I thought things had gone quiet onthe gun front

[Kulindahr]

So, a hundred cellphone videos show a massacre widely uploaded to the internet. Everybody in the world is asking why? And "the media" (which isn't us, apparently) is supposed to not publish any information about the shooter?

I think you need to seriously re-think how information works these days. "Fame" isn't just the product of a corporate organized broadcast. It's made up from youtube vidoes, tweets and facebook posts. Even if you somehow took away "the media's" account of the shooter, it would remain on the internet, robust.

In how many mass shootings do people stick around and video the shooter with their phones?

 

[Kulindahr]

Keyword. ^

Conspiracies are for losers.

The flip side of that being that where conspiracy theories get believed, it's easier/safer to carry out actual conspiracies.

 

[mikey3000]

Funny how discrediting "conspiracy theorists" has evolved into a science now. Amusing.

 

[zoltanspawn]

Funny how discrediting "conspiracy theorists" has evolved into a science now. Amusing.

Do you think there's a conspiracy against conspiracy theorists?

 

[Kulindahr]

Someone on The Truth About Guns just raised an interesting question: given that the Las Vegas shooter owned a plane and had access to explosives, why did he go with guns? If he wanted to kill a lot of people, a nose dive into the concert with a load of even TNT would have killed far more people and been far more spectacular. Plus, consider this in light of the fact that in order to have that room in the hotel, he had to have booked it three months ago.

 

[Willie Boy]

We now see how he may have been able to amass so many guns without attracting attention to himself. He could easily have flown from state to state picking up a new gun every few months, but putting a good distance between so computerized systems might not recognize its one man. But still why go through all that effort, after all it seems he was planning on suicide all along. If he truly is the culprit and not some dupe/scapegoat.

 

[kallipolis]

^Your speculations provide a stimulant for conversation here....

...whereas, I prefer to wait until the police provide us with their observations/conclusions.

I see no reason to imagine that there is a grand conspiracy behind this massacre, for he appears to have acted alone.

The return to the USA of the shooter's girlfriend may shed more light on the character of the shooter, that may assist us better understand his agenda.

 

[MakeDigitalLove]

Do you really think all is well in America these days? With all the dirty, dirty politics going on, I truly believe that nothing is below the belt anymore. One just have to imagine why.

Dirty politics isn’t just an American thing. As for “these days”, we should think about the amount of information we’re able to get in today’s society compared to “those days” when making these kinds of comments. How quickly, abundantly and how easily information is available now could very well be the fact of making things seem worse than they were “before,” especially when you want to look at it at face value.

 

[gsdx]

Funny how discrediting "conspiracy theorists" has evolved into a science now. Amusing.

Not at all. We have ALWAYS discredited 'conspiracy theorists' mainly because we're smart enough to know what the words mean.

 

[KaraBulut]

Th only fashion in which the NRA is a "lobby organization for the gun manufacturers" is because they're a lobby for gun owners...

Let's break this down further.

The NRA has lots of pieces and parts.

The part that I knew growing up was the guys who came and did gun safety classes for the kids in the summer. Most of us hunted and we were around guns a lot, so there were classes that our parents sent us to where we learned practical gun safety and how to take care of guns. The underlying message? Guns aren't toys and if you don't know how to use a gun properly, don't even touch it.

There were also a group of gun enthusiasts who held sporting events for marksmen- mostly small amateur events. This became bigger in the late 70s when the NRA started promoting guns as a sport.

Membership dues supported the classes and the sporting events.

There's also a "legislative affairs" segment that has become increasingly active. There was a time when they advocated primarily for gun owners (and they still do). That has changed and they're advocating more and more for radical legislation that de-emphasizes the old approach of gun safety and instead pushes guns the way that Detroit used to push cars- not as tools for hunting/protection but instead as a sporty recreational item.

NRA claims to have about 5 million members- most of whom pay $30-40 per year.

In 2012 (the year before the Sandy Hook massacre of 20 children and 6 adults), the NRA took in $256 million. In 2013 (the year after Sandy Hook), they took in $348 million. If you do the math on the membership dues (5 million * 40), it doesn't quite add up. That's because only about 50% of the NRA's income comes from membership dues.

The other 50% of the money is coming from "donations" to the political action committees associated with the NRA, advertising from gun manufacturers and direct donations from corporations. Individuals are limited to $5,000 per year in donations and the NRA says that most of the 30,000 individuals who donate are donating amounts less than $100- still not enough to account for the other 50%.

That's because the gun manufacturers- Beretta USA, Cabala's,Midway USA, Pierce Bullet Seal Target Systems, Springfield Armory Inc, Smith & Wesson, Sturm Rugar, et al are funneling money to the NRA via PAC donations, "advertisements" or direct donations (you'll see ads for manufacturers that say "10% of sales donated to the NRA"). Corporations don't give something unless they're getting something in return.

By the way, Wayne LaPierre's salary is over $1 million per year.

Oh -- about Republicans: the NRA's political donations used to be fairly even, but the Democrats have turned more and more against the right to keep and bear arms, so the donations have followed suit.

Let's tell the other part of the story...

They're giving money to Republican candidates because those are the legislators who are more willing to carry water for legislation that NRA and GOA pretty much writes. There's plenty of Democrats from Southern states who are supporters of gun rights and gun sports, but they're less likely to support some of the extreme legislation that the NRA has been promoting (e.g. armor-piercing bullets, stand-your-ground laws, removing restrictions on semi-automatic weapons, etc).

There are a few Democrats who are very strongly in true gun control- for example Rita Kestenbaum and Carolyn McCarthy (both of whom lost family members to gun violence). Most mainstream Democrats are in favor of more rational gun laws that favor responsible gun owners but limit access to guns whose purpose is to kill humans. The NRA spent $15 million running ads against Democratic candidates.

Don't get me started on Gun Owners of America (GOA).

 

[mikey3000]

Not at all. We have ALWAYS discredited 'conspiracy theorists' mainly because we're smart enough to know what the words mean.

Dude, you wouldn't know what a conspiracy was even if it walked up and sat on your face. One has to actually leave the house in order to experience the world. It doesn't happen in a chat room.

 

[opinterph]

Dude, you wouldn't know what a conspiracy was even if it walked up and sat on your face. One has to actually leave the house in order to experience the world. It doesn't happen in a chat room.

What topic does your post address?

 

[johaninsc]

Funny how discrediting "conspiracy theorists" has evolved into a science now. Amusing.

Conspiracy theorists can generally be discredited by their inability to provide hard evidence that supports their claims.

"rocket science" isn't necessary....just the simple questions of "where's the proof?" and "what are the sources of that proof?"

 

[gsdx]

Dude, you wouldn't know what a conspiracy was even if it walked up and sat on your face. One has to actually leave the house in order to experience the world. It doesn't happen in a chat room.

Again with the insults. Despite the way you treat me, I wouldn't wish my health problems on you.

 

[medic1]

Dude, you wouldn't know what a conspiracy was even if it walked up and sat on your face. One has to actually leave the house in order to experience the world. It doesn't happen in a chat room.

That was uncalled for mikey, in fact it was just plain nasty.

 

[gsdx]

I was reading an article regarding a gun violence expert talking about the Vegas shooting. He calls it a "tragic broken record" and notes that mass shooters almost always buy their weapons legally.

Most importantly was his comment about victims being hesitant and even fearful of pulling out their weapons to return fire, which is often a continuing argument in these discussions: fear of misidentification. This is explained quite well by one of the performers at the concert:

"We actually have members of our crew with ... legal firearms on the bus. They were useless. We couldn't touch them for fear the police might think we were part of the massacre and shoot us."

https://ca.news.yahoo.com/las-vegas-mass-shooting-apos-020018398.html

Contrary to what the NRA may preach, more guns is NOT the answer.

 

[MakeDigitalLove]

^These are factors in real life that these pro-gun enthusiasts in these situations don’t consider. These situations aren’t movies and Bruce Willis isn’t going to be saving the day. I’m sure there are individuals that could help stop a shooting from getting worse, but it’s not nearly as easy or cut and dry as people make it out to be when they think more individuals should be armed.

At the end of the day your average joe with a gun isn’t going to get much if anything at all done.

Thanks for the link.

 

[Telstra]

Last night a had a weird dream about president Trump shot president Trump & Melania on a plane both bloodied and dead and he pull their bodies out to show the media. Whats that mean lol ?

 

[Kulindahr]

We now see how he may have been able to amass so many guns without attracting attention to himself. He could easily have flown from state to state picking up a new gun every few months, but putting a good distance between so computerized systems might not recognize its one man. But still why go through all that effort, after all it seems he was planning on suicide all along. If he truly is the culprit and not some dupe/scapegoat.

Unless they changed it and I didn't notice, buying a firearm for transport to another state is a federal felony unless you ship it via licensed dealers.

 

[Kulindahr]

By the way, Wayne LaPierre's salary is over $1 million per year.

Officially it's like $999,900, but he gets a lot of perks and benefits, such that I read last year that his annual compensation effectively comes to something like $2.8 million.

Every year I suggest that his salary be cut by 2/3 and the savings be used to provide gun safety courses in inner cities.