Gunman near UCSB kills 6 people, injures 7

[publicunofficial]

The Onion hits the nail on the head.


‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens

[illegaloperation]

You should ask what my fellow Gauchos how they feel. (This is in front of IV Deli Mart.)



RIP Katie and Veronika. I will miss them.


On a side note, I was also able to talk to Chris's father, Mr. Martinez at Harder Stadium. And just to be clear, I DO NOT know Chris nor had I ever met him. That said, I consider the conversation I had with Mr. Martinez to be very important even though it was brief. [No photos, sorry.]

[Simfan34]

Nothing will come of this.

[Marokai Backbeat]

Nothing ever really does.

[All Along The Watchtower]

Right, the gun humpers need to have their deadly weapons. Can't inject some sense into matters, even after even more people get murdered in cold blood. Their Second Amendment fundamentalist ideology is more important than the right for people to live their lives without getting shot by some coward.

[illegaloperation]

Right, the gun humpers need to have their deadly weapons. Can't inject some sense into matters, even after even more people get murdered in cold blood. Their Second Amendment fundamentalist ideology is more important than the right for people to live their lives without getting shot by some coward.

These days, ever Republicans I met need guns with extended magazine and no background checks and I have a large sample since my house (not university) is in one of the most conservative parts of California.

One of my friend "had" to go shoot an AR-15 at a gun range when she was 16!

[AggregateDemand]

Republicans will always have access to entertainment as long as gun-control liberals, who rarely know anything about guns, continue to tell everyone the proper way to use guns and own guns. It's like letting children dictate driving regulations.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

Republicans will always have access to entertainment as long as gun-control liberals, who rarely know anything about guns, continue to tell everyone the proper way to use guns and own guns. It's like letting children dictate driving regulations.

It would be like that in countries with other cultural priorities. Here it's more like letting sober people dictate drug control policy.

[illegaloperation]

Republicans will always have access to entertainment as long as gun-control liberals, who rarely know anything about guns, continue to tell everyone the proper way to use guns and own guns. It's like letting children dictate driving regulations.

Nah. It's like letting drug cartels regulate drugs since drug cartels know more about drugs that most other people.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

We've been letting sober people who know nothing about drugs dictate drug policy for quite a while now. How's that working out?

Let's just try finding some people who know something about guns but don't fetishize them, and see what they have to say. 

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

We've been letting sober people who know nothing about drugs dictate drug policy for quite a while now. How's that working out?

The solution to that problem is to put drug policy in the hands of sober people who do know something about drugs, rather than into the hands of people on drugs. Which is basically what you're saying too:

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...but my concern is that the AggregateDemands of this world would then claim that those people know nothing about guns.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

We've been letting sober people who know nothing about drugs dictate drug policy for quite a while now. How's that working out?

The solution to that problem is to put drug policy in the hands of sober people who do know something about drugs, rather than into the hands of people on drugs. Which is basically what you're saying too:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

...but my concern is that the AggregateDemands of this world would then claim that those people know nothing about guns.

That claim could still be made, sure, but at least we wouldn't have legislators showing off the dangerous cosmetic features of guns as they hold the gun by the trigger as evidence backing up such claims.

[dead0man]

But that shoulder thing that goes up has to be banned shua, you just don't get it man.

[traininthedistance]

Right, the gun humpers need to have their deadly weapons. Can't inject some sense into matters, even after even more people get murdered in cold blood. Their Second Amendment fundamentalist ideology is more important than the right for people to live their lives without getting shot by some coward.

Honestly, I think in this particular case I'm more inclined to lay blame at the feet of the toxic MRA/PUA "culture" than guns.

...

Also, a friend of mine wrote this really powerful reaction in the Daily Beast that everyone ought to read.  Kind of long, and maybe you don't think you care about the main thesis of the article (which, roughly, is that the f**ked-up portrayal of women as "prizes" in nerd culture, well, f**ks us all up), but, please, read it anyway.

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I guess I expect the reaction from most quarters here to be dismissive and disappointing, but whatever.  Sometimes sh*t just needs to be said anyway.

[Starbucks Union Thug HokeyPuck]

Well, I'm official.  Gun ownership should be banned.  Completely.  I'm done.  I don't care about hunting and home defense excuses anymore.  Go to ShopRite and buy an alarm.  Just ban the things.

[AggregateDemand]

...but my concern is that the AggregateDemands of this world would then claim that those people know nothing about guns.

Sensible gun owners who want gun control, like me, are vilified as militia hurr-durrs by the left-wing purity movement, who are only interested in eliminating guns or achieving pointless political objectives.

We have two problems: organized-crime gun violence and high-profile mass murder by mentally-ill citizens. Democrats don't appear particularly interested in addressing either problem, thus, they never muster the votes to get anything done. Dems don't care because inaction fuels the right-wing conspiracy narrative that Democrats love to proliferate.

[Franzl]

Well, I'm official.  Gun ownership should be banned.  Completely.  I'm done.  I don't care about hunting and home defense excuses anymore.  Go to ShopRite and buy an alarm.  Just ban the things.

Even I wouldn't go quite that far. The perverse absolute right to gun ownership is the problem. A sensible gun policy would involve heavy regulations, but geography matters too. There's nobody in New York City who needs a gun, but I'm not sure banning them for a farmer somewhere in the middle of Nebraska would be a good idea.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

There's nobody in New York City who needs a gun,

Tell that to those killed on the LIRRR massacre.

[World politics is up Schmitt creek]

...but my concern is that the AggregateDemands of this world would then claim that those people know nothing about guns.

Sensible gun owners who want gun control, like me, are vilified as militia hurr-durrs by the left-wing purity movement, who are only interested in eliminating guns or achieving pointless political objectives.

We have two problems: organized-crime gun violence and high-profile mass murder by mentally-ill citizens. Democrats don't appear particularly interested in addressing either problem, thus, they never muster the votes to get anything done. Dems don't care because inaction fuels the right-wing conspiracy narrative that Democrats love to proliferate.

May I ask what kinds of gun control measures you support, specifically and in as much detail as you care to go into? Keep in mind that a ton of people meet medical definitions of mental illness who don't meet legal definitions, that the medical definitions aren't always indicative of whether or not somebody is dangerous because of the sheer staggering variety of mental illnesses out there, and also that a lot of the time it's easy to say it should have been obvious that someone was mad in retrospect.

[Franzl]

There's nobody in New York City who needs a gun,

Tell that to those killed on the LIRRR massacre.

Seems to be a good argument for reducing the amount of guns available.

[Grumpier Than Uncle Joe]

There's nobody in New York City who needs a gun,

Tell that to those killed on the LIRRR massacre.

Seems to be a good argument for reducing the amount of guns available.

Or the reverse.   

[Snowstalker Mk. II]

There's nobody in New York City who needs a gun

Should citizens not have the right to fight the brutal, racist NYPD?

[Boris]

Well, I'm official.  Gun ownership should be banned.  Completely.  I'm done.  I don't care about hunting and home defense excuses anymore.  Go to ShopRite and buy an alarm.  Just ban the things.

Even I wouldn't go quite that far. The perverse absolute right to gun ownership is the problem. A sensible gun policy would involve heavy regulations, but geography matters too. There's nobody in New York City who needs a gun, but I'm not sure banning them for a farmer somewhere in the middle of Nebraska would be a good idea.

Your window for implementing effective gun control may only be a couple of decades until 3D printing technology advances and becomes more ubiquitous, so sometime this century someone is going to have to come up with a better solution than firearm reduction.

[AggregateDemand]

May I ask what kinds of gun control measures you support, specifically and in as much detail as you care to go into? Keep in mind that a ton of people meet medical definitions of mental illness who don't meet legal definitions, that the medical definitions aren't always indicative of whether or not somebody is dangerous because of the sheer staggering variety of mental illnesses out there, and also that a lot of the time it's easy to say it should have been obvious that someone was mad in retrospect.

I posted earlier that Gun Control Act 1968 needs to be enforced. The intent is unambiguous, and enforcement has only become an issue as the rate of legal committed mental patients has plummeted during the second half of the 20th century.

At the very least, I expect government agencies to report to NICS, and I'd withhold federal funds until they comply. When Jared Loughner fails a military psych evaluation, he should go in the system. When Grandpa has someone using his power of attorney to take care of him, he should be in the system. Medicare/Medicaid patients on certain types of medication are put in NICS. I'd like to see regulation on the private sector as well.

To deal with organized crime, which is mainly illegal purchases and illegally imported weapons, I'd end the war on drugs and transfer the money to a war on illegal guns.

The difficulty of enforcing the law is not my problem as a citizen. Lack of enforcement is infringing on my rights as a gun-owner and as a citizen entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The government needs to get it sorted, and stop pandering to the useless shrill anti-gun lobby.

[Mopsus]

There's nobody in New York City who needs a gun

Should citizens not have the right to fight the brutal, racist NYPD?

Nice try oakvale, but you won't trick me this time!