Steven Singer says nothing will change after the slaughter in Las Vegas. The National Rifle Association owns enough Congressmen to loosen gun regulations, to tighten them. Trump loves the NRA. He was the first president to address them.
What if everyone in the crowd were carrying their own AK-47? How would that have stopped the slaughter?
Steven writes:
“Wake up, America.
“We are not the land of the brave or the home of the free.
“We are the land of the gun and the home of the free market.
“Stephen Paddock’s killing spree last night in Las Vegas will not change anything – except the bottom line for numerous gun manufacturers.
“Ca-ching, people!
“Scores of American companies are going to clean up over this!
“That’s what happens every time we get a high profile mass shooting.
“Not new gun regulation. Not additional services for the mentally ill. Not stricter guidelines against fake news on social media.
“Just tons of money pouring into gun manufacturers pockets as firearm aficionados rush to buy as many additional pieces as they can in the fear that tomorrow the government will come for their guns.
“You think this has anything to do with the Second Amendment or the right to bear arms?
“Wrong.
“It’s about putting business over humanity. It’s about our culture of death overtaking everything else.
“Look at the facts.
“A 64-year-old retiree used a cache of almost 20 guns to spray bullets on a crowd of concertgoers. He killed at least 58 people [59 at last count] and wounded more than 500 others.
“To do so, police say he had at least one fully-automatic rifle, an AR-15-style and AK-47-style rifle, more than a dozen additional firearms, and a ton of ammunition.
“Any sane society that values human life would do something to stop things like this from happening again.
“It is almost impossible to inflict this kind of death toll in such a short time without these types of firearms.
“It’s the guns, stupid!”
Diane Ravitch's blog 
I’ve always said if you gave men the ability to increase their manliness by 2 inches if they would turn in their assault rifles, we would see some reform. We haven’t advanced that far medically nor morally.
You would have thought Viagra would have helped.
This also what we get when the politicians forward the agenda of whatever person shows them the most money. This is the land of the lobbyists and special interests, not the people.
This is coming from The Onion. It is a spoof supposedly written by Paul Ryan. It makes about as much sense as the Republicans (and some Democrats) do when refusing to pass gun restriction laws while refusing to pass adequate healthcare reform. [Remember this is a joke. Not a funny one.]
……………………..
This Shooting Isn’t About Gun Control We Refuse To Pass, It’s About Access To Mental Health Care We’re Continuing To Gut
Paul Ryan
As our nation struggles to come to grips with the horrible tragedy in Las Vegas, it’s only natural for people to search for an explanation of how an atrocity like this could have happened and to call on their elected officials to take measures to prevent such terrible bloodshed from occurring again in the future. Unfortunately, however, we’ve seen enough of these incidents to know that some people will rush to blame firearms for this carnage and will demand that Congress enact sweeping gun restrictions, engaging in misguided efforts that completely miss the underlying reasons behind the violence we’re seeing.
The simple truth is, mass shootings like this aren’t about gun control we refuse to pass. They’re about access to mental health care that we will continue to gut.
You can already hear the calls from the left. In the aftermath of this mass murder, millions of people are once again pushing for an assault weapons ban that I won’t allow lawmakers to give even a moment of consideration, let alone bring to a vote. If these folks actually examined the realities of the issue, they would see that the real culprit in these incidents is, and always has been, our country’s inadequate mental healthcare system that leaves troubled, potentially violent individuals without the support they need, and which my colleagues and I have spent most of our careers seeking, often successfully, to defund.
The reason we have tragedies like this is because of how our healthcare system that I am dead set on undermining fails to serve Americans in desperate need of psychological treatment. Not because of a lack of gun ownership regulations, the slightest toughening of which will never even receive a single second of debate on the floor of the House on my watch.
Case in point, I’ve seen commentators cite the GOP bill to loosen restrictions on silencers that is currently making its way through Congress as contributing to an environment where these shootings will continue to occur, an erroneous line of reasoning that completely ignores how our party’s many active attempts to repeal Obamacare would make it significantly harder, if not impossible, for millions of unwell individuals to visit mental health specialists and receive the treatment necessary to keep their erratic behavior in check.
If we as a nation are really serious about preventing future tragedies, we shouldn’t focus on regulating so-called gun sale loopholes and outlawing high-capacity magazines, the very mention of which will elicit an overwhelming and immediate nullifying response should it be breathed on the floor of the House. Instead, we need to pay attention to the fact that many people with treatable mental illnesses struggle to afford medication or therapy, and then work around the clock to ensure that their meager options only dwindle further and become more expensive. That is where we need to be focused as a nation.
If we’re going to get anywhere, we must see this problem for what it truly is: a nationwide mental health crisis that my policies have allowed to metastasize and that I am working continuously to exacerbate. Not some issue of who can and can’t buy guns, all legislation about which I, along with the powerful resources of supportive lobbyists, have suppressed with exceptional efficiency.
Because as easy as it is to blame this unconscionable loss of human life on background check laws designed to maximize the profits of the gun industry at the expense of public safety, the real fault lies with healthcare legislation designed to maximize insurance industry profits at the expense of public safety.
Remember, it’s not guns we’ve deliberately removed all barriers to owning that kill people. It’s people to whom we continually deny basic care that kill people.
As you point out, there is no legitimate reason to loosen restrictions on silencers or a need for assault rifles; yet this is what we get when money trumps reason and ethics. We get privatization of public schools for the same reason.
People have guns not because they are brave but because they a big scared children, and children shouldn’t have guns.
Exactly. Every show of force is an admission of weakness.
What kind of a society allows this to happen over and over and over and over and over and over again, ad nauseam ad horribilis? The only major wealthy “democratic” country to not have universal health care. That country. The country that does nothing after each and every mass shooting. How many of those 515 wounded people will go bankrupt from medical costs?
I listened to the callers on C-SPAN’s early morning show, Washington Journal. Most of the calls I heard were for gun rights and pro gun. Don’t you dare touch my guns. Judging from those calls, one might conclude that we live in a nation of morons. But I do not think most Americans agree with these callers. Most Americans would welcome stronger gun laws and more restrictions on gun ownership and banning certain types of guns outright. As for me, I want the 2nd amendment repealed or drastically restructured to limit so called gun rights. What about my rights as someone who does not own a gun and is not interested in guns?
A “society” that doesn’t “believe” in society. Thatcher famously told the world “There is no society.” We’ve acted as if that were true ever since.
Betsy quoted that line from Margaret Thatcher (“there is no such thing as society”) when she spoke to ALEC
The sad thing is, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy. Why would anyone want to live like that? Sad. And, incidentally, exactly the opposite of the message of the Bible that DeVos claims to believe in.
I listened to the CSPAN calls for a while too, & those calling out our gun laws (or lack thereof) insane were not a tiny minority (more like 1 in 4). I wish in this case, Washington Journal had labelled the lines differently (as they often do): instead of asking callers to dial lines acc to whether they were “Rep”, “Dem”, & “Ind”, they could have asked for “Pro/ & Con tighter congressional gun-control legislation”, w/ the 3rd line for callers who were personally affected by this or other incidents of gun violence. This should be a bipartisan issue.
I think a change is coming. This is what we reported today:
http://www.governing.com/topics/public-justice-safety/lc-las-vegas-shooting-nevada-background-checks-ballot.html
I am grateful to those commenting on recent related posts who have quoted & listed various links citing the historical background to the 2nd Amendment. Seems like a story begging to be publicized.
Granted, the push against gun control comes mainly from the gun mfrg lobby, which buys up legislators & enlists its mouthpiece, the NRA, to spread misinformation on this score far & wide.
Still, I suspect that there are many thinking members of the public among conservative/ libertarian anti-gun control supporters who would be brought up short to find that their supposed constitutional underpinning was anachronistic & inapplicable to post-standing army, post-slavery-abolition America. It would also be helpful, in those arguments, to compare & contrast numerous other aspects of the constitution (save this one!) which have been updated to reflect modern history.
Nothing is going to change. (As a result of the incident in Las Vegas). And I say: GOOD. The congress and the president have taken an oath to defend the constitution, including the 2d amendment.
Congress may debate some cosmetic changes, but the Republican majorities in both houses, will block any legislation, that infringes on our rights.
If, by some miracle, a bill was passed, that was an infringement, the President would veto it.
Charles,
I assume you applaud every new massacre.
You should not assume. These massacres are like a “loop tape”. A person gets weapons, legally or illegally. The person shoots up a school, or a concert. Politicians start calling for gun control. Nothing changes.
I have nothing but sorrow for the victims.
Like the old Led Zeppelin song :”The song remains the same”
Charles
You are a sick, demented person. Watch it that nobody ever shoots you or your loved ones. May that never happen. You embody what gives other countries doubt and scorn towards American culture. But I won’t be fooled because most Americans support gun control. The founding fathers and Constituion did not intend for collateral damage as a result of the right to bear a muscateer.
You are neither moral nor an intellectual and you would have every Viking meal thrown at you in Norway beacuse of your lack of decency, common sense and complete utter disregard for the human condition.
Please return to the virus ridden Petri dish from whence you came or move to Yemen or Columbia where you’d be welcome.
I have seen the aftermath of these shootings before. Nothing is going to change.
I have lived in a communist country, where private firearms ownership is banned. I have lived in an Islamic Kingdom, where private firearms ownership is banned. Only free men own guns.
I have the right to defend myself, my family, and my property with deadly force. If a government prohibits my ownership of the weapons necessary to deliver deadly force, then my right of self-defense is meaningless.
If other countries dislike our gun rights, or any of our rights, that is their privilege.
Defending mass murder is not cool.
Did Sandy Hook strengthen your support for AR 15 assault rifles.
This isn’t funny.
You are disgusting me.
Charles says “Only free men own guns.”
I’m roaring with laughter at this totally ignorant, stupid statement.
Lloyd, you will like this
https://www.newyorker.com/humor/borowitz-report/puerto-rico-issues-travel-ban-on-malignant-narcissists
LOL
I liked the suggestion that we ban malignant narcissists from the United States. How many members of both Houses of Congress, and billionaires that belong to ALEC and Trump’s family would have to leave?
Q Defending mass murder is not cool.
Did Sandy Hook strengthen your support for AR 15 assault rifles.
This isn’t funny.
You are disgusting me.
END Q
I am NOT defending mass murder. I stand by the bill of rights, all of them, including the 2d amendment.
The incident at Sandy Hook, did not alter my support for personal gun rights, which are guaranteed by the Constitution.
There is nothing funny about this slaughter, nor any slaughter of innocents.
If my support of the Constitution, disgusts you, then so be it.
Your support of mass murder disgusts me.
The Founders never contemplated a well-regulated militia made up of cranks, nuts, zealots, and crazy people.
Do you think the Las Vegas murdered was part of a “well regulated militia?”
Charles: the issue isn’t about talking taking firearms away from people who want to safeguard their family and property. Or hunt. The issue is about the easy access to unlimited amounts of firearms and ammunition.
Why does someone outside of active military service need assault rifles and accessories that will convert them to full automatic capabilities? Why does anyone outside of active military service or covert ops need silencers?
Q Your support of mass murder disgusts me.
The Founders never contemplated a well-regulated militia made up of cranks, nuts, zealots, and crazy people.
Do you think the Las Vegas murdered was part of a “well regulated militia?”
END Q
I do not support mass murder. I am appalled by your statement. It is not true.
I support our Constitution, including the bill of rights, and I mean all of the rights.
Your statement about the militia is self-contradictory. No one supports a militia of individuals you describe. My father was in the national guard for 24 years, and retired. The militia is part of our heritage.
The alleged perpetrator was not part of any militia. Get real.
Charles,
I don’t give a hoot about your service in the military or that of your father’s. You are a disgrace to him and an outright COWARD.
You are an indecent moron, stupider than a bag of nails, and about as relevant and utilitarian as a rusting, choking, flaking carburetor.
You’re NOT a real man and probably will never become one.
Your reasoning is warped and you mock those kids killed at Sandy Hook and the concert goers in Las Vegas. You are, in one simple word, appalling.
Beware of those who want to shoot at you and me. It’s not pretty. I will continue to advocate for a stringent ban on assault weapons in the hands of civilians.
If the government really wants to come and get me, all the stockpile I can get my hands on will never prevent them from doing it because their forces are far greater than mine.
Assault weapons in the hands of the citizenry is an illusion, and only one as stupid and moronic as the one you believe in.
Diane, you might consider showing Charles the back door and escorting him out of your virtual living room. He is not even worthy of attending a hog slaughter in a junkyard.
Norwegian Filmmaker,
As Charles knows, I occasionally delete some of his comments, either because he has said the same thing multiple times or because he is spouting the most awful rightwing claptrap. But I invite Charles to remain with us because even when I disagree with him profoundly, he is always polite. And I think it sharpens our thinking to be challenged. He is a prototype of a Trump-DeVos follower, so we need to hear his thinking, even when it seems demented. I have told him many times that he is persuading no one but he doesn’t care.
“… he is persuading no one but he doesn’t care.”
……..
This is definitely spot on. I see Charles’ name and think, “Now what!”. And, I’m never disappointed.
May I say, I normally don’t talk this way.
My brother has a gun because he is convinced that the US military is going to come and kill everyone. He wants to be ready. I no longer reply to such stuff because then I’m met with a barrage of nonsensical garbage. He also believes that Obama had places where everyone was killed. FEMA camps were the culprit. Pope Francis is dominated by satan. etc………..Barf!
Charles seems like a very nice man.
I am one of eight children. I have a sister who belongs to the Tea Party. I have a brother who counts on federal programs to survive but loves Trump. They don’t argue as well as Charles. They are not as well informed. I count on readers to help me counter his nonsensical and contradictory claims.
You’re describing the mindset that I believe is spearheading the uncontrolled proliferation of firearms in our country. And the NRA is part of that mindset. Check out the link to the ad. Busted.
I heard an interview with this enthusiast who said it was an “adrenaline rush” to fire off the semi-automatics and those converted to full. That’s like saying it’s an adrenaline rush to hit the pedal to the metal in your new track ready Lamborghini and try to make all the lights down Broadway. Fun? Maybe. Potentially lethal? Ooooh yeah.
Just because it’s fun to do doesn’t mean it has to be available to everyone and anyone.
My favorite TV show at the moment is Jimmy Kimmel.
This was his show on Trump’s Visit to Puerto Rico.
He was hilarious tonight on Tillerson calling Trump a moron, but that clip has not been posted yet.
Trump is an uncaring moron. How nice that he believes the US is doing such a good job. His self-serving pat on the back shows total lack of compassion. Gad, loose everything and, if you’re lucky, get a free roll of paper towels. What a disgusting creep.
Diane,
I will therefore go back to remaining polite and now see the utility of having Charles here in order to sharpen our thinking.
I did not see it from that lens, but now do. Thank you. I need to hear his dysfunction calmly in order to understand it, solve it, heal it, change it. I think this is what you are saying. I am not out to rehabilitate him, but I can see using him as a litmus test for so many other segments of the population. And with this understanding, we can approach this issue politically with far more effectiveness.
I have to assume that this is your gist.
NF,
Nothing you or I say will change Charles’ thinking. He is a museum piece of far-right ideology. I have occasionally gotten angry and told him to post his thoughts elsewhere but he always comes back, genial as ever, completely impervious to anything I or anyone else says. There is some value, de temps en temps, in hearing him out, just so we know what they are saying in Trump’s Swamp.
NF,
I didn’t tell you to be polite. Be yourself. Say what you think.
It has been my experience that it is almost impossible to change individuals like Charles who are saturated in false logic. Their thinking is set in the center of a cube of a million pounds of steel reinforced concrete that’s been dropped to the bottom of the Mindanao Trench.
The reason we respond to his comments is to make sure there is a sane voice present for readers who might show up that have not made up their minds yet between the lies and conspiracy theories of the Alt-Right and the flawed traditional free press/media that does it’s best to report the news as balanced as possible. If bias exists in a traditional news story that doesn’t mean the reporter is lying. There is a huge difference between bias and outright the outright lies that are the foundation of conspiracy theories.
What a traditional newspaper or TV news site says in their opinion pieces is not real news and it is our duty to fact check any news story in the traditional media if we doubt what we are reading.
This was sent out from an email from the WH. How does one respond to this article? It makes no sense to me to support a president who supports the NRA and the lethal belief that guns don’t kill people. He’s proud to stand for his president. [Notice it comes from Faux news.]
……….
When Thomas Gunderson first heard the noise he thought a speaker had malfunctioned — or maybe someone had shot off some fireworks. | Fox News
“VEGAS SURVIVOR: SHOT IN LEG OR NOT, I’M STANDING FOR MY PRESIDENT”
– Todd Starnes, Fox News
Todd Starnes of Fox News reports on Las Vegas shooting victim, Thomas Gunderson, who, despite having been shot in the leg, told his family he was “going to stand up and shake my president’s hand – out of respect for him and our leaders and our nation,” when President Trump visited a Las Vegas hospital. Starnes writes Gunderson is currently suffering from a gunshot wound that tore through muscles in his calf and the resulting nerve pain, quoting him saying “it’s hard to stand – very painful.” Nevertheless, Gunderson stood and shook President Trump’s hand all while “grimacing in pain,” before stating “that was one of the most humbling experiences of my life.” Starnes concludes by saying the interaction “was a gentle reminder that we are a united people – one nation under God.”
http://fxn.ws/2xj9A5B
There are people that worship wealth and power. Trump by being wealthy and powerful takes on the mantle of a god to individuals like this Gunderson.
Trump doesn’t have to earn Gundersons loyalty by proving he is honest and decent — something Trump is incapable of doing … being honest and decent. Once Trump won the title of president. there will be those who will fall into line and follow him no matter what he says and does just like the Nazis followed Hitler blindly into the fires of hell.
Trump proved this when he came out and publicly said he could shoot someone in Times Square with thousands of witnesses and not lose his supporters.
“…in hearing him out, just so we know what they are saying in Trump’s Swamp.”
That’s Trump’s DRAINED Swamp, Diane. He’s drained it of all the objective scientists and other voices of reason that existed before he came aboard to enact his bold campaign pledge.
Q the issue isn’t about talking taking firearms away from people who want to safeguard their family and property. Or hunt. The issue is about the easy access to unlimited amounts of firearms and ammunition.
Why does someone outside of active military service need assault rifles and accessories that will convert them to full automatic capabilities? Why does anyone outside of active military service or covert ops need silencers?
END Q
I am more in agreement than you realize. People who need legitimate access to deadly weapons, are always on the lookout, when politicians start talking “gun control”. It is the old “camel getting his nose in the tent” mentality. If a person walks into a gun shop, and purchases 10,000 rounds of ammunition, all types of red flags should be triggered.
Of course, all reasonable people, including myself, want reasonable restrictions on unlimited access to firearms and ammunition. I would also include explosives, with this concern.
I strongly support solid background checks on individuals who attempt to purchase deadly weapons. People with serious mental illnesses, and felons, should not be permitted to access deadly weapons. I include myself, in this concern, I have suffered from depression for over 20 years. I should not be permitted access to deadly weapons.
No one, should have access to weapons which can easily be converted to full-automatic. There is no legitimate sporting, or self-protection purpose served by the private ownership of these weapons.
And, I support total banning of devices, which could suppress the sound/flash of weapons. A legitimate gun owner needs his weapon to be LOUD, to offer maximum effect, and to summon nearby persons. No silencers, no way.
Then what are we arguing about, Charles?
Q I don’t give a hoot about your service in the military or that of your father’s. You are a disgrace to him and an outright COWARD.
You are an indecent moron, stupider than a bag of nails, and about as relevant and utilitarian as a rusting, choking, flaking carburetor.
You’re NOT a real man and probably will never become one.
Your reasoning is warped and you mock those kids killed at Sandy Hook and the concert goers in Las Vegas. You are, in one simple word, appalling.
Beware of those who want to shoot at you and me. It’s not pretty. I will continue to advocate for a stringent ban on assault weapons in the hands of civilians.
END Q
I did not enlist in the Air Force, to earn your approval. I served honorably, and I am justifiably proud of my military service. I have been called many things, but never a coward.
I served for ten(10) years as a civilian contractor in Iraq/Afghanistan, two of my co-workers were killed, another lost a hand. I have been under small-arms fire, and artillery on US military bases in the combat zone. I am proud of my service there too.
I served in the US State Department. I spent two(2) years in Mozambique, during the civil war there. I stayed in the embassy alone, when artillery shells and missiles were flying through the city.
Your depiction of me if somewhat off the mark. I do not respond to ad hominem attacks.
I do not mock the victims of the violence at Sandy Hook. I was crushed when I heard of the carnage, I wept. I was deeply appalled at the slaughter in Vegas. I once spent a very happy time in Vegas with my first wife.
I also beware of the people who would do me harm. I have chosen not to have any firearms in my home. I also want to keep military style assault weapons, away from mentally ill persons, and felons.
Charles and Diane,
How do you feel about semi-automatic and automatic weapons in the hands of civilians?
How do you feel about one’s access to such weapons?
I remain a staunch advocate for reforming gun control laws, no matter how much people like their second (now misinterpreted) amendment. Rifles are fine for hunting; automatic and semi-automatic assault weapons should never be in the hands of the citizenry.
The USA is an outlier when it comes to gun homicides, and I am outraged that this has now become institutionalized into American culture . . . . I have relatives who teach here in Michigan and Minnesota. No matter how much you Americans think you can protect yourselves against tyranny with guns, you won’t be able to do so because if the federal government really wants to come and get you, they can because their forces dwarfs yours.
We have to have far more faith in government and Americans as a society than the paranoia that the gun culture generates. What happened in Sandy Hook and Las Vegas is unacceptable and appalling. It makes me infuriated and sad. But more infuriated.
A #$^& blender and a toaster from Target have more product strict liability than an assault weapon. What’s wrong with that picture?
You obviously do suffer from depression, Charles. You should seek professional help . . . or get some that is outright better than the one you might be getting now. I hope your American healthcare system can provide you with some. I sincerely do. You would benefit from it. You deserve such care.
This is an odd thread. I am getting adequate medical care, through the Veteran’s Administration.
I am a strong supporter of reasonable controls on the access to deadly weapons.
Here is what I am for:
-Point of sale background checks for prospective purchases of deadly weapons. Felons, and individuals with severe mental illness, should not be permitted access to firearms.
-Banning of fully-automatic weapons, and devices to modify existing weapons, to function as fully automatic.
-Banning of armor-piercing “cop killer” ammunition.
-Banning of devices to silence weapons and/or suppress flash.
-Controls on mass purchases of ammunition. A person should not be able to purchases thousands of rounds at one time.
What I am for:
-Responsible, law-abiding adults should have reasonable access to deadly weapons, for self-defense and sporting purposes (like target shooting)
-Citizens should be able to carry and display deadly weapons openly, and after completing an appropriate academic course, carry weapons concealed.
-Weapons safety should be taught to children, very early. Children should be taught that if they find a weapon, to leave it alone, and get a responsible adult. see the “Eddie Eagle” program.
https://eddieeagle.nra.org/
How can anyone have an issue with these concepts?
Q How do you feel about semi-automatic and automatic weapons in the hands of civilians?
How do you feel about one’s access to such weapons?
END Q
I am 100% in favor of law-abiding citizens having access to semi-automatic weapons. Rifles, pistols, revolvers, etc.
There is NO legitimate sporting or self-defense justification for private citizens having access to fully-automatic weapons. This includes semi-automatic weapons that have been modified to fully automatic. Fines for possession of these weapons run up to $250,000. I support the complete banning of private possession of such weapons.
Q Then what are we arguing about, Charles? END Q
I wish I knew. All reasonable people, want to keep deadly weapons away from people who should not have them (Felons, mentally ill people,etc).
We can have a 2d amendment, and permit honest law-abiding people, to keep weapons in their homes, for self-defense, and target shooting, and hunting.
Didn’t the NRA push to allow people on the no-fly list as suspected terrorists to have access to guns?
My new std reply at comment threads on this subject, whose anti-gun-control commenters parse the details of current laws & claim nothing can be legislated which would prevent mass shootings:
Two simple new laws: except for police & military, (a) possession, sale or purchase of any & all weapons which can shoot more than one shot at a time, plus the related ammo, is henceforth outlawed– round’m up & melt’m down; (b) no concealed carry.
No further laws reqd– no registration, background checks etc. You can have all the one-shot-at-a-time weapons you want. I might, maybe, OK a locked-safe law for homes, but that’s it.
This almost came to an end in June . I will leave it at that.
The U.S. is a violence-loving culture. Its history bears this out, as well as its fascination with violent movies, TV shows, video games, and its most popular sport – football.
Most TV shows and movies about conflict send the message that only violence settles conflicts. Guns are fetishized by these “entertainments”, and gun-exhibiting and -selling shows, supported by the NRA and gun makers, draw tens of thousands of Americans every year.
The Las Vegas massacre was the 273rd mass shooting in the U.S. this year.
Australia learned from its bitter, past mass-shooting experiences, so the U.S. could, also, if the craven, greedy politicians weren’t in the pocket of the NRA and gun makers.
See: When will the US learn from Australia? Stricter gun control laws save lives | Rebecca Peters | Opinion | The Guardian
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/dec/14/america-mass-murder-australia-gun-control-saves-lives
But U.S. culture, far beyond its love of guns, is violent. Its foreign policy is based on violent domination of foreign nations. The U.S. is responsible, directly and indirectly, for the murders of millions of people in Asia, Central and South America, Africa, and the Middle East since 1945.
54% of its discretionary budget goes to the Pentagon to wage endless wars and “project U.S. power” abroad, intimidating other nations with threats of violence. Its nuclear arsenal, much larger than that needed for deterrence, threatens the end of life on earth.
Its prison population is the highest in the world, with solitary confinement still used, despite its psychological violence. Prisons are physically and psychologically violent places, with punishment, not reform, its main intent.
Its police kill hundreds of unarmed people, many of them mentally ill, and a disproportionately high number of them Black or Hispanic.
Its political-economic system, corporate capitalism, is predatory and emotionally and psychologically violent, based on greed and survival of those with little compassion or moral scruples.
In such a violent culture, with such glorification of violence, especially gun violence, and such senseless and lax gun restrictions, it is no surprise that such massacres take place routinely, unlike in other developed nations.
Stronger, stricter, sensible gun-control laws would be a start, but the entire U.S. culture needs to be changed and made more humane, especially as climate disaster accelerates and people become more desperate to survive in a world where survival, especially of everyone but the members of the Ruling Parasite Class, becomes increasingly threatened.
Ed, Beautifully and correctly stated.
All so true, and sad. We should do better!
Probably no more violent than most of the world. Given the right circumstances ,perhaps it is mankind in general. So American football is a violent sport. European football, the fans kill each other. Peace loving Hindus unless you are the Muslim minority in India. Certainly European history prior to this century is nothing to hang your hat on.
Genocides from one end of the Planet to the next. The Civilized Brits voted for Brexit before we voted for Trump . The economics of which I can understand but there was a racial element.
The debate on gun control is new. No one ever thought that states had no right to ban firearms at all till the 90s We had a National assault weapons ban….. ….. .
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-five-extra-words-that-can-fix-the-second-amendment/2014/04/11/f8a19578-b8fa-11e3-96ae-f2c36d2b1245_story.html?utm_term=.fd7930823043
So perhaps what we can say is our self image is delusional. We are not a ‘shinning city on the hill” and we should reflect on that. We are just as slimy as anywhere else.
Our America was built on violence. Violence begets violence. We decide individually what the “authorities” tell us. https://jonrappoport.wordpress.com/2017/10/03/false-flag-in-vegas-shooting/ We have believed for too long in lies.
If everyone in that crowd had their own automatic weapons, the number of killed and wounded would have been much higher. Imagine several hundred people spraying that hotel with bullets.
How many guests in their rooms would have been hit?
As you well know, Lloyd, to many Americans—like our own deluded resident—believe that violence and war plays out simply and clearly like a fictional Hollywood move plot. But that ain’t what it’s like. We still let policy, or lack of policy ideas be dictated by these illusions.
…too many…
That’s because it’s political establishments and powerful corporations–not civilians–who control the agendas. They love status quo, period.
For once I agree with the conservative talk show hosts. It is about mental health. So why do the conservative talk show people continue to,say things that fan the flames of poor mental health? Why do they not engage in friendly dialogue that would not excite those who are on the outliers of good mental health? You know the answer, anxiety sells, and the more they create, the richer they get. So we are not going to get mental health reform. Conservatives will not allow it.
Which brings us back to gun control. Everybody agrees on gun control. Not even the NRA wants everybody to be able to buy a 155. That sort of thing is for the army. The only crazy man allowed near nuclear weapons is Kim or perhaps trump. Otherwise we do not want them spread around. So we are just arguing about the particulars. What should regular folks have?
How about making it simple. Everybody can own a single shot. Things that fire quickly are for the people in the service. Maybe we should only allow muzzle load rifles that are reproduction flintlocks.
This has nothing to do with the current topic but I figure we all need a good laugh. Seth Meyers is doing a fantastic job of ‘interviewing’ Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
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Late Night White House Press Briefing: What Does Vice President Pence Call Sex?
Late Night with Seth Meyers
Published on Oct 3, 2017
Sarah Huckabee Sanders holds an impromptu press briefing to answer burning questions, like what role is Eric Trump playing in his father’s administration?
No question that money is powerfully at play, here, but I’ve had an unsettling thought for a while, now, which has been gaining traction in my mind:
Who is it, besides the money makers, that insists on no regulations on gun ownership?And I mean NO regulation?
Not necessarily hunters. I have some very good friends who are hunters. They favor stricter firearm registration laws, including thorough background checks. They also see no need for owning semi-automatic weapons.
I also know some people who love to do target and skeet shooting. I’m in that camp. Although they enjoy firing semi-automatic weapons, they have all said that they do not need to OWN one.
I know people who have a pistol or shotgun which they keep at home in case of an intruder. They believe in tighter firearms control and see no need for collecting an arsenal of weapons, including semi-automatics.
Who does not want the government to know that they own numerous weapons and are planning on buying more/modifying them into automatic capacity? Who wants to deregulate the buying of silencers?
Take a look at this ad:
The thought I’ve had, and would like to get some feedback on, is that there are people who, should they feel the government is “overstepping its’ bounds”, want to be seriously armed and ready to form their own militia as a counter measure.
Might be paranoid thinking, which is why I’m NOT insisting on this as truth and inviting discussion. But the NRA advertisement (yes: an advertisement paid for by the NRA) is pretty straightforward in it’s intent.
NO!
America’s Big Problem With Guns? Our Gun Industry Profits From Fear and Death @alternet
…The number of people who own guns has steadily declined in recent years, so the gun industry has shifted its marketing tactics.
“It’s clear that the gun industry is marketing to people who are already their customer base and finding new and novel and unfortunately more dangerous weapons to sell them,” Nichols said.
The gun industry uses a carrot-and-stick approach to get this done. The carrot is the power fantasy — the idea that having a whole bunch of guns will make you feel manly and tough. Gun advertising also emphasizes the diverse range of technical attributes available, appealing to the “collect-’em-all” mentality. On the stick front, the NRA and other gun-industry propaganda arms have heavily promoted visions of social collapse and discord to make gun owners feel they have to buy enough weapons to start their own personal army in self-defense.
“The gun industry and the NRA is profiting off a sense of fear,” said Kris Brown, the other co-president of the Brady Campaign…
https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/gun-industry-profits-fear-and-death#.WdYmxIFp9Ss.gmail
This just came out on The Onion. [Remember it is a joke.] It proves that doing nothing, the congressional way to deal with mass killings, is probably not going to solve much. Let’s just give condolences and prayers for the victims and hope that makes everyone happy.
I love the closing line, ” At press time, Americans nationwide agreed that years of taking no measures whatsoever to prevent mass shootings may finally be paying off.”
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Americans Hopeful This Will Be Last Mass Shooting Before They Stop On Their Own For No Reason
WASHINGTON—Expressing a sense of guarded optimism that the latest incident of gun violence that left 58 dead and 500 injured in Las Vegas would be a turning point for the nation, Americans across the country confirmed Monday they were hopeful this would be the last mass shooting before all such occurrences stopped on their own for no reason at all. “After something as horrific as what happened in Las Vegas, we’re all just hoping that now these terrible shootings will stop once and for all without circumstances changing in any way or any of us taking even the slightest amount of action in response,” said Harrisburg, PA resident David Snyder, echoing the sentiments of tens of millions of citizens from coast to coast who told reporters they were confident that, after living through the most deadly mass shooting in modern American history and taking no material steps to change gun laws, reevaluate safety standards, increase access to mental health care, or even have a national conversation about how mass shootings could be avoided in the future, tragedies of this kind would at long last come to an end. “Having seen acts of violence like this happen over and over again for years now, I’m really holding out hope that, despite every single factor that allowed them to occur remaining exactly the same, we won’t have to live through another day like today. I know everyone’s praying this will finally be the time this issue just disappears forever entirely by itself without anyone doing anything.” At press time, Americans nationwide agreed that years of taking no measures whatsoever to prevent mass shootings may finally be paying off.