Deathdrop,
Yautja,
8 years ago
@dronehive: To clarify, I'm not against people keeping a gun in their house for self-defense, or hunting or whatever. I'm not against gun licenses.
I just think that, PERHAPS, if someone is widely known to be a nut, has been arrested for domestic violence more than once, has a violent temper, regularly engages in dodgy behavior, was interviewed by the FBI on suspicion of ties to terrorism (TWICE), and is a raging homophobe despite constant visits to a gay club, then maybe-JUST MAYBE-that person should not be able to walk into a gun store and buy a fucking military grade assault rifle no questions asked.
Or at least a background check? I mean, shit, it's not as though this is some strange, untried thing that might not work. Every other developed country on Earth has some form of common sense gun control. We don't even need to go as far as they do. Christ, this is literally "Hey, maybe if someone is on the no-fly list and known to be super unstable, they shouldn't be able to get an AR-15."
Given the level of rabid homophobia in this country and the current scare-mongering over trans people using the fucking bathroom, don't you think people like you and I might be a little safer if the unstable homophobic nutjobs couldn't get their hands on military-grade weaponry within ten minutes with no questions asked?
There will still be gun crime no mater what the law is; I'm not naive. But there would be LESS gun crime, and massacres like this would be a hell of a lot less likely.
Now, on the subject of cause... There's just no question. Anyone who looks at the biography of the shooter can figure out that he was in the closet and in denial, masking it as many people do with extreme homophobia. The suggestion that homophobia played no role in this is as ridiculous as the idea that the Queen of England is a blood-sucking lizard person from another dimension. I'm serious; it's THAT stupid.
And for fuck's sake, it's not as though him being a radical Islamic terrorist would somehow preclude the attack targeting the LGBTQ community; ISIS are not exactly gay-friendly. So let me correct you: Anyone with two brain cells to rub together understands that homophobia plays some role in this. Gutless politicians try to downplay that angle because they want to hump the tragedy for votes while maintaining their childish anti-gay temper tantrums.
Fred Phelps could have risen from his grave and shot up a pride parade while distributing copies of a signed confession of his motives and the Fox News crowd would blame it on Islamic fundamentalism. Their willful ignorance in this area defies comprehension.
In other words, I'm not saying fundamentalist religious extremism isn't partly to blame, only that scumbag pundits are focusing on that angle to the exclusion of literally anything else. I would charitably suggest that such deliberate denial of reality is politically motivated.
I mean, I've come to expect this kinda shit from the country that's about to vote for a walking strawman argument in droves. I put literally nothing past the willful ignorance of this place, nor the gleeful stupidity of a chunk of its population. Sorry to get so serious, but that's how I feel.
EDIT: And in case anyone thinks I'm exaggerating... A few years ago, at the height of "FUCKIN' OBAMA AND HIS WELLFARE QUEENS HURR DURR," a skinhead and known white supremacist wearing a jacket with Apartheid-era political symbols on it made a bunch of super racist posts on social media, and then shot up a black church (while yelling racist shit) that had played a historic role in the civil rights movement. While in custody, he confessed that he hoped to start a race war.
What did the same lunatics currently going out of their way not to say "gay" take from this?
ANTI-CHRISTIAN BIGOTRY. I'm not joking. That's what we're dealing with, here. They have zero interest in keeping this from happening again and every interest in getting elected. Their base is scared of Muslims, but can't stand LGBTQ people. Ergo, they play dumb and exploit the tragedy for all it's worth.