Whats with the shootings?

Now I'm hearing reports of somebody shooting up a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin. 30 people supposedly shot and an also supposed hostage situation.

The movie theater a couple weeks ago and now this. Geez this needs to stop.

Well CNN is saying 3 people shot, one dead.

http://www.cnn.com/2012/08/05/us/wisconsin-temple-shooting/index.html

In reply to SyntheticBlinkerFluid:

now it's up to 6 + the gunman.

A few months back there was a guy that attempted a shooting at a church. He killed one woman then he was shot and killed by someone attending the church while conceal carrying.

People are going nuts all over the place and sadly they are taking it out on innocent people. It is getting to the point you really do need to walk around and have eyes in the back of your head. Both SWMBO and myself carry at all times these days and we have even discussed what to do in various situations including something like the theater shooting. We are lucky our range has an actual "practical" pistol range and regular shoots that allow for more than just the regular stand in a solid stance and punch holes in paper.

Everyone stay safe.

In reply to rebelgtp:

OTOH, I realize that this is typical (as backed up by a recent Time article showing the mass shootings over the last few decades) and if someone wants me dead that much, there's not much I can do.

And I know if I react badly to something, well...

rebelgtp wrote: A few months back there was a guy that attempted a shooting at a church. He killed one woman then he was shot and killed by someone attending the church while conceal carrying. People are going nuts all over the place and sadly they are taking it out on innocent people. It is getting to the point you really do need to walk around and have eyes in the back of your head. Both SWMBO and myself carry at all times these days and we have even discussed what to do in various situations including something like the theater shooting. We are lucky our range has an actual "practical" pistol range and regular shoots that allow for more than just the regular stand in a solid stance and punch holes in paper. Everyone stay safe.

Wrong answer. If I need to carry a gun to give me the illusion of safety while I go about my daily business - going to the movies, the mall, or in this case going to church, I don't want to live there. Randomness happens, and if these wackos didn't have guns, they would figure out other ways to mass-murder.

I respect responsible hunters and I appreciate their stewardship of nature. I am not anti-gun.

I don't hunt. I don't want to need a gun.

bludroptop wrote:

rebelgtp wrote: A few months back there was a guy that attempted a shooting at a church. He killed one woman then he was shot and killed by someone attending the church while conceal carrying. People are going nuts all over the place and sadly they are taking it out on innocent people. It is getting to the point you really do need to walk around and have eyes in the back of your head. Both SWMBO and myself carry at all times these days and we have even discussed what to do in various situations including something like the theater shooting. We are lucky our range has an actual "practical" pistol range and regular shoots that allow for more than just the regular stand in a solid stance and punch holes in paper. Everyone stay safe.

Wrong answer. If I need to carry a gun to give me the illusion of safety while I go about my daily business - going to the movies, the mall, or in this case going to church, I don't want to live there. Randomness happens, and if these wackos didn't have guns, they would figure out other ways to mass-murder. I respect responsible hunters and I appreciate their stewardship of nature. I am not anti-gun. I don't hunt. I don't want to need a gun.

That is one of the most level-headed views I have heard expressed in a long time about guns.

That said, I like handguns and rifles, but by no means am I a hunter. I collect weapons because I like them.

Interestingly, the recent mass shootings seem to be clustered in what are "gun free" zones (schools, college campuses, movie theaters, and religious centers), at least here in MI. Seemed like it might be coincidence at first, now I'm starting to think its really not. Just my theory/opinion, but I think all these crazy berktards have a sick fantasy of everyone around them being cowering and powerless while they are mercilessly killed by said berktard. Someone shooting back, even unsuccessfully, doesn't fit into that fantasy. When you really think about it, in most states there really aren't that many places you can't concealed carry, yet these shootings keep happening in those places. I tend to think that's not accidental or coincidental.

Yeah, it's a shame when you can't even go to church without fear of some "ranDUMB sicko opening fire on you. Tho, I'm also not sure what it says when you feel that you need "to carry" in the House of the Lord.

BTW, before I moved from Tn. they were considering a law to allow concealled carry in bars and restaurants where alcohol is sold/consumed.

I feel like the coverage in the news has a lot to do with it. It seems like people keep hearing that the way you go crazy is to plan to go one day and shoot a bunch of people. Im not sure if there is anything that could be done about it, but it seems like less media coverage would mean it happened a lot less.

SyntheticBlinkerFluid wrote: Now I'm hearing reports of somebody shooting up a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin. 30 people supposedly shot and an also supposed hostage situation.

What seems to be the saddest part is that Sikhs are generally the nicest people you could ever meet.

(As long as you're not trying to annex the Punjab, that is)

What's with all the shootings? Same thing as "summer of the shark". A significant event happens, media focuses on it.

What can you do? Not much. If someone really wants to kill a bunch of people, not much you can do about it.

integraguy wrote: BTW, before I moved from Tn. they were considering a law to allow concealled carry in bars and restaurants where alcohol is sold/consumed.

And it passed. As long as I'm not drinking, I should have the same right to carry in an Applebee's that I have in a McDonald's.

bludroptop wrote: If I need to carry a gun to give me the illusion of safety while I go about my daily business - going to the movies, the mall, or in this case going to church, I don't want to live there. Randomness happens, and if these wackos didn't have guns, they would figure out other ways to mass-murder. I respect responsible hunters and I appreciate their stewardship of nature. I am not anti-gun. I don't hunt. I don't want to need a gun.

Thank you for articulating my thoughts on this issue far better than I ever could. I respect the right to bear arms, but the idea that you're not safe unless you have a loaded handgun on you at all times is absolutely terrifying for me. If I believed that was what my area had come to, I would leave before I bought a gun.

bastomatic wrote:

bludroptop wrote: I respect responsible hunters and I appreciate their stewardship of nature. I am not anti-gun. I don't hunt. I don't want to need a gun.

If I believed that was what my area had come to, I would leave before I bought a gun.

That's what is great about this country. You can choose to own/not own, carry/not carry, and move freely from state to state. Many places don't allow this

Two things: 1) there is someone at every moment planning to carry out one of these mass murder assaults. Most cannot get themselves organized long enough to actually carry out the attack. 2) the ushers including myself at my church have had training and discussions about how to respond to a chuch shooter. It happened just up the road at a UU church and the congregation fought back.
We dont have to give up on the world yet but you really need to be thinking and have a plan B at all times. Nothing any different than racing imo.

bludroptop wrote: Wrong answer. If I need to carry a gun to give me the illusion of safety while I go about my daily business - going to the movies, the mall, or in this case going to church, I don't want to live there. Randomness happens, and if these wackos didn't have guns, they would figure out other ways to mass-murder. I respect responsible hunters and I appreciate their stewardship of nature. I am not anti-gun. I don't hunt. I don't want to need a gun.

I don't carry to feel safe. I carry to be prepared. I have been shot at on a couple of occasions. Once was in town and once was in the mountains. In town nothing I could do and I was like 10 or 11 at the time and walking home from school. In the woods I had a rifle with me and returned fire after they continued firing when I yelled for them to stop that I was a person not a deer (not hunting season at the time by the way). In the area that I am currently living in emergency response times can be painfully slow. Though they are better than the previous area I lived in where you could expect a minimum of several hours. In that area there was not a single house that did not have a firearm and most carried on a regular basis and there was no violent crime to speak of and you never heard of anyone's home being broken into.

Then again I have first aid kits in all of my vehicles along with a complete emergency kit. If I am in the mountains I have a rifle with me at all times. These are common practices for many of the locals around here. It also is not uncommon to see someone open carrying a side arm as well or seeing a rifle in the back window of a truck around these parts. I can't tell you how many times something has happened and I have had to break into one of the emergency kits to help someone out.

JoeyM is exactly right the options this country allows in this regard is a great thing. It is many peoples choice to not carry while for others they choose to carry. Some do carry because they are scared this is true though many others carry for the same reasons I do to simply be prepared for any outcomes where one maybe needed.

bastomatic wrote:

bludroptop wrote: If I need to carry a gun to give me the illusion of safety while I go about my daily business - going to the movies, the mall, or in this case going to church, I don't want to live there. Randomness happens, and if these wackos didn't have guns, they would figure out other ways to mass-murder. I respect responsible hunters and I appreciate their stewardship of nature. I am not anti-gun. I don't hunt. I don't want to need a gun.

Thank you for articulating my thoughts on this issue far better than I ever could. I respect the right to bear arms, but the idea that you're not safe unless you have a loaded handgun on you at all times is absolutely terrifying for me. If I believed that was what my area had come to, I would leave before I bought a gun.

That's all well and good, but the point is things happen in areas they AREN'T supposed too.

Recently here in Tulsa, metro area of ~1 million, a guy was randomly gunned down in a Best Buy in a "nice" part of town. Somewhere that people aren't supposed to have to worry about that kind of thing.

The vast majority of crime here happens on the North side and East side, where two different minorities are the majority....................go to south Tulsa and stores aren't even robbed.

It's naive to think "I shouldn't have to have one"................life is a lot different than it was 20 years ago.

*This from a 30 year old who doesn't own a weapon.

z31maniac wrote: It's naive to think "I shouldn't have to have one"................life is a lot different than it was 20 years ago.

Right, life is a lot different; violent crime is down.

In reply to dculberson: And gun sales and ownership are up but lets get back to the subject at hand.

I guess they are saying this was "domestic terrorism". It is also interesting in the same amount of time we had alot more info about the Aurora shooter than we do with this one. I heard them say on the radio the feds evacuated an area near the shooting. Anyone here anything else about that?

I wouldn't put too much weight on the "domestic terrorism" label as it seems that there are a few agencies out there that like sticking a terrorism label on a kid popping bubble gum in a store.

That said, coming from a continent where a place of worship has been considered a sanctuary for a over a thousand years - a tradition that I believe has been brought over here with the earliest settlers - I find the thoughts of someone violating that sanctity abhorrent. And I'm not even a religious person myself.

integraguy wrote: Tho, I'm also not sure what it says when you feel that you need "to carry" in the House of the Lord.

In larger congregations, it's typically a security measure to protect the offering that's brought in. One pastor I know has several hundred in attendance most services, and claims that the offering can be anywhere from five to ten thousand for one service. From personal experience in our church, a great deal of that offering is cash, with a few checks thrown in.

People can and have knocked over the local 7-11 for less, it's not a terrible idea to have a plan in effect.

Will wrote: And it passed. As long as I'm not drinking, I should have the same right to carry in an Applebee's that I have in a McDonald's.

i don't know why, but that actually made me laugh a little..

I think they are using " domestic terrorism" because it appears there is the possibility that the shooter attacked them for what they are (which is even more ridiculous if you know anything about sikhs).

Sadly I can say I would not be terribly surprised If this guy was out to kill Muslims (kind of double stupid). It is not terribly hard to find people with a general hatred of Muslims in this country.

novaderrik wrote:

Will wrote: And it passed. As long as I'm not drinking, I should have the same right to carry in an Applebee's that I have in a McDonald's.

i don't know why, but that actually made me laugh a little..

It is actually already legal here in Oregon. Around here you can also carry at schools if you have a permit. You do need to be careful when on the road cause if you end up on tribal land your permit is no good there.

The point made about how much money a church can bring in is quite valid. As people get desperate this can be a growing temptation especially if it is felt that the people cannot or will not fight back.