Should Omar Mateen have been legally allowed to buy a gun on June 10, 2016?

[they don't love you like i love you]

He would not have been able to had it not have been for a bill the House Republicans blocked.

[Meclazine for Israel]

No one needs an AR-15 in a domestic capacity, let alone an angry homophobic ISIS supporter.

Think about it.



Now this weapon was used at

1. Sandy Hook
2. San Bernadino
3. Colorado theatre - Batman movie
4. Oregon Community College
5. Santa Monica massacre

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/ar-15-rifle-used-orlando-massacre-has-bloody-pedigree-n590581

It is only designed to kill human beings.

I am a little pissed that he was permitted to buy such a weapon.

Just to imagine the families grief makes me furious about this issue.

[Mr. Reactionary]

He would not have been able to had it not have been for a bill the House Republicans blocked.

Has it been confirmed that he was on the no-fly list? Or the terror watchlist? Because those aren't the same thing. I said no though, because it sounds like he was guilty of misdemeanor domestic assault which results in gun restrictions following a conviction.

[Green Line]

No, but not because of the point you're trying to make.  Him being on a "watch list" is not cause to deprive him of his second amendment rights.  Someone on the watch list has not necessarily committed a crime, and therefore it is unconstitutional to bar them from purchasing a firearm.

[Yank2133]

No, but not because of the point you're trying to make.  Him being on a "watch list" is not cause to deprive him of his second amendment rights.  Someone on the watch list has not necessarily committed a crime, and therefore it is unconstitutional to bar them from purchasing a firearm.

Man....you people are willing to sacrifice anything for your guns.

[Green Line]

No, but not because of the point you're trying to make. Him being on a "watch list" is not cause to deprive him of his second amendment rights.  Someone on the watch list has not necessarily committed a crime, and therefore it is unconstitutional to bar them from purchasing a firearm.

Man....you people are willing to sacrifice anything for your guns.

I think we should repeal the second amendment (and I've been very consistent on that)... So no. But until then, he can't be deprived of his rights.

[Stand With Israel. Crush Hamas]

I continue to be endlessly puzzled by the sudden embrace by left-wingers of a Bush-era policy that places people on a list of dangerous people without trial that is then used to deny them constitutional rights

[Beet]

The second amendment was never interpreted to guarantee an individual right to a firearm until Antonin Scalia invented one in 2008. Largely as the result of a political movement based on a lot of shoddy, discredited survey research by Gary Kleck and John Lott in the 1990s.

Before then, I could have been prohibited from owning a firearm just for living in D.C. Needless to say, I was not granted a trial prior to moving here.

[Wells]

A simple background check with a waiting period would have prevented this. This is really terrible and I'm disappointed that certain politicians are more concerned about partisanship than human lives.

[Mr. Reactionary]

The second amendment was never interpreted to guarantee an individual right to a firearm until Antonin Scalia invented one in 2008.

Ummm ... no. From St. George Tucker and Justice Story in the early days to post 14th Amendment cases like Cruickshank, jurists have clearly accepted the first 9 amendments (including that pesky 2nd) as being individual rights. Pre-14th Amendment the bill of rights only protected against Fed action so there clearly was not need for much interpretation for most of our history. Does that mean its fair for me to say that the 3rd Amendment has never been interpreted to guarantee an individual right to keep soldiers out of your house in peacetime, simply because there has never been a Supreme Court case about it? Yeah, in the 1930s the Court made a dumb decision in Miller because only the government got to brief, but even then its not like anyone seriously entertained the idea that "the right of the people" meant something else until recently as well. The Court corrects bad decisions all the time (Brown v. Board), and the decision in Heller does not even undermine the holding in Miller.

[🐒Gods of Prosperity🔱🐲💸]

If he had committed a violent crime, then no.  Otherwise, most likely yes.

[DINGO Joe]

No one should be allowed to buy that gun.  It's for assault not defense.

And while his security job wasn't military or police, the way he talked to his coworkers with all the slurs and talk of killing people should have created some red flags, as should his domestic violence which unfortunately was never made a police matter.  Throw in the FBI investigations and one has to ask how hostile can someone be their right bear arms are limited.

[MK]

No one needs an AR-15 in a domestic capacity, let alone an angry homophobic ISIS supporter.

Think about it.



Now this weapon was used at

1. Sandy Hook
2. San Bernadino
3. Colorado theatre - Batman movie
4. Oregon Community College
5. Santa Monica massacre

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/ar-15-rifle-used-orlando-massacre-has-bloody-pedigree-n590581

It is only designed to kill human beings.

I am a little pissed that he was permitted to buy such a weapon.

Just to imagine the families grief makes me furious about this issue.

 All guns are designed to kill things.   The absurdity in this thread is really telling. 

"No one should be allowed to buy that gun.  It's for assault not defense"      Really people?

[HAnnA MArin County]

As I stated in another thread, I sure do wish "pro-life" Republicans would work as hard at preventing men from getting guns as they do at preventing women from getting abortions.

I love how the party of Jesus so adamantly defends their "God-given right" to have a gun, but any attempt at curtailing gun violence is "TYRANNY!"

[Green Line]

As I stated in another thread, I sure do wish "pro-life" Republicans would work as hard at preventing men from getting guns as they do at preventing women from getting abortions.

I love how the party of Jesus so adamantly defends their "God-given right" to have a gun, but any attempt at curtailing gun violence is "TYRANNY!"

And I sure wish the party that espouses the values of Liberalism and tolerance would be more willing to stand up to the regressive and violent religion that has claimed the lives tens of thousands of Americans since 9/11 and apply to them the same scrutiny that they do to Christianity, but I guess neither party is perfect.

[DINGO Joe]

No one needs an AR-15 in a domestic capacity, let alone an angry homophobic ISIS supporter.

Think about it.



Now this weapon was used at

1. Sandy Hook
2. San Bernadino
3. Colorado theatre - Batman movie
4. Oregon Community College
5. Santa Monica massacre

http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/ar-15-rifle-used-orlando-massacre-has-bloody-pedigree-n590581

It is only designed to kill human beings.

I am a little pissed that he was permitted to buy such a weapon.

Just to imagine the families grief makes me furious about this issue.

 All guns are designed to kill things.   The absurdity in this thread is really telling. 

"No one should be allowed to buy that gun.  It's for assault not defense"      Really people?

Look, we all know your psycho and spend your evenings in the basement licking your guns, but utilizing your vast knowledge of guns, I think your aware that some guns can kill alot more people faster than other ones.

[Indy Texas]

As I stated in another thread, I sure do wish "pro-life" Republicans would work as hard at preventing men from getting guns as they do at preventing women from getting abortions.

I love how the party of Jesus so adamantly defends their "God-given right" to have a gun, but any attempt at curtailing gun violence is "TYRANNY!"

And I sure wish the party that espouses the values of Liberalism and tolerance would be more willing to stand up to the regressive and violent religion that has claimed the lives tens of thousands of Americans since 9/11 and apply to them the same scrutiny that they do to Christianity, but I guess neither party is perfect.

This guy was born in the US. No Trumpist anti-Muslim immigration policy would have kept him out.

The FBI had investigated him and found sketchy things but nothing definitive.

The only way you could have prevented this from happening is with stricter gun laws.

And please don't tell me that the people in that club should have had guns too, because then you'd just have a bunch of people shooting at each other in a dark, crowded, smoky nightclub.

[Green Line]

As I stated in another thread, I sure do wish "pro-life" Republicans would work as hard at preventing men from getting guns as they do at preventing women from getting abortions.

I love how the party of Jesus so adamantly defends their "God-given right" to have a gun, but any attempt at curtailing gun violence is "TYRANNY!"

And I sure wish the party that espouses the values of Liberalism and tolerance would be more willing to stand up to the regressive and violent religion that has claimed the lives tens of thousands of Americans since 9/11 and apply to them the same scrutiny that they do to Christianity, but I guess neither party is perfect.

This guy was born in the US. No Trumpist anti-Muslim immigration policy would have kept him out.

The FBI had investigated him and found sketchy things but nothing definitive.

The only way you could have prevented this from happening is with stricter gun laws.

And please don't tell me that the people in that club should have had guns too, because then you'd just have a bunch of people shooting at each other in a dark, crowded, smoky nightclub.

It's not just what happened last night. It's the last 8 years of looking the other way, of burying heads in the sand, and of refusing to condemn these people whose warped idealogy has led to the deaths of so many.  I think that could have made a difference.

[HAnnA MArin County]

As I stated in another thread, I sure do wish "pro-life" Republicans would work as hard at preventing men from getting guns as they do at preventing women from getting abortions.

I love how the party of Jesus so adamantly defends their "God-given right" to have a gun, but any attempt at curtailing gun violence is "TYRANNY!"

And I sure wish the party that espouses the values of Liberalism and tolerance would be more willing to stand up to the regressive and violent religion that has claimed the lives tens of thousands of Americans since 9/11 and apply to them the same scrutiny that they do to Christianity, but I guess neither party is perfect.

This guy was born in the US. No Trumpist anti-Muslim immigration policy would have kept him out.

The FBI had investigated him and found sketchy things but nothing definitive.

The only way you could have prevented this from happening is with stricter gun laws.

And please don't tell me that the people in that club should have had guns too, because then you'd just have a bunch of people shooting at each other in a dark, crowded, smoky nightclub.

Thank you, IndyTexas. I'm sure Brown Line was saying the same thing about how evil Christianity is when Oklahoma City occurred.

Yes, Republican logic: This tragedy could have been prevented had we armed all the people in the nightclub. More guns is always the answer to stop violence! Newtown could have been prevented had we armed the teachers and students! Aurora could have been prevented had everyone brought guns with them to the theater! Then again, victim blaming is what Republicans do best.  

P.S. Brown Line, I'll have you know that I do apply the same scrutiny to Islam as I do with Christianity. I'm a self-professed agnostic and I believe that all religions are inherently evil because I believe that mankind invented religion as a means of mind control and oppression. What really bothers me is people like you who always bring up the "whatabouttery" when it comes to Islam vs. Christianity. I hear it all the time: Islam is worse for gays because at least Christians don't hang gay people in public, i.e. Christianity hates gays, but Islam hates them more! Give me a freaking break.

[Green Line]

As I stated in another thread, I sure do wish "pro-life" Republicans would work as hard at preventing men from getting guns as they do at preventing women from getting abortions.

I love how the party of Jesus so adamantly defends their "God-given right" to have a gun, but any attempt at curtailing gun violence is "TYRANNY!"

And I sure wish the party that espouses the values of Liberalism and tolerance would be more willing to stand up to the regressive and violent religion that has claimed the lives tens of thousands of Americans since 9/11 and apply to them the same scrutiny that they do to Christianity, but I guess neither party is perfect.

This guy was born in the US. No Trumpist anti-Muslim immigration policy would have kept him out.

The FBI had investigated him and found sketchy things but nothing definitive.

The only way you could have prevented this from happening is with stricter gun laws.

And please don't tell me that the people in that club should have had guns too, because then you'd just have a bunch of people shooting at each other in a dark, crowded, smoky nightclub.

Thank you, IndyTexas. I'm sure Brown Line was saying the same thing about how evil Christianity is when Oklahoma City occurred.

Yes, Republican logic: This tragedy could have been prevented had we armed all the people in the nightclub. More guns is always the answer to stop violence! Newtown could have been prevented had we armed the teachers and students! Aurora could have been prevented had everyone brought guns with them to the theater! Then again, victim blaming is what Republicans do best.  

P.S. Brown Line, I'll have you know that I do apply the same scrutiny to Islam as I do with Christianity. I'm a self-professed agnostic and I believe that all religions are inherently evil because I believe that mankind invented religion as a means of mind control and oppression. What really bothers me is people like you who always bring up the "whatabouttery" when it comes to Islam vs. Christianity. I hear it all the time: Islam is worse for gays because at least Christians don't hang gay people in public, i.e. Christianity hates gays, but Islam hates them more! Give me a freaking break.

Christianity hating gays (and most American Christians do not "hate" them, and certainly dont wish them dead) is not the same as Muslims literally killing them for being gay, which is quite common. So if that's you applying equal scrutiny, you're not doing a good job.

[HAnnA MArin County]

As I stated in another thread, I sure do wish "pro-life" Republicans would work as hard at preventing men from getting guns as they do at preventing women from getting abortions.

I love how the party of Jesus so adamantly defends their "God-given right" to have a gun, but any attempt at curtailing gun violence is "TYRANNY!"

And I sure wish the party that espouses the values of Liberalism and tolerance would be more willing to stand up to the regressive and violent religion that has claimed the lives tens of thousands of Americans since 9/11 and apply to them the same scrutiny that they do to Christianity, but I guess neither party is perfect.

This guy was born in the US. No Trumpist anti-Muslim immigration policy would have kept him out.

The FBI had investigated him and found sketchy things but nothing definitive.

The only way you could have prevented this from happening is with stricter gun laws.

And please don't tell me that the people in that club should have had guns too, because then you'd just have a bunch of people shooting at each other in a dark, crowded, smoky nightclub.

It's not just what happened last night. It's the last 8 years of looking the other way, of burying heads in the sand, and of refusing to condemn these people whose warped idealogy has led to the deaths of so many.  I think that could have made a difference.

So had this been a young white man from rural Indiana who went into a gay nightclub and killed 50 people because "Jesus doesn't like the queers," you'd be saying the same thing about Christianity, right?

[Meclazine for Israel]

As long as i live, i will state the same thing:

"There is no logical reason for selling a military grade AR-15 semi-automatic assault rifle to an average US citizen."

Whilst i respect 2nd amendment rights in a country that is not my own, it defies belief that these massacres continue unabated.

We just have to sit back and wait until someone kills 300 people in one day on US soil.

[Green Line]

As I stated in another thread, I sure do wish "pro-life" Republicans would work as hard at preventing men from getting guns as they do at preventing women from getting abortions.

I love how the party of Jesus so adamantly defends their "God-given right" to have a gun, but any attempt at curtailing gun violence is "TYRANNY!"

And I sure wish the party that espouses the values of Liberalism and tolerance would be more willing to stand up to the regressive and violent religion that has claimed the lives tens of thousands of Americans since 9/11 and apply to them the same scrutiny that they do to Christianity, but I guess neither party is perfect.

This guy was born in the US. No Trumpist anti-Muslim immigration policy would have kept him out.

The FBI had investigated him and found sketchy things but nothing definitive.

The only way you could have prevented this from happening is with stricter gun laws.

And please don't tell me that the people in that club should have had guns too, because then you'd just have a bunch of people shooting at each other in a dark, crowded, smoky nightclub.

It's not just what happened last night. It's the last 8 years of looking the other way, of burying heads in the sand, and of refusing to condemn these people whose warped idealogy has led to the deaths of so many.  I think that could have made a difference.

So had this been a young white man from rural Indiana who went into a gay nightclub and killed 50 people because "Jesus doesn't like the queers," you'd be saying the same thing about Christianity, right?

Since that would be very out of character for an American Christian, I would certainly be surprised.  Rest assured though, I would condemn radical Christianity if it resulted in the deaths of 50 + gays (of which I am one).  Your hypothetical is just that, however, since it doesnt happen, and that is precisely my point.

[IceSpear]

As I stated in another thread, I sure do wish "pro-life" Republicans would work as hard at preventing men from getting guns as they do at preventing women from getting abortions.

I love how the party of Jesus so adamantly defends their "God-given right" to have a gun, but any attempt at curtailing gun violence is "TYRANNY!"

And I sure wish the party that espouses the values of Liberalism and tolerance would be more willing to stand up to the regressive and violent religion that has claimed the lives tens of thousands of Americans since 9/11 and apply to them the same scrutiny that they do to Christianity, but I guess neither party is perfect.

This guy was born in the US. No Trumpist anti-Muslim immigration policy would have kept him out.

The FBI had investigated him and found sketchy things but nothing definitive.

The only way you could have prevented this from happening is with stricter gun laws.

And please don't tell me that the people in that club should have had guns too, because then you'd just have a bunch of people shooting at each other in a dark, crowded, smoky nightclub.

It's not just what happened last night. It's the last 8 years of looking the other way, of burying heads in the sand, and of refusing to condemn these people whose warped idealogy has led to the deaths of so many.  I think that could have made a difference.

So had this been a young white man from rural Indiana who went into a gay nightclub and killed 50 people because "Jesus doesn't like the queers," you'd be saying the same thing about Christianity, right?

Since that would be very out of character for an American Christian, I would certainly be surprised.  Rest assured though, I would condemn radical Christianity if it resulted in the deaths of 50 + gays (of which I am one).  Your hypothetical is just that, however, since it doesnt happen, and that is precisely my point.

Multiple American pastors were responsible for pushing the "Kill the Gays" bill in Uganda. This heavily suggests it's more a function of what they can get away with in a given society, not a moral stance against harming gays.

[MaxQue]

As I stated in another thread, I sure do wish "pro-life" Republicans would work as hard at preventing men from getting guns as they do at preventing women from getting abortions.

I love how the party of Jesus so adamantly defends their "God-given right" to have a gun, but any attempt at curtailing gun violence is "TYRANNY!"

And I sure wish the party that espouses the values of Liberalism and tolerance would be more willing to stand up to the regressive and violent religion that has claimed the lives tens of thousands of Americans since 9/11 and apply to them the same scrutiny that they do to Christianity, but I guess neither party is perfect.

This guy was born in the US. No Trumpist anti-Muslim immigration policy would have kept him out.

The FBI had investigated him and found sketchy things but nothing definitive.

The only way you could have prevented this from happening is with stricter gun laws.

And please don't tell me that the people in that club should have had guns too, because then you'd just have a bunch of people shooting at each other in a dark, crowded, smoky nightclub.

It's not just what happened last night. It's the last 8 years of looking the other way, of burying heads in the sand, and of refusing to condemn these people whose warped idealogy has led to the deaths of so many.  I think that could have made a difference.

So had this been a young white man from rural Indiana who went into a gay nightclub and killed 50 people because "Jesus doesn't like the queers," you'd be saying the same thing about Christianity, right?

Since that would be very out of character for an American Christian, I would certainly be surprised.  Rest assured though, I would condemn radical Christianity if it resulted in the deaths of 50 + gays (of which I am one).  Your hypothetical is just that, however, since it doesnt happen, and that is precisely my point.

It's also out of character for an American Muslim.