This year is the deadliest year ever in terms of mass shootings. In a political climate of polarization, it becomes harder to suss out legitimate information from the misinformation propagated by those with political agendas. Complicating this more is the continual resistance of 2nd amendment advocates to allow for political talk surrounding these massacres. This will involve political discussion to see if there are ways we can all agree might be good ways to prevent mass shootings.
This discussion should involve the details of any current, or future mass shooting, and how they compare to past mass shootings. How are they the same? How are they different? Do gun laws have an impact? Does the race of the shooter affect how we treat them? What makes one a hate crime and one an act or terrorism? Are these shootings the price of freedom?
Teamamericaf*ckyeahgerhoffen?
/ cynicalsarcasm
There has to be some long-ass German word that captures the feeling you get in the pit of your stomach when you find out that one of the survivors of Sandy Hook is now old enough to be in college and they just so happen to go to Michigan State University...
It is ridiculously possible that a student could conceivably have attended Sandy Hook, Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, and MSU for all three shootings.
Do republicans even bother with "thoughts and prayers" now or do they just ignore these things?
At least 3 children killed in school shooting, hospital confirms
At least three students are dead from gunshot wounds suffered at the Covenant School in Nashville, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt tells CNN affiliates, WTVF, WZTV.All three of the students were pronounced dead after arrival at the hospital.
Metropolitan Nashville Police Department confirmed the shooter was dead earlier.
Can't wait to hear how the shooting is because Democrats took god out of this *check notes* private Christian school.
Girl shooter this time. That’s different.
Last year's Christmas card photo for Andy Ogles, the new U.S. Representative for the freshly redistricted Tennessee 5th District (went from D+7 to R+9) where the shooting happened.
Yes. Rep Andy Ogles who is now over that district because Tenn gerrymandered the shit out of Nashville for 2022.
Also, his family Christmas card:
Can't wait to hear how the shooting is because Democrats took god out of this *check notes* private Christian school.
Already seeing tweets about it being a soft target because of no school resource officer. But if you've watched John Oliver you know that SROs are only there to harass minority students.
3 adults were killed too apparently.
Covenant School shooting updates: 3 children, 3 adults dead after woman opens fire in Nashville
Yes. Rep Andy Ogles who is now over that district because Tenn gerrymandered the shit out of Nashville for 2022.
there are your "thoughts and prayers," at least.
The only prayer to be given in this instance is in relief the body count was *only* 6. Shooter apparently had 2 ARs and a pistol. Could have been much worse.
Anyway as an outsider to the US gun discussion I've become apathetic to US gun murder apathy. It's basically at a point where I just wouldn't holiday in the US on the remotest possiblity of getting swept up in gun violence.
Looks like we have a name Audrey Hale.
Reports now emerging that the shooter was a transgender man. I am sure that the right wing folks will use that in some really unsavory ways.
Hard to think of anything more angry white dude than shooting up a school.
Reports now emerging that the shooter was a transgender man. I am sure that the right wing folks will use that in some really unsavory ways.
I'm already worried enough about how LGBTQ+ communities and members are treated. This makes me even more concerned for their welfare.
Paleocon wrote:Reports now emerging that the shooter was a transgender man. I am sure that the right wing folks will use that in some really unsavory ways.
I'm already worried enough about how LGBTQ+ communities and members are treated. This makes me even more concerned for their welfare.
Any legit sources for this? Because the 4chan/rDonald types have tried to blame most of the recent mass shootings on the same trans woman.
*Edit* Have now seen legitimate reporting on this.
From sources other than the police?
The Covenant School Shooter and Right-Wing Disinformation
The following is a piece that boils out the current known facts about the shooting at the Covenant Christian school in Nashville, TN, on Monday, March 27th. The shooting has become fodder for a right-wing culture war, and disinformation is rampant, so we felt a text-based piece would be useful to accompany the podcast episode on the subject.
Here is the story in brief: Audrey Hale, 28, entered a private Christian school in Nashville this Monday morning and killed three nine year old students and three adult staff members in their 60s including the “Head of School” Dr. Katherine Koonce. Hale shot through a side door to gain entry into the school and was armed with at least two “assault-style rifles and a handgun,” according to Metro Nashville Police spokesperson Don Aaron. Some reports suggest one of the rifles was actually an AR-15 style pistol (both weapons are close to identical in this situation).
As the shooter made their way through the first and second floors of the school they fired multiple shots, seemingly at random, before being killed by police on the school's second floor.
Police statements following the shooting were varied and inconsistent. Initially police claimed the shooter was a teenager, but minutes later changed course and described them as a 28 year old woman. Nashville Police Chief John Drake eventually identified the shooter as Audrey Hale, 28, of Nashville. The chief added that Hale “identifies as transgender.”
Both police and most media continued to refer to the shooter as a woman, with NBC printing “Nashville police said the accused Covenant School shooter was a transgender woman,” possibly based on a statement by Police Chief Drake that he gave while answering a question regarding if the shooter was a transgender man or woman.
Some time later, USA Today revised their coverage and reported, “Police identified the attacker as Audrey Elizabeth Hale, 28, a transgender man who was assigned female at birth.”
The Man Who Leads Senate Prayer Is Fed Up With ‘Thoughts And Prayers’
"When babies die at a church school, it is time for us to move beyond thoughts and prayers," Senate Chaplain Barry Black said in his opening prayer.
"When babies die at a church school
... it somehow matters more than everywhere else they're dying?
The North Carolina Senate voted Tuesday along party lines to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of gun rights legislation that includes a repeal of the state’s permit requirement for buying handguns.
Cooper, a Democrat who is currently serving the final two years of his second term, vetoed Senate Bill 41 Friday after it cleared the GOP-controlled legislature earlier this month. On Tuesday, a motion to override Cooper’s veto passed the Senate 30 to 19, with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats opposed. Support for the bill, particularly the pistol purchase permit repeal, has mostly fallen along party lines.
Republicans argue the permitting system is outdated and an unnecessary infringement on Second Amendment rights.
Nearly all Democrats argue that it makes little sense to remove an existing safeguard that helps law enforcement keep guns out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them.
Read more at: https://www.charlotteobserver.com/ne...
FFS
In light of calls from lawmakers for the Department of Justice to investigate the deadly school shooting in Nashville as a hate crime, officials say they are focusing on identifying the motive of the Nashville school shooter.
In response to a question about the instance possibly being a hate crime targeting Christians, United States Attorney General Merrick Garland said investigators are "working full time" on this objective.
"The police chief said at the last at his last press conference that they don't yet have reached a conclusion with respect to motive," Garland said. “We are certainly working full-time with them to try and determine what the motive is.”
"Of course, motive is what determines whether it's a hate crime or not," he added.
Some background: Earlier Tuesday, GOP Sen. Josh Hawley said he believed that the shooting in Nashville should be investigated as a hate crime.
The North Carolina Senate voted Tuesday along party lines to override Gov. Roy Cooper’s veto of gun rights legislation that includes a repeal of the state’s permit requirement for buying handguns.
Cooper, a Democrat who is currently serving the final two years of his second term, vetoed Senate Bill 41 Friday after it cleared the GOP-controlled legislature earlier this month. On Tuesday, a motion to override Cooper’s veto passed the Senate 30 to 19, with all Republicans voting in favor and all Democrats opposed. Support for the bill, particularly the pistol purchase permit repeal, has mostly fallen along party lines.
Ok but they are one vote shy of supermajority in the House. So if the vote is along party lines they can't override the veto.
Of course, that's why they passed that earlier bill to allow them to spring a vote any time, instead of with 24 hours notice, so they can ram it through if any D is ever out sick one day.
Some background: Earlier Tuesday, GOP Sen. Josh Hawley said he believed that the shooting in Nashville should be investigated as a hate crime.
I believe that anyone who talks about "thoughts and prayers" but has vehemently opposed and voted against any kind of gun reform which would attempt to stop this should be charged with a hate crime against our nation's children.
So there is push back about changing the age of obtaining guns but some of those same people want to erect more barriers to limit young people from voting since those same young people lean toward democratic.
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/29/u...
smh...
The reactionary sphere is now having an argument about whether red flag laws are actually good now, apparently.
These are the same propaganda spewing shitheads that wanted to blame Muslims for every mass shooting 15 years ago, they've just filled in a different blank.
And the NC house just overrode the governor's veto of a bill to repeal getting a permit from the sheriff before buying a pistol.
There's not a supermajority in the state house. But 3 Democrats apparently left the chamber and didn't vote. WTF.
e: on second thought, this isn't on topic or furthering discussion
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy said Wednesday that lawmakers must see “all the facts” before any gun legislation can be put forward following the shooting in Nashville this week, the first public comments the California Republican has made to reporters since the incident.
McCarthy’s remarks ultimately follow a similar sentiment expressed by fellow Republicans, President Joe Biden and Democrats: that efforts to increase gun control are likely to be an uphill battle despite multiple mass shootings.
“We want to see all the facts, we need to get the facts,” McCarthy said when asked whether he would put forward legislation on guns following the Nashville shooting.
According to data from the national Gun Violence Archive, the Nashville shooting was the latest in 130 mass shooting incidents so far this year.
When pressed by CNN on what more “facts” he would need, McCarthy refused to answer and left through an exit.
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