SK on Twitter Re: Church Shooting

[Ashcrash]

Well one thing is for sure, if there were no guns, it'd be just as easy for a "lone nut" (term reserved for white shooters) to go take out a whole room full of people with a sword, right?

And how dare Stephen King upset his fans that are for no gun control?!!!?!? Who the hell does he think he is, dammit? And I swear, if he puts another scene of gun violence on his writing, I am going to be very angry about his hypocrisy!!!!

I would have to respectfully disagree. Because even he has a right to his beliefs. And what does it matter if there is gun violence in his books when there is gun violence in real life. What if he writes something that has gun violence in such a way that makes people question why we have guns. Would that not be his right to write something he is passionate about? I do not believe in censoring people even people with his reach because for all we know there could be some fan out there that chose not to ask for a gun on their B-day because stephen king wants gun control laws in place. More to the point fiction is fiction. Sometimes it reflects real life. Sometimes it makes us angry about something even though the story is not real. But sometimes it can open up your mind to things in a way it would not have been opened up to. So I do not really believe it would be hypocritical to write about something in a fictional way that reflects what we experience in real life.

 

[Moderator]

I would have to respectfully disagree. Because even he has a right to his beliefs. And what does it matter if there is gun violence in his books when there is gun violence in real life. What if he writes something that has gun violence in such a way that makes people question why we have guns. Would that not be his right to write something he is passionate about? I do not believe in censoring people even people with his reach because for all we know there could be some fan out there that chose not to ask for a gun on their B-day because stephen king wants gun control laws in place. More to the point fiction is fiction. Sometimes it reflects real life. Sometimes it makes us angry about something even though the story is not real. But sometimes it can open up your mind to things in a way it would not have been opened up to. So I do not really believe it would be hypocritical to write about something in a fictional way that reflects what we experience in real life.

Read Hoss's post again with a tone of sarcasm and roll your eyes at the end.

 

[Ashcrash]

Read Hoss's post again with a tone of sarcasm and roll your eyes at the end.

OH GOD!


that jerk! I almost wondered if he was being sarcastic but did not see a winky face. I thought there was some un written law of honor that winky faces must be used for ALLLLLL sarcastic statements

 

[bobledrew]

Of COURSE that's a law, Ashcrash. Of COURSE it is.

OH GOD!


that jerk! I almost wondered if he was being sarcastic but did not see a winky face. I thought there was some un written law of honor that winky faces must be used for ALLLLLL sarcastic statements

 

[Ashcrash]

Of COURSE that's a law, Ashcrash. Of COURSE it is.

I knew it!

 

[PatInTheHat]

What I was tryin' to say was...

That's entirely possumable.

(yeah yeah yeah, mighta been a lame joke, but it was My lame joke, and this "DAMNPHONE!", it ain't makin' the rules dammit!...ah jeez what I had to do, and like I even knew what I was a'doin'...that's joke dedication peoples, and donchas forgets it! ;-)

 

[hipmamajen]

This may not be the case to take to the mat on gun control anyway. Right now it looks like the shooter obtained his gun illegally. Dylan Roof had felony charges pending from a drug arrest earlier this year, and wouldn't have passed a background check to buy a gun. The gun he used in the shooting is believed to be one his father purchased and gave to him for his 21st birthday in April.

Presumably his father either has a clean record, or bought the gun privately and didn't require a check (which is, I think, allowed there). But, his father was clearly *breaking the law* by obtaining a weapon for someone who couldn't do so on his own.

Trying to legislate tighter control over guns in reaction to a crime where the gun was acquired illegally is problematic. If the people involved were the type to follow the laws, they wouldn't have had a gun and we wouldn't be discussing this. And the people who don't follow the rules don't care what kind of laws get passed, so it's not going to make a difference to them either way.

A better case to have this discussion over would be James Holmes, the Aurora Theater Shooter. He amassed an arsenal, and ammo to last for days, and it was all legal and aboveboard. That's some messed up legislation right there.

I'm not saying that the shooting in South Carolina wasn't a horrible thing. But pouring energy into it on the gun control front is just going to frustrate everyone, because he skirted the law getting the gun. No amount of gun control was going to keep him from arming himself.

Unless we want to talk about making a fundamental shift in American gun culture, but I have a feeling that thread will end up.(or is already going on) in Hot Topics.

 

[hipmamajen]

Just call me threadkillermamajen. Sorry everyone.

 

[FlakeNoir]

Just call me threadkillermamajen. Sorry everyone.

I think you spoke well, Jen--I'm just numb right now.

 

[hipmamajen]

I think you spoke well, Jen--I'm just numb right now.

((((((((((Flake))))))))))

 

[PatInTheHat]

Just call me threadkillermamajen. Sorry everyone.

HA!~SNORT!~HA!
Ah, never apologize, why I gots plenty o' threadkills notched on me keyboards;-)
Besides, I just came here to kinda disagree, and....
It actually does relate to some measures of gun control legislation.
That is, in this case, if said racist loon wasn't supposed to have a firearm, and daddy bought him one, when will he be charged, and with what, at the state and/or federal level(s)?
This is a discussion worth having at every level, were having at great length with support of a majority in fact, until the NRA toolbox opened up, and the Democrat politicos run off for the hills with their campaigns between their legs, per usual.

 

[Maskins]

I live in England so don't really have much to say but here we have very tight gun control after the terrible school massacre in Dunblane. I am not suggesting that we have it right - there is still gun crime. I would suggest that better regulation and checks of gun ownership would be a good thing anywhere. For example, here you have to attest you keep your guns stored in a secure environment and can have spot checks on your home. Regulation will never stop evil (or those with mental health issues) but it might curtail accidents or make such things a little harder.

I was raised with guns in the house as a child as target shooting was a sport and I believe that banning something entirely creates a mystique that is equally dangerous. No easy answer.

 

[GNTLGNT]

...and here's where I feel horrible about myself-this has become so commonplace that I'm barely surprised or shocked anymore...maybe part of my callousness is because I work around purveyors of violence on a daily basis...that, and the media wants to bash it into our faces until I could puke....I grieve for the lost, yes...but the guilty will never get the punishment they deserve...they never do and that's what irks me to the bone...