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Post by Merge on Aug 5, 2019 1:26:08 GMT
Back in the day, a young man with no apparent need for a weapon, who showed an interest in purchasing or collecting high-powered weapons with huge capacity clips, would have been looked at askance at the very least. Just having a lot of interest in those things would have been seen as a red flag in and of itself.
(Fun fact: my husband was flagged by his third grade teacher as a future serial killer because he had an early interest in military history and war games. MUCH more tame than the gun worship that some families are encouraging in their kids these days.)
Now we have a whole subculture that sees the purchase and collection of high-powered weapons as a super cool and fun hobby. Gun advertising and social media portray people who own high-powered weapons as strong, powerful and “prepared.” I can’t help but think this contributes to the rise of these shootings. Nobody thinks anything of it when a 24 year old from the suburbs suddenly feels the need to buy a weapon that is designed to kill as many people as possible as quickly as possible. There are plenty of folks happy to sell him exactly what he wants, no questions asked, and others ready to admire and praise his cool new possession.
What used to be seen as possibly sick and abnormal is now just a fun hobby. It’s tied up with patriotism and exercising your rights and ‘Merica and all that.
You really can’t tell me that this doesn’t contribute to our current problem.
Every gun owner is law abiding and responsible until they’re not. We as a culture need to think carefully about the message we’re sending our kids when we put guns in their hands for fun. And I think there should be huge restrictions on how and where guns can be advertised similar to what we have with cigarettes.
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Post by Merge on Aug 5, 2019 1:53:46 GMT
Roughly 3200 people die of meth overdose each year, so we have to show an ID to buy Sudafed and our purchases are tracked. More than 33,000 die from bullets each year, but anyone can buy ammunition like candy.
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Post by revirdsuba99 on Aug 5, 2019 2:06:54 GMT
In NJ you do have to show ID to purchase ammunition ...But then we have to jump through hoops to purchase a gun of any kind!
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marimoose
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 3,282
Jul 22, 2014 2:10:14 GMT
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Post by marimoose on Aug 5, 2019 2:46:21 GMT
I just read some updates and it says the sister, friend and the brother all arrived together in the same car. At some point they separated and there are questions as to where the shooter went and when he got the rifles. So weird. Surely he wasn't in tactical gear when he was with his sister. So sick what he did and even worse that he shot his sister and friend too. It also presents so many more questions. Their poor mother to lose her two children on the same day in such a tragic, beyond tragic, manner.
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anniebygaslight
Drama Llama
I'd love a cup of tea. #1966
Posts: 7,394
Location: Third Rock from the sun.
Jun 28, 2014 14:08:19 GMT
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Post by anniebygaslight on Aug 5, 2019 16:11:26 GMT
Just seen the orange buffoon blaming the internet for the atrocities. No, Donny boy. It's the guns.
His reading age is definitely that of a 9 year old. His inability to cope with the autocue was excruciating, and somehow, massively inappropriate.
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Post by ajsweetpea on Aug 5, 2019 16:54:19 GMT
Just read an article that stated the Dayton shooter had a list of people in high school who he wanted to murder (boys) and a list of girls he planned to rape. He was removed from the school but later returned and graduated from there. Why is there not some kind of “watch list” for people when they buy guns? His previous actions clearly show he was a threat and he should have never gotten his hands on a gun! All the signs were there. It’s heartbreaking.
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Post by tracyarts on Aug 5, 2019 18:46:45 GMT
I had a big heated discussion with some friends about this issue years ago. I think that people who make kill lists and rape lists and manifestos describing violent acts need to face serious lifelong consequences. If they are having violent ideations targeting specific people or groups of people, and creating lists or manifestos, that is step one of carrying out a plan. I was overwhelmingly met with the response that simply making a hit list or writing a manifesto about committing directed violent acts should not result in serious or lifelong consequences. Why? Because young peoples' brains aren't completely developed yet. Because older people might just be temporarily in a dark place. Because we can't police thought. Because we have a right to privacy. Because free speech. Because we can't punish before a crime is committed. Because it's not fair to label people as dangerous when they haven't harmed anybody. Because the whole labeling and monitoring system is open to potential mismanagement and corruption. Because it's not fair to limit their futures. Because it's not fair to have a label follow a troubled kid the rest of their life. Because it's not okay to take away rights as a precautionary measure. Because not all people who write hit lists and manifestos go on to commit violent acts. Because not all people who do commit violent acts wrote a hit list or manifesto beforehand. So where do we draw the line between thought police and brushing off directed violent ideation? Do we force mental health interventions? Do we place people on a watch list? Do we override parents' rights and force minors into treatment without parental consent? What rights and privileges do we take away as a precautionary measure? Who decides what the criteria for requiring monitoring? Who are the people doing the monitoring? How much privacy do we take away from people who are being monitored? Who funds all of it? Who oversees all of it? Something needs to be done but what? They intervene with these kids, but then wipe the slate at adulthood. And we just saw how that works out. Just read an article that stated the Dayton shooter had a list of people in high school who he wanted to murder (boys) and a list of girls he planned to rape. He was removed from the school but later returned and graduated from there. Why is there not some kind of “watch list” for people when they buy guns? His previous actions clearly show he was a threat and he should have never gotten his hands on a gun! All the signs were there. It’s heartbreaking.
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Aug 5, 2019 20:27:46 GMT
And trump’s a fucking hypocrite and liar when giving his gaslighting bullshit sound bites today.
He’s the motherfucker who rescinded the laws that President Obama’s administration put into place to make it harder for those who have mental illness to purchase guns. But the tucking asshole hopes no one was paying attention.
Trump Signs Bill Revoking Obama-Era Gun Checks for People With Mental Illnesses
Feb. 28, 2017, 8:36 PM ET / Updated Feb. 28, 2017, 8:39 PM ET President Donald Trump quietly signed a bill into law Tuesday rolling back an Obama-era regulation that made it harder for people with mental illnesses to purchase a gun.
The rule, which was finalized in December, added people receiving Social Security checks for mental illnesses and people deemed unfit to handle their own financial affairs to the national background check database.
Had the rule fully taken effect, the Obama administration predicted it would have added about 75,000 names to that database.
President Barack Obama recommended the now-nullified regulation in a 2013 memo following the mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, which left 20 first graders and six others dead. The measure sought to block some people with severe mental health problems from buying guns.
Related: Assault Weapons Not Protected by Second Amendment, Federal Appeals Court Rules
The original rule was hotly contested by gun rights advocates who said it infringed on Americans’ Second Amendment rights. Gun control advocates, however, praised the rule for curbing the availability of firearms to those who may not use them with the right intentions.
Both the House and Senate last week passed the new bill, H.J. Res 40, revoking the Obama-era regulation.
Trump signed the bill into law without a photo op or fanfare. The president welcomed cameras into the oval office Tuesday for the signing of other executive orders and bills. News that the president signed the bill was tucked at the bottom of a White House email alerting press to other legislation signed by the president.
The National Rifle Association “applauded” Trump’s action. Chris Cox, NRA-ILA executive director, said the move “marks a new era for law-abiding gun owners, as we now have a president who respects and supports our arms.”
Everytown For Gun Safety President John Feinblatt said he expected more gun control rollbacks from the Trump administration. In a statement to NBC News, he called the action "just the first item on the gun lobby’s wish list" and accused the National Rifle Association of "pushing more guns, for more people, in more places."
Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., a leading gun control advocate in Congress, called out Republicans over the move.
"Republicans always say we don’t need new gun laws, we just need to enforce the laws already on the books. But the bill signed into law today undermines enforcement of existing laws that Congress passed to make sure the background check system had complete information," he said in an emailed statement.
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Post by sunshine on Aug 5, 2019 22:14:40 GMT
I will never understand the ability for people to purchase a gun that can kill 9 people in 30 seconds. Or kill 22 people in 25 minutes. Or kill 58 people in 10-15 minutes.
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Post by elaine on Aug 5, 2019 23:12:02 GMT
We always have the ABC national news on television during dinner. My husband is out of town on business and my boys were upset that I was crying during the montage of the victims of this weekend’s shootings.
What an awful awful time we live in.
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Post by sunshine on Aug 5, 2019 23:18:43 GMT
My husband and I were both watching the ABC news also, can't help but cry.
The mom that protected her 2 month old, both her and her husband were killed. One of their kid's 5th birthday was on Saturday.
I just can't wrap my head around this.
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Post by elaine on Aug 5, 2019 23:21:19 GMT
America is anything but great again.
The founding fathers are rolling in their graves and Jesus is weeping over this past weekend.
I am truly ashamed to be an American this week.
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Post by Merge on Aug 5, 2019 23:35:29 GMT
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Post by just PEAchy on Aug 5, 2019 23:38:50 GMT
Just disgusting. I saw another one where his supporters were shown choking a cardboard cutout of AOC. These people are so vile.
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Post by Merge on Aug 5, 2019 23:41:09 GMT
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Post by Merge on Aug 5, 2019 23:41:55 GMT
Just disgusting. I saw another one where his supporters were shown choking a cardboard cutout of AOC. These people are so vile. Not just his supporters, I believe ... campaign staffers or interns. I could be wrong about that. Disgusting either way.
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Aug 6, 2019 4:46:33 GMT
Everyone is calling for her to resign, including the Republican Party offices there.
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