D.C. Shooting

[mister d]

All majority congressmen.

[A_B]

All majority congressmen.

Well, what's the worst that can happen when there's more security around?

[mister d]

Keep this kinda quote in mind when "thoughts and prayers" turn to "this is the time and place to make it political" ...

[duff]

This is going to make it impossible for white people to travel.

Word. Especially from the midwest. Sorry, duff et al, just stay put.

Well, shit. Going to have to cancel vacation plans.

[DaveInSeattle]

Am I a bad person because my first reaction when I heard the shooter was a white male was one of relief that it wasn't a black male or a Muslim?

[mister d]

I think that was nearly universal. Only way it was "better" was if it was an angry Trump voter or father of a sick kid. We're definitely in a great place as a country.

[EnochRoot]

I think that was nearly universal. Only way it was "better" was if it was an angry Trump voter or father of a sick kid. We're definitely in a great place as a country.

We just elected a man who used a 5 year, code-worded campaign to discredit and delegitimize the president of the United States. The GOP owns this a fuck ton more than any of the rhetoric coming from Bernie Sanders...(not that you are saying this)..

[The Sybian]

Keep this kinda quote in mind when "thoughts and prayers" turn to "this is the time and place to make it political" ...

But, the GOP thought it would be a RW nutter shooting the black, Kenyan, Muslim Dem enemy of the State, not a LW nutter shooting a Republican!

It blows my mind seeing all of the comments about the Dems and Liberal Media radicalizing, calling for violence, etc... Hannity blamed the LW media for dehumanizing Republicans, just days after he nodded in agreement while interviewing Eric Trump, who quite literally said anyone who criticizes Trump isn't human.

First, have there been any Democrats in office calling for violence or championing looser gun laws? I've been seeing long lists of prominant Republicans calling for violence, musing about killing Dems to "thin the herd," extolling use of the "2nd Amendment option" if Dems took Congress or the Presidency, not the least of them being Trump, calling to his crowds to knock the hell out of protestors, have them carried out in stretchers, bragging about being able to shoot someone on Fifth Ave...

Yes, there are some idiots in comment sections cheering for this shooting, or supporting Kathy Griffin, or supporting the Trump as Julius Caesar play, but the Right plays it off as "all Liberals" are sick, "this is what they all think/do" while every Dem politician and Liberal pundit has condemned the acts. Meanwhile, the GOP elected a man President who has said and done worse on an almost daily basis.

I know I suffer from a confirmation bias, but I watch segments from Fox, CNN, MSNBC and read stuff on Liberal and Conservative media, and there is an enormous difference. The majority of criticism of the Left from the Right is focusing on extreme acts from Liberal crackpots, or create strawman Liberal arguments that no sane, intelligent person could possible believe, and pass that off as the Liberal/Dem agenda. Typically, "Liberals are mentally ill morons who want to steal all of your money because they are lazy and jealous." Liberal media outlets tend to argue against what prominent Republicans or Righty media pundits say or do. If you look at the guests on FoxNews shows, Tucker Carlson will argue with a delusional college student living in an ultra-left wing bubble wrapped safe space, and show how stupid all Dems are. Meanwhile, CNN panels are filled with "former" Trump administration officials, some of whom are still receiving money from Trump.

[P.D.X.]

I occasionally dip into Fox and Breitbart for laughs. Not going near them this week.

[Pruitt]

I occasionally dip into Fox and Breitbart for laughs. Not going near them this week.

You Don't Have To. This Is From the BBC

Which means it lets the mouth breathers speak for themselves...

Fox News host Sean Hannity also laid the blame on Democrats for the Virginia shooting, arguing the left had "de-humanised" Republicans and painted them as "monsters".

"When Democrats continue to dehumanise Republicans and paint them as monsters day in and day out, year in and year out, well the climate around the country, it becomes more than toxic, and the tragic results, of course, follow," he told his viewers on Wednesday night.
He also claimed that "virtually no one on the left has denounced this vile behaviour".

Republican congressman Steve King has blamed President Barack Obama for fuelling political divisions that led to an attack on Republican lawmakers.
Mr Obama "focused on our differences rather than our things that unify us", the Iowa Republican said.

And inevitably and predictably missing the reason behind gun violence...

In the wake of the attack, Republican congressman Thomas Massie introduced a bill on Thursday that would allow those with gun permits in their home states to carry weapons in Washington, DC.
Mr Massie said the measure is aimed at helping lawmakers, who are exposed in the nation's capital, to protect themselves and "avoid a tragic situation".

[P.D.X.]

Hillary I'm sure is also to blame.

[Joe K]

Even if you oppose broader gun control measures, one painfully obvious reform is to ban gun sales to persons with a history of domestic violence. This latest shooter, like many other recent mass shooters, had such a history. And yet he was able to legally buy a rifle. But instead our government will just fingerpoint about political ideologies.

[DaveInSeattle]

I occasionally dip into Fox and Breitbart for laughs. Not going near them this week.

You Don't Have To. This Is From the BBC

Which means it lets the mouth breathers speak for themselves...

Fox News host Sean Hannity also laid the blame on Democrats for the Virginia shooting, arguing the left had "de-humanised" Republicans and painted them as "monsters".

"When Democrats continue to dehumanise Republicans and paint them as monsters day in and day out, year in and year out, well the climate around the country, it becomes more than toxic, and the tragic results, of course, follow," he told his viewers on Wednesday night.
He also claimed that "virtually no one on the left has denounced this vile behaviour".

Last week on Hannity's show:

On Tuesday night, Eric Trump told Sean Hannity how he really feels about Democrats and his father’s political opponents: “I’ve never seen hatred like this. To me, they’re not even people.”

[Johnnie]

Even if you oppose broader gun control measures, one painfully obvious reform is to ban gun sales to persons with a history of domestic violence. This latest shooter, like many other recent mass shooters, had such a history. And yet he was able to legally buy a rifle. But instead our government will just fingerpoint about political ideologies.

I thought that that's what the Lautenberg Amendment sought to fix. Weird.

[Joe K]

Even if you oppose broader gun control measures, one painfully obvious reform is to ban gun sales to persons with a history of domestic violence. This latest shooter, like many other recent mass shooters, had such a history. And yet he was able to legally buy a rifle. But instead our government will just fingerpoint about political ideologies.

I thought that that's what the Lautenberg Amendment sought to fix. Weird.

I looked it up and you are right that the Lautenberg Act addresses the issue, but it is limited to convictions. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of DV cases that are not prosecuted for one reason or another. Also, I did some quick searches and found an article from a few years ago saying that the Lautenberg Act prohibitions are rarely enforced. So at a minimum, the existing laws need to enforced more stringently; I would also expand them to cover arrests and not just convictions.

[A_B]

Hmmm. I agree with you on the intent, but I don't really see how you can enforce something without a conviction. That seems like it would be a pretty blatant civil rights violation, regardless of the good intent.

[Joe K]

Hmmm. I agree with you on the intent, but I don't really see how you can enforce something without a conviction. That seems like it would be a pretty blatant civil rights violation, regardless of the good intent.

You could have some type of probable cause hearing to allow someone to challenge the gun ban. They have these in a lot of (maybe all?) states if someone is trying to expunge an arrest record. You can get the arrest removed from your record if you can show there wasn't probable cause for it, and I think there could be a very similar mechanism here.

[DSafetyGuy]

There are some interesting facts about the domestic violence/gun ownership angle in this article:

Disarm All Domestic Abusers Now

[HaulCitgo]

Hmmm. I agree with you on the intent, but I don't really see how you can enforce something without a conviction. That seems like it would be a pretty blatant civil rights violation, regardless of the good intent.

You could have some type of probable cause hearing to allow someone to challenge the gun ban. They have these in a lot of (maybe all?) states if someone is trying to expunge an arrest record. You can get the arrest removed from your record if you can show there wasn't probable cause for it, and I think there could be a very similar mechanism here.

Was in court a couple months ago on a protective order matter. We ultimately did some sort of consent to protect the guys custodial rights to his kids, as those can be modified (or at least visitation) in a protective order. Anyway, the judge specifically made sure the guy knew he had to turn his guns in and make him come back to court to confirm that and some sort of anger management enrollment. Of course the idiot stopped the proceedings to inquire why with the judge and argued with me about giving them up. Same guy that beat his woman so bad that he couldnt shake my hand.

[Gunpowder]

Hmmm. I agree with you on the intent, but I don't really see how you can enforce something without a conviction. That seems like it would be a pretty blatant civil rights violation, regardless of the good intent.

Yeah, suspending rights based on arrests sounds like a very slippery slope.