School shooting: Parkland, Florida

[benfti]

Left/right is not the issue. The issue is you have a country full of dumb mother ers

Gun control works. Only dumb mother ers think it doesn’t.

so if you don’t think it would work. It’s coz you’re a dumb mother er.

you could argue, but you’ll actually find you’re a dumb mother er

[Pavlov]

Yeah good thing Congress blocked his Radical Socialist ass. Harold Washington's prodigy.

How many guns do you own, Chris?

10?

50?

[boutons_deux]

(federal) gun regs NOW are useless if they have no impact on the 300M+ guns already in circulation

Congressional s are also useless for gun control since one of its many johns is BigGun

Police lose 1000s of their guns/year, effectively no punishment, maybe some PAID LEAVE.

600K guns are stolen every year, but no penalty for the gun owners.

Gun insanity is just one of the many ways sicko America is ed and un able.

Keep the thoughts & prayers, outgoing hearts coming, and invest in candle stocks

[Splits]

and invest in candle stocks

lol

[ElNono]

The plea for federal intervention comes from the failure to test the legal boundaries of the 2nd amendment at the State level, which is where it would need to happen naturally first.

Gun control advocates should take a cue from Abortion advocates in that respect, tbh, they're relentless in convincing State officials to pass laws that are constantly testing the boundaries.

Eventually you might end up with a flagship case that goes through the SCOTUS, and that's how you set the blueprint to move forward (along with actual evidence of such a system working).

Trying to skip the state-level will always look like an overreach, and frankly gives more ammo to the NRA and their dummies.

[Splits]

Former neighbor of suspected gunman Nikolas Cruz shares video believed to be shooter

Wonder what his red hat with white letters on the front says... Make Antifa Great Again?

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/br...215-story.html

[Splits]

The plea for federal intervention comes from the failure to test the legal boundaries of the 2nd amendment at the State level, which is where it would need to happen naturally first.

Gun control advocates should take a cue from Abortion advocates in that respect, tbh, they're relentless in convincing State officials to pass laws that are constantly testing the boundaries.

Eventually you might end up with a flagship case that goes through the SCOTUS, and that's how you set the blueprint to move forward (along with actual evidence of such a system working).

Trying to skip the state-level will always look like an overreach, and frankly gives more ammo to the NRA and their dummies.

Don't disagree with the approach, but the District took this path which resulted in the 5-4 er decision, a huge setback for us strict cons utionalism who know what the phrase 'well regulated militia' means.

[pgardn]

Don't disagree with the approach, but the District took this path which resulted in the 5-4 er decision, a huge setback for us strict cons utionalism who know what the phrase 'well regulated militia' means.

It means Bundification of federal bird sanctuaries.
They captured that and held firm till the Snickers ran out.
It was a heroic example for Chris and set the stage for real paranoia.

[Blake]

Muh right to have that ar-15

[RandomGuy]

Everyone needs to send Thoughts and Prayers and Condolences to the victims and their families RIGHT NOW

[DMC]

Same different day. Same general conversation about it.

[spurraider21]

Same different day. Same general conversation about it.

Yup. And unless something changes we’ll come back here again and again and again because they’ll keep happening

[Spurminator]

Yup. And unless something changes we’ll come back here again and again and again because they’ll keep happening

Today's excuse seems to be Hollywood violence, because it's 1982 again. Also we're the only nation in the world with violent entertainment.

[Trill Clinton]

Just saw the photo of him in his MAGA hat and boxers pointing a gun. Right wing supremacists have a lot of blood on their hands.

[spurraider21]

oh look political points. such a useless exercise.

[AaronY]

Left/right is not the issue. The issue is you have a country full of dumb mother ers

Gun control works. Only dumb mother ers think it doesn’t.

so if you don’t think it would work. It’s coz you’re a dumb mother er.

you could argue, but you’ll actually find you’re a dumb mother er

Lol

[Mark Celibate]

Left/right is not the issue. The issue is you have a country full of dumb mother ers

Gun control works. Only dumb mother ers think it doesn’t.

so if you don’t think it would work. It’s coz you’re a dumb mother er.

you could argue, but you’ll actually find you’re a dumb mother er

Look I spotted a pussy

[CosmicCowboy]

Just saw the photo of him in his MAGA hat and boxers pointing a gun.

Did you jack off?

[Warlord23]

There's never a single "magic bullet" answer. But I believe we can blame a few elements of modern (American) life (since the 1980s, which is when mass/school shootings started increasing to uncomfortable frequencies) that could possibly explain the epidemic.

- As noted earlier by myself and a few others, mental health treatment in the country is terrible. To demonstrate how much society "cares" about mental health treatment, it costs 75K per year here in California (in tax dollars) to house an inmate (who is more than likely a non-violent offender and suffering from a mental health issue like addiction). In comparison, only 160 dollars are ear marked per capita for mental health treatment. See this list here on how much each state spends per capita: http://www.governing.com/gov-data/he...-by-state.html. And the nationwide average to house inmates is 33K per year.

Furthermore, I don't see it as a surprise correlation that the mass shooting epidemic started in the 1980s after Reagan signed the Omnibus Act, which considerably slashed mental health care funding. And henceforth, the majority (if not all) states enacted a 72 hour hold provision in lieu of in-patient ins utional commitment (the former is obviously much cheaper).

- 24 hours news cycle. Disillusioned, potentially violent people looking for a way to "get back" at society are notorious copycats. I grew up in the 80s, and never once saw a report about a mass shooting (despite there being many of them). CNN was only on cable, so there wasn't any channels that would cover a breaking story such as a mass shooting 24/7. The most coverage an incident like that would get would be a quick segment on the local 10 'o clock news (unless of course the incident was local to the area). So in those days, a brooding, unstable misanthrope ostensibly had less access to "inspirational ideas" and/or would receive much less coverage of his act (a typical trait of mass shooters is they want their act to be remembered). Today, a mass shooter is basically turned into a quasi-celebrity via the endless amount of news websites and channels, and for copycats, there's no shortage of "heroes," who are now household names, to emulate.

- Highest divorce rate in US history, single parent households at an all-time high. Not the best environment to rear children, and I'm not surprised there's a correlation (and epidemic divorce started in the 1980s).

- Echoing point 1, I think anti-depressants and other behavioral altering psychotropic drugs could play a role. Even though these drugs have been around for decades, we still really don't know the full range of their side-effects or efficacy. SSRIs never endured a comprehensive clinical trial before they were rushed out into the market. And recent studies have shown they're no more effective than placebo for treating depression. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog...not-take-ssris. And yet, physicians dish them out like candy. And once again, another positive correlation between the rise of SSRI prescriptions and mass shootings.

- This is probably the opinion you'll disagree with, but considering all the above, I think it is prudent to enact stricter gun control. The above factors have seemed to create a decline in our collective society's responsibility and trustworthiness, so to continue with 1940s gun control laws in the face of that doesn't make sense, at least until we get the above sociological factors sorted out. A troubled individual like Cruz should not have been able to walk into a gun store and buy an AR-15 like he was ordering a cheeseburger. Again, no bans, confiscation, just more vetting. Minimum age 21 and you're required to undergo a licensing procedure like when driving a car. Since mandatory mental health checkups can seem a bit draconian, maybe a mandatory renewal of your license every 2 years should be put into the books. I also think a tiered licensing structure makes sense. Class A, B, C. If you want to own something like an AR-15, I think you first need to prove yourself a responsible "Class A" (shotguns, hunting rifles, revolvers) gun owner for a couple of years before you graduate to a higher class license. Automobile licenses are structured similarly.

You make some interesting points, some I agree with and some I don't ... but I believe the biggest factor by far is the easy availability of guns. The other factors, while material, are less influential.

1. 24-hour news cycle. Every other country has this. You could argue that some countries wouldn't let propaganda outlets like Fox News operate the way they do. However, the UK has the Daily Mail and a bevy of Murdoch franchises which have a similar operation. Increasingly, people are getting their news from the internet rather than TV, and most of the world has near-identical access to internet content

2. Divorce rate: Both the UK and Denmark have a higher % of single parent households. France and a few other countries are close. Not really a factor.

3. Too much anti-depressant use: Partially agree, however many of the mass shooters in US history were not on drugs of any sort. The Columbine shooters weren't on drugs, neither was Charles Whitman, James Holmes stopped anti-depressant use before his spree etc.

4. Not enough mental health: This is definitely a factor. I think it's the overall healthcare system of the US to blame. Even if you had more mental health funding, the access to care in the US is very restrictive and would still leave many out of the net, unlike most of the developed world where access and coverage are near-universal.

Other excuses like video games, cell phones and Hollywood are BS (South Koreans play a lot more video games, cell phone use is widespread even in developing nations, and Hollywood movies are watched globally).

The one thing that is unique to the US is the availability of guns. Many developed countries have reasonable levels of gun availability. Most have application systems including theoretical/practical tests for firearm ownership, along with license/permit and registry systems. The US just makes it too easy for people to acquire a gun without having to prove competence or mental stability. You can either walk into a store and buy it in 20 minutes after a couple of checks, or you can buy it in a private sale with zero checks.

No matter what the cons ution says, it is just too easy for a nutcase to get his hands on an AR-15. That's the #1 problem by far.

[Trill Clinton]

Did you jack off?

No man

[Trill Clinton]

I make an observation of a child killing maniac and CC is asking about muh . Gay and usual.

[Mark Celibate]

I make an observation of a child killing maniac and CC is asking about muh . Gay and usual.

Lol you and CC are still in love kool?

[boutons_deux]

Rachel Maddow Shreds Chuck Grassley For ‘Personally’ Making Guns Accessible To The Mentally Ill

Grassley was the lead sponsor of legislation that made it harder to add the names of mentally ill individuals to the FBI database.

http://www.politicususa.com/2018/02/...iticus+USA+%29

[boutons_deux]

White House refuses to release photo of Trump gun law repeal

The White House has refused to release a photo of President Donald Trump signing a law making it easier for some people with mental illness to buy guns.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43088644

less Repugs

[Pavlov]

White House refuses to release photo of Trump gun law repeal

The White House has refused to release a photo of President Donald Trump signing a law making it easier for some people with mental illness to buy guns.

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-43088644

less Repugs

Hilariously pathetic.