We cling to the "right of the People to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed" portion of the 2nd amendment, but forget the preceding piece of the same amendment "A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free State".<p>What we have now is the absence of domestic security and no evidence of a well regulated militia. We kowtow to the ever expanding security theater encompassing the small activities in our lives, and our day to day freedom decreases with each pat down and purse search.<p>The people at this show were screened, patted down, searched and then fenced in. They were the proverbial fish in a barrel and they were being shot at.<p>Where is the well-ordered militia that has lists of citizens who have arms stock piles like Paddock? When are citizens with militia level armaments trained in an ordered and effective fashion so that we may call upon them in times of crisis? When are arms-bearing citizens evaluated for their mental stability to ensure they exercise their rights in a fashion that promotes the security of a free state? We do none of these things because we are a failing state. By failing state, I specifically mean that we are failing to fully implement laws and regulations that enact the full meaning and intent of the 2nd amendment.
Mainstream journalism being fast-and-loose with weapon definitions again. I'm not sure if the NY times can't get it right, or they don't want to.<p>"Assault-style rifle" has no definition from what I can tell, other than getting used repeatedly by the news when "assault rifle" is technically incorrect but it looks like an assault rifle and they want to use the word "assault" near the word "rifle".<p>And "semiautomatic AR-15-style assault rifle" is just wrong. Semiautomatic-only rifles are not considered assault rifles.
I'd like to preface this by saying that yes those modifications should be illegal. However, would that have made difference? I am not that knowledgeable on the subject of gun modification, but aren't those things that would be added after purchase? And things someone could create themselves? They seems like fairly simple mechanics from short descriptions of them. So sure, outlaw them because they certainly aren't something any gun owner needs. But I don't think that would have made a difference in this situation. I doubt he had all those guns in the hotel legally. It is not like he waltzed in with his guns out in the open, he was hiding them already.
I'm a gun owner and own a lot of firearms, including a number of semi-automatic rifles. I have never liked the bump stocks, crank triggers, and binary triggers. These "almost NFA" items are just so incredibly degenerate. You never see quality people firing these things at the gun range--it's always a scumbag. I will not cry if a bipartisan group of legislators bans the sale of these items.
I'm sorry but I'm still a bit confused. Read through the article and others online, but I don't actually see it mentioned exactly what weapon was used. Is it literally an AR-15 that had some sort of change done to it? They mention 2 guns were used, but only talk about the one and don't offer much details. Asking out of curiousity, since everything I've read online doesn't really seem to just get to the point.
I'm a firearms enthusiast and was shocked to read that the rotating trigger mechanism wasn't outlawed. It almost definitely will be after this massacre.<p>I also think that this is a strong case of genetics at play considering that the shooter didn't even spend time with his bank robber father. The psychopath apple didn't fall far from the psychopath tree.
Selling my Romanian AK-47 and other firearms obtained through purchase or inheritance felt great.<p>Since then there has been several mass casualty shootings in the states.<p>Wish I burned them now.<p>edit:<p>I didn't get rid of my collection over any huge reason, just didn't want the liability sitting around home when I haven't gone shooting in years. That said I feel like I've made a critical mistake in yielding my arms to people who would likely be less responsible than I during my ownership.<p>For anyone in the same position remember you can disable most firearms pretty easily by kludging a part or two. Hopefully will save someone that nagging feeling I have.