Gun Violence 3: Thoughts and Prayers Continue to be Insufficient

[Becky]

Gun Violence Now Leading Cause of Death in Children in the US (BBC News)

I cannot even begin to say how sad this is, and how angry it makes me.  How can this be tolerated?  The blood of innocents is on the hands of the NRA and any politician receiving money from them.  

[Ozlsn]

On 4/24/2022 at 8:10 AM, Becky said:

Gun Violence Now Leading Cause of Death in Children in the US (BBC News)

I cannot even begin to say how sad this is, and how angry it makes me.  How can this be tolerated?  The blood of innocents is on the hands of the NRA and any politician receiving money from them.  

From the article:

"A separate study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in February, found that 7.5 million US adults - just under 3% of the population - became first-time gun owners during the pandemic between January and April 2021."

Yeah political instability drives people, and there was a lot of it going around.

[Becky]

The organization Everytown for Gun Safety/Moms Demand Action is trying to start a nationwide movement to wear orange on June 3 to create National Gun Violence Awareness Day to show support for common sense gun laws and to honor survivors of gun violence.  I thought some FJers might be interested in this.  I plan to wear orange myself and get as many people as I can to wear orange also. THere are many community events planned, also. 

https://www.everytown.org/

[WiseGirl]

On 5/5/2022 at 6:25 AM, Becky said:

The organization Everytown for Gun Safety/Moms Demand Action is trying to start a nationwide movement to wear orange on June 3 to create National Gun Violence Awareness Day to show support for common sense gun laws and to honor survivors of gun violence.  I thought some FJers might be interested in this.  I plan to wear orange myself and get as many people as I can to wear orange also. THere are many community events planned, also. 

https://www.everytown.org/

This inaugural day was in 2015. It's always the first Friday of June and the only reason I own an orange piece of clothing. 

"The day was organized in part to memorialize the 2013 death of Hadiya Pendleton who was shot and killed in Chicago at the age of 15 - just one week after performing at President Obama's 2nd inaugural parade in 2013. After her death, her friends asked others to stand up, speak out, and Wear Orange to raise awareness about gun violence. Since then, orange has been the defining color in the gun violence movement."  https://www.nasponline.org/research-and-policy/policy-matters-blog/national-gun-violence-awareness-day

More information at Sandy Hook Promise 

https://www.sandyhookpromise.org/news/national-gun-violence-awareness-day/

Edited May 6, 2022 by WiseGirl
Claritiy

[47of74]

Another one. 

Fucking ugh.  

 

[AlmostSavedAtTacoBell]

1 hour ago, 47of74 said:

Another one. 

Fucking ugh.  

 

A hate crime. A gunman with military style clothing, body armor, and a helmet. But yeah, it’s women’s uteruses, not guns and body armor, that need regulating. Prepare for all those Republican thoughts and prayers. 

[Ozlsn]

I had to go and look up Milwaukee's shootings because it had been pushed down the news reel by everything else. Shootings and terror attacks do happen in other high income countries but not with this frequency. 

I was trying to find another tweet I read that said (paraphrased) sure let's regulate women crossing state borders for healthcare but not guns crossing state borders to kill people.

Pro-life my arse.

 

[Becky]

How? Why? 18 years old with enough hate to KILL PEOPLE, and legal access to weapons intended to do just that, efficiently and quickly. 
I do not know how to manage all the weapons that are already out there, but I do know the first rule of holes – when you find yourself in one you need to stop digging. Assault style weapons need to be banned right now, and handguns need to be severely restricted and regulated. 

[47of74]

Microsoft doesn't know me or my readers as well as they think they do.  I wrote about the shooting for a liberal leaning blog.  I type it out in Word then email it in.  Word didn't like it when I said "This shit..."

News flash, Microsoft.  This is how I talk and write.  And I don't give two shits if they find my vocabulary offensive.  Ordinarily this would be kind of funny but this virtual pearl clutching on the part of Microsoft is a bit grating this morning after the shooting.  There's ten people murdered so I'm past the point of nice.

[AlmostSavedAtTacoBell]

2 hours ago, Becky said:

How? Why? 18 years old with enough hate to KILL PEOPLE, and legal access to weapons intended to do just that, efficiently and quickly. 
I do not know how to manage all the weapons that are already out there, but I do know the first rule of holes – when you find yourself in one you need to stop digging. Assault style weapons need to be banned right now, and handguns need to be severely restricted and regulated. 

ALL of what you said, but your point about having enough hate at 18 to kill people really stands out to me. He had to buy the gun from out of state because that kind of weapon is illegal in New York and travel 3 1/2 hours to that particular store in order to get to the place he wanted to kill people. He fucking live-streamed it. The absolute depravity built up in just eighteen years is surreal.  He was already “on the radar” of law enforcement because of something he wrote in high school and a 180 page manifesto that appears to have come from him has been found. It is a racist tirade. This murderer would have been in late junior high and going through high school as all of Trump and his shitty followers were ramping up their racist rhetoric. He’s a fucking poster boy for their low-rent version of “American History X”* and now people are dead and his life is effectively over.

@47of74, I think I can safely say none of us are offended and all of us are with you in your angry. I am grateful for this message board. 
 

*Another film I highly recommend.  

Edited May 15, 2022 by AlmostSavedAtTacoBell

[47of74]

I hope the FBI plans on being fucking relentless towards the parents and if they helped at all have them up on charges.

Quote

Law enforcement official told The Associated Press on Sunday that federal agents interviewed the parents of teenager accused of shooting and killing 10 people at a Buffalo supermarket and served multiple search warrants.

Federal authorities were still working to confirm the authenticity of a 180-page manifesto that was posted online, which detailed the plot and identified Gendron by name as the gunman, the official said.

 

[47of74]

Of course 

Quote

The suspected gunman had previously been on the radar of police, officials said.

As a student at Susquehanna Valley Central High School, he made a "generalized threat" in June 2021, Gramaglia said. The student was brought in for a mental health evaluation and was released after a day and a half, according to Gramaglia. The threat was not racially motivated, he added.

A spokesman for the New York State Police confirmed to CNN it investigated and responded to a report that a 17-year-old student had made "a threatening statement" in June 2021 at the same high school. The student was taken into custody and transported to a hospital in June 2021 for a mental health evaluation.

State police were unable to confirm how long the individual was in the hospital or the findings of the evaluation. They also refused to name the 17-year-old.

And it looks like nothing was done to stop him from buying weapons, armor, and ammo after all this.  Jesus Fucking Christ. 

 

[47of74]

 

[47of74]

More details on the California shooting.

Quote

One person was killed and four others were critically wounded in a shooting Sunday at a Southern California church, authorities said.

Deputies detained one person and recovered a weapon following the shooting at Geneva Presbyterian Church in the city of Laguna Woods, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department said on Twitter.

A fifth injured person suffered minor injuries, officials said. All the victims were adults.

Federal agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives were responding to the scene.

Can someone stop the country?  I want off.

[Ozlsn]

7 hours ago, AlmostSavedAtTacoBell said:

He had to buy the gun from out of state because that kind of weapon is illegal in New York and travel 3 1/2 hours to that particular store in order to get to the place he wanted to kill people.

If you buy a weapon and bring it across state lines for the express purpose of murder does that make it a federal case?

Personally I hope it's prosecuted under terrorism laws, and the investigation widened to include associates, particularly online. Start prosecuting the hate mongers as well as their minions, and for the love of God start restricting access to these weapons. 

[WiseGirl]

Because California, Buffalo, Wisconsin, ...are not enough... now there is Texas.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/05/15/us/texas-flea-market-shooting/index.html

52 minutes ago, 47of74 said:

Can someone stop the country?  I want off.

100% agree. I don't even have words anymore.

 

Edited May 15, 2022 by WiseGirl
Can't spell

[WiseGirl]

 

[Xan]

I've been reading articles about the Buffalo shooting.  As some columnists have pointed out, the media is following the usual narrative.  "Disturbed individual", "lone wolf", "no way anyone could have known"...  Bullshit.  People up close must have known what was going on with him.  And he adapted his gun to hold more ammunition.  How are the parents okay with this?  Are they as crazy as he is?

Someone needs to start talking again about gun control and we need a national conversation on assfaces like Tucker Carlson.  He and Bannon and the rest need to be held to account for their rhetoric.  This was a huge hate crime and if the assailant had been black or Muslim their would be a major outcry.  Allowing white males to continue to do this without any changes to laws or regulations is a slap in the face to everyone who isn't a white, Christian male.  

[47of74]

Hopefully this fuck stick will never breathe a breath of fresh air again.

Quote

Federal prosecutors are working to bring charges against the man who allegedly carried out the racist mass shooting in Buffalo, New York, law enforcement officials said.

Those charges are expected in the coming days, and would be in addition to state charges. The suspect was charged with first degree murder Saturday. He has pleaded not guilty.

Attorney General Merrick Garland on Saturday said the Justice Department was investigating the attack as a “hate crime and an act of racially-motivated violent extremism.”

It’s unclear if the Justice Department would be able to seek the federal death penalty — as that depends on what charges are brought.

 

[Xan]

I don't think of myself as a violent person but, in this case, I think they ought to let the relatives of those who died in the supermarket get big sticks and just beat this little racist to a pulp.  I'm that angry.

[47of74]

2 minutes ago, Xan said:

I don't think of myself as a violent person but, in this case, I think they ought to let the relatives of those who died in the supermarket get big sticks and just beat this little racist to a pulp.  I'm that angry.

My darker side says stick him in general pop and have all the guards take a 15 minute break. 

[Alisamer]

On 5/15/2022 at 11:23 AM, AlmostSavedAtTacoBell said:

 He was already “on the radar” of law enforcement because of something he wrote in high school and a 180 page manifesto that appears to have come from him has been found. It is a racist tirade.

I am continually amazed by the guys, who you know had to have whined and complained about having to write so much as an essay in school, who yet write basically novel-length manifestos about how much they hate whoever they hate. 

I'm with the rest of you. No civilian needs a weapon capable of killing that many people in that short of a time. If you need it "to hunt" you're a shitty hunter. If you need it to "protect your family" get an alarm system and a shotgun and learn to aim. Or better yet, don't. 

This is just plain ridiculous.

[catlady]

This one is local for me, and I work about a mile and a half from the supermarket.  I drove past it last Thursday.

@Xan, below is the third paragraph of the front-page article in today’s paper.  Truer words were never spoken: 

 

[fraurosena]

7 hours ago, 47of74 said:

Federal prosecutors are working to bring charges against the man who allegedly carried out the racist mass shooting

He was 18. He was not a man. 

That is what is so terrible about this: a kid with access to weaponry specifically meant to kill as many human beings as possible. A kid with so much hate and fear instilled in him he believed his actions were justified.

I am not making excuses for him, or attempting to mitigate his murderous rampage. But he was just a kid, not a man. And in a sense, for me, that makes it so much worse.

[Becky]

7 hours ago, fraurosena said:

He was 18. He was not a man. 

That is what is so terrible about this: a kid with access to weaponry specifically meant to kill as many human beings as possible. A kid with so much hate and fear instilled in him he believed his actions were justified.

I am not making excuses for him, or attempting to mitigate his murderous rampage. But he was just a kid, not a man. And in a sense, for me, that makes it so much worse.

There is an article on NPR discussing this. While the maturity of an 18-yr-old male could be debatable,  calling him a “kid” or a “child” indirectly could provoke or display sympathy or leniency. I know you don’t think that way, but I think it is correct to refer to him as a man. He will face adult consequences, as he should.