Shooting in Highland Park, Illinois. Near July 4th parade. 6 deaths..

I understand, but even with DNA left on the rifle, you have to have a sample to compare it to. Military service, convicts, etc have samples on file, but this guy wasn't either. The population as a whole (as far as I know) doesn't have their fingerprints or DNA catalogued.

The cameras and serial number on the gun are more understandable.

 

I don't think you're so much joking but nicely raising a valid point--having face tattoos might correlate with answers that set off red flags on any number of psych batteries used for background checks.

Maybe ownership should be tied to passing a military background check that includes psych testing?

 

I don't know anything about the guy, but as soon as these things happen, folks are quick to go the antifa route.

These were out the same day as Jan6. They just happened to be wrong.

 

I have my reservations about 'red flag laws' in principle, and in the hypothetical.

...but my wife works at one of the relatively newly formed offices the state formed in the wake of Marjorie Stoneman Douglas, and can say from what ive seen and heard...

Well, let me back off just a tad, and volunteer two observations/conclusions ive drawn from such proximity:

1: there are way more sicko freaks out there than most folks would want to believe. Like scary numbers.... peppered throughout and everywhere...

2. I am VERY confident that these offices, working in conjunction with the FBI, have avoided multiple mass and/or school shootings.

...and this is basically the red flag thing in practice.

As a side note--IMHO--this rash of mass killings is a cultural issue--a manifestation of a cultural malady. A seething self hatred that crosses multiple generations, all races, has no religion, and knows no end game. Just self hatred. Anger, for anger's sake.

Take guns away, they'll build bomds...

...like the terrorism crap we were dealing with at the beginning of the century--fighting a mindset, only this one, is one with no purpose...

But TBL, ive come around to relenting to the red flag thing. Florida's program, for my money, has proven effective.

Like w terrorists, we have to be aggressively preemptive...or just continue being vics waiting to be victimized.

Jmho/fwiw.

 

I understand these challenges. No red flag will be perfect but I think there are ways to make them usable.
1. Apparently this guy was on the local LE radar. That should be a red flag. Family and friends say they “saw no signs” and I call bullcrap. Everyone of us can look at the pictures …look at how he physically changed ( meth?)and see red flags. If there were red flag laws and a hotline to call maybe more people would see the warning signs these nutters give off.
For the vindictive excuse calling in a false report… any report that is given and proven to be without any merit the person who provides suffers a stiff financial
Penalty… I’m talking thousands. That or they suffer 60 days in lock up.
I feel the same for those that report completely basis rape reports.

 

I wasn't going the antifa route. Someone posted pictures of him with a Trump flag over him and one of him dressed silly at a Trump parade. I was just showing that he has also dressed the opposite. My gut feeling is he is a lefty but he is being portrayed as a Trump guy. Just pointing out that it is a little early to be labeling him.

 

I remember when the rubes quickly tried to blame Antifa for January 6th. Lol how wrong they were. Now they’re trying to deflect by blaming rap music lol. Zero accountability for that contingent.

 

Doesn't surprise me at all. I've dealt with quite a few--or at least folks with some deep problems. Some are the types that in the abstract, might be "law abiders" but in reality, are why red flag laws are essential.

Interesting that you are seeing effectiveness per your wife's experience.

I think there is something to be said about seriously/aggressively background checking people who trigger red flags, ntm making them more robust, not simply erring toward letting people easily get a gun.

 

Interesting point. It’s almost like one should pass an extensive background check and training before being allowed to purchase a semi-auto rifle. Instead of this scenario: issuing to an obvious crazy person with face tattoos, who literally has an online trail documenting how much they are into mass murders. In what universe should that happen?

Red-flag laws are better than nothing (no clue if Illinois had such mechanisms), but you are correct on their limitations, it relies on someone to report them. Even running extensive background checks wouldn’t be 100% perfect (some might be able to better hide their insanity, some bureaucrat might fail to adequately find the issue or pass it along), nonetheless it’s the next most likely meaningful barrier after the red-flag law as an “after the fact” measure. The only way to be closer to 100% is to prevent their sale at all.

 

Portrayed as a Trump guy? He's wrapped in a Trump flag and has attended multiple Trump rallies. I'd ignore your gut - it's probably gas.

 

Note however, that the reservations, and the fear are very well grounded, in that they pose an enormous threat and vulnerability for abuse.

My fears are assuaged from my personal observation, bc i am apprised of the multitude of safeguards which have been observed and the egregiousness of the cases that actually prompt action ( which speaks to the shear volume of potential and latent threats...).

...but there's also an ocean of potential abuse there, just waiting to be taken advantage of...and that's almost as disturbing as the threats they're designed to address.

 

Everyone wrap up their loose ends in this thread? Take 5 and we can all meet in the next mass shooting thread in a few days.

 

He allegedly attended a Trump parade dressed like a where's Waldo character, he rocks all kinds of antifa shit, has a democrat socialist TATOO on his neck, is a rapper, colors his hair purple and pink, cross dresses, prolly flames...

...dude seems to be about as MAGA as Hillary or Barry.

 

We still have to confirm the politics of an extremely online dude in his 20s, because they will obviously be coherent and fully formed

 

Oh man. That's gonna change everything.....

 

Highland Park has an assault weapons ban and magazine capacity ban (and a fairly fulsome version of both that captures most semi-automatic guns capable of accepting a detachable magazine and has the current language gun control groups are pushing based on the idea that the 1996 AWB and original California bans were too easy to manufacture around), and based on the police statements saying that his rifle fired rounds “similar to” an AR-15, I suspect his weapons probably complied with it.

 

Illinois also has red flag laws and background check laws. He went through all of it to buy the gun legally in Illinois. All those strict guns laws.. some of the strongest strictest in the country and this neck tattoo wacko can walk in and buy a gun similar to an AR15 legally. I’m guessing an AK -74 variation?

 

Nope, it is obligatory to post the Onion article before wrapping it up:

‘No Way To Prevent This,’ Says Only Nation Where This Regularly Happens

 

I believe it was the Buffalo MAGA great replacement inspired terrorist who (laughably) claimed to be a big time communist at 12 years old, until settling in on the neo Nazi route in his later teens. Deciding he needed to help Make America Great, preserving the white ethno state by shooting up a black neighborhood grocery store…

Definitely a brilliant idea to legally sell such a fellow an AR-15 (or any gun, for that matter). What could go wrong? As we repeatedly see (so much that it’s beyond an exercise in insanity), a helluva lot can go wrong.

 

Wow. Post #198 before we got the onion article. Slacking. Okay then, that's a wrap,