Machine gun fire into Las Vegas crowd at Route 91 music Festival

[Xystus]

Just heard the shooter also sent large sums of money to the Phillipines,which is also a Islamic rich area

apparently the shooter’s girl friend was in the Philippines at the time of the shooting. She may be from there, based on the picture of her. It could just be the shooter trying to take care of her financially, knowing he was not going to be around much longer.

 

[Xystus]

I am really surprised at how little discussion there has been here over this article.

I’m not. We don’ know his motivation for this or even what kind of weapon was used and if they were legally obtained or not. Was it, in fact, an automatic weapon? i don’t see much meaningful discussion taking place without this information.

 

[Jamie5]

It was a fully automatic weapon or a modified semi which thus still made it fully automatic as obvious from the thousands of rounds that could be heard from all the horrible videos. No one demented person should be able to kill so many people so fast. These guns exist for one reason to do just that.

 

[exnihilo]

I am skeptical of all early reports. But pictures and new news stories seem to suggest these were not automatic weapons. They were semi automatic rifles with bump fire mechanisms. This can make the rifle fire more quickly but it isn’t automatic and the mechanism makes it less accurate.

 

[Xystus]

It was a fully automatic weapon or a modified semi

“or” being the key word there, we don’t know. It would seem prudent to know what it was before you start discussing what to do about it.

 

[Jamie5]

quite simple: make it impossible to modify a semi into a full. Or at least make it harder, and also close all gun show loopholes, and also track all of these “kits”

 

[exnihilo]

It is nearly impossible to modify modern semi automatic rifles into fully automatic. It isn’t completely impossible anymore than it isn’t completely impossible that someone could manufacture from scratch a fully automatic gun. No matter how many laws you passed you could never make it impossible.

I think you also may be overestimating the killing power of a fully automatic rifle. When shooting fully automatic you don’t have the same accuracy. What made this situation so awful wasn’t the weapon so much as the firing position and the fact that it was into a large, closely grouped crowd.

 

[marybobo]

As we go thru this topic, it is refreshing to hear from some posters who know what they are talking about and have the knowledge to explain it to the rest of us. Although I am a lifetime NRA member and have a CCP, I am not as up on the technical aspects of all guns. I go to the range once or twice a month to practice. My question to those who keep talking about better gun laws, I wish they would tell us what they would suggest that is not already in place. How do they think we should stop “gun violence” with millions of guns in the hands of lawful gun owners who would never use a weapon in a less than responsible manner.

 

[Xystus]

spouting off about making something impossible or about “loopholes” is simple. actually doing something meaningful different.

make it impossible to modify a semi into a full. Or at least make it harder

I get the feeling you don’t know much about the topic

also close all gun show loopholes,

do you know these guns purchased at a gun show? how does closing a “loophole” stop this if it was not a factor int he first place?

also track all of these “kits”

What kits are you talking about?

 

[ProVobis]

How can that be? The President promised to stamp out ISIS.

 

[J_Peterson]

I always think of this:

 

[J_Peterson]

I think we need to register guns like we do cars. Every gun should be registered and every gun owner needs to be fully responsible for their guns and face consequences when it’s used in a crime or when a toddler kills someone with it. I also think you should have to give a reason for buying a gun. If you have no real need for an assault rifle, you can’t have one.

If this guy got these guns legally he should have been visited by ATF to see what the heck he needs so many guns for.

 

[exnihilo]

The government already has a record of every gun sale from a licensed gun dealer. Gun dealers are obliged to keep the records forever. Some states do make you register guns.

Cars are registered and people still manage to use them to kill people. So registration doesn’t stop killing.

As for need that reminds me of a political system, ‘to each according to his need’. I assume when you say you think you have to have a need for guns the reality is you think no one does need a gun. Either way, leaving it up to the government is frightful. They don’t need guns either and wind up killing far more people than private citizens.

 

[J_Peterson]

And registration of cars helps in finding people when they use one unlawfully. Is there anyway to determine how many guns an individual has? If my next door neighbor had as many guns as this guy had I’d be worried for my family. The Common Good is more important than gun rights.

I am not in favor of a gun ban but, if it were possible, I’d be in favor of repealing the 2nd Amendment.

 

[Xystus]

If my next door neighbor had as many guns as this guy had I’d be worried for my family.

I’m curious, at what number of guns do you go from not worried to worried?

 

[exnihilo]

Car registration works because they have giant license plates. But even that isn’t so helpful. In my state criminals just put on a temporary license plate.

Some states keep a registry of guns, so you could know how many a man has. I wouldn’t doubt the federal government knows as well, though this is contrary to the law.

I know several people that have far more guns than this guy. They aren’t dangerous out people. In fact you’d prefer to have them as neighbors compared to most people.

You may be ignoring in your analysis all the times a firearm is used to stop violence or to protect people. That happens quite often but doesn’t make the news.

 

[J_Peterson]

So there are several people that you know that I wouldn’t trust as next door neighbors.

This guy wasn’t seen as dangerous either, until he killed 50 people and injured hundreds.

I am not in favor of a total gun ban and understand that many like to keep guns around for self defense. This guys collection wasn’t for self defense. How many lives did his collection save?

 

[exnihilo]

That seems more than unfair to not trust someone simply because he has guns. And that’s seems inconsistent. You’d probably trust as a neighbor a police officer who has a gun collection. You’d have to because he is the guy you want confiscating your other neighbors guns. But there is nothing about police officers that makes them better people than anyone else.

You are right that people can suddenly do evil. That is no surprise. But they can do evil regardless of how many guns they have.

I don’t know why the guy collected guns. A lot of gun collections aren’t for self defense. They are for fun the same as collecting anything is fun. The guy could have gone out and bought all the guns he used a day before the killing so I’m not sure why you think them being in his possession (possibly) a long time prior makes a difference.

 

[Roseeurekacross]

there is a real link to the Phillipines here with 100 thousand dollars being sent there before this happened. and his partner there now.

its very concerning

 

[Inisfallen]

I am not in favor of a gun ban but, if it were possible, I’d be in favor of repealing the 2nd Amendment.

I agree with half of what you say (I’m not against the idea of a gun ban, or at least a ban on anything but the most basic hunting weapons). I too would like to see the Second Amendment repealed. Of course, that will never happen, so I’d settle for sensible gun regulation, but that will never happen either, not as long as the Senate and Congress and most state legislatures lack the courage to cross their masters, the NRA and the gun manufacturers.

What craven little ***s they are, those senators and congressmen, who even after Sandy Hook, and after this, will refuse to stand up for what’s right in the hopes that the NRA will throw some spare change their way.