Guns

[LFC]

Apr 20, 2022 17:53:45 GMT goldenvalley said:

Would she think it would be ok if a Black man charged with drug dealing carried a weapon because he umpires games in a baseball league that has night games?

Simplified your question.

[pnwguy]

Apr 20, 2022 17:53:45 GMT goldenvalley said:

Apr 20, 2022 17:19:45 GMT LFC said:

"My husband and I may be violent traitors but he umpires baseball so we need guns!" Well, that's about the summation.

Would she think it would be ok if a Black man charged with drug dealing carried a weapon because he umpires games in a baseball league that has night games?

What MAGA Republican thinks ANY Black man should be allowed to carry a gun?  It makes them harder to lynch and proves they are part of Antifa.  Stand your ground, True (white) American.

[LFC]

Apr 20, 2022 18:36:46 GMT pnwguy said:

What MAGA Republican thinks ANY Black man should be allowed to carry a gun?  It makes them harder to lynch and proves they are part of Antifa.  Stand your ground, True (white) American.

And of course "stand your ground" includes the pursuit of suspicious high melanin people (redundant, I know) and the right to shoot them if they becoming threatening by not being good "boys" and complying immediately with any white man's order. Welcome to Jim Crow 2.0.

[pnwguy]

Apr 20, 2022 19:00:42 GMT LFC said:

Apr 20, 2022 18:36:46 GMT pnwguy said:

What MAGA Republican thinks ANY Black man should be allowed to carry a gun?  It makes them harder to lynch and proves they are part of Antifa.  Stand your ground, True (white) American.

And of course "stand your ground" includes the pursuit of suspicious high melanin people (redundant, I know) and the right to shoot them if they becoming threatening by not being good "boys" and complying immediately with any white man's order. Welcome to Jim Crow 2.0.

Making eye contact with a white woman is also grounds for at least some pistol whipping.  You can't let Those People get any ideas.

[LFC]

Another "responsible gun owner" who has been in the news for other things lately.

Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) was cited for possession of a handgun at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

Three sources told WSOC-TV the Republican congressman's 9-millimeter handgun was discovered Tuesday morning at a security checkpoint, but the Transportation Security Administration declined to identify the person who had the gun.

A photo obtained by the TV station shows a loaded Staccato C2 at the airport.

It's not clear whether Cawthorn will face criminal charges in the incident, and neither Charlotte-Mecklenburg police nor Cawthorn's office responded to a request for comment.

TSA agents previously discovered a 9-millimeter handgun in Cawthorn's carry-on bag at Asheville Regional Airport in February 2021, but the lawmaker was not charged.

WTF? Why wasn't he charged? No wonder Republicans keep breaking the law.

[goldenvalley]

Clearly the 14 year old and 12 year old involved were failed by the juvenile justice and mental health care "systems", but I learned something else from reading this article.   Stupid homeowners didn't have their weapons locked up.

It was getting dark, so sheriff’s deputies used the lights on their rifles to get a better look at the two children who had been holed up in a suburban house for more than hour.

Fourteen-year-old Nicole Jackson was using a metal baton to smash mirrors, a bathtub and furniture. As the officers closed in, she flipped her middle finger at them and strapped a loaded 12-gauge shotgun around her neck. A 12-year-old boy who had joined her in the escape from a nearby group home grabbed an AK-47 assault rifle.

....The two children broke into a 3,400-square-foot house about a mile and a half away whose owner was not there. They broke sliding glass doors, destroyed a bathroom and smashed mirrors.

They soon found the homeowner’s guns, and started arbitrarily firing the weapons. Sheriff’s deputies, who arrived after a passer-by heard glass breaking inside the house, took up positions outside and tried to talk the children out. Nicole re-racked her shotgun.

[Bact PhD]

May 12, 2022 18:09:28 GMT goldenvalley said:

Clearly the 14 year old and 12 year old involved were failed by the juvenile justice and mental health care "systems", but I learned something else from reading this article.   Stupid homeowners didn't have their weapons locked up.

It was getting dark, so sheriff’s deputies used the lights on their rifles to get a better look at the two children who had been holed up in a suburban house for more than hour.

Fourteen-year-old Nicole Jackson was using a metal baton to smash mirrors, a bathtub and furniture. As the officers closed in, she flipped her middle finger at them and strapped a loaded 12-gauge shotgun around her neck. A 12-year-old boy who had joined her in the escape from a nearby group home grabbed an AK-47 assault rifle.

....The two children broke into a 3,400-square-foot house about a mile and a half away whose owner was not there. They broke sliding glass doors, destroyed a bathroom and smashed mirrors.

They soon found the homeowner’s guns, and started arbitrarily firing the weapons. Sheriff’s deputies, who arrived after a passer-by heard glass breaking inside the house, took up positions outside and tried to talk the children out. Nicole re-racked her shotgun.

I think this is the link to the quoted piece, about a shooting in Flori-DUH. The embedded link directs to a WaPo article about a DC-area shooting.

www.nytimes.com/2022/05/12/us/middle-school-shootout-police.html

Plenty of blame to go around in this situation. When even the sheriff is saying, essentially, WTF is going on in the juvenile justice system, you know it’s bad.

[goldenvalley]

May 12, 2022 20:09:09 GMT Bact PhD said:

May 12, 2022 18:09:28 GMT goldenvalley said:

Clearly the 14 year old and 12 year old involved were failed by the juvenile justice and mental health care "systems", but I learned something else from reading this article.   Stupid homeowners didn't have their weapons locked up.

I think this is the link to the quoted piece, about a shooting in Flori-DUH. The embedded link directs to a WaPo article about a DC-area shooting.

www.nytimes.com/2022/05/12/us/middle-school-shootout-police.html

Plenty of blame to go around in this situation. When even the sheriff is saying, essentially, WTF is going on in the juvenile justice system, you know it’s bad.

Thanks...had 2 tabs open both about shootings...

[LFC]

Another mass shooting. Sounds like this might also be posted in the white supremacy or right-wing domestic terrorism threads.

At least 10 people were killed in a mass shooting at a Tops Markets grocery store in Buffalo, New York, according to law enforcement officials who spoke with the Associated Press, in addition to Buffalo Police.

Earlier on Saturday, the Buffalo Police said on Twitter that the shooter, an 18 year-old white male, was in custody. Witnesses reported the gunman was wearing military-style clothing in addition to the body armor, one of the officials said.

Police report at least 13 people were shot. Four people were store employees, officials say. Of the victims, 11 were Black and two were white.

The gunman entered the supermarket with a rifle and opened fire, according to one official who spoke with the AP. Investigators say he was livestreaming the shooting and were looking into whether he had posted a manifesto online, the official said.

The case is being investigated as a racially motivated hate crime, officials said Saturday.

The supermarket is in a predominately Black neighborhood, about 3 miles (5 kilometers) north of downtown Buffalo. The surrounding area is primarily residential, with a Family Dollar store and fire station near the store.

Braedyn Kephart and Shane Hill, both 20, pulled into the parking lot just as the shooter was exiting. They described him as a white male in his late teens or early twenties sporting full camo, a black helmet and what appeared to be a rifle.

“He was standing there with the gun to his chin. We were like what the heck is going on? Why does this kid have a gun to his face?” Kephart said. He dropped to his knees. “He ripped off his helmet, dropped his gun, and was tackled by the police.”

[andydp]

May 14, 2022 22:28:36 GMT LFC said:

Another mass shooting. Sounds like this might also be posted in the white supremacy or right-wing domestic terrorism threads.

At least 10 people were killed in a mass shooting at a Tops Markets grocery store in Buffalo, New York, according to law enforcement officials who spoke with the Associated Press, in addition to Buffalo Police.

Earlier on Saturday, the Buffalo Police said on Twitter that the shooter, an 18 year-old white male, was in custody. Witnesses reported the gunman was wearing military-style clothing in addition to the body armor, one of the officials said.

Police report at least 13 people were shot. Four people were store employees, officials say. Of the victims, 11 were Black and two were white.

The gunman entered the supermarket with a rifle and opened fire, according to one official who spoke with the AP. Investigators say he was livestreaming the shooting and were looking into whether he had posted a manifesto online, the official said.

The case is being investigated as a racially motivated hate crime, officials said Saturday.

The supermarket is in a predominately Black neighborhood, about 3 miles (5 kilometers) north of downtown Buffalo. The surrounding area is primarily residential, with a Family Dollar store and fire station near the store.

Braedyn Kephart and Shane Hill, both 20, pulled into the parking lot just as the shooter was exiting. They described him as a white male in his late teens or early twenties sporting full camo, a black helmet and what appeared to be a rifle.

“He was standing there with the gun to his chin. We were like what the heck is going on? Why does this kid have a gun to his face?” Kephart said. He dropped to his knees. “He ripped off his helmet, dropped his gun, and was tackled by the police.”

Just to add: one article I read said there was a retired policeman as security guard. (The NRA's "Good guy with a gun") He shot at the perpetrator but the body armor protected him.  The guard was killed by the shooter.

[goldenvalley]

Sounds like we have a radicalized guy on our hands...what a combination of fire power, body armor, youth, and indoctrination.  At least this time the shooter didn't get to commit suicide to escape criminal prosecution.

[pnwguy]

May 15, 2022 14:06:34 GMT goldenvalley said:

Sounds like we have a radicalized guy on our hands...what a combination of fire power, body armor, youth, and indoctrination.  At least this time the shooter didn't get to commit suicide to escape criminal prosecution.

Let’s hope he proudly confesses to all the nut job influences he holds in high esteem. And may he be a poster boy for the idea that everyone should be armed to the teeth as their 2nd Amendment rights proclaim, from the current SCOTUS ideology.

[LFC]

Seems like a willingness to murder is a just on of the major differences between those who promote Critical Race Theory and those who promote Replacement Theory. Unfortunately it's a horrific difference.

[goldenvalley]

May 15, 2022 10:59:07 GMT andydp said:

May 14, 2022 22:28:36 GMT LFC said:

Another mass shooting. Sounds like this might also be posted in the white supremacy or right-wing domestic terrorism threads.

Just to add: one article I read said there was a retired policeman as security guard. (The NRA's "Good guy with a gun") He shot at the perpetrator but the body armor protected him.  The guard was killed by the shooter.

Just saw this comment:

"The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a bulletproof vest and an assault rifle is a good guy with a bulletproof vest and assault rifle who can make headshots at 50 yards with a heart rate over 160 BPMs during the adrenaline dump." - the NRA & GOA tomorrow, probably

[pnwguy]

The GOP/NRA internal dilemma...

"All those citizens should have been armed to take out the Bad Guy"

"Those citizens were black. Sorry, forget what I said"

[LFC]

It looks like the U.S. military is moving away from the current NATO standard 5.56mm (.223 caliber) ammo. There have long been complaints about this an apparently they are now doing something about it. They are moving the M4/M16 to a new XM5 rifle and the M249 to a new XM250 light machine gun both using a 6.8mm round.

It will be interesting to see if this becomes the new NATO standard. If so there's going to be a LOT of surplus rifles and 5.56mm on the world market.

[goldenvalley]

I've been looking at The Bulwark recently and ran across this article on guns and domestic terrorism:

Since 1997, firearms sales have increased by over 600 percent, from annual sales of about 4 million guns to current totals of nearly 25 million. Today at industry trade shows, banners and social media posts for tactical gear are everywhere.

Once, gun companies were careful to avoid incitement with gun monikers, but now there are trademarked names such as the Urban Super Sniper and AR15 campaigns that promise the owner will “get their man card back.”

When gun sales sag, as they did during the middle of the Trump presidency, one can find hopeful ad campaigns selling guns for a future of armed conflict with left-wing agitators. Industry leaders fawn over Tucker Carlson, especially when he extends his manufactured replacement theories to the AR15. Where there was once a strict avoidance of incendiary politics, now anyone can buy truckloads of “Let’s Go Brandon” or “Lock her up” high-capacity AR15 magazines while Donald Trump Jr. cheers them on. And for the truly adventurous, there are even the Q-AR15s, alluding to the conspiracy theory QAnon and favored by Marjorie Taylor Greene.

With names like those, who can resist buying each one for a collection?  Like baseball cards...

[goldenvalley]

Details are sparse, but enough to make me to seek solace in a bottle this evening.  All I can think of is "by all means let's have the Texas law on abortion stand because life is valuable".

"Two days before the start of summer break, an 18-year-old man opened fire at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas, on Tuesday, killing 14 students and one teacher, Gov. Greg Abbott said.

The alleged shooter, who also died, is believed to have shot his grandmother before going to the school, three law enforcement sources told CNN.

[AnBr]

[jackd]

Scalia has much to answer for; I really hope someone or something is making him do so.

[andydp]

Blatantly stolen from a FB friend's post:


The NRA should be given the tax exempt status as a religious organization. No other institution generates more thoughts and prayers.

[LFC]

Speaking of the NRA, their purchased politicians may still be coming to their convention in Houston on Friday. BTW, guns are banned from the area of the event where Trump will be speaking. I wonder why he doesn't feel safe around all those hatetriots with guns.

It’s Okay, They’ll Be Safe
After at least 19 students and two adults were killed during a shooting rampage at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde, Texas, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R), Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) are scheduled to speak at the National Rifle Association’s convention in Houston on Friday.

• Abbott, Cruz and Crenshaw haven’t yet confirmed whether they’ll stick to their plans to attend.

• The office of Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) claims that the senator had already canceled his appearance at the NRA convention before the shooting “due to an unexpected change in his schedule” and that he now has to be in D.C. “for personal reasons” on Friday.

• Former President Trump is also set to go to the convention, but guns will be banned in the area, per the NRA’s website, so he and other attendees will be perfectly safe.

[LFC]

People are looking back at Greg Abbott's gun fetish.

[LFC]

Josh Marshall on the cult of guns in America.

Also on the garbage that is the "good guy with a gun" trope. As he notes it was always bullshit but we've just had two back to back mass shootings where we had a trained good guy with a gun, 3 in the Texas massacre, who failed.

We’re still in that period where the facts of today’s events are all tentative. Some things that seem to be true will turn out to be untrue or at least incomplete. We should keep that tentativeness in mind. However, initial reports from police authorities in Texas suggest that the shooter wore body armor and actually fought his way into the school.

Let’s be clear on just what this means. Cops didn’t arrive on the scene in response to the shooting. A spokesman from the Texas Department of Public Safety told CNN that three police officers exchanged gunfire with the shooter as he was trying to storm the school. The first was a police officer from the school district police force. Then two more officers from the local police department also exchanged gunfire with the gunman. So the shooter successfully stormed the school even though three separate armed police officers tried to stop him.

Body armor was likely key to that success.

Here is one of the accounts.

This is similar to what happened in Buffalo. At that shooting massacre a retired cop working as private security guard at the supermarket exchanged gunfire with the assailant during his rampage. But the shooter was wearing body armor. With that protection he was able to return fire and kill the retired officer.

The ‘good guy with a gun’ theory was always absurd. These events make that all the more clear. But this is a bit more than that. In both these incidents armed police officers or security guards exchanged gunfire with the perpetrator. But they were outgunned. The assailants had more powerful weapons and they had body armor that allowed them to absorb gun shots and return fire. These aren’t cases with a mythical armed good samaritan. The cops are there, armed and on the scene, and they’re losing in fire fights with the assailants.

It’s really the best case scenario that law enforcement is there on the scene, armed, before the gunman gets into the school. But that wasn’t enough. The guy fought his way into the school. He won.

When you combine high powered rifles and body armor, these guys are close to unstoppable, at least at first. That’s not their only advantage. These shooters have all accepted that they’re likely going to die within minutes. They also, by definition, have the element of surprise. Unless police have a decisive advantage in firepower and defensive equipment, the shooter is always going to have a big advantage in those engagements.

[LFC]

More from TPM on American gun culture. I view gun worship to be as sick as religious worship in this country. We do seem to have a real ability to make just about anything toxic and anti-intellectual.

In the interests of fairness and honesty with ourselves, we should be clear that this isn’t about standing up to the “gun lobby.” Yes, the NRA and other related groups play an important role coordinating messaging and operationalizing the desires of gun obsessives. But President Biden’s comment was one of the few times for me that he really did sound like someone speaking from a bygone era. A vast swathe of the population wants things exactly how they are. No restrictions on guns at all. The collateral damage is just tough shit basically.

I hesitate to say “majority” because intensity, geography, various idiosyncrasies of our political system and a bunch of other things magnify the political power of that part of the population. But in practice it’s a majority, a functional majority. Indeed, as we know, almost all of the policy movement in the country today is toward fewer restrictions — more open carry, concealed carry. It’s quite likely that the corrupt Supreme Court is about to invalidate the laws in cities like New York where there are actually pretty tight restrictions on guns.

We are also not captive to a constitution that may be out of date or rooted in outmoded rules. The entire individual right to bear arms is totally made up, a modern confection. The only power of those arguments — wholly empty by any historical analysis — is that a functional majority of the country chooses to pretend they’re true.

This is the America a big, big part of the country wants. It’s not about money in politics or some powerful advocacy group or a breakdown in the machinery of government. It’s not about politicians lacking courage. This is the America something like half the country wants.