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    PeteRRBrendan O'Connor
    7/25/15 11:08am

    The question is, with the involuntary commitment on his record, how did he pass NICS? He should have been flagged and the sale denied.

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      Volante3192PeteRR
      7/25/15 11:21am

      Getting a gun from a pawn shop in Alabama does not require a background check, per state law.

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      EddardNedStarkPeteRR
      7/25/15 11:22am

      Because Alabama (the state where he bought it from) doesn’t require background checks or the purchaser to even have a gun license to buy it from a pawn shop. But you know we definitly don’t need universal background checks for gun sales because MERICA! & FREEDOM!

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    GregoireBrendan O'Connor
    7/25/15 11:13am

    “This is a normal movie theater in a normal part of a normal town. This is Anywhere, USA,” he said. “This just shows these senseless acts of violence can literally happen anywhere.”

    This is the emptiest statement he could possibly make. “Crime! It happened here, but it could happen over there too.”

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      rudi_freudeGregoire
      7/25/15 11:21am
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      Deadly the EternalGregoire
      7/25/15 11:26am

      Anywhere, USA! I sure damn hope it’s a blue state, wherever it is in the country.

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    EldritchBrendan O'Connor
    7/25/15 11:21am

    We honestly have more to fear from ultra Conservative Tea Party white men then we do from any group overseas. This man is indistinguishable from the ISIS terrorists we’re all supposed to fear. He hated women and didn’t think they should have rights, he belived his religion was the one true faith and virulently hated so many groups based on their beliefs or skin color. He wasn’t a mentally ill lone gunman, he was a domestic terrorist. The sooner we start dealing with these assholes like the terrorists they are, the sooner shit like this can maybe stop happening. Which is a pipe dream, I know. The second we let dozens of children be murdered in their classroom and no gun control came out of it is the second we as a nation said we were okay with this being the new normal in this country.

    Everything is so fucked.

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      Deadly the EternalEldritch
      7/25/15 11:30am

      At least ISIS has the decency of dressing up their victims and putting them on TV. With these right-wing nuts, you’re dead in an instant if you happen to be in their way. No wonder they hate Muslims so much. They’re just another competitive terrorist group.

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      DefaultEldritch
      7/25/15 11:54am

      I’m not saying you’re wrong but can you please show me some facts backing up the connection between tea party radicals and gun violence (mass shootings) in the United states? I think it’s a little crazy to make that statement because one old white guy shot up a movie theater. I in no way support the tea party movement I just support the idea that people shouldnt put things like this in a box labeled “old white dudes who have identified as tea party loyalists."

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    The Other TheronBrendan O'Connor
    7/25/15 11:16am

    No surprise. The gun and ammo manufacturers’ lobby (NRA) has been very good at making sure absolutely anyone can get their product. It’s just about money, despite some other platitudes they mouth. If criminals and and homicidal bigots couldn’t get guns, first of all, the gun and ammo manufactures would lose a significant customer base. And also, law-abiding types would not feel as much as much need to arm themselves, further shrinking the customer base.

    It’s just business.

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      PeteRRThe Other Theron
      7/25/15 11:21am

      The NRA supported the creation of NICS. That system, administered by the government, failed to stop the sale even though he’d been involuntarily committed. Attempting to buy a gun when you’re prohibited is a separate crime. He wasn’t arrested for that either.

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      The Other TheronPeteRR
      7/25/15 11:29am

      Yes, NICS is ineffective. And yes, the NRA supports it. Which I think upholds my original point.

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    momofpeanutBrendan O'Connor
    7/25/15 11:39am

    Perhaps this tragedy will bring about some good. The people who spout “we have enough laws” might finally understand most of them have holes large enough to drive a Mack truck through.

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      lJN9yQQDBepFimomofpeanut
      7/25/15 2:11pm

      Maybe it is time that hoplophobes realize that the PRETEND “Gun Free Zones” nor laws prohibiting murder prevent evil murderers.

      However, bullets do effectively stop them.

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      ad infinitummomofpeanut
      7/25/15 2:11pm

      It’s a nice thought, but I wouldn’t hold my breath.

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    rules for radishesBrendan O'Connor
    7/25/15 11:09am

    Weird that few are talking about this as a hate crime: a crazed far-right-wing wife-beater known for his “anti-feminist rants” decides to shoot up a movie theater, and deliberately targets women at a movie about a sexually liberated woman written and starring an avowed feminist.

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      Maxless Suspect VIIrules for radishes
      7/25/15 11:12am

      Sorry gal, that blog is down the hallway - past the sports door and across from car the aficionados. We here are strictly pro-blackmailer.

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      joanofsnarkkrules for radishes
      7/25/15 11:13am

      Its a white dude - he just had mental illness, nothing to see here.

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    Fapplebs01Brendan O'Connor
    7/25/15 11:15am

    Here we go another reason for our rights to own guns to be taken away.

    I really hope people understand this is a mental issue not a gun issue.

    This is unfortunate and people shouldn’t be taken before their time. This sucks.

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      grenenwodFapplebs01
      7/25/15 11:21am

      Control, not confiscation.

      This person should not have been able to legally purchase a gun. This isn’t about you.

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      brighterFapplebs01
      7/25/15 11:50am

      It’s a gun issue. Too many people think normal life requires them to be armed. It doesn’t.

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    SomethingforthekidsBrendan O'Connor
    7/25/15 11:15am

    So, I guess that whole violent criminals only buy guns on the streets thing doesn't hold water in this one or the charleston shooting. Sorry gun nuts.

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      qu1j0t3Somethingforthekids
      7/25/15 11:35am

      It never held. It’s just one more from their great big grab-bag of fantasies.

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      TimF101Somethingforthekids
      7/25/15 12:17pm

      That never held water. The vast majority of deranged multiple shooters (shooting multiple strangers by definition being a deranged act...) got their guns legally. This just adds one more to the pile.

      People like that tomato guy who knee jerk about street gangs and whatever are just uninformed and obviously a little racist. Ask any experienced law enforcement official what he thinks when he hears ‘active shooter’ and the answer is white, young (usually) and sovereign citizen/tea party-inclined.

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    TRUMP DELENDUS EST (fka Chatham Harrison)Brendan O'Connor
    7/25/15 11:40am

    If only there were places where handguns were illegal (or virtually illegal,) so we could compare homicide rates and rationally observe whether or not making handguns illegal increases the rate of violent homicide. That’d be really handy in cases like this. A man can dream...

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      Cyber Mind GrrlBrendan O'Connor
      7/25/15 12:14pm

      This is what the gun humpers don’t understand. The rest of us know that even a good guy with a legally obtained gun can turn into a bad guy with a legally obtained gun in the space of a millisecond. All it takes is one bad day, and that “good guy with a gun” becomes another statistic.

      It wouldn’t be so bad if they just offed themselves, but they ALWAYS want to take out a bunch of innocent people with them like the cowards they are.

      Sadly, this seems to be a problem that will never be resolved.

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        NicoCyber Mind Grrl
        7/27/15 12:30pm

        They usually do:

        “The U.S. Department of Justice reports that approximately 60% of all adult firearm deaths are by suicide, 61% more than deaths by homicide.[15] In the U.S., firearms remain the most common method of suicide, accounting for 51% of all suicides committed in 2006”

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_viole…

        But for your first comment, this guy wasn't "a good guy with a gun", he was a bad guy who should have never been able to pass a background check. He was denied a pistol permit on several occasions due to his history, I don't know how he magically passed a background check after all that.

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        Cyber Mind GrrlNico
        7/27/15 12:54pm

        He was white.

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