AP: 4 shot, 1 dead at Korean retreat center in Calif.

[bushmeister0]

"TEMECULA, Calif. – A gunman opened fire at a Korean Christian retreat center on Tuesday night, killing one and wounding three others, authorities said.

The gunman was believed to be among the injured at the Kkottongnae Retreat Camp, and investigators were unsure what prompted the attack, sheriff's spokesman Dennis Gutierrez said.

'We have some nuns that are very distraught,' Gutierrez said."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090408/ap_on_re_us/retreat_shooting

Here we go again.

Obviously, what we need is more guns in the hands of the people. If those distraught nuns had been armed . . .

[rollingrock]

1. Its surreal

every time I turn on the news I hear about another massacre.

[MercutioATC]

2. What gun legislation would you propose to stop incidents like this?

[bushmeister0]

6. I think what we have here is an epidemic.

I seem to remember some Republican administration or other preventing the CDC from categorizing gun deaths as an endemic threat to public health because it was getting too embarrassing. This would seem, though, to be clearly a public health issue; people dying, being grievously injured . . . I don't know, call me crazy.

Either, we deal with this problem like rational human beings and give up this nutty notion that the Indians are coming over the hill to scalp all the men and kidnap all our pure white women, or the government, sooner or later, is going to get real pro-active with cracking down on gun ownership, legitimate or otherwise, as a matter of simply maintaining the public order.

The very outcome the guns for everyone crowd most fears is going to become a reality, unless we take some sensible steps to prevent every Tom, Dick and Harry from owning AK-47s. This isn't Afghanistan.

These right wingers were fine with BushCo shredding the Bill of Rights when it was just all those other minor amendments dealing with silly liberal crap like privacy and free speech. Let's see how they like their right to own a howitzer taken away. What's good for the goose is good for the gander.

[MercutioATC]

8. The law you speak of has existed since 1934.

An AK-47 is a fully-automatic assault rifle. The ownership of fully-automatic weapons has been heavily restricted since 1934.

What the media frequently refers to as an "AK-47" is a semiautomatic firearm (identical to almost all hunting rifles) that is made to look like an AK-47.

Any other suggestions?

[bushmeister0]

14. I think what I was talking about is innocent people dying horrible deaths

in the good old US of A. Guns of any make or model, whether single shot or easily modified to become automatic, are designed to kill living things. The discussion you want to have is clearly aimed at sidestepping the main point. For obvious reasons.

They are inanimate machines like a car or a washing machine, to be sure, but their only purpose, again, is to kill.

The question before us is what to do to prevent them from being so easily obtainable for the purpose for which they were designed. What the ultimate solution to this issue is, I don't know.

I'm just saying, you might find, if this sort of thing gets too out of hand (as if it isn't now), whatever pull the NRA has with the congress might suddenly become a liability to that noxious lobby and you might see former allies turning on you. If the public suddenly fears the threat of being slaughtered in their local church, or school, or super market or whatever, more than they fear being killed in their homes by the lazy, welfare engorged hordes that Obama is unleashing, you might see a very nasty backlash.

It's better that the legitimate gun enthusiasts who only act responsibly with their guns and the larger public who do yearn for sensible gun regulation figure out some sort of common ground before things get way out of hand.

[MercutioATC]

25. ...and my point was that guns and gun laws aren't the problem.

People commit crimes like this for two reasons, mental health issues and/or hopelessness.

Instead of trying to blame the guns, we should be improving access to mental health care and providing opportunities for economic success.

[Indy Lurker]

28. Guns are not designed to kill

They are made to project force when fired. Where that force is projected is determined by the operator.

But they are still useful even if they are never fired.

A typical police officer will draw his firearm many times over his career, but most likely will never kill anyone with it.

A firearm does not need to be discharged to be "used"

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

13. An epidemic that doesn't make the top 10 in causes of death.

[bushmeister0]

15. The way things are going it soon might. Read a newspaper lately?

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

30. We are down over 7,000 gun deaths a year since 1991.

[CreekDog]

7. this country can't handle the freedom of endlessly supplied firearms

we just can't.

[MercutioATC]

10. So, what legislation do you propose to fix things?

I understand your view (though I might not agree). How would you solve this percieved problem?

[CreekDog]

19. i dont know

:shrug:

[bushmeister0]

22. "Precieved problem?"

In the last three weeks there have been some 56 or so people (eight police officers among them), maybe more I've lost count, killed very quickly and efficiently by the best killing technology the American gun manufacturer has to offer.

This is a major public safety problem, obviously, if you've been paying attention.

I don't know what the answer is. I'm not for an across the board ban. I'm not for guns for everybody, either.

I do know somehow that we do live in a society where we rely on the police to protect the citizenry and the public order and if some snot nosed 20 something can outgun the thin blue line that protects all of us from anarchy, we've got a major problem.

If this is what it's come down to, that we have to get bigger and better guns to protect ourselves from block to block because the police no longer can, then we're in deep shit.

Let's rely on our democracy and the people to find a sensible solution to this problem, sans the nefarious machinations of the NRA.

[MercutioATC]

26. Yes, "percieved"...if guns are the "problem".

The problem isn't guns, it's lack of economic opportunity and poor access to mental health services, IMO.

You're never going to solve the problem with gun legislation.

[democracy1st]

23. How would you solve it ?

[bushmeister0]

24. Read #22

[MercutioATC]

27. Read #26

[rollingrock]

3. America makes Iraq look peaceful

[SeattleGirl]

4. Oh fuck, ANOTHER one??????

Good gawd, is it ever going to stop?

[cboy4]

5. W.T.F.

:crazy:

[MichaelHarris]

9. If Jesus comes back

he better bring an AK

[SeattleGirl]

11. No shit. If he doesn't, his followers will probably shoot him to death.

[MichaelHarris]

12. remember Y2K and Armagedden

when they were stockpiling Twinkees, pork and beans, guns, and bullets? I asked one of them what are you going to do, shoot Jesus over a Twinkee?

[SeattleGirl]

16. Did they answer?

[MichaelHarris]

17. nawww

they were too busy canning peaches. They probably hoped Jesus wouldn't like the taste of the sweet succulent peach.

[SeattleGirl]

18. Didn't think so.

Wonder if they would beat Jesus over the head if he asked for a peach.

[MichaelHarris]

20. The one thing I've learned in my travels

is that fundies will beat the shit out of you for a peach.

[SeattleGirl]

21. I actually believe they would do that for no reason whatsoever.

Just because they think they can get away with it.

[underpants]

29. Sunday night I posted hoping for a better week than last week

so far there has been a massive earthquake in Italy killing over 200 and now this

Ugh!

[Initech]

31. Another god damn shooting. How many more is it going to take?

:mad: :banghead:

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

32. For what?

[Initech]

33. For someone to do something about it?

[The Straight Story]

34. They already did something about it, made a law saying shooting people was illegal

:shrug:

[Initech]

35. Shooting people is illegal? Noooooooooo....

;)

[Fire_Medic_Dave]

36. They've arrested or killed the perpetrators in most every case. At least those that haven't...

killed themselves.

David