Almost anything would?Boulder Shooting tonight will add fuel to the Current Admin and anti 2A push
Heck, a good sized belch with garlic may too?
Almost anything would?Boulder Shooting tonight will add fuel to the Current Admin and anti 2A push
I would be willing to settle for an acknowledgement that modern sporting rifles have a definite sporting purpose. The media intentionally refers to them as "weapons of war" to downplay the fact that these guns meet the "sporting purpose" exception that was expressly written into the Gun Control Act of 1968."Con"gress, not knowing or caring about the difference between a military or law enforcement full auto assault weapon and a popular modern semi auto sporting rifle that only looks like the full auto version with nowhere near the rate of fire, will continue to use the term "assault weapon" to frighten the unknowing citizen to support their anti 2A motives. It's time for the pro 2A organizations to offer "Con"gress a free in-session seminar on the difference between the two and publicize it widely for all to see on C-SPAN and any other available media in the event that they reject it.
Too bad there’s that whole 8th amendment thing, huh?God dangit. Why does it seem like every time there is a push for gun control some psycho goes off like this? If they would sentence him to be tortured to death I think these A holes would think twice about doing crap like this.
Too bad there’s that whole 8th amendment thing, huh?
Big difference between hanging (if done correctly) and being tortured to death, as you advocated for in your earlier post.The definition of cruel and unusual punishment has sure morphed over the years. We used to hang people. We should bring that back.
Not legally. Legally there is no difference. Torture is torture. And frankly if you kill 10 innocent people it's going to be damn hard to get me to be concerned whether or not you are tortured.Big difference between hanging (if done correctly) and being tortured to death, as you advocated for in your earlier post.
By the bye:The definition of cruel and unusual punishment has sure morphed over the years. We used to hang people. We should bring that back.
Not sure how you made that leap. The courts over the years have ruled that hanging is cruel. Apparently so are firing squads. One big difference is that in theory anyway, people sentenced to capital punishment are convicted murderers. So if you consider that convicted murderers automatically lose their 2A rights, why can't they lose their 8A rights ?By the bye:
you just made the exact same argument that anti-gunners make when they say the second should only apply to muskets.
Just sayin’.
Great post. Thanks for the insight.I retired from 42 years in law enforcement and have been a police firearms instructor for 50 years. In my consulting business I have researched mass killings dating back to the 1800's, and have trained a number of organizations in workplace violence prevention and active shooter response. There is not a single "profile" of mass killers, however in a large percentage of these cases the behavior was predictable, and/or profound mental illness was present. We often ask ourselves "why?", but with the exception of politically motivated killings (Pensacola NAS shooter, Ft Hood Shooter, Boston Marathon bombers, Chattanooga TN recruiting center, etc), the motive often defies rational explanation.
Modern mass shooters almost invariably research information on previous mass shooters, and contemplate and brood on their attack for a period of time beforehand. If you want your own Wiki page, you have to kill more people than previous killers. Longer waiting periods would have little effect on them, and extended background checks would have little effect because most of them bought the gun legally subsequent to a NICS check. However, some of them who bought guns legally would not have been able to do so had proper enforcement action been taken against them and the records been properly reported. (The Marjory Stoneman Douglas High school shootings; the Washington Navy Yard shootings).
But guns are not necessary for mass murder. As mentioned above Timothy McVeigh did not use a gun. The worst mass murder of school children in American history occurred in Bath, Michigan in 1927 and it was a bombing, committed by a school board member. Most folks do not realize that the Columbine High School killings was not supposed to be primarily a shooting-the boys set up a catastrophic explosive device that could have killed several hundred kids, but their ignition device did not work properly. The guns were there to shoot bombing survivors as they evacuated the building.
A few common characteristics are seen in mass killers. They generally feel like victims, that they have no control, and they are narcissistic. They do not expect to survive their rampage. Profound mental illness is often a factor. Charles Whitman, the Texas Tower shooter, had a brain tumor on autopsy. The San Ysidro MacDonald's shooter had high levels of heavy metals in his brain (he was a technical welder by trade). The postal workers who gave us the phrase "going postal" were profoundly mentally ill, as was the Virginia Tech shooter, the Sandy Hook shooter, and the Aurora, CO theater shooter. Many of the shooters announced their intention to shoot a bunch of people, or persons close to them predicted the behavior, but the warnings went unheeded.
The problem with these homicidal individuals throughout history is not, and never has been, the weapons, but the behavior. Our mental health system simply is not functional in terms of identifying and dealing with homicidal mental illness, and often the foreboding is missed or ignored.
The dilemma we as gun owners and protectors of the 2nd Amendment are faced with is that even though the guns are not the problem, a high capacity firearm makes a person who is intent on killing a lot of people more lethal. It is in all our best interests to keep those individuals from obtaining any kind of firearm, or dynamite, or ammonium nitrate, and to have a mental health system in place that diminishes their ability to carry out a massacre.
The problem with these homicidal individuals throughout history is not, and never has been, the weapons, but the behavior. Our mental health system simply is not functional in terms of identifying and dealing with homicidal mental illness, and often the foreboding is missed or ignored.
The dilemma we as gun owners and protectors of the 2nd Amendment are faced with is that even though the guns are not the problem, a high capacity firearm makes a person who is intent on killing a lot of people more lethal. It is in all our best interests to keep those individuals from obtaining any kind of firearm, or dynamite, or ammonium nitrate, and to have a mental health system in place that diminishes their ability to carry out a massacre.
The so-called Red Flag Laws depend upon how the law was written and how it is enforced. Truth be told, we have been seizing firearms from crazy people under court order for as long as I can remember. The sticking point with these laws is the issue of due process. The way Florida did it was to codify due process into the statute, and the standard is "clear and convincing evidence" that must be presented to a judge to get the order, and only law enforcement can submit a petition for the order. Read Florida Statute 790.401. I have heard the objections, but typically these things arise from some criminal offense or disturbance that brought the police there in the first place. We can make the argument that you should not be able to seize the guns if he's not a convicted felon, but what is the officer supposed to do, drive off and leave the crazy person armed when he clearly presents a threat? It's a no-win for everybody involved and since the mental health system is inadequate law enforcement is stuck with the problem. Perhaps the best solution is to get the court commit the individual to a mental institution, which would render them ineligible to possess a firearm.Isn't the purpose of Red Flag Laws to get guns away from people who might be dangerous to themselves or others? Yet it seems to me that many of those who post on various gun forums are adamantly opposed to such laws as a violation of the 2A. I don't think anyone has a solution to the violence, hatred, and craziness in our country.
....or renting a Ryder truck...or buying 100 gallons of unleaded fuel....The dilemma we as gun owners and protectors of the 2nd Amendment are faced with is that even though the guns are not the problem, a high capacity firearm makes a person who is intent on killing a lot of people more lethal. It is in all our best interests to keep those individuals from obtaining any kind of firearm, or dynamite, or ammonium nitrate, and to have a mental health system in place that diminishes their ability to carry out a massacre.