As an outsider it seems absolutely weird that the US as a country seems to have accepted people getting shot by other regular people daily as normal.
Oprah Winfrey once said, everybody gets a gun, you get a gun, you get a gun, we all get a gun.
😔
My kids' school recently had an active shooter drill like we used to do fire drills when I was a kid. They said they all had hiding spots to go to and they thought it was pretty scary. They're in elementary school. It's definitely not normal that instead of doing something about the guns we have to teach kids to hide from gunmen because that's just a legit possibility now.
My friend's daughter is in elementary school and an active shooter came into the school. Nobody died, but later he bought her a bulletproof backpack designed for AR-15 rounds (223). But the backpack was so heavy she couldn't carry books in it. So instead he opted for handgun rounds protection, which isn't ideal but it's something.
As an American, I think the moment I said "which one" when asked if I had heard about the mass shooting in wherever it was I can't even remember now, that was when I realized how fucked our gun policies are.
What else is there to do but accept it? It isn't like our politicians have the will to do anything about it. Peaceful protest falls on deaf ears. The gun crazies would gladly die in a blaze of glory rather than be disarmed. The country is awash in guns and ammunition. So please do tell, oh wise outsider, what the hell a normal person is supposed to do about it?
Peaceful protests? There are less peaceful protests for gun control than shootings. Maybe start there.
But I agree the US seems beyond screwed in that regard. NRA is too powerful, the two party system is stuck on the far right and society is divided into extremist views by propaganda and social media.
So maybe leave the country? That's what I'd do I think.
Solidarity is not part of the common sense of the people of US.
You shouldn't be surprised. It's caused by the same bad actors who are responsible for most of the ways in which the US is an outlier vs its so-called peer democracies.
The guys was committed for two weeks and had threatened to shoot up a national guard base. They had the information to act on and take away his guns and they didn't because they didn't need to. This is even more fucked because it was probably avoidable.
There are no red flag laws in Maine. There was no legal way to take his guns even if they thought that was necessary. Also, the christofacist supreme court is set to strike down laws that prevent people convicted domestic violence from owning guns, which will chip away at the legality of red flag laws everywhere. Happy Thursday everyone!
If he was a reservist, I'm pretty sure his commander could've ordered him to surrender his weapons.
And the bar under the UCMJ to do deal with a suicidal/homicidal troop is way lower than what it is for a civilian.
Almost all mass shootings were avoidable if that government really cared about solving this problem
They do care, just not as much as they care about those sweet NRA and Colt checks 😩
This thing doesn't go past 0 very often
It does.
It was up to 6 at the end of September!
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_mass_shootings_in_the_United_States_in_2023
Every iteration of gun control, with few exceptions, carves out exceptions for LEOs and Military. If you want this to stop a good start would be making these guys have to follow the laws the rest of us do, because if you campaign for more of the same from your lawmakers, I guarantee there will still be exceptions for the people who protect the rich.
Exceptions for active military can work because they are subject to the far more strict ucmj. Cops are a real problem though, they kill 1000 or so people every year with minimal consequence.
1200 last year, that we know of. Cops self report their crimes. There is no law that requires them to report if they have committed a murder.
The ucmj being strict is worth little against someone taking up his guns and going rampage.
Why does anyone from the Police or Military need to own firearms privately? The only reason i could think of is training, but that is a responsibility of the employer, to give enough training to the cops and soldiers.
What's unsurprising is how strictly gun control is implemented on US military bases and navy ships.
If you live in barracks on-base and own a personal gun, if often has to be stored in the base's firearm storage. The only people who can walk around armed are MPs or people on their way to/from authorized training. Even if you have a concealed carry permit for the state the base is in, you can't conceal carry in the base. If you're on your way to the base's firing range and stop to get gas at the base's gas station, you can't leave your gun in your car while you go into the convenience store at the gas station unless your car is locked in your trunk. Often even a paintball gun has to be stored in the base armory.
Keep in mind these aren't rules for random civilians. These are the rules for people who have already had to pass extensive firearms training courses.
It's pretty insane that random untrained civilians have far fewer restrictions on guns than members of the military on a military base.
The only people who can walk around armed are MPs or people on their way to/from authorized training.
Uh huh... I've carried a Mk-14 clear across base before. Nobody stopped or said shit...
If you live in barracks on-base and own a personal gun, if often has to be stored in the base’s firearm storage.
No... your units weapon storage... and that only because you can't bring a gun safe into the barracks. Keep in mind that Barrack != on post housing... You can have a gun safe and many guns in your on-post non-barracks housing.
Often even a paintball gun has to be stored in the base armory.
No in my experience on 4 different posts.
Even if you have a concealed carry permit for the state the base is in
Cause Federal land doesn't need to recognize local laws. It's up to the post commander what they want to do.
I understand why it seems strange that the Military has stricter regulations on weapons than civilians but honestly thats a good thing to me. Not saying the level of rules on civilians is fine the way it is, however soldiers are quite literally tools of and representative of the US government, what they do, the US government does, or at the very least is accountable for. Often times what they are doing they are doing to citizens (or soldiers) of other countries as well. A random US citizen doesn't represent the government, but an active soldier is very much representetive of theirs. From the governments POV its like self preservation.
Extensive firearms training is a bit of a stretch. Yes combat jobs get plenty of range time, but many only get a basic refreshers as needed (before deployment)
But yes military bases are pretty strict compared to outside the fence
I'm not aware of any federal exemptions to gun laws for military/ex-military citizens.
The only ones I've seen relate to state gun law in e.g. AZ, where if military/ex-military want a conceal carry permit, the training requirement is waived. You still have to submit an application with fingerprints and everything to DPS. (Which is kinda moot anyway, since AZ citizens who can federally own a firearm can also open/conceal carry.)
Illinois recent AWB has carveouts for police.
https://dd214direct.com/veteran-need-guncc-permit/ has some additional details, but largely agrees with you; some states also lower the age requirement for veterans.
Louisiana recently passed a law allowing vets to concealed carry without a license https://www.audacy.com/wwl/news/local/concealed-carry-law-could-be-model-for-other-states , but this definitely seems like the exception and not the rule
Imagine if the cops had to make do with muzzle loaders like in Disco Elysium.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Hollywood_shootout
Then you end up with the criminals, 12 cops, and 8 civilians dead.
Is it me or the headline is worded strangely?
I think it might be the word "named" instead of "identified." That and the two "as"
appositive phrasesprepositional phrases in a row.Right, it makes sense to me now. The double "as" was definitely confusing, but "identified" instead of "named" immediately made the sentence clear. Thanks.
It's only weird when you don't know anybody called "US army reservist" but it's a fairly common name around here
-US Coast Guard war criminal
yeah its very weird
"as the death toll reaches 22 people, the suspect was found out to be a US army reservist"
They probably want to front load the headline with the most salient development, namely the identity of the shooter.
It's a reference to this Onion article that gets updated with a new date and location every time this happens.
The Onion didn't get theirs listed until 8 hours after OP though, which is why I'm assuming they just didn't link the article.
I was actually refering to the headline in the picture but yeah this is an interesting piece of information too, I know the post's title was sarcastic but didn't know it was such a thoughtful joke haha
It's because it's an update to ongoing reporting
Excerpt from the US version of the Prayer of the Lord: "... and give us today our daily
breadmass shooting ..."Hmmm, so all of those "well regulated militia means the national guard, the only people who should have guns are the cops and the national guard because they're the only ones responsible enough" people are going to finally admit that cops and weekend warriors aren't actually all that special and the training they recieve doesn't make them good people it only makes them more effective should they decide to be bad people?
People who say that actually want a complete and total ban on guns, but acknowledge the constitution says what it says and amendments are literally impossible in today's political climate.
Also, one could argue a "well regulated" militia wouldn't send guns home with its members. It could be kept at a central facility.
I know they do, I was actually specifically calling that out, as they always say "nuh uh" when you point out that they do in fact want a total ban on self defense.
One could argue anything, doesn't make them actually correct. "The militia" is defined "as all able bodied males age 17-45," not as "the national guard, which is a military branch not a militia." As such, this argument says to me that "all able bodied males age 17-45" should be able to own guns and nobody else, no women, nobody in a wheelchair or with anything that would disqualify one medically from service like colorblindness, etc. Of course, that is ridiculous, but that's why I prefer the "actually knows english" approach to that particular argument.
Maybe you should differ between those people in active service and ex-soldiers with PTSD and mental issues that makes them hear voices...
I have seen no indication that he had left the service, every report I have seen thus far has indicated that he was an active member of the US Army reserve serving as Sergeant First Class assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 304th Infantry Regiments in Saco, Maine.
My Aunt and Uncle live there. I heard the news at around 11pm. Called her up to make sure they were ok. They are scared in there home with doors locked.
Yeah I mean its Maine , its not that common those things happened over there. Thanks god your family is okay!
But "facts don't care about your feelings" or something like that...
Well, whoda thunk that shit, eh?
Who could have guessed a schizophrenic with unfettered access to high-powered firearms and a massive dose of right-wing idiocy would cause such things as a mass shooting and a night of terror?
This timeline is a bad one. We need father time to make the old in power fade away so we can attempt to fix what the worst generation has broken.
I feel like there is a limitless supply of the people you are waiting to fade away.
We just need to help those people fade a little faster then.
Those positions of power exist to serve a function in the machinery of capital, which means that even the best-intentioned people filling them only have the ability to act in it's (and their) immediate interests. Unfortunately the system isn't fundamentally broken, it's excelling beyond all initial expectations-at what it's actually designed for. Things are now breaking down because the various contradictions and feedback loops of it's destructive economic methods are piling up, like a huge lobster suffocating under the weight of it's shell.
said every young generation since the dawn of civilization
This motherfucker is slowly making his way toward my home and children. Last sighting is 35 min away or so.
I don't have a gun and I regret that choice right now. I wouldn't wish this feeling of helplessness and terror on anyone.
This is always a mental health issue at its core.
Humor me and pick up a copy of Susan Faludis book "stiffed"
This is the 90s all over again. Fuck.
Where was this?
Lewiston Maine. The (formerly) safest state in the union.
Dudes Twitter likes were Trump Jr, tucker Carlson and all kinds of other MAGAt fodder. Also one of two retweets mentioned mass murder.
This is some obvious pro gun propaganda.
Honestly I can't imagine these are a real person's thoughts.
