Active Shooter Situation at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas

[Tintrlvr]

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/914810093874671617

President sends "warmest condolences" to victims...

So long as we protect fetuses and guns, America will remain free.

Could you please not do this right now?

How many times do I have to hear this before something actually gets done? No, I'm not going to stand down on this. Another 50+ Americans are dead because we as a country have decided that guns are more important than human life. I don't say that with a smile on my face. I say that with fright and anger.

Well drugs are illegal and MANY people still use them. What would banning guns do?

People often use drugs to make themselves feel better, perhaps they are addicted (which is a mental health problem in the country). But guns are weapons of malicious intent, far too easy to obtain for someone mentally unstable to take down 50 innocent lives at a country music concert. Gun violence is one of many problems in this country, and as much as we don’t like dealing with problems (Global warming, debt, infrastructure), today absolutely is a day to debate what to do about guns, if only because our media attention span will move on in a week when the President goes off on another distracting Twitter want.

I’m an atheist, so prayers for the victims will do nothing IMO. It is a time for action on gun reform, just like it has since December 14, 2012 (Sandy Hook), or June 12, 2016 (Pulse nightclub).

I'm talking about drugs like heroin and meth. They are illegal but people still use them. So banning them or heavily regulating them will not keep it out of the hands of people who really want them.

Don't be naïve !
Of course more guns equals more deaths.
For the entire 2014 year in Japan, there were 6 gun deaths. The USA had 33,599 gun related deaths in the same year. In the US, more than 6 people a year can easily die from lightning strikes.
Just stop and think about those two numbers for a minute.

"So banning them" would make a HUGE difference. There is actual evidence/examples of this throughout the world. I know it will never be so in the USA, but we can put "heavy regulation" on guns, especially guns that are designed specifically to do nothing but to kill people in mass. Normal citizens don't need to own semi-auto or fully-auto guns for hunting, normal home protection, etc. Citizens don't also need normal access to buying bullet-proof vests or smoke-bombs, etc. These items should be for military or police use only.

PS: Your "what about drugs" theory is nothing but what-about-ism and deflection from the true story and topic here.

http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-38365729

All of this doesn't change the fact that people who want to kill other people will get these guns whether they're legal or not. All these gun control laws only affect law abiding citizens.

People in Japan, and in probably every society in the world, also have people with problems, anger, mental issues, etc. They all want to kill people too.
Japanese citizens with "problems" would love to have guns, but they are banned. So they cant just "get these guns whether they're legal or not." It is very, very, very hard to do so in Japan .... period.

So why are these people in Japan not "just getting them anyways" ??
Why ? I ask you ? Answer this one question ?
Don't you get it .... or are just trying to ignore the simple logic staring you in the face.

PS: Again, it's impossible to reverse things (and the mentality about firearms) and have a 100% gun ban in the USA. But, of course a strong ban can keep 99% of them out of a nation (like Japan) if that is their policy.

They're not getting them because they're not there. Thankfully in the US however, we have the right and privilege to own firearms.

Thank you !
You just agreed with what I was saying.

I agreed that the guns aren't in Japan. It's because they don't have the same constitutional rights we do. Thankfully, we have those rights in the United Statea. And I believe the people in Japan should as well.

"I'm willing to sacrifice tens of thousands of people a year for guns. Also, the Japanese should do the same."

[Tintrlvr]

I mean, someone said it was gonna happen weeks in advance. That easily raises my eyebrows.

Please don't stoop to the conspiracy theorist levels. Those posts are generalized threats of "something" happening in Las Vegas "tomorrow." Note the date they were posted: September 10th. Remember which day comes after September 10th? The trolls and conspiracy theorists are out in force every year.

Moreover, warning people to stay inside on September 11th for something that would actually take place on October 1st is completely useless.

[Tintrlvr]

Steve Scalise chimes in with a terrible opinion on gun control:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/steve-scalise-says-las-vegas-shooting-hasnt-changed-stance-gun-control/

Unbelievable. People who advocate prayer as a substitute for assistance or policy action of any kind are despicable. I can accept that argument that people benefit from prayer because it allows them to contemplate and reach spiritual clarity. But saying that somehow prayer benefits victims of actual violence, and is somehow more important than having a substantial debate about how to solve these issues, is horrendous beyond words. People who believe in prayer over legislating in this country shouldn't be allowed to write or vote on laws.

Also the mention to law enforcement and not to medical professionals and first responders who saved his life is also pretty gross. Those doctors must have prayed pretty damn hard when he entered the ER this summer.

It's more of the Republican / so-called Christian right's prosperity gospel nastiness. They believe that if you're a good/godly person then bad things cannot happen to you. Conversely, if you do have bad things happen to you, it's proof that God hates you and you're a bad person.  There's lots of self-reinforcing nuttiness involved, but that's the core of it.

Look up Calvinism and predestination for some idea of where it comes from. Most Republicans don't explicitly think of it in those terms, but that's where they're coming from. They believe everything - doctors who save their life, random chance of who gets hit by a bullet and how bad it is - are manifestations of divine favor or the lack thereof. Which is why they go on about prayer and God.

Shouldn't Scalise be having some self-doubt then, after being badly injured in a shooting that could have only happened if he were a bad person?