Anyone interested in reducing violence, including gun violence, should watch One Punch Homicide. It's getting great reviews and can be seen free online.
Was hoping that we would get through the summer without a shooting. Not to be :(
1
Now that we know that the shooter bought the AK-47 used in this shooting in Nevada perhaps it is time for the State of California to sue the State of Nevada for causing these wrongful deaths by selling a nineteen year old California resident an assault weapon. Such a lawsuit would at least draw attention to the problem created by states with lax gun laws causing problems for states trying to regulate gun sales. God knows we need to do something to stop this madness.
15
@jj. I agree 100% - no gun sales to any out of state buyers would be an excellent start . Another idea- if you buy a gun, you are 100% responsible for any illegal use of it. More gun owners would see an incentive for locking them up if they knew they would be liable for their nephew stealing one and shooting up a bar, school, church or.....it’s time to put real fangs in the gun laws- no exceptions.
8
We pay a human tariff for all the zealots who won't give an inch on the ability of almost anyone to amass an arsenal. Selfishness doesn't cover it.
9
@Geraldine Conrad:
Your comment is right on target.
2
Is it still too soon to talk about gun violence: the profits and the politics ? Maybe a little prayer will stop it, eh?
7
@elizabeth:
"Prayers" . . .
I suspect that this was a deliberately cynical comment, and if so, I absolutely agree.
It's too too telling that reactions to these horrific events fade from the public consciousness ever more quickly. What once was an unfathomable explosion of insanity, measured by decades if not generations, has become sickenly conmon.
As such, over time we become accustomed to the very real possibility that these random murders can occur in virtually any setting -- while we're grocery shopping, filling up our cars' gas tanks, eating in a restaurant, going to a school play, going to school, work, a wedding, a hospital, a kids' sporting event, a walk in a park, even a funeral . . .
It's come to this: one must assume that NO place is safe anymore.
Those who still worship at the altar of the 2nd Amendment, grotesquely warping its intent so to allow any man, woman or child (oh yes, it will eventually come to that, out of sheer survival) will of course use this latest outburst on insanity to lobby for even MORE weapons.
These wanna be heroes are seemingly incapable of comprehending that with every passing day more and more guns are among us -- we're drowning in lethal weapons.
Questions to all you conceal-carry advocates:
When's the last time you were subjected to an actual firefight, with the attendant noise, confusion, and panic?
Unless you are a battlefield vet who indeed may know how to cope with such lethality, you're part of the problem.
3
Let's not play pretend, Donald Trump and those who have facilitated him own this one. There are always disturbed people, and they often turn their fear and hatred toward those different than themselves, but this pathetic dog of a president suggested to gun owners while campaigning that they could always resort to "Second Amendment" solutions if Hilary Clinton was elected. And Colt and other gun manufacturers sales and stock precises probably rose today. God help us.
5
9 killed and 39 wounded in Chicagoland over the weekend.
3
@George The guns come from Indiana, where gun regulations are not only much laxer but also intermittently enforced. So what was your point again?
4
@George. Your point is what?
2
@George:
Hey, did you notice, or hear of all of those NRA "concealed carry" wannabe heroes engaging The Bad Guys, and taking them out, simultaneously sending a message to the thugs and protecting you?
No?
I'm shocked -- shocked to not find any Heroes here . . .
(Apologies to CASABLANCA)
4
In Washington State, we voted to change the assault rifle ownership law so that one must be age 21 to purchase one. I'm not saying that the shootings wouldn't have occurred if California had the same law, but when a teenager can purchase a weapon designed to kill as many as possible very quickly, something is very wrong.
5
@Vicky G.......so how old does one need to be, to bu a DEFENSE weapon? asking for a friend.
1
Makes me wonder if a few people had been carrying, if those lives could have been saved. Everyone wants to take away guns but don't realize this won't help. People are like sheep to the slaughter. Stand up and protect yourselves for goodness sake.
1
@Catladylou ...THANK YOU for some sense !
...that's what I was thinking. It's a public gathering in California, for Pete's sake -- a state known for its wackos and its draconian anti-self-defense "laws". Why wasn't there a police force right there, on hand? I mean if you're going to prohibit decent law-abiding people from carrying a way to defend themselves, you dang well better hire triple the number of cops. SMH. Sorry for the families affected........ not sorry for the commentors who are freaking out.
@Catladylou
The police responded in one minute to the shooter.
6
@Catladylou. So what happens when “good guy”Joe accidentally kills your daughter, instead of the shooter? Law enforcement has repudiated the idea of the public carrying for defense in crowded situations repeatedly. How do you get a clean shot with hundreds of people stampeding for the exits? How do the police tell who is the “good guy”?
11
One only has to read the Federalist Papers to conclude that the major thinkers and writers of the 'Papers' did not want states to have their militias, nor be responsible for the arming and taxing for the purpose of supporting such militias to protect the republic during peacetime and during attacks from internal (Indians) and external sources (Britain and Spain). The few states that existed during the formation of the republic were afraid of an all-powerful central government with the right to establish a militia, a carryover of memories of England and the revolution. As a compromise to the Anti-Federalist, the right to bear arms was included in the Constitution. As the republic grew in size, the idea of the right to bear arms was misunderstood and misinterpreted from the original historical context. Today, the NRA continues to push forward their misinterpretation of the Constitutional provision, which has resulted in a proliferation of gun ownership. The right to bear arms is not an axiom, but a belief subject to a more common sense and rational approach to gun ownership.
12
livin' in the USA...under the NRA
7
According to the article, an "assault-style rifle" was used, not an "assault" rifle. "Assault" rifles are illegal. There are plenty of gun laws on the books in California regulating all guns, e.g., no gun can have more than a 10-round magazine. An AR-15, for example is nothing more than any of the millions upon millions of semi-auto rifles out there, and usually a very low-powered one at that. They just either look cool or foreboding depending on one's perspective.
That rifle did not not kill or injure anyone. It was the one holding the rifle who did.
22
@drdos1943
The use of the gun was the proximate cause of death for those people and without the gun the death toll, as usual, would have been much lower. I suspect that in many cases like this, the use of a semiautomatic gun and its attendant spectacle is the driving force behind the act. You would like to exonerate the gun but that's wishful thinking.
89
We are a nation of guns and a nation of shootings. There is no further argument.
58
@drdos1943
Agree. The rifle did not kill. It was the "one" holding it. That's why we want no "one" holding it.
68
Had enough? Text READY to 644-33 and get active with Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America. We are 6 million volunteers strong and growing, but we need you to help stop this carnage. It’s not enough to express horror on these public platforms. Let’s get to work and take concrete actions that will compel our legislators to act.
86
In the US, firearms ownership is a constitutional right per the 2nd Amendment. Of course, we don't know the scope of the 2nd Amendment because SCOTUS has not told us anything definitive. Hence, every individual has a personal view as to what the 2nd Amendment means. I suppose the 2nd was occasioned by a well-founded fear of government in the face of an unarmed population by our Founding Fathers as well as the traditional American values of self-reliance and self-defense. It's been stated that while the police will do their best, they do not have an absolute obligation to protect individuals and in many cases, they arrive on the scene after the fact. It’s undisputed that armed citizens have prevented a great deal of crime. Having armed citizens present could minimize such tragedies as Gilroy but having untrained individuals reenact the shootout at the OK Corral carries its own risks. One primary problem is a widespread ignorance and resultant fear regarding firearms, especially among urban liberals. There are too many tragedies involving children and accidental shootings. Given the 2nd Amendment and the sentiments of many citizens, firearm ownership is a fact of life in the US – face it. The NRA simply represents the thoughts of many of its members. Firearms ownership being a right, it’s incumbent on our schools to educate students in firearms safety and use. They already teach civics and driver’s ed, so why not firearms use and safety as well. It certainly couldn’t hurt.
6
@Mike F.
You forgot the "well regulated militia" provision.
Nothing "well regulated" about guns in America today.
11
@Mike F.
No.
Yes, firearms at a fact of life now, but it doesn't have to be this way. WSJ reports that cops were there within one minute. Yet, this
At some point, the majority who don't own guns won't put up with this any longer. Repeal the Second Amendment and stop the killing.
8
The 2nd Amendment was designed to limit the size of the military. We didn't need a strong military because armed state militias (made up of citizens) could repel invasion.
4
I live in the San Joaquin Valley and have attended the Gilroy Garlic Festival. It was a wonderful family friendly event where the aroma of garlic filled the air for miles. It was (and I assume still is) one of the most organized gatherings I have ever attended. There are police officers everywhere trying to ensure that people behave and have a great time. This may seem like a strange thing to say but I feel personally violated by this shooting. My first reaction to the news about this was "is nothing sacred? The Garlic Festival?"
We have become one of the most violent nations on earth. No one will ever convince me that the founding fathers would have approved of the idea that every citizen has the right to own an automatic weapon. What is it going to take for the American public to say NO MORE to the NRA and the arms merchants they represent? Expect no help from congress as they are owned by the merchants of death who produce and sell (for big profits) the weapons that are destroying our society.
8
Perhaps if people took the time to consider the worst possible scenarios for their children and grandchildren they would reconsider their allegiance to the republican party.
They should look at their children and consider carefully the world they would like them to inherit.
Some people may declare that singling out the republican party is unfair, or incorrect.
I remind anyone who objects that it was the largely the republicans who protected the tobacco and chemical industries with such passion when citizens of this country were being killed off, in the hundreds and thousands, by their products.
It is the republicans who stand in the way of any meaningful legislation while assault weapons are being used to slaughter our children.
It is the republicans who deny that the air we breathe is becoming more toxic by the hour.
It is the republicans who deny climate change when anyone with an ounce of integrity can look out of their windows and see the truth.
And finally, it is the republican party who protects the most divisive and destructive leader in the history of our country.
9
I'll say it again...when does my safety to attend church, a concert,
a movie, a festival, become as important as the right to carry a gun? Is this what makes America great again?
10
We need Australian type gun laws. Or, anybody can own any number of guns provided they are kept under lock and key at a gun range.
4
Why is it that the "right to life" ends as soon the child is born. Those who fight to protect the lives of the unborn should fight equally hard to protect the lives of everyone. The vast majority of Americans who want some kind of logical gun control should outweigh the resistant minority.
10
I left my third world country to be with my American husband. This is the ONE reason I’d consider leaving America.
7
Thoughts and prayers, thoughts and prayers...
2
Another truly terrible and unnecessary tragedy. The Gilroy Garlic Festival as been a long standing community, family friendly tradition, it is deeply saddening.
It continues to boggle my mind, that the same political party who defends the sanctity of (unborn) human life is unwilling to protect the sanctity of life and the right to life when it comes to their defense of their corruption of the second amendment. You can't have it both ways. You either value life or you don't.
If they truly valued human life as much as they claim, they would do everything in their power to protect it, regardless of age and stage. The folks who flock to the polls to vote in highly restrictive abortion legislation are the often same ones who are first to say these types of mass shootings are the "price we have to pay" for our constitutional rights.
For the record, the second amendment states right to bare arms is for the purposes of a well regulated militia, written back in the day when our government wasn't funding a military machine but rather depended on the citizens to bring their own to the fight. The second amendment was never intended for private citizens to have unrestricted access to stock pile personal armaments that can then be used to exterminate their fellow citizens. And yes, statistical, the majority of gun violence perpetrated by american born citizens. And if you want to understand why our courts 'broadened the interpretation', just follow the money.
6
@NBrooke ... I have help for you! be boggled no more, I have the answer!
It is this: we pro-lifers DO support life in al areas. NOT only the womb. WE are the ones who fund "crisis pregnancy centers", WE buy ultrasound machines and donate them, we buy diapers and maternity clothes and car seats etc, and give them away so people will not get abortions. This in addition to our tax dollars being forced from us (dare I say it? yes, I dare: "at gunpoint) -- by the IRS - and "given" to Planned Butcherhood.
We nasty conservatives are the ones who insist the elderly should NOT be killed ("euthanised"). We insist that vaccines ought to be safe and optional.
It may be no use, it maybe if I say "banana" you will still insist I said "turpentine". But I'm really trying to reach out to you and use reason & facts.
So this begs the question: was the shooter a white supremacist egged on, once again, by Trump's virulent rhetoric and inhumane approach to immigration (unless, of course, someone comes from Slovenia or any other country where the people are not brown or black)?
5
We've all gotten too used to shootings, but this one made me gasp. As we drove past Gilroy the other day, I was just telling my mom how much I enjoyed the garlic ice cream I'd had at the festival one year, and how we needed to go back some time. It's always been goofy, old-fashioned fun with garlic everything. We should be able to go to local festivals without getting shot. A kid should be able to play in a bounce house without getting shot. This is the America so many of us are nostalgic for: families and friends enjoying community events together, kids playing together outside. No wonder Americans are hiding in our homes, streaming Netflix and playing videogames. Is this the country we want? Is this what we want our kids' childhoods to look like?
45
@Sue
It would seem that this is what the GOP and their supporters want. Now what do you suppose would have happened if there were "good guys" with guns at this event (other than the police )? And notice that since they were already on site, the police response time was phenomenal and yet there were still 3 fatalities and over a dozen injuries. The only solution to our mass shooting problem is to get weapons off the street. An armed society would not have prevented this atrocity. And I do not wish to live in a society where everyone is armed.
16
It is unbearable. What have we become as a nation?
It is more than ironic it is chilling that we are so focused on a border wall to keep out people fleeing for their lives and in our own back yard we erect fences to keep out the deranged Americans who are bent on killing us point blank.
What is wrong with this picture?
33
@rosemary L.
"What is wrong with this picture?"
What isn't wrong with this picture?
6
One only has to read the Federalist Papers to conclude that the major thinkers and writers of the 'Papers' did want states to have their own militias, nor be responsible for the arming and taxing for the purpose of supporting such militias to protect the republic during peacetime and during attacks from internal (Indians) and external sources (Britain and Spain). The few states that existed during the formation of the republic were afraid of an all-powerful central government with the right to establish a militia, a carryover of memories of England and the revolution. As a compromise to the Anti-Federalist, the right to bear arms was included in the Constitution. As the republic grew in size, the idea of the right to bear arms was misunderstood and misinterpreted from the original historical context. Today, the NRA continues to push forward their misinterpretation of the Constitutional provision, which has resulted in a proliferation of gun ownership. The right to bear arms is not an axiom, but a belief subject to a more common sense and rational approach to gun ownership.
Our government is split into two sides which have become so vehemently opposed that they resemble two counties that are bitter enemies, enemies that refuse to accede any point to the other even if they agree on that point. We are paralyzed by this. The government cannot work for the good of the people due to this paralysis. Please, we need to wake up and go back to the times where parties had their different opinions on how to solve problems but they worked together as fellow Americans to solve problems! We have a lot of very smart, caring, industrious people in this country. Let’s go back to using those resources to enact solutions!! It’s okay to have different opinions but we must work together, find common ground, and yes, compromise for the good of the people. There are common sense things we can do to reduce gun violence without taking away the hunting rifle of the responsible law abiding citizen. We need to vote out all non-compromisers and get some reasonable folks in office to fix this country. We need to find politicians that truly care about our country, our whole country, and not just members of their party.
55
@Ann Davis "There are common sense things we can do to reduce gun violence without taking away the hunting rifle of the responsible law abiding citizen."
Gun violence won't be really addressed until we deal with the underlying American culture that finds it quite alright to solve problems with violence, sometimes as a first resort. Note the response New Zealand had to one incident of mass shooting, and the US response to scores. Using the definition of mass shooting as an act of public firearm violence—excluding gang killings, domestic violence, or terrorist acts sponsored by an organization—in which a shooter kills at least four victims, there have been 163 in the US since 1967.
Add to that the tens of thousands of criminal, accidental, and heat-of-passion shootings that don't kill at least four victims. It's as if we think we're living in the Wild West as a country, though that was tamed long ago. If slavery was our original sin, arguably violence as a ready solution to problems may be just as old, and it hasn't even received as much as the partially satisfactory attention we've given racism and bigotry. In fact, it is glorified in our arts.
This goes deeper than partisanship. The problem is in our "bones".
11
@Ann Davis
"We have a lot of very smart, caring, industrious people in this country. "
Yes, we call them Democrats.
11
So how many thousands of people have perished from guns this year? Perhaps the Times should start every mass shooting article with a tally of gun deaths for the calendar year and for the decade.
We need a gun buy-back amnesty and we have needed it for 30 years.
13
@WGM
A tally of gun deaths and injuries would show that the damage is not greatest from these horrific random mass shootings but from targeted shootings. Last weekend, 8 deaths and 40 injuries in Chicago, including a 3-year-old and a 12-year- old. I suggest we call all "shootings" what they actually are--attempted murders.
4
The framers of the Constitution and the Second Amendment could not have foreseen to methods of mass destruction we have now. Those were the days of muskets. The Second Amendment has to be amended but the Republicans are in the back pocket of the NRA and nothing will change until the Second Amendment is update. I have a pistol. I do not need an AR15. That gun is only for mass murder. You can't hunt with it. What is the purpose of that gun if not only for war. Disturbing to say the least. How many innocents and children have to die before the laws are changed? So far, too many.
11
Thanks for speaking up. I live in Virginia, in a rural area that’s so influenced by the NRA and by extremists. This is straight off their website: [The]
"Virginia Citizens Defense League . . . is on a mission to root out every nugget of gun control it can detect in Virginia. It has been behind campaigns to make sure concealed weapons are allowed in local government buildings, even civic centers, and fought to open up state and local parks to concealed weapons."
It’s terrifying to be around such bloody minded people, and the truth is that many of them are tied to militias. They are practicing, not to hunt, but to be able to kill as many of their fellow citizens and children as possible. Our local Republican delegates and state senator support them.
3
2,181 mass shootings have occurred in the U.S. since the 2012 Sandy Hook Children's School massacre. TWENTY - 6 to 7 year old children plus 6 staff members murdered.
Children being gunned down in America is a way of life now.
228 years ago in 1791 James Madison wrote the Second Amendment when muskets and flintlock pistols where the most advanced weapons around.
We have been told we cannot repeal the Second Amendment.
This brainwashing by corporations and politicians needs to end today and we need to get it done NOW.
25
How many people need to die before we deem human lives more important than a gun fetish?
13
Remember, the problem is not guns. Shootings are never caused by guns. Guns prevent shootings. If we took away all the guns, the number of shootings would increase.
The problem is garlic. If we banned garlic. And streets. And festivals.
22
@Bill. And movie theaters. And churches. And offices. And of course schools.
10
@Bill
I disagree with you here, Bill. Sure, mental illness, substance and alcohol abuse, and murder/suicide are huge problems here in the United States. Guns, however, are far too accessible here in the United States, and too many people have access to them who have the above problems, as well as emotional instability and/or anger management issues. When guns are added to such problems, it makes for an extremely dangerous combination, which results in the loss or irrevocable compromising of lives.
1
@Bill the problem is humans. Let's ban humans. Squirrels don't shoot each other. They're too smart for that. Of course what does that say about us...
2
Gun violence should be treated as a national health emergency. It's beyond belief that the incredibly high death toll from guns is allowed to continue. There are so many things that could be done which might cut down on the death toll without (God forbid) interfering with a right to own these awful weapons.
The gun rights lobby refusal to consider even the simplest, most reasonable "restriction" (such as universal background checks, which 90% of Americans support) kills hundreds, maybe thousands of deaths a year. How is that OK?
18
@Eric
Your points are well taken, Eric. More extensive and intensive and thorough background checks need to be done in order to screen prospective firearm buyers. For the past several decades, the NRA and the Gun Lobby have bullied various lawmakers here in the United States out of passing stronger, more affective gun control laws, which would include universal background checks, as well as the implementation of tamper-proof locks into firearms that would prevent tampering and use of firearms in the event that a gun was either lost or stolen.
What's even more disgusting is the fact that many, if not most United States lawmakers, regardless of their Party affiliation, don't even have the guts to stand up to the NRA and the Gun Lobby.
4
@Eric
The "gun rights lobby" is actually the gun manufacturers lobby. They exist to sell as many guns as possible. They have bought an entire political party with the proceeds. That political party bravely offers only their hopes & prayers ... for more NRA money. Wayne LaPierre should be in prison.
1
I believe they fear assassination.
Absolutely horrific and my thoughts and prayers go out to those families who lost loved ones. Gun control is some form needs to happen NOW! it’s been far too late! This shouldn’t be happening!!
6
The answer to every mass shooting is the same - take away all the guns, every last one, even the one your nice responsible grandfather has.
6
@Tibby Elgato That is a lie perpetuated by the NRA and repeated by their politricksters and pawns. No one wants to take away "all the guns" and you know it. Universal background checks and a ban of military type assault weapons, bump stocks, & large ammo clips is what has been proposed.
2
@Tibby Elgato. Wrong- The tired trope that “all the guns must be banned” is a scare tactic used by the NRA. But you know, if this goes on long enough, there will be an incident that might just flush the NRA and it’s lies for good....
2
Why is this article several stories down on your home page, including below an article on Facebook love scams? You are just contributing to the normalization of mass shootings and devaluing the lives of those deceased.
17
A six-year-old boy is shot in the back and killed while playing at a family-friendly festival -- one of at least three people murdered there -- and the story is a third of the way down the page of the Times online edition? I realize it was a late-breaking story on a Sunday, but really? This is a very sick country.
18
We are averaging for this year one shooting per day. One per day!
We can add to the list of incredulity a sorrowful lack of gun control. Other items on the list that I find incredible:
No urgency to correct global warming.
No urgency to stop foreign interference in our elections.
No urgency to solve the lack of health care for millions of Americans.
No urgency to reduce the national debt and tame the runaway deficit.
No urgency to get us the hell out of the Middle East.
What on earth are we waiting for?
24
Repeal 2d Amendment. Start by lunch today.
11
Repeal the Second Amendment.
14
I can't wrap my brain around this: a six year old in a bouncy house at a festival yesterday. Is today dead. He will be dead every day. His short life will always be punctuated by 4 words: killed at a festival. I wonder about the commenters who turn these shootings into a defensive second amendment discussion -- why don't you care, as I do, about this little child? Why don't you picture his grin, hear his peals of laugher, smell his little boy hair, feel his soft,ever so slightly sweaty baby skin? Today this little guy is not begging his mama to take him to another bouncy house as he eats his morning waffle. He is dead. I mourn this lost life: why don't you?
27
@karen ...I DO care. why do you assume I don't? Rather rude of you.
@Shilah. It’s way past “rude” the NRA controls the national conversation on this- they have actively thwarted any attempts at dealing with the issue, beyond the useless “thoughts and prayers”.
Our wonderful Garlic Festival where even people from afar can enjoy that bulb of the gods in every imaginable food entity, even ice cream. For years this iconic event has welcomed with open arms visitors and locals alike. I do not know whether I am numb from the horror of these murders of the innocent or the resignation of this new norm. Yet I will keep my eyes focused on the greed and ruthlessness of this administration and its complicit GOP Senate leadership. They are all in the back pockets of the NRA, this whole disgusting group which worships the 2nd Amendment. My thoughts and prayers are with my neighbors to the south who grieve the loss of their loved ones. We are with you.
15
Wonder what "well regulated militia" this latest American male mass murderer with a military style assault weapon belonged to.
20
Oops another gun episode. Safety first. Stay home from public gatherings. Or, bring your own weapon.
3
@NOTATE REDMOND Bring your own weapon. Sadly, many of us, at least those of us that are not obsessed with "I will never have too many guns" have resorted to taking firearms with us as protection.
Way past time to go after domestic terrorist and take away their guns before these atrocities occur. A 6 year old happy little boy will not attend first grade because a white male terrorist killed him. A nice community Gilroy will never be the same. And yet every morning we wake up to non presidential tweets of hate encouraging more domestic terrorism. Please vote in 2020 against the hate and for sensible gun laws. My condolences to Gilroy.
15
Of course this is a tragedy irrespective of who the victims are.
But I read Hispanic names, including that of a 6 year old little boy who was murdered. Please let this not be an act of terror aimed at people of color.
7
@Regards, LC I wondered the same thing.
1
@Regards, LC
When one looks at the bigger picture of history of deaths by gun violence here in the United States, however, it's easy to see that death by gun violence knows no ethnic, religious or racial boundaries.
2
When most of the Americans have killed one another off, the land should be returned to the Native Americans.
7
This kind of thing is called Tuesday in Chicago.
Chicago has more homicides than New York City and Los Angeles combined. Primarily black and brown killers and victims. And Chicago has a black mayor and police chief. That combination didn't do anything to save Tamir Rice in Cleveland nor Freddie Gray in Baltimore.
Of the 40,000 Americans who die from gunshot every year about 2/3rds are suicides. And 80% are white men who tend to use handguns.
2
If Sandy Hook was not enough to put the brakes on gun culture in this country, I can’t imagine that this will do it.
13
Police responded withing 1 minute. Let that sink in. In one minute this psycho killed 3 and wounded at least 15. So that's at least 18 rounds in 1 minute. At least part of the solution is staring us in the face and yet the GOP and NRA and POTUS deny that it will help. No more killing machines in civilian hands. That is step 1.
25
Our "well-regulated militia" is also well-funded.
The budget now calls for almost ONE TRILLION DOLLARS A YEAR for that "militia".
Read history and you'll find out that when that Amendment was written, that law already stated that the majority of persons in this nation could NOT be "armed", slaves and women and 'others', not with swords or guns or pitchforks or any other weapon.
More, the "government" did NOT supply weapons for those fighting for "freedom": You went to war with the weapon that YOU could afford, that YOU had bought or forged or used for plowing your farm.
The "Second Amendment" has nothing to do with today's legal standings.
We are spending a TRILLION DOLLARS - RIGHT NOW! - on "defense".
Are we mad, insane?
Why is Moscow Mitch refusing to address this?
Why is gun legislation DOA?
Who are these men serving?
It's not me: I woke up this morning to the Gilroy Massacre, more dead and wounded and circles of people holding hands and thanking their god that their god didn't want them shot.
Thoughts and prayers.....
"Thoughts and prayers" don't cost a cent.
So, where's that TRILLION going?
It is not even going to be used to pay the hospital bills of the survivors or pay for the caskets of the dead.
Ban every gun.
These men are insane.
13
Suggestion: To reduce tragic shootings increase security by placing guards who check for weapons at all entrances to events - that is what is done in Israel to reduce the risk of terrorist assaults, but it also helps to reduce shootings by nuts, although it is more difficult to legallly obtain guns here. The fence at the entrance to that event sould have been fortified with barbed wire and electrical shock wiring. Another news source said one of the fatalities was a 6-year old boy. How sad and tragic.
3
@BJM
Yeah, let’s all build “beautiful concrete walls” and fill moats with crocodiles and have machine gun turrets and never leave our homes. Let’s not do the obvious thing, the simple thing: repeal the second amendment that is no longer valid in this the 21st century. The U.S. has a standing army. There is no “well regulated militia” of citizens.
5
@BJM. The fence around the festival was cut by the man to gain entry. He didn't not enter through the feints gate.
Israel is surrounded by nations and peoples that want to obliterate it. America is not in the same situation.
4
America's way of solving it's emotional problems.
5
People decry the complexity of imposing mental illness checks for gun ownership. It's not complicated - Republican? Conservative? Trump supporter? No guns for you!
4
@Brez
Your attitude is uncalled for, Brez.
Mental illness has nothing to do with what political party or what one's political and/or social bend is, or whether or not they're a Donald Trump supporter.
Mental illness is mental illness--period, and it's innate and biologically based.
1
The mayhem begins again.
The NRA is beginning to lose it's grip on their rabid assault weapon owners.
The republicans figure that they are hated...absolutely hated anyway, so they see no upside to moderating/reigning the NRA in.
And the greatly feared and daintily avoided Trump base is also hated with equal gusto by the majority of Americans and most of the rest of civilization.
That is the simple truth of it.
Talk about armed and dangerous.
All members of the NRA need to decide whether they want to be known as average Americans who own sporting equipment or assault weapon worshiping fringe lunatics.
Right vs. wrong?
No.
Sane vs insane.
How do we move back from the brink?
Easy.
Take the ammunition first. Then take the guns.
They, the fringe, are abject cowards without the guns. They will pacify in minutes.
Then, in order to secure the future of our country, destroy the republican party as it is currently constituted.
It should be fairly easy, just go by the politicians NRA score.
That's how we save civilization.
9
Only in America. People can no longer go to a concert, festival, street fair, parade, or even a backyard party without being shot. A recent shooting a few days ago was at a celebration with over 100 police officers in attendance. Yet, 2 gunmen opened fire on the crowd and escaped. What??
And now a garlic festival?
6
How is it that grenades, bazookas, land mines, Howitzers and the like are forbidden, but anyone can own an assault rifle? Absurd logic.
8
@PeteG It is called "lobbying", and perhaps a bribe, err, campaign donation or two, that will sway a politician faster than a free stay at Mar A Lago.
1
The vast majority of gun deaths in the US are caused by hand guns. These objects have no other purpose than to be used against human beings. They are not a sporting or hunting implement of any credible importance. Most civilized countries with low gun death statistics make the possession of these weapons very difficult. Yet I do not see the day when even a discussion about hand guns would even be broached.
I have lost count of the mass shootings this year (over 20 I think).
I am numb.
Yet I am supposed to believe a three year old at the border is the biggest threat to national security ?
This is NOT normal.
I have run out of thoughts and prayers.
I want leadership.
I want gun law reform. (restore the longstanding assault weapon ban that Reagan removed)
I want the domestic terrorist org known as the NRA OUT OUT OUT of my government.
I want a collective mental health exam for this assault weapon obsessed nation.
15
Which well-regulated militia did the killer belong to?
10
The name assault rifle is wrong. AR-15 Stands for ArmaLite.
2
As Eddie Izzard put it, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people. But guns sure do help."
8
Horrific. Horrific. Horrific.
No plans by any USA government official to stop this. They have been useless for decades.
We need to take to the streets with non stop protests to ban semi automatic weapons until it is done. Then follow up as the weapons are removed.
Amend the Second Amendment now.
11
@Thoughts and Prayers Don't Work. I would contribute serious money to a campaign to amend the 2nd- and I’m sure tens of thousands of other Americans would to.
With the time difference, the news of these shootings in the US usually arrives here after I’ve gone to bed. It is horrible to wake up in the morning and begin the day with the news of one more “made in America” mass shooting,” and I swear you can hear the sad disbelief in the news readers’ voices when they use the word “another.” I feel terrible sadness when thinking of those affected, but I’m not at all surprised.
5
One more senseless tragedy.
My co-worker (an outspoken gun advocate) bought an entire wreath of garlic at the festival on Saturday, we were planning to make some favorite recipes. If this doesn't change his thinking, I will be disappointed with him, with our lawmakers, with our citizenry, with humanity in general, with our president, and with myself, as we all turn a blind eye to these hometown mass murders and go on with our business as if nothing happened.
11
The main point needing to be addressed in all of these horrific acts is whether anyone not in the military or law enforcement should have access to weapons of mass destruction, that is, the guns used to murder and injury so many people. The other essential question is what, in practical terms, does the Second Amendment mean used as a rationale for citizens to resist a tyrannical government at the present time? Fact: it makes absolutely no difference if people have the "right" to bear arms if the military and police power of the state are used to impose and maintain tyranny. Among countless examples, Black Panther Party's destruction, including police murders of its members with no consequences, makes this very clear. In 2019, the computer is the best defense against an oppressive state. Need I explain why?
2
Here's a case where good guys with guns acted as quickly as would be possible in any situation. Highly trained good guys--cops. They engaged and shot the shooter within one minute.
Three people as still dead. And numerous others injured.
So much for the good-guy-with-a-gun theory.
12
@Justin. Law enforcement has swatted the “good guy” theory down repeatedly, but there is always another wishful thinker bringing it up again.
Anytime I hear of a shooting, involving children, it makes my heart wrench. As the oldest sibling of three girls, I always imagine if one of the kids taken was one of my sisters. It would be a horrible feeling to loose one of them, and it would only be a small percentage of the pain a parent would feel for their child.
Guns cause fear, which is what the attackers want. They want us to fear them, and it's hard not be fear death when it's in the moment. Yes, more laws could be passed, but who's to say someone won't sneak past those laws just to get a taste of this superiority. Like a cheetah to a gazelle, the prey will run from the predator. There are ways to be protected from guns, but there will be people who will slip past the barriers to attack innocent people.
If gun makers they were sued under a standard theory of products liability law , like Big Tobacco and Big Pharma and Ford (remember the Pinto?), they - like any other manufacturer of an inherently dangerous product - would be required to pay damages and change their ways.
Instead, they act with complete and utter impunity, flooding our streets with assault weapons, and flooding the campaign coffers of the likes of our "leader", McConnell.
How can this be ?
Read the "The Protection of Lawful Commerce Act ", which only immunizes gun manufacturers. Just them.
Nice to have friends in such high places.
Another Republican gift to a safe and secure nation and a stable society
11
@r mackinnon ....sooooo.... I take it, you are unhappy that vaccine manufacturers are actually, by law (passed by congress in 1986) immune to all lawsuits for damages?
Don't tell me vaccines are safe & effective. A Supreme Court decision said otherwise.
@Shilah. Vaccines don’t kill hundreds of people a month , and aren’t the point of the discussion.
2
RIP 6 yr old Stephen Gilroy fatal stomach wound . Mom and gran wounded. No American child should face a weapon of war weeks after graduating kindergarten.
15
@Maureen
I agree with you, Maureen, but no American, regardless of age, religion, ethnicity, race, socioeconomic status or color, should face a weapon of war.
2
@mplo Appreciate your eloquence. thank you.
1
How much longer do the 67% of Americans who are exercising their constitutional right NOT to own firearms have to endure this sort of senseless, nihilistic, random mayhem and murder committed by undisciplined and not-well-regulated members of the 33% who do own them?
It has become blatantly clear that the Second Amendment has outlived its useful purpose, and that private citizens can not be safely entrusted with rapid-fire weapons that discharge high-energy bullets.
The Second Amendment MUST be repealed! It's a RIGHT-TO-LIFE issue!
136
if we had a sane decision to enforce the 2nd Ammendment AS WRITTEN and not as interpreted by the greedy and the paranoid, we would not need to repeal it. the twisted logic that the 2nd permits every hayseed nutcase with an axe to grind against society to own an assault weapon when he Ammendment specifically says Americans can own guns IF they are members of well-regulated militias (perhaps the National Guard?), that is what needs to be repealed, now!
30
Indeed. Where are the so-called originalists?
9
@Michael B
The Second Amendment should've been repealed decades ago, anyway. Not only is it outdated, but it was implemented to reign in the African Slaves who rebelled, and to make sure that no more ran away.
We should get more modern and scratch it from the US Constitution, and the ban on automatic assault weapons should be re-instated.
15
Anti gun regulators must enjoy watching videos of people running for their lives and hiding from shooters, hearing the stories of lost loved ones and reading about the funerals. The same people both say this slaughter is regrettable but ok but cheer taking away a women’s right to choose.
8
Here we go again and the usual comments. This could have been stopped decades ago when illegal drugs and guns were dumped in poor neighborhoods and the people were terrorized with little sympathy for their plight. Everyone in those communities were and still are deemed criminals. Ignored were the pleas by decent people in poor communities who complained that just a few sick people, including gang members,can create a reign of terror.
Their pleas fell on deaf ears. It was an experiment to see how much the public would tolerate and the public tolerated a lot until it started hitting closer to other communities. Too late now, the profit margin is too great. When nothing happened after numerous little white children were murdered at Sandyhook I knew the heartless profiteers had won.
I hate to break it to you but it will get worse. Money talks and tragedies like these just get "thoughts and prayers". One day there may finally be a breaking point but I shudder to think what that will be. Just for the record I am not against gun ownership because I know how discriminatory such laws can and have been. There is just no reason to sell military grade weapons to the public and to resist the use of smart technology that will trace weapons and limit who uses them. Also the joke about making ammunition expensive isn't a bad idea.
7
Between the monster in the White House, our unwillingness to do anything to combat climate change, and the inability to do something as simple as enact meaningful gun control, I’ve just about given up hope in the United States ever being a good place to live or a force for good in the world.
18
@Kate
Agree.
Young people would be wise to consider emigration.
5
Nice, one of the few things that could save this nation is a rejection of the inherent value of individual life!
1
To me this highlights also the fallacy of the "good guy with a gun" myth that gun-aholics and the NRA foist on us.
Every "good guy with a gun" is a good guy - until he's not. And having that gun makes it easier for cowards to act out their revenge fantasies.
13
Another disgruntled white male with a semi-automatic weapon seeking his 15 minutes. When is congress going to ban automatic weapons from the general populace? That would be a start to making the USA a safer place.
The Second Amendment doesn't have to be repealed to start making sound decisions that keep innocent people safe from gun violence.
Why can we accomplish nothing to stop these mass murders? The NRA and their advertising agency is being exposed as a propaganda machine which feeds money to our elected officials.
It's time we all demanded some common sense from our legislators; ban automatic weapons outside of the military.
13
American carnage. Brought to innocent Americans not by immigrants, but by a never ending fraudulent and sinister reelection strategy of President Trump and the Republican Party. A Party whose only goal and principle is staying in power to cut taxes on the rich and convince naive or obsessive gun owners that flooding the country with battlefield weapons is essential to avoiding a tyranny, a form of government that they are actively seeking to establish as they tear apart our democracy.
16
There are so few comments on this article. It seems we have become inured to the regular rifle reports, body counts, and eyewitness accounts. The NRA has won.
4
If you're an American, you can be shot anywhere: at school, at the mall, at a concert, at the movie theater.
To be an American is to know that when you venture outside, you have a better chance than the citizen of any other country in the developed world of being shot by a complete and total stranger with easy access to incredibly powerful weaponry.
Thank the NRA.
16
Reset the clock till the next one, it's all republicans will do anyway after they type the phrase "thoughts and prayers" a few times.
10
An emotionally troubled individual ruins the lives of many. And others read of this shooting and wonder how to navigate our nation.
2
Will there be an effort with this shooting, as with some shootings, to keep the identity of the killer secret? To what purpose? Does the eternal stigma of infamy mean nothing any longer? The shooters do not seek fame, they want to kill. They deserve derision and infamy, not anonymity.
1
I am so disgusted by this. No place is safe in the U.S. And the NRA ignores it all. This is no longer the day of muskets. These are automatic weapons, something our forefathers could not foresee. The laws have to be changed NOW. We should not be afraid to leave our homes. But as long as the NRA bankrolls the Repulicans nothing will happen. Shameful.
6
You're 6 years old, you're in a bouncy house at a garlic festival in a beuacolic area with family and friends. There should be no place safer. And yet a law from a time when we had no standing army, used guns to feed ourselves, and you could not fire off rounds of ammo trump the life of a 6 year old. Yes, a bad man did it but we give him the opportunity.
6
Apparently gun violence is the price wepay for freedom.
3
Thoughts and prayers should clear this all up!
2
I’m reading this while on a short trip to Mexico. Shocking this is not the headline. My hyper vigilant MAGA brother was worried about me coming here, and the shooting happened less than 30 miles from where he lives. Once again it’s obvious we are not addressing the internal rot.
13
Cue the "thoughts and prayers (but no action)" squad.
5
This is sickening and infuriating. These incidents would be extremely rare if it were not for the Republican party and the NRA, who both refuse to do anything to limit these atrocities. This is domestic terrorism. If we can't feel safe or free to go about our lives in any environment without fear of mass shootings, that's terrorism.
We don't know much about the terrorist as of yet, but I have strong suspicions about his political alignment.
5
It’s a disheartening fact that a small town festival even needs metal detectors.
47
@Lisa Regardless, metal detectors didn't detect him cutting through the fence. Metal detectors, even TSA, ALL is nonsense that does not keep you safe.
5
Metal detectors wouldn't matter. The shooter cut through the fence.
3
It's even more disheartening that in spite of metal detectors and other security measures, someone still found a way to spray the crowd with bullets.
3
The crux of the matter is a tiny little comma after "A Well regulated Militia" in the 2nd Amendment and its misinterpretation in modern times.
Punctuation rules didn't exist at the time of its writing in the 18th century.
That little comma has caused millions of death in the supposedly greatest nation of the world, were every Tom, Dick and Harry considers themselves a protector of the state.
The only advance country which has indeed a true militia is little peaceful Switzerland. That country - in order to be ready to protect itself - allowed its militia, aka members of its peoples' army, to store their side arms and ammunition at home.
In order to lower the already low murder rate by guns, Switzerland changed its laws several years ago that all ammunition had to be stored in army depots.
52
@Sarah I agree entirely. The question is, when was the interpretation of the 2nd Amendment (citizens vs. militia) made? In the 1980s this question was raised and NOT answered but there was real doubt at the time. Now, it is just assumed that the meaning is citizens have a right to arm. Did I miss a Supreme Court decision on this? Seems the NRA has convinced everyone that this issue was decided when it was not? Can anyone enlighten me on this?
3
@Sarah, Thanks, but can you please explain to me the comma thing? I did not get it.
2
@Muso
District of Columbia vs. Heller.
2
The media's focus on the "whys" of mass shootings, increases the likelihood of more mass shootings. It encourages unstable men who are dissatisfied with their lives to think that the best way to get people to pay attention to them (and the pain they feel) is to shoot multiple people.
The media can short-circuit this cycle by focusing on the victims, rather than the perpetrators.
Mass shooters' main goal is notoriety.
47
@Blue Jay
True. The "media" feeds off of the "whys" because consumers have a morbid curiosity of the "whys" and less about the victims, usually dead. The morbid curiosity feeds into the need by mass shooters for notoriety and for their message (like a broken love affair) to be broadcast widely. It's a self-perpetuating cycle. Sick, on all sides.
1
@Blue Jay The 'why' is that unstable people have easy access to guns. The real question ought to be, 'Why do we make it so easy for unstable people to have access to guns?' Then the gun lobby gets defensive. We will have another mass shooting in a day or two, you can be sure of that.
2
@Blue Jay This is an assumption based on the "sanity" of a mass killer.
Imagining some kind of "logic" to an insane person is fantasy, and prescribing how the "media" ought to behave compounds your absurdity.
1
Guns cause fear and fear leads to guns; it is an inexorable escalation.
There is no rational compromise, no solution, except to repeal the 2nd amendment.
58
@Michael Replace it with an up to date interpretation. Its meaning and interpretation has been twisted out of shape by the NRA.
1
@Michael
Good point, Michael. When Norway had a similar mass-shooting four years ago, the Norwegians, instead of going out and arming themselves to the teeth with extra firearms, called upon their government to enact stronger, more affective gun laws, and that's what they got.
That being said, if many more people here in the United States did likewise, there'd be far fewer deaths and/or permanent maimings by firearms.
1
Interesting how women can be forced to have a child in the name of right to life but people do not have the right to be secure against random gun violence. Also interesting how watching violence on TV and in the movies is a kind of "entertainment". Even very young children are exposed to it whereas any depiction of sexuality is obscene and is censored. Interesting...
142
@Newfie except women aren’t forced to have children they don’t want. They’ve slaughtered millions in the name of “choice.” And, unfortunately, sexuality is always on display in front of children, including television, billboards and movies. Society and its types of carnality have moved in lockstep toward immorality.
1
@Newfie. Yes, we have a significant population that wants to force a woman to bear a child against her will, but that same population thinks it’s a violation of personal rights to force anyone to undergo a thorough background check in order to buy an assault rifle whose only purpose is to kill people. So much for that fake pro-life stance.
7
@Newfie
Totally agree with you - I have an inalienable right not to be shot by some coward with a gun.
4
Three more people shot to death thanks to the insane love of guns in America. The 2nd Amendment was written for a different time. It should be removed. And Republicans in Congress (and some Democrats) are silent accomplices.
132
@Mickey Agreed, the ‘well regulated’ part is what is always ignored.
4
@Eric
Good point, Eric. Too many of our lawmakers, both Democrats and Republicans alike, are in the pockets of the NRA and the Gun Lobby. That's the problem.
1
@Eric
Second amendment is ok if followed how it is truly written. Over the years we have strayed from the words in 2nd amendment.
12
Already the programmed parrots of NRA rhetoric are out proclaiming that, contrary to all the evidence of every war and violent crime of the last century and half, guns don't kill people. If that is true, every gun manufacturer who has ever marketed their product as protection against personal assault should be sued for a century and a half of misleading and defrauding the dupes who were gulled into buying these non-lethal weapons.
62
One definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over,and expecting a different result. You could say that's the Republican approach to guns in this country, but that's not exactly true. Republicans do nothing and know exactly what the result will be: Dead people. The reality is they value their guns more than the lives of their fellow citizens.
104
@Jim Dennisits not their guns they value; its the donations from the NRA to their campaigns.
46
The horror that men with guns can inflict upon a society and its people knows no bounds. But this is us. This is who we are: Male violence amplified by the *right* to own an arsenal of weapons of mass destruction.
113
@Regina Valdez Is it 'male violence' or 'gun violence' that is the problem? If it the 'nature' of men to be violent, then it is the fault of men and so it is men who need to be restricted, and not guns. Seems to fit the rhetoric of the NRA: "guns don't kill; people do." (And women also do kill with guns. They have not been marketed to a aggressively as men - but I do remember seeing pink rifles (!) being sold.)
@Roger
Ha ha ha ha! Guns are weapons of war that are designed to kill other human beings, and they do.
Ever heard the saying:
"A person with no gun is just angry."
"A person with a gun shoots his/her neighbor."
That applies here--perfectly. First of all, most murders take place among people who know each other, and have some sort of vendetta going between them.
Secondly, all too often, arguments turn deadly when firearms are present, thus resulting in a death or a life that's irrevocably altered, by the crack of a pistol.
1
Reading many of the comments below it seems likely that a semi-automatic firearm snuck under a fence at the festival and randomly began shooting attendees. This was a weapon of superior intellect because it was able to avoid the security measures, including metal detectors, used by the police and sheriff's departments for the safety of the patrons.
We will probably find out today that the rifle was on parole, with an extensive criminal record, and a member of a gang.
Something must be done to control weapons that are likely to commit these horrific crimes.
38
@John Quinn
"Something must be done to control weapons that are likely to commit these horrific crimes."
John, you are 100% correct. If these (semi-)automatic weapons and large capacity magazines were banned, they would never be able to sneak under fences again and kill people.
I'm glad we agree on this.
5
@Homer S I was being facetious, as you probably realized. The most dangerous threat are males between the ages of 15 and 40 who are criminals, mentally ill, or both.
1
@John Quinn
One must bear in mind, however, that all criminals are sick in some way or other.
The AR-15 - What is it good for ? Absolutely nothing.
142
@USMC1954 Indeed. Good for nothing other than rapid fire that heaps carnage on many.
1
@USMC1954
Disagree. It appears to be very good at killing people.
1
@August West Good point.
1
Very little is be done about these mass shootings. Second Amendment devotees become more entrenched as they fear gun laws as a slippery slope in the quest of the Left to deny gun rights.
The Left needs to somehow reassure the Right that they are not here to take away their guns. I think something can be worked out. I hope our kids can teach us something about not fearing the NRA and gun lobby. They might be our best bet as we adults are too set in our ways.
14
@Oliver
It's not my job to convince anyone on the right of anything. They are extremists, and I feel no need to work with them nor see any hope they will change to a more centrist view. Only laws can change their behavior. We had these laws in the not so distant past when bipartisanship worked to ban certain types of automatic weapons. Then the NRA got control of the GOP and turned them to right wing extremists. They need to get on board or get out of the way. Their obsession with guns is infringing on the rights of every American.
33
Not this one. And just because CA has banned weapons, too many states have lax enforcement or weak regulations.
12
@JasonGun availability. Plus crazy equals problems every time
Gun availability if not in that state then in the next state.
3
We don't value life. We don't do anything about carnage from guns, we don't do anything about climate change - both are life threatening. We need national rolling strikes, and we need people who have microphones to put forward a vision of what our country would look like once these two problems are confronted.
Imagine national strikes until our federal government starts working for us people, and stops working for corporations and lobbyists. Imagine national strikes until we get a federal gun buy back program and a tax on bullets that covers the costs of emergency medicine, research on gun violence, and other damages.
119
@Barbara you do know that strikes would only hurt employees, consumers and corporations. Government officials would be little affected. You should probably vote instead.
@Barbara W First, let's strike for election reform.
1
I was at a baseball game yesterday, and waiting outside in the security line, the target could have been any one of us. Tell the commissioners of the major North American sports leagues to do away with security screening at stadiums and arenas, because all it is doing is transferring the insecure area from the building to the lines outside.
7
I used to find stories like this shocking, baffling and terrifying; but now I take them in stride. I now take it as a given that from time to time, some nut with an assault rifle is going to open fire on a crowd for no apparent reason. Just another day in America. Congratulations to the NRA, its backers in Congress and its propaganda machine --- seems you have achieved your goal.
173
@Neil Grossman According to some commenters on the San Jose Mercury News website to the article covering this, it is the fault of gun-free zones and those people in them willingly gathering without arming themselves. So, there's a glimpse into some of the "logic" at play among the public. (A few comments in (a few hours ago at least) this is additionally used to indicate why this is clearly a "false flag" operation.)
The propaganda certainly is working.
27
@PB So, 'more people were walking around armed = fewer gun deaths' is the logic at work? Such a policy would certainly increase the sale of fire-arms but it is hard to see how more guns would equal fewer shootings.
@PB
The 6 year old boy was shot in the back in a bouncy house. Do we need parents to stand guard in bouncy houses with guns so that we have good guys with guns? Let's just control guns and let children happily bounce in little bounce houses and their mothers not be shot in the stomach while watching.
7
Too many guns. To many guns available to dangerous people. Too little action to stop it at the national level. What is wrong with so many people?
76
Madness. Badness. Sadness. Over and over and over again.
More's the pity.
30
More die and we do nothing. A nation awash in guns and we keep making it easier to carry and use them. Stand your ground laws are silly. Sit on your hands and watch the innocent die.
52
@Vinson
Sure, really angry people would have no other way of hurting others if we only took the guns away.
Does the NRA really think people believe that you need an assault rifle to hunt? Members of congress have been strangled by this organization for too long and have lost the backbone to stand up for common sense and humanity. What number of our citizens who died at the hands of a lunatic with an assault rifle will it take to stop this?
109
@Steven B The lift on that ban was the work of the Bush administration.
@Steven B it’s not the NRA, it is your fellow Americans.
1
What's so heartbreaking and sickening is that shootings have become so commonplace they're not even the lead news story anymore. What type of world/country are we living in where this happens on a regular basis?
349
@Tam, I’m with you on this, but with 300 million guns out there, is there a cure for what I would term a stage 4 incurable disease? With states’s rights anything we do is only a biopsy on a tumor spread too far along. As far as the country goes, this gun thing is a stage 4 brain tumor.
27
@Tam
Americans love guns. We have equated freedom with the ability to kill our neighbor. We are so enamored with "individualism" that we have allowed the gun to be the ultimate expression of it. My life is more valuable that yours and my gun proves it.
All of our founding documents and myths have lead us away from the common good. We have way too much "me" and precious little "us".
We are unable to address our real issues; education, healthcare, infrastructure, and guns because we fear the solutions will not directly benefit "me". We are unable to think beyond ourselves and it is literally killing "us".
51
I wonder what we would be like as a country if, instead of valuing the use of destructive weapons some sort of sign of individuality, we valued creation as a meaningful expression of individuality: writing, sculpture, painting, music, woodworking, architecture.
What if we placed a high value on those cultural acts?
Are we missing something important here?
20
Because people think the way to solve their problems is with a gun...
I remember leafleting for a handgun ban in the 60s. The reasoning was that the only purpose for a handgun was to kill a person. How quaint...
67
@midwesterner
You give the shooter too much credit. I suspect that there is no "problem" to solve. The disturbed shooter mindlessly decided to go to the festival and kill attendees. No thought, no reason, just death.
2
That this story isn’t the top headline today speaks volumes.
108
At what point do we as a country acknowledge that the 2nd Amendment is in conflict with a cornerstone of the 1st: freedom of assembly?
228
@Adobe Adobe. Well said. Is anybody listening? When we can't go to a movie, or a concert, or a mall, or to school or a festival without worrying that we will be shot at, we are not free. Why does someone with a gun have more rights than you or I ?
10
@Adobe Abode that the government should not abridge “freedom of assembly,” as it also should not curtail other constitutional rights.
@Adobe Abode
You're onto something. The enshrinement of the Second Amendment as the most important amendment is making all the others meaningless. If you cannot openly express your opinion on a controversial subject/ send your children to school/ attend church/ attend a music concert/ go to a sporting event/ go to work/ go to the grocery without the fear in the back of your mind that some nut with a military-style weapon will murder you or your children--- then your "freedom" is meaningless. Folks, between Donald Trump and the NRA We the People are watching America, the Beautiful rapidly disappear right before our eyes.
9
Thoughts and prayers will be widely posted on Twitter. And then nothing will be done about it.
58
Vote 2020.
1
If you grew up in California, if you've ever driven through Gilroy during growing season with your windows open, if you've ever seen Les Blank's short film "Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers," you know Gilroy and its charming festival. There really is no place safe anymore. But hey, why do anything to stop it? The "again" in MAGA simply equals all the bigotry of the 50s and unchecked greed of the 80s with the poverty of the 30s and the gun violence of today.
268
@LizBigotry and unchecked greed have been around as long as humans unfortunately - hardly limited to the 50s or 80s.
9
@Liz Great letter. I'm impressed with the way you defined "again" in MAGA.
19
@Liz
Excellent post, Liz! Very well stated!
Having lived through the 50's, the bigotry was so entrenched in the culture of the era that it was seldom even questioned.
And yes, the 80's were the era of "greed is good". People borrowed and spent in a veritable frenzy, often cocaine fueled, of greed.
The 30's should need no explanation. And a depression could easily come again. We already have the rising of fascism world-wide. The parallels with the 30's are eerie and astounding. As for the present, it is drenched in the blood of the innocent.
3
We’ll keep you in my prayers, our thoughts are with you, you have our condolences. It’s too soon to talk about gun control, let the families of the victims have some time to grieve. Get ready for the standard talking points that are about to be broadcast around the country. Get ready for the NRA to start blaming everyone and everything but gun control on this latest travesty. If everyone at the festival were armed this wouldn’t have happened, if the food vendors had been armed with machine guns and grenades this wouldn’t have happened, etc, etc. When are we going to get completely fed up with the standard line of nonsense and start doing something about these crimes against humanity? How many more people must die unnecessarily, how many more innocent children need to be senselessly gunned down before we demand action on gun control? These shootings have gone on far too long without a single, sensible thing being done. Demand gun control, demand bans on assault weapons, demand bans on high capacity magazines, demand intense background checks, demand that our children be allowed to live out their lives without bullets flying around them. Demand it from your lawmakers, demand it now, before it’s your child that we’re all praying for.
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@Canewielder Yes someone should have taught that cheerleader to shoot then all would be well. Can someone please run for office who is brave enough to try and stop this?
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This sickness in our land is metastasizing. It’s not even terrorism, though terror is the word for it.
Gilroy is a sleepy hamlet turned bedroom community surrounded by aromatic fields of garlic. The Garlic Festival, til today, was a highlight of the Bay Area summer and known - til today - for garlic ice cream and other exotica.
Every day our American life worsens. Lobbies and the dark money behind McConnell et al have a stranglehold on our country. It’s far more than just monstrous Trump and his Kremlin patrons, I realize today.
Please, Democrats, Republicans, anybody! Tell me why all these evils are so hard to stop! What can possibly be wrong with stopping gun violence, protecting elections, providing health care, getting homeless off the streets and into housing?
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@Bohemian Sarah
The Garlic Festival in Gilroy was a treasured childhood memory for me. And last night was a shooting at an event welcoming back elderly former residents in my neighboring Brownsville. My mind reels and my heart is broken not just for the tragedies at these events but also for the fact that they are now commonplace. And our elected officials refuse to act.
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@Bohemian Sarah . This is the best and most succinct comment I've read. "What can possibly be wrong with stopping gun violence, protecting elections, providing health care, getting homeless off the streets and into housing." Not to mention treating those who wish to come to this country humanely, expecting ethical behavior from our elected officials, equal pay for equal work. And the list goes on.
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@Bohemian Sarah Democrats are awash in dark money and have a thirst for illicit power.
There is nothing wrong with trying to do the things you mentioned, but you shouldn’t do it with bad means and in a way that hurts people in the long run.
Government intervention has been a bane on society and is the main cause of our problems. It is not that society is getting worse, it is that we are sick from the bad effects of government’s overspending and control and the mental noise that it creates.
And in the coming weeks and months, the survivors of this shooting will begin to get death threats from fanatics who insist it never happened.
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We talk and feel awful about this as the next shooter is cleaning his assault weapon, comparing how many have been killed, where, how the shooter got in and plans how his numbers can be higher than the last shooter.
It is time to do something about assault weapons!!!!!!
Stop talking and praying, neither has saved one innocent person.
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@Carol, How would you know if prayers didn’t save anyone?! You wouldn’t know so you should be careful with stating that as fact.
True the government should do something more but for all you non-believing atheists-pick up the good book and open your minds, it’s prophesied that these catastrophic events will happen. This is why you continue to ask why, why, why. The most you can do is pray and follow the commandments of the Bible and save yourself.
@Tanya: You left out the part that if it was prophesied, a lie, which is different from promised, no one in or out of Congress has an excuse for not stopping the insanity that gun people crave, brag about, execute, and die from.
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Come 2021, we can begin the generation-long struggle for sensible gun laws. It will take removing the geriatric hands of the GOP and its monstrous leader from power, including the Supreme Court, but that is only a start. We will need Constitutional Amendments. We need to make the NRA bankrupt itself by outspending it.
I do think about the victims and their families, but my prayers are for a gun-sick nation. I own guns and hunt, but I am more than willing to see tactical semiautomatic rifles put under the laws that prohibit machine guns. No new ones can be made, and current owners would surrender or license theirs.
10 rounds is enough for any law-abiding citizen, as Bill Ruger once said. Enough!
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@Peak Oiler
What you said. Target shooter and firearms owner.
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Add the telemarketing firm, InfoCision Marketing Corporation, to the list. Their headquarters are in Akron, Ohio. They raise tens of millions of dollars each year for the NRA.
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@Peak Oiler
I would direct anyone who wonders what a "Fudd" is to your comment. You "own guns and hunt" so like your guns and want to keep them, you just have no respect for the 2nd Amendment or others. Though it falls on deaf ears in this publication by and large, it bears repeating that the 2nd Amendment is not nor was it ever about hunting. If you could ban "assault-style weapons" (one of the most egregious and inaccurate euphemisms ever concocted) then the weapon of choice would become something else. It's a societal problem that no law can cure.
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Today, I found this story tucked below the main headline about the Fed cutting rates, and something on one of Trump's friends indictment.
It was paired with our own local shooting, at a street festival in Brownsville. Two coasts, two large gatherings, two sets of shooters, one maybe gang related, one maybe not, two groups of people set to mourn the dead. No real sense, only the common thread of guns used on a crowd.
I guess after you've seen stories about 20 children and their teachers shot to ribbons, and seen stories of scores of people shot at night clubs or outdoor concerts, or Christmas parties, or colleges or high schools, another two shooting is just a yawn.
But good news, if you want to buy or sell a gun, no problem. Someone, somewhere can legally sell it to you - even if you are crazy, even if you are a gang member. Are we great again, yet?
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@Cathy
Gun nuts in many vapid and roundabout ways have told us they can tolerate this new normal.
"If guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns", oh and what's the point of laws, too, since criminals would just violate them?
Everything is up for sacrifice as long as they can keep the toys that titillate them so.
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I would point out that "assault weapons" like AR-15s are already banned in California. California gun control laws were useless in preventing this shooting as per usual.
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All of us in the US cannot leave our houses and go to any location where many people gather and not have the fear of a mass shooting occuring. It is always in the back of our minds. Just last week at my place of employment there was information presented about what to do if a gunman comes into the building.
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@Dave we are all victims of a gun society
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@Carol Yes, it is unfortunately true.
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Like second hand smoking: a clear health risk that should be dealt with as a public health problem. Not a gun issue. A health issue.
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These mass shooting articles are in a sense incomplete. At the top, there should ALWAYS include a running total of all the mass shooting casualties for the year to get the point so we really understand the level destruction to our society. These events should not be presented in isolation, but as a national ruinous plague on our nation.
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@HistoryRhymesGreat idea I would also like a voting record of every current representative towards gun bills. If not nationally at least locally where each incident has happened to drive the point home to those affected in that district. Hold your representatives lack of action accountable!
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@CJ
I'd also like a list of all candidates who accept money from the NRA. This may be as good a time as any to challenge the NRA, since it appears the organization is having something of a crisis of leadership.
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@HistoryRhymes
Mass shootings while on the rise are a tiny portion of the shootings in America.
About 2/3rds of the annual gunshot deaths in America are suicides which are typically a lonely private event.
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At the Garlic Festival? Seriously?
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Why is this not a headline? Have we become so immune that this story gets buried while the latest shiny object (in the form of a presidential tweet) gets gleefully chased?
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@Becky Read
I am afraid that the president's racist tweets are the root of this and other mass shootings. I would bet on it.
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@Mimi We've had mass shootings since before Trump. The first one I recall was on a college campus in Texas in the mid-'60s.
P.S. I loathe Trump.
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"Be the first to comment." says the NYT but what is there to say? I just woke up to this EST. I haven't heard from friends and family near Gilroy and am not going to wake them up aT 2 or 3 am to be sure okay. So I send "Thinking of you messages." and wonder when we'll learn more about the shooter. One more man, in his 20s, as usual? Single, loner, usually white.
Whatever we learn, it doesn't seem to stop more sick killers. Strengthen gun control laws.
Or make any fundamental impact in the USA.
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More than 1.15 million Americans have been killed by guns since John Lennon was shot dead in 1980.
I have scoured the internet looking to determine whether Trump, McConnell, the NRA and the Republican Party has ever once sent flowers to any of their funerals, but have been unable to discover any evidence of it.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/1-15-million-americans-have-been-killed-by-guns-since-john-lennons-death-43117/
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@A. Stanton I believe that the 1.15 million number is higher than all the US deaths in all wars since our nation was founded! It appears to be more dangerous to be a civilian than be in the military and no one thanks us for our service! The military gets paid for the risk and they can shoot back. We don’t
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Three died and many others are hurt, physically and otherwise, but it is not even headline news. This is the state of America, the state of the World! How sad! How far gone America and humanity have become
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@Bos Don´t pick on humanity, square on blame to the USA for its suicidal gun policies. Look at how fast New Zealand´s President acted. Look at other nations and how unusual this is. The USA is exceptional in its willingness to kill its citizens.
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@Bos
Again, terrorists crave fame. Depriving them of headlines and name recognition is smart. In many countries it is standard to omit shooter's names.
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