Another fucking spree shooting. Great.

so of course "guns" became central to right wing politics in america. these are objects that only destroy and the culture of right wing america is extremely toxic. even their view of christianity is extremely hateful and vengeful, from the "prosperity gospel" to the obsession with the last judgment. i am a socialist but i could respect conservatism more if it wasn't *this*.

The singularity:

New: Hunter Biden's lawyers have told DOJ that if he's charged with owning a gun as a drug user (which is illegal), they will argue the ban is unconstitutional under the Second Amendment

Story: https://t.co/k21Z24bUe8

— Betsy Woodruff Swan (@woodruffbets) June 1, 2023

The quasi-apocalyptic part of me thinks that at some point in the future people will look back at the growth of gun culture and say, "Oh, this is what all of that was leading to."

The more hopeful part thinks there could be an era of think pieces about the decline of gun culture and obsessiveness. I'd rather live in that future than the other, but I don't really know which one is more likely. Or maybe it's sequential, the first and then the second, who knows.

There's already more hesitancy to enforce federal laws in heavily armed areas of the country. I imagine this is all heading toward societal collapse and the rise of warlords.

My personal prediction has been a steady increase in isolated skirmishes and conflicts with law enforcement, but yeah, there are already chunks of the population law enforcement is unwilling or unlikely to engage, either because they are sympathetic or because they are scared. Thankfully this country is too big and lazy to truly pursue a civil war; something like Jan. 6 might be the most they could muster, because even the majority of gun owners probably recognize their own limitations against law enforcement and military. That's also I think why the majority of gun people really emphasize the *idea* of gun ownership over actual mobilization. The tragic outcome is guns everywhere, including in the hands of the relative few willing to actually use them.

I know it's easier said than done and unlikely to happen for many practical reasons, but my wife and I's idle "wouldn't it be nice to live in a country that wasn't obsessed with guns" chatter has moved to very seriously investigating the hows, whys and wheres of actually getting the fuck out of this hellhole.

My ex moved to Spain a year ago, and the thing that's made the biggest impression on her so far is how much safer she feels, like she doesn't have to have her guard up all the time just to walk down the street or run an errand.

Yeah, I mean, it would just be great to live in a place where it wasn't a matter of "when, not if" my life is personally impacted by gun violence.

my attempts to escape went from a dream to "never going to happen", but also I don't want to abandon the friends I have here right now either (note, I don't judge anybody who desires to leave where they're at right now)

I only left Boston 5 years ago and I never that anywhere. Not even really in Boston after the shooting. I have no idea why but I was much more afraid of things like being somewhere that was blown up (the T, a mass event) for some reason I never really thought about guns even though that has to be a MUCH higher threat statistically. I have thought about it before though and wondered if maybe my brain somehow knows just not to go there because I couldn’t handle being that aware or anxious 24/7 idk.

Should have read “I never felt that”.

I mean, it gets to beyond the scope of this thread specifically, it just feels like the gun violence keeps creeping closer and closer (a coworker's 20 year-old nephew was shot in the back and killed just walking down the street last weekend, in what so far seems to be a completely random shooting) and fewer and fewer reasons for optimism about things turning around with each passing week. I know despair ain't helpful, but a hard honest look at the state of this country doesn't exactly fill one with the opposite.

not to mention - 'successful' suicide attempts are far more likely when there's any kind of firearm in the house

There is a not a day that goes by without at least the fleeting though that today could be the day I or someone I know gets shot. I mentioned years back about my daughter being woken a summer or two ago (I can't even remembered) by two speeding cars passing by shooting at each other. That was enough to get a couple of our neighbors to leave.

It’s awful. And I know the risk is incredibly real. I think my not thinking about it really was some sort of self-protective mental block.

I know its silly but every time this thread gets bumped while my kids are in school I feel a little pang in my stomach

Not silly at all! Mine too.

that is so sad

also so sadly understandable

Doesn't help that, so far this year, we've hard three "soft" and one full lockdown of our schools due to shootings near one school or other in the district. Thankfully none of them were actually at, or connected to, the school, but still disconcerting to get that alert pop-up. For reference, my son is in 5th grade. We had one "soft" lockdown the entire time he was in kindergarten through fourth grade and four this year alone.

It surprises me a little to think about people I know who have been directly impacted. I posted a little bit ago about the gun going off in a classroom in my son's school, which was bad enough. But I know several people who are/were members of our local Unitarian church, and who were there the day in 2008 when a guy came in with a shotgun determined to kill "liberals" and "Democrats."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knoxville_Unitarian_Universalist_church_shooting

A friend of mine, a writer, was the greeter at the door that day. He didn't recognize the shooter — who had his gun in a guitar case — but welcomed him and waved him through. Then a minute later he heard the gun shots from inside. Apart from the two people killed, it traumatized everyone there of course. My friend had basically a complete breakdown, spent years and years blaming himself for not somehow stopping or questioning the guy. He's still not "OK," really, but he's achieved some level of mental peace with it all. But every new shooting that happens reopens it a little for him. I think about how many thousands (millions?) of people there are like that now, living with the after-effects of these things.

Also, in that shooting, the guy had a shotgun -- the AR-15 craze I guess hadn't quite taken off yet? If he'd had an AR-15, many more people would have died.

To belatedly answer Jeff upthread, I'm sure it's the same shooting! It was this guy and a friend of his, a red Kia pulls up, they shoot him...just absolutely insane. My brother likes to take photos at night in Chicago and I advised him to be careful, but after this happened to his pal I suspect he doesn't need to be told that.

I'm not a fan of events these days and maybe there's a subconscious fear, idk.

My kid's school had a lockdown recently because an armed robbery suspect ditched his car and was running through the neighborhood.

Also, there was a 2A asshole who liked to stand across the street from the elementary school with an AR-15. The cops said they couldn't do anything about him.

yeah I've thought about that a lot too. I mean obviously the focus has to be on the victims but every kid who survives one of these shootings, especially those who are just 7-10 years old when it happens, are gonna be fucked up from it for life. even the shooting drills our school has to do puts some messed up thoughts in their heads. my son once told me he wants me to buy a gun for him so he can protect his sister in case a "bad guy" comes. congrats Republicans, your grand policy ideas could've come from the mind of a second grader.

Also, there was a 2A asshole who liked to stand across the street from the elementary school with an AR-15. The cops said they couldn't do anything about him.

god I hate this shit so much. a while back I saw a dude with a handgun in a holster, obviously positioned in a way that people could see it, while shopping at Festival Foods. oh are you supposed to be the "good guy with a gun"? sorry but I think you're a fucking lunatic because you legitimately think you're going to have to murder someone at the grocery store.

Think I might have mentioned this itt before, but one day my son was telling me about the fire drill they had that day which led into him talking about the tornado drills and active shooters drills they'd done as well. Which, y'know, heartbreaking enough that these have to be a thing, but I noticed that he kept saying "when we have a shooter come to the school" and not "if we have a shooter come to the school". It's just so fucking common that kids expect it to happen.

tipsy i read your post about your friend and the shooting story and i am so sorry. what a horrible thing. unbelievably sorrowful, i cannot think of more to say.

Also, there was a 2A asshole who liked to stand across the street from the elementary school with an AR-15. The cops said they couldn't do anything about him.

Yeah, there's a dude doing this not far from me in Maryland recently. I'm absolutely mind-fucked that this is not already illegal here. I've never heard of anyone else ever open-carrying in Maryland. I'm massively confused.

https://www.wbaltv.com/article/jden-mcadory-man-with-gun-severn-school-bus-stop-governor/43944583#

I know it's probably not wise to aggravate someone holding an ar-15, but my instinct would be to hurl abuse at someone open carrying like this. Probably lucky I haven't encountered this so far.

Man, tipsy! That story. My heart goes out to your friend (and everyone in this thread - what a world).

To belatedly answer Jeff upthread, I'm sure it's the same shooting! It was this guy and a friend of his, a red Kia pulls up, they shoot him...just absolutely insane. My brother likes to take photos at night in Chicago and I advised him to be careful, but after this happened to his pal I suspect he doesn't need to be told that.

xp That guy looks much older than 20.

When asked if he could understand how parents and children might be afraid seeing him armed by the bus stop, McAdory told the I-Team: "I do understand. So, I talked to the kids this morning at 7 a.m. right at that bus stop over there with the AR-15."]

^^^as if… that made things better

i think adults seriously think kids are going to be all like "COOOOOOL!" when they see guns like it's the 80s and they're blowing up GI Joes with M-80s every day, and not that they've grown up in a world where they have to worry about dying in school every day.

A Virginia high school graduation now…

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/seven-people-wounded-shooting-following-virginia-high-school-graduation-2023-06-07/"> https://www.reuters.com/world/us/seven-people-wounded-shooting-following-virginia-high-school-graduation-2023-06-07/

There was a shooting at a graduation last year too.

The suspect was likely to be charged with two counts of second-degree murder in addition to other offenses, interim Richmond Police Chief Rick Edwards told a press conference.

Edwards called the shooter's behavior "disgusting and cowardly," since his dispute appeared to be with just one person.

not to revive the question of america's exceptional derangement, but I wonder if a big cop in any other country would make a point of saying that real men shoot at their enemies with a clear line of sight

A Florida woman accused of fatally shooting her neighbour after a years-long feud was arrested on Tuesday, authorities said.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-65837876

"Florida woman"

fuckin charge it as a goddamn hate crime

How is that second degree murder and not first? xps

I guess lack of premeditation? I’m not sure what the legal standard is, how far in advance you have to show intent. If someone is knocking on your door for several minutes and you eventually decide to go shoot them, that seems kinda premeditated to me? But I’m not a lawyer.

I… don’t know how to react to kids just roasting someone who attempted to shoot up their school on IG

my high school had an active shooting threat earlier. no one got hurt but students did find the shooters ig pic.twitter.com/3EkxBL2pjM

— tony🗣 (@ratatatvandal) June 8, 2023

😣

Happy Fourth of July!

Shooting in Fort Worth leaves at least 3 dead and 8 others wounded

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/04/us/fort-worth-shooting-deaths/index.html

Philadelphia police search for motive in mass shooting that left 5 dead and 2 children injured

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/04/us/philadelphia-shooting-motive-suspect-tuesday/index.html

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2023/07/03/baltimore-mass-shooting/

shooting at a mpls punk show last night

https://www.mprnews.org/story/2023/08/12/1-dead-6-injured-after-mass-shooting-at-minneapolis-punk-show

horrible.... was a house called Nudieland

so what happened apparently the next door neighbors of Nudieland are some guys in their late 30s, they see a party and show up fusion flashing guns, wouldn't pay for beer,and were hitting on underage girls. they were asked to leave and came back just shooting randomly into a crowd.

fuck this country

Fuck this country.