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Today we are listening to news about the worst mass shooting in U.S. history, in Orlando.
Has it gotten bad enough yet? If not, how bad do mass shootings have to get before we institute sensible controls on assault weapons?
This is a serious question for pro-gun, pro-NRA right wingers.
The question should be how we control terrorists who intend to kill US citizens. They will always find a way to get weapons.
With a free society, this country as well as others has their work cut out for them. Unfortunately this shooting will fuel the anti-emigrant talk from Trump. Two shootings in the Orlando area in 2 nights. First the singer, and now this. The worst mass shooting in U.S. history from 9/11.
Bacon, add up all the mass shootings in the last 30 years – as far as I know, all committed by American citizens – and that is hundreds (perhaps thousands) of people that have died due to the shooter having easy access to weapons of mass destruction, i.e. assault weapons.
The question of stopping terrorism on our soil committed by foreigners is a different one, and you are deflecting in order to avoid dealing with the very real issue of gun violence in this country.
Again – how bad do these kind of shootings have to get before America takes action?
Maybe it’s time for Obama to admit that radical Islamic terrorism is a problem. The last thing this country needs is another 4 years of Obama, which is exactly what Hillary will be. The sooner Obama is gone, the safer this country will be. Let’s just pray Hillary doesn’t come within 10 fee of the whitehouse.
“The question should be how we control terrorists who intend to kill US citizens. They will always find a way to get weapons.”
No, doofus, that is not the question. As Edsel pointed out, there are multiple problems to deal with and having you echo the NRA’s position every time we try to parse these tragedies is counterproductive.
Access to semi automatic weapons is just the tip of the iceberg. The red meat is really the ability, in Florida in this case, to obtain hi capacity clips of ammunition. A lot of the high body count killings involve high capacity magazines. Half of all mass shootings involve high capacity magazines (10 or more rounds). Add to that the extremely lax gun laws in Florida, and Orlando specifically, where you are not required to have a permit to purchase a gun, you are not required to register your firearm, the owner of the firearm does not need to be licensed, and you need a permit only to carry a handgun, but not a rifle or shotgun and you have a much higher likelihood to experience these kinds of incidents.
So once again, F&B, your brief statement holds no intelligent commentary and also you fail to contribute any useful dialogue. You represent part of the problem, ignorant right wing voters that have no capacity to dig up real facts and are totally satisfied to sit back and let the NRA and the right wing hypocrisy machine do your talking for you. Pathetic.
The shooter apparently was investigated for possible terrorist connections previously. That investigation ended. Sounds like a breakdown somewhere in the system.
Another fact that came out today is he is of the Muslim faith and worshiped at a Mosque in Florida.
So he apparently is of the Muslim faith and hates LBGT people. I wonder how long it will take Trump to exploit this. He already tweeted this morning, (paraphrasing)”I appreciate all the congrats on getting this right” Wow.
Lax US gun laws are the problem.
One common denominator behind these and other high-casualty mass shootings in recent years is the use of assault style rifles, capable of firing many rounds of ammunition in a relatively short period of time, with high accuracy. And their use in these types of shooting is becoming more common: There have been eight high-profile public mass shootings since July of last year, according to a database compiled by Mother Jones magazine. Assault-style rifles were used in seven of those.
In the past 10 years, assault-style rifles have been used in 14 public mass shootings. Half of those shootings have occurred since last June.
Terrorist groups have taken note of the widespread availability of assault rifles and other guns in the U.S. In 2011, al-Qaeda encouraged its followers to take advantage of lax guns laws, purchase assault-style weapons and use them to shoot people.
“America is absolutely awash with easily obtainable firearms,” American-born al-Qaeda spokesman Adam Gadahn said in a video. “You can go down to a gun show at the local convention center and come away with a fully automatic assault rifle, without a background check, and most likely without having to show an identification card. So what are you waiting for?”
Congressional Republicans have blood on their hands this morning.
http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/gop-blocks-bill-stop-terrorists-buying-guns
Senate Republicans rejected a bill that aims to stop suspected terrorists from legally buying guns, on Thursday. The vote came a day after at least 14 people were killed during the San Bernardino massacre in California by two suspects, including a woman said to have pledged allegiance to ISIS.
Forty-five senators voted for the bill and 54 voted against it. One Democrat, Sen. Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota, and one Republican, Sen. Mark Kirk of Illinois, crossed party lines.
The measure would have denied people on the terrorist watch list the ability to buy guns.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), who sponsored the legislation, argued that former President George W. Bush initially proposed the legislation in 2007, and the Obama administration also supports it.
“If you need proof that Congress is a hostage to the gun lobby, look no further than today’s vote blocking a bill to prevent known or suspected terrorists from buying guns and explosives,” she said. “Congress has been paralyzed by the gun lobby for years, while more and more Americans are killed in mass shootings. The carnage won’t stop until Congress finds the courage to stand up to the gun lobby and protect the nation.”
I don’t have a link handy but NBC news said 6 of the last 10 or so shootings involved the same gun. An AK 15. Among others, Sandy Hook, Oregon, Colorado, and now Orlando. Voice your thoughts on this at the ballot box.
The common denominator is that radical Islamists intended to kill people.
They’ve used airplanes, pressure cookers, and guns.
They will use whatever they can to kill us. They’ll use cars, poison, home-made explosives, drones and god knows what else.
It’s a good idea to prevent them from entering our country and to keep an eye on the suspicious ones who are here.
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