Gunman kills 27+ people at a church in San Antonio metro area

Where are you getting that they are "pretending nothing is wrong"?

The problem here is you think it's a gun problem and others think it's a mental illness problem or an anger problem. Nobody is pretending nothing is wrong, there is just disagreement over what is wrong.

 

Because normal people don't shoot up churches when they loose a relationship.

Name one of these guys that you consider to be normal. I'll wait.

What something is designed for is irrelevant when PlayStation controllers are banned from war zones because they are being tweeked for use of detonating remote controlled bombs. If that happens in a third world country it can easily happen here. If there is a problem fix it. As far as I'm concerned guns were made to kill, but I own for self defense so what they were made for doesn't matter more than my intention.

 

As it was said in the film Shane by Alan Ladd, "A gun is a tool. It's neither as good or as bad as the man using it."

I believe that in the case of guns, some common sense has to be used. If you have a history of mental illness, no guns. Criminal record. No guns. Of course, a knife or a blunt instrument could also be used in a moment of violence. To use those things to kill a person is personal.

A seemingly "normal" person can get angry and lash out. I get angry. Do I think about murdering someone who offended me? No.
I don't want to think or feel that way.

I enjoy shooting guns. I once owned three guns (two 9mms and a.38 special/.357 magnum). I have mentioned this before and I will mention it again. When you use a gun, you hold the power of life and death in your hands. It is a power that I understand and respect.

It isn't about guns, it is about the power. Pro gun people believe that the 2nd Amendment is written in stone and that gives them the right to keep and bare arms. These people believe that it also means the right to keep and bear ordinance. I probably won't have an AK-47 or an AR15 in my possession. I fired an AR-15 and it is fun to shoot. But I don't believe it is what I need.

If you are a law abiding citizen and don't have a guilty conscience, there's nothing to worry about. If you have an understanding of the law and are trained in the gun, you have nothing to worry about.

You can buy any gun that you want as long as you know exactly what its purpose is. Having a gun just to have it sounds selfish.

As for this tragedy, the debate now is to determine if it was an act of terrorism. There is no doubt that the mass murder of 28 people in a church IS an act of terror as it is an act of terror in New York City and Las Vegas and everywhere else in the country and the world.

I remember asking for an application to get a gun permit at the local police department in the town of Wharton, NJ. The application was several sheets long and asking questions like, "Do you have any mental illness?" Or, "Do you have intentions to overthrow the government?"
I couldn't fill the application out. It sat in my dresser drawer for months until I threw it away.

Something has to be done. Talk is cheap.

 

Because that's exactly they do. We have a mass shooting. GOPers Tweet out bullshit thoughts and prayers, then say that we shouldn't "politicize" the shooting, and that it's "too soon" to talk about it. Then the next mass shooting happens. Lather, rinse, repeat. They put their heads in the sand and lament that there is nothing they can do (that is politically popular with their constituents or that won't piss off the almighty NRA).

But since you mentioned mental health, what exactly are Paul Ryan's thoughts on mental health treatment in this country? They'll talk about cutting taxes. They'll talk about gay people not being able to get married. But when it comes to mental health treatment, they get real quiet about even trying to address it.

"Not normal" =/= "mentally ill." Mental illness are actually medically defined diagnoses and trying to use the term mental illness as catch-all term to describe antisocial or violent behavior doesn't address the issue. There are millions of people in this country who could probably be classified as having some mental illness (which is itself a massive category) that don't grab rifles and go on shooting sprees. Being a violent, antisocial asshole doesn't mean a person is mentally ill.

And what something is designed for is completely relevant if you're trying to compare something designed specifically to kill people with something that isn't. If we had a rash of people in this country modifying Playstation controllers to set off bombs once a month then that would be a more valid point. We're talking about guns because in American, guns are the preferred weapon of choice for killing as many people in as short a time as possible.

 

Until those "millions" of people aren't being ignored you don't have much of a point. I don't understand the logic behind letting problems fester instead of addressing them. You've already admitted that the mental health system is broken, so why not fix it??

I'm already ahead of you I that's why I mentioned John Nash who wasn't violent but actually someone I admired. I was around mentally ill people often when I worked for the mental health board. I even had a relationship with someone that I didn't know was mentally ill. (Won't do that again) Anyway.....I already know bruh.

Most people are violent for a reason even though it isn't justified. Either they are a some type of crook or hoodlum. People don't just go shooting people for no obvious gain.

Again which one of them dudes you consider to be normal?? Can't wait.

 

"Preferred weapon of choice"

????

You do know preferences can change right?

Lol

What's the common denominator in the PlayStation example vs the gun example.


Wait for it.........


People! Omfg. Who knew??

 

I never said that mental health treatment wasn't an option; I said that it isn't the only option. Big difference between those two things. But that costs money and you really think the current party in power is trying to spend one thin dime to fix that problem? Absolutely not.

And I didn't name anyone because I don't consider any one who goes on a killing spree to be normal in any sense of the word. But it's like I have said already, "not normal" does not mean "mentally ill."

 

In that case, why not use a PlayStation controller for self defense instead of a gun? It would be a lot cheaper, and much more difficult to have it used against you.

And why not give soldiers PlayStation controllers, too? Think of all the money we can save on ammunition. And a DualShock 4 costs about $40 but I'm willing to bet the Pentagon can negotiate an even better price if they buy in bulk.

After all, they can both be used for the exact same thing which means that they're both pretty much identical. Right?

And yes, preferences can change. But so far they haven't. If they do? We cross that bridge when we come to it. Until then that argument is just a distraction from the real problem that this country currently has, which is not video game controller violence but gun violence.

 

Because I'm not a murderer therefore I don't use explosions for self defense. What do you and boba suggest I own for self defense.....lol. I'm not going to let people who hate guns tell me what type of gun I should own for self defense. I choose what I'm most accurate with. All you guys know is that they all go bang.

Are you going to say PlayStation controllers shouldn't be banned in war zones? Nope your plan is to ban whatever the current preference is.

 

That, and that they are all designed for no other purpose than to kill people. Pro-gun people always seem to forget that last part...wonder why that is? Lol.

And neither one of us ever said to ban all guns.

Well, I don't know enough about living in a war zone to make that determination. And yeah, if the current preference in weaponry allows a single person to massacre dozens of people in a matter of minutes and serves no other purpose aside from killing people, you're goddamn right my plan would be to ban it. I'd ban the tapdancing fuck out of it.

 

Ar15 is good for home defense when there are other people around that may be grabbed as hostage. The accuracy of a rifle is sometimes needed. When the space is all clear, nothing cleans up like a shot gun.

 

Bliss, come on.

When is the last time a conservative tried to pray a problem away??
Is the GOP trying to 'pray' abortion away?? No, they want to change the law so that abortion is illegal.

Are Republicans trying to 'pray' the nuclear threat of North Korea to disappear?
No, our POTUS is threatening nuclear annihilation if Kim Jung Un doesn't abandon his nuclear weapons program.

Prayer without ACTION is straight up bullshit.

 

Beasty, really??

Hypothetically, if you have two small children and your wife says she heard noise inside the kitchen that sounds like a burglar, you're gonna grab an AR15??

I'm all in favor of gun clubs allowing people to shoot whatever semiauto and auto weapon they want, but when it comes to personal ownership, I stop at single shot rifles, some shotguns and handguns.

If you need more than that to defend your home and family, IMO you're already fucked.

 

Shit why not? You'll act like its a 50 cal BMG. Do you know how small the bullets are? Of course you don't.

 

Whatever.lol
In that scenario, I see you picking up a handgun and seeing what's up.

I don't think I've ever heard of a dude getting out of bed, grabbing his AR15 and sweeping his house to see if it's secure.

 

Handguns are only for fighting your way to a long gun. I would never sweep with a handgun if a long gun was near.

You didn't hear about that 12 year old that shot a burglar with a Ar15? It feels like shooting a bb gun.

 

Well in regards to the Texas killer, he was institutionalized in a mental institution and he escaped. His mental history was rife with death threats by gunfire and psychosis. The ball was dropped here.

 

I don't understand your reply. Who is trying to pray mass shootings away?

 

I disagree. An AR would scare the shit out of an intruder. (So would a shot gun.).
Btw, what do you think of this man's comment?

robert powers, San Antonio, United States, 53 minutes ago

One word...Chicago...parts of a city full of criminals lacking basic empathy and then don't get me started on all the dangerous nut jobs in this country with absolutely no where to go, or if they do go they just easily escape and then get convicted of just a Bad conduct discharge for fracturing an infants skull and beating a women, only to be released a year later but without the critical shared conviction entered into the NCIC criminal FBI data base which allows them the ability to purchase an AR15. Then they go and start to shoot up a church full of women and children only to be stopped by a couple of heroic citizens and not the actual police, one of which was armed with an AR15...yeah with all that said I think I'll pass and keep my guns!

-----------
(So an AR stopped the gunnman.)

 

Here's the story of his escape..

NEW BRAUNFELS, Tex. — The gunman...had a string of troubling episodes in recent years, including an escape from a mental health facility in 2012 after he was caught sneaking guns onto an Air Force base “attempting to carry out death threats” against military superiors, according to a police report.

Devin P. Kelley’s young life was riddled with warning signs, mounting during and after his time in the Air Force, including a conviction for beating his then-wife and stepson, charges of animal cruelty, mental health concerns, investigations for domestic assault, threats against his family members and a motorcycle crash that left him with lingering physical pain.

Interviews and police and military documents depict Kelley as a distressed — and at-times, violent — man in the years before authorities said he walked into the First Baptist Church in Sutherland Springs, Tex...

More...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...unmans-methodical-tactics-in-church-massacre/

This asshole belonged in JAIL.