There were plenty of mass shootings, they just werent lone wolf style ones targeted at the public. Gang warfare, labor strikes, police shooting protestors ...
They happened some, but the more common phenomenon for multiple killings at the time was the serial killer. So it was people killing many people, just one at a time, instead of all at once. At this point, folks like the Manson family and Ted Bundy were active more than 50 years ago. Not really. Regardless, this mass shooting happened in Florida. Not in the city with the 15th highest homicide rate in the country.
Assault weapons were illegal until 2000, then became the weapon of choice for mass shootings…. Chief…. Again, “we done can’t do nuffin bout it”, says the only country where it happens regularly….
Gun ownership was higher 50 years ago, at least according to surveys. But it was not close to ‘almost everyone.’
My view of prayer is that it doesn’t accomplish anything, and has become a crutch for the people with the power to actually do something to also accomplish nothing,
Oh it’s much more insidious. None of the politicians offering “thoughts and prayers” are Christian’s. Not a one of them. That’s just fake virtue signaling. Amazing how often they do these “thoughts and prayers” and come up with… NOTHING. I guess they must not pray very hard.
Sorry WDG, but you're in the wrong on this one. I may not use the phrase, but I certainly won't begrudge someone it's use and I definitely won't mock anyone for it. Sometimes, discretion is the better part of valor. This is one of those times.
Assault weapons were “illegal” from 1994 until 2004. 50 years ago you could go to a gun store and buy an actual honest to god M-16 machine gun. (Illegal in quotes because the ban was idiotic and amounted to “you can’t buy an AR-15, instead you have to buy a Colt Sporter which is the fixed stock version of the exact same gun just without a flash-hider on the end of the barrel”)
It's hard to begrudge people offering thoughts and prayers who are powerless to do anything about this, but on the other hand, there are people who do have the power to do more and choose not to: Republicans Respond to Uvalde Shooting by Ignoring Gun Control
I’m not wrong…. But I’ll give you chance to prove me wrong… find one Republican congressman who posted “thoughts and prayers” after a shooting, then went on write or sponsor a bill that might have actually helped the problem…. Good luck with that, you have my thoughts and prayers….
I hear Rosie has a loft for rent in Ireland. Might want to brush up on you Hindi before arriving, though.