https://www.al.com/news/2022/06/vestavia-hills-church-shooting-what-we-know-today.html
Another church shooting. Not really even "news" anymore, is it? This one mere blocks from where I lived 9 years ago. I am waiting for a news conference to hopefully tell me that none of my friends or former neighbors are among the victims.
Very influential and clean neighborhood. One of the priciest zip codes in Alabama.
These things are happening so fast and so often that I can't remember exactly how many have taken place since the one in Texas that took out a bunch of 9 and 10 year old kids and their teachers. ONE should have been too damned many. How many will be ENOUGH?
I'm sick of arguing with all the obstinate types (You know who you are) so spare me your own insanity.
These obstinate types argue over ANY AND ALL efforts to do ANYTHING to make the problem of gun violence go away. They argue that "guns are inanimate objects" that can do no wrong on their own. They offer that what we are actually experiencing is rampant "mental illness". They even fight like hell AGAINST any measures to keep said mentally ill folks from getting their twisted mitts on firearms. They want their firearms but they deny any responsibility towards keeping them in check. They fight with all of their strength against REAL psychological profiling and deeper background checks. They ignore that most all of these acts were carried out by folks who purchased their weapons legally - itself an illustration that current restrictions are just not working.
I've said it before - the ONLY thing that will make these types feel any need to answer any real call to action will come when they or one of their loved ones become victims to firearm violence. Just damn it to hell.
Peace,
"R"
EDITED: a couple of syntax/punctuation issues. Original point not altered. -"R"
Hope your friends/former neighbors are ok. I'm not sure even having the friends/family of a NRA VIP would change minds.
As of June 2, there have been 250 mass shootings in the US according to the National Gun Archive, 38 of them took place AFTER Uvalde. June 2 was the 153rd day of the year. You guys can do the math.
I don't discuss it anymore. It's impossible to have any sort of reasonable conversation. The rebuttal to "just get the AR-15 out of circulation" usually focuses on mental health and better security. Mental health covers a broad range of conditions; anger & being bullied aren't mental illnesses. There are millions of people who have a documented mental health illness who have zero interest in waking up to kill granny & the current elementary school students at the building where they attended school. Better security? Where, exactly? Schools, churches, offices, hospitals, malls, public buildings, concerts? Better trained security? The Uvalde PD had just completed training.
Absent any legit SCOTUS ruling re the 2nd Amendment, people just make things up to suit their purpose. There have been exactly 2 SCOTUS cases re gun control. The controlling case opinion by Justice Scalia specifically states: "The right secured by the 2nd Amendment is not unlimited. It is not a right to keep and carry any weapon in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose."
Three people now confirmed dead. I had met one of the victims but did not know her well.
Two items of particular interest here: This carnage was carried out with a typical handgun. The shooter was a licensed "ATF Firearm Dealer". Evidently, he bought/sold/assembled guns for resale. His clients (allegedly) include many law enforcement officers.
The shooters history includes a couple of DUIs and an arrest on a college campus for carrying a gun/badge and impersonating an officer. He actually successfully sued the college for monetary awards.
The TYPE of gun used in these shootings (to me) is a moot point. I don't know if this gun was a revolver or a clip-fed gun. Even with a basic revolver (think of cowboy movies) you can squeeze off 6 rounds in a matter of seconds. I'm no gun expert or aficionado but I'd guess that a clip-fed pistol would afford a shooter with 9 or more shots. Thankfully, this guy was stopped by a parishioner before he could re-load or fire more shots.
That this guy was a "licensed" (ATF) gun dealer bothers me the most. I am wondering what sort of laws and restrictions regulate (apparent) on-line gun businesses. This guy didn't have a violent history but one of his DUIs included having a gun and badge on his person. This doesn't seem like normal or acceptable behavior to me. Is this type of gun dealership regulated? It's like the gun sellers at flea markets and other "used gun" markets). Are there any background checks involved with these sales?
My thoughts are not in chronological order this morning. The sickest thing is that all anybody did was to offer this guy a seat at their table at this church potluck dinner. I know that we'll never be able to understand insanity ... but I'd like to hear this guy explain what motivated his actions.
Pray for Peace. WORK for peace!
"R"
Sorry that you knew one of the victims. Just putting a face w/the news is unsettling.
You're right. The 70 yr old shooter went to a "Boomer's Potluck" at a church he occasionally attended in a city that bills itself as "A Place Above" w/the intent to kill 80 yr old people - refusing an offered seat at a table. To me, using a handgun shows intent - it was easy to carry/conceal and wouldn't attract attention that would thwart his plan. He certainly had access as he was a licensed gun dealer out of his home (I didn't even know that could be done). I've no idea what audits are made on gun dealers but 2 DUIs in the last 20 years isn't indicative that he'd become a mass shooter. I doubt an acquittal for impersonating an officer on a college campus plus a judgment in his favor would even show up on a basic background check. As you said, one would expect a licensed dealer to have some sort of regular scrutiny.
I had an enlightening conversation w/a 22 yr old woman from rural PA yesterday afternoon. She and her husband as well as all of their friends have an Exit Plan when things get too crazy in the US - family ties would allow them to go to Ireland or Korea & their relatives expect them at some point. She recalled a school shooting incident when she was 10 - it was false because the possible shooter was actually en route to hunting, but she and the others in the library were put in a closet for 4.5 hours while they could hear stomping outside in the hallways. That turned out to be the police patrolling the halls, but it was frightening to hear. The worst thing was the librarian told them "Remember, your parents loveD you" before locking them in the closet - meaning to a 10 yr old he expected them all to die. She and her brother learned changing codes at school that give directions WHEN not IF there's a mass shooting starting in 1st grade. She asked me if I'd ever noticed how people <25 behave when they hear a fire alarm - they don't move because it's been ingrained in them that it could be a trick to get students/teachers to come out of classrooms into halls to be easier targets.
I'd never talked to anyone w/firsthand experience w/a school shooting so it was surprising to me that there's at least one generation who fully expect to be killed any day anywhere they go - the movies, the grocery store, or a hospital. College is definitely out - after 12 years of being a target. She described a life where it's hard to plan for the future so they choose gigs instead of careers & don't want kids (she was concerned about the overturn of Roe if her birth control fails). Obviously, she didn't speak for an entire generation but it explained a lot to me about what I'd perceived as irresponsibility among teens/early 20s - they don't expect to have a long future. I found that very sad if that's the mindset children develop due to "preventative measures" attending school. Adults may act out of political positions and do nothing, but little kids perceive that they're expendable.
More news about the shooter that you've probably read - he'd been cited & warned by ATF officials in 2018 after he hadn't filed documentation of a sale/disposition, hadn't recorded buyers' addresses, and couldn't account for 11 firearms on his official records after an "on-site compliance investigation." So, at least there IS some oversight by the ATF on dealers. He basically got a slap on the wrist - the least severe ATF possible action. The oversight investigation seems reasonable - this one took 88 hours over a full year Sept 16- Sept 17. It wasn't just a quick check of his inventory v. records at one moment in time.
Still, it seems like a guy who has almost 100 guns registered at his home office & can't account for 10% of them plus pretty lax record-keeping might warrant more than a citation. One article I read referred to him as a "former" licensed federal dealer but others still call him a gun dealer.
