My thoughts are with the victims, which include the deranged gunman, of this terrible tragedy. I'm not sure what drives an individual to carry out such acts. It's sickening, really.
Regarding gun control, I think I'll let a scene from The Dark Knight speak my feelings.The message hits at 0:51.
I feel you and its one of the reasons I had mentioned Switzerland. Its probably one of the highest per capita armed nations and yet the gun crime rate is one of the lowest. Gun control isnt the issue, I think most of us realise that, thankfully so.
To a previous poster I have no idea how you can feel sorry for the gunman that is just way out of the realm of my understanding. The guy premeditated everything, did his best to make sure he lived through the ordeal and I dont see him having any remorse over the act. He went to kill people, as many people as he could.
He deserves no mercy and should be treated the same as a cop killer. jmho
If you need 3 years to be a winner you got here 2 years to early. Get it done Browns.
Quote: To a previous poster I have no idea how you can feel sorry for the gunman that is just way out of the realm of my understanding.
I feel sorry that the individual had to come to this way of thinking. It's tragic that he had a whole future ahead of him and suddenly he snaps and does this. In no way do I condone his actions on early Friday morning in the movie theater.
We want to believe individuals who do these type of things are pure evil monsters. Maybe it's that I try and find some humanity in an individual who does such an inhumane and unjust act? I just wonder what causes these individuals to do such things.
Quote: To a previous poster I have no idea how you can feel sorry for the gunman that is just way out of the realm of my understanding.
I feel sorry that the individual had to come to this way of thinking. It's tragic that he had a whole future ahead of him and suddenly he snaps and does this. In no way do I condone his actions on early Friday morning in the movie theater.
We want to believe individuals who do these type of things are pure evil monsters. Maybe it's that I try and find some humanity in an individual who does such an inhumane and unjust act? I just wonder what causes these individuals to do such things.
I would reply that the evil in all of us exists, for it must, but most of us are able to keep it in check and never act out such things as he has done. There are sadly those that for whatever reason are unable to keep the evil inside in check and they act out what they feel or think, believing in some strange way, what at that moment in time, in their mind, is the correct course of action.
The is a funny thing and as an example I will give a sentance moving the comma only 1 place. The meaning has changed totally and in these types of peoples minds I feel its the same. They see something that is totally out of the realm of our thoughts and can make it rational.
Truely I tell you today, you shall be with your father in heaven. Truely I tell you, today you shall be with your father in heaven.
See something as simple as that can change the whole perception of something. Yes forgiveness will heal the offended more the the offender, but as a bystander so to speak, I dont need to forgive them nor understand them. I can see them for what they are cystal clear with no remorse. Thats also going to be the Jurys job.
If you need 3 years to be a winner you got here 2 years to early. Get it done Browns.
Quote: To a previous poster I have no idea how you can feel sorry for the gunman that is just way out of the realm of my understanding.
I feel sorry that the individual had to come to this way of thinking. It's tragic that he had a whole future ahead of him and suddenly he snaps and does this. In no way do I condone his actions on early Friday morning in the movie theater.
We want to believe individuals who do these type of things are pure evil monsters. Maybe it's that I try and find some humanity in an individual who does such an inhumane and unjust act? I just wonder what causes these individuals to do such things.
I think we all wonder about that. What makes a person do stuff like this? What happened in his childhood? Did anything happen in his childhood? did the girl he loves kick him to the curb? Did she even know he cared? Was it drugs? Should he have been on some meds? Where there any signs that people around him missed?
there are a million questions and at least thus far, no answers. What caused those two kids at Columbine go wacko and kill a bunch of people, then kill themselves?
What made the kid in Chardon go off the reservation and start shooting up the school. I don't remember there being much said about him being a trouble maker prior to his rampage.
We all want to know... I doubt there is any ONE answer that fits all.
Maybe, just maybe, some people are just bad. maybe it's just that simple.
But regardless what caused these kids to commit these unspeakable acts of violence, the result has to be the same. Punishment. The level of which I'll leave to smarter people than I that have access to information that I'll never see.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
Quote: To a previous poster I have no idea how you can feel sorry for the gunman that is just way out of the realm of my understanding.
I feel sorry that the individual had to come to this way of thinking. It's tragic that he had a whole future ahead of him and suddenly he snaps and does this. In no way do I condone his actions on early Friday morning in the movie theater.
We want to believe individuals who do these type of things are pure evil monsters. Maybe it's that I try and find some humanity in an individual who does such an inhumane and unjust act? I just wonder what causes these individuals to do such things.
I think we all wonder about that. What makes a person do stuff like this? What happened in his childhood? Did anything happen in his childhood? did the girl he loves kick him to the curb? Did she even know he cared? Was it drugs? Should he have been on some meds? Where there any signs that people around him missed?
there are a million questions and at least thus far, no answers. What caused those two kids at Columbine go wacko and kill a bunch of people, then kill themselves?
What made the kid in Chardon go off the reservation and start shooting up the school. I don't remember there being much said about him being a trouble maker prior to his rampage.
We all want to know... I doubt there is any ONE answer that fits all.
Maybe, just maybe, some people are just bad. maybe it's just that simple.
But regardless what caused these kids to commit these unspeakable acts of violence, the result has to be the same. Punishment. The level of which I'll leave to smarter people than I that have access to information that I'll never see.
No offense but that is a big part of the problem, we try to rationalise why they did it. What would make a person do something like that. We know we would never do something like that much less think of it then plan it then act it out. So we are left with making excuses for them because it doesnt fit into what we think and do.
Sometimes you just have to accept that they did it because they wanted to. again imho
If you need 3 years to be a winner you got here 2 years to early. Get it done Browns.
I was wondering about this all yesterday. I looked up the psychology of mass murderers. They seem to fit a general profile and this guy is no different from what limited details they have released on him. Typically they are loner males who frequently are known as quiet/aloof/isolated. They harbor great anger against the world for years for whatever reason. Sometimes it is rejection, sometimes it is abuse, it can be any number of reasons. They internalize their anger and fantasize about murdering people. Then one day they decide to do it. They don't really snap, they just decide and they make a plan. Generally they don't plan on living past it and frequently commit suicide.
Anyway, that's what I read. You can google it if you like. I heard that guy stopped cooperating with police so we may never know the answer.
I also looked up the shooter from the Gabriel Giffords shooting. That was more than a year ago. He hasn't even went to trial yet because they are too busy fighting over medications and trying to decide if he is sane or not.
So who knows when justice will be served with this latest shooting.
Quote: To a previous poster I have no idea how you can feel sorry for the gunman that is just way out of the realm of my understanding.
I feel sorry that the individual had to come to this way of thinking. It's tragic that he had a whole future ahead of him and suddenly he snaps and does this. In no way do I condone his actions on early Friday morning in the movie theater.
We want to believe individuals who do these type of things are pure evil monsters. Maybe it's that I try and find some humanity in an individual who does such an inhumane and unjust act? I just wonder what causes these individuals to do such things.
I think we all wonder about that. What makes a person do stuff like this? What happened in his childhood? Did anything happen in his childhood? did the girl he loves kick him to the curb? Did she even know he cared? Was it drugs? Should he have been on some meds? Where there any signs that people around him missed?
there are a million questions and at least thus far, no answers. What caused those two kids at Columbine go wacko and kill a bunch of people, then kill themselves?
What made the kid in Chardon go off the reservation and start shooting up the school. I don't remember there being much said about him being a trouble maker prior to his rampage.
We all want to know... I doubt there is any ONE answer that fits all.
Maybe, just maybe, some people are just bad. maybe it's just that simple.
But regardless what caused these kids to commit these unspeakable acts of violence, the result has to be the same. Punishment. The level of which I'll leave to smarter people than I that have access to information that I'll never see.
No offense but that is a big part of the problem, we try to rationalise why they did it. What would make a person do something like that. We know we would never do something like that much less think of it then plan it then act it out. So we are left with making excuses for them because it doesnt fit into what we think and do.
Sometimes you just have to accept that they did it because they wanted to. again imho
I wanna know what made them do it, I wanna know that so that it can be maybe be spotted in time to stop another one. if you wanna call that rationalization,, Be my guest
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
This sad day is further proof i think he "Last Days" spoken of in the Bible will be coming sooner then people think....This country is just getting more and more full of evil people by the day....i was just at the local shopping center the other day, see these goth kids and others walking aorund and you look in their eyes and there is nothing there...its like looking into the eyes of a wolf...of a predator.....theres no feelings at all in those eyes....they look like lifeless eyes.....i see how messed up the youth is in this country.....
just remember....Not only did the Bible warn us, but they warned us too....
Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters-Benjamin Franklin
Make yourselves sheep and the wolves will eat you. - Benjamin Franklin
Quote: This sad day is further proof i think he "Last Days" spoken of in the Bible will be coming sooner then people think....This country is just getting more and more full of evil people by the day....i was just at the local shopping center the other day, see these goth kids and others walking aorund and you look in their eyes and there is nothing there...its like looking into the eyes of a wolf...of a predator.....theres no feelings at all in those eyes....they look like lifeless eyes.....i see how messed up the youth is in this country.....
just remember....Not only did the Bible warn us, but they warned us too....
Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters-Benjamin Franklin
Make yourselves sheep and the wolves will eat you. - Benjamin Franklin
wow. Are you sure that they aren't just becoming zombies?
Quote: This sad day is further proof i think he "Last Days" spoken of in the Bible will be coming sooner then people think....This country is just getting more and more full of evil people by the day....i was just at the local shopping center the other day, see these goth kids and others walking aorund and you look in their eyes and there is nothing there...its like looking into the eyes of a wolf...of a predator.....theres no feelings at all in those eyes....they look like lifeless eyes.....i see how messed up the youth is in this country.....
just remember....Not only did the Bible warn us, but they warned us too....
Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters-Benjamin Franklin
Make yourselves sheep and the wolves will eat you. - Benjamin Franklin
You're right. This stuff never happened in history... There were never crazy mass murdering people... ever, until the last 100 years (or is it 50, or is it...). Take a walk through a history book sometime, and not one that's sugarcoated.
Every generation thinks the next generation is worse. People have been saying this for thousands of years. Each time this point is brought up, of course, the reply is "but this is different."
Quote: I'm not sure what drives an individual to carry out such acts. It's sickening, really.
I want to say the guy is schizophrenic but I am not sure. I don't understand why he would plot this out for months, rig his apt. to explode and tell cops about it after his arrest. Why he would gun down a theater and then calmly turn himself over just does not follow . . .
For an apparently highly educated kid, this smacks of some sort of mental derangement--which I believe begins to manifest in people in their late teens early twenties.
FLORIDAFAN:
Quote: so you stop the sale of AR15, and anyone with an IQ higher than 30 can go to the grocery store and get everything needed to kill or severely injure everyone in that theater in a split second. So...Is it the weapon, or the person wielding/using it?
In prior posts regarding gun control and concealed carry laws I have voiced my displeasure with guns and you had some good points to counter my claims so I look forward to a response if you have one to offer. I understand the maxim that guns don't kill people but they do facilitate a type of crime. For example, I would imagine it would be incredibly difficult if not incredibly skillful to commit a drive-by knifing.
I can understand the need for hunting rifles, shotguns, handguns--for self protection but AR15's are meant for one thing and one thing only--to kill people. True enough, he could have committed this act with the aforementioned guns and had just and equal chance of killing folks but some guns just scare the crap the out of me. So whether he used Glocks, 22's, 357's or AR-15's what's the difference in this circumstance? I am not sure I grasp the concept of banning only certain types of guns and I don't understand the reasoning when juxtaposed against the malevolence of the individual. Like you said, this kid could have done other things with the same effectiveness.
Quote: i was just at the local shopping center the other day, see these goth kids and others walking aorund and you look in their eyes and there is nothing there...its like looking into the eyes of a wolf...of a predator.....theres no feelings at all in those eyes....they look like lifeless eyes.....i see how messed up the youth is in this country.....
lol you would have made their day if you told them that.
I wonder about those who had contact with the shooter in year before he acted out. Were there indications or red flags that were missed, that might have given his family or friends cause for concern.
This story caught my attention this morning...obviously the owner of the gun range saw something that concerned him enough to reject Holmes' application for membership.
Shooting suspect's gun range membership rejected
AURORA, Colo. (AP) — Shooting suspect James Holmes applied to join a Colorado gun range last month but never became a member because of his behavior and a "bizarre" message on his voice mail greeting, the range's owner said Sunday.
Holmes, 24, emailed an application to join the Lead Valley Range in Byers on June 25 in which he said he was not a user of illegal drugs or a convicted felon, said owner Glenn Rotkovich.
But when Rotkovich called to invite him to a mandatory orientation the following week, he said he heard Holmes' voice mail greeting that was "bizarre — guttural, freakish at best."
It identified the number as belonging to "James," so Rotkovich said he left a message.
He left two other messages but eventually told his staff to watch out for Holmes at the July 1 orientation and not to accept him into the club, Rotkovich said. His comments were first reported by Fox News.
"There's something weird here," Rotkovich said he concluded.
Holmes is being held without bond on suspicion of multiple counts of first-degree murder after a shooting rampage minutes into a premiere of "The Dark Knight Rises" early Friday that left 12 people dead and 58 wounded. He is scheduled for an initial hearing Monday and has been assigned a public defender.
The gunman's semiautomatic assault rifle jammed during the attack at the Aurora movie theater, forcing him to switch to another gun with less firepower, a federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press. That malfunction and weapons switch during the shooting rampage might have saved some lives.
As the investigation into the massacre continued Sunday, the University of Colorado said it was looking into whether Holmes used his position as a graduate student to order materials in the potentially deadly booby traps that police said they found in his apartment.
Holmes got deliveries over four months to his home and school, authorities have said. The university is looking into what was received at the school to assist police with their investigation, said spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery.
The suspect was described as a budding scientist, brimming with potential, who pursued a graduate program even as he planned the attack with "calculation and deliberation," police said.
Holmes' apartment was booby trapped with jars of liquids, explosives and chemicals that could have killed "whoever entered it," Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said, noting it would have likely been one of his officers.
Investigators spent hours removing the explosive materials Saturday.
Inside the apartment, bomb technicians neutralized a "hypergolic mixture" and an improvised explosive device containing an unknown substance, said James Yacone, an FBI special agent. There also were containers of accelerants, creating "an extremely dangerous environment," he said.
Oates said on CBS' "Face the Nation" that he had never seen a booby trap as elaborate as what was found in the apartment.
By late Saturday afternoon, all hazards had been removed from the apartment and residents in surrounding buildings were allowed to return home, police said.
The exception was Holmes' apartment building, where authorities were still collecting evidence. Authorities covered the windows of Holmes' apartment with black plastic to prevent anyone from seeing in. Before they did, a man in an ATF T-shirt could be seen measuring a poster on a closet that advertised a DVD called "Soldiers of Misfortune." The poster showed several figures in various positions playing paintball, some wearing masks.
Police left the apartment building carrying a laptop computer and a hard drive about 8 p.m. Saturday.
President Barack Obama left Washington for Colorado on Sunday to visit with the families of victims. The city of Aurora planned a vigil to remember the dead and wounded in the shooting later in the evening.
Congregations across Colorado prayed for the shooting victims and their relatives. Churches sent out social-media appeals for neighbors who wanted to join in remembrance. Elderly churchgoers at an aging Presbyterian church within walking distance near Holmes' apartment joined in prayer, though none had ever met him.
Among the dead was a 6-year-old girl and a man who died on his 27th birthday and a day before his wedding anniversary. Families grieved and waited at hospitals, which reported at least seven people still in critical condition as of Sunday.
While authorities continued to refuse to discuss a possible motive for one of the deadliest mass shootings in recent U.S. history, details about Holmes' background as a student and would-be scientist trickled out.
He had recently withdrawn from the competitive graduate program in neuroscience at the University of Colorado Denver, where he was one of six pre-thesis Ph.D. students at its Neuroscience Program to be funded by a prestigious grant from the National Institutes of Health. The program of 35 students is dedicated to training outstanding neuroscientists and academicians who will make significant contributions to neurobiology, the university said in a statement.
In the first year of the five- to seven-year program, students take classes and complete three, three-month research rotations in the labs of different professors.
Professors who worked with him either did not return calls or declined to comment, saying police and university officials had told them not to speak to the media.
At one point in the year, Holmes was engaged in research about RNA and was to present a paper May 8 about RNA Biomarkers, according to a class schedule. It was unclear if he presented the paper.
Holmes recently took an intense, three-part oral exam that marks the end of the first year. Those who do well continue with their studies and shift to full-time research, while those who don't do well meet with advisers and discuss their options, including retaking the exam.
University officials would not say if he passed, citing privacy concerns.
The university said Holmes gave no reason for his withdrawal, a decision he made in June.
Individuals who commit acts of mass violence often have suffered some kind of loss and aren't able to bounce back from it, said Barry Spodak, a behavioral threat assessment consultant who has worked with the Secret Service and the U.S. Marshals Service.
"Individuals who carry out acts like this of mass violence tend to perceive themselves to have suffered significant losses or failures and the people around them have generally been worried about their ability to deal with it," Spodak said.
Spodak has not spoken with Holmes or been involved in the investigation. FBI behavioral analysts from Quantico, Va., were assisting in the investigation, FBI spokesman Dave Joly said Sunday.
Holmes was not allowed access from the institution after his withdrawal, which was "standard operating procedure" because he was no longer affiliated with the school, Montgomery said. Holmes had no contact with university police, she said.
In a resume posted on Monster.com, Holmes listed himself as an "aspiring scientist" and said he was looking for a job as a laboratory technician.
The resume, first obtained in Holmes' home state of California by The Press-Enterprise in Riverside, paints a picture of a brilliant young man brimming with potential: He worked as a summer intern at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla in 2006 and mapped the neurons of Zebra finches and studied the flight muscles of hummingbirds while an undergraduate at the University of California, Riverside.
He also worked as a cabin counselor to underprivileged children at a summer camp in Los Angeles in 2008. In a statement, Camp Max Straus confirmed Holmes had worked there for eight weeks. The camp provided no other details about Holmes but said such counselors are generally responsible for the care and guidance of roughly 10 children.
Ritchie Duong, a friend who has known Holmes for more than a decade, told the Los Angeles Times that in high school he liked to play cards and video games. They both attended undergraduate school at the University of California, Riverside, where they saw each other once a week to watch the TV show "Lost."
Duong last saw Holmes in December when they met for dinner in Los Angeles and saw a movie together. His friend seemed fine, he told the newspaper.
Academics came easily to Holmes both at high school and at the UC Riverside, Duong said.
"I had one college class with him, and he didn't even have to take notes or anything. He would just show up to class, sit there, and around test time he would always get an 'A,'" said Duong, 24.
Holmes was being held in solitary confinement for his protection at a Denver-area county detention facility.
During the attack early Friday, Holmes set off gas canisters and used the military-style semiautomatic rifle, a shotgun and a pistol to open fire on the unsuspecting theater-goers, Oates said. Holmes had bought the weapons at local gun stores in the past two months. He recently purchased 6,000 rounds of ammunition over the Internet, the chief said.
The gun that jammed had a high-capacity ammunition magazine, according to the federal law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity in order to discuss the investigation. Police have said that a 100-round drum magazine was recovered at the scene and that such a device would be able to fire 50 to 60 rounds a minute.
The federal official spoke on condition of anonymity to in order to discuss the investigation, said the disabled weapon
Holmes also bought an urban assault vest, two magazine holders and a knife for just over $300 on July 2 from an online supplier of tactical gear for police and military personnel, according to the company. Chad Weinman, CEO of TacticalGear.com, said his company processes thousands of orders each day, and there was nothing unusual in the one that Holmes placed.
The Batman movie, the last in the trilogy starring Christian Bale, opened worldwide Friday with midnight showings in the U.S. "The Dark Knight Rises" earned $30.6 million in the midnight screenings, and, according to industry estimates, roughly $75 million on that day as a whole. That put it on track for a weekend total of $160 million.
That amount would surpass the $158.4 million debut of "The Dark Knight" in 2008 and give "Dark Knight Rises" the third-highest domestic weekend opening ever after the 3-D films "The Avengers" with $207.4 million and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows — Part 2" with $169.2 million.
The shooting was the worst in the U.S. since the Nov. 5, 2009, attack at Fort Hood, Texas. An Army psychiatrist was charged with killing 13 soldiers and civilians and wounding more than two dozen others.
Across the street from the movie theater, a man who placed 15 crosses near Columbine High School after a 1999 massacre there has returned to Colorado with 12 crosses for the victims of Friday's shooting.
Greg Zanis, of Aurora, Ill., began putting up the 3 1/2-foot-tall crosses Sunday on a hill across the street from the Century 16 theater.
Quote: so you stop the sale of AR15, and anyone with an IQ higher than 30 can go to the grocery store and get everything needed to kill or severely injure everyone in that theater in a split second. So...Is it the weapon, or the person wielding/using it?
In prior posts regarding gun control and concealed carry laws I have voiced my displeasure with guns and you had some good points to counter my claims so I look forward to a response if you have one to offer. I understand the maxim that guns don't kill people but they do facilitate a type of crime. For example, I would imagine it would be incredibly difficult if not incredibly skillful to commit a drive-by knifing.
I can understand the need for hunting rifles, shotguns, handguns--for self protection but AR15's are meant for one thing and one thing only--to kill people. True enough, he could have committed this act with the aforementioned guns and had just and equal chance of killing folks but some guns just scare the crap the out of me. So whether he used Glocks, 22's, 357's or AR-15's what's the difference in this circumstance? I am not sure I grasp the concept of banning only certain types of guns and I don't understand the reasoning when juxtaposed against the malevolence of the individual. Like you said, this kid could have done other things with the same effectiveness.
First is that people have to realize that the AR15 the general public has access to is not an assault rifle as used by police and military. They are semi-automatic like any handgun you can buy. Essentially an AR15 the public gets is just another rifle, just in a different looking shape.
We don't have to agree with each other, to respect each others opinion.
In the last 24-48 hours, I have noted 12-15 mentions of "assault rifle", including two specifically citing "semi-automatic assault rifle", indicating clearly that the speaker has no clue what an assault rifle actually is.
The article above is the first, and only, correct description of the weapon I have yet seen or heard. "A military-style, semi-automatic rifle". "Military style" refers at least in part to the COLOR of the weapon. Clearly, we need to be protected from certain weapons on the basis of what color they are.
CleveSteve's mention of drive-by knifings is really interesting, as this is one of the very few things the recent, so-called "assault-rifle ban" would have actually protected you against. No bayonet lug.
One newscaster referred to the 100-round magazine as the kind which would be used on a Gatling gun. A civil war version, maybe, but really? A 100-round magazine for a weapon with a rate of fire of 3,000 to 6,000 rounds a minute? This magazine would be illegal, but since it was not intended for this rifle it apparently caused a jam which might have saved some lives.
I'm not sure how relevant it all is what you call the rifle he used. you can call it a stick of pepperoni if you wish. But it was the person using it that was the wack job.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
i didn't say anything about a drive-by-knifing. Only reference to knives I used was that it requires a great deal more attachment and conviction in the act to kill someone with a knife than it does with a gun.
And, as I stated above after you correctly pointed it out to me, I mistakenly referred to it as an assault rifle when it is just a semi-auto rifle.
Just to help clarify:
Quote: Definition
The term assault rifle is a translation of the German word Sturmgewehr (literally "storm rifle", as in "to storm a position"). The name was coined by Adolf Hitler[3] to describe the Maschinenpistole 43, subsequently renamed Sturmgewehr 44, the firearm generally considered the first assault rifle that served to popularise the concept and form the basis for today's modern assault rifles.
The translation assault rifle gradually became the common term for similar firearms sharing the same technical definition as the StG 44. In a strict definition, a firearm must have at least the following characteristics to be considered an assault rifle:[4][5][6]
It must be an individual weapon with provision to fire from the shoulder (i.e. a buttstock); It must be capable of selective fire; It must have an intermediate-power cartridge: more power than a pistol but less than a standard rifle or battle rifle; Its ammunition must be supplied from a detachable magazine rather than a feed-belt. And it should at least have a firing range of 300 meters (1000 feet)
Rifles that meet most of these criteria, but not all, are technically not assault rifles despite frequently being considered as such. For example, semi-automatic-only rifles like the AR-15 (which the M16 rifle is based on) that share designs with assault rifles are not assault rifles, as they are not capable of switching to automatic fire and thus are not selective fire capable. Belt-fed weapons or rifles with fixed magazines are likewise not assault rifles because they do not have detachable box magazines.
The term "assault rifle" is often more loosely used for commercial or political reasons to include other types of arms, particularly arms that fall under a strict definition of the battle rifle, or semi-automatic variant of military rifles such as AR-15s.
The US Army defines assault rifles as "short, compact, selective-fire weapons that fire a cartridge intermediate in power between submachinegun and rifle cartridges."[7]
Quote: I'm not sure how relevant it all is what you call the rifle he used. you can call it a stick of pepperoni if you wish. But it was the person using it that was the wack job.
You should have been on msnbc this morning. They spent a half hour talking about the need for an assault weapon ban and how it would have prevented this massacre.
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. - John Muir
You know, amidst all of the arguments about guns and this kid's mental state, I think it's worth noting the selflessness and heroism of a lot of those people in that theater. People taking bullets for loved ones, people risking death by staying to tend to their wounded friends ... it's hard to find a silver lining in something like this, but there's a lot of love to be found within this horrific event.
You know, amidst all of the arguments about guns and this kid's mental state, I think it's worth noting the selflessness and heroism of a lot of those people in that theater. People taking bullets for loved ones, people risking death by staying to tend to their wounded friends ... it's hard to find a silver lining in something like this, but there's a lot of love to be found within this horrific event.
Yeah, I read a story about three guys that used their bodies as shields to protect their girlfriends. The guys died, but the girls lived. How heroic (to me at least)
Quote: I'm not sure how relevant it all is what you call the rifle he used. you can call it a stick of pepperoni if you wish. But it was the person using it that was the wack job.
You should have been on msnbc this morning. They spent a half hour talking about the need for an assault weapon ban and how it would have prevented this massacre.
Well, that's just bull Jfan.. you and I don't agree on a lot of things, but I think we do on this one.
It ain't the gun, it's the person,.
hey, I don't want the guy down the street to own a 30mm cannon.. I mean, what the hell is he gonna do with that. I don't really want him to have a Tank either. But damn it, if he wants a military style rifle, I got no issue with it.
Yeah, on this one, JFan, I think we agree
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
I'm not one in favorite of any ban, but ... I'm not opposed to having some sort of oversight. I don't know that it would be very effective, and it would probably inflate into a bureaucracy ... but there was that guy at the shooting range who talked to the kid once, heard his voicemail greeting and thought 'This guy kind of seems out there' and didn't let him in.
I could be wrong, but from what little I've seen of this kid, if he had to sit down with someone and talk for fifty minutes of something, take even a base level psych evaluation, someone would've figured out this kid shouldn't have that kind of gun.
Yes, he could've gone through back alleys to get one, yes, he could've slipped through the cracks, and, yes, that leaves loopholes for the government to restrict firearms to people ... it's a complicated issue.
But also - and I know many will get angry at this - if this kid was brown and named Achmed, people would be crying about how he was allowed to get his hands on that stuff.
I don't know what the answer is ... wanting to ban guns isn't. Wanting anyone to be able to have any kind of gun they want without oversight isn't, either.
Quote: I don't know what the answer is ... wanting to ban guns isn't. Wanting anyone to be able to have any kind of gun they want without oversight isn't, either.
I hate to sound repetitious, but you have to realize that it's not the guns that kill people, it's the person pulling the trigger. If they can't get their hands on a firearm, they'll use something else to commit the murders.....murders that they've made a conscious decision to commit. Gun control laws would not have prevented any of the recent killing sprees, they would only have changed the tools used to perform the acts....in a best case scenario. Chances are the killers would have obtained the firearms illegally.
And into the forest I go, to lose my mind and find my soul. - John Muir
If this kid was brown and named Achmed he would have just left a backpack with 30lbs of explosives to go off after he left the theater.
There really isn't a good answer here. Our freedom was won with the gun that some would like to see out of our hands. The west was won with that same gun, and on the flip side that nasty civil war was fought with that same gun. When you know without any doubt or reservation that people that want to do harmful things to others are going to get guns regardless of whatever laws we put in place, I see no good reason to disarm the law abiding public. It's just going to force otherwise law abiding people into law breakers in the name of self-preservation and security.
Quote: But also - and I know many will get angry at this - if this kid was brown and named Achmed, people would be crying about how he was allowed to get his hands on that stuff.
Quote: I don't know what the answer is ... wanting to ban guns isn't. Wanting anyone to be able to have any kind of gun they want without oversight isn't, either.
I hate to sound repetitious, but you have to realize that it's not the guns that kill people, it's the person pulling the trigger. If they can't get their hands on a firearm, they'll use something else to commit the murders.....murders that they've made a conscious decision to commit. Gun control laws would not have prevented any of the recent killing sprees, they would only have changed the tools used to perform the acts....in a best case scenario. Chances are the killers would have obtained the firearms illegally.
Agreed. You almost need a counter-intelligence kind of thing. Identifying potential threats before they can do harm. Granted, society will never have the skills needed to do that. Awareness is probably the best defense.
It's supposed to be hard! If it wasn't hard, everyone would do it. The hard... is what makes it great!
The guy that ran the club or whatever it was tried to contact the kid 3 times then told his employee's dont let him join. You may be right that someone may have detected something but from everything Ive read on him he was a very intellegent person and with his field of study probably would have fooled anyone that was questioning him. Much like you IDK the answer but bans will never be the correct answer.
If they need to put a sticker on a lawn mower or blender showing not to put your fingers into the running blades I guess a sticker on guns showing not pointing them at people should work. You know have it say something like
WARNING: Never point a loaded weapon at innocent people, as this could cause serious injury or death.
Perhaps they could have some fun with it too.
This weapon is designed for use against invading criminals and hunting uses only. Call the police immediately upon use against any intruder unless the intruder is the police in which case you should ask to see some ID before discharging.
If you need 3 years to be a winner you got here 2 years to early. Get it done Browns.
Daman - here is the relevance of what the weapon is called. It relies on two important pieces of factual information.
1. An "Assault Rifle" is a weapon capable of fully automatic fire.
2. All weapons capable of fully automatic fire have been illegal since the early 1930's.
Therefore, when someone tells you we need, or should have, an "assault rifle ban", they are dumber than a box of rocks, or they are assuming that you are, or both.
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