Our Hearts Are With Las Vegas

[watcher1]

Someone tweeted this after the bloodbath in Las Vegas:  The GOP insists that the Vegas shooter's gun arsenal is "a right" but medical treatment for his 500 plus survivors is merely "a privilege."

[MissBarbara]

Someone tweeted this after the bloodbath in Las Vegas:  The GOP insists that the Vegas shooter's gun arsenal is "a right" but medical treatment for his 500 plus survivors is merely "a privilege."

While I loathe the way that incidents like this are instantly politicized, the Tweeter does make a legitimate point...

[Athos_131]

According to the GOP's health care proposals, all those victims now have preexisting conditions.

They can either be denied coverage or charged an outrageous rate for coverage.

#Resist

[Lois]

The 9-11 first responders got screwed over as well.  Let's face it, Republican don't really love America, just what it gives them.

[Pervertedneighbor]

Don't you just love how these threads about something terrible happening immediately get politicized and polarized, and pages later have become a debate about something completely unrelated to a story about an idiot with a screw loose deciding to fire his gun into a crowd of people? 

[Lois]

That's because thoughts and prayers are not doing a whole lot of good preventing these tragedies. God is AWOL. So we turn to political solutions.

[Lois]

If you have not seen this in the New York Times it is worth the read/view.

477 Days. 521 Mass Shootings. Zero Action From Congress.
BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD OCT. 2, 2017

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/02/opinion/editorials/mass-shootings-congress.html

[Elizabeth]

If you have not seen this in the New York Times it is worth the read/view.

477 Days. 521 Mass Shootings. Zero Action From Congress.
BY THE EDITORIAL BOARD OCT. 2, 2017

https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/10/02/opinion/editorials/mass-shootings-congress.html

Actually this isn't surprising at all......
And when the next one occurs (and it will).....the same congress will do the same thing......."nothing". When you have to consider peoples lives over NRA Money.....guess where congress stands...??

Love,
Liz

[Lois]

How do we take on the NRA?  We have to build an organization that is stronger.

[Katiebee]

Thoughts and prayers give you all the protection you need from bullets and madmen.

[MissBarbara]

How do we take on the NRA?  We have to build an organization that is stronger.

To my mind, blaming the NRA, though somewhat valid, offers zero protection against something like this happening again. Nor does blaming Congress -- or silly assertions that all Members of Congress are in the NRA's pocket. In fact, asserting that that Members of Congress are willing to sacrifice human lives to keep the NRA cash flowing into their pockets is a very serious accusation that is highly objectionable without corroboration.

Yes, yes, I know, here come the citations to articles showing NRA lobbying efforts, money spent, etc. Believe me, I'm about as staunch a proponent of gun control -- and control, not banning -- as you'll find.

But the main problem is that there is no "gun control debate." It's simply two opposing sides taking pot shots at each other -- pun very much intended -- with no reasonable dialogue, no searching for compromise, and no consideration of what's truly at stake. And this thread is a perfect example of this tragic phenomenon, as a horrifying national tragedy is exploited to score points, and not solve problems. The intention behind the OP is perfectly clear (and perfectly trolling), as is the intention behind first response to the OP. And so it goes...

If there's ever going to be even a path toward a solution, this silliness must end, and the big picture must be brought in view. There is no precedent anywhere else in the entire world for this phenomenon -- mass shootings and mass deaths, occurring on a tragically regular basis. The problem is uniquely American, and the problem isn't legislative, it's cultural. And until that culture changes -- until there's a clear agreement among Americans that this "Culture of Death" is unacceptable -- these atrocities will continue unabated.

The U.S. today is a place where:

* The majority of Americans support capital punishment (depending on the poll you cite, it's anywhere from 60-70%), and capital punishment is currently legal at the Federal level and in the majority of U.S. states (31).

* The majority of Americans support the right of a homeowner to use deadly force against an intruder, deeming it appropriate the blast the motherfucker who's trying to steal their flat screen TV, and labeling those who do so "Good Guys/Gals."

* The majority of Americans support abortion, which, when you strip away the politics and polemics, involves the killing of a human being, or potential human being, or mass of protoplasm that will in almost every case develop into a human being, for a reason that, in the overwhelming majority of cases, is not carried out in order to save another human life.

* The majority of Americans are completely unconcerned about the poor, afflicted, and needy among us, blissfully ignoring the fact that there are many among us who are literally starving.

Death, death, death, death.

And we wonder, every time there's yet another mass shooting, why there's so much death?

[joan1984]

  The NRA is not the problem, NRA Members are not the problem, the Police are not the problem, criminals are the problem.  Murder is illegal. Discharge of a firearm in most towns/cities is illegal. Pointing a firearm, brandishing one, and plotting to kill many people is illegal. The Criminal is the issue, the problem and the States need to handle their criminals, and find their way to a solution about criminals.

  Every dime spent by anyone to deal with guns, that is not criminal focused, is a waste of money. All efforts should be at the local and State level regarding criminals, how to keep them from affecting the local populations. Assistance to State and Local policing is just that, assistance. The responsibility is one of the State, not anyone else.

[Lois]

You are partially right Joan, but so long as criminals have easy access to guns because the NRA blocks laws aimed at making guns harder to obtain then the NRA is part of the problem too.

As for assault weapons, they have no civilian applications and should not be obtainable without a special collector's permit.

[joan1984]

You are partially right Joan, but so long as criminals have easy access to guns because the NRA blocks laws aimed at making guns harder to obtain then the NRA is part of the problem too.

As for assault weapons, they have no civilian applications and should not be obtainable without a special collector's permit.

Automatic weapons require special licensing, as you note. That is the law.

The apparent shooter in LasVegas purchased each of his firearms legally and ammo.
Not sure about the bomb making materials noted in news reports, as to exactly what that amounted to and whether legal purchase is possible.

He then seems to have decided to become a murderer, killer, a criminal.

Focus on Criminals to the exclusion of normal U.S. Citizens, and you will find the solution you are seeking in 99% of cases. Most firearm crimes are suicides, when deadly. Excluding suicides can help a lot when evaluating who the criminals are, and researching where they buy or steal their firearms.

Illegal firearm sales need to be stopped, such as whoever the thugs in Chicago purchase weapons from, lying about their intentions, or their identities. Finding where gang firearms and ammunition originate must be a priority for law enforcement at all levels, and putting away street criminals caught with firearms needs to be a major priority.

Stop pleading down prosecution of firearm criminals entirely, lock them up.

Focus our limited resources at the local level on known criminals. Get warrants served and round up those in the community, keep them locked up as needed, sending them to fill the empty cells of other communities as needed, until their trials.

Waiting for a felon to jaywalk in order to discover he/she has a warrant is simply not the way to go, yet it is the way we operate in most locations, a passive 'catch' via data when stopped for a tail light being out. Why such stops are so dangerous for the Police Officer, who must approach each as if an armed felon is behind the wheel, or in the vehicle, as so many are 'out there' in the community, not in jail where they belong.