Guns and stuff

[2ndRateMind]

One's heart goes out the bereft relatives and blameless wounded of Las Vegas. And one's prayers for the innocent dead.

Yet, one notices that this is hardly an isolated occurrence. Quite why civilians need a right to buy and bear arms in the form of automatic assault weapons evades me. The more that are sold, the more likely they will fall into the hands of the mentally unstable, the criminal, and the downright malicious. No civilised country could or should or would tolerate such lax gun laws for long.

Best wishes, 2RM.

[2ndRateMind]

So, I just heard Trump's homily on this tragedy. Long on the pretence of sympathy, short on any action to prevent this happening again. It's not that difficult, Donald; there is no legitimate civilian use for automatic assault weaponry.

Cheers, 2RM.

[JP Cusick]

So, I just heard Trump's homily on this tragedy. Long on the pretence of sympathy, short on any action to prevent this happening again. It's not that difficult, Donald; there is no legitimate civilian use for automatic assault weaponry.

Cheers, 2RM.

The problem for Trump and for so many others is that this was not done by a foreigner, and not by a Muslim, and so they can not blame and condemn their favorite target.

They do not even call it as "terrorism" because the white American man lived there in Nevada.

I heard that Hillary Clinton put out a comment like this = to just suppose how much worse this could have been if the shooter had a silencer as the NRA wants to legalize.

[Divine Insight]

One's heart goes out the bereft relatives and blameless wounded of Las Vegas. And one's prayers for the innocent dead.

Yet, one notices that this is hardly an isolated occurrence. Quite why civilians need a right to buy and bear arms in the form of automatic assault weapons evades me. The more that are sold, the more likely they will fall into the hands of the mentally unstable, the criminal, and the downright malicious. No civilised country could or should or would tolerate such lax gun laws for long.

Best wishes, 2RM.

I agree. I'm all for restrictions on gun sales and permits, etc.

Just the same I need to ask. Do we know the details in this particular case? Were the guns used in this incident obtained legally? I don't know the answer to that question. If they were, then your concerns certainly deserve to be addressed in this situation.

[Wootah]

History shows to me at least that we get to choose between
small scale violence of the kind we saw in Las Vegas or genocidal massacres of unarmed civilian populations as per the Armenians.

Until you overlay that logic and truth in your belief system you will be swayed by the tragedy of gun violence.

Government is the biggest killer of people.

[McCulloch]

Yet, one notices that this is hardly an isolated occurrence.

Only in the USA are such mass shootings regular occurrences.

No civilised country could or should or would tolerate such lax gun laws for long.

We don't. We keep wondering why you do.

Do we know the details in this particular case? Were the guns used in this incident obtained legally? I don't know the answer to that question. If they were, then your concerns certainly deserve to be addressed in this situation.

Does it really make a difference? In the American gun culture where firearms are easily and widely available, there are more gun deaths than any other industrialized nation. And it is not just a few more; it is lots and lots more.

History shows to me at least that we get to choose between small scale violence of the kind we saw in Las Vegas or genocidal massacres of unarmed civilian populations as per the Armenians.

Only a very narrow view of history would see just these two options. Canada, for example, has neither genocidal massacres nor frequent mass shootings, since confederation in 1867, one hundred and fifty years ago.

[Divine Insight]

Do we know the details in this particular case? Were the guns used in this incident obtained legally? I don't know the answer to that question. If they were, then your concerns certainly deserve to be addressed in this situation.

Does it really make a difference? In the American gun culture where firearms are easily and widely available, there are more gun deaths than any other industrialized nation. And it is not just a few more; it is lots and lots more.

It seems to me that it would make a difference at least in terms of making arguments for stricter gun laws in this particular case. After all, if the weapons were obtained from an illegal source then how would changing gun laws make much difference in that case?

Of course, if the guns were obtained legally, then the argument for stricter gun laws is profound in this case.

Just for the record, I'm for stricter gun laws and especially I see no need at all for the general public to have any need for fully automatic assault rifles. I'm totally for banning the public sale of those entirely. There's just no rational reason anyone needs to own a fully automatic assault rifle. So I would ban those from the public totally if it were up to me.

[Wootah]

[Replying to McCulloch]

Ask the natives of Canada about massacres.

[2ndRateMind]

This argument that civilians should have the right to keep and bear automatic assault weaponry to resist government force seems to me to me to be undemocratic, paranoid and futile.

It's undemocratic because, while the opinions of minorities should always be respected, the will of the majority carries the greater (moral) force. If you don't like your government, you have the option of voting them out, and/or running for office yourself on a dissenting ticket. Violent opposition is the negation of all democratic principles, in favour of the rule of the strong over the weak. It is saying, simply, that might is right.

It's paranoid because a democratic government is the servant of the people, not their oppressor. If you really want to know what oppression is, visit North Korea.

It's futile because a few disenchanted civilians, even armed with automatic assault rifles, will never outgun the state military, let alone the national armed forces.

America needs to make friends with it's government, stop resenting them, and ask not what the country should do for them, but what they can do for their country. And relinquishing the privilege to own military grade assault weaponry would be a sensible first step. It does no American much good, and kills and injures far too many of them.

Best wishes, 2RM.

[JP Cusick]

History shows to me at least that we get to choose between
small scale violence of the kind we saw in Las Vegas or genocidal massacres of unarmed civilian populations as per the Armenians.

Until you overlay that logic and truth in your belief system you will be swayed by the tragedy of gun violence.

Government is the biggest killer of people.

I see this comment above as brilliant because it is based on reality, and we need reality to overrule emotions and politics.

Every government including the US government is a danger to humanity and particularly a danger to its own population, and the only true defense is a well armed citizenry who can rise up against any form of government tyranny.

And particularly the system of democracy where the majority rules over the minority is the single greatest danger ever threatened against human beings.


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One's heart goes out the bereft relatives and blameless wounded of Las Vegas.

We really do need to recognize that the shooter was a Godless heathen = he was an Atheist.

He had lots of money - but that did not satisfy.
He had a loving girlfriend - but that did not satisfy.
He had great properties and luxuries - but that did not satisfy.
His gambling and debaucheries - but that did not satisfy.
He was elderly and retired - but that did not satisfy.

When people get old they really need to have a realistic faith in God or else their entire life looks empty as like a failure, and that is a horrible fate for any person to carry into their old age.