Another TERRORIST attack: This time, targeting the LGBT community in Florida

Well, I just graduated from college with a B.S. in chemistry, as of yesterday. However, with all great things, there is something behind the corner, as I woke up and the story popped up in my news feeds.

I am thinking and praying for the people in Florida right now, after what has appeared to be an ISLAMIC TERRORIST attack. Despite what a lot of people are saying, I am calling it what it is. A terrorist attack fueled by radical Islam against the LGBT community from what it appears to be someone claiming allegiance to ISIS.

I wonā€™t try to draw any more conclusions, because I am not with intelligence or with the police.

Congratulations on your graduation.
I join your prayers and sadness about this terrible event

Father of Orlando ā€˜terroristā€™ claims attack had ā€˜nothing to do with religionā€™ Orlando shooting: Father of gunman Omar Mateen apologises and says attack had 'nothing to do with religion' | The Independent | The Independent

ā€œMateen, who has been described by both his father and his ex-wife as ā€˜not very religiousā€™, did pledge allegiance to Isis before committing a horrific crime.ā€
http://indy100.independent.co.uk/article/the-senselessness-of-blaming-islam-for-the-lgbt-shooting-in-orlando--Z1gO4BTaMNZ?utm_source=indy&utm_medium=top5&utm_campaign=i100

ā€œOrlando nightclub shooter Omar Mateen legally purchased the guns he had on him today within the past week, even though he had been known to law enforcement for years, federal officials confirmed.ā€
ā€œAs a state, Florida is said to have relatively lax gun laws.ā€

I wonder how this mass shooting could have been stopped. Every thing should be done to protect peopleā€™s lives, but I donā€™t think everyone rushing to a gun shop to buy one makes sense.

ā€œConservative politicians call for a reinvigorated fight against terrorists. Progressives want more restrictive gun laws. Gay and transgender Americans want tolerance. Muslims want to distinguish their ā€œreligion of peaceā€ from religious extremism.ā€
http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/breakingnews/after-mass-shooting-a-search-for-answers/ar-AAgX1oC?ocid=spartandhp

ā€œTop Trump surrogate Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) called for tougher screenings of Muslims coming into the United States.ā€
ā€œDemocrats, include Bernie Sanders, quickly called for stricter gun control after police said Mateen use an AR-15 rifle and a handgun in the murder spree.ā€
Trump on Florida gay club mass shooting: I was right Trump on Florida gay club mass shooting: I was right

@Dimethylamine

My congratulations on graduating too! Best wishes for the future.

As for this awful attack, one can only feel every sympathy for the families of the victims.

It will be interesting to see whether the shooter had a history of drug abuse - specifically high strength cannabis?

There is a theory from Peter Hitchens that this is usually a common thread in these kinds of incidents - rather than the killer having any specially strong adherence to Islam.

(Having said that, though, it would perhaps be plain denial if we say there is no kind of link to Islam?)

regardless on what your views on homosexuality nobody deserves to die like this

People calling for gun laws are the epitome of substandard intelligence.

Criminals donā€™t respect laws. If guns were illegal like they are in the UK does anyone genuinely think this guy and others like him wouldnā€™t have been able to get hold of one?

On the other hand if all 50 of the people he shot dead were armed heā€™d have offed one or two before being rightly shot dead himself.

There is no hope for most of ā€˜societyā€™ unfortunately, they recycle the opinions of their respective preferred media because theyā€™re too dense, too lobotomised, too distracted to do any actual thinking of their own.

Most of these happenings are the manifestation of a sick society which is being poisoned in food, in air, in thought, in morals, yet the focus is always on the symptom and never the cause.

FWIW you only need to be a member of a shooting club in France (around ā‚¬70 per annum) to be able to buy any gun up to semi automatic - i think one thatā€™s capable of shooting 4 rounds - yet their gun crime rate is tiny compared pro rata to the US.

ā€œPeople calling for gun laws are the epitome of substandard intelligence.ā€

This might be a liiiiiiiitle bit of an exaggeration.

ā€œā€¦(ā€¦) if all 50 of the people he shot dead were armed heā€™d have offed one or two before being rightly shot dead himselfā€¦(ā€¦)ā€

I dunno, Platyphylla. If everyone in a dark crowded club started shootingā€¦I meanā€¦how would you then know which one the bad guy was!? It could end in an as bad (or even worse) bloodbath.

That said, I broadly agree that banning guns is likely to be of limited effect as long as criminals and/or terrorists have easy access to illegal weapons. In the US there are so many military type weapons out there already, itā€™d no doubt be easy enough for a determined person to get hold of one on the black market.

Heaven knows what the answer is.

Really? You think calling for laws to stop people who donā€™t obey the law from doing something isnā€™t very, very stupid?

In a dark nightclub, yes. In places like schools/the street, it would be very easy to see which person began shooting first and someone would pull out a weapon and kill them.

In the UK knives are banned for sale to under 21ā€™s. Because some morons over the age of 21 stab people should we ban knives for everyone? No, because knives donā€™t kill people, irresponsible idiots do, but you cannot police that.

All taking guns away from responsible people does is takes away their chance to defend themselves against someone else who is wielding one.

But funnily enough some people would rather take away guns because theyā€™re ā€˜dangerousā€™ but will then call for other men with guns to come and help them if an armed burglar breaks into their home.

Taking away weapons used to be reserved for slaves. The only thing taking away weapons in paper law does is disarms honest people. Period.

ā€œā€¦(ā€¦)In the UK knives are banned for sale to under 21ā€™s. Because some morons over the age of 21 stab people should we ban knives for everyone? No, because knives donā€™t kill people, irresponsible idiots do, but you cannot police thatā€¦(ā€¦)ā€

If you yearn for the good old days when one could carry a knife, here is a tip I heard from a former special forces soldier: carry a ball point pen with a longish and slim steel barrel instead. You can stab someone to death almost just as easily with that as with a knife! But nobody in the world could ever call it an offensive weapon.

A screwdriver is another option - but in some contexts police or security guards may still deem that a weapon.

Not that I encourage anyone to stab peopleā€¦of courseā€¦

(Unless they spill your beer.)

#Irony

I donā€™t. But tell me this - how many of the legally registered gun owners in the UK have ever purposefully shot someone dead? Iā€™d argue less than 0.000001% or some such ridiculous number. What proportion of those shot someone dead when the person deserved it (ie, Tony Martin who had every right to shoot a burglar on his property)ā€¦Why is that? Because you have to be a responsible person to own and keep one.

Responsible people should be allowed to carry any weapon they like because they wouldnā€™t use them unless in extreme circumstances. In the majority of cases the mere presence of a firearm would probably diffuse any potential danger before it got started.

Laws that ban things only affect those that follow the law and therefore would only ever use/do them in legal settings. Leaving a majority of good, law abiding people with no recourse except to hide and call for other men in uniform to defend their families for them.

Weapons inside the home should be available and allowed for everyone, though. If someone encroaches onto your property they should be at your mercy.

People who want gun bans imagine some wild west where every gunslinger could buy whatever they liked and use it whenever they liked. This isnā€™t what any gun advocate is calling for.

Criminal records, police cautions, propensity to violence, drug and alcohol misuse, mental illness etc should all disqualify you from owning one.

No, itā€™s not. The people who call for gun control have plenty of well thought out arguments that are not very very stupid. Whether or not they would have helped in this situation is unclear since, last time I checked, we do not know whether or not the weapons used in this case were legally bought.

edit: Ok, I had another look and it seems the dude did buy the guns legally (Orlando Shooter Legally Bought Guns Despite Previous Flags by FBI - ABC News). Whether or not he would have got the guns illegally if he couldnā€™t do it legally is unclear to me. I certainly have no idea how to buy a gun on the black market.

ā€œMore guns mean more gun deaths.ā€
What no politician wants to admit about gun control Gun controls like assault weapons bans and background checks arenā€™t enough - Vox via @voxdotcom

ā€œ[T]he overwhelming consensus in academic literature is that reducing legal access to guns reduces gun homicides. Terrorists and other criminals can maybe get guns on black markets, but itā€™s much harder than in a world where there are huge numbers of guns available for legal purchase. Fewer available guns mean fewer gun murders.ā€
ā€œ[A] mass shooting by a jihadist is no different than a mass shootings committed by a white supremacist, a misogynist, or someone whoā€™s simply deranged, and it can be stopped the way any of those shootings could be stopped, by keeping the shooter from obtaining a gun.ā€
Itā€™s time to talk about gun control as a way to stop terrorism Itā€™s time to talk about gun control as a way to stop terrorism - Vox via @voxdotcom

And people who advocate gun ownership who arenā€™t stupid also agree with not being able to go buy them at your local supermarket willy nilly, check and licence-free. That would be insanity. Kids, criminals, drug users, alcoholics, and the general scum of society should never have access to weapons. Responsible users should. Millions worldwide legally own and safely use guns without ever causing harm to anyone. In the rare circumstances their life is put in serious danger, then they have recourse to action. In those situations (ie home invasions, being threatened with a knife, being cornered by a gang, having someone try to violently car jack you or mug you) the person who gets both barrels had what was coming to them and is no big loss to society anyway. Yes the same problem exists that those people may have guns themselves but i know iā€™d rather be firing back than hiding waiting for ARMED police to arrive.

The fact is that those arguing for gun control usually advocate total bans. Banning weapons so that only people who disregard the law will use them is very, very stupid. Maybe i should have said ā€˜those advocating gun bansā€™ rather than ā€˜people calling for gun lawsā€™.

Again, legal purchase shouldnā€™t mean you can just walk into any store and buy a gun.

I have a feeling this very important point is purposefully overlooked by the state sponsored ā€˜academiaā€™ and media.

The people writing the stuff above have absolutely no point. None. Plenty of stuff is illegal and yet it stops no-one obtaining it if they want to. Iā€™m from Manchester in the UK where getting a gun is as easy as going to any street corner with a hooded teenager on it and giving them Ā£300.

It makes you wonder how so many people manage to get Eā€™d off their faces every weekend at rave clubs up and down the country when theyā€™ve made mdma so hard to come by by making it illegal. How those drug dealers even get hold of it to pass it on is a mystery. I know towns in the UK where getting hold of coke is easier than finding a decent pizza.

Bad people do bad stuff. You canā€™t ban them. You can only protect against them.

Or in a liberal world, take all the weapons off the victims and give them to the assailants. Which is all signing a piece of paper in parliament making something ā€˜illegalā€™ is going to do. Which is all signing that bit of paper making something harder to obtain for law abiders is going to do.

Good one.

ā€œIf NRA claims about guns reducing crime were true, the U.S. would have the lowest homicide rate among industrialized nations, the author writes.ā€

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Anti cannabis comments are pretty rare these days. Did you watch Reefer Madness when you were young?

Despite that movie, I doubt pot heads would be very likely to go on a murdering spree.