I was talking to my brother the other day about the recent mass shooting outside of Sutherland Springs, Texas and we were discussing how America has become numb to gun related mass killings. Instead of being horrified, we now ask, “How many people died”?
Isn’t that a tragic commentary on American society? I am sure my brother and I are not alone in the way we react to mass gun killings. Remember in 1999 when the Columbine High School massacre was a shocking event. The world and America literally stopped. Not anymore.
The Las Vegas shooting was notable because it was the largest gun massacre in U.S. history killing 59 people and wounding another 527 people. Pulse Nightclub had significance for most in the LGBT community, at the time it was the most ever killed with 49 dead. Virginia Tech 32 dead. Sandy Hook 26 dead, 20 were children. Unfortunately, some are significant because they have racial overtones like the nine African Americans killed by a white racist in Charleston, South Carolina.
Everyone always wants to figure out why people perpetrate these killings? Does it matter if we can’t do anything to stop them? The killer was fighting with his wife or co-worker. He was depressed. Does motive matter if we can’t do anything about it?
The killer in Las Vegas had lost a fortune gambling over the last two years and was depressed. How do we connect the dots that he was going to rent a tower suite and shoot almost 600 people in an enclosed concert space? We can’t.
The only logical alternative is to control access to guns. President Trump has said that the killings in Sutherland Springs were the result of a “mental health problem at the highest level,” and it had nothing to do with his access to guns. Trump said, “This isn’t a guns situation.” (sic)
Then why did Trump roll back Obama protections to prevent the mentally ill from getting guns? I am beginning to believe that most of the American public don’t care, feel hopeless to change the situation or agree with the president. Each situation presents its own set of problems.
Unless you are a sociopath, you should have empathy for the victims. I understand that some feel they cannot do anything, but they can. Just for one election become a one issue voter and only vote for candidates that tout gun control. That’s what those who support the NRA do every election cycle. The ones that agree with Trump.
While there are many great things about America, our gun violence is not one of them. Sometimes I know why so many Americans like Canada so much. All the benefits of America, none of the violence.
A few things that need addressed in this opinion piece.
First the reason the nut case had access to guns had to do with the Air Force dropping the ball and not filing his felony DV conviction while he was in the Air Force. The law was already in place and some idiot paper pusher dropped the ball, Shit Happens.
What Trump rolled back was the blanket prohibition of ANYBODY who had any kind of mental health history from owning a gun. This means if you had a rough patch in your life and needed to take a little Prozac or Lexapro to get through that rough patch, you could never own a gun despite of being mentally healthy.
Obama removed Due Process from the act of declaring someone mentally unfit to own a fire arm. Remember EVERYONE in this country has the to due process even White Males.
As far as Las Vegas goes, the individual in question was laundering money. Laundering money in a casino is a tried and true process to launder money.
He wasn’t distraught over anything, he was a patsy. There is plenty of evidence in the MSM to back this up.
We all have empathy for the victims of the Southerland Springs shooting, we are glad the man who stopped the shooting was armed with what I might point out was the same gun as the gunman was using. We are glad he brought his gun to the fight and stopped it before any more were killed. The shooting was all over well before the police arrived, thank God. If only 1 or 2 people in the congregation had been armed this may have ended without a shot being fired. Protection is not the responsibility of the police, but the charge of the citizen, that is what the Second Amendment was penned for.
Liz W
A Loud and Proud American
Take another swig of the Kool-Aid Liz. Perhaps people who have had a “bad patch” should not be able to get guns. Also, way to play the “white male” race and gender card. If it was a weird conservative card game, you would be saying “Gin.” Yep, you are the winner and the thousands of people who have lost their lives and their families are the losers.
Everybody in this country is entitled to due process. Sometimes Stamp I think you have forgotten this country is ruled by its Constitution, and Bill of Rights. In a Constitutional Republic you have to accept a certain amount of bad with the good, the system is imperfect and restricting people’s rights without due process isn’t the answer.
Remember that only a decade or so ago anybody who was found to be homosexual was considered mentally ill, Transgender people are still considered to be mentally ill. Should we not allow Transgender people to own guns because they are considered to be mentally ill??
Liz W.