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Newtown Shooter Had Asperger Syndrome, And Some US Gun Facts

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Update: The focus now shifts to the mother, the first casualty of her son's murderous rampage, who was a "big, big gun fan" as the NYT explains, and who went target shooting with her children, one of whom had Asperger's.

From the NYT:

She was “a big, big gun fan” who went target shooting with her children, according to friends. She enjoyed craft beers, jazz and landscaping. She was generous to strangers, but also high-strung, as if she were holding herself together.

 

Nancy Lanza was the first victim in a massacre carried out on Friday by her son Adam Lanza, 20, who shot her dead with a gun apparently drawn from her own collection, then drove her car to Sandy Hook Elementary School, where he killed 26 people, 20 of them small children, officials said.

 

At craft beer tastings on Tuesday evenings, he recalled, she liked to talk about her gun collection.

 

“She had several different guns,” he said. “I don’t know how many. She would go target shooting with her kids.”

 

Law enforcement officials said they believed that the guns were acquired lawfully and registered.

 

* * *

 

She was “a big, big gun fan,” he added on his Web site.

Read on here

* * *

As we reported last night, buried inside the NYT biopic of Newtown shooter Adam Lanza was arguably one of the most important missing pieces in the story, at least so far, which could provide clues into partially explaining yesterday's tragic loss of young life, namely that the 20 year old man suffered from Asperger Syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism (two conditions which are being merged in the upcoming update of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-5) manual of mental disorders), which has been traditionally associated with social communication difficulties, including flat affect, and one which in some clinical studies has been shown to have a causal link to violence. In other words, in addition to the surge in the debate over national gun control and access limitations (ignoring that the perpetrator of the biggest school mass murder in US history - the Bath School disaster - used openly purchased dynamite and no guns, also ignoring that in the US there are roughly 300 million firearms), perhaps there should also be a broad discussion as to the risks of social misadoption of children with autism and other social and behavioral disorders.

From CBS/AP:

He was an honors student who lived in a prosperous neighborhood with his mother, a well-liked woman who enjoyed hosting dice games and decorating the house for the holidays.

 

Now Adam Lanza is suspected of killing his mother and then gunning down more than two dozen people, 20 of them children, at a Connecticut grade school before taking his own life.

 

The 20-year-old may have suffered from a personality disorder, law enforcement officials said.

 

The New York Times reported Saturday morning that several people told the newspaper that Lanza had Asperger’s syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism.

 

The Times reported Lanza did not have a Facebook page and did not pose for a high school yearbook picture.

 

He was described as socially awkward and was known in high school as “intelligent, but nervous and fidgety, spitting his words out, as if having to speak up were painful.”

 

Investigators were trying to learn as much as possible about Lanza and questioned his older brother, who is not believed to have any involvement in the rampage.

 

Lanza killed his mother at their home before driving her car to Sandy Hook Elementary School and — armed with at least two handguns — carried out the massacre, officials said.

 

A third weapon, a .223-caliber rifle, was found in the car, and more guns were found inside the school.

 

So far, authorities have not spoken publicly of any possible motive. Witnesses said the shooter didn’t utter a word.

 

Catherine Urso, who was attending a vigil Friday evening in Newtown, Conn., said her college-age son knew the killer and remembered him for his alternative style.

 

“He just said he was very thin, very remote and was one of the goths,” she said.

 

* * *

 

Adam Lanza’s older brother, 24-year-old Ryan Lanza of Hoboken, N.J., was being questioned, a law enforcement official said. He told authorities that his brother was believed to suffer from a personality disorder, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the record about the unfolding investigation.

 

The official did not elaborate, and it was unclear exactly what type of disorder he might have had.

 

Ryan Lanza had been extremely cooperative and was not under arrest or in custody, but investigators were still searching his computers and phone records. Ryan Lanza told law enforcement he had not been in touch with his brother since about 2010.

 

* * *

 

Adam Lanza attended Newtown High School, and several local news clippings from recent years mention his name among the school’s honor roll students.

And while much needed insight into the shooter's abnormal mental state is critical before passing judgment, the reality is that Lanza - who may well have been mentally disturbed - should certainly not have had access to the arsenal of weapons he ultimately used in perpetrating yesterday's tragedy. The much debated question, of course, that is already emerging is whose responsibility is it to limit such access: that of the individual, that of the closest family members, or that of the state, and if it is the latter, then the question becomes one of practical enforceability in a country where the second amendment is deeply engrained in the popular psychology, and where there are nearly as many guns as people.

 

Some more facts and figures - without opinions - on US weapons from justfacts.com

Introductory Notes

This research is based upon the most recent available data in 2010. Facts from earlier years are cited based upon availability and relevance, not to slant results by singling out specific years that are different from others. Likewise, data associated with the effects of gun control laws in various geographical areas represent random, demographically diverse places in which such data is available.

Many aspects of the gun control issue are best measured and sometimes can only be measured through surveys,[1] but the accuracy of such surveys depends upon respondents providing truthful answers to questions that are sometimes controversial and potentially incriminating.[2] Thus, Just Facts uses such data critically, citing the best-designed surveys we find, detailing their inner workings in our footnotes, and using the most cautious plausible interpretations of the results.

Particularly, when statistics are involved, the determination of what constitutes a credible fact (and what does not) can contain elements of personal subjectivity. It is our mission to minimize subjective information and to provide highly factual content. Therefore, we are taking the additional step of providing readers with four examples to illustrate the type of material that was excluded because it did not meet Just Facts' Standards of Credibility.

 

General Facts

Firearms are generally classified into three broad types: (1) handguns, (2) rifles, and (3) shotguns.[3] Rifles and shotguns are both considered "long guns."

A semi-automatic firearm fires one bullet each time the trigger is pulled and automatically loads another bullet for the next pull of the trigger. A fully automatic firearm (sometimes called a "machine gun") fires multiple bullets with the single pull of the trigger.[4]

Ownership

As of 2009, the United States has a population of 307 million people.[5]

Based on production data from firearm manufacturers,[6] there are roughly 300 million firearms owned by civilians in the United States as of 2010. Of these, about 100 million are handguns.[7]

Based upon surveys, the following are estimates of private firearm ownership in the U.S. as of 2010:

   Households With a Gun  Adults Owning a Gun  Adults Owning a Handgun
Percentage  40-45%  30-34%  17-19%
Number  47-53 million  70-80 million  40-45 million

A 2005 nationwide Gallup poll of 1,012 adults found the following levels of firearm ownership:

Category

 Percentage Owning

a Firearm

Households  42%
Individuals  30%
Male  47%
Female  13%
White  33%
Nonwhite  18%
Republican  41%
Independent  27%
Democrat  23%

In the same poll, gun owners stated they own firearms for the following reasons:

Protection Against Crime  67%
Target Shooting  66%
Hunting  41%

 

Crime and Self-Defense

Roughly 16,272 murders were committed in the United States during 2008. Of these, about 10,886 or 67% were committed with firearms.[11]

A 1993 nationwide survey of 4,977 households found that over the previous five years, at least 0.5% of households had members who had used a gun for defense during a situation in which they thought someone "almost certainly would have been killed" if they "had not used a gun for protection." Applied to the U.S. population, this amounts to 162,000 such incidents per year. This figure excludes all "military service, police work, or work as a security guard."[12]

Based on survey data from the U.S. Department of Justice, roughly 5,340,000 violent crimes were committed in the United States during 2008. These include simple/aggravated assaults, robberies, sexual assaults, rapes, and murders.[13] [14] [15] Of these, about 436,000 or 8% were committed by offenders visibly armed with a gun.[16]

Based on survey data from a 2000 study published in the Journal of Quantitative Criminology,[17] U.S. civilians use guns to defend themselves and others from crime at least 989,883 times per year.[18]

A 1993 nationwide survey of 4,977 households found that over the previous five years, at least 3.5% of households had members who had used a gun "for self-protection or for the protection of property at home, work, or elsewhere." Applied to the U.S. population, this amounts to 1,029,615 such incidents per year. This figure excludes all "military service, police work, or work as a security guard."[19]

A 1994 survey conducted by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that Americans use guns to frighten away intruders who are breaking into their homes about 498,000 times per year.[20]

A 1982 survey of male felons in 11 state prisons dispersed across the U.S. found:[21]

• 34% had been "scared off, shot at, wounded, or captured by an armed victim"

• 40% had decided not to commit a crime because they "knew or believed that the victim was carrying a gun"

• 69% personally knew other criminals who had been "scared off, shot at, wounded, or captured by an armed victim"[22]

Click here to see why the following commonly cited statistic does not meet Just Facts' Standards of Credibility: "In homes with guns, the homicide of a household member is almost 3 times more likely to occur than in homes without guns."

 

Vulnerability to Violent Crime

At the current homicide rate, roughly one in every 240 Americans will be murdered.[23]

A U.S. Justice Department study based on crime data from 1974-1985 found:

• 42% of Americans will be the victim of a completed violent crime (assault, robbery, rape) in the course of their lives

• 83% of Americans will be the victim of an attempted or completed violent crime

• 52% of Americans will be the victim of an attempted or completed violent crime more than once[24]

A 1997 survey of more than 18,000 prison inmates found that among those serving time for a violent crime, "30% of State offenders and 35% of Federal offenders carried a firearm when committing the crime."[25]

 

Right-to-Carry Laws

Right-to-carry laws permit individuals who meet certain "minimally restrictive" criteria (such as completion of a background check and gun safety course) to carry concealed firearms in most public places.[95] Concealed carry holders must also meet the minimum federal requirements for gun ownership as detailed above.

Each state has its own laws regarding right-to-carry and generally falls into one of three main categories:

1) "shall-issue" states, where concealed carry permits are issued to all qualified applicants

2) "may-issue" states, where applicants must often present a reason for carrying a firearm to an issuing authority, who then decides based on his or her discretion whether the applicant will receive a permit

3) "no-issue" states, where concealed carry is generally forbidden

As of January 2012:

40 states are shall-issue:

 Alaska  Arizona  Arkansas  Colorado
 Florida  Georgia  Idaho  Indiana
 Iowa  Kansas  Kentucky  Louisiana
 Maine  Michigan  Minnesota  Mississippi
 Missouri  Montana  Nebraska  Nevada
 New Hampshire  New Mexico  North Carolina  North Dakota
 Ohio  Oklahoma  Oregon  Pennsylvania
 Rhode Island  South Carolina  South Dakota  Tennessee
 Texas  Utah  Vermont  Virginia
 Washington  West Virginia  Wisconsin  Wyoming

9 states are may-issue:

 Alabama  California  Connecticut  Delaware
 Hawaii  Maryland  Massachusetts  New Jersey
 New York      

 

Accidents

In 2007, there were 613 fatal firearm accidents in the United States, constituting 0.5% of 123,706 fatal accidents that year.[120]

Fatal firearm accidents in 2007 by age groups:

Age Group Fatal Firearm Accidents
Raw number Portion of fatal accidents

from all causes

<1 yrs  1  0.1%
1-4 yrs  18  1.1%
5-9 yrs  20  2.1%
10-14 yrs  26  2.1%
15-24 yrs  155  1.0%
25-34 yrs  94  0.6%
35-44 yrs  91  0.5%
45-54 yrs  82  0.4%
55-64 yrs  57  0.5%
65+ yrs  69  0.2%

 

Non-Fatal

In 2007, there were roughly 15,698 emergency room visits for non-fatal firearm accidents,[123] constituting 0.05% of 27.7 million emergency room visits for non-fatal accidents that year.[124]

These emergency room visits for non-fatal firearm accidents resulted in 5,045 hospitalizations,[125] constituting 0.4% of 1.4 million non-fatal accident hospitalizations that year.[126]

 

Criminal Justice System

Nationwide in 2008, law enforcement agencies reported that 55% of aggravated assaults, 27% of robberies, 40% of rapes, and 64% of murders that were reported to police resulted in an alleged offender being arrested and turned over for prosecution.[26] [27]

Currently, for every 12 aggravated assaults, robberies, sexual assaults, rapes, and murders committed in the United States, approximately one person is sentenced to prison for committing such a crime.[28] [29] [30]

A 2002 U.S. Justice Department study of 272,111 felons released from state prisons in 1994 found that within three years of their release:

• at least 67.5% had been arrested for committing a new offense

• at least 21.6% had been arrested for committing a new violent offense

• these former inmates had been charged with committing at least 2,871 new homicides, 2,444 new rapes, 3,151 other new sexual assaults, 2,362 new kidnappings, 21,245 new robberies, 54,604 new assaults, and 13,854 other new violent crimes[31]

Of 1,662 murders committed in New York City during 2003-2005, more than 90% were committed by people with criminal records.[32]

Washington, DC

In 1976, the Washington, D.C. City Council passed a law generally prohibiting residents from possessing handguns and requiring that all firearms in private homes be (1) kept unloaded and (2) rendered temporally inoperable via disassembly or installation of a trigger lock. The law became operative on Sept. 24, 1976.[33] [34]

On June 26, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a 5-4 ruling, struck down this law as unconstitutional.[35]

During the years in which the D.C. handgun ban and trigger lock law was in effect, the Washington, D.C. murder rate averaged 73% higher than it was at the outset of the law, while the U.S. murder rate averaged 11% lower.[37]

 
Britain

In 1920, Britain passed a law requiring civilians to obtain a certificate from their district police chief in order to purchase or possess any firearm except a shotgun. To obtain this certificate, the applicant had to pay a fee, and the chief of police had to be "satisfied" that the applicant had "good reason for requiring such a certificate" and did not pose a "danger to the public safety or to the peace." The certificate had to specify the types and quantities of firearms and ammunition that the applicant could purchase and keep.[38]

In 1968, Britain made the 1920 law stricter by requiring civilians to obtain a certificate from their district police chief in order to purchase or possess a shotgun. This law also required that firearm certificates specify the identification numbers ("if known") of all firearms and shotguns owned by the applicant.[39]

In 1997, Britain passed a law requiring civilians to surrender almost all privately owned handguns to the police. More than 162,000 handguns and 1.5 million pounds of ammunition were "compulsorily surrendered" by February 1998. Using "records of firearms held on firearms certificates," police accounted for all but fewer than eight of all legally owned handguns in England, Scotland, and Wales.[40]

† Homicide data is published according to the years in which the police initially reported the offenses as homicides, which are not always the same years in which the incidents took place.
‡ Large anomalies unrelated to guns:
2000: 58 Chinese people suffocated to death in a shipping container en route to the UK
2002: 172 homicides reported when Dr. Harold Shipman was exposed for killing his patients
2003: 20 cockle pickers drowned resulting in manslaughter charges
2005: 52 people were killed in the July 7th London subway/bus bombings

Not counting the above-listed anomalies, the homicide rate in England and Wales has averaged 52% higher since the outset of the 1968 gun control law and 15% higher since the outset of the 1997 handgun ban.[42]

 

Chicago

In 1982, the city of Chicago instituted a ban on handguns. This ban barred civilians from possessing handguns except for those registered with the city government prior to enactment of the law. The law also specified that such handguns had to be re-registered every two years or owners would forfeit their right to possess them. In 1994, the law was amended to require annual re-registration.[43] [44] [45]

In the wake of Chicago's handgun ban, at least five suburbs surrounding Chicago instituted similar handgun bans. When the Supreme Court overturned the District of Columbia's handgun ban in June 2008, at least four of these suburbs repealed their bans.[46] [47] [48] [49] [50]

In June 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled (5-4) that Chicago's ban is unconstitutional.[51]

Since the outset of the Chicago handgun ban, the Chicago murder rate has averaged 17% lower than it was before the law took effect, while the U.S. murder rate has averaged 25% lower.[53]

Since the outset of the Chicago handgun ban, the percentage of Chicago murders committed with handguns has averaged about 40% higher than it was before the law took effect.[55]

In 2005, 96% of the firearm murder victims in Chicago were killed with handguns.[56]

* * *

Much more here

 

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Sat, 12/15/2012 - 22:21 | 3067751 Matt
Matt's picture

Don't you think the mental illness is likely related to which drugs he was on?

And no, it will likely never be disclosed publicly which drugs he was on. They seal those records now apparently.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 22:49 | 3067783 cranky-old-geezer
cranky-old-geezer's picture

 

 

Is a drunk mentally ill? 

No, it's just the effect of the alcohol (a drug).  Take the alcohol away and they return to normal rational people.

Same thing with drugs, medical or otherwise.  Take the drugs away and their brain starts functioning normally again.  It may take longer to return to normal, drugs take longer to be purged from the body, months in some cases, years in a few cases.

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 04:05 | 3068242 blunderdog
blunderdog's picture

You're in luck.  I think big gummit's making a ginormous database where they'll probably track just this sort of thing.  Just hack it.

Mon, 12/17/2012 - 15:28 | 3072051 Grinder74
Grinder74's picture

The hotness of your avatar doesn't negate your stupidity.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 23:48 | 3067894 Yen Cross
Yen Cross's picture

May I interject Tylers/ The chart does reflect scales( 2007)  No offence/

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:52 | 3066374 max2205
max2205's picture

Twenty murders a day in Chicago is a slow day, what's the fuss about?

Fix inner cities then niceville

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 15:44 | 3066775 TWSceptic
TWSceptic's picture

Don't post lies. There is no conclusive evidence to show that Jobs had asperger.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 16:03 | 3066931 Chupacabra-322
Chupacabra-322's picture

I’ll go one step further and declare this guy a Manchurian candidate, a CIA black-op to get the next gun grab going.

I read where Adam’s father (Peter) and brother (Ryan) work. A GE financial tax Exec. and an exec. at another large political-lobbying company, Ernst and Young. The pieces slowly start fitting together when you consider that anything is possible when it comes to our government.

For instance, GE is the biggest corporation in the counrty who spends the most money lobbying for it’s special interests, products and technologies primarily in the following areas: financial industry, pharmaceuticals, ‘green’ energy, and advanced technologies. 

They are also major campaign contributors to anyone who will ‘scratch their back’. On a side note I think its odd that Peter Lanza would just leave his wife with a ‘difficult to handle’ and supposed autistic child. If he really cared about his child, dont you think he might want to be a bigger part of his life? I initially reacted with shock and horror.

Then I remembered 9/11/01, and the media’s big shock and awe factor for what they wanted everyone to believe happened, as a distraction from what actually happened. This school massacre seems eerily similar… And just as Bush stated that ‘we will do whatever is necessary to stop terrorism’… Now Obama is saying he promises to take action ‘regardless of the politics’… Last time they implemented Homeland Security in less than a week, and started a major war overseas (which is quite profitable for companies like GE in several aspects). When people want to know why these things occur, it’s because they are usually naive and believe all of the lies told to them by their government and mass media. Others take an objective look and realize that some things are not a fluke or pure coincidence. I have some more research to do still, but I am pretty certain the coincidences start to become uncanny.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 16:47 | 3067011 blunderdog
blunderdog's picture

     I’ll go one step further and declare this guy a Manchurian candidate,

I strongly urge you to get help.  That kind of fanatical CERTAINTY that you understand subjects you know almost nothing about is very common among the mentally ill.  Don't be the next shooter, please.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 17:36 | 3067125 centerline
centerline's picture

If you want to tear the fabric of society apart for some odd reason, just let the pressure of the system increase and increase while flooding society with misinformation.  The internet is the enemy of the PTB.  They know they can't stop it or the jig is up.  So, flood it with bullshit and turn people against each other.  Easy as pie.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 19:13 | 3067332 blunderdog
blunderdog's picture

Sadly, the same folks who are the easiest to mislead are the ones who become so certain they have all the answers.

Lead 'em in circles, lead 'em off cliffs, lead 'em straight to hell, just LEAD 'EM.  They can't get anywhere without help.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 19:21 | 3067352 Chupacabra-322
Chupacabra-322's picture

Pssst, the father was vice president for GE energy financial services and is going to testify in the LIBORgate trail soon.

Now go back into your PsyOp sleep. 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 20:30 | 3067492 blunderdog
blunderdog's picture

So now you're pretending to know something.  You're not fooling me--you don't.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 19:06 | 3067315 formadesika3
formadesika3's picture

Ernst & Young is one of the big four accounting firms. Political-lobbying would be secondary.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 18:26 | 3067217 CompassionateFascist
CompassionateFascist's picture

The killer's "mental state" is irrelevant. Sandy Hook school = "gun free zone".Columbine = "gun free zone". Virginia Tech = "gun free zone". Colorado theatre = "gun free zone". Norway = "gun free zone". Etc., etc. It's a pattern even an economist could understand. These socialist sandboxes are magnets for mass killers. Put Blackwater-style security guards in each and every (no longer) discrete "gun free zone". No more massacres. But that's not what Soros, Bloomberg, Gross, Peters, Schumer, Feinstein and all the other Jew Globalist/Stalinist gun-grabbers want. They want more and bigger massacres. Culminating, when/if they turn the entire country into a "gun free zone" (i.e., the State has all the guns) , with the biggest massacre of all: a Bernadine Dohrn-style slaughter of the entire gov't-independent White population. Just like they did in the Ukraine back when. That, in fact, is their plan. 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 20:32 | 3067497 blunderdog
blunderdog's picture

And yet there's been no mass-shooting at my high-school, a gun-free zone.  How can you explain this?  Did the Jews somehow overlook my hometown?

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 22:43 | 3067788 CompassionateFascist
CompassionateFascist's picture

No. Now return to your Talmudic Studies. 

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 02:58 | 3068198 blunderdog
blunderdog's picture

Trust me when I tell you: the VAST MAJORITY of people who realize you're a hateful fool are not Jews. 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:30 | 3066329 Cassandra Syndrome
Cassandra Syndrome's picture

It is also suggested that Thomas Jefferson and Albert Einstein had this form of disorder.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:32 | 3066332 cxl9
cxl9's picture

Oh great. I guess now we need a War on Asperger Syndrome.

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 00:47 | 3067996 TBT or not TBT
TBT or not TBT's picture

Start by mispronouncing it "Ass Burgers".    No charge for that little gem, folks.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:34 | 3066334 lasvegaspersona
lasvegaspersona's picture

Aspergers must be a pretty squishy diagnosis if both Michael Burry and Adam Lanza could both have it (though with Burry it seems to be self diagnosed.)

It should be interesting to see a wave of 'gun control' just as people show increased interest in firearms due to coming societal disruptions (caused largely by the politicians who will be leading the anti-gun charge.)

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:43 | 3066354 a growing concern
a growing concern's picture

It's a disease spectrum.  You probably know many people who could fall on the mild end of the spectrum, depending on the diagnosing professional.  It's still a work in progress at this point, and you're right, it is squishy.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:12 | 3066428 MachoMan
MachoMan's picture

The entire DSM is squishy...  a desperate attempt to stuff people into labeled boxes to appease insurance companies...  all while ignoring the entire purpose of counseling, results...  change...

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:16 | 3066438 Id fight Gandhi
Id fight Gandhi's picture

If you've ever met someone with it, you'll know it. They're just "weird."

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 14:49 | 3066707 centerline
centerline's picture

One of my neighbors kids has it.  I'd say a moderate case.  You can definately tell the kid is "off" and so can the other kids.  He does get picked on at school from what I know.  He plays well with my son from time to time - but lacks certain "mechanisms" in terms of interaction and emotion that normal kids have.  Is also a little "behind" from a maturity standpoint, but the parents are partly to blame for that.  Usually, kids with special needs need special help (lol) but should not be treated as special!

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 01:15 | 3066896 Freddie
Freddie's picture

but the parents are partly to blame for that.

I dropped Obam TV years ago because it is all brainwashing.  I think these kids playing endless videolent video games is even worse.

Anyway, when I watched TV - I would watch the Dog Whisperer with Caesar Milan.  Most of the dog owners were in So Calif.   The dogs were neurotic because the owners were totally F'ed up.  The dogs were mental because the owners were insane.   The parents are often the issue.  The other thing today with kids is processed and junk food.  The soda, energy drinks and other crap cannot be helping young people/children.  Corn Syrup/sugar is in everything.   

Some Aspergers people become talented musicians, artists, etc. 

Anyone know where he gained access to the guns?

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:38 | 3066339 GOSPLAN HERO
GOSPLAN HERO's picture

Statists will try to use this tragedy to disarm the people.

 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:44 | 3066358 decon
decon's picture

As long as they keep focusing on the tool rather than behavior, culture and personal responsibility there will be no progress.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:00 | 3066389 A Lunatic
A Lunatic's picture

Anyone on prescription drugs for the treatment of any supposed mental disorder for ADD to Depression to smoking cessation will be barred from owning a firearm. -The Decider in Chief-

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:14 | 3066433 mjollnir
mjollnir's picture

You already have guys like Roubini retweeting simplistic gun control memes on twitter. I wonder who is responsible for more misery in the world over the past decade. Legally armed American civilians or Davos attendees?

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:39 | 3066344 a growing concern
a growing concern's picture

If money printers are outlawed, only outlaws will have money printers.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:19 | 3066449 Uncle Remus
Uncle Remus's picture

Uuuhh, we're there.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:38 | 3066345 spanish inquisition
spanish inquisition's picture

I see a couple of issues: I wonder if he was on any violence inducing pharmceuticals, any calls for banning them or suing the manufacturers? And, I think gun safety in this case would include a gun safe or key locks. I would like gun owners to review your gun storage safety procedures.

 

 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 22:29 | 3067759 Matt
Matt's picture

It wouldnt matter. Maybe he was going with his mom to the range, so everything was out of the safes and being loaded into the car when the incident began.

I would say biometric trigger locks, but if she was supervising him using her guns, then that would be irrelevant as well.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:40 | 3066348 drunkagain
drunkagain's picture

Freedom for me is living in a society where deviants can't own automatic weapons; freedom from rather than freedom to.

It's amazing that there is even a debate about this. Sure people kill people, but they kill more and more easily when they have automatic weapons.

 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:44 | 3066355 Careless Whisper
Careless Whisper's picture

Sounds like you'd enjoy living in gun-free China. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.

 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 14:38 | 3066673 NoControl
NoControl's picture

There you have the SAME THING happen on the SAME DAY but with a knife

22 children, 1 adult hurt in China school attack

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2012/12/14/china-school-attack-...

 

BEIJING (AP) — A knife-wielding man injured 22 children and one adult outside a primary school in central China as students were arriving for morning classes Friday, police said, the latest in a series of periodic rampage attacks at schools and kindergartens.

 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 14:48 | 3066702 AnAnonymous
AnAnonymous's picture

Yep, and guns do not kill people, people kill people.

And indeed, what army that could afford would turn to knife as primary weapons instead of guns?

Psycho is psycho and there is no difference in results between a psycho armed with a knife and a psycho armed with a gun.

So say 'americans'.

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 02:56 | 3068196 Freddie
Freddie's picture

Yeah man but in (communist) China guns don't kill people.  Communist Party elites kill people to harvest their organ$ for re$ale. 

I mean Com China is like totally safe - man because the people cannot own guns.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:46 | 3066364 A Lunatic
A Lunatic's picture

Automatic weapons ownership is already heavily regulated and very fucking expensive. Get your facts straight dipshit.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:55 | 3066380 rehypothecator
rehypothecator's picture

By your post, you reveal that you don't even know what an automatic weapon is.  As far as you know, it's the boogeyman.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:55 | 3066381 lakecity55
lakecity55's picture

Suspect did not possess an "automatic weapon."

Had he had one, the carnage would have been far worse.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:17 | 3066447 MachoMan
MachoMan's picture

You have no idea what the fuck you're talking about...  there is a reason our infantry weapons have given up on full auto...  gun control means hitting what you're aiming at... 

The result would have been either not any different or more wounded than dead...  some of the unfortunate ones eating multiple bullets instead of controlled single shots, thereby using too much ammunition and, presumably, running out or leaving the remaining work to handguns (last ditch weapons).

You are wildly speculating and your bias is showing...  despite having a user name that would suggest otherwise. 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 14:38 | 3066675 jerry_theking_lawler
jerry_theking_lawler's picture

fuck....glad the guy really didn't know what he was doing.....12 ga shotgun with extended tube and 00 buckshot can kill more people at close range than any automatic weapon. all of this can easily be bought off the shelf.....

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 14:41 | 3066679 Overfed
Overfed's picture

Or maybe less. Considering that on full auto, an M16 or AK47 ( I know, the guy used a pistol) is out of ammo in 2 seconds, and more likely to experience a malfunction in full auto than in semi-auto.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:01 | 3066392 D-2
D-2's picture

He didn't have an automatic weapon. Automatic guns are *almost* impossible to own legally. The extensive list of rules and regulations is prohibitive. It can be done....but the point here is this criime did not involve an automatic gun.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:08 | 3066404 Cloud9.5
Cloud9.5's picture

Check into your local jail.  It's a gun free zone.  You still won't be safe.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 14:48 | 3066706 Beam Me Up Scotty
Beam Me Up Scotty's picture

They need a place like that where all these chickenshit anti gun people can check into. Eliminate all the guns. Who is going to save you from bubba and his boys busting into your house, raping your wife and daughter, and taking whatever they want? It won't be the police. They are nothing more than the clean up crew in most instances.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 18:21 | 3067216 Central Bankster
Central Bankster's picture

The real problem is that the anti-gun people have never met a level of force or violence in their life so they are unwilling to believe it can happen to them.  Until it happens to you, you don't really understand the need for greater levels of force- such as a firearm.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:15 | 3066440 shovelhead
shovelhead's picture

If you mean auto loading weapons then you are in favor of restricting firearms to early 19th century weapons.

All automatic firing weapons are illegal without a special very strict Federal license.

That you do not distinguish between them means you are unfamiliar with firearms in general and I can safely assume you mean auto loading firearms which would eliminate civil war era cap and ball revolvers that can be fired 6 times without reloading.

Good luck with that.

 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 16:50 | 3067013 blunderdog
blunderdog's picture

      All automatic firing weapons are illegal without a special very strict Federal license.

And it's like so totally difficult to make a semi-automatic rifle into an automatic one...derp derp.  Good thing we have those LAWS, huh?

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 19:50 | 3067422 Goner
Goner's picture

I agree, if its easy to do there is no sence having a law against it.

Drunk driving is easy so it should be legal

Muder = easy -= legal

Stealing from Muppets via a central bank = easy ... oh, nevermind

In fact all of those are easier than making a gun full auto. Honestly I have no idea what your point is

 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 22:32 | 3067765 Matt
Matt's picture

Laws must have enforcebility. If you cannot practically enforce it, it is just more BS.

Drunk driving, speeding, murder are all (relatively) easily enforced. Constantly checking every firearm in the entire country to make sure it isn't automatic? Not so much.

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 14:18 | 3068863 Freddie
Freddie's picture

You are a moron.  If the objective is to kill people and the user knows what they are doing, semi-auto is a lot more effective.   Full auto burns through ammo and heats up the barrel to the point where the gun is unusuable.  

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:20 | 3066457 Abitdodgie
Abitdodgie's picture

"Freedom for me is living in a society where deviants can't own automatic weapons;"  

Well we better disarm the US army then and the police for sure , to get into the police these days you have to be a phycopath.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:23 | 3066463 Uncle Remus
Uncle Remus's picture

Freedom for me is living in a society where deviants can't run for or be appointed to public office or the judiciary, run large corporations, banks or unions or rise above 03 in the military.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So who defines what a deviant is?

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 14:27 | 3066631 Sockeye
Sockeye's picture

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." - Benjamin Franklin

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 14:41 | 3066681 Overfed
Overfed's picture

Freedom is not living in a police state.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 15:13 | 3066798 overbet
overbet's picture

A major point that all the gun opponents ignore is that individuals who legally own guns are more probable to be law abiding citizens who would not use them against another unless threatened. Violent criminals will have guns whether they were illegal or not so if you make gun ownership illegal you disarm the honest and make them more vulnerable to violent criminals. 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 21:17 | 3067597 cranky-old-geezer
cranky-old-geezer's picture

 

 

Freedom for me is living in a society where deviants can't own automatic weapons

Ok genius, tell us how you would prevent "deviants" from owning/possessing/getting access to automatic weapons? 

What would you do, watch them 24/7?   That's more or less what you'd have to do.

And what would make someone a "deviant"?   

What you propose would require micromanaging everybody's life, watching everybody 24/7. 

There's not a government big enough to do that, and if you tried to build a government big enough to do that, it would bankrupt the nation in a short time. 

More government control isn't the answer.   Government control we have now isn't the answer.  It obviously failed here, even though CT has strict gun laws.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 22:39 | 3067778 Matt
Matt's picture

Software and people self-policing themselves with cameras and GPS at all times make a Panopticon Society more affordable than you think.

I think GPS-dashboard cameras on all new cars would be a great step in furthering the cause.

Once you convice people of the benefits of having a perfect witness anytime they are in any kind of traffic incident, many existing car owners will retrofit their cars voluntarily and at their own expense.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 23:43 | 3067853 cranky-old-geezer
cranky-old-geezer's picture

 

 

and people self-policing themselves

You just proved you're a moron.

Nobody "self-polices" themselves, especially someone wanting to rob a liquor store, etc.

You'd have to turn everyone into a robot basically, always connected to a central monitoring facility of some sort receiving every thought they have, which is sheer lunacy.

The only thing that has ever worked is complete freedom, nobody watching, no government monitoring

...with risk of severe punishment (i.e. death) for injuring others deliberately.

Oh, but wait, we can't do that, death is inhumane.  They might blow 5 people away, but killing them is "cruel and unusual punishment".

Know what the REAL problem is?  You liberals and "progressives" are insane.  Just fucking insane, looney tunes.

And you're cowards.  Too wimpy and cowardly to bring proper justice down on someone.

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 00:19 | 3067943 DanDaley
DanDaley's picture

Crank, I agree with you, but what do you do when you get somebody like these people who intend sucide during/after their crime -even death by cop?  

I've had too many discussions with liberals who are more than happy to allow the sucking out of some infant's brain, or euthanize everybody over a certain age at the other end of life, but get all weak in the knees about doing as you suggest to some run of the mill murderer.  Boggles the mind.

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 04:08 | 3068244 blunderdog
blunderdog's picture

He provided a real insight here.  Let's emphasize this....

       Once you convice people of the benefits of having a perfect witness anytime they are in any kind of traffic incident, many existing car owners will retrofit their cars voluntarily and at their own expense.

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 13:40 | 3068794 Matt
Matt's picture

You are correct, self-policing was the wrong term. Self-reporting their own crimes is what I meant, but it just doesn't roll of the tongue. People do it all the time on Facebook, Youtube, Twitter.

 

EDIT: "The only thing that has ever worked is complete freedom, nobody watching, no government monitoring"

Did it work? I guess if you make killing non-white people not murder, then sure.

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 01:21 | 3068065 Freddie
Freddie's picture

Freedom for me is living in a society where deviants can't own automatic weapons

Deviants like criminals?  Who owns "automatic" weapons?   What are "automatic" weapons?   Where can I buy these "automatic" weapons?

Freedom from rather than freedom to?

Your "freedom from" infringes upon my "freedom to."    There is no "freedom from" in The Constitution - so F off.

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 10:00 | 3068120 DanDaley
DanDaley's picture

Well said, Fred.  Those who want "freedom from" should go live in North Korea...no silly freedoms to deal with there.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:41 | 3066349 reader2010
reader2010's picture

Shit. He should've joined the Army so he could've been all he can be somewhere else in Iraq.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:20 | 3066453 MachoMan
MachoMan's picture

Given his social skills, he probably would have received the gomer pyle treatment though...

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 16:50 | 3067015 blunderdog
blunderdog's picture

They'd never have taken him.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:41 | 3066350 q99x2
q99x2's picture

Ugh.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:42 | 3066353 Seasmoke
Seasmoke's picture

If someone wants to kill people , they will. End of story. Don't give up your guns.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:44 | 3066357 A Lunatic
A Lunatic's picture

A few more facts in the form of ignored SCOTUS rulings:

 

No State shall convert a liberty into a privilege, license it, and charge a fee therefore. -Murdock v. Pennsylvania-

If the State converts a right into a privilege, the citizen can ignore the license and fee and engage in the right with impunity. -Shuttleworth v. City of Birmingham Ala.-

The court is to protect against any encroachment of Constitutionally secured rights. -Boyd v. U.S.-

Where rights secured by the Constitution are involved, there can be no legislation which would abolish them. -Miranda v. Arizona-

An unconstitutional act is not a law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; affords no protection; it creates no office; it is in legal contemplation as though it had never been passed. -Norton v. Shelby County-

These rulings apply to each and every right set forth in the Constitution and Bill of Rights. All of them.

 

 

 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:00 | 3066386 trollin4sukrz
trollin4sukrz's picture

So if I get caught without a cwp I can win in court? I dont pay for a license and I do carry a gun in the car and sometimes on my person. When/if stopped by the police I pull the pistol and lay it on the dash unloaded and unconcealed. They get nervous, usually take the gun and call it in, return it and then "warn" me about doing 8 miles over the limit. I just dont want then grabbing my gun, arresting me for concealed, and going through all the bullshit BUT I WILL NOT BUY MY RIGHTS TO CARRY!!

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:03 | 3066393 A Lunatic
A Lunatic's picture

Ignored SCOTUS rulings................

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 21:26 | 3067619 cranky-old-geezer
cranky-old-geezer's picture

 

 

Someone would have to be in a coma or living on another planet to think our so-called "rights" are still recognized by this govt.

People seem to think if the smallest shred of some so-called "right" is still recognized (while 99% of it is routinely ignored and violated) they still have that "right".

They can't see the trend.  The trend toward ignoring all so-called "rights".

Or they refuse to see the trend.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 14:58 | 3066745 NoControl
NoControl's picture

Laws are words on paper.  So is the constitution.

They are enforced or ignored at the whims of men.

 

We live in a world not of laws but of de facto power.

You will obey or you will be put into a cell while the finer points of your status are subjected to legal wranglings.

You (and we all) know this and abide by illegal laws simply because we want to live our lives, not be a martyr.

We are all cowards.     If the realization leaves a bad taste in your mouth you have some choices:

  • become a martyr and get imprisioned violating unconstitutional laws
  • abide by unjust laws and maybe support and donate to ACLU/EFF/etc..  there's no shortage of fronts in the legal challange of unconstitutional laws
  • take psychotripic medication or become an alcoholic.  maybe you'll learn to forget

 

or... (lol) "Change the System from the Inside".  We all know how well that works.  Have fun getting co-opted.

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 04:17 | 3068250 blunderdog
blunderdog's picture

       You (and we all) know this and abide by illegal laws simply because we want to live our lives, not be a martyr.

I like it, but I think more accurately we don't "abide" by them, they just don't come up.  What's the last thing you really wanted to do that would've landed you in a cell?  Despite the impression this place might give ya, most people don't suck that bad. 

That's why you can let 'em do what they want.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 15:16 | 3066805 Debt-Is-Not-Money
Debt-Is-Not-Money's picture

 

One more:

All laws which are repugnant to the Constitution are NULL AND VOID. --Marbury v. Madison, 5 U.S. (2 Cranch) 137 (1803)

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:45 | 3066363 Bicycle Repairman
Bicycle Repairman's picture

Lots of nice trivia in the article.  Next time the "Guns" category appears on Jeopardy I'm "loaded for bear".

Say, how did he get his guns?  I imagine CT is one of those "you can't have guns" kind of states.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:42 | 3066520 Oldballplayer
Oldballplayer's picture

I live on the Mass/CT border.  They have pretty strick gun laws (waiting periods can be longer, etc.)  They are not as strict as to the type of weapon and the capacity.

In Mass the gun companies my present for testing guns they want to sell in MA.  Then they must fellate or perform cunninlingus on the AG in order to "get on the list."

AND, the list is only printed a couple of times a year.  Smith and Wesson is based in MA and some of the weapons they produce five miles from my house cannot be sold in this state.

CT is whacked.  Mass is just fucked up.

 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 14:07 | 3066579 e_goldstein
e_goldstein's picture

From what I gather, he took his mother's who had them to protect her illegal gambling operation.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:47 | 3066365 goldenbuddha454
goldenbuddha454's picture

The one common thread most of the mass shooters have had is most have been on anti-depressants.  Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, if I remember correctly, were on anti-depressants, Arizona shooter ditto and most of the other shooters involved in these mass murders.  Most of the anti-depressants actually say on the label psychosis may occur in 1% of the users, thus, here we have another mass murder, could this guy have been on anti-depressants as well?  It could be one contributing factor, but the pharma lobby is so strong, noone will look into the possible connections IMO.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:02 | 3066394 trollin4sukrz
trollin4sukrz's picture

We used to lock up the nutz, now we give them pills and they walk amoungst us. Not working out too well I dont think.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 15:24 | 3066822 overbet
overbet's picture

I am ok with that lets run with ban anti-depressants rather than guns. Maybe we should ban clothing, they would have seen the gun if he wasnt clothed. 

 

Headine: WMT sss Plunge on clothing ban!

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 14:35 | 3068895 Freddie
Freddie's picture

+1 million  and BINGO!

Anti-depressants, violent video games and violent movies.   Good luck trying to ban Quentin Tarentino and his ilk from making Kill Bill followed by his new race baiting with Kill Whitey.  F Hollywood F TV.    We have a nation of violence on TV, movies and video games and people are shock this sh*t happens?

Aw come on Miramax or video game makers just give it an X rating or hard core R for violence, suffering, cruelty, gore etc.   Ditto for video games.  Good luck with that.  On the big screen with THX 1138 sound in 3D where libtard actors murder people.  Oh and in tarantino flicks - the people really suffer.  And we idolize the stars of these films. This is healthy right?

Let's try to ban Big Pharma's hard core drugs for kids, usually white kids with self-absorbed yuppie parents who are too busy to be parents.  Self absorbed mommy and daddy, who often divorce, then buy their kids kids endless Spec Ops and other violent games when they are hyped up on mind altering hard drugs.  The technology is great but XBox and Play Station 3 are so ****ing real looking that can these young drug alter minds tell the difference?  Can they discern reality after playing these games for hours each day. Watch the Manchurian Candidate again and see the conditioning sort of mirrors Harris, Klebold, Lanza and the rest. 

It seems like this mass murder has increased as the drugs get perscribed more and the games get more and more realistic.

Oh and with Internet technology - you can network with online buddies to go kill others to make it even more real.

What a great combo of super realistic video games and mind altering drugs.  What could go wrong there?

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:47 | 3066366 SISSYFUSS
SISSYFUSS's picture

http://bjs.ojp.usdoj.gov/content/pub/pdf/vvcs9310.pdf

we should probably 'ban' minorities between the ages of 18-24 having a median household income less than 7500.

it's the ONLY way we can be safe!

 

OR, we could ban assault rifles (let's disregard that in this particular case no assault rifle was used) because statitstics show that from 2005-2010 the violent crime rate dropped.  and this was AFTER the assault rifle ban expired!

i wish i could say i was surprised by the cognitive dissonance on display...  reminds me of idiots calling for bombing iraq after 9/11

 

AMERICA!  FUCK YEAH!

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:52 | 3066373 rehypothecator
rehypothecator's picture

Given that guns were banned in the school (and THAT worked out so well) we should ban guns from elsewhere too.  Sort of like when by far the most people dying from a sickness are the ones that have taken the most medication against it, we should medicate everyone else even more, too.  

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:10 | 3066418 DanDaley
DanDaley's picture

It's not about logic or being reasonable, it's all about Bloomberg and Obama etc., creating a frankensteini Utopia in which they tell you what to do...

-now everybody join hands and sing Kum-By-Ya and Imagine...that's an order!

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:46 | 3066532 Oldballplayer
Oldballplayer's picture

Mass still operates as if the AWB had never sunset.  So, I can speak to the fact that the weapons this guy had, for the most part, could have been purchased if the AWB was in place.

So reinstating it would do virtually nothing.

The Bushmaster would have been bought with a 10 round magazine.  You can get a preban 30 round magazine for about $40.  Perfectly legal.  The stock would not have been collaspable.  Not a huge deal.  You just pop the pin, set it to where you want it, and pop it back.

You could not have a flash suppresor or bayonet lug.  OK....I don't think that would have stopped anything.

And you would have to pass the same background check you have today.

So, you regulate the entire country to a standard that will make these silly gooses feel safe...and then there will be abother shooting next week.

Its not the guns folks, its the nutcases.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 15:27 | 3066837 FeralSerf
FeralSerf's picture

How do you propose to eliminate the nutcases?

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 19:06 | 3067314 Matt
Matt's picture

1) improved screening for and monitoring of mentally ill

2) institutionalization of potentially dangerous mentally ill people

3) review on prescription meds to determine if they are net positive or net negative impact, and make changes accordingly.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 20:13 | 3067469 FeralSerf
FeralSerf's picture

Who's going to do that?

Who's going to pay for that?

Would you require more than one opinion?  What if one doc prescribes X, but another doc decides that X is not appropriate?  Who do you believe?

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 22:06 | 3067718 Matt
Matt's picture

I would suggest more like large long term studies to allow or ban specific drugs. Will never happen with Big Pharma around though.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 19:40 | 3067398 rehypothecator
rehypothecator's picture

4) Have enough armed non-nutcases around, such that when the nutcases demonstrate their nutcased-ness, they can be eliminated then and there by said armed non-nutcases.  

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 14:39 | 3066678 AssFire
AssFire's picture

Holy bejeebus, dat be rayciss!

(Rayciss is another word for truthful these days)

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 19:44 | 3067405 DosZap
DosZap's picture

SISSYFUSS,

pls,pls,pls,pls, get your shit straight!!!!!!!!!!!!!

OR, we could ban assault rifles

 

They ARE banned!!!,you cannot own one without out a thorough Fed check, a $200.00 license, and around $4-30k.They cannot/have not even be made,since 1986!!!!,unless for testing, and LE/Military!!!.

Assault Weapons are FULLY automatic.

Period end of story.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 22:07 | 3067721 A Lunatic
A Lunatic's picture

+1000

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:46 | 3066367 rehypothecator
rehypothecator's picture

For some reason, when a drunk driver mows down a family of a dozen, we don't see the car dealer, the fill-up station, the auto manufacturer, the liquor store, the brewer, the AAA, and car owners generally, blamed in quite the same way that we see the gun makers, the ammo sellers, the NRA, and gun owners generally, blamed for things like this.  It makes no more sense to write about how many cars used in such accidents were (1) gasoline, (2) diesel or (3) hybrid than it does to tell about (1) handguns, (2) rifles, and (3) shotguns.  

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:04 | 3066401 Ignorance is bliss
Ignorance is bliss's picture

Guns represent violence and death. That's what they do. Its unfortunate, but the threat of violence and death is the only thing that keeps citizens safe from crime, dictatorships, death camps, and everything else that goes bump in the night.

We are in the midst of some really bad stuff happening in our Gov't, economy, and by extension the social order. There will be a strong movement to disarm and victimize its citizens. To make us hapless as TPTB rip this country apart and fit the pieces back into some sort of New World Order. The only thing that keeps them awake at night is knowing we are armed and based on weapons sales, the sheeple sense the wolves circling and looking for their opportunity.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 15:25 | 3066834 Area Man
Area Man's picture

hey, this is an economics and finance page ususally ..

 

how did you make it even through high school ?

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 01:34 | 3068090 Freddie
Freddie's picture

+1 million my man.

To make us hapless as TPTB rip this country apart and fit the pieces back into some sort of New World Order. The only thing that keeps them awake at night is knowing we are armed and based on weapons sales, the sheeple sense the wolves circling and looking for their opportunity.

Bingo!   And the usual one worlder elites and billionaires were the first to DEMAND immediate gun control.  Murdoch, Bloomberg, Rahm, China, Obama, dozens of Hollywood vermin and the list goes on.

Gun sales have gone parabolic over the last 4 years.  People who never touched a gun are buying.  It is less fear of crime and more fear that it will fall apart and that all govts and all polictians want us to be slaves.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:13 | 3066432 Area Man
Area Man's picture

gasoline gives mobility and liquor relief and fun for some...

 

what exactly does a gun give you ?  feeling of power ?

 

don't say "safety" ... obviously a high number and easy access of guns does not produce more saftey..

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:27 | 3066470 shovelhead
shovelhead's picture

A gun in that Aurora Co. theater or in this Conn. school certainly would have mitigated the number of deaths.

Who did they call? Cops with pillows?

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:32 | 3066485 Area Man
Area Man's picture

understand - still the more guns - more safety logic.

imagine a college bar full with students, a gun for each one of them... two guys clash over a spilled drink, a girl as it often happens ... would you like to be in that room ?

 

clearly, nobody argues for the police to be stripped of their weapons..

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:54 | 3066546 CrockettAlmanac.com
CrockettAlmanac.com's picture

I often argue that police should be stripped of their weapons.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 15:24 | 3066828 Area Man
Area Man's picture

so police should not carry weapons, but everyone else should ? that's called anarchy..

 

but ok, i am seeing - you guys are crazy..

 

this forum is clearly populated by lunatics.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 16:43 | 3066996 CrockettAlmanac.com
CrockettAlmanac.com's picture

Anarchy means no rulers and as an individual who respects the rights of seven billion other diverse individuals anarchism is only fair. Of course that doesn't mean that everybody has to be armed. Security and adjudicative personnel could still be hired in the market and thereby be accountable to those they serve.

 

this forum is clearly populated by lunatics.

 

Do you mean people who don't believe that the government has our best interests at heart? Yeah that's really crazy, dude.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 17:41 | 3067135 Central Bankster
Central Bankster's picture

Hey everybody disagrees with me!  I am leaving because I am the only one who thinks I make a good argument!  I make fallacy ridden arguments that are easily countered!  THEY must be crazy, not me.  

 

- Area Man

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 19:10 | 3067322 Matt
Matt's picture

"imagine a college bar full with students, a gun for each one of them... two guys clash over a spilled drink, a girl as it often happens ... would you like to be in that room ?"

That is why the bar would have a weapons check at the door. You don't have guns while drunk, just like you don't drive while drunk. 

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 15:37 | 3069012 TBT or not TBT
TBT or not TBT's picture

Still, there ought not to be any law against wielding a weapon while drunk, on one's private property(indoors in suburbia, outdoors in the country, or posing as rambo with half a bottle of scotch).     I don't think someone SHOULD do that, but we don't need a law about it.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 22:05 | 3067716 Cosimo de Medici
Cosimo de Medici's picture

Fourteen Rambos so far say you are right about Aurora.  Personally, I think the jury is out on whether your sentence should contain "mitigated" or "exacerbated".

Please explain what a gun would have done.  It was a heavily crowded and dark theater.  Would you have shot at the flash or just randomly?  And that would have done what?  Perhaps the gunman was moving and was no longer in the position from where the flash emerged.  Oh, you have the reaction time and cajones to return fire the same instant you saw the flash?  Okay, if so, do you fire at the flash (assuming the gunman is facing you and has the gun in front of his own body relative to your position), to the left of the flash (assuming the gunman was firing to your right), or to the right of the flash (assuming the gunman was firing to your left)?  You are confident enough in your skill and courage that you would not have hit any innocents?

Of course I am first assuming that before you had to make instantaneous decisions about where to fire relative to the flash that you are also a combat veteran who has experience firing at another human being who might be firing at you, rather than just someone who thinks shooting at the range on Saturday mornings is the same as a genuine firefight.

Perhaps---I'll grant you this---if the theater was not a gun free zone the shooter might never have gone there, but that assumes batshit crazy retains both logic and natural fear.  I'm not so sure it does.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 22:45 | 3067793 Matt
Matt's picture

Theatres are steeply slanted. If the shooter is standing, and is further up then you, and if everyone and yourself are sitting, then even if you miss, the shots will go over the people sitting down behind the shooter. 

If you are further down, the movie will cause you to have light at your back, making it easier for you to see the shooter and harder for him to see you.

Ideally, someone up at the ticket booth/concessions would have a gun and would have resolved the issue prior to the gunman getting into the theatre itself.

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 02:12 | 3068151 CrockettAlmanac.com
CrockettAlmanac.com's picture

 

Please explain what a gun would have done. It was a heavily crowded and dark theater. Would you have shot at the flash or just randomly? And that would have done what? Perhaps the gunman was moving and was no longer in the position from where the flash emerged.

 

If police had arrived while the crime was ongoing they would have faced the same conditions. By your criteria no one should intervene while a shooting is in progress. Apparently, when killers go wild the only safe thing to do is die.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:29 | 3066475 Abitdodgie
Abitdodgie's picture

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=vAU9AJfttls

Thats why i have a gun , and that is the only reason.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:38 | 3066511 Area Man
Area Man's picture

to protect yourself from world - hunger ??

 

oh man..

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:36 | 3066499 CrockettAlmanac.com
CrockettAlmanac.com's picture

 

 

obviously a high number and easy access of guns does not produce more saftey

 

This is not obvious at all as you make no distinction between those who use and store firearms responsibly and those who don't.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:46 | 3066529 Area Man
Area Man's picture

right.. arms used here were legally bought and stored..

 

 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 14:02 | 3066539 CrockettAlmanac.com
CrockettAlmanac.com's picture

Right, because legally and responsibly are synonyms in your dictionary. Not to mention the fact that in this situation the guns were used illegally as murdering a Kindergarten class is against the law pretty much everywhere.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 15:01 | 3066752 Ginsengbull
Ginsengbull's picture

Until they were allowed to be stolen by a nutcase on psychoactive medications, or off them.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:52 | 3066372 Flakmeister
Flakmeister's picture

Asperger Syndrome has just been dropped as diagnosis by the APA

http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-204_162-57556754/aspergers-syndrome-dropped-from-american-psychiatric-association-manual/

Its a conspiracy I tell you,,,,

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:16 | 3066441 agent default
agent default's picture

The term has been dropped but the underlying diagnosis is still there under the autism spectrum disorder.  So now I am just plain autistic.  And I used to feel so important.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:42 | 3066522 CrockettAlmanac.com
CrockettAlmanac.com's picture

Isn't defining yourself according to the classifications assigned to you by others the opposite of autism?

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 14:58 | 3066749 Ginsengbull
Ginsengbull's picture

Wanna go to Vegas?

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 15:46 | 3066890 Aurora Ex Machina
Aurora Ex Machina's picture

That raised a smile. Reference.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:26 | 3066467 Uncle Remus
Uncle Remus's picture

Now it's just plain ol' "nucking futs" - just like in the good ol' days.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 14:27 | 3066630 Flakmeister
Flakmeister's picture

'tetched"....

Not nuts, but you knew something was not quite right...

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:51 | 3066375 TruthBeforeAll
TruthBeforeAll's picture

And the fact that the NYT writes a biopic on this guy (not to mention wall to wall covergae of his photo and life story on TV) does nothing but increase the likelyhood that another homicidal loner who has given up on life will reach the conclusion that the best way to get people to try to understand them is to go on a shooting rampage.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:53 | 3066378 Flakmeister
Flakmeister's picture

I can see it time to make popcorn again....

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 12:58 | 3066385 max2205
max2205's picture

Cars kill the most in the USA. Ban that

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 19:19 | 3067348 Matt
Matt's picture

Actually, I think bad eating habits kill many times as many people as cars. Should need a license to be able to prepare a meal; special permits to eat hamburgers, etc. Since apparently, more government and regulations are the key to making a safer, happier America.

let's see:

Heart disease: 599,413

Cancer: 567,568

Diabetes: 68,705

Stroke: 128,842

What portion of that do you think is dietary?

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/lcod.htm

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 20:48 | 3067533 nmewn
nmewn's picture

I'm not the least bit interested in regulating what people choose to eat...as long as its not other people.

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 14:02 | 3068839 Matt
Matt's picture

I, and pretty sure Max as well, were being facetious.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:03 | 3066395 DanDaley
DanDaley's picture

Hey, they forgot medical-malpractice deaths -close to 200,000 a year n the US.  Ban those damned doctors NOW!

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:08 | 3066409 trollin4sukrz
trollin4sukrz's picture

"Ban those damned doctors NOW!"

Damn near as deadly as tobacco.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:08 | 3066406 Catullus
Catullus's picture

http://www.neontommy.com/news/2012/07/doing-math-guns

May I suggest the gun ownership versus murder rate graph?

I dislike even the term "assualt weapon".  It assumes the object has its own purpose and that you can know what that specific use is a priori

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 19:24 | 3067358 Matt
Matt's picture

Generally, tools are designed for specific purposes. A skinning knife, a filet knife, a bread knife. While each can be used for other purposes, they are designed to excel at one specific task.

Similarly, a hunting rifle is designed for hunting, compared to an assualt rifle, which is designed for human-on-human action. We cannot determine the intent of the owner, but we can determine the intent of the designer, since they tell us what they designed their product for. 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 20:59 | 3067560 nmewn
nmewn's picture

I'm surprised to find that a bullet fired from an "assault rifle" will veer away before impact on a deer or a hog.

So you're saying I probably need to get a weapon designed for defense against ALL human predators instead of just a 3-5 shot deer rifle?

Duly noted and thanks for the heads up ;-)

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 14:26 | 3068856 Matt
Matt's picture

You are free to use whatever tool you want for whatever job you want; claiming that the tool itself was not designed for a specific purpose is disingenuous.

Look at it from the other side; how often does the US military use a Goose-hunting shotgun on the field of battle? Or a .22 rifle? 

A steak knife is called a steak knife because the manufacturer designed it to cut steak. This in no way hampers your ability to butter your potato with it.

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 15:46 | 3069024 TBT or not TBT
TBT or not TBT's picture

The standard issue US army rifle round is .003" different in caliber from a .22, but I digress.

Also, LOTS of people hunt, at all hours and year round, with AR's, AK's, SKS's, and the like, legally and effectively.   They abandonned their old bolt action deer rifles for the hunting I'm speaking of, because the task is ventilating the maximum possible number of FERAL PIGS at every opportunity.   Private landowners from coast to coast carry "assault" weapons in their vehicles all day long, and well they should.    Further to that, AR's and SKS's can make a decent deer rifle, particularly AR's chambered in 6.8mm or .308 for example.

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 18:35 | 3069390 Matt
Matt's picture

Calibre isn't everything:

.22LR vs .223 http://www.thefirearmblog.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/22_penny_2...

This entire line is about the term "assault" for Assault Rifles. The poster is saying he does not like the term 'Assault Rifle' because he feels the name indicates the intentions of the user. I am saying the name of a thing indicates the intentions of the manufacturer.

What do you want manufacturers to call their military-centric product lines if you do not want them to use the term Assault, since that apparently has a stigma towards the end-user? 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:08 | 3066408 Dingleberry
Dingleberry's picture

2-3x as many kids get shot on a weekend in CHicago in the summer.  But they are usually miority-on-minority, so no news because it woudln't sell.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:09 | 3066420 trollin4sukrz
trollin4sukrz's picture

Yep, in N Las Vegas we would look at it as "Just another dead nigger" and step over them to get to the quickie mart.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 16:44 | 3066986 blunderdog
blunderdog's picture

"Kids" under 10 at a school may not necessarily be completely equivalent with "kids" 15-25 who are working in the drug-trade, tho.

Unless you're some kind of crazy asshole, in which case I'd agree you can say they're all the same.  Is there any GOOD reason to bring up such a peripherally-related statistic? 

We could get into a long discussion about what kind of people buy Sigs and Glocks, too, but it's not as if any of that is at all RELEVANT.

Sun, 12/16/2012 - 15:47 | 3069028 TBT or not TBT
TBT or not TBT's picture

Democrat failure zones' poverty, violence and depravity are not favorite subjects of our statist media complex.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 13:27 | 3066412 Haole
Haole's picture

I wonder if the second shooter suffered from the same problems?  You know, details of the other guy described in witness testimony that have been completely whitewashed barely a day after?

Wash, rinse, spin, repeat.

Oh, and how about Barry's fake crying in a bid for an Oscar to go next to his "peace prize", well-deserved for killing innocent children with drones in the ME?

 

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 14:25 | 3066625 August
August's picture

"I wonder if the second shooter suffered from the same problems?"

Those early reports of a "second shooter" have proven to be erroneous; that guy actually was with law enforcement, and just happened to be in the area.   This sort of mix-up frequently happens when out-of-control weirdos and loners shoot up schools or theatres.

Sat, 12/15/2012 - 19:17 | 3067324 Haole
Haole's picture

Proven erroneous...?  With law enforcement and just happened to be in the area..?  Really?

Allegedly every death was caused by rifle rounds/wounds.  Lanza was found dead inside the school with two handguns and no rifle?  Later rifle is found in the back seat of his car?

I'm sure you have an explanation for this however that registers favorably with your perception of reality however.

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