He was also on the FBI watch list and he was still able to purchase firearms last week according to CNN a minute ago.
It's tailor made for Trump to wield as a political tool. The shooter was even a registered democrat. Not that I entirely fault him, Clinton would do the same if the guy was just a corn fed white republican.
It will sound callous so soon after but as a gun rights supporter it's draining just dealing with the argument every six months or so. I stopped arguing with people on Facebook a long time ago. I still read the endless threads on various sites. I just keep my mouth shut around friends and just pull the lever on who I think will best represent my views.
Apparently recently an Islamic scholar spoke in Orlando and said that killing gays is the compassionate thing to do: Also this was a headline from NBC Miami 3 days ago: ISIS Group Targets Hundreds of Floridians With 'Kill List': Report http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Report-ISIS-Targets-Hundreds-of-Floridians--382357381.html
Man with weapons and possible explosives arrested, was going to L.A. gay pride parade, sources say http://www.latimes.com/la-me-ln-gay-pride-la-weapons-20160612-snap-story.html Who knows if this is connected...
It'll be interesting (read: horrifying) how the media and politicians take this. Trump or someone on the right wing wanna say how this is an example of why we gotta have a stronger military, free guns for everyone, and get the Muslims outta the country? Gotta acknowledge the gay rights part of it. Oh, and he isn't "particularly religious" according to his family. Hillary or the left wing wanna talk about how it's a national tragedy and another example of the LGBT being in danger? Gotta talk about defense and gun free zones too. It's a complete shit show no matter how you try to argue it, which is sad that they will inevitably try to argue it. How about just report the facts.... Oh that's right, they don't do anymore.
Was there some statement that confirms that? I'm not saying they are connected, but good old fashioned gay bashing aside, how often is there a massacre and an attempted massacre in the same day? I don't know how credible the ISIS connection is given the media will run with anything on the first day of a shooting, but peripherally it certainly seems possible. The police have said there was no obvious connection at the moment, but we're still within hours of these stories breaking.
Yeah, Fox and the LA Times. It was some 20 year old basement dweller from Indiana. It's all a coincidence. http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-gay-pride-la-weapons-20160612-snap-story.html
Whenever there is an event like this it usually inspires some other nutter to enact his own plan. Couple things have been irking me greatly. This guy is on the terror watch list, can buy a gun and work in private security. How does his employer not get word of any of the weird shit he's involved with or saying? 'Cause that's how the FBI found him, his big mouth. His accomplice flew to Syria twice, the last time actually detonating a suicide bomb. Nobody saw fit to watch this guy further? This guy had to train somewhere, nobody saw shit. This is all just so goofy to me. Reminds me greatly of 9/11 where the agencies knew something was imminent but never bothered to communicate with each other. Everything is fucking useless.
Not saying you believe this but there are those that based on this knowledge still believe that the Government can and will protect them or that more Government (which is completely ineffective) is the answer. With this knowledge people still believe in gun-free zones, TSA, wiretaps, etc, etc.
Today just confirms my feeling that I hate religion, guns and people. Specifically people that can't fucking figure out how to keep their guns and religion to themselves.
I obviously dislike Hillary, but I was trying to be fair to her regarding her e-mail scandal. The fact that some classified information passed through unsecured channels doesn't provide evidence of any meaningful wrong doing. I don't know what could be clearer about the stupidity of a system that often retroactively classifies stories after they go public. Looks like condemning evidence is starting to emerge though. Clinton approved CIA drone assassinations with her cellphone, FBI report says. Is she completely retarded?
And it may just of been paranoia: "Santa Monica police Chief Jacqueline Seabrooks had initially tweeted that Howell told officers he wanted to do harm at the gay pride event, but she later said that tweet was inaccurate, and that Howell only said he was going to the event." The explosives he had was Tannerite, which is popular among rednecks for making explosive targets. RE: His Facebook: "An anti-Clinton, pro-Bernie Sanders photo was posted in February. But it shows no enmity for gays or membership in any movement." http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/police-man-arrested-california-guns-explosives-39798076
Are you saying CNN and Fox jumped the gun on this story and got it wrong? But no, they never do that, they never run with something before they get all the details nailed down.
To be fair this came directly from the chief of police of the department with jurisdiction. There isn't a news organization in the world that wouldn't have gone with that as a solid source.
That's the stuff from that video posted awhile back where the guy blew his leg off. If you haven't seen it, look for it on youtube because it's fucking hilarious. It's really shitty that the media plastered this guy's name and photo. And what happened to this? I'm not selecting a source because all the media outlets said the same thing. It then went to this... None of these dip shit journalists see the problem here? Stop acting like intellectuals out to promote truth and public justice if you're never going to take any accountability. The only time the media even entertains the idea of integrity is when there is a victim of sexual assault. Of course, if you're accused they throw your name and picture out there for everyone to see before any facts of the case are even known, because that's totally justifiable. Last I saw he also had 'an arsenal of assault weapons' but who knows if even that's true. If he did break the law by carrying unlicensed guns or in an area they're not permitted it still doesn't justify the new norm of slanderous reporting under the guise of ignorance and being more provocative than your competition. Restrictions on the media is one of the few areas where the slippery slope arguments actually carry weight, but this is inexcusable.
I don't know if it had a sign or not, but it was a gun free zone. Florida has a law prohibiting firearms in any place that sells alcohol. A fair number of states, even, weirdly enough, solidly red Texas, have similar laws. I'll grant you that gun free zones are pretty useless measures (The original Federal Gun Free School Zone Act was declared unconstitutional about 5 minutes after the ink dried on the law), but I have to admit I tend to agree with keeping bars places where guns aren't allowed. Maybe someone would have shot this asshole before he killed 50 people and injured 53 more, but then again, maybe the whole thing would have turned into the OK Corral only with untrained and terrified people firing guns inside. "What if?" is a mostly useless question and it's an irrelevant conversation anyway. Nothing changed after someone shot 20 children in Sandy Hook, so the death of 50 adults won't matter.