rounds of ammo.
In the name of public safety.
And as for the 2nd amendment: "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State ...." is clearly meant to apply to the country or state armed forces.
3
I remember a segment John Oliver did on the Daily Show back in the day. He interviewed Australian politicians who were voted out of office and whose careers ended after they supported gun control legislation. If I remember correctly, he even had little tombstones with the "dates" of the time they were in office. None of them regretted their support.
It seems Republican politicians could learn a thing or two from their Australian counterparts.
1
NYT: As the nation is enraged from this horrendous, avoidable act of violence, the media is uniquely poised to look forward and propose solutions and expose deeply entrenched barriers to action. Please step into that role. So much of today's rhetoric is 'well, nothing will happen anyway'. I disagree, do an in-depth piece furthering Jimmy Kimmel's recent monologue, highlight newly proposed bills sponsored by the NRA, expose which elected officials receive money from the NRA, write about state and federal rights in gun control laws and possible avenues for states to move forward, and things citizens can do to enact change. Make this article or, better yet, series of articles 'above the fold'. Dedicate significant coverage (and pressure) to what can be done or is currently happening from a systems level in addItion to op-eds.
6
All this "analysis" is really concealing the naked reality that this guy was allowed insane numbers of assault weapons that have no place in civil society and he then used them (it the GUNS) to commit mass murder.
Where's the focus on the killing power of these guns, on how many people have been killed by gun violence (often with similar military weapons), and that the NRA and rignt-wing is really complicit in these deaths.
Their sniveling, "this is the price we pay for gun freedom" is really obscene! What about the freedom the rest of us have to "LIFE, liberty (including from fear of being shot) and the pursuit of happiness"?
6
The fact that the GOP has a bill to legalize silencers speaks volumes about what the care of the victims and families of gun violence...NOTHING. They are lying hypocrites that will protect the gun lobby rather then protect Americans. This is truly insane at the very least and disgraceful. Blaming mental illness is a tired pathetic excuse used by the GOP. Same folks that want to deny Americans health care, which includes mental health services. How they look at their family in the face knowing full well that they bargained very cheaply their own family's safety and lives for the gun lobby.
2
Should we really care what Donald Trump said about this murderer? Trump says all sorts of things to keep the attention focused on his big fat ego instead of on the real problem at hand. Trump is the kid who shouts "fire" in a crowded theater just to see how much commotion he can cause. The real issue here is how this killer was able to amass so many weapons of mass destruction. Background checks wouldn't have stopped this carnage, but if Congress prevented the sale of devices to turn simple rifles into automatic weapons most of those killed and maimed in Las Vegas would be O.K. today. The U.S. Congress and their masters at The NRA are responsible for this massacre as much as the shooter himself.
1
I thought guns were banned at the Republican National Convention.
So in their own case, they clearly admit that having guns available in a crowded area is too dangerous to allow.
Now even the greatest fools can deduce that Republican Politicians care about themselves, but not us. So how are you going to vote next time?
5
Trump is flying out to Vegas to "pay his respects." Shouldn't Mitch "premature legislation" McConnell be on that flight? Shouldn't John "make yourself small" Thune be on that flight? Shouldn't Steve "I got shot but I still love guns" Scalise be on that flight? Shouldn't Wayne " I enabled this whole mess" Lapierre be on that flight? Shouldn't the gun company executives and gun company shareholders and sellers of bump gunstocks be on that flight? And shouldn't they have to look the families of the dead right in the eyes and say, "Now is not the time? It's premature? Your dead family member should have made themselves smaller?"
I know one thing... I'm from Indiana. I vote. And Joe Donnelly, our senator, is one of the GOP's main targets next year to be defeated by some usual Hoosier nutcase gun-loving conservative. Joe is going to have to ask himself: am I a man who is willing to toe the NRA line in hopes of winning, or do I act like a man with valor and fight against the barbarous gun lobby and lose?
I know Joe will accept the gun lobby's overtures, but he still will lose. I'd love to see him act like he has principles, take on the NRA and go down swinging. He won't. And this, on a small scale, is why the NRA and the gun lobby is slowly eroding American abilities to attend concerts safely, to shop safely in a mall, to go into a crowded area of any type safely. What the NRA and the gun lobby is saying is that the 2nd Amendment supersedes any other part of the Constitution.
9
This guy bought guns in three states, over 40. Where is the FBI data base that should have picked up on this. Background checks and the FBI data base is a joke just like everything else in DC. If I attempt to buy two long guns at the same time a 30 day hold is placed on one. Explain how in Las Vegas he was able to put cameras in the halls and in his room with no one raising a flag? If he had cameras why did he shoot himself before the police got on his floor? Something smells in all of this but one fact is evident, he was not crazy, evil maybe, but not crazy.
4
The man was a compulsive gambler who spent upwards of $30,000 a day on gambling. Also, having ten suitcases seems odd too. There is no doubt mental illness played a major role and this is sure to be a very important part of the investigation. He was a very sick, angry and disturbed man who went off the deep end to put it mildly. This is extremely chilling.
1
I suspect we will start hearing similar comments like Republican Congress Tom Cole today, about not needing to rush into any gun legislation, it sounds like the Republican Congress has received their Mandatory Talking Points from the NRA and Wayne LaPierre regarding these types of mass shootings.
2
If this gunman had done this horrifying act, in the US Capitol, and if 59 members of Congress were dead as a result, we all know in our core, that legal access to automatic weapons, and many of their accessories, would dramatically change within six months.
6
Everyone should call out this "now is not the time" indoctrinated tactic as the contemptible act of amoral hypocrisy that it is. If republicans weren't slaves to the NRA they might manage to exercise whatever excuse for a conscience might otherwise be operative and acknowledge that since it's their participation in this proliferation of weapons that caused the catastrophe in the first place, they are the last people on earth to assume they have standing to wax morally superior and supposedly dictate when it's time to say what. This is precisely the time to talk about gun control and they only make themselves more detestable by assuming they can pontificate about this. If they cared at all about these people they would overcome their moral bankruptcy and acknowledge what's obvious about this country's deeply sick gun culture instead of enabling it. They only emphasize their loathsomeness through this presumptuous, hypocritical unearned self-righteousness.
Kettle black...self-righteousness and hypocritical.
Don't blame them. God made them do it.
There is no comparison between people who reject citizen on citizen gunnery and those who promote it, JMB.
Lets not just blame this on a sick mind. There are plenty of sick minds out there.
Given the protective means for an individual to legally accumulate such a military-type arsenal is where the true criminality and sickness lies.
Continue to expect the worse should these protections ensue.
3
How ironic to see a guy on TV who sold guns to Paddock speak of this shooter as a "normal guy" while standing in front of a display of assault weapons for sale.
1
The G.O.P better get it right , if the are going to allow Assault Weapons to remain legal then they better at least pass a great health care bill, so that when we get shot we will have the best medical care and won’t go broke paying the bills.
5
There is a noticeable lack of empathy in America. Many of us simply don’t care about the suffering of others. We see it in our political debates over health care; we see it in our tax policies and we see it the lack of any meaningful response to mass shootings which happen on an almost daily basis and the more horrible gun massacres which happen with ever growing frequency. People who call for a moment of silence, or who pray for the victims and yet do nothing to keep machine guns out of the hands of maniacs are hypocrites. They simply do not care for the people who were killed in this massacre or the people who will surely be killed in the next massacre. If they did care, they would do something. But they will do nothing, so obviously they do not care. As a country, we are sick; as a people, we are sociopathic -- uncaring, murderous, without conscience and incapable of learning or changing.
3
Welcome to America.
All of this was meticulously planned and yet he didn't provide the police with a motive in the form of a letter or posting? Seems like a wasted opportunity to get his point across. Something was eating at this guy and he's now blown any chance that he will get his point across. Something's amiss. If a gunman shoots 500 people in a room all alone does it make sense that he doesn't make a sound?
How can one not realize the obvious: the sole purpose for a person who meticulously plans a carnage, purchases 47 weapons, upgrades some to operate automatically for maximum effect must have had one thing in mind, i.e., obtaining the 'sheer high' of seeing how many lives can be destroyed at one setting.
The gunman was no 'sick' person. He must have bargained with Mestophiles...
1
Not about guns. Follow the shrink, the druggist, the phone, the websites. They’ll all resist, stymie, most likely successfully. At that point, go back to the gun control chant, put everyone to sleep (again).
Thankfully, tomorrow is almost here, time to look forward to other news. Sincere condolences to the victims and their dear ones.
Thankfully, tomorrow is almost here, time to look forward to other news. Sincere condolences to the victims and their dear ones.
2
I'm sure no one will like this idea, but I want the girlfriend to be held accountable, since the shooter took the coward's way out and killed himself. Someone has to pay. How could she have been completely innocent? How could she not have known of his hobbies and collections and maybe grievances? She bears some responsibility.
1
Some men use military hardware to supplement their own inadequacies! Government should reconsider their options and opt for thinking not for NRA companies but for the common good of their job at protecting the general public as a whole. You do not need a automatic or semi-automatic to kill animals, and anything, "High powered and assorted accessories," should be band from the general public. The only people who should be allowed to use such weapons are law enforcement and military!
Our elected government is filled with puppets controlled by business interests who really run the government! Everything is the opposite of as it should be! As Americans who love our Country, going to sit back and let it stay this way? Or are we going to make the changes decent American want? We'll see in 2018 and all following elections! It's up to us! Get up, do your civil duty and vote America!!! We have already seen what happens when we are complacent!
"“Look, the investigation’s not even been completed,” Mr. McConnell said. “And I think it’s premature to be discussing legislative solutions, if there are any.”
mr mcconnell? what more do you need to know? this is getting really sick.
3
Mitch McConnell you darn well know there are legislative solutions and this is the time to discuss them. You do not want to do that tough work. You might have to bump heads with the NRA. Besides your rich mentors have already established your agenda. They want their tax cut or will cut off your funding. We do have a problem with guns in this country and a good part of that problem is spineless politicians.
5
No there are not reasonable legislative solutions. Everything he did was illegal just like the violence in Chicago., which has the strictest gun laws in the nation.
1
Politics makes strange bedfellows. President Trump declared Stephen C. Paddock, who murdered 58 people in Las Vegas, a lonely and sick individual. Despite ISIS's claim of responsibility, the liberal media, including the NYT, persistently tries to downplay this claim and, in fact, supports President Trump’s characterization—a rare occasion of unanimity. They increasingly push Trump's version that the gunman was a sick ndividual who acted on his own. Early in the investigation the government and the liberal media dismissed ISIS claims but instead developed peculiar keen interest in the gunman’s girlfriend. Neither side offers a credible explanation how a mentally deranged individual could acquire 23 (!) guns, including automatic rifles, smuggle them into his hotel suit, conveniently located to target his victims, set up multiple observation cameras, and make other preparations for his act of terror. There is only one reason for such uncanny unanimity: politics. Mr. Trump is certainly reluctant to admit even as a possibility that our security is compromised and the agencies responsible for it have failed. The liberal establishment and media, however, use this tragedy to push their political agenda for gun control. One does not necessarily have to be opposed to gun control to see clearly that both sides are merely playing politics. That’s why we have problems: political interests, rather than solutions for real problems, are the main priority for both sides.
1
It cannot be emphasized enough that when Donald Trump calls Stephen Paddock a "very very sick individual" it is the pot calling the kettle black. What sort of individual has his trigger finger on nuclear bombs and trumpets for massive destruction of an entire country (North Korea) as well as brags about how his "friends" are ready to make lots and lots of money off of the suffering and the oppression in Africa????? What sort of individual lets thousands of innocent people go without food, clean water or electricity (Puerto Rico) and claims that there is nothing that can be done while EVERYTHIING gets done when it comes to mobilizing the military to protect oil fields and other profit resources. WHO exactly is the sick individual here?
2
If you want to kill somebody in Europe with a gun you have a big, big problem: find a gun. It is very difficult to find a gun and it is practically impossible to find an automatic rifle. In the United States is not so. This explains many things.
3
Paris, November, 2015.
He made meticulous plans to be in this spot facing the direction of this specific concert, at this time, which he knew would be attended by people with conservative values. He was targeting conservatives...the liberal media will try to downplay it, but that is exactly what he was doing and sooner or later they are going to have to acknowledge that. Libs are picking a fight that they are going to lose....
1
You think nearly all fans of C&W are right-wingers? Why would that be? Do you think nearly all Southerners are un-reconstructed neo-Confederates?
They were, in large part, just people wanting to hear some good live music. People brought their kids to this festival.
There's no way the Constitution or 2nd Amendment supports this kind of mayhem. If you knew much about US history, you'd know Framers of the Constitution feared violence and armed uprisings, hence the use of the term "regulated" in the first clause of the Amendment. But of course the slick lawyers on the right and the anti-government types won't admit this, if they even know anything about it.
doug.
Face it ! Gun enabling conservatives are to blame for what happened. The buck stops there. Without the automatic weapons this massacre could not have happened.
Picking a fight? Massacre after massacre after massacre deserves all the fight that conservatives are too cowardly to join in against.
Some will no doubt invent a way to twist the blame away from themselves and onto those who have been sounding the alarm,.. trying, pleading, crying in vain (Obama), to keep this and all the previous massacres from ever happening.
McConnell and Trump and their ilk are somewhat responsible for these deaths, blocking legislation to stop such inane guns from getting in the hands of just about anyone who wants them. Go to a gun show, buy anything you want.
It is outrageous, it is just beyond belief, to think that they have not even stopped these bump stocks when other legislators have been trying for years. Thank you Senator Feinstein and so many other Democrats for trying to do the right thing, over and over again, to stop such slaughter.
How many people would Paddock have killed with a knife? How many with, at least, a far slower gun? Many Americans are dead McConnell. Now is the right time, last year was the right time, the year before that as well, after little children were mowed down by other guns at Sandy Hook, that too would have been the right time, do not let us hear your foolish & dangerous statements about now is not the right time.
3
Who are the true “Snowflakes” here? It seems that people who advocate for “bump stocks,” silencers and military weaponry are so fragile psychologically that they are willing to put the whole country at risk for there own needs.
3
There are forces in the US and in the world that want the US to live in fear. This whole operation looks to be far bigger than one man. That is all.
3
I suspect the real reasons that he wanted to kill Trump voters will come out. How many Liberal Democrats are country and western music fans?
Politics makes strange bedfellows. President Trump declared Stephen C. Paddock, who murdered 58 people in Las Vegas, a lonely and sick individual. Despite ISIS's claim of responsibility, the liberal media, including the NYT, persistently tries to downplay this claim and, in fact, supports President Trump’s characterization—a rare occasion of unanimity. They increasingly push Trump's version that the gunman was a sick ndividual who acted on his own. Early in the investigation the government and the liberal media dismissed ISIS claims but instead developed peculiar keen interest in the gunman’s girlfriend. Neither side offers a credible explanation how a mentally deranged individual could acquire 23 (!) guns, including automatic rifles, smuggle them into his hotel suit, conveniently located to target his victims, set up multiple observation cameras, and make other preparations for his act of terror. There is only one reason for such uncanny unanimity: politics. Mr. Trump is certainly reluctant to admit even as a possibility that our security is compromised and the agencies responsible for it have failed. The liberal establishment and media, however, use this tragedy to push their political agenda for gun control. One does not necessarily have to be opposed to gun control to see clearly that both sides are merely playing politics. That’s why we have problems: political interests, rather than solutions for real problems, are the main priority for both sides.
Some murder as many as they can with republican enabled automatic weapons.
republicans also kill by disarming the EPA, thus allowing the flow of poisons into our bodies, into the air we breathe, onto the food we eat
republicans are gunning for control over the internet by destroying Net Neutrality so more of their lies will be added to the other poisons they push into our environment.
republicans enable violent climate events by lying that "The Greenhouse" they are changing our world into, is a hoax.
Only as a democracy can we save ourselves, because Gerrymandering has filled Washington with the worst soulless evil that "We The People" never voted for.
republicans also kill by disarming the EPA, thus allowing the flow of poisons into our bodies, into the air we breathe, onto the food we eat
republicans are gunning for control over the internet by destroying Net Neutrality so more of their lies will be added to the other poisons they push into our environment.
republicans enable violent climate events by lying that "The Greenhouse" they are changing our world into, is a hoax.
Only as a democracy can we save ourselves, because Gerrymandering has filled Washington with the worst soulless evil that "We The People" never voted for.
Does anyone who knows about such things have any opinion about the likelihood that a 64 year old retired accountant, a man in somewhat flabby condition, could effectively handle such a weapon for 10 minutes? I'm not usually a fan of conspiracy theories, but maybe something isn't adding up here.
1
Senator McConnell from and Senator Thune from South Dakota say this is not the time to discuss gun control? When is it the time? Thune says legislative solutions can't help? How much money did the NRA give him this year? Last year? Add it all up it's a huge payday. How about McConnell? Each at some point promised his constituents "law and order"? How is this collusion among the senators and NRA not corruption? NRA pumps millions each year to many of these "boys of congress". It is beyond time for a solution to gun control and an end to these "pretty boys in suits who do nothing".
2
Senator Thune has an A rating with the NRA and has received over $850,000 from them.
1
Why didn't wiring "thousands of dollars" to the Phillipines raise all kinds of red flags? You can't transfer $10K within the US without being suspected of terrorism of money laundering.
1
I suppose we can outlaw bump stocks and doctors can treat more broken shoulders on hunters and assassins will still shoot and simply have to bear the shoulder pain before they go on to kill themselves. Or we could just outlaw the guns and spare everybody. The math is too complicated, I'm glad I'm not the one who has to try and figure it out.
Looking for a motive is a fool's errand. If the news and police reports are correct, Paddock had 42 assault weapons, both automatic and semi-automatic. Anyone who "needs" to have this weaponry had it because (a) he was going to start an armed conflict, in which case he was homicidal; or (b) he feared someone (a government?) was going to start an armed conflict against him, in which case he was paranoid. In either case, he was suffering from mental illness.
1
Don't mean to succumb to conspiracy theory mentality, but none of this adds up to one person acting alone. Not with the money connection to the Philippines, to 23 suitcases brought into the hotel, to that "arsenal" in his room and home, to his family having no idea. Where does a person learn what "bump stock" is, never mind having the expertise to modify and manage 12 guns to make use of it? Paddock is too comfortably global and lethal to be just an Average Joe who lost it one day. May as well go full throttle here: After learning of Russian interference with our election, why not consider that there could be additional efforts to further destabilize the nation? Not at all saying Russia is behind this, to be clear, but so far don't think it was just Paddock.
2
Maybe he was a radical leftist whose plan was to target likely America loving conservative voters and to start a push to grab guns?
Gun prices will go back up and dealer racks will empty now. Like when it looked like Clinton was going to win the election and they were going to "take all our guns".
Now that a few days have passed, the explanation is that he had a miserable life. Gambling as a profession? Flipping homes to make money? Are these worth living?
America should post a warning to visitors:
‘Caution, spending time in the USA could be harmful to your health or “longevity.”
2
You might have one of the solutions or identified a pressure to getting more effective gun safety laws in the U.S..
I read that people in other countries are so alarmed by our high rates of gun violence that: (1) they decide not to travel to the US as tourists but to spend their money in other safer tourist destinations; and (2) they do not want their children to go to universities in the US because of the violence, gun deaths and injuries, and so send them to colleges in other countries that are safer.
My point is money talks when nothing else does in this country. So maybe when the tourist industry and schools and universities realize they are losing money because of gun violence in the US, they will pressure our reluctant politicians to stop following the insane and lethal orders of the NRA and will finally to back to implementing reasonable gun regulations. Make America Great and Livable Again!
1
In these comments, you can see the familiar strategy of distancing and denial. The shooter was not "one of us". He is sick, demented, evil. The culture is to blame. If we just outlaw violence on screen and in print! If we don't let our kids read Shakespeare and watch 'Seven Samurai' and instead feed them pablum about 'community' and 'respect', things will be different. Not true. There is a reason why 90 percent of great works of literature deal with violence. Violence is inherently part of human nature. Violence is pleasurable, even sublime. It gives us a sense of power and control. Until we realize that absolutely every one of us is capable of violence under certain circumstances, we will never create a civilized society. So we should focus on the circumstances that enable and encourage the inherent desire for violence. They include ideology, religion, and especially in America, guns. A man who has a collection of means of inflicting death in his home will eventually use them. It is unnatural not to. So when I see a man talking knowledgeably about guns, I don't see a "responsible gun owner". I see a would-be killer.
59
Your comment gets right to the heart of the matter. Thank you! Of course, some of these shooters are certifiably "sick." (See Adam Lanza. James Holmes, Sueng-Hui Cho.) Others are obviously driven by ideology. But many others appeared "normal" to everyone who knew them. And, besides, if anyone peeled back the layers on any one of our lives, they'd see we're all a little weird in our own ways, perhaps (at times) withdrawn, depressed, anxious, frustrated, bullied, etc. The killer lurks in us all.
There's a reason that most Republican members of Congress have not served in the military, nor their fathers, nor their sons. It's the same reason they won't stand-up to the NRA. Cowardice.
5
Banning weapons will not help much without strong security at our southern border.
Chicago gangs (most gun deaths other than suicide are from inner city gangs) get their guns from nearby states with lax laws, and same will apply to the country as a whole (just like drugs) unless you have a strong border. It's like arguing about plugging holes in a leaking ship when half the bottom is missing.
If liberals truly care about controlling illegal substances and potentially sealing our country from guns they would be the first to advocate for a much stronger border so any ban would really work.
Will conservatives ever agree to banning guns at the expense of gun enthusiasts? Not really, they care more about their political positions.
Will liberals ever support a super secure border with Mexico to lower the illegal drugs that are ravishing our rural areas and inner cities and give a potential gun ban strong teeth to actually work? Nah. They'd lose all the potential Dem voters who are born here from illegal immigrants and tend to vote Democratic.
Chicago gangs get their guns from nearby states with lax laws applies to the country as a whole unless you have a strong border?
Show me this is really about trying to solve the gun problem and not about your politics. Support gun bans AND support stronger borders.
1
As long as there is demand for illegal substances in this country, there will be people that find a way to supply. Curtailing supply general doesn't end the demand, it just drives prices up, which in turn usually leads to more violence due to the high amount of money that can be made.
Borders are the problem?
Boy, that’s a stretch!
1
We're living in the free-fire zone that the GOP-NRA have dreamed about forever. Anyone feeling safer and more free yet?
3
Donald Trump is already laying the groundwork for doing nothing with his repetitious over-emphasis on how "sick" and "demented" the guy was. Maybe bump stocks will be outlawed, maybe not. The only thing more sickening than the act itself is the idea that something as simple as that is considered a great accomplishment.
2
If Paddock had just waited a few weeks, Congress would have given him silencers and armor-piercing ammo.
3
It could be a terrorist attack. I haven't heard anyone getting rich by gambling.
After reading what Mitch McConnell said, all I can say is that the blood of the victims of massacres to come is on his hands.
1
To listen to Republican Politicians who are totally vested and dependent on funding (see Politico for funding by NRA to politicians) the fallback cause for mass killings by white male citizens is "evil and sick. I agree, it's a cultural sickness now embedded in our political system by a gun manufacturing Corp. marketing guns as a constitutionally given right to kill others if you feel threatened. So, what threats? Anyone who doesn't look like you, share your religious belief, being a female, playing loud music, a political enemy ? Yes, those are all considered legitimate and have been "learned, marketed and sold" as the ONLY answer to a BAD-EVIL man with a gun........................ Every single bit of planning put into the carnage in Las Vegas has been put into justifying it by the NRA as a reason to sell more guns. That's the "sickness/virus" that has infected our culture. Political Power thru greed.
1A on NPR has a show today focusing on the victims of the Las Vegas shooting, requesting that victims of gun crimes call in.
Gabby Giffords and the parents of the children killed at Sandy Hook plus all the millions of victims of gun violence and their families can't even get Congress to listen to them over the cacophonous lives from the NRA.
Think of the lives lost, the potential wiped away. No matter. We, Americans, are a cowardly bunch, offering thoughts and prayers, but not much else.
Final thought: While our country monitors the movements black and brown citizens, pulling over people for such infractions as "broken tail lights," Paddock was able to move 10 suitcases into his room, set up surveillance cameras outside of his suite, and leave a Do Not Disturb sign on his door for days. Maybe, at the very least, it's time to profile and monitor the movements of white men.
1
Feeling hopeless when we are getting to the point of arguing that some nutbag could have killed less people if he had non-automatic weapons or smaller clips. Is this our choice? "less massive mass shootings?" Time to GMO American culture.
2
Why is it that only Fox news is bringing up prescription meds as a contributing factor to this tragedy. I dislike Fox with a passion but they might have it right here.
MEDS people!
2
Violence bets violence--always.
Let's see who is to blame by a consensus of the 37 comments already posted when I checked in: assault weapons, bump stocks, Congress, the NRA, Trump, the media, the right wing, far right, our education system, Trump, Mitch McConnell, Hannity, Trump, lack of gun control (a dozen different controls suggested). That's it. Now we know who's blame.
Oh, and one lone voice confesses mutual guilt: "History shows that the single thing Americans do best is kill. And I mean our government too." (JeffP) Had Jeff said, "WE Americans," making his confession of guilt more personal, I'd join him. And I'd substitute "most of all" for "too" after "our government." Through our government agents, we perpetrate more violence at home and abroad than any other country's people in the world. We--you, I--kill people everyday, because the killers are our agents. Killer cops, seal teams, drone operators, politicians, all are our agents. Our taxes pay them. We support global violence. The innocent victims in Las Vegas were not so innocent if they paid taxes or voted in support of our killer agents. And if you or I pay taxes and vote, salute the flag, stand instead of kneeling during the national anthem, we are Stephen Paddock' accomplices because violence begets violence.
NYT readers, stop blaming others. Look to yourself. You want controls? Control yourself. If you don't want the blame, leave the U.S. Some have. Above all, stop supporting murderers with your $$$.
Let's see who is to blame by a consensus of the 37 comments already posted when I checked in: assault weapons, bump stocks, Congress, the NRA, Trump, the media, the right wing, far right, our education system, Trump, Mitch McConnell, Hannity, Trump, lack of gun control (a dozen different controls suggested). That's it. Now we know who's blame.
Oh, and one lone voice confesses mutual guilt: "History shows that the single thing Americans do best is kill. And I mean our government too." (JeffP) Had Jeff said, "WE Americans," making his confession of guilt more personal, I'd join him. And I'd substitute "most of all" for "too" after "our government." Through our government agents, we perpetrate more violence at home and abroad than any other country's people in the world. We--you, I--kill people everyday, because the killers are our agents. Killer cops, seal teams, drone operators, politicians, all are our agents. Our taxes pay them. We support global violence. The innocent victims in Las Vegas were not so innocent if they paid taxes or voted in support of our killer agents. And if you or I pay taxes and vote, salute the flag, stand instead of kneeling during the national anthem, we are Stephen Paddock' accomplices because violence begets violence.
NYT readers, stop blaming others. Look to yourself. You want controls? Control yourself. If you don't want the blame, leave the U.S. Some have. Above all, stop supporting murderers with your $$$.
1
I don't like to politicize a tragedy. However, there is no way I can look at this massacre outside of a political context. The Republicans are just yes men for the oligarchy; it's just that simple. Whether it's taking dark money from the gun lobby, kowtowing to the big oil and laying waste to EPA regulations, or literally buying politicians outright à la Betsy Devos and union crushing, it's the same formula. If it's good for a handful of billionaires let everyone else rot and die. Where is Paul Ryan? What is the GOP doing as Trump is laying waste to this country? Waiting for the invisible hand of the economy to swoop in and save America? This is a disgrace and our political establishment is a disgrace.
1
When will we start calling these easily created and legal guns what they are: WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.
3
Watching here in the UK and seeing on TV the guns that this guy could buy is unbelievable ...they look like to us that these arms are something you would use on a battlefield.
Sadly the NRA have a hold on America ...it seems nobody will take them on or are to scared to take them.
Your President said ''now is not the time to talk about gun control'' ...is he for real ?
The comment I made yesterday stating that if this had been a terrorist attack new laws would have immediately been put in place....but sadly these terrible murders will continue as the gun has more right then a human.
Sadly the NRA have a hold on America ...it seems nobody will take them on or are to scared to take them.
Your President said ''now is not the time to talk about gun control'' ...is he for real ?
The comment I made yesterday stating that if this had been a terrorist attack new laws would have immediately been put in place....but sadly these terrible murders will continue as the gun has more right then a human.
1
Instead of flowers and candles how about piles of disabled guns.
6
Please spare me the crocodile tears from the conservative, religious right. I personally know people who fall into this category, vote for like minded pols who claim to be "pro-life" and not only do nothing about the 36 people killed on average by guns in America each day but block any attempt to institute something as simple as background checks to diminish the daily aborting of the lives of living, breathing human beings. I guess "pro-life" only counts if you are a fetus.
3
It looks like this guy was a true psychopath. No motive other than he just wanted to do it. He probably was just bored with life and decided he would go out in spectacular fashion, ending 58 lives (yeah, I don't count him), and devastating countless others, just so he can get in his last thrill.
I hope the examination of Paddock's body allowed a brain scan to determine if a tumor was present. Recall that the Texas bell tower shooter had a brain tumor that may have contributed to his terrible acts.
1
I do not share the opinion that Paddock acted alone. Two windows shot off from adjoining rooms. There is no way he could have outfitted a rifle or many rifles to bombard the shots at the crowds. It would have to be the whole nine yards in terms of all artillery and bullets from these weapons. How did he do it so quickly? Time lapse between going into rooms and from 32nd floor where it was originally reported, that would have been a feat unto itself.the evidence suggests there were multiple shooters in the Mandalay Hotel. Paddock may or may not have been one of them. The overall operation was designed to invoke widespread horror and fear, and usher in new restrictions on gun ownership...
The other possible shooters in the hotel would have been professionals, tasked with killing as many people as possible at the country music concert.
Gun control would not be the only agenda in this false flag. Like Sandy Hook, Boston Marathon shootings, Belgium and even Paris all have same MO. Same faces of 'actors' in each one! Take a look for yourselves on youtube. I see ads for extras .. check out Craigslist. How convenient that Paddock supposedly shot himself. Also has any investgator bothered to do a Tox screen on him? Multiple meds usually show up! No answers. Just more loss of freedom, through more legislation! Every time there is one of these, each and every one of us, has more Surveillance following us all the time we are in Public. Is that what you want?
The other possible shooters in the hotel would have been professionals, tasked with killing as many people as possible at the country music concert.
Gun control would not be the only agenda in this false flag. Like Sandy Hook, Boston Marathon shootings, Belgium and even Paris all have same MO. Same faces of 'actors' in each one! Take a look for yourselves on youtube. I see ads for extras .. check out Craigslist. How convenient that Paddock supposedly shot himself. Also has any investgator bothered to do a Tox screen on him? Multiple meds usually show up! No answers. Just more loss of freedom, through more legislation! Every time there is one of these, each and every one of us, has more Surveillance following us all the time we are in Public. Is that what you want?
3
Crazy that you buy a bunch of fertilizer, you are tracked as a possible bomb making terrorist but buy huge numbers of guns and enhancements and ammo and you are just exercising your 2nd Amendment rights.
At least the fertilizer has a legitimate use beyond killing, the guns, not so much.
"Curiouser and curiouser" we cry with Alice in our own bizarre Wonderland.
2
I'm sure ISIS has taken note of the ease of which this individual was able to wreck such havoc.
Checked baggage at hotels in next.
1
Most likely a lonely and unhappy man though clearly intelligent and resourceful. Was he terminally ill? Had he been jilted by someone he fell in love with? Was he enthralled by his collection of guns and felt the need to use them?
At this point, what difference does this man's motive make when the motive for every mass shooter has been different? White male is the most common physical trait. Far too easy access to guns is what binds them. Please focus on the easy access to guns. Please someone focus on rooting out the laws that made this possible instead of the "motives". Who cares about the motives when anyone with a passing grievance can walk into a big box store and buy a weapon to mow down hundreds of people with? I don't care why this person did this. I want to know how to keep anyone else from doing it, too.
1
I've been wondering how he broke out those windows without anyone noticing! Wouldn't there have been large pieces of falling glass that would have been noticed by people outside the hotel and reported to security?
Well, yes, this is what the fellow wanted. To be the center of attention, to go out with a bang, to have his name on everyone's lips, to have his skill and cunning discussed, even admired, if you will. And apparently you will. Nothing in this speaks to less than a truly monumental selfishness on the man's part, taking so many beautiful young lives from this earth to accompany his own "glorious" exit. If his name could be wiped out of existence, if his very memory could be expunged, that would be fitting and right. And it would give pause to the next gigantic ego that conceives of the next plan like it.
2
Let's stop caring about the shooter and his motives. I don't even want to know his name. Let's keep the focus on the victims and on preventing the next act of mass murder.
Regulate bullets.
6
The motive was the act of mass murder itself. Who knows why Paddock felt he had to express himself in this venal and destructive a manner. Something triggered him to begin the planning and then execute the plan. He had the means to arm himself with readily available weapons that could inflict mass casualties in a short period of time and then punctuate the mayhem by taking his own life. Could this have been predicted? Doubtful. Paddock's agenda is a mystery and will lead to years and years of speculation, by law enforcement, medical professionals and and the public.
Paddock knew precisely what he was doing and what he wanted to accomplish. The reason is why?
Attacks on strangers having fun seem to be a common feature of these attacks.
If there is an online registry of the opiates distributed to patients by MDs then there can easily be one for gun owners and the amount of their arsenals.
Why is one considered a crisis and the other not?
4
One can diagnose the mental illnesses of shooters from their arsenals.
Great work by the FBI running the background checks and tracking that someone had 47 semi-automatic weapons in his possession. This level of incompetence should be commended.
3
In wild west, shoot-'em-up states like Nevada, stockpiling guns is as easy as grocery shopping for a cut of meat, ordering a latte at Starbucks, purchasing a movie theater ticket. With this latest mass shooting, America has officially declared war on itself. Paddock used automatic weapons that fire like the ones our soldiers employ, yet still, Congress members go weak-willed and feeble-minded when it comes to enacting the kinds of common sense federal laws that at the least, require everyone to register their gun purchases. They don't even debate the issue with each bloody incident anymore. Not the deaths of 20 little children at once, of dozens of people enjoying a bit nightlife, and now, of nearly three score just enjoying music at a festival, none of it moves these legislative slaves to the NRA donations.
2
There are multiple videos of what appears to be gunfire simultaneously coming from a 4th floor window of the hotel. Furthermore, early reports stated that the gunfire all took place in less than 4 and a half minutes. Now, I'm reading it was 9-11 minutes. Why the huge discrepancy?
1
I don't personally believe there is anything one can do to prevent someone who enters a room (hotel room or otherwise) bent on mass violence if that same person has no plan, intention or desire to ever leave that room alive. Its the 'suicide bomber" conundrum.
However, in a land where guns are the rule, there are methods by which we can more easily pinpoint the possible exceptions - the Stephen Paddocks, if you will.
The story notes that Paddock had 23 legally-purchased weapons at his disposal. If I purchased a single rifle at a gun shop - I would be subject to an FBI background check. If I purchase four, five or ten rifles at one time from that same gun shop - I would be subject to a background check. One check in both instances. That's the rule. But if, as in the latter case, I was subjected to ten background checks at one time it would seem to me that this would put me in the category of the "exception" - easily spotted against the normal rule. Is it simply beyond us to entertain such common-sense change?
5% of the world's population lives in the United States and yet this country is home to more than 30% of it's mass shootings. This horrifying statistic is courtesy of some of the most ineffective gun control laws on the planet. Our incompetent leader says "We will be talking about gun laws as time goes by". NO, now is the time to talk about guns laws. In fact it is way past time to talk about gun laws. How many more incidents like this is it going to take before the NRA owned congress is going to do something about the out of control gun culture in this country? The arms merchants have no where other than here to profitably sell their "weapons of mass destruction" in the industrialized world. Other countries don't allow it.
How is it that Mr. Paddock was able to acquire this kind of an arsenal without raising any red flags? How many more people like him are out there? I now see lines outside of hotels so that security people can go through guest's luggage. Is this really the way we want to live?
Democratic candidates please take a stand for gun control. The Republicans owe too much to the NRA to stand up to them on anything so it is up to you guys to try and do something about this mess.
1
It's easier to kick the policy can down the road when you are the Majority Leader under constant protection by armed guards.
1
The very quick response of Trump before any investigation saying that this was the action of a very sick man and not an act of terrorism (very likely to be an terrorist organization) is proof that he wants us to believe it was not a failure of our Intelligence services. We are seeing the photos of a criminal, not the photos of a well groomed rich gambler, playing golf to enforce this impression. Gambling and blackmail are usually go together.
Better gun laws would certainly decrease the occurrence of such tragedies, if not completely. People should realize that we have now fierce enemies, as a result of our misguided foreign policies of the last decades.
Better gun laws would certainly decrease the occurrence of such tragedies, if not completely. People should realize that we have now fierce enemies, as a result of our misguided foreign policies of the last decades.
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How can anyone listen to the recorded, rapid volley of shots being fired at innocent concert patrons and NOT conclude that military-style assault weapons should be banned?
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My prayers to everyone regarding this horrific event! But we must try to understand what caused Paddock to kill. It makes no sense to me that an "accountant" having many years of civil service experience all of a sudden was the master mind of this type of killing. It seemed to be "perfect", like seeing a movie. Once we have all of the facts then a solution can be found. No rush to judgement.
My inkling tells me his father's criminal record and was on the FBI top 10 list must have something to do with his motive.
He was the oldest of the family. Thus he must have a longer and deeper relationship with his father. Thus he must feel SHAME on his father's wrong-doing. One can never know how and in which ways these factors had affected his psych, his identity, his heart and his mind.
Don't forget he was a person always keeping to himself and never interacted with people beyond surface. Maybe he was just too self-conscious to open himself up, worrying people might find out who his father was and he would be rejected.
He appeared to be a person with a great deal of self-control, but underneath he might have suppressed a great deal of shame, anger, hate..
I am not psychologist but my inkling tells me in order to uncover his motive we must learn his relationship with his father, how his father's record has affected his identity (Remember he called himself a gambler.)
Do you know if your Representatives and/or Senators belong to the NRA?
In the West it is not uncommon for even the most progressive of our elected officials to belong to the NRA. I am finally asking that question, and will no longer contribute to them if they are.
We have to put our money where our mouth is.
In the West it is not uncommon for even the most progressive of our elected officials to belong to the NRA. I am finally asking that question, and will no longer contribute to them if they are.
We have to put our money where our mouth is.
It won't matter if we don't contribute. The NRA will make up the difference. Where we need to make a statement is in the voting booths. Don't vote for ANYONE who supports the NRA. Don't vote for ANYONE who does not support gun control.
My entire family hunts, mainly deer. Venison is our biggest meat source, and we eat it year round.
In our family, children begin learning how to use firearms at the age of ten. My oldest niece got her first deer when she was eleven.
None of us have ever “needed” a weapon modification that enables the user to fire hundreds of rounds in an instant.
Our country must come together and put some common sense gun law reform in place.
The only question I have is: “How many massacres will it take?”
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I am not sure that a mass shooting in the House or Senate chambers would be enough to change the laws in this country. The gun lobby has an absolute stranglehold on Congress and the current White House occupant. Changing the gun control laws in this country has become pretty much an impossible task. There is just too much money at stake for the arms manufacturers to allow the passage of any legislation which would limit their ability to sell whatever they want to whoever will buy it.
Banning bump stocks which are easily fabricated wouldn't do much. Banning high capacity magazines might.
The irony is that the second amendment that the NRA and others hide behind says that a well regulated militia and right to bear arms is needed for security. This is exactly the opposite. We are under attack and they refuse to protect us.
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Why do we keep asking why he did it? Does it matter? He probably did it just because it was fun, the best video game around. A better question is why we let him do it. Yes, we. We repeatedly vote in members of Congress who refuse to enact strict gun control laws because they don't want to "politicize" mass murder.
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In response to this not yet being the right time to consider some type of gun control, I am surprised I have not heard anyone say, but this could happen again tomorrow, and the next day, and the next. It is obviously extremely dangerous to wait and do nothing. How can these Republicans continue to do nothing? They should all be voted out now!
Anti-gun advocates need an organization like the NRA, but that does just the opposite, an anti-NRA if you will. An organization bigger, and more powerful, that out spends the NRA, that lobbies in Washington and contributes to anti-gun candidate's PACs and campaigns.
Question: How many mass murders have been carried out by foreign terrorists in our country, and how many have been carried out by deranged and very angry American citizens?
How many people in the U.S. are doing just what the gun manufacturers and NRA want--buying a ridiculous number of sophisticated weapons and huge rounds of ammunition? To use for what? Hunting Bambi with souped-up semi-automatic weapons? Protecting themselves? Against who or what?
Of course every country has deranged, angry people fantasizing about killing other people. Sane and responsible countries know this, and so have gun safety laws requiring the registration and licensing of guns, outlawing the sale of military weapons to civilians, making it difficult for deranged and/or dangerous people to acquire guns, and barring concealed or open carry in public places.
Which is easier to control in a society: (1) the existence of mental illness and likelihood of having murderous citizens living in a nation; or (2) citizen access to guns, arsenals of weapons, military weapons and ammunition?
Is the most important thing in a society upholding the total freedom of citizens to buy, own, conceal or openly carry their weapons wherever they want without being infringed upon? What could possibly go wrong? Or is the most important thing to do reasonable things, like advanced civilized nations, to control the sale and use of guns to protect the safety of children and adults?
Protect gun sales, or safety?
HOW is any big city with high rises now going to prevent carnage from a lone individual, taking a perch from a high rise building upon citizens gathered for any social purpose?
Let’s take NYCity for example. How will anyone be safe going to Times Square this New Years Eve? There are lots of places where a shooter could take a perch and fire on a crowd. (So long as anyone can gain access to weapons of war and a room overlooking Times Square.)
Who’s to prevent someone from checking into the Plaza Hotel and firing on people in Central Park? Or take your pick of any building overlooking the park. They could even purchase or rent a place. (So long as anyone can gain access to weapons of war.)
And it’s any place, really. (So long as anyone can gain access to WEAPONS OF WAR and a perch from above.)
Our Second Amendment was never meant to provide for genocide. But now it does!
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This deranged man had purchased 47 firearms. Why is there no registry detailing how many guns a person purchases so they can be prevented from doing so?
Australia had a serious gun problem and they had the intelligence to end such bloodshed but not US politicians who sell out time and time again to the well-heeled NRA.
Perhaps it's time to alter the 2nd amendment, given how the NRA has distorted it's intent.
Australia had a serious gun problem and they had the intelligence to end such bloodshed but not US politicians who sell out time and time again to the well-heeled NRA.
Perhaps it's time to alter the 2nd amendment, given how the NRA has distorted it's intent.
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Sadly, we’ve let the NRA and their paid politicians put us into quite a pickle. This will not be the last of the killing fields.
Paddock had 47 weapons and a truckload of bullets. The very dangerous reality is that there are a thousand or perhaps ten thousand similar arsenals scattered around the country.
Ask yourself, who accumulates such a collection of killing power?
A significant number of those individuals are sometimes angry, sometimes paranoiac people who should never have their hands on any weapon.
Paddock will go into the record books. He won’t be at the top of the list for long, though. There is a copycat in waiting. Stand by for the next one and the one after that. Get ready too for a casualty list of 500 dead instead of fifty something.
Paddock had 47 weapons and a truckload of bullets. The very dangerous reality is that there are a thousand or perhaps ten thousand similar arsenals scattered around the country.
Ask yourself, who accumulates such a collection of killing power?
A significant number of those individuals are sometimes angry, sometimes paranoiac people who should never have their hands on any weapon.
Paddock will go into the record books. He won’t be at the top of the list for long, though. There is a copycat in waiting. Stand by for the next one and the one after that. Get ready too for a casualty list of 500 dead instead of fifty something.
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“We will be talking about gun laws as time goes by,”
Uh huh...like that's not a brush-off to control proponents...any talking he does will be brag'en up himself and the Party's gun-loving position, he's a Republican.
Pay to Play?
The NRA is a lethal example.
The NRA is a lethal example.
Call him terrorist, please! He used guns only as a means to kill. Terminology is important.
How is it that he created a "ring of security", yet no one, guests or hotel employees, noticed this? There were holes drilled in the door and cameras in the hallway. Are people that ignorant?
HOw endlessly the same. The NYT and all these commentors would save a lot of time by just linking to old articles, op-eds & comments for the past 30+ years
(1) You are NOT GOING to ban guns (or mandate trigger locks or ban ammunition etc). US S CT has ruled on that as recently as 7 years ago.
Only way you get around the US S Ct decision is to amend the Constitution.
There is a procedure for that - involves the US Congress & State legislatures. Have at it. Its been done successfully 27 times in the last 228 years
(2) Polls - for at least the last 30 years - have always shown that 50%+ favor gun control
Thing is comments in a poll do NOT turn into votes at the ballot box
Gun control is not an issue that is key to how the majority vote in elections.
It is way down the list of priorities when it comes to voting for candidate A or B
So until you can get the majority to decide how they vote based upon a candidate's position on amending the US Constitution to get rid of guns, it isn't gonna happen
Question: For all those screaming in the comments that they want gun control, how much money have you give to gun control lobbying groups? How much time have you spent lobbying on the issue? When are you going to run for office (Congress or state legislature) on a gun control & Constitutional amendment platform?
Until you do all those things, you are just whining like a child with "I want I want" & with no intention of making any effort to make it happen
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We have a man who we all apparently recognize as the moral authority of these United States issuing threats of "fire and fury" on an entire country (North Korea) as well as issuing threats of "destroying" that entire country with millions of men, women and children. We have an extremely toxic social and psychological environment fueled by violence in our movies, media, and now our supreme leader - Trump. Eli Wiesel - the great writer and witness to Nazi Germany and the Holocaust was asked how the murder of millions of Jews could ever have happened and his reply was his surprise that it did not happen more often. It is now happening more often. @johannaclear
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There are many laws that could be passed that would curb these mass murders. Laws limiting the number of guns someone can own at one time, laws outlawing certain types of guns, laws limiting the size of magazines, laws forbidding the sale of certain add-on devices ("bump stock"), laws limiting the amount and type of ammunition that can be sold. All of these laws can be enacted without denying citizens of their right to own firearms. Just as we put limits on other freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution, we can put limits on the 2nd amendment.
However, those laws will never be passed by the current spineless Republican Congress. These men and women are either getting loads of money from the NRA and gun manufacturers or they are afraid that the NRA and the gun manufacturers will fund a primary opponent. After all, saving their jobs is the most important issue for them so that they can continue to work for the common good.
Since the government refuses to protect me from mass murderers, I intend to limit my exposure in public places, especially public places that would be attractive to someone with a grudge and access to 43 firearms. I urge my fellow Americans to do the same. Perhaps when businesses start losing money, they will put pressure on Congress to pass some common sense gun laws by threatening to hold back campaign funds. After all, isn't money what this whole debate is really about?
My cousin was a mile away when this LATEST mass shooting took place. Three Canadians were among the dead of Las Vegas. If you think this does not effect people outside the U.S.; give your head a shake. When lunatics have more rights to own these death weapons then innocents have the right to walk the streets of the U.S. IN SAFETY; your nation has truly become an insane asylum. It is pointless to argue with the ghouls in the N.R.A.; THEY MAKE $MILLIONS every time this goes down. So bury your dead AGAIN; Wait for the next mass killing AGAIN; ask the same pointless questions AGAIN; and be assured the world is coming to the sad conclusion that America has sold it`s soul to the Second Amendment from 1776 and its muskets. Pathetic.
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He who has the biggest weapon wins.
Nevada gun laws really aren't.
Open carry is legal and there are no licensing requirements with a background check system that their attorney general says is "unenforceable."
I wonder how many folks at the event were "packing" either open or concealed and if any returned fire?
Guns don't make us safer when the assassin carefully chooses his kill zone and employs overwhelming firepower in the attack.
Welcome to America where no one is safe.
Nevada gun laws really aren't.
Open carry is legal and there are no licensing requirements with a background check system that their attorney general says is "unenforceable."
I wonder how many folks at the event were "packing" either open or concealed and if any returned fire?
Guns don't make us safer when the assassin carefully chooses his kill zone and employs overwhelming firepower in the attack.
Welcome to America where no one is safe.
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White privilege: able to loiter for long periods around a major city center, observing movements of police and cameras, then hauling case after case of large scale ammo and over a dozen high-power assault rifles into a hotel without being detained or questioned.
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Term limit the Congress and the Senate. If the GOP and dems from purple-red states are so beholden to, and in fear of the mighty NRA, then term limit them. Then maybe conscience and character, empathy, sympathy and humanity might compel them to vote for gun control accordingly.
Get rid of the GOP.
Ban magazines, clips, bump whatsis, silencers, and all other gun paraphernalia that certainly are not protected by the adored second amendment.
Ban assault weapons.
Require universal background checks before buying any guns, assault or not.
Ban gun sales at gun shows.
Require gun sellers to report multiple sales to individuals to a national data base. Pharmacists must report multiple prescriptions. Gun sellers should be similarly required to report without stifling precious second amendment right.
Mandate that gun manufacturers make only muskets in accordance with the founding fathers' wisdom when they conceived the beloved second amendment.
Gun owners who want to shoot their muskets must make their own ammunition, in accordance with the founding fathers' vision when they wrote the adored second amendment.
Weep. At the waste, the insanity and hideous loss because of one small, apparently unassailable clause in our constitution.
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In regards to gun control, the horse is already out of the barn. There are over 300 million guns in the USA.
Americans love guns because they have been heavily marketed - heroes always brandish them, and people feel empowered possessing one.
What's the answer? Increase American's self esteem? Maybe. That would solve a lot of problems as well, and perhaps could be accomplished by a decent public eduction system which would empower people.
The plutocracy that rules America sees no cost benefit to empowering people. It makes them unfit to be wage slaves. This mass shooting issue will continue until the plutocracy is overthrown, which will probably be never.
The phrase which Trump has used and other GOP lawmakers has used, "we will be talking about gun laws as time goes by", "time goes by means is code for NEVER".
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This won't change a thing. Every nut job will try to set a new record of massacres. The GOP is owned, lock, stock, and barrel by the NRA. Yes, Speaker Ryan, McConnell, and even our President, all want the support and big bucks of the NRA. The only thing that comes out of this is the usual...our prayers and thoughts..., nothing else. Then it happens again and again, and the prayers and thoughts talk continues.
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Who else notes how the msm simply GLOWS about evil actors and their actions? Then there are the un-American whiners (most people now, frighteningly), demanding "someone SAVE me from the boogeyman!!!!", giving up freedom for FAKED security. The police state has been reading your email and monitoring your web activity and listening to your phone calls, all illegally, per the US Constitution. And you practically CHEERED, thinking SOMEHOW it would make you safe. How has it worked out so far? Pretty badly, I'd say. Gov-co is NOT the answer. Individual freedom and responsibility are the answer. More laws won't save you: You ARE aware there was already a law against murder, right? And yet he murdered. What is it, EXACTLY, that you don't get?
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I, personally, do not care one whit why Paddock did what he did. It matters not that he did it because he was crazy or angry or it was Sunday, or whatever. The only important thing here, in my opinion, is that we do know how to prevent this kind of thing from happening. We could look to Australia, which seems to have handled gun violence quite well. We could look to Europe, or Israel or almost any other developed country - none of which have the gun violence that we do.
The vast majority of Americans are being held hostage by the NRA and the gun manufacturers and their ilk. The vast majority of Americans see no need for non-police or military folks to have stockpiles of deadly weapons. The vast majority of Americans may even be unaware that by law - our government is prohibited from tracking guns. Anyone with a credit card can buy thousands of rounds of ammunition online - and no one is watching.
We know how to fix this....and looking into the whys of the mass murderers is not remotely going to help.
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The British government acted immediately in the aftermath of the Grenfell high rise fire disaster earlier this year, calling for a public inquiry to get to the bottom of the incident, identify other high rises that could be part of the same problem and take measures = some already implemented - to prevent another Grenfell from occurring.
Yet Mitch McConnell does not want to discuss the massacre now because he cowardly says the issue is too politicized. The Republicans always seem to be in the prayers and and condolences segment of their grief when direct action is required. Real respect for the victims would be to do something, anything, to prevent the same thing from happening again.
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22,000 people were directly affected. 22,000 people with bullets raining down on them not knowing if they would survive. 22,000 people have etched into their minds the blood, the dead, the wounded. And then all those whose paths crossed 22,001 people, whose lives are also forever changed. IT IS TIME TO TALK ABOUT THIS. And I am not even addressing the fear of many of us who refuse to attend events where we cannot escape quickly. I will not forget the sounds of endless rapid gunshot, many of which caused injury and death and all of which traumatized innocent concert goers and first. responders.
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Meticulous planning indeed: coordination among law enforcement, media and the State. Media are the new gunmen, shooting cognitive rounds into the public collective. As no forensic investigation exists, no facts exist. An absence of fact invites or of course facilitates, an abundance of opportunism.
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The video footage makes me feel like I was there, in the middle of the chaos.
I am so depressed. It is hard to describe the difference between now and last year at this time.
I would now never attend a public open event. Too many possible copycats.
This 2nd amendment is not an issue, it is THE ONLY ISSUE. This is all about MONEY and who it buys off. The NRA is our enemy.
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We have sold this country out to corporate interests. Until we begin to elect representatives like Bernie Sanders, who are immune to the siren call of big money, we will continue to see horrific events like this one.
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I can't help but think his target was Las Vegas itself. This hurts the city and will influence how they present themselves from here forward. They can no longer make the claim of being all fun and games as they have for as long as they've existed. Considering the extent of his connection to gambling I just wonder if his motive lies there somewhere.
It is not "political" to discuss gun control in the wake of yet another mass shooting. On the contrary, it is political for Republicans to silence a discussion that does not tilt in their favor.
What do this massacre, Orlando, Bakersfield, Sandy Hook, .... all have in common? Here's a hint, it's not religion, it's not mental illness, it's not racism ... I know that's a real logical puzzler, but to miss it you have to close your eyes to the obvious or be a republican or frightened of the NRA and their ilk. By the way, for those who couldn't solve the puzzle, it's GUNS.
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According to the website FiveThirtyEight - The shooting in Las Vegas is the 273rd of the year. Only 276 days have gone by in 2017 so far. Mitch McConnell says now is not the right time to act. So let suppose Congress delays action for another 365 days. Should we accept another 360 mass shootings while we wait? If we wait ten years, should we accept another 3,600 mass shootings? When does it become the right time?
As with all mass shootings, the we can't do anything about it crowd is out in force. We can't do anything about guns, because there are too many of them, criminals will get them if we restrict them from law-abiding citizens, we can't take away Second Amendment freedoms, etc etc. Do this I say boloney. Sometime ago we recognized that too many people were dying on our highways because of intoxicated drivers. Little by little we made an effort, organisations such as MAD, pushed legislators to pass stricter laws and we gave law enforcement better equipment to convict intoxicated drivers and over the course of several decades, we have dramatically reduced the number of people who died because of intoxicated drivers. Have we stopped it? No. Any law enforcement officer will tell you that we stop just a fraction of those who drink and drive. Yet, we stopped enough and we take away enough drivers licenses, we put enough people in jail, fine them, put them on probation and into treatment programs and also through advertising, which has been supported by the purveyors of alcoholic drinks. After all this, we have made a difference. The number of people who die on our highways because of intoxicated drivers has been reduced dramatically. To throw up our hands and say we can do nothing, is defeatist and frankly is unAmerican. The NRA should get behind common-sense legislation, and gun manufacturers, like beer brewers, should join in so that we can reduce the carnage.
As Americans we can understand the complacency of Our Government in its attitude toward gun control; there are many outside of Government who use all their resources to protect the Second Amendment but, that piece of work was written when there was little or no technology which now is the engine of our lives.
Other governments that have democracies that were formed in the last century have no constitutional amendments that allow any citizen to buy with little or no restrictions any shooting weapons.
I am fortunate to have friends from many countries outside the USA, All of them cannot believe that this Government allows these weapons to be in the hands of anyone who can pass a loose and arbitrary test for their ownership.
This Government of the United States is fostering fear among people of this world and the ramifications are wide and deep.
Fear is a deterrent that will affect our economy and lives. It will isolate us like the plague. It is already started.
Other governments that have democracies that were formed in the last century have no constitutional amendments that allow any citizen to buy with little or no restrictions any shooting weapons.
I am fortunate to have friends from many countries outside the USA, All of them cannot believe that this Government allows these weapons to be in the hands of anyone who can pass a loose and arbitrary test for their ownership.
This Government of the United States is fostering fear among people of this world and the ramifications are wide and deep.
Fear is a deterrent that will affect our economy and lives. It will isolate us like the plague. It is already started.
I am so glad that the shooter was a multi-millionaire - I hope it's true. And when will law suits be filed? Civil suits will being some compensation for those 500+ victims and their families.
Now IS the time for gun control legislation. There are shootings every day across this country, but we have become so accustomed to them we no longer pay attention to the stories in the news. As for this particular guy, a deep dive into his personal story will be the only way to understand why he was paying out his personal fortune in gambling and to his girlfriend. A close look at his medical history may find a troubling diagnosis that he did not want to face, and he might have wanted to go out in flames rather than face a long illness. Did he know there would be many law-enforcement officers in the crowd? Was he getting even? Revenge as a motive? There is a tangled web here...and while understanding it will not change anything, it may help in preventing other people from going off the cliff.
We do gun control, not because it is easy, but because it is hard.
It's a given, no one in his right mind commits murder so why worry about so called motive. We are allowed to call something "evil" but it is not correct to explain some of the way's evil operates. Check the numbers, Drugs and Alcohol are almost always involved when a person "snaps". We are spiritual beings and when we are under the influence, we can easily be possessed. It is just that simple but this kind of talk is not allowed.
You don’t need to be out of your mind to commit murder.
But fewer murders happen in societies where guns are rare.
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Pictures here of all these policemen without helmet on - thus stupid, the killer entering the hotel with suitcases full of guns and pullets and nobody saw it - thus stupid, the killer setting up a ring of surveillance around him in his room and hallway and hotel security didn't see it - thus stupid, and while doing the actual killing from two broken windows it took forever to figure out what happened - thus stupid. If this was a dry-run among police/security folks-in-training every single one would have been killed out of the building.
America, a sad state of affairs.
Please start calling this what it was: an act of domestic terrorism. Why is it that the mass media only call these kinds of acts terrorism when people of color or non-Christians commit them? Anyone who's objective can answer that question. Were the 22,000 people in that crowd not terrorized by what Paddock did? By definition, it was a terrorist act, no less than what Tim McVeigh and Dylann Roof, and the moron that drove the Charlottesville murder car were. What do all those perpetrators have in common? Look at their pictures for your answer.
We were in a gunshot in Dawsonville, GA when it first opened several years ago when I overheard a customer talking to the guy showing him a gun say something to the effect that it was too bad to have a weapon like that and not be able to just go out and shoot someone. I’m sure the store employee must have thought he was kidding because he just laughed and agreed. I’ve no doubt if the guy had the money or valid credit card and passed the “background” check, they would have sold him the gun regardless of the comment. People are spending a lot of time trying to find a motive for the Las Vegas shooter, when the reality is that it might have just been the last thing on his bucket list…to use all the terrific assault weapons he could legally buy to kill as many people as possible. I have no issue with people who have been properly screened, trained in the safe use and storage of firearms, licensed, and insured against accidental injury or damage (like we do automobiles) from owning firearms for hunting and self protection, but they shouldn’t be allowed to purchase assault weapons and they should be limited in the amount of ammo they can purchase.
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According to a June Quinnipiac poll, Americans support gun controls 52 to 44 percent. Why can't we fix such an insane and dangerous public health problem that kills 92 Americans a day?
Our government is broken. The assiduous and secretive gerrymandering applied by Republican state legislatures cancels out many peoples' votes. Imperfections in our political/voting system resulting from political bargaining in the 1787 Constitutional Convention do the rest via the Electoral College and the assignment of two senate seats to states like Wyoming that have fewer people than metropolitan Boston--but a higher rate of gun ownership.
3
If the NRA has purchased the silence of our politicians with money poured into their war chests, could we not circumvent the creation of their silence by the restructuring of campaign finance? If corporations, millionaires and special interest groups purchasing the people's representatives are at the root of legislation not in the interest of the people, should we not revise their ability to do so? A significant majority of Americans are in favor of stricter gun control that would statistically benefit our people, based on Australia's experience- why is it impossible to accomplish this?
3
Nevada has some of the loosest gun laws. Let's see if this brings about changes there first. If not, asking for nationwide changes would be impractical.
I still am puzzled by how Paddock could have transported into his hotel room, past hotel staff and visitors, multiple weapons, with all their accessories, the tripods, the ammunition, and the security devices, without anyone noticing or raising questions. Could Paddock have received inside help from hotel staff? Or was this just willful blindness or reckless indifference by hotel personnel? Or were there multiple people involved with Paddock? Something is not right in this scenario.
These are huge hotels with people milling all over the lobbies. The hotel staff have rotation schedules as well as job shifts. Who is going to notice someone bringing in luggage multiple times. If he brought it in all at once it might cause remark but in piecemeal who would question a guest's right to bring luggage to the room he has booked.
Gun safety opponents, please explain how having 1/10 or 10x the rate of fire a shooter has access does not change the number deaths and casualties. Or how better regulation of extreme numbers of guns and ammo amounts anc capacity stops you and I from being able to hunt or protect our home? Or how universal background checks for all purchases will prevent law-abiding persons from having access to a gun? Or how creating a system for connecting mental health records to gun ownership stops mentally healthy responsible people from defending and hunting? Sorry, nobody needs 40 guns and thousands of rounds of ammo to defend themselves or hunt. This is not a moral superiority thing. It's common sense and public safety. There wil never be a gun ban in the US. There will always be a second amendment. It's time to find the balance that reduces our contribution to deaths by firearms.
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The need? It used to be said, "for hunting." Now, most say it's for "protection."
Of the tens of thousands of gun deaths in America, two-thirds are suicides.
We may never fully understand the motive for Stephen C. Paddock, but his need was suicide. And by type and number of guns, he was no "collector."
I worry about the mental health of anyone whose pattern of possession pointed to this likely end. That's not hard to see, before such an end.
My biggest worry? For a political party and society who continue to ignore this.
Of the tens of thousands of gun deaths in America, two-thirds are suicides.
We may never fully understand the motive for Stephen C. Paddock, but his need was suicide. And by type and number of guns, he was no "collector."
I worry about the mental health of anyone whose pattern of possession pointed to this likely end. That's not hard to see, before such an end.
My biggest worry? For a political party and society who continue to ignore this.
3
If we didn't have gerrymandered gridlock, we wouldn't have THIS. And, guess what? A working congress, NOT tax cuts for the rich, will improve general growth of our economy, not just the bank accounts of the filthy rich. A working congress will give us reasonable gun control, healthcare for all, diplomacy around the world, and a huge improvement in our feelings of security.
2
This is like promoting smoking and consuming fat and sugar and congratulating ourselves on finding a cure for lung cancer, heart disease . Brilliant.
Lets get silencers and armor piercing bullets and feel all warm and cuddly when someone applies a tourniquet that saves a victims life.
It's better than television. The drama, the excitement, the horror, the anxiety. We can hardly wait for it to happen again.
1
What people with a cache of weapons don't understand is that while they think that they are currently sane, sober and well, one day they may not be. Bad day at the office, failing relationship, money problems, a physical confrontation, head trauma, and many other factors may take the "mentally/emotionally well" into "deranged lunatic" territory quite fast and easily. How many of our 100,000+ annual shootings are committed by someone who is temporarily emotionally unstable, including a fit of rage or bout of depression?
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And keep in mind his father was diagnosed as psychopathic, with suicidal tendencies. I think these may have been passed down to the son. In addition, I am wondering if the girlfriend left him and wouldn't come back. He may have threatened to do exactly what he did, IF she didn't come back.
Who needs 47 guns? If we have a national database and one owner hits a certain threshold that should be a red flag. It's the price to pay if it's so important to own that many weapons.
1
It's like a window opening up into hell. Now the dead killer forces us to take a tour of hell itself. I don't think I have the strength to get on the bus.
2
Why did the police take so long? Simple matter of counting the number of windows up to the broken window, then the number of windows to the nearest corner! Or, simply acting upon the fire alarm! And why all the waiting for a SWAT team - no courage there!
Very, very poor performance by the LVPD!
4
Blame the police?
What a stretch!
1
It is greatly to be regretted that Mr. Eskildson was not on hand to instill courage in the craven Las Vegas law enforcement personnel, and to bring to bear his masterful grasp of tactics coordinating the police response. We can only guess as to how many lives he might have saved. My own surmise would be that it’s the roundest of numbers.
Mr. Careaga - your 'defense' of the LVPD is devoid of facts, logic, and value.
1
Meticulous planning? 1 person + 10 minutes of continuous fire from the 32nd floor at night time in a small city = 500+ casualties. How effective was that folks? What if Paddock coordinated with one or two other shooters? Christ, this sick person just gave a great effective idea to terrorists and gun idiots to unleash hell in a few dozen cities around the world.
7
Actually, I think you just gave the idea.
1
You mean a small city of 2 million people?
Motive? He was targeting country music fans: a group that is notoriously anti gay and anti immigrant and pro gun. His family lives in Orlando, site of the Pulse nightclub. Had he ever been there? When that massacre happened there was sentiment voiced by the God, Guns and Gays group that the victims deserved what they got. Maybe his Phillipino girlfriend had been harassed and told to go back to her country. All this is a reach, but considering the meticulous way the attack was planned, sounds like revenge to me.
5
It is a reach and speculation without evidence.
18
Not reach at all.
Pure guesswork.
Pure guesswork.
You mean the guy made up his own "facts" out of thin air? Yeah, he was probably that sort of person...
His meticulous planning and execution would have served the USA better in fight against the enemies of humankind. What a waste of destructive talent inside an evil mind.
2
"The Gatling gun was designed by the American inventor Dr. Richard J. Gatling in 1861 and patented on November 4, 1862.[5][6] Gatling wrote that he created it to reduce the size of armies and so reduce the number of deaths by combat and disease, and to show how futile war is."
What have we learned since 1861? How futile is it now? How many people must be killed before "We the People -----", demand a country or environment where massacres are not the normalized! We need Domestic Tranquility, ---- not Annihilation!
What have we learned since 1861? How futile is it now? How many people must be killed before "We the People -----", demand a country or environment where massacres are not the normalized! We need Domestic Tranquility, ---- not Annihilation!
9
Alfred Nobel actually believed that safer to handle explosives would make war obsolete. The delusions of creative destroyers know no bounds.
Do we really want to map out exactly how this mutant did this so others can copy him?
6
Others are smart enough to think for themselves. Based on this terrible crime, which was legally permitted every step of the way - except for pulling the trigger.
And if we don’t “map out” exactly what else could happen, that’s stupidity right there.
And if we don’t “map out” exactly what else could happen, that’s stupidity right there.
1
Time to try Members of Congress in absentia for aiding and abetting murder by taking money from weapons manufacturers via the NRA and then protecting the revenue stream of the weapons manufacturers with the blood of massacred American citizens.
it's that simple. All those professed Christians in Congress. . . are they? They don't seem to worry about what happens at the "Pearly Gates" after they die. . .Mitch McConnell? Tom Cole? Paul Ryan? Ted Cruz? John Cornyn? All are accessories to mass murder.
it's that simple. All those professed Christians in Congress. . . are they? They don't seem to worry about what happens at the "Pearly Gates" after they die. . .Mitch McConnell? Tom Cole? Paul Ryan? Ted Cruz? John Cornyn? All are accessories to mass murder.
33
Yes, they’ve legalized all the steps - to enable murder.
1
"they have found no evidence so far that he had ties to any extremist group."?? I dunno. Was he a member of the NRA?
258
Oh, you have to be a member of an extremest group first and foremost in order to kill 58 people, and wound more than 500 other people!
As far as I am aware, not one mass shooter in the last decade has been a member of the NRA.
Overwhelmingly, members of the NRA are law-abiding, good citizens who enjoy hunting or target shooting or gun collecting -- nothing more "sinister" than that.
The NYT has had a vendetta against the NRA since the 1960s, that is very well documented -- and completely unfair and inaccurate.
The real reason that we do not have draconian anti-gun laws is that most Americans DO respect and value their Second Amendment rights -- even folks like me, who do not hunt or collect guns. Because we know what the alternative is.
Overwhelmingly, members of the NRA are law-abiding, good citizens who enjoy hunting or target shooting or gun collecting -- nothing more "sinister" than that.
The NYT has had a vendetta against the NRA since the 1960s, that is very well documented -- and completely unfair and inaccurate.
The real reason that we do not have draconian anti-gun laws is that most Americans DO respect and value their Second Amendment rights -- even folks like me, who do not hunt or collect guns. Because we know what the alternative is.
1
Imagine the cops trying to determine the origin of fire if the gunman had a silencer. How many more would have been shot? And now the NRA demands that congress approve silencers? and armor-piercing bullets? Who rules this nation? The NRA has for too long. It is time they were knocked down a few pegs.
390
There is no such thing as a 'silencer'. There is a device called a 'suppressor' that reduces the noise level by a few decibels. Typically, an AR15 with a suppressor will still be 130 decibels or higher, which would make the shot louder than a thunderclap. I know that in Hollywood movies a suppressor makes the shot sound like someone clapping their hands, but that isn't true in real life with battle rifle ammunition. Also, for your information, suppressors are not illegal to own, except for in liberal states like CA, DE, HI, MA, MI, MN, NJ, NY, RI, or VT. The tax stamp is $200 and involves some BATF paperwork to own, but they are legal to own and they do serve a purpose. The main use is saving the shooters hearing if they have to shoot without hearing protection.
1
A "silencer" is a misnomer. It's actually a "suppressor". The sound coming from an AR-15 with a silencer/suppressor is still loud enough to cause hearing damage.
" .. Imagine the cops trying to determine the origin of fire if the gunman had a silencer .."
Inconvenient fact: his weapons could not have been fitted with so-called "silencers."
Fixing problems require facts and calm logic. Thanks.
Inconvenient fact: his weapons could not have been fitted with so-called "silencers."
Fixing problems require facts and calm logic. Thanks.
Negative Eugenics at work.
Father,1960's,FBI most wanted bank robber.
Son,2017's Worlds most infamous mass murderer.
Please don't validate the swine with presumptious motives & bogus organisational skills.
The innocents have been felled by a most butcheries person,in modern day.
The world mourns the untimely death of the innocent.
Heart rending death.
In infamy thy name Steven Paddock.
Father,1960's,FBI most wanted bank robber.
Son,2017's Worlds most infamous mass murderer.
Please don't validate the swine with presumptious motives & bogus organisational skills.
The innocents have been felled by a most butcheries person,in modern day.
The world mourns the untimely death of the innocent.
Heart rending death.
In infamy thy name Steven Paddock.
6
As we hear more about this guy I'm beginning to suspect that there isn't going to be a handy mental-illness cubbyhole that we can categorize him with. I think he's going to turn out to be simply a bad person, who racked up debts as a "professional gambler" and decided he wanted to commit suicide and punish others on his way out.
This is the problem with our country's lax attitude towards firearms - it declines to protect innocent people from bad actors, whether its the disgruntled ex-employee, the frustrated student, or the bitter ex-boyfriend. We need to stop giving these people the tools for mass murder.
This is the problem with our country's lax attitude towards firearms - it declines to protect innocent people from bad actors, whether its the disgruntled ex-employee, the frustrated student, or the bitter ex-boyfriend. We need to stop giving these people the tools for mass murder.
41
The only possible one is Paranoia.
But the problem is guns. Not a motive.
But the problem is guns. Not a motive.
1
There's some stories saying this guy was a bit of a misanthrope, felt entitled, and routinely exhibited "me first" behavior. Wondering if he and his girlfriend broke up and he did this.
Are you joking? We're going to plan and train law enforcement to thwart mass snipers, accepting this bloody dystopia as regular order of business, rather than OUTLAWING weapons of mass destruction in civilian hands? Are they bonkers? The GOP is bought. They are no party of the people. They're the party of their pockets. Grand Ole Pocket. And lives, lives, lives are taken. Not just by the murder, but by the crippling health costs and realities that the survivors eek from their escape.
54
We need to train our law enforcement better and we need to outlaw automatic weapons .
"But investigators were still at a loss to offer a motive for the massacre."
We know the motive!!! He wanted to be famous. To prove he was as exceptional as his delusions, even though nobody else seemed to recognize it.
The Secret Service and other researchers have consistently reached this conclusion for decades. From one study specific to school shootings, but still applicable: "These imaginings take root in a desperate mind that yearns for recognition. Often these young assassins are inspired by examples set by previous shooters."
Stop making the perpetrators famous, and new perpetrators will stop copying them. Stop publishing the shooter's names.
We know the motive!!! He wanted to be famous. To prove he was as exceptional as his delusions, even though nobody else seemed to recognize it.
The Secret Service and other researchers have consistently reached this conclusion for decades. From one study specific to school shootings, but still applicable: "These imaginings take root in a desperate mind that yearns for recognition. Often these young assassins are inspired by examples set by previous shooters."
Stop making the perpetrators famous, and new perpetrators will stop copying them. Stop publishing the shooter's names.
12
Oh please, the problem is not bump stocks. It is the gun itself. It is possible to pull a trigger at least a couple of times a second on a semiauto rifle like an AR-15. The rate limiter is often reloading but if you have multiple weapons already loaded with extended capacity mags, it is possible to wreak a great deal of carnage without bumping. Even if the death toll were reduced, are we saying that 30 would be "acceptable" but 58 not? Seriously?
If we have to bear arms, how about limiting said arms to bolt action rifles that have internal magazines holding a max of 3 rounds. That would be enough for hunting and defense. Also, if we are so serious about the right to arms, I want the NRA to lobby for my right to wear a sword while shopping in Texas.
If we have to bear arms, how about limiting said arms to bolt action rifles that have internal magazines holding a max of 3 rounds. That would be enough for hunting and defense. Also, if we are so serious about the right to arms, I want the NRA to lobby for my right to wear a sword while shopping in Texas.
30
Oh but the number is very important! Because there's a person out there right now who is planning to get 60 people at least---and then hold the new record! We can at least make this game much, much harder to play. Ban all of them---bump stocks, semiautomatics, automatics, silencers, the lot!
Er, thank you NRA or whomever. Apparently as of 9/1 this year, it is now legal to open carry edged weapons with blades longer than 5.5 inches in Texas. Looking forward to expressing my inner samurai!
Police in major cities worldwide used to express their frustration that they constantly had to check all potential ISIS dangers. You miss one and people get killed. Obviously we have the same problem in the US with having to check every single American buying a gun. It only takes one and we have a "Las Vegas" revisited.
7
The U.S. Constitution allows citizens to bear arms within a "well regulated militia." The absolute FIRST step in regulating a militia is to maintain a list of participants and what arms each is keeping. Therefore, a National Gun Registry is essentially baked into the Constitution!
49
It really isn't. But wording of second amendment isn't the point. Other amendments were interpreted in a way that limited their scope. E.g. freedom of speech vs clear and present danger constraint. A sensible legislative/judicial body can easily see that limitations to second amendment are necessary and come up with a reasonable and constitutional set of constraints. For example: they can interpret the words "bear arms" to limit to types of weapons that were used in 1791. After all - that's what the fathers literally meant. So why are we allowing people to "bear arms" that don't match those specs?
And how dare constitutional conservatives oppose that notion? Huh?
And how dare constitutional conservatives oppose that notion? Huh?
This is not the time to talk politics only if you want more people killed by guns. Australia enacted tighter gun control after their mass shooting and have they had another one since?
Why would game hunters need semi-automatic rifles, bump stock, or a silencer? By not addressing the real need for gun control, Republicans and the NRA are politicizing the matter. It's criminal negligence.
Why would game hunters need semi-automatic rifles, bump stock, or a silencer? By not addressing the real need for gun control, Republicans and the NRA are politicizing the matter. It's criminal negligence.
15
So, Senator McConnell, it's not OK to politicize an event where 58 people are murdered by rapid fire weapons of war, but it was OK to politicize Scalia's death by insisting, within 24 hours following his death, there would be no senate hearings on his replacement until after the election?
508
bingo
1
Paddock is either a patsy or a CIA spook. He worked for the government and Lockheed Martin, come on. There is more here than "mild mannered accountant snaps at the age of 64 after having no criminal record or history of violence." THAT DOES NOT HAPPEN. Why is Las Vegas PD leaking all the photos of the body? Something is very wrong here. Las Vegas PD does not trust the FBI investigators.
7
I know two "mild mannered accountants" with no criminal record or history of violence who snapped -- one killed his wife in front of his kids, the other one his kids while he was on the phone with his ex-wife.
Middle aged men (or women, for that matter) never "snap". Really?
Your conclusion has no premise.
Middle aged men (or women, for that matter) never "snap". Really?
Your conclusion has no premise.
The NRA and pro gun minions in Congress have but a single strategy; wait silently, until America turns its attention to the next big story earthquake, hurricane, North Korea, some crazy remark by POTUS, etc. This list is endless. In two weeks max, this carnage will have faded from our collective memory, and yet again the NRA will have dodged another bullet (pun intended). If the bodies of 20 grade school children in Newton, CT, would not stir action on the part of Congress; sadly 58 dead country western music fans will have no effect.
23
One stupid thing that is done following mass shootings and terrorist events is to suddenly focus on "security" as if there are some measures that could prevent crazed but highly motivated people from killing. This instant mania usually results in taking action that has little impact. The goal seems to be to reassure the public that everything is being done, even if "everything" amounts to almost nothing accomplished.
The fact that this shooter brought a small army's supply of weapons indicates paranoia and excessive love of weaponry and is not any indication of what might happen in the future. Hotels will be on the lookout for someone bringing in a large number of suitcases because we are always preparing to prevent the attack that occurred previously.
There is simply no way in an open society to stop random attacks. An alert public notifying police could bring results, but most people are concentrating on their own business, not looking for terrorists everywhere. People come and go from hotel rooms constantly and, for the most part, no one notices what they are doing.
Changes will be made, but we have to look to the root causes of the problem. Too many guns and easy access is but one aspect. It might be possible that some of the future potential shooters could turn themselves in through some sort of national hotline modeled on the suicide hotlines of decades ago. We have to try new things, creative efforts, to, little by little, stop this horrid trend of mass death.
The fact that this shooter brought a small army's supply of weapons indicates paranoia and excessive love of weaponry and is not any indication of what might happen in the future. Hotels will be on the lookout for someone bringing in a large number of suitcases because we are always preparing to prevent the attack that occurred previously.
There is simply no way in an open society to stop random attacks. An alert public notifying police could bring results, but most people are concentrating on their own business, not looking for terrorists everywhere. People come and go from hotel rooms constantly and, for the most part, no one notices what they are doing.
Changes will be made, but we have to look to the root causes of the problem. Too many guns and easy access is but one aspect. It might be possible that some of the future potential shooters could turn themselves in through some sort of national hotline modeled on the suicide hotlines of decades ago. We have to try new things, creative efforts, to, little by little, stop this horrid trend of mass death.
9
President Trump said on Tuesday that Mr. Paddock was “a sick man, a demented man,” adding that “we are dealing with a very, very sick individual.”
We are desperate to distance ourselves from the root causes of this violence. We are quick to blame the NRA, the gun lobby, Republican legislators, the "sick and demented" perpetrator, and anything and anyone else we can manage to put between us and this kind of violence. We loudly protest that we had no part to play in this and that these acts say nothing about us. We insist that we aren't like the perpetrators, and there-in lies the heart of our own darkness and lies.
Mr. Paddock was sick and demented in that he carried our murderous rage in himself and eventually acted it out for us in a publicly performed mass murder. As long as we insist that he alone was the problem we will fail to see the innate violence of our culture and the hatred in our own hearts as the central cause of the almost daily public performance of mass murders in our society.
We are desperate to distance ourselves from the root causes of this violence. We are quick to blame the NRA, the gun lobby, Republican legislators, the "sick and demented" perpetrator, and anything and anyone else we can manage to put between us and this kind of violence. We loudly protest that we had no part to play in this and that these acts say nothing about us. We insist that we aren't like the perpetrators, and there-in lies the heart of our own darkness and lies.
Mr. Paddock was sick and demented in that he carried our murderous rage in himself and eventually acted it out for us in a publicly performed mass murder. As long as we insist that he alone was the problem we will fail to see the innate violence of our culture and the hatred in our own hearts as the central cause of the almost daily public performance of mass murders in our society.
10
This is a dying country, and nothing could illustrate that fact more than our worship of guns and mass destruction.
42
The great planning and preparation by him to inflict maximum damage to fellow human beings shows his motive. Yet we do not want not to call him a terrorist? Why? religion.
7
Amazing Republican script responding to calls for ANY adjustment to gun laws:
You can kill people with anything, like a truck driving into a crowd...
There are over 300 million guns already in this country so there's no way to keep them out of the hands of criminals...
It's mental health issues that need to be looked at...
I know many people with over 50 guns and they are each law abiding citizens...
There's nothing wrong with owning military style weapons for sport shooting or to defend your home and family...
etc...
And because of these statements, they claim there is absolutely nothing that can or should be done regarding guns laws...
The disingenuousness and callousness of this kind of absurd thinking is stunning; how we allow these kinds of people to become our Senators and Congressional Representatives boggles the mind...
You can kill people with anything, like a truck driving into a crowd...
There are over 300 million guns already in this country so there's no way to keep them out of the hands of criminals...
It's mental health issues that need to be looked at...
I know many people with over 50 guns and they are each law abiding citizens...
There's nothing wrong with owning military style weapons for sport shooting or to defend your home and family...
etc...
And because of these statements, they claim there is absolutely nothing that can or should be done regarding guns laws...
The disingenuousness and callousness of this kind of absurd thinking is stunning; how we allow these kinds of people to become our Senators and Congressional Representatives boggles the mind...
16
We are destroying our country via Constitutionally-protected means.
10
No mention of the gunman's religious background. I wonder if we'd know it if he'd been from Syria, or Iran?
11
It's nice to hear someone like Republican Congressman Tom Coburn from Oklahoma is still in the deep pockets of Wayne LaPierre of NRA, total apologists of excusing these military weapons being legal.
8
Correction.....the coward was Republican Congressman Tom COLE.... a real mealy mouth politician who is obviously BOUGHT AND PAID FOR by Wayne LaPierre and the NRA.
2
Why should the NRA or anyone responsible party be for bump stocks? They have no place in the hunting area, none in target shooting. Strictly for thrill shooters or demented people like Paddock. Make them illegal.
12
“And I think it’s premature to be discussing legislative solutions, if there are any.” Wow, Mitch, that last part just sort sticks in my craw, you know? It shows who you really are and have been all along and will be in the future. I can't help but think, if you actually were capable of empathy or had been there yourself, you'd be talking WAY different right now. The NRA must just LOVE you to death.
Why not? They're loving everyone else to death too it seems. Literally.
Why not? They're loving everyone else to death too it seems. Literally.
24
You are all Television clones parroting the lines.
Paddock was not a "Terrorist", a sorely abused term. He was a mass murderer.
Paddock was not a "Terrorist", a sorely abused term. He was a mass murderer.
4
what is the difference?????????? @johannaclear
1
VOTE. THEM. OUT.
19
Why did he line up this ambush on this date? Did he select this crowd due to opportunity solely because of its particular size, density, elevation, firing lanes and distance?
Or did the crowd he fired upon, who were attending a country music concert, represent some kind of animus directed at a particular subset of America?
Was he a lone wolf or part of crew? Was he radicalized and how? His planning and actions do not indicate someone who snapped.
Now couch all these questions within a media that has fallen down - snapped like the character played by Michael Douglas in the movie. An immense nationwide apparatus charged with investigating to find the Truth but now frames most every incident through a political lens. A . . . teachable moment.
Our national press, as presently constituted, are no better than the conspiracy theorists who will no doubt dominate this one, whether we like it or not. They can no longer be trusted but add to the misery of doubt. They are that bad.
Or did the crowd he fired upon, who were attending a country music concert, represent some kind of animus directed at a particular subset of America?
Was he a lone wolf or part of crew? Was he radicalized and how? His planning and actions do not indicate someone who snapped.
Now couch all these questions within a media that has fallen down - snapped like the character played by Michael Douglas in the movie. An immense nationwide apparatus charged with investigating to find the Truth but now frames most every incident through a political lens. A . . . teachable moment.
Our national press, as presently constituted, are no better than the conspiracy theorists who will no doubt dominate this one, whether we like it or not. They can no longer be trusted but add to the misery of doubt. They are that bad.
2
WONDER WHY THINGS WILL NEVER CHANGE?
These 9 republican senators were given 22 million
by the NRA:
√ Mitch McConnell (R-KY): $1,262,189
√ Roy Blunt (R-MO): $1,433,952
√ Pat Roberts (R-KS): $1,584,153
√ Tom Cotton (R-AR): $1,968,714
√ David Perdue (R-GA): $1,997,512
√ Bill Cassidy (R-LA): $2,867,074
√ Joni Ernst (R-IA): $3,124,773
√ Cory Gardner (R-CO): $3,939,199
√ Thom Tillis (R-NC): $4,418,833
CALL THEM!!!
Enough prayers.
--- Let your outrage translate into action.
These 9 republican senators were given 22 million
by the NRA:
√ Mitch McConnell (R-KY): $1,262,189
√ Roy Blunt (R-MO): $1,433,952
√ Pat Roberts (R-KS): $1,584,153
√ Tom Cotton (R-AR): $1,968,714
√ David Perdue (R-GA): $1,997,512
√ Bill Cassidy (R-LA): $2,867,074
√ Joni Ernst (R-IA): $3,124,773
√ Cory Gardner (R-CO): $3,939,199
√ Thom Tillis (R-NC): $4,418,833
CALL THEM!!!
Enough prayers.
--- Let your outrage translate into action.
42
Cowards, all of them.
5
This list of NRA contributions to members of Congress took my breath away. The amount of money is obscene. What tax bracket is the NRA in? I suspect they do not pay their fair tax share, a situation that is not likely to improve with any Tax Reform bill.
But thank you for the information and yes I will be making my voice heard on the issue to those who are supposed to be serving the people but are not.
But thank you for the information and yes I will be making my voice heard on the issue to those who are supposed to be serving the people but are not.
Thank you for this list. It needs to be circulated as widely as possible.
Only the serious sensible regulation of guns, eliminating from civilian use all automatic and military style guns will prevent future tragedies. The Second Amendment was not intended to give this liberty to anyone, it was written into the Constitution to protect the nation in the advent of war. The war of 1812 proved that it was not effective and it should have been removed then. Today it has become another evil mark on the soul of our nation achieving a status similar to slavery and Manifest Destiny as violations of the high principles of government stated in the Declaration of Independence.
2
While Paddock's motive remains a mystery, I think the key lies in his bank robber father. There hasn't been nearly enough reporting on that member of the family -- was he ever recaptured after he escaped from prison; did he stay in touch with his sons while he was on the lam; what do any of the sons say about him; did Paddock and his father have any kind of relationship; Is the father still alive? Also, accountants don't earn much. Where did the seed money come from that financed Paddock's successul real estate investments, so successful that he became a millionaire gambler who last worked for a living reportedly 30 years ago?
5
Most of the questions you posed about the father have been answered already in several articles.
Yes, he waa recaptured about 10 years after he escaped and served about a year in prison then paroled. No, he did not stay in touch with his sons while he was on the lam. Eric Paddock said they did not grow up under his influence. He died in 1998.
Yes, he waa recaptured about 10 years after he escaped and served about a year in prison then paroled. No, he did not stay in touch with his sons while he was on the lam. Eric Paddock said they did not grow up under his influence. He died in 1998.
I think Senators like Mitch McConnell and other politicians who support the NRA should be made to personally offer their condolences to the victims' families. I would have liked to see him tell the parents of dead Sandy Hook children that gun control was premature at that point. I would like to see him tell these victims' families that gun control is premature.
3
Gun laws will change quickly and decisively in the same way that gay rights and marijuana use are rapidly becoming acceptable. The 2018 and 2020 elections will replace the Republican majority with the ascendant liberal wing of the Democratic party. Dissenters will howl but these incidents cannot continue indefinitely -- imagine if he'd had 2-3 accomplices.
It is the fault of the American public for not forcing the Senate, Congress and Trump to immediately develop and sign federal legislation banning the sale of machine guns and their bullets to anyone except the police and the military.
95+% of Americans strongly believe that the only people in America who should own machine guns are the police and the military since the police and military are the only folks with a good reason to own a machine gun.
Yet 95+% of Americans don't want to stop their routines for one iota of one second in order to force immediate federal legislation banning the sale of machine guns and their bullets to anyone except the police and the military.
It is not the Senate, not Congress and not Trump who are at fault. It is our fault.
95+% of Americans strongly believe that the only people in America who should own machine guns are the police and the military since the police and military are the only folks with a good reason to own a machine gun.
Yet 95+% of Americans don't want to stop their routines for one iota of one second in order to force immediate federal legislation banning the sale of machine guns and their bullets to anyone except the police and the military.
It is not the Senate, not Congress and not Trump who are at fault. It is our fault.
4
The gunman's motivation is really quite simple: he was going for the record. And somewhere out there, there is someone laying plans to break that record by claiming 100, or 1,000, victims. It's what they do.
3
Don't be surprised if Stephen Paddock is actually a closet gun control advocate. Of course, we may never know. What he has proven, beyond a shadow of a doubt, is the ludicrousness of the NRA argument that the remedy to a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. With meticulous planning and secrecy , suitable fire power and location, and the element of surprise, any bad guy forces the good guys to play catch-up. That the first responders did what they did as quickly as possible is truly remarkable considering what they were up against. After Sandy Hook, I always thought that nothing short of making profiteers the victims would change the laws. Maybe Stephen Paddock had other ideas.
3
"Gun control"? It's not about 'control'. It's about basic gun responsibility! I ask all gun owners who belong to the NRA: what the heck are you doing? The NRA is enabling domestic terrorism and you stand idly by with each mass murder? Stop sending them money, turn in your badges and demand responsibility from every politician! You don't need an arsenal, and James Madison never intended on granting individual members of a militia the right to possess 25 AK-47's with extended magazines.
6
I have morphed from heartbroken to truly appalled that this has happened.
Now the Girlfriend is "Safely" in the custody of the federal authorities. Don't count on the truth coming out. They will lead her and make many suggestions to tailor her mind regarding Paddock and his behavior and motives.
I have calculated a few things based on the great detail portrayed here in the accounts of the event and Paddock. I hope I'm wrong, but I believe he leaned to sympathize with the left now seriously impacted and demoralized by years of attacks by the right. His girlfriend is a foreigner and may not be a US citizen who he was concerned about as a possible target of the immigrant dragnet, especially focused on the southwest region where there are many immigrants.
We all know country music fans are categorically viewed as leaning to the right which may have made them a target of Paddock's focused rage.
Paddock was trying to start a war.
Now the Girlfriend is "Safely" in the custody of the federal authorities. Don't count on the truth coming out. They will lead her and make many suggestions to tailor her mind regarding Paddock and his behavior and motives.
I have calculated a few things based on the great detail portrayed here in the accounts of the event and Paddock. I hope I'm wrong, but I believe he leaned to sympathize with the left now seriously impacted and demoralized by years of attacks by the right. His girlfriend is a foreigner and may not be a US citizen who he was concerned about as a possible target of the immigrant dragnet, especially focused on the southwest region where there are many immigrants.
We all know country music fans are categorically viewed as leaning to the right which may have made them a target of Paddock's focused rage.
Paddock was trying to start a war.
1
Ok, no guns. Now what? How do we protect ourselves from bombs, speeding vehicles, and other weapons that do just as bad?
20
Is there some evidence to suggest that a gun will protect you from any of those things?
9
The answers to your two questions, or many other similar concerns, does not mean we do NOTHING to minimize the potential for more gun violence.
6
People are social animals. The norms and standards set by a society influence the behavior of everyone, even crazy people. Assault rifles are designed for the capability of killing lots of people very quickly. When society allows members of the public to purchase assault rifles without restriction, society gives tacit approval to crazy people to use the assault rifle for the purpose it was designed.
3
As soon as the word "Senator" appeared I jumped down the page to factual info. "Senator, democrat, republican, ban, gun control, legislation" now mean nothing to me.
1
I have often thought that it would take a plague of biblical proportions-the death of every American firstborn by gun simultaneously, to move the needle on gun control. I don't even know if that would make a difference in this country.
More than anything else, I hate feeling helpless. I feel helpless.
More than anything else, I hate feeling helpless. I feel helpless.
3
The gunman seems to have succeeded brilliantly at committing self-controlled suicide while inflicting serious damage on Las Vegas itself.
It is difficult to believe that that situation was unimaginable to Las Vegas officials.
It is difficult to believe that that situation was unimaginable to Las Vegas officials.
Second Amendment gives right to bear arms. Period. No, there is a lot of room for a willing government to control this madness carried out under the guise of 2nd Amendment. One can bear arms but how many? Bring that down to one. What kind of arms one can bear? Limit that to a pistol. Those who want to hunt may get their rifles from the range office and return back after expedition. This guy had 42 weapons! Is there no central database that automatically record whenever a gun is purchased. Can govt not track number of guns owned by any individual. How hard that can be with NSA, CIA, FBI all listening in to our phone calls, reading our messages and what not. If IRS can track money so does FBI can track guns. Make it mandatory for people to register their guns (thats not a violation of 2nd amendment). Its ok if you want to own a gun, but procedures can be set in place like medical pre-assessment, police clearance, neighborhood clearance etc etc. Man, DMV checks eyesight for something as harmless as driving license. C'mon guys, enough is enough.
5
The 2nd Ammendment was written for Muskets. Period.
The authors of our Constitution never envisioned the kinds of guns, enhancements or sheer quantity we have in America, today. They surely never imagined an organization like the NRA promoting profit by driving policy with cash.
The NRA donated $130 million to elect Trump.
More than any other Super PAC.
The authors of our Constitution never envisioned the kinds of guns, enhancements or sheer quantity we have in America, today. They surely never imagined an organization like the NRA promoting profit by driving policy with cash.
The NRA donated $130 million to elect Trump.
More than any other Super PAC.
If we say that 2nd Amendment authors never imagined NRA or automatic weapons, then the discussion will become very broad and give a precedence or an excuse to government to infringe on important fundamental rights like Free Speech. They will have an excuse that authors of Free Speech never imagined Twitter, Facebook, or for that matter fake news. Free Speech is already under attack as it is.
I am sick of explaining why this happens to my Vietnamese and expat friends here in Saigon. It's worse than having to explain Donald Trump being president.
5
Sale on Bump Stocks. While you're at it get some of these new scopes and this leather jacket comes with pokers designed to hold hundreds of rounds. Must Have.
The privilege guaranteed by the Constitution of the right to bare arms has been abused by our government in cahoots with weapons manufacturers.
The privilege guaranteed by the Constitution of the right to bare arms has been abused by our government in cahoots with weapons manufacturers.
1
After Sandy Hook, I felt certain that legislators would have the humanity to make the necessary changes to prevent something similar from happening again. I was wrong. They, collectively, are devoid of humanity. The humanity they profess to serve continues to suffer horrendous pain as a result. There will be no changes until we shift the blame from one another (left vs right, conservative vs liberal, democrat vs republican) to the entity that instead of serving us seems intent on killing us.
1
In a few weeks when everyone has forgotten about the massacre in Las Vegas in quiet rooms the NRA will explain to the Republican legislators they own why outlawing bump stocks would be an infringement on our second amendment rights. By then the companies that make them will have managed to bank the unexpected sudden inflow of cash and be working hard to fill back orders and replenish supplies. Good for jobs, MAGA!
3
Motive? If sane, but with good dose of psychopathy, possibly pride in bringing the innovations of sniper positioning and auto-like fire to the massacre, as a counter to the boredom and disappointments of his life. A suicide with meaning.
2
Could'nt agree with you more. Very well stated. Short and to the point
One solution is to enact the following:
Ban any magazines in excess of 5 rounds. Another more isn't necessary for ANYONE. It's the 'Five or None' Rule: you can keep your guns but your limited to five rounds.
Ban any magazines in excess of 5 rounds. Another more isn't necessary for ANYONE. It's the 'Five or None' Rule: you can keep your guns but your limited to five rounds.
2
This is a tragedy. So many lives destroyed! Obviously we need more control on the types of weapons sold and those bump stocks, at the very least.
As for motives, I can see a profile of an avid hunter who has developed contempt for human life (all sport hunters start from a baseline of contempt for animal life), has a multitude of weapons he adores, and he decides to terminate his own life while using them.
Old style suicide a la Ernst Hemingway is passe I presume.
Extreme individualism leads to a deficit of empathy. We are all too self-centered.
As for motives, I can see a profile of an avid hunter who has developed contempt for human life (all sport hunters start from a baseline of contempt for animal life), has a multitude of weapons he adores, and he decides to terminate his own life while using them.
Old style suicide a la Ernst Hemingway is passe I presume.
Extreme individualism leads to a deficit of empathy. We are all too self-centered.
3
In several other countries, such publicity to murder both on a small and wide scale such as Las Vegas are given simple statement in the press and on tv. It comes from recognition that in many cases publicity of the self and self-aggrandizement are the cause of the killing. "I will make a big showing before I die" is considered the motive of the killer. This is something to consider with the Las Vegas killer in the headlines since the event. Other madmen are watching.
3
You are correct - they don't even publish the names of the assailants. But this is the USA, and mass-anything, especially in blood is a great news break from the steady drone of our floundering Trump.
The calls to wait for determining a motive are a transparent attempt to open the door to more excuses for doing nothing. "See? He wanted X. A person so fixated on X that he is willing to maim 500 strangers and kill dozens cannot be legislated against."
New York City's gun control laws work. Canada's gun control laws work. No one is coming for your guns, but I sure hope we're coming for your bump stocks.
New York City's gun control laws work. Canada's gun control laws work. No one is coming for your guns, but I sure hope we're coming for your bump stocks.
1
So, the congressman says "nothing can be accomplished through legislation," then why are you here? If you know, and by now we ALL know, that you guys accomplish nothing, how about you just go back to your respective districts and find a real job so we no longer have to pay you to do this nothing?!
I am sure we can find somebody else to come to Washington, somebody who understands what "rule of law" means and how the system is supposed to work. Then maybe we can get back on track, and BE these United States of America.
I am sure we can find somebody else to come to Washington, somebody who understands what "rule of law" means and how the system is supposed to work. Then maybe we can get back on track, and BE these United States of America.
3
How are we so sure the gunman acted alone? Something feels Kennedyish here....
1
When we talk about his "meticulous planning", we suggest this is something a reasonably well organized 11th grader couldn't pull off. That's pure self-deception/delusion/denial.
We need to come to terms with the fact that the technology-- even 40-year old AR-15 technology-- plus mental health, is what drove this event. It was not about meticulous planning.
Gun control now!
We need to come to terms with the fact that the technology-- even 40-year old AR-15 technology-- plus mental health, is what drove this event. It was not about meticulous planning.
Gun control now!
2
LAS VEGAS 2017 (59)
ORLANDO 2016 (49)
VIRGINIA TECH 2007 (33)
SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY 2012 (28)
KILLEEN, TX 1991 (24)
SAN YSIDRO 1984 (22)
AUSTIN, TX 1966 (18)
?
We'll be talking about gun laws as time goes by and by and by and by and by.
ORLANDO 2016 (49)
VIRGINIA TECH 2007 (33)
SANDY HOOK ELEMENTARY 2012 (28)
KILLEEN, TX 1991 (24)
SAN YSIDRO 1984 (22)
AUSTIN, TX 1966 (18)
?
We'll be talking about gun laws as time goes by and by and by and by and by.
9
Mrs. Betty Bowers - "Remember the day after 9/11, when politicians told us “Now isn’t the time to talk about terrorism”? Yeah, I don’t either."
8
Politicized? Really Mitch. You think it is a political act to want to stop this from happening? What could be more politicized than your party that advances every item on the agenda of the NRA and in spite of overwhelming support for gun control by the citizens of this country, actually relaxes or eliminates gun control laws.
19
I agree with other commenters that the motive is irrelevant. Mass shootings happen in this country for any number of irrelevant reasons because they can; because the people of this nation, all of us, allow it.
4
Obviously he was well trained and had a LOT of practice as part of his plan. When the police get around to finding out more about that, they may also find out something about motivation. The other obvious fact is that no gun law to date would have had any effect on him (and no new law either). He was even cleared by the Federal Government to have every single gun long before he got the room in Las Vegas.
PS. The photos show that the weapon next to his body did NOT have a bump fire stock.
PS. The photos show that the weapon next to his body did NOT have a bump fire stock.
4
So, once again. do nothing and just accept all of the death cause 'Murica. Somehow we're the only advanced country in the world that has this continual problem. Though other countries have had mass shootings, they usually pass laws that reduce or even eliminate the problem.
The vacuous morality that says laws wouldn't have prevented it, so don't pass laws argument really disgusts me. Laws don't prevent people from doing drugs, violating traffic laws, sexually assaulting people or becoming child pornographers but for some reason, we don't use that as an excuse to essentially sanction the behavior.
The vacuous morality that says laws wouldn't have prevented it, so don't pass laws argument really disgusts me. Laws don't prevent people from doing drugs, violating traffic laws, sexually assaulting people or becoming child pornographers but for some reason, we don't use that as an excuse to essentially sanction the behavior.
There might not be any legislative solutions, Mitch McConnell? We can't extend the waiting period for gun purchases? We can't require more safety features on guns? We can't require more training for gun owners? We can't ban those 'legal' kits used to make guns illegal? We can't close loopholes at gun shows allowing people to by guns without a background check? We can't limit access of guns to people of mental incompetence (well, we used to)? We can't limit the number of gun purchases to help root out straw purchasers? We can't? No, you won't, and it's the burden we all must live with.
9
We could, but none of those would have applied here.
How do we put the genie back in the bottle? Once we allow the widespread ownership of guns, what do we do when we finally realize that a terrible mistake it was? We should not be surprised that our police have become militarized and are quick to shoot civilians when they know so many are armed, sometimes with fire arms more powerful than those the cop carries. I predict even more carnage as individuals and groups conclude it's every man or woman for themselves
106
"How do we put the genie back in the bottle?"
Reversing the current state of widespread gun ownership doesn't actually seem that difficult (assuming that we were able to elect a president and congress that were willing to do so - that's the real hurdle.) We could grandfather in all currently owned weapons for a decade or so. Make all sale and transfer illegal, do lots of buyback programs. Then, when we transition to ownership being outright illegal, the guns become contraband like everything else - we don't necessarily go around breaking in doors and confiscating all of them, but they become a huge liability if one were to get into trouble for something else.
The idea that disarming the American public is "impossible" has become a popular talking point amongst gun advocates. It reminds me of Ned Flanders' parents on The Simpsons, who pathetically wailed "we've tried NOTHIN' and we're all out of ideas!"
Reversing the current state of widespread gun ownership doesn't actually seem that difficult (assuming that we were able to elect a president and congress that were willing to do so - that's the real hurdle.) We could grandfather in all currently owned weapons for a decade or so. Make all sale and transfer illegal, do lots of buyback programs. Then, when we transition to ownership being outright illegal, the guns become contraband like everything else - we don't necessarily go around breaking in doors and confiscating all of them, but they become a huge liability if one were to get into trouble for something else.
The idea that disarming the American public is "impossible" has become a popular talking point amongst gun advocates. It reminds me of Ned Flanders' parents on The Simpsons, who pathetically wailed "we've tried NOTHIN' and we're all out of ideas!"
The shooter was far more meticulous and effective in his efforts than American lawmakers in protecting American society.
Though there is not a shortage of guns and ammunition in America, there most definitely is a shortage in political leadership and responsibility for these sort of weapons to be openly available to everyone. I'm only glad that I currently live in South Korea, where I do not have to worry about being killed by guns.
How ironic is that!
Though there is not a shortage of guns and ammunition in America, there most definitely is a shortage in political leadership and responsibility for these sort of weapons to be openly available to everyone. I'm only glad that I currently live in South Korea, where I do not have to worry about being killed by guns.
How ironic is that!
3
Paddock had fiendish thoughts that generated from the ownership of guns, guns were his drug of choice, and he couldn’t get enough of them.He must have been frustrated by having all these guns & longed to put them to use, this obsession over took him & the result was a massacre of 58 innocent people.How many more gun owners are stricken by these impulses, & how do we protect ourselves,from this insanity. The only really effective way to have gun control, is to stop the sale of guns to public. The only ones that should own a gun should be authorized people within the Police.There should be harsh penalties for the ownership of guns without a license. Those selling illegal guns should be incarcerated for life.
7
this is excellent analysis. the drug analogy is totally accurate.
1
The massacres at Columbine, Virginia Tech, San Bernardino and Orlando, & the slaughter of two dozen people, most children ages 6 and 7 at Sandy Hook ... and now the unbelievable number killed in Las Vegas ... are just a few of the never ending examples of why new effective gun control laws are needed.
Yet only Democrats, who proposed new laws after every event mentioned above, want them. Over and over they propose sensible changes that would ban assault rifles, limit clip capacity and other modifications to guns, and strengthen laws governing background checks.
But no, repubs are concerned only with getting re-elected and cower before the NRA. They don't care about what is sane and right.
Not only do they believe there shouldn’t be any more restrictions on gun rights, but as unbelievable as it is to most of us, many also argue that there would be fewer mass shootings if more citizens were armed.
In other words in the GOP's world view, gun laws should be relaxed, not strengthened.
The idea is that crazy people would be less likely to attempt murder if they had to worry about being brought down by one of their intended targets. But they conveniently don't acknowledge that the possibility of getting caught or killed has never deterred any psychopath anywhere.
Polls taken in between the massacres show only about 55% of Americans want tighter laws. So as usual the country is divided. Until more citizens demand tighter laws, the immoral repub approach will likely endure.
Yet only Democrats, who proposed new laws after every event mentioned above, want them. Over and over they propose sensible changes that would ban assault rifles, limit clip capacity and other modifications to guns, and strengthen laws governing background checks.
But no, repubs are concerned only with getting re-elected and cower before the NRA. They don't care about what is sane and right.
Not only do they believe there shouldn’t be any more restrictions on gun rights, but as unbelievable as it is to most of us, many also argue that there would be fewer mass shootings if more citizens were armed.
In other words in the GOP's world view, gun laws should be relaxed, not strengthened.
The idea is that crazy people would be less likely to attempt murder if they had to worry about being brought down by one of their intended targets. But they conveniently don't acknowledge that the possibility of getting caught or killed has never deterred any psychopath anywhere.
Polls taken in between the massacres show only about 55% of Americans want tighter laws. So as usual the country is divided. Until more citizens demand tighter laws, the immoral repub approach will likely endure.
3
Why do we continue to test the mental capacity of citizens to purchase and own guns by allowing them weapons and then counting how many they kill with those weapons.
Mass shooters are clearly anti-social and deranged in some way. This nation can no longer use innocent victims to determine psychological suitability of individual gun owners as a retrospective exercise in preventative law enforcement.
Mass shooters are clearly anti-social and deranged in some way. This nation can no longer use innocent victims to determine psychological suitability of individual gun owners as a retrospective exercise in preventative law enforcement.
5
There will be nothing done on gun control, even to stop the selling of these over-the-counter items to turn semi-automatic machine guns in to real machines guns. Or to stop terrorists, mentally disturbed people, and criminals from buying whatever guns they want at gun show immediately with no background check. Despite all the late night show hosts, Tom Brokaw, police, reflecting the views of the majority of Americans, even most Republican voters on the street, nothing will be done. The NRA and the GOP have an absolute chokehold on the subject and the votes. And all the money, which is more important than the deaths and slaughter of children and civilians. The NRA has convinced a few fanatics and the GOP politicians that a little sanity will lead to the end of the second amendment and their rights as 'real Americans.' The majority of regular Americans want a little sanity. Nothing will done.
3
The second amendment reads, "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" Our Federal government. including the Courts, has successfully guarded our right to" keep and bear arms". Few have been infringed upon. It seems that anyone who wants a gun can buy any gun he wants in this country.
But what about that "well regulated militia"? Why are not gun owners required to be a part of an active, government controlled training group that trains people to act as a militia to support our country's borders? Isn't that a part of the meaning of that amendment? Wasn't a militia part of the meaning?
If gun owners were required to join a militia, and to be trained and monitor in such an organization, many of the problem we now face would be alleviated. Crazies could be weeded out. Overly aggressive, or bigoted folks could be monitored.
Let's get our Congress to set up real militias with well organized leadership. Who needs a border walls when we could utilize every gun owner in every border state to serve to protect us! Two birds with one stone, and it puts all of these assault rifles to good use. A perfect solution to a complex problem.
But what about that "well regulated militia"? Why are not gun owners required to be a part of an active, government controlled training group that trains people to act as a militia to support our country's borders? Isn't that a part of the meaning of that amendment? Wasn't a militia part of the meaning?
If gun owners were required to join a militia, and to be trained and monitor in such an organization, many of the problem we now face would be alleviated. Crazies could be weeded out. Overly aggressive, or bigoted folks could be monitored.
Let's get our Congress to set up real militias with well organized leadership. Who needs a border walls when we could utilize every gun owner in every border state to serve to protect us! Two birds with one stone, and it puts all of these assault rifles to good use. A perfect solution to a complex problem.
2
The adjective "well-regulated" modifies "militia," not the right to bear arms. Besides, when the Constitution was written "well-regulated meant "well-equipped." If the authors of the Second Amendment wanted gun ownership restricted to militiamen, they would have written "the right of militiamen to bear arms shall not be infringed." We need to repeal the Second Amendment, not pretend it doesn't say what it plainly says.
2
What is your source for you assertion that "well-regulated" meant "well-equipped?" Of course the authors and supporters had no intention of limiting gun ownership to only those in a militia. Game hunting and trapping were essential parts of food gathering for the vast majority of white Americans in the 1790s and afterward. Is your assertion of what the amendment "plainly says" grounded on the assumption that the Constitution is some sort of holy writ, beyond interpretation by succeeding generations, and apart from the Enlightenment culture from which it arose? The firearms that the NRA and its toadies aim to protect were obviously unknown in the 18th century and, given the framers' fear of insurrection (Shays' Rebellion, slave revolts, etc.), there is no reason to believe that the second amendment supports the NRA's position. At best, it seems that your interpretation is anachronistic.
I'm sure it's just a coincidence that Trump and McConnell (and other Republicans who couldn't out-run reporters) are sure of little other than that it's FAR TOO SOON to consider legislation to address gun violence. As if such a conversation would be dangerous. Those same politicians have never hesitated to consider legislation to stop women from having abortions, and they are all too eager to make public statements vilifying women who choose abortion and doctors who perform them. I'm beyond disgusted.
8
We can talk, discuss, dissect and write about this latest tragedy all we want. However, it all means nothing. Nothing at all. The discussion will taper off in a few days, only to be dusted off and revived with the next such tragedy.
The plain fact is that we are simply not ready to take any corrective measures - or just talk about these with some civility - as thinking, logical individuals or nation. We almost feel proud to keep our collective heads firmly stuck in sand, simply waiting for this post-tragedy discussion ruckus to peter out.
Just imagine if we had responded in the very same manner to other challenges that this country has grappled with, and solved: Polio, Auto Accidents, Flu…
The plain fact is that we are simply not ready to take any corrective measures - or just talk about these with some civility - as thinking, logical individuals or nation. We almost feel proud to keep our collective heads firmly stuck in sand, simply waiting for this post-tragedy discussion ruckus to peter out.
Just imagine if we had responded in the very same manner to other challenges that this country has grappled with, and solved: Polio, Auto Accidents, Flu…
2
Since 9/11, distrust in our political institutions has risen exponentially, and justifiably so. And specifically the government loses legitimacy every time it fails the people, which now occurs upon an almost daily basis, especially from the usual suspects: the insane wars, the lack of rational health care, unfair taxation, unending police immunity for murder with impunity, etc. etc. etc. In reaction, in fear, people buy guns, and the odd psychotic amongst them will use them. Until faith in our government is restored, there can be no disarmament of the people and mass murder incidents shall continue ad nauseaum.
1
Republicans love to say it is "premature" to discuss gun control solutions. What is premature are the deaths of the victims because of those guns.
7
When Timothy McVeigh blew up the Federal Building in OKC we instantly regulated the quantities of ammonium nitrate one could buy. I guess we're lucky there was no National Ammonium Nitrate Association lobbying against common sense.
40
No more guns. Not even for police except special forces. The Australians did it after their first massacre in 1996. No gun violence since then. Let's do what the Australians did. Yes we can.
9
In the UK as well gun laws are very strict...you can only obtain a gun if the authorities think you need to have one...and that is not many. Rifle clubs have to keep there rifles at there club.
We have only ever had one school shooting ''Dunblane in Scotland'' and that was heartbreaking enough to the point that gun laws were made even stricter....with the backing of the whole country and done quickly.
We have only ever had one school shooting ''Dunblane in Scotland'' and that was heartbreaking enough to the point that gun laws were made even stricter....with the backing of the whole country and done quickly.
1
Until Republican Leaders begin to receive the rightful blame for this atrocity nothing not chance.
They are COMPLETELY responsible for the death and injury of hundreds of people and should be labeled as such: defenders of mass murder.
Too early to start talking about this? That is the argument of a criminal. Mass shootings have gone on for years now, that is no “too early”. The murder of hundreds has nothing to do with politics unless your party supports it. And they do.
They are COMPLETELY responsible for the death and injury of hundreds of people and should be labeled as such: defenders of mass murder.
Too early to start talking about this? That is the argument of a criminal. Mass shootings have gone on for years now, that is no “too early”. The murder of hundreds has nothing to do with politics unless your party supports it. And they do.
246
Tens of thousands of people's blood...
Blame republicans for the evil acts of a Democrat. Yeah that's about right coming from the progressives.
How long must we suffer at the hands of the angry, the mentally ill, and just plain criminal? Tighten gun laws, congress. Go after the gun lobby, constituents. Make the gun manufacturers liable for the automatic weapons and the kits that make rapid-fire weaponry. Go after them. Go after them.
255
Join Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense in America. If everyone who felt strongly about this dreadful issue were to join that organization, it could no longer be ignored.
But the senators and congresspeople will lose millions upon millions of contributions from the same people that you are pointing a figure at!
What's more important to senators and congresspeople?
Getting reelected or trying to set up laws to prevent American people from getting killed by guns?
What's more important to senators and congresspeople?
Getting reelected or trying to set up laws to prevent American people from getting killed by guns?
Ah, but they can be dramatically reduced through legislation. If one life is saved, is it not worth it? Or do profits to the firearm industry and their political trained seals take precedent over one or a few or, perhaps, many innocent lives? You have only to look to Australia as an example. Show me a valid argument in the face of their statistics.
The search for the why he did it, always leaves out a simpler explanation. He was mentally deranged, tired of life and wanted to commit suicide but before he did this final act, he wanted to leave a worldwide recognition act using all his weapons that he had accumulated over time.
2
"...Mr. McConnell said. “And I think it’s premature to be discussing legislative solutions, if there are any.”
The only way these Republican gun fetishists in Congress will enact gun control legislation will be if a "constituent" with an assault weapon shoots up their hallowed hall during a session. Then we would see action!
The only way these Republican gun fetishists in Congress will enact gun control legislation will be if a "constituent" with an assault weapon shoots up their hallowed hall during a session. Then we would see action!
4
I have absolutely no hope of seeing our spineless Congress take any meaningful action toward gun control. They offer thoughts and prayers, as if that helps. This week it was 59 people killed. Next week, who knows how many? How many will be the magic number that will tip the scales for Congress? 100? 200? How many have to die before we realize that we should politicize these deaths and that it is the right time to talk about gun control?
5
I would like to offer my thoughts and prayers to Congress. Now seems like a good time. I pray Congress will STOP taking NRA cash which helps to advance domestic terrorism in America. I pray that the 90 people a day killed by guns rest in peace, along with all the loved ones they left behind. I pray for the 3% of the population who own 50% of the weapons in America, that they can find something better to do with their time. But I guess when you own over 50% of our government, you have a lot to defend.
5
Iowa recently joined the bandwagon of states that now allow folks to buy and use silencers (though the NRA prefers the less scary-sounding term "suppressors"). Imagine how much worse the Vegas slaughter would have been if victims and police couldn't hear the shots? How much longer would it have taken for people to figure out what was happening? How many more people would have been shot while police hunted for clues of the gunman's location? Just plain crazy.
4
I am not anti-gun but I am anti-automatic weaponry. There are no good, legitimate reason to have automatic rifles. What are you going to use them for, to hunt deer and quail?
4
Apparently none of them were actual automatics; they were converted with bump stocks.
I'm a strict conservative when it comes to the second amendment, and this being the first time I've heard of them, I completely support a ban on them.
I'm a strict conservative when it comes to the second amendment, and this being the first time I've heard of them, I completely support a ban on them.
3
The mass murder of 59 people should be called Terrorism. A political agenda may or may not be apparent, but a mass murder like this, which involved meticulous planning and execution was surely meant to terrorize.
8
Terrorism, by definition, includes some political end. What political end was the gunman after? So far, there is no evidence of any. In fact, the only political hay being made of this event is from the gun control crowd.
I guess if you want to terrorize people into being more supportive of gun control, mass shootings is one way of doing it.
I guess if you want to terrorize people into being more supportive of gun control, mass shootings is one way of doing it.
1
I envision that one day in my son's lifetime, there will be a section in the major newspapers that itemize that week's (or day's) mass murder tallies, with short profiles of the murderers. Just part of the ongoing normalization of this country's basic insanity. Our leaders don't govern; they ....spew.
11
Do you think for one minute that police would still be searching for a motive if this guys name was Bashar?
9
Let's be realistic. Certain forms of terrorism, like shooting at people from buildings, cannot be prevented.
35
Automatic weapons can be prevented, however.
9
Gee other countries have people and buildings and guns but not the mass executions that we have.Why is that?
5
Nor can you prevent certain forms of suicide by gun like that chosen by 60 Americans every day. But you can try to limit, deter and prevent shooting people from a buildings with semi-automatic and automatic weapons.
There is no evidence that Stephen Paddock was a terrorist. There is plenty of evidence that Paddock was a murderer. There is no evidence that Paddock was mentally ill or emotionally disturbed. Lee Harvey Oswald and James Earl Ray managed to change history by killing a single human being from their building perch.
There is no evidence that Stephen Paddock was a terrorist. There is plenty of evidence that Paddock was a murderer. There is no evidence that Paddock was mentally ill or emotionally disturbed. Lee Harvey Oswald and James Earl Ray managed to change history by killing a single human being from their building perch.
2
The sins of the father will be visited upon the children.
51
No. He did this himself.
1
The fact that guns are such a polarizing issue in the US means no gun control.
My question to honest gun owners...I own a shotgun...is why does anyone need an assult weapon? Not for hunting and this guy had a small arsenal at his disposal. 50 dead..500 injured by 10 mins of fire. Why? Tell the families of each person..why you need a weapon of mass destruction so badly? Answer? You don't!
My question to honest gun owners...I own a shotgun...is why does anyone need an assult weapon? Not for hunting and this guy had a small arsenal at his disposal. 50 dead..500 injured by 10 mins of fire. Why? Tell the families of each person..why you need a weapon of mass destruction so badly? Answer? You don't!
12
No one has an "assault weapon". It is a political misnomer created by the left intended to scare.
The vast majority of Americans can only purchase semi-automatic rifles or handguns.
The bump stock is what we need to look at banning (look it up if you don't know what it is; I'm a veteran and hadn't heard of them).
The vast majority of Americans can only purchase semi-automatic rifles or handguns.
The bump stock is what we need to look at banning (look it up if you don't know what it is; I'm a veteran and hadn't heard of them).
1
Biff, while you’re parsing words and ragging on the “left” - ie, your neighbors, schoolteachers, cops, etc - people are being mown down, hundreds at a time, by “non-assault type weapons.”
You’re a veteran? Then you’ve served your country, thank you. But the partisan rancor is not helping right now.
You’re a veteran? Then you’ve served your country, thank you. But the partisan rancor is not helping right now.
1
republicans have much to answer for. They were his wing men, his enablers. Without them he would not have had "automatic" weapons.
They refused to outright ban the "bump stock". Their ridiculous allowing of a "bump stock". But be sure not to use it, has filled many caskets and overflowed hospitals with the wounded.
Bullets "Rained" down on helpless people because of the republicans.
The republicans wouldn't do anything to save lives, but they had plenty of time, and plenty of help from Russia's Putin, to run hate ads and fake news against Mrs. Clinton, like the TV ad showing us a scared woman nervously beseeching us that "Hillary wants to take my gun away, so I won't be able to defend myself"
Sleep well. Those Gerrymandered republicans are in charge. Only a matter of time before another massacre, then another, then another, then .......
They refused to outright ban the "bump stock". Their ridiculous allowing of a "bump stock". But be sure not to use it, has filled many caskets and overflowed hospitals with the wounded.
Bullets "Rained" down on helpless people because of the republicans.
The republicans wouldn't do anything to save lives, but they had plenty of time, and plenty of help from Russia's Putin, to run hate ads and fake news against Mrs. Clinton, like the TV ad showing us a scared woman nervously beseeching us that "Hillary wants to take my gun away, so I won't be able to defend myself"
Sleep well. Those Gerrymandered republicans are in charge. Only a matter of time before another massacre, then another, then another, then .......
10
This vicious terrorist meticulously planned his carnage meanwhile cowardly Republican politicians make excuses and sweep the issues of gun violence under the rug. They say now is not the time to talk about this. When should we talk after another mass murder?
5
Stephen Paddock's malign malice aforethought motive plan was to kill as many human beings as he could followed by his suicide. If he were black or Muslim or Arab or Mexican that would be used to define him as a terrorist and a criminal. But since he was not, his mental health and emotional stability become distractions from the possibility that he was simply an evil cruel selfish sane narcissist by nature and nurture.
244
You said it, Blackmamba. I couldn't agree more.
1
You define everything through race. Its no way to live.
1
Do you think Blackmamba is incorrect?
Any GOP legislator that says "now is not the time" is nothing more than a NRA shill without the morals to continue in office.
700
An 'F' rating from the NRA should be a badge of honor!
2
... additionally a coward.
Any Progressive that is saying, "Now is the time" is taking full advantage of an opportunity to push the liberal gun control agenda.
Stricter gun laws wether we want it or not.... It has to be done to prevent future incidents... It's crazy that you are able to purchase that many fire arms. I don't care how "sane" you are that's way too many. Especially explosives. Dude was a one man army..
13
The spineless Paul Ryan and the gutless McConnell have no conscience. I doubt their stomach would churn even if it were someone close to them involved in this tragedy. This is how much they love power. Always hiding behind 'politicizing the issue while the investigation is not complete' veil to let this tragedy pass till another one occurs and on and on it goes.
I have no faith in our system - I gave up when nothing happened after the Sandy Hook shooting.
America is so busy fighting wars overseas that it has no idea about the one happening on its own soil by the NRA.
I have no faith in our system - I gave up when nothing happened after the Sandy Hook shooting.
America is so busy fighting wars overseas that it has no idea about the one happening on its own soil by the NRA.
18
Maybe the motive was...."because he could."
Anyone allowed to amass that much fire power surely has an itchy finger.
This is the American reality of a nation bought and paid for by the NRA.
Anyone allowed to amass that much fire power surely has an itchy finger.
This is the American reality of a nation bought and paid for by the NRA.
28
Guns don't kill people? They certainly seem to help!
5
All comments on this mass murder, searching for motives of the killer, are obsolete. The answer ist simple: THAT'S AMERICA !!
5
Republicans liked to criticize President Obama for not using the words ‘radical Islamic terrorism’ even though Obama did his best to fight radical Islamic terrorism.
Perhaps it's time for the Republican President and Republican to start using the words 'domestic white Christian male 2nd Amendment terrorism' and the 'National teRrorist Association' that sponsors the NRA Congress and all of these 'domestic white Christian male 2nd Amendment terrorists'.
After all, the American deaths caused by these 'domestic white Christian male 2nd Amendment terrorists' vastly outnumber those caused by Muslims since 2001.
Say it, white male Christian Republican hypocrites: "domestic white Christian male 2nd Amendment terrorists" are terrorizing America.
Perhaps it's time for the Republican President and Republican to start using the words 'domestic white Christian male 2nd Amendment terrorism' and the 'National teRrorist Association' that sponsors the NRA Congress and all of these 'domestic white Christian male 2nd Amendment terrorists'.
After all, the American deaths caused by these 'domestic white Christian male 2nd Amendment terrorists' vastly outnumber those caused by Muslims since 2001.
Say it, white male Christian Republican hypocrites: "domestic white Christian male 2nd Amendment terrorists" are terrorizing America.
109
The NRA enables and supports Domestic Terrorism.
17
The fact that any one person can legally purchase 47 firearms and not get a knock on the door from law enforcement is disturbing. How is it that the second amendment trumps all other rights? Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, unless your neighbor wants to fire hundreds of rounds a minute in your direction, because his right to do so is of paramount importance.
42
The bump stock is an example of a technology clearly design to work around the laws regulating fully automatic weapons. These devices should be banned.
34
John - the "bump stock" goes back to the 12-gauge bump-pump shotguns - "trench clearers" - of WWI. It isn't, as you say, "technology designed to work around the laws" so much as a military-grade modification like a fully automatic weapon is. And agreed- these devices should be banned.
1
Totally agree with banning bump stocks and any other device that emulates full auto fire. Suppressors should be left strictly controlled as well. They do not "silence" gunshots, but if this guy had one, it would have been MUCH harder to determine where he was, as suppressors also suppress muzzle flash.
1
Actually, the holder of the current patents describes this technology as specifically intended to enable public access to class 3 firearms. See: https://www.ammoland.com/2016/08/slide-fire-inventor-jeremiah-cottle/
1
If I have to provide government issued photo ID (compared to a photo taken at the counter in some states) and be checked against a national database in order to purchase decongestant why can't similar restrictions be placed on ammunition?
52
I tried to purchase pipe cleaners the other day at a rite aid drug store and they wanted to see my derivers license. I left!
I bet nothing will happen to the "gun control" even after this tragic event. Gun manufacturers just have made too much money. "Money" is just too powerful to ignore that every elected officials will need them in the next round of re-election. Heaven forbidden, unless something bad really happened to these elected officials and their families, they wouldn't feel the same thing as those of the victim families and thus change their voting patterns. My heart goes to those families of the victims especially those young ones who has such a long bright future ahead of them.
90
Not even the shooting of "one of their own, Steve Scalese, has moved congress to do something so don't expect anything now.
1
Usok: Something really bad did happen, Steve Scalise was shot at a baseball game in DC and has now been able to go back to work after 4 months of treatment and rehabilitation. He said recently that his not being killed and his recovery is a miracle that god was responsible for: not the first responders at the scene, not the doctors and nurses who provided him with the best health care, not the hospital staff that treated him and then he said, this is not the time to talk gun control or gun safety, so there you have it. They don't even care about themselves so why in the world would they care about us.
1
Has anyone bothered to ask Scalise how he feels about silencers or gun safety issues?
I guess that would be inappropriate since it hasn't been that long since he was shot by a terrorist!
I guess that would be inappropriate since it hasn't been that long since he was shot by a terrorist!
Legislation governing firearms (any type of firearms) is useful only if those who violate the laws are prosecuted. There currently exist a number of federal firearms laws that prohibit various acts (though it's not clear that any such laws were broken in this case) that are not prosecuted. So long as an Attorney General and/or the U.S. Attorneys who work under him/her are unwilling to prosecute federal firearms offenses, however, all of the laws we can dream up will never stop those who violate them. If Congress passes additional legislation governing the purchase/possession/use of firearms, then federal prosecutors need to begin charging and seeking convictions for those who violate these laws. Their failure to do so with those laws currently on the books is inexcusable.
8
There is an opening (dependent) clause in the 2nd Amendment. Why have our courts and politicians chosen to ignore it? The second clause is quite clear if you read it as a stand-alone sentence ("the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed"). But what does that mean in the context of a "well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free State"? (And State is capitalized for a reason.) More importantly, why is this considered a dead argument? To me, this amendment makes no sense in the modern context.
If Republicans want to continue with (relatively) unfettered gun access, they need to repeal the 2nd as it stands and pass a new amendment.
If Republicans want to continue with (relatively) unfettered gun access, they need to repeal the 2nd as it stands and pass a new amendment.
15
Dear Mford,
The 2nd amendment is quite relevant today, as much so as 200+ years ago, and has the same meaning today as it did back then. The context of "a well regulated militia..." is still relevant today. Well-regulated means well trained, not, as you might think, "well controlled by the government". And militia refers to ALL males aged 17-45, not to members of the military. Lookup the federal law 10 U.S.C. Sec. 246. The reference to States refers to individual states, like NY or NJ, not to the federal United States. So the first clause can be rephrased as "Since it is necessary that all 17-45 males be well trained to defend their home state". The second clause refers to two rights: the right to "keep" and the right to "bear" arms. The right to keep means the right to own. And the right to bear means the right to have on your person when in public. Just some things to think about.
The 2nd amendment is quite relevant today, as much so as 200+ years ago, and has the same meaning today as it did back then. The context of "a well regulated militia..." is still relevant today. Well-regulated means well trained, not, as you might think, "well controlled by the government". And militia refers to ALL males aged 17-45, not to members of the military. Lookup the federal law 10 U.S.C. Sec. 246. The reference to States refers to individual states, like NY or NJ, not to the federal United States. So the first clause can be rephrased as "Since it is necessary that all 17-45 males be well trained to defend their home state". The second clause refers to two rights: the right to "keep" and the right to "bear" arms. The right to keep means the right to own. And the right to bear means the right to have on your person when in public. Just some things to think about.
1
Tell me first what "militia" means in the context of the Second Amendment: specifically, what does the term mean in the historical context in which the amendment was written.
1
The National Guard (referred to as the "organized militia" in 10 U.S.C. Sec. 246 and greatly expanded in the Defense Act of 1916) carries on the responsibilities of the "militia" as it was generally known in the 18th-19th century. To suggest that the "unorganized militia" (i.e., males who are not part of the National Guard) serves any relevant purpose or even exists beyond certain fantasies seems disconnected from reality in the 21st Century.
2
The motive is irrelevant. The fact that almost anyone can legally and easily acquire high-power firearms and amunitions that can arm a platoon to commit mass murder, is all that matters. This has nothing to do with self-defense. We are living in a (mostly) peaceful developed country, we are not in Somali. We should not need to bring our AR-15s to shop at Target or Costco.
We NEED more restrictive gun laws. This is common sense - No matter which party you affiliate with, no matter whether you are a gun owner or not. Otherwise, it is just a matter of time, this newly established casualty record is broken in the near future.
We NEED more restrictive gun laws. This is common sense - No matter which party you affiliate with, no matter whether you are a gun owner or not. Otherwise, it is just a matter of time, this newly established casualty record is broken in the near future.
18
It is not about the guns. These type of automatic and then semi automatic weapons were available to US public forever. The uptick mass shootings with pistols or these types of rifles says more about our increasing social isolation and alienation than about gun control. Social alienation comes by way of sprawl and suburbanization, family court federal money incentives to break up the family, etc. When we are taking care of each other and looking out for one another, these sort of things (like this and 9-11) do not happen. These mass disasters like Harvey and Irma and Mandalay Bay are designed to show us that we are ONE.
1
If for whatever reason we’ve become less able to deal with our guns responsibly then the laws of access have to reflect that, at least until we get our act back together. Seems obvious.
1
That only an odd mosaic of federal jobs has emerged thus far sends up immediate red flags. Work history these days is easily established. I would not be in the least bit surprised if it turns out he was a contractor for an intelligence agency.
1
I also fail to understand how this guy became a "multimillionaire" with any of those jobs. Where did his money come from?
Do you people even read this publication here?
Mr. Paddock quit those jobs in the 80s, to become a REAL ESTATE INVESTOR. He worked with one of his brothers. They made millions of dollars on REAL ESTATE. They renovated and "flipped" apartment buildings.
The brother said that just one transaction of a large apartment building, brought each brother about $2 million a piece.
He described his brother Stephen as a "multi-millionaire".
Mr. Paddock quit those jobs in the 80s, to become a REAL ESTATE INVESTOR. He worked with one of his brothers. They made millions of dollars on REAL ESTATE. They renovated and "flipped" apartment buildings.
The brother said that just one transaction of a large apartment building, brought each brother about $2 million a piece.
He described his brother Stephen as a "multi-millionaire".
1
As the police have confirmed, nine to eleven minutes of shooting in a very busy, high profile location like the Vegas strip, is not a good performance by law enforcement. For the police to say we never imagined someone shooting from a hotel room at a crowd below is just poor contingency planning.
27
What I see from the video clip is the police doing just what we all hope they would be doing: charging into the scene, doing their best to protect citizens and to eliminate the threat. Just like the firefighters during 9/11, they were charging up the stairs while everybody else was being guided away to safety. I salute those brave police officers!
5
This is so true. Just like some of the response to 9/11–we never knew they’d use the planes! Nonsense. We knew. And if we didn’t know, then shame on us for having the imagination of an oyster. So many of our essential institutions are dominated by men of medium intelligence surrounded by sycophants and shills. It creates the worst kind of groupthink. Deadly.
2
Disagree.
Law enforcement has to identify the precise location, 32 stories up, assemble the team to make contact, ensuring that they have the correct weaponry to engage and then make that trip partly by elevator and the rest by stairs.
Once on the 32nd floor they have to find the correct room and make a rapid entry.
You only have one chance to get it right.
Law enforcement has to identify the precise location, 32 stories up, assemble the team to make contact, ensuring that they have the correct weaponry to engage and then make that trip partly by elevator and the rest by stairs.
Once on the 32nd floor they have to find the correct room and make a rapid entry.
You only have one chance to get it right.
3
We need to focus on the difference between "action" and effective action. Now the focus is on a new word for most of us (bump stock) - but that isn't the real problem or solution. Knee jerk calls for this or that piece of legislation are just our demands to see "action." Effective action would be comprehensive bans on the manufacture and sale of all types of automatic/semi weapons which no citizen needs, and smart chips on every gun that alerts a data base whenever it is detached from a required smart technology safe storage locking/docking device. That would put a new burden on observation but could reveal a cluster of artillery buildup - i.e., hey, this person just unlocked 22 weapons, let's go find him and see why. But it obviously won't be foolproof and will just create more opportunity in the illegal markets.
145
Exactly. And if we can bug and listen to every single phone call made, then the infrastructure for your solution should be no problem. In fact, it probably is already in place.
2
With 300 million guns in private hands...how on earth would you do this? You could require on new guns, but not on older guns.
And obviously people can retrofit guns with "bump stocks" -- they can do all kinds of alterations -- so they would quickly figure out how to defeat any "technology".
For gods sakes, hackers have infiltrated the DNC, the State Department, Hillary Clinton's private servers -- and you think they cannot defeat a gun lock?
And obviously people can retrofit guns with "bump stocks" -- they can do all kinds of alterations -- so they would quickly figure out how to defeat any "technology".
For gods sakes, hackers have infiltrated the DNC, the State Department, Hillary Clinton's private servers -- and you think they cannot defeat a gun lock?
1
good grief.....ask yourself what the motive was....then fix what creates motive. do you know what the motive of these folks are? it is celebrity. what/who creates celebrity?
Meticulous planning indeed. The GOP wing in the House and Senate should be so meticulous in curbing this lunacy with sensible gun control legislation.
79
Senator Mitch McConnell said “And I think it’s premature to be discussing legislative solutions, if there are any.” Premature? This is not the only mass shooting that has occurred in the United States. When exactly is the right time? Through inaction by our elected officials in Washington D.C. we will face more mass shootings by deranged killers. Gun shows happen frequently throughout the year in Las Vegas with one coming up this weekend. We must stop this madness for our safety. Gun violence in this country has spread like a pandemic and we the people are sitting ducks just waiting for the next one to occur or where we can be killed by others who have no business owning a gun. We must also crush the NRA's stranglehold on our elected officials. As a former gun owner of three semi-automatic rifles, I bought into the whole gun culture. I am glad that I am rid of these implements of death. Now is the time for the House, the Senate and this president to do their jobs to protect we the people! It's too late for those innocent people who were killed in Las Vegas and other mass shootings. Unless congress and this president do something about this pandemic, their prayers mean nothing.
528
If a schoolhouse of dead kids didn't bring legislative action, why would this?
We are a nation of hand-wringers. Let's get used to the NRA government. All hail death. DC v. Heller in 2008 opened the floodgate, so celebrate the tenth anniversary as you see fit - someone somewhere is planning a death fest, no doubt - buy an M-16 and kill, kill, kill?
We are a nation of hand-wringers. Let's get used to the NRA government. All hail death. DC v. Heller in 2008 opened the floodgate, so celebrate the tenth anniversary as you see fit - someone somewhere is planning a death fest, no doubt - buy an M-16 and kill, kill, kill?
Yeah...how did you get rid of those three semi-automatic rifles and to whom did you sell them? If you are an individual you obviously (or more likely than not) do not possess an FFL from the BAT. Did you perform a background check and do you know they got into the "right" hands at the point of sale?
Our problem is not guns in this country. It is mentally deranged people with guns in this country. We must resolve ourselves to better deal with people with mental health issues.
Our problem is not guns in this country. It is mentally deranged people with guns in this country. We must resolve ourselves to better deal with people with mental health issues.
1
These cowards in Washington will do nothing AT ALL. They have blood on their hands.
Shame on anyone who blames the shooter only and not the gun. Without the gun he could never have done what he did. Who needs an automatic weapon? Certainly not the average gun owner.
The arguement I heard by a Republican Senator yesterday claiming our constitutional right to own weapons in case our government should become, and I quote Socialist, Communist, or anything that takes away our rights. Don't we have a right to congregate and socialize without feeling constantly afraid some with a gun will snap.
Dead is forever. Ourountry needs to wake up and see what the NRA has done to us.
The arguement I heard by a Republican Senator yesterday claiming our constitutional right to own weapons in case our government should become, and I quote Socialist, Communist, or anything that takes away our rights. Don't we have a right to congregate and socialize without feeling constantly afraid some with a gun will snap.
Dead is forever. Ourountry needs to wake up and see what the NRA has done to us.
180
Well said, thank you.
1
Precisely. What about my daughter's and my wife's and my rights to not live in a battlefield?
If you carry that logic through, then it is the Republican Party that is taking away the rights of Americans through years of gerrymandering, refusing to hold hearings on the nominees of a Democratic president, destroying any and all consumer and environmental protections, etc etc etc. when one man did take "2A" action against a republican congressman, they called him a madman. Conservatives were not so outraged when it was a Democratic congressman who was shot a few years ago.
Ah well, gun stocks are trading well, as they always do after a shooting like this. Since the NRA owns the congress and dictates to the POTUS, you'll never go poor investing in guns in this country.
Ah well, gun stocks are trading well, as they always do after a shooting like this. Since the NRA owns the congress and dictates to the POTUS, you'll never go poor investing in guns in this country.
Nothing was done after 20 children and 6 teachers were gunned down in Sandy Hook. Nothing will be done after this most recent horror show. Disheartening evidence of just how broken our political system is. :/
41
Agreed. I realized after Sandy Hook that if 20 dead children and 6 dead adults brought no action, nothing ever will. The reason is that we are surrounded by people who, in fact, don't care if others live or die.
Just after Sandy Hook, NPR did a story in which a reporter went to a gun show in upstate NY. One of the attendees told the reporter, "They're trying to take away our rights for no reason." Think about that. Dead people, including children, are literally meaningless to them. Armed psychopaths are dictating the course of society.
Just after Sandy Hook, NPR did a story in which a reporter went to a gun show in upstate NY. One of the attendees told the reporter, "They're trying to take away our rights for no reason." Think about that. Dead people, including children, are literally meaningless to them. Armed psychopaths are dictating the course of society.
2
It's not just our political system that is broken. Our whole society is broken. The worship of guns, violence, death, and mayhem is widespread. There are more guns than people in the U.S. There is currently a law being pushed through Congress to make silencers more widely legal. In many states it is legal to march outside the state house with a long gun, to march in the streets with guns, to carry weapons into grocery stores and restaurants and even into churches and schools. Teachers now carry guns into Kindergartens. Just about the only place it is NOT legal to carry a gun is inside the halls of Congress, the Supreme Court, and the Statehouses (our brave leaders aren't THAT dumb).
1
Since the government refuses to take any action to protect me and my family from these mass murderers, it is time to take action myself. From now on, I intend to limit my exposure in public places that would be attractive to these mental defectives. Especially outdoor places where there are few safe areas. I urge all Americans to do the same. Maybe when businesses start losing money, the Republicans will pay attention. After all, the lives being lost or shattered don't seem to matter to them at all.
What kind of motive could there possibly be that would explain why anyone would kill 58 people he didn't know in a matter of minutes?
9
Reports from where, James? The NYT? Washington Post?
Please cite your sources.
Please cite your sources.
No current gun laws would have prevented this obscenity. But there are a few dozen Stephen Paddock's out there now watching this and taking notes - and its those who rapid legislative response may be able to able to target and thwart. To not understand this is a failure of imagination.
Everyone of us is capable of bold decisive action when circumstances dictate - except for, and unfortunately, when in comes to Congress - who thus far seem incapable of any action designed to keep the living from becoming the dead.
Everyone of us is capable of bold decisive action when circumstances dictate - except for, and unfortunately, when in comes to Congress - who thus far seem incapable of any action designed to keep the living from becoming the dead.
13
The Republican Congress is bought and paid for by the NRA and weapons manufacturers. They do not represent the people and those think so are fools.
On a radio call in yesterday on NPR a woman said she owned 50 guns because her guns were the only thing that made her safe. There were a couple of questions I would have liked to ask her, such as: what are your 50 guns keeping you safe from? How to you balance the safety your guns provide against the dangers they create? And why 50? After all you can only use one at a time.
But I didn't get to ask her anything, and even if I had I doubt her answers would have satisfied me. I've heard people like her before, many times before. Their guns are an act of faith, not of reason. They make them feel safe the way a child feels safe clutching a stuffed animal. It is a talisman.
But there is more to it that that. There is the part that most gun enthusiasts won't tell you, at least not directly. That is the part about liking their guns precisely because the guns give them the power to kill human beings, including themselves. They want the option of death by their own hands, their own death and other people's deaths.
This is the American sickness that surely derives from our original sins of slavery and genocide. America loves guns because America is fixated on violent death.
But I didn't get to ask her anything, and even if I had I doubt her answers would have satisfied me. I've heard people like her before, many times before. Their guns are an act of faith, not of reason. They make them feel safe the way a child feels safe clutching a stuffed animal. It is a talisman.
But there is more to it that that. There is the part that most gun enthusiasts won't tell you, at least not directly. That is the part about liking their guns precisely because the guns give them the power to kill human beings, including themselves. They want the option of death by their own hands, their own death and other people's deaths.
This is the American sickness that surely derives from our original sins of slavery and genocide. America loves guns because America is fixated on violent death.
113
And how many guns does one have to have to feel safe?
The motive, in my opinion, for the Las Vegas shooter is as simple as he wanted to be the man responsible for the most killings in a US mass shooting ever.
He wanted to be #1, the top of the list, most famous mass murderer ever. Go down in history with John Wilkes Booth, famous forever.
He wanted to be #1, the top of the list, most famous mass murderer ever. Go down in history with John Wilkes Booth, famous forever.
7
It doesn't matter that the investigation is still ongoing. What matters is that for $99 you can transform your rifle into a machine gun. What matters is that you can purchase thousands of rounds of ammunition.
Having lots of guns isn't like stamp collecting or buying old Chevys and fixing them up. It isn't even like collectors who display and cherish beautifully wrought pistols from the 1800s or old rifles from the 1800s with exquisitely carved stocks.
Amassing modern weapons is like having a private munitions depot. It isn't a hobby. If we cannot regulate such purchases then we have no right to call ourselves civilzed.
I would also like to see criminals stay in jail and not get released, and to be able to take a baseball bat, without repercussions, to the guy who's been trying in the dead of night to open all the car doors on our block. (Perhaps that's not cvilized either, but then clobbering a man for trying to rob you tends to be illegal. But I digress.)
Having lots of guns isn't like stamp collecting or buying old Chevys and fixing them up. It isn't even like collectors who display and cherish beautifully wrought pistols from the 1800s or old rifles from the 1800s with exquisitely carved stocks.
Amassing modern weapons is like having a private munitions depot. It isn't a hobby. If we cannot regulate such purchases then we have no right to call ourselves civilzed.
I would also like to see criminals stay in jail and not get released, and to be able to take a baseball bat, without repercussions, to the guy who's been trying in the dead of night to open all the car doors on our block. (Perhaps that's not cvilized either, but then clobbering a man for trying to rob you tends to be illegal. But I digress.)
5
iAlthough they do not rule out mental conditions, at this point psychiatrists say they were "probably" not the main reason. As for looking into guns too soon, did we wait to investigate 9/11?
6
Mitch McConnell says this shouldn’t be politicized — what about calling it what it is, which is having a common-sense reaction in the context of a democratic society?
Gun violence is a public health issue, not a political issue.
Gun violence is a public health issue, not a political issue.
57
it is also a question of whether we are to be a civilized society or one of greed and anarchy.
The NRA will continue to fund domestic terrorism while Washington keeps its hands open wide, all the while espousing their mantra "now is not the time to have a conversation about guns". Guns are used to kill 90 people a day, so I guess there will never be a good time to talk about what keeps America from being a truly free society. 3% of the population own 50% of the weapons in America. From the looks of it, they also own over 50% of our government.
55
"while Washington keeps its hands open wide,"
It is not "Washington" it is the Republican Party (enabled by anyone who votes for Republicans)
Here is the list of those bought by the NRA
https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000082
It is not "Washington" it is the Republican Party (enabled by anyone who votes for Republicans)
Here is the list of those bought by the NRA
https://www.opensecrets.org/orgs/recips.php?id=D000000082
7
If anyone says they care about and admire the first responders, why do they dismiss any calls for gun control?
30
So, let's say you're the type of person who feels like life and the world have failed you. You feel bullied, underestimated, unable to attract the kind of significant other or respect you feel you deserve and, in your twisted mind, infamy is the same as fame. Considering the incredible amount of coverage each mass killer receives in the aftermath of every shooting, it's not difficult to wonder what motivates some to commit such evil. No, this is not the only explanation at all, but there's certainly a logical connection.
I personally do not want to know all about the killers. I don't want the photos of them posing ridiculously with guns and flags to be burned into my retinas from being seen too often. I don't want to know their life stories and the possible motives. I don't want to watch their stunned family members struggle to connect the person they knew with the evil they did.
No more glorifying the precise planning of the murderers or speaking their names. Assign a goofy nickname (Side Show Bob for the Aurora shooter and Duh for the current one) so facts can still be covered. If you must show photos, blur the face. Obviously, the families will still be notified and a community will eventually put two and two together, but a Nobody will no longer be able to become a Somebody by killing countless innocents.
We could also do something about the relaxed gun laws, which are a joke, but with the GOP so in step with the NRA, who're we kidding?
I personally do not want to know all about the killers. I don't want the photos of them posing ridiculously with guns and flags to be burned into my retinas from being seen too often. I don't want to know their life stories and the possible motives. I don't want to watch their stunned family members struggle to connect the person they knew with the evil they did.
No more glorifying the precise planning of the murderers or speaking their names. Assign a goofy nickname (Side Show Bob for the Aurora shooter and Duh for the current one) so facts can still be covered. If you must show photos, blur the face. Obviously, the families will still be notified and a community will eventually put two and two together, but a Nobody will no longer be able to become a Somebody by killing countless innocents.
We could also do something about the relaxed gun laws, which are a joke, but with the GOP so in step with the NRA, who're we kidding?
12
Obviously we need to have a complete investigation. But i'm sure all of the background checks in the world would not have prevented him from killing people.
2
If guns were illegal as they should be it would have been much more difficult to build such a devastating arsenal as easily as this man has done.
1
Really? LOL!!!! I guess that we'll make trucks, knives, stones, bricks, bottles, crow bars..... Heck. Just make living illegal.
1
John Edelmann: the man had a house full of bomb making supplies -- and two private airplanes.
It is absurd to suggest that guns were the only way he could have committed mass murder.
We know that people have been murdered by TRUCKS running into crowds -- and bombs -- and pressure cookers -- and Sarin gas poison in subways.
It is absurd to suggest that guns were the only way he could have committed mass murder.
We know that people have been murdered by TRUCKS running into crowds -- and bombs -- and pressure cookers -- and Sarin gas poison in subways.
1
It amazes me that times like this the GOP doesn't even pretend to be sympathetic to the victims, the public or even common decency. Stonewalling government action on the militarizing of the gun control public is bad enough. They won't even pay lip service to the idea. They can keep their phony "thoughts and prayers" too. The 2nd Amendment's first concern is a "well-regulated militia". We didn't have an army in the 1780's so private citizens defended us. I'm sick of people saying they are strong on the Second Amendment when they are completely wrong on its Original Interpretation. Justice Scalia forgot his own ridiculous interpretation f the Constitution when he wrote the opinions on various gun laws and claimed the Amendment gives people an unrestricted right to bear arms. Sensible limitations on guns for the health, welfare and safety of the public are the GOP's DUTY and they know it. And SC should revisit their horrible Second Amendment jurisprudence.
22
If the GOP does nothing else (although I suspect "thoughts and prayers" will likely be as far as they go, bless their hearts), can we at least ban bump stocks and stop Congressman Jeff Duncan's idiotic legislation which would make silencers legal?
I would remind the GOP that they did nothing after Sandy Hook. They did nothing after Pulse. It's not "too soon"; the right time is now.
I would remind the GOP that they did nothing after Sandy Hook. They did nothing after Pulse. It's not "too soon"; the right time is now.
12
It is way past the time for the government to intervene. Congress should be shamed into oblivion. Their concern for their constituent's safety remains empty while they continue to get elected from funding through the NRA. Another problem is those wacky militia thinking they need to defend themselves from ISIS.
5
Dear elected representatives who cower from the NRA -
How hard is it to do the right thing and pass some sensible gun laws and regulations? Stop telling me this is the "price of freedom," or that it is not the right time to talk about guns. For those who died and who were injured, it is too late; they don't get to have a voice and your previous inaction has failed them. You are as much to blame as the "crazy" perpatrator of this vicious act.
And while you're at it, consider the brutal healthcare costs to be borne by those who have survived, many of whom, would be without care, had you had your way these past few months in your zealous effort to repeal the ACA.
Be at least as brave as those who had to cradle the dead in their arms while bullets rained down upon them and do something moral and right. Pass gun laws that actually protect citizens, not endanger them. Enough with the NRA and their money. Enough stalling. Enough! Enough! Enough!
How hard is it to do the right thing and pass some sensible gun laws and regulations? Stop telling me this is the "price of freedom," or that it is not the right time to talk about guns. For those who died and who were injured, it is too late; they don't get to have a voice and your previous inaction has failed them. You are as much to blame as the "crazy" perpatrator of this vicious act.
And while you're at it, consider the brutal healthcare costs to be borne by those who have survived, many of whom, would be without care, had you had your way these past few months in your zealous effort to repeal the ACA.
Be at least as brave as those who had to cradle the dead in their arms while bullets rained down upon them and do something moral and right. Pass gun laws that actually protect citizens, not endanger them. Enough with the NRA and their money. Enough stalling. Enough! Enough! Enough!
221
Stop telling me this is the "price of freedom,"
What's going on is about anarchy, not the price of freedom as the defenders would have it.
What's going on is about anarchy, not the price of freedom as the defenders would have it.
And sadly... the victims now have pre existing conditions.
another hurdle.
another hurdle.
Yes yes yes! It's time for marches...
What inappropriate things will Trump say in response to this tragedy? Perhaps he'll open with, "How great was most of that show?" or, "I love Vegas, let me tell you." Then he'll move on to, "No gunman could've gotten away with that at my hotel--we have the most unbreakable windows in the world." Next, he'll recognise the victims: "Everyone who left that concert alive is so lucky, they should go back to Vegas and win a fortune." The NRA will not escape his notice: "The NRA is a very, very fantastic group that keeps people safe. They can't help what one sick guy does." Finally, he'll call Congress to action: ....(crickets). The hits just keep on coming!
34
It’s clear his motive was to kill people. The search for a motive appears to be a search to rationalize these murders, and then reassure ourselves why it won’t happen again. But it will happen again and again.
We need to get much smarter about this — getting laws passed is difficult and then politicians, such as the governor of Nevada, just ignore our votes. We need a plan to start taking the NRA apart, piece by piece, and attacking vulnerable legal areas in every state. These frontal attacks just get the gun lobby and their supporters activated.
I’m proud three of my representatives earned an F from the NRA.
We need to get much smarter about this — getting laws passed is difficult and then politicians, such as the governor of Nevada, just ignore our votes. We need a plan to start taking the NRA apart, piece by piece, and attacking vulnerable legal areas in every state. These frontal attacks just get the gun lobby and their supporters activated.
I’m proud three of my representatives earned an F from the NRA.
551
"It’s clear his motive was to kill people."
Killing is an action not a motive. We do not know yet the real motive. Lunacy or terrorism.
Killing is an action not a motive. We do not know yet the real motive. Lunacy or terrorism.
2
Your perspective only fuels gun purchases and increases NRA membership. Ironic, liberals/dems want the government to protect them and yet every corner of society they continue to fail.
I'm curious, what gun laws would you like to see passed that would have prevented this mass shooting? People break all kinds of laws every day, don't they? Do laws prevent crime? Do laws against murder and robbery prevent murder and robbery? Hardly. You can try to pass laws to make yourselves feel like you're doing something, but can you seriously claim that you can do anything to stop a madman who wants to kill people?
1
Not hard to get illicit weapons if you have C I A connections. He worked for Military contractors for years. Was he a C recruit? He had a Philippe girlfriend where the big C is running drugs/guns. The C fell all over themselves within hours of the shoot to clear shooter (it's the F B I's job to do domestic intel, not that they have been doing their job at all lately). It all stinks like yesterdays diapers. For a man with such a bad "gambling problem' he sure had no lack of money or resources...
1
Mr. Paddocks guns were not illicit nor illegal; he bought them all legally at gun stores over a 4 state area (California, Utah, Texas and Nevada).
He had not worked for ANYONE (except himself) for at least 20 years or more. He was retired, having made a fortune in the real estate business -- his brother, who was a partner, said "it was at least $2 million in profit on one large apartment building sale".
It's just weird to blame the CIA for this.
He had not worked for ANYONE (except himself) for at least 20 years or more. He was retired, having made a fortune in the real estate business -- his brother, who was a partner, said "it was at least $2 million in profit on one large apartment building sale".
It's just weird to blame the CIA for this.
1
History shows that the single thing Americans do best is kill. And I mean our government too.
4
Trump, McConnell, Hannity, the entire gang who facilitated the slaughter of first graders is back urging this lunatic asylum RIGHT ON.
The NRA and Co. own inter alia the Republican party. No to worry; we have Hillary and she is on tour
The NRA and Co. own inter alia the Republican party. No to worry; we have Hillary and she is on tour
Wow - a lot of planning. Impressive.
If a person is committed to kill innocent people and wants to die in the process, there is no way to stop him. A truck was used to kill 84 people in Nice, France. Pressure cookers were used in the Boston Marathon incident , jet planes on 9/11, etc. ....Blame should be addressed at the killers but self righteous faux outrage by politicians devoid of a real message is to be expected .
2
McConnell is reprehensible. This is only the latest example of his corruption and anti-Americanism.
6
In New York and elsewhere there is a slogan, "si ves algo di algo" - "if you see something, say something". So....this guy walks into a hotel loaded down with baggage. What was the planned length of his stay? Were staff permitted in his room in the few days he occupied the room before the event? Did staff assist him to his room? What did the arsenal he installed in his room weigh on arrival? Was he asked to explain it? Did he offer an explanation? Security training in hotels does not include arousing suspicion about this sort of behavior in today's world? Or, is this all hindsight on my part?
6
Obviously the investigation is not complete, but apparently Mr. Paddock was a frequent visitor to Las Vegas, and a "high roller" who played high stakes card games -- so he had a luxury suite. Likely he stayed for a week or two or even more each visit.
The staff would not have found this unusual. He may even had had his room "comped" as big spenders often have.
Apparently he had a "do not disturb" sign on his door, so the cleaning staff had never entered his suite.
He brought up about 10 large suitcases -- one or two at a time -- on his own. Again, this is apparently not unusual, as some visitors are coming to various trade shows or for business, and carrying their materials with them.
Nobody would have WEIGHED his luggage. He drove from his home in Mesquite, about 90 minutes away. He did not fly to Las Vegas.
Obviously he did not arouse any suspicion, nor did the hotel staff have any particular concerns about him.
The staff would not have found this unusual. He may even had had his room "comped" as big spenders often have.
Apparently he had a "do not disturb" sign on his door, so the cleaning staff had never entered his suite.
He brought up about 10 large suitcases -- one or two at a time -- on his own. Again, this is apparently not unusual, as some visitors are coming to various trade shows or for business, and carrying their materials with them.
Nobody would have WEIGHED his luggage. He drove from his home in Mesquite, about 90 minutes away. He did not fly to Las Vegas.
Obviously he did not arouse any suspicion, nor did the hotel staff have any particular concerns about him.
1
Given even the scant evidence available to the public, I believe the story has just begun and will run deep. Certainly the media will promote the bleep out of this individual's Vegas weekend mass murder shock blow out. The reality is that the general public may not be able to comprehend all factors that motivate this act. One thing is certain, the lectures and politics will be screamed in our faces at new volumes, the name calling will intensify, the divisions will deepen, and the haters will hate with more hatred. More and more of our newly minted culture warriors will snap. And the biggest gun problem will continue to be urban homicide with handguns and this elephant in the room will continue to be ignored in favor of a full assault on the AR-15.
7
It was only this past summer after the Charlottesville Nazi, white supremacist march that Mr. Trump said, unlike other politicians who jump to conclusion. he waits for the facts before commenting. Yet here he is saying the Las Vegas gunman was "sick, and demented." How does he know that? Even law enforcement at the scene have not come to such a conclusion. Had that been a Muslim who did the same thing he would never say the man was sick and demented. But he would conclude the man was a terrorist. When a man set off fires in a casino in Manila, and shooting at people, immediately Trump declared it a terrorist act. Had he taken his own advice, as he claims to wait for facts, he would have known that the man in the Manila casino was a known gambler who owed lots of money. Just a disgruntled sore loser nothing to do with ISIS.
3
It is becoming more apparent with each passing day that we need term limits for members of Congress. Their mealy mouth excuses for not putting into place stricter gun laws is pathetic. I wonder if they would feel the same way if one of their family members was massacred in a mass shooting.
18
Motive ... unless tied to Islamist terror is no more or less story line denouement..
active focus should be on: how does an arsenal get into a major hotel suite
through surveillance 32 floors up... and where and when were the weapons purchased .. a buying history -- even over a extended period of time -- showing
multiple buys should signal to someone that "something is up" . To have a
"do not disturb sign" reign as the damning causative element that allowed the massacre to occur -- speaks to the fallible fact of "security?"
active focus should be on: how does an arsenal get into a major hotel suite
through surveillance 32 floors up... and where and when were the weapons purchased .. a buying history -- even over a extended period of time -- showing
multiple buys should signal to someone that "something is up" . To have a
"do not disturb sign" reign as the damning causative element that allowed the massacre to occur -- speaks to the fallible fact of "security?"
2
All this talk point about hotel security is ridiculous. Should we expect hotels to operate like the White House? Why should we live in a country that constantly feels unsafe so that a few boys and girls can have their mass-murder-capable toys?
3
Sure he was meticulous. Obviously did not know him, but probably safe to assume he was a cold-blooded self-absorbed homicidal psychopath who had the need or wish to assassinate as many totally innocent people as possible. He clearly meant business based on the ammunition photos from his room (readily available online for viewing). Good riddance to a small, evil sub-human. His brother, apparently eager for his own 15 minutes, is incessantly chattering to any news outlet about the "total shock" his family is experiencing, something I find laughable.
2
OK, but the guy was 64 years old! SIXTY FOUR! a senior citizen!
What was planning --- for 40 years? for what reasons? He had no criminal history whatsoever.
The FBI has profiled mass shooters for years, and Stephen Paddock is absolutely the antithesis of the typical shooter -- he's way too old, too rich, too much to lose -- has a family, a girlfriend, two airplanes!
He has no apparent religious ideology. There is so far, no evidence he was broke. He was enjoying a wonderful, long retirement with millions of dollars he made in real estate deals.
It is grossly unfair to blame his brother, who was not involved. The press is obviously badgering the family with questions.
What was planning --- for 40 years? for what reasons? He had no criminal history whatsoever.
The FBI has profiled mass shooters for years, and Stephen Paddock is absolutely the antithesis of the typical shooter -- he's way too old, too rich, too much to lose -- has a family, a girlfriend, two airplanes!
He has no apparent religious ideology. There is so far, no evidence he was broke. He was enjoying a wonderful, long retirement with millions of dollars he made in real estate deals.
It is grossly unfair to blame his brother, who was not involved. The press is obviously badgering the family with questions.
1
"No red flags" I see it over and over again from every news source. "No red flags"
HE OWNED 43 GUNS!!!!! THAT IS NOT NORMAL!!!!! THAT IS A RED FLAG!!!!!
These aren't ceramic kittens d it!!! These are devices with only one purpose. They aren't made for hunting!!! They aren't made for target shooting!!! They aren't collectors items!!! They are human slaughter devices!!! THIS RIGHT WING MASS MURDERER OWNED 43 HUMAN SLAUGHTER DEVICES AND YOU'RE ALL CALLING IT NORMAL!!!!!
HE OWNED 43 GUNS!!!!! THAT IS NOT NORMAL!!!!! THAT IS A RED FLAG!!!!!
These aren't ceramic kittens d it!!! These are devices with only one purpose. They aren't made for hunting!!! They aren't made for target shooting!!! They aren't collectors items!!! They are human slaughter devices!!! THIS RIGHT WING MASS MURDERER OWNED 43 HUMAN SLAUGHTER DEVICES AND YOU'RE ALL CALLING IT NORMAL!!!!!
157
Actually, serious gun collectors often have this many and more guns. I've personally seen collections with well over 100 guns -- all bought legally, and stored properly -- and owned by absolutely law abiding citizens.
Because it is not YOUR hobby, does not mean it is not SOMEONE'S hobby.
Most collectors never fire their guns -- or do so in very limited ways, on ranges, and only once in a while. The guns are VERY valuable and expensive.
In fact, people DO target shooting with semi automatic guns -- and even with (legal) machine guns -- there is one such machine gun range right in Las Vegas.
Because it is not YOUR hobby, does not mean it is not SOMEONE'S hobby.
Most collectors never fire their guns -- or do so in very limited ways, on ranges, and only once in a while. The guns are VERY valuable and expensive.
In fact, people DO target shooting with semi automatic guns -- and even with (legal) machine guns -- there is one such machine gun range right in Las Vegas.
1
Bump Stock
(shoulda' been your headline)
(shoulda' been your headline)
6
If the body camera footage from police officers at the scene of the attack in Las Vegas is not enough for legislation to limit the sale of military assault weapons to the public. Then there will never be any type of horror caused by these weapons that will be bring about change.
29
Evidence is irrelevant.
Corrupt money in politics via the NRA is the driver here. 300 million guns, almost one per every man, woman and child in the US. More guns per capita than any other nation on earth. I fear this horse has left the barn and there may be no turning back.
A National Gun Registry might alert authorities to potential mass murderers.
Corrupt money in politics via the NRA is the driver here. 300 million guns, almost one per every man, woman and child in the US. More guns per capita than any other nation on earth. I fear this horse has left the barn and there may be no turning back.
A National Gun Registry might alert authorities to potential mass murderers.
1
How is the public owning guns still a thing? It baffles me. It’s a weapon, and its sole purpose is to hurt or kill.
30
Americans are a people frightened by that which is dissimilar to them, Jason; that which they do not nor want to understand, Jason. Always have been, always will be.
2
Neighbors talked about the guy being weird. $1000/hand poker professional gambler? Any dealers come forward? Any people who played with him? Any hotel records? Gone 6 months at a time. Any paper trail at all?
8
What do your neighbors say about you? What would they say about you if you had just killed scores of people and yourself? If he really was "weird", why didn't they notify somebody? And so what if he's a big-time gambler -
there are lots of those where I live. You're grasping at straws here. Further, if I had the money, I'd be gone 6 months at a time too - nothing so odd about that for the very wealthy. As for the rest of your questions, answers do not magically materialize once the gun smoke has cleared. Patience, Grasshopper.
there are lots of those where I live. You're grasping at straws here. Further, if I had the money, I'd be gone 6 months at a time too - nothing so odd about that for the very wealthy. As for the rest of your questions, answers do not magically materialize once the gun smoke has cleared. Patience, Grasshopper.
Our education system is faulty. We teach a person how to make money but we have no real classes what is the purpose of life.What a life means , we talk of individual rights but why and how to respect other life .
Shame on our leaders and teachers who are not learning while teaching what is the need of the time . Media is the worst never exposes causes of evil acts ,
Shame on our leaders and teachers who are not learning while teaching what is the need of the time . Media is the worst never exposes causes of evil acts ,
14
Stephen Paddock was 64 years old; he went to school in the 1950s.
I'd say he likely had a very conventional education.
I'd say he likely had a very conventional education.
1
If after 20 first graders were slaughtered in 2012, there were no changes in our gun laws, nothing will happen after this one either. In a couple of weeks, and certainly in a few months, we will go about our business as usual. Those whose lives will forever be changed by this extreme violence will just be added to the many mass murders of the past. And then the carnage will continue in another mall, school, place of worship, night club, work place, movie theater, concert...
109
Since the government refuses to take proactive steps to protect us, I would advise all Americans to avoid malls, schools, places of worship, night clubs, work places, movie theaters, concerts as much as humanly possible. Perhaps when businesses start losing money, the Republicans will pay attention. it's for sure the number of people killed isn't enough to motivate them.
4
I don't disagree with your comment. But there also has not been one iota of investigation into the psychotropic medications these folks might be on and the contribution they make. The Columbine boys, the Colorado/Joker, Cho at VTech, the Connecticut school shooting...all of them were on some sort of med, we know that much, but that's all we know because their health records are sealed. Paddock shot himself, so he was suicidal as well as homicidal. Was he on some meds? It is important we know. It is important that we consider that these prescription medications if you take them might necessarily preclude you from obtaining a firearm license - maybe they need to be a disqualifying factor. It is well known and it is now a black box warning that they often cause suicidal ideation in young people, and there is a woman who just won a suit because her husband killed himself shortly after beginning a particular SSRI. This needs to be looked at ALSO.
Quote: “We will be talking about gun laws as time goes by,” Mr. Trump said as he prepared to leave Washington for hurricane-battered Puerto Rico."
Translation: We're negotiating campaign funding increases with the NRA now to decide how much they value our continued silence."
Translation: We're negotiating campaign funding increases with the NRA now to decide how much they value our continued silence."
292
Our cell phones can track where we are so we can easily find our lost phones or make sure our teenagers are where they claim. But we aren't able to figure out that one citizen has accumulated nearly 50 weapons, 1000s of rounds of ammo, and bump stocks that turn standard semi automatic rifles into machine guns. This discussion isn't about the 2nd amendment, it's about a larger problem that will probably only get worse as technological weapons get more sophisticated. Can't we ask gun makers to put chips in guns to track accumulation? Tough problems require tough solutions.
34
As an engineer who is intimately familiar with the strict safety regulations imposed on the automotive and aerospace industries, I am a big proponent of incorporating technology into guns as a means to at least start addressing some of the most critical issues. Sadly, smart guns are not NRA-approved, thus our un-smart Congress won't entertain that possibility.
1
There is no law against owning 50 guns; my dad had a gun collection with at least that many guns (of all types, but including an actual machine gun). Most such collectors are entirely law abiding citizens who never get so much as a parking ticket.
Simply owning guns is not the key to "who would be a shooter". Adam Lanza didn't own any guns; he stole them from his mother (after murdering her in her sleep). Most guns in most crimes are obtained illegally anyways.
Mr. Paddock may or may not have been an actual gun collector or hobbyist; he might have simply acquired the guns recently as part of his "plan" that included bomb making supplies.
Given other shooters who had bomb making supplies...I'd like to suggest it would be far more productive to keep on eye on people who buy supplies or books about bomb making (or check them out of the library!) than to harass innocent gun owners who have never committed any sort of crime.
Simply owning guns is not the key to "who would be a shooter". Adam Lanza didn't own any guns; he stole them from his mother (after murdering her in her sleep). Most guns in most crimes are obtained illegally anyways.
Mr. Paddock may or may not have been an actual gun collector or hobbyist; he might have simply acquired the guns recently as part of his "plan" that included bomb making supplies.
Given other shooters who had bomb making supplies...I'd like to suggest it would be far more productive to keep on eye on people who buy supplies or books about bomb making (or check them out of the library!) than to harass innocent gun owners who have never committed any sort of crime.
2
Note that the only political group that benefits from terrorism is the Far Right. Trump supporters like to allege that Jihadist terrorists are somehow "left". But that is not the case. Jihadist terrorists are extremist nationalist and religious fundamentalists. Note that the Muslim religion is not that different from Christianity. Scholars classify the Muslim religion as a Western religion, along with Judaism and Christianity. In the United States, Far Right Christian fundamentalists sometimes resort to violence when they think it is in their interest to do so. Muslim fundamentalists are not that different from Christian fundamentalists. Note that during WWII, the Islamists supported H-word, not the Allies. There is nothing remotely "left" about Jihadist terrorists. Is the Far Right coordinating with Jihadist terrorists? I don't know, but it must be thoroughly investigated at once as thoroughly as possible. Note that the Far Right sometimes resorts to violence when they think it is in their political interest to do so. In fact, that is what separates the Far Right and the Far-Left from the Center-Right and the Center-Left: the question about whether it is always unacceptable to use violence for political gain or whether is sometimes OK to do so.
8