It is an amazing poetic irony that this latest shooting spree occurred in Sheriff Hamlin's county as he is a Sandy Hooks Truther.
Imagine what that means if you are on of the many parents who lost their children that day and you have an officer of the law out there somewhere perpetuating this kind of vile conspiracy theory on Facebook.
"About a month after the 2012 Sandy Hook school shootings, Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin in Oregon posted a video on his Facebook page from conspiracy theorists who said the event might have been a hoax. A few days later, he wrote to Vice President Joe Biden, telling him to stay away from gun control."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/02/us-usa-shooting-oregon-sheriff-idUSKCN0RW23F20151002
He did more than just say 'stay away'-he boasted that he wouldn't enforce the gun laws on the books that he doesn't agree with. Talk about blood on your hands. So he should in my mind be a focal point for gun control advocates in the future.
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2015/10/does-sherrif-john-hamlin-have-blood-on.html
It is clear though that his views are a reflection of the community's out in Roseburg:
"Gina Stewart, an attorney in Roseburg, said local law enforcement led by the sheriff were doing a great job, especially in light of strained budgets in recent years.
"I don't personally agree with his views on the Second Amendment but they reflect largely the views in this community regarding guns," Stewart said
"This is a hunting community. There are a lot of people who hunt."
"Oregon is also one of seven U.S. states that allow concealed weapons to be carried on college campuses, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures, which tracks local laws."
"Supporters of such laws argue that having more guns on campus would prevent the mass shootings that have become commonplace in recent years. Opponents say such measures mean more danger for all on campus."
Imagine what that means if you are on of the many parents who lost their children that day and you have an officer of the law out there somewhere perpetuating this kind of vile conspiracy theory on Facebook.
"About a month after the 2012 Sandy Hook school shootings, Douglas County Sheriff John Hanlin in Oregon posted a video on his Facebook page from conspiracy theorists who said the event might have been a hoax. A few days later, he wrote to Vice President Joe Biden, telling him to stay away from gun control."
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/10/02/us-usa-shooting-oregon-sheriff-idUSKCN0RW23F20151002
He did more than just say 'stay away'-he boasted that he wouldn't enforce the gun laws on the books that he doesn't agree with. Talk about blood on your hands. So he should in my mind be a focal point for gun control advocates in the future.
http://lastmenandovermen.blogspot.com/2015/10/does-sherrif-john-hamlin-have-blood-on.html
It is clear though that his views are a reflection of the community's out in Roseburg:
"Gina Stewart, an attorney in Roseburg, said local law enforcement led by the sheriff were doing a great job, especially in light of strained budgets in recent years.
"I don't personally agree with his views on the Second Amendment but they reflect largely the views in this community regarding guns," Stewart said
"This is a hunting community. There are a lot of people who hunt."
The claim though that gun laws wouldn't have stopped that community college don't add up:
"Supporters of such laws argue that having more guns on campus would prevent the mass shootings that have become commonplace in recent years. Opponents say such measures mean more danger for all on campus."
Yes, we see how much concealed weapons helped at that college Wednesday night.
"Yes, we see how much concealed weapons helped at that college Wednesday night."
ReplyDeleteExactly!
But hunting is not what the true gun nutters are all about: they think they're going to prevent a tyrant with their guns, and that's why they don't think the type of gun they can own should be restricted. I understand their feelings on that to some extent, because the kind of guns I like to own are the dangerous ones. I also share their derision of gun laws that make ridiculous restrictions based on how the gun looks. It's not a pistol grip or a flash hider or a folding stock that makes it dangerous... really just one thing makes them especially able to kill large masses of people: being semi-automatic and accepting a large capacity magazine. It turns out that's exactly the kind of gun I collected... and it's 100% understandable if that's the kind of gun that's restricted with a gun law! That's really what gun laws should focus on... let the nutters (myself included) have their stupid flash hiders, folding stocks and pistol grips... restricting that stuff is just stupid.
I part company with my fellow gun nutters though in thinking that I'm going to put down a tyrant with my civilian version of an AK-47 or an M-16. Why? Well, for one I don't have any F-16s, Apache attack helicopters, B1s, cluster bombs, nuclear subs, aircraft carriers, M1 tanks, field artillery, guided missiles or nuclear weapons! ... not to mention I'm a not very in shape, middle aged, gun collector with ZERO training in shooting people or being part of a well organized fighting force. Thirdly, I have ZERO interest in even entertaining the notion, nor do I even want to keep a loaded weapon anywhere where somebody might even accidentally get into it, especially a kid... so I keep them locked in safes and I have a baseball bat under my bed for "home defense."
I'm telling you Mike, ... that gun nutters... not hunter... real gun nutters, dream about "justifiable homicide" as something they would love to participate in someday. That's why "nutter" is so very very apt. Just go on youtube and check it out... look up James Yeager for example. It won't take long watching him to realize that the way he sees the world and a non-nutter sees the world is very very different. He must imagine danger around every corner.
Also, let's take a look at the text of the 2nd amendment shall we?:
Delete"A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
Many liberals focus on the bit about the militia, and they have a good point there. However, that's not what I want you to focus on, but instead the word "Arms." Does "arms" mean "guns?" That's not what it says... it says arms, and if the idea is to prevent tyranny, then we SHOULD be able to own private F16s, howitzers and nuclear weapons. Lol...
The "logic" of the gun nutter should lead him to demand to be able to own all that stuff! But you don't hear them bring that up. Why not? It's because they KNOW that would make them sound completely crazy. I'm sure they WOULD want to own that stuff if they could. They'd claim that responsible MX Missile owners don't misuse them. When a loon used his MX to obliterate Kansas city, they'd be on the news saying "MX missiles don't vaporize cities... people do!" ... or "stuff happens" or "it's the damn video games!" or "we need better 'mental health' care for these people, not bans on privately held nukes!" or "25 people were killed with knives yesterday, ... are we going to ban knives then??"
And if you really pressed them... they might object to nukes in the hands of civilians... *maybe*... if they have an ounce of sanity left.
Which brings me to my next point... at some point, guns are going to be completely obsolete. I don't know exactly when or how, but technology will move beyond the gun for ALL purposes (not just strategic warfare). Perhaps we will have police robots that breach the drug house... or a "swarm" of bee sized fighting drones that your gun won't help you with. At some point the gun will go the way of the sword, and then what will the nutters demand? Will they demand to have access to the "arms" that made the gun utterly obsolete? Will they demand that those more advanced weapons not be used? It'll be fun to find out.
... actually, my favorite science fiction future weapon is the "gay bomb" ... which turns men flamboyantly hyper-effeminately-gay. Give me a supply of those and a reliable method of delivery and I can bring peace to the Middle East in a month without a single casualty or a single dollar of lost property. (c:
Delete... that would also be pretty effective for getting a "militia" of radical nutter right wingers to lay down their arms and come out peacefully.
Oh, and I mention James Yeager above, but he's FAR from the nuttiest of the bunch. I actually think he could probably give you pretty good training... if your business was to carry a concealed gun to shoot people when necessary. He's not a religious nut. He's very much pro-gay rights, and he thinks the "open carry" guys, lugging their assault weapons into "Chucky Cheese" are nuts. There's another guy who calls himself "The Yankee Marshall" who's a gun nut for sure, but also generally a liberal. He's also kind of funny... but he's more of a nutter than either I or James: he's an open carry guy! Ha.
DeleteFor primo gun nuttery, try the youtuber who goes by "nutnfancy" ... he's a click or two beyond James in the nut department. I actually watched about a dozen of his vids... partly (I'll confess) because I *was* interested in the topic... but also partly because his world view is SOOO strange. He loves running around in the desert with his pals in whatever effed up weather you can imagine, with his guns, pretending he's in training to fight the tyrant (or whatever it is they're pretending to be training for). I guess you have to be a bit of a nutter to even make it though one of his vids, but, here... I'll just grab one at random for you to check out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z45PF9fJvVQ;
(I haven't seen that particular one, but I can't imagine it differs much from the others)
"TNP" stands for "The Nut-N-Fany Project" ... in case you were wondering. His project is the pretend training they do I guess.
Now am I worried about nutnfancy or James Yeager or the "Yankee Marshall" going on a rampage? No, not particularly. Even though I think these guys are delusional about the threats they imagine exist in their daily lives... I'm still not worried about them in particular. However, I am worried about just anybody having access to those weapons... and I'm not sure it's worth the price to society to have ANY hobby you want.
That's my conflict. Because by any objective measure... I would have to be classified as a gun nut myself. I understand the attraction. I can watch multiple TNP videos in a row without getting bored. It takes a "special" person to do that. It is a shame that these guys' hobby (in the case of James, it is his business as well) is directly in conflict (it seems) with most people's safety and security. It's a price THEY'RE willing to have society pay, but perhaps the rest of society isn't.
Maybe these guns laws are best implemented on a local level. If Utah people want to take the risk a loon will cause a massacre, then fine, let them have their guns. But if another region is NOT willing, then they should be able to apply whatever restrictions they want.
Ultimately, I'm willing to abide by what people vote for. But I hate liars. Let's get the facts out, not BS. People should know what they're choosing with their votes. That's what I hate about the gun lobby more than anything else, they're such liars and spinners. It's what I hate about so many political groups. Even a group like PETA. Ultimately, PETA may be ahead of their time in how we morally deal with animals, but don't look me in the face and tell me that no benefit has ever come from animal testing.
Regarding Yeager that's the thing. To me I just let the police handle all this. I mean as far as owning a gun I don't have kids but if I did that'd be another argument against it.
DeleteIt seems much more likely to get in the kid's hands than for an heroic moment of 'justifiable homicide.'
I think a lot of these guys dream of throwing the government off their front stoop or something too.
There's this belief that they need firearms in case the government becomes to tyrannical-though I guess Obama in their mind is pretty tyrannical
I wonder if radio host and conspiracy (and gun) nut Alex Jones will now accuse Sheriff John of being in on the "false flag" conspiracy? Lol.
ReplyDeleteWell Tom make sure you get a patent for these new technological devices that make guns obsolete! LOL
ReplyDeleteIt s not like I or most gun control advocates want to 'take everyone's guns'-it would be a victory just to have a few stronger regulations.
ReplyDeleteI think a big part of the picture is there should be a gun license just like to own a car. It should take at least as much time and training to own a gun as to own a car.
Would this guy in Oregon have passed all this? Part of this training would be a basic psychological profile
What I never get is why the NRA is so dogmatic-I guess they see any regulations no matter how basic as starting a slipper slope to the government taking everyone's guns?
ReplyDelete