The whole thing has me questioning what really happened. This was methodically planned in advance and I look at the show as being something that might tend to attract a more politically conservative audience. The shooter doesn't have a background (aside from his father) that lends itself to this type of insanity nor does he have a background (that we know of) that shows he would be able to handle the weapons.
It all doesn't add up....
Usually I say that the shooters were loaners with chips on their shoulders looking to go down in history as "the guy that shot up the ______". Their name and face is all over the media along with their very own Wikipedia page after their death. Kind of a "I'll show them" and "Look at me" deal.
This smacks of more people involved and much more planning...
I see an assault on our 2A rights coming... Even though the full auto weapons used have been illegal for decades. Hillary already ignorantly mentioned silencers in her tweet on the subject, always one to grab on to a tragedy for some personal publicity.
As with any opportunity they find, those who are afraid of your right to own a gun will be having a field day with this.
I don't think I saw anything to convince me this wasn't the work of one selfish goofball with the financial means to own too many firearms (not a crime in any way).
As I understand it, the guy had thousands of rounds of ammunition. I don't know how much attention he would have drawn to himself lugging all that gear to his room, but I bet it wasn't too hard to look like we do when hauling in all our crap at a car event. At least I had to stash my tools and parts someplace.
Shooting into a crowded venue and hitting somebody doesn't really display marksmanship. I imagine there will be a count of spent casings eventually that will reveal this guy was nothing special to the world of firearms.
Our own very limited selection of emocons has a redneck looking character with a rifle sneaking up on something and firing, but nothing to express peace and love.....
Thank you Will, I want some better smileys too... Not ready to argue 2nd amendment with you.
I too am at a loss on this one. Lots of people want to place restrictions on this that or the other .. especially when it comes to types of firearms. Seems to me that destroying all "assault rifles" or large cap magazines is tantamount to killing all Pitbulls. .. I've been thrown up against a fence by a guy with a hypodermic needle in a city where there were virtually no guns and heroin usage and HIV were skyrocketing .. so it goes that if you kill off the Pitbulls, some asshat will raise a blood thirsty Rat Terrier in a cage.
All I know is that I was licensed to carry in 2012. I purchased a Kimber Tactical Carry II that I actually never carried but took a lot of time to learn tactical shooting and sharpen my marksmanship. In 2014 I got a DUI and shortly after, reasoning that if I cant responsibly drink, I have no business owning a weapon, I sold the pistol. Some saw that as overkill on my part and perhaps it was but seriously, If I couldn't keep my **** in gear to drive, how could I trust myself with a machine DESIGNED to take lives?
There are a number of factors at work here, not the least of which is desensitization and misunderstanding (if not a complete rejection) of personal responsibility. How these oversights are taught or how these basic underpinnings of existence in a civilized world are fading from the fabric of our society breaks my heart.
It sounds like the you are a gun owner I wouldn't mind being around... I'm not commenting on your circumstances or reasoning, but rather that you felt a sense of responsibility went with owning the weapon.
I've talked about being raised with firearms before, but I don't often talk about this even in person. I have not owned a firearm in over 30 years. When I turned 18, I moved out... I still had some months of high school to finish and I was living pretty hand to mouth at the time. Shortly after I secured that first apartment, I threw a party. The next day while cleaning up, I discovered I had lost a Remington... somebody stole my $20 electric razor (and left the power cord
, do it right if you have to do it
).
$20 was a financial burden for me at that time, but I survived it. A few things I did back then that I am quietly proud of myself for. I managed to get a high school diploma and I decided I didn't want to secure my world to prevent the theft of a firearm. Eventually, my father, realizing I didn't want to take my guns or even use them... offered to sell them off for me. I agreed and haven't owned one since.
There have been times I considered doing some kind of sport shooting, but every time I started to get interested... the gun handling of those who I considered joining, as they pointed the weapon they pulled out of their center console or under their car seat... pointed at everybody and then cleared (sometimes), before trying to pass it to me. I usually don't want to touch it by then, I no longer trust where it's been or how is was used. Suffice it to say in several cities and after many friends and coworkers wondered why I chose not to go shooting with them... I still don't own a gun.
I still like that I have the right to change that, with a short waiting period, and could own one fully legally if I ever change my mind. Thing is, I already know that if my lifestyle degrades to where I feel I need the gun, I'm doing something wrong. Maybe in a few years when I can't defend myself as well physically.
Everyone wants something to be done, which is quite rational, but the reality is there is little that can be done. Especially when a psychotic is able to do some determination and planning. People will want to blame the hotel, but the reality is he could have had similar shots from probably a dozen other locations. And if not a rifle, how about a truck? The Paris truck attack still holds the “record” at 84 innocents killed. As I figured would eventually happen, in this case you’re just got a plain old nutjob with no political or religious bent. One of those people who can live and die without much impact on the world… He probably thought about that before he hatched this plan, and changing that might well have been his only motivator.
I have these ideas that it must relate to the “boredom” of modern life, where so many people are desperate to experience a rush of adrenaline… After all, we don’t really need to hunt for our food at a supermarket. But then I always think back to being a little kid in the mid-80s and watching a re-telling of the University of Texas bell tower shootings (1966, 18 people died). It seems so quaint that 20-years after the fact, this was still considered such a novel and ghastly crime. 1966 wasn’t exactly caveman days either, so why were these (non-terrorist) mass-killings relatively rare?
The only common denominator I can think of is the 24-hour news cycle. Even our local news radio stations just threw themselves over to national feeds yesterday. While I have no desire to remain ignorant of current events, I do wonder what effect the wall-of-coverage has on the mind of a psychotic. That’s not a “solution”, but I suppose it’s where I might start investigating if it were my job. I’m also perturbed that there is so much effort to empathize with the degenerate scum who perpetrate these killings. I just once would like to hear someone say what a cowardly pussy this guy must have been to attack in such a way. I’m curious if anyone else feels this way, but in the times I’ve been really angry at someone, I’ve never had the urge to use a gun… Fists; yes. Gun, no. I’m not proud to admit I actually have swung at people… but I am relieved to say I would have felt like a huge puss to use a gun, so never crosses my mind. I figure it was something I was taught young, probably by my ever-influential grandfather. And oddly enough I’m very pro-2ndamendment because I believe there is a place for firearms, but outside of hunting and range practice it’s pretty damn rare.
I don’t know what the answer is. I can only say the empathy and 24-7 coverage of these cowards really bothers me.
The guy was the worst kind of cowardly pussy, he was a suicide case, only this one wanted to take others with him. I've seen too many times what suicide's do to those left behind, it has to be one of the most selfish acts a person can do. At least a large number of them seem to be a very misguided attempt to draw attention to themselves, so I suppose this shooter thought he was leaving his mark on history. What he did is create a legacy his family and anyone who was associated with him will have to deal with and want to bury for the rest of history. Forever after, his family name when googled will make the connection.
Yet the media onslaught will make this selfish ******* an inspiration to other selfish assholes. I don't know what this looks like elsewhere, but the shooter's mother and brother live here. Also the Pulse club is a few miles away and just went to second place... so the news is hard to want to watch again. Glad I can just get my weather report from the computer.
