William, who used to perform at Pulse Orlando, remembers friends and co-workers killed there.
Several hundred people gathered in front of Trinity Church in Copley Square tonight to vent their anger at the deaths in Orlando, but also to show their love for those hurting.
William, a drag performer who moved to Boston from Orlando last fall, recalled the four friends he had there who died, the four in critical condition and others who were shot. But as he tried to maintain his composure, he said, "if I preach one word today, it would be love."
Greg Cook attended and filed a report and photos:
The Boston Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence, who led the vigil, called for a moment of non-silence, in which people could let out their feelings:
Xandra Minter of Queer Muslims of Boston said the Koran says that anybody who murders one person murders all of mankind and that
The Rev. Bill Rich, vicar of Trinity Church, said the church decided to cancel its normal 8 p.m. service, "so we could be with you."
"We all could have been there," Rich, who is gay, said, adding he mourns not just for the victims of the gunfire, but for "all the hearts, and minds and souls that have been injured by this violence."
He continued, however, the answer is not meeting violence with violence, or fear. "Never give up! Never give up! Never give up!" he said.
People with candles raised them in memory of the dead and injured:
The crowd sang "Amazing Grace:"
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Comments
LOL! I'm ROFLOLing!
By SwirlyGrrl
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 7:24pm
Get a clue city boy. Nobody uses these for hunting anything other than humans.
My inner redneck is quite entertained by your assertion
I guess 99% of ammosexuals don't even know from hunting ... after all, that requires being out in the woods and having some skill!
"City boy?" "Ammosexual?" I
By CCD
Tue, 06/14/2016 - 9:23am
"City boy?" "Ammosexual?" I am also quite entertain by your assertions... I've actually been hunting numerous times, big game, upland bird hunting. Have an LTC. And also work a 9-5 desk job that pays quite well. Gasp! How is that possible?
There are hundreds of thousands of "assault weapons" in circulation in the US. "In 2014, the most recent year for which detailed FBI data are available, rifles were used in 248 murders. And not only are rifles used in far fewer murders over a decade following the expiration of the 1994 gun ban, they’re also used in a smaller percentage of homicides. In 2003, when the gun ban was in full effect, rifles were used in nearly 3 percent of murders. In 2014, they were used in barely 2 percent."
Keep in mind this only lists "rifles" which include the AR-15. There are many types of rifles out there. So ya, I think its safe to say that most AR-15s are used for the lawful purposes HOWEVER you may define them...
Assault rifles tend to be the
By chaosjake
Tue, 06/14/2016 - 3:27pm
Assault rifles tend to be the weapon of choice for spree killers (mass murderers? active shooters? whatever the term is). We just have so goddamn many murders in this country that the horrific single acts like Orlando get lost in the statistics. The fact is that mass murder would be much harder if you had to stop and feed rounds into a tube magazine every half dozen shots.
You rais sn important point
By Dave-from-Boston
Tue, 06/14/2016 - 10:23am
In about 1973, 40 million Americans purchased hunting licenses annually and about 49% of households had at least 1 firearm in the home. Today only about 12% of Americans buy hunting licenses yet almost 65% of households have firearms. It ain't about hunting, folks.
As a "gay"
By cybah
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 7:46am
As a gay.. the first thing I did Sunday morning was locate all my friends and family in Orlando. One of which is my 1st cousin who is gay and does go to Pulse on occasion. Luckily he had to work late and didn't go out. Otherwise, he would have gone out, been at Pulse, and I would be working with his mom to plan out his funeral this week.
The second thing I did, was reach out to my Muslim friends to make sure THEY are OK also. Because every time one of these attacks occurs, I fear for my Muslim friends. Because we have idiots like you who want to mass blanket all Muslims as bad. I know this not to be true at all. Not all Muslims are evil terrorists. Many are your friends and neighbors.
Furthermore, I agree with Adam. We should have a discussion about how someone was able to get easy access to AR-15s, especially someone who was on a FBI watch list. And in the same breath, we should also talk about how politicians continually glaze over any sort of real gun control and restrictions on these AR weapons, while taking "paid expenses" or "donations" from the NRA because we're tired of these mass shootings due to lack of real gun control reform in Washington.
We should also have a discussion about mental health and its funding. it's clear this guy was unstable, at least from reports from his ex wife, who said he beat her daily.
And finally, we should have a discussion about how someone could be interviewed by the FBI on a number of occasions, and who clearly was not stable, and he was still allowed to be a gov't security contractor and have access to such high powered guns.
But go ahead.. make this about Muslims first and not the REAL issues at hand.. *smh*
PS - In case you didn't hear, there was another guy.. in Los Angeles who had bomb making materials and guns in his car and was on his way to a gay pride parade. And let me just tell you.. he was white!
Edits: clarity, spelling, grammar errors
Kris, I'm giving you an amen.
By Dot net
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 10:12am
Kris, I'm giving you an amen. I don't want to cry anymore, though I will, and we all need to make sure we don't let another non-response to a mass shooting keep killing Americans: young or old, latinx, black, or white; LGBTQ or straight.
Said the same thing out loud
By Sally
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 6:01pm
after I read--preach it. Cybah-hug to you. Heavy hearts today.
this is so very well said
By Malcolm Tucker
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 11:06am
Thank you.
Thanks friends
By cybah
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 8:32pm
Yes friends. We may be texts on a screen but we are a community of sorts.
And thanks again. Not too bad for someone who was waiting for coffee to brew this morning.
I'm just tired of the blood shed and the glazing over by politicians who are too busy getting expenses paid for by the NRA to block any sort of gun legislation. It's time for the blood shed to end. How many more mass killings do we have to have before something is done. As much as I want to believe something will be done, I have very little doubt anything will be done. Much like nothing was done after Sandy Hook. And if school children are not enough to make needed changes, I doubt a mass shooting at a LGBTQ club will be enough either.
I've been on sabbatical and staying in Provincetown a lot , which is why my posts here have become less and less. I spent a portion of today at the beach. Wasn't restful at all. Kept thinking about Orlando, and my cousin, and so many people effected. Especially how I went clubbing on the Saturday night and that shooter could have happened there, and one of the victims could have been me.
But I will not stop going out. If you live in fear, they win. We will not surrender. We will never surrender.
Here are some other facts about the Orlando shooter, however:
By mplo
Tue, 06/14/2016 - 8:15am
A) Omar Mateen was born to parents who were Afghan immigrants to the United States. Inotherwords, Omar Mateen was an Afghan-American.
B) His co-workers often complained about him, because he was extremely unstable, and was known for his openly racist and homophobic attitudes.
C) Omar Mateen was so emotionally unstable and physically/emotional abusive to his wife, that she ended up divorcing him.
p. s. This is a bit off-topic, but I'll add this: The fact that guns are so accessible here in the United States and that so many people twist the U. S. Constitution's 2nd Amendment due to their belief that it guarantees individual rights to arms, when that's so totally not the case. Under that Amendment, only law-enforcement people and security personnel, as well as people serving in the military are allowed to have weapons.
Way to represent the root cause
By SwirlyGrrl
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 7:44am
There is a pervasive root to all this nonsense - including your "lets kill all them other people" hatred. Toxic masculinity is a root syndrome connecting rape culture, domestic abuse, homophobia, right-wing Christian and Islamic extremist terrorism, etc.
You aren't solving anything with your nonsense "proposal" - you are merely representing and perpetuating the evil behind such terrorist acts.
Ah. Toxic masculinity
By dmcboston
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 5:09pm
Glad to see swirl is carrying the talking point of the day for Planned Parenthood. http://www.mrctv.org/blog/planned-parenthood-blame...
ANYTHING to avoid calling it Islam.
It's not 'toxic masculinity'. It's psychotic pseudo religious belief.
Funny you mention "planned parenthood"
By SwirlyGrrl
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 7:05pm
My neighbor used to work for them.
Toxic masculinity claimed her life when a Right Wing Fundamentalist Christian Catholic Terrorist woman hater murdered her in cold blood.
Take your toxic masculinity-inspired hatred elsewhere and fuck off.
Sorry, swirl.
By dmcboston
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 11:34pm
I won't cower to your nonsense. I know all about your friend the receptionist, and I'm sorry for your loss. She was not killed by a "Right Wing Fundamentalist Christian Catholic Terrorist woman hater".
She was killed by a lunatic. If you read the wiki on Salvi (ya, I know, but if you can cite the Puffington Host I can cite the wiki) you will see none of those words used.
Your blind hatred of all things Christian twist your outlook on many things, and that's too bad. I have very little 'toxic masculinity-inspired hatred' in my soul.
I will not fuck off.
I exist and I simply will not stand by silently while you spout your lefty bullshit.
no subject
By SwirlyGrrl
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 8:50pm
[img]https://img.buzzfeed.com/buzzfeed-static/static/en...
https://www.buzzfeed.com/scott/bushmasters-shockin...
Bushmaster...nothing.
By dmcboston
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 11:43pm
1966 Chevrolet Chevelle 396. Done right, actually twists the frame when you nail it right.
At least the bushmaster doesn't have bayonet lugs.
Bottom line, swirl, I'm not evil, none of us here are. It is evil sociopaths doing this. They are few and far between, but when they surface, they are dangerous.
But, I will say that "Fuck off" is a good way to start a conversation.
OK Sure
By BostonDog
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 8:10am
Lets talk about it. The killer in Orlando was born an American on US soil so "vetting" his arrival to the US is moot. Most of the mass shootings in the US happened by people who were either American citizens by birth (having been born here) or committed by people who came to the US decades ago.
OK, so assuming you still want to ban/limit/"vet" muslins entering the US, how do you do that? Put a check box on a form and hope anyone coming to the US to kill wouldn't dare lie about their religion? And you can't just "vet" flights from a few middle east countries since it wouldn't be hard for a would-be terrorist to just go to a allied nation first.
OK, so lets say you do decide to "vet" muslins coming to the US, or at least the ones honest enough to check that box. How do you vet them? Do you call their moms and ask if they are good people? It's not like ISIS publishes a who's who of enemy combatants.
OK, so now you just want to ban being a Muslin in the US entirely. How do you block a religion? You can close the religious buildings but it would have no affect. Most of the killers stopped going to services well before attacking anyway. And good luck trying to block the millions of web sites where their spread their hate.
This is why Trump's (and your) idea of blocking Muslins is stupid. It would cost a lot of time and money and result in absolutely no reduction in mass shootings. You might as well attempt to block rainy days on the weekend.
Lol the republicans have been
By anon
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 7:45am
Lol the republicans have been screaming their lungs out about gays/trans people in bathrooms for three months but it's Islam that's the problem, sure. Sure, buddy.
He would have been on a watch list.
By TommyJeff
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 8:00am
If Real Murican Patriot, Senator Ron Johnson wasnt bought and paid for by the NRA.
Up yours, Fish.
No, because we "gays"
By anon
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 9:02am
No, because we "gays" understand you can't blanket hate a whole group because all too often we are grouped into a bucket of hate by ignorant people like yourself.
Gays are not pedophiles, we are not trying to destroy society by wanting to get married, we are not unclean or unnatural, we are not hated by a god for who we are and Trans people aren't raping people in bathrooms.
Hateful people with access to guns kill people out of hate.
Will hate still exist if we control guns? of course. hateful people will still find ways to use pressure cookers and planes to hurt people... but lets not pretend that guns built to efficiently kill aren't at least part of the problem here.
And if we are going to seriously discuss banning a whole religion for being hateful then we are going to have to add extreme fundamental Christians who are part of the problem too - but obviously don't see themselves as such because they aren't brown.
Cooler heads will prevail, maybe.
By dmcboston
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 2:51pm
Or maybe not.
First, I'm appalled at what happened in Orlando. All rational people should be. It is a time for Americans to help each other. I don't care what color flag you have, rainbow or whatever. You are an American and have my support. Having said that, the reality is that you now know that radical Islam has you marked. They always have. The record of that band of psychotics, ISIS, in the Middle East speaks for itself.
I am actually quite middle of the road. So, the hard Left in this country will tell you it's about guns. It ain't. There's 200 million guns out there. They ain't coming home. That chicken has left the barn.
Look to the future.
Join the Pink Pistols.
http://www.pinkpistols.org/2016/06/12/pink-pistols...
Hell, join anyone else. They will be happy to have you.
Milo is calling it the way he sees it. Leftie heads asplode...http://www.breitbart.com/milo/2016/06/12/left-chos...
http://www.breitbart.com/author/milo-yiannopoulos/
He is fun to read.
https://pjmedia.com/trending/2016/06/12/gay-activi...
We're all on the list:
http://www.city-journal.org/html/take-gloves-14572...
Anyway, like it or not, we're all in this together. We have more in common than separates us.
Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieve it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.
I refuse to fight hate with
By anon
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 5:27pm
I refuse to fight hate with hate.
Radical Islamists or whatever you feel like you need to call them may have us "marked" as queers, as Americans, as not their own, but the answer is not to use the same tactic back and to mark an religion or region of the world as evil.
Any queer person can tell you that hate does't always come from the barrel of a gun. It also comes in the form of words, laws, looks, and actions. The LGBT community has put up with so much hate from our fellow Americans, and yet have accomplished so much in such a short period of time.
Let's work together as Americans to prevent our own citizens from having the ability to shoot each other so easily. Let's show love and compassion by accepting LGBT people as American citizens with the same rights everyone else can enjoy without fear of being shot at, attacked, heckled, or discriminated against by a piece of legislature. Nothing we do will prevent attacks on our nation from outside but at least we can take steps to stop attacking each other.
This is not about easy accessibility to guns?
By mplo
Tue, 06/14/2016 - 8:31am
First of all, This:
is not true, dmcBoston. While it's true that there are other root causes, the fact that so many people twist the 2nd Amendment to their own beliefs that this particular Amendment guarantees the rights of individuals to bear arms has made firearms, especially assault rifles, and handguns, far too easily accessible here in the United States. That, imho, is also a huge part of the problem.
Omar Mateen is an American, who was born here in the USA, to Afghan parents who immigrated here to the United States. Therefore, he should be tried for, charged with, and forced to serve a life sentence in a maximum-security prison, without parole, for the horrific mass-shooting that he committed in Orlando that resulted in the deaths and injuries to so many people.
Of course it's about guns.
By dmcboston
Tue, 06/14/2016 - 9:26am
You misquoted me and took my words out of context. What I said was,"So, the hard Left in this country will tell you it's about guns. It ain't. There's 200 million guns out there. They ain't coming home. That chicken has left the barn.
Look to the future.
Join the Pink Pistols."
The meaning being there's 200 million (or is it 300?) guns out there. Ban guns? Good luck with that. Perhaps you should be willing to defend yourself in the face of a sociopathic killer.
Omar Saddiqui Mateen is now partying with his 72 virgins, if you're a believer.
Are you delusional? Right to
By CCD
Tue, 06/14/2016 - 9:32am
Are you delusional? Right to bears arms means for all US citizens! You clearly have a twisted and confused interpretation of the 2nd Amendment. You seem to ignore the multiple Supreme Court, Trial Court cases the reaffirm the 2A.
It seems clear that many of the Left find it easier to have a discussion about gun control and the scary looking "assault weapons" than to discuss the global jihadist problem. Google what happened in France this morning/afternoon, pretty disturbing stuff.
That's funny
By anon
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 9:13am
I don't remember you calling for a ban on immigration by all Catholics after that terrorist John Salvi killed people.
Or all second generation Italians radicalized by the Catholic Church teachings.
Perhaps we should evaluate all descendants of....
By Daan
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 9:39am
Germans due to the Nazi connection
Turks due to Armenian deaths
Italians
Khmer Rouge
KKK
It is morally and intellectually dishonest to blanket one group. If we were to do so not only the above descendants but every Christian should be suspect. Christians have a long history of barbaric, cruel and hateful actions.
This is a great way to make a loud and meaningless statement.
How about something meaningful? The Supreme Court clearly declared that in its interpretation of the 2nd Amendment right to own weapons (regardless of whether they were correct) that regulation is still appropriate. As with yelling fire in a theater in the context of the First Amendment no right is absolute.
Since no right is absolute the question is what is the appropriate level of regulation? In other words does anyone need a weapon that is more powerful than a weapon for hunting or self-defense in one's home? Are there any other contexts where ownership of a weapon is justified according to the Supreme Court?
Is private ownership of a weapon designed for military use appropriate, necessary or in any way justified? It's not. Does the 2nd Amendment establish a right to private ownership of weapons of mass killing and mass destruction? It does not.
So regulation of assault rifles, machine guns and any other kind of weapon of mass killing is reasonable, and after the killing of children at Sandy Hook and now Orlando, it is absolutely necessary.
To support private ownership of weapons of mass destruction is to support the mass killing of people, whether they are children in Connecticut or adults in Orlando.
"Weapons of mass destruction"
By CCD
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 10:29am
"Weapons of mass destruction" like an atomic bomb? Further, an AR-15 is not weapon designed for the military. The military designed it first and the made a replicate for civilians to use. Aesthetically they look they same but the facts are they are not.
There is very few people in this country that support "mass killing of people." The ones that do, clearly have some serious physiological issues and they're the ones who unfortunately commit these atrocities. In a country, of 315+ million people, how do you stop these few? Any good ideas?
A weapon that can kill 49 people in a few minutes
By Daan
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 10:55am
qualifies in my book as a weapon of mass destruction. Or is there a specific distinction between what is and is not a weapon of mass destruction? Is it a question of how many people are killed? A weapon that kills 49 people in a few minutes is not a weapon of mass destruction but let's say if it killed 99 people it would be?
Atomic bomb? Going for the extremes in comparison. Fallacious logic. Let's stick to reality as in what is a real assessment of what an average American can purchase.
If an average American can purchase a weapon that kills 49 people, and wounds many others, in minutes, that qualifies as mass destruction.
Or perhaps it is more important to split hairs about what constitutes a weapon of mass destruction than to acknowledge the weapon in question was used to kill 49 people and wound many many others.
So by that logic Bush didnt
By CCD
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 3:45pm
So by that logic Bush didnt lie to start a war in Iraq. There were clearly many assault rifles aka "weapons of mass destruction" being held and used by the murderous Dictator Saddam...
Whatever
By SwirlyGrrl
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 7:06pm
Whatever.
Misdirection does not support your argument
By Daan
Tue, 06/14/2016 - 8:33am
Bringing in the question of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq as justification for invading Iraq is not related to the question of assault rifles in civilian hands. It is misdirection and a false comparison.
Context matters. Bush et al. wanted the nation to believe that the Iraq government was creating either nuclear bombs or developing weapon based on chemical warfare. They were not concerned about weapons that a person can carry and use to kill large numbers of human beings.
But the issue here is whether it is good national or state policy to allow civilians to own weapons that can kill a large number of people in a short amount of time? We already do not allow civilians to own bombs. So if it is illegal to own bombs then why would it not be illegal to own weapons that can inflict comparable damage. As mentioned earlier the home made bombs of the Tsarnaev brothers killed far fewer than the weapon used in Orlando. Conjecture about how many would be killed if the bombs were placed elsewhere has low value for discussion since it did not happen.
Therefore the weapon used in Orlando had a greater impact for causing death than the weapons used by the Tsarnaevs. If what the Tsarnaevs used can be considered weapons of mass destruction then certainly the weaponry used in Orlando fits the definition weapon of mass destruction.
But this is preaching to either the choir or the loyal opposition. I am more concerned with persuading folks who are on the fence of what weaponry is appropriate to own. So thank you for putting forth arguments that are easy to shoot down. That demonstrates that there is no legitimate reason to own weapons that will kill many people. Instead the argument is based on the pure emotional need feel powerful and mighty.
Human beings don't change. Some want value love above all else, others value power above all else. I believe that in the halls of the NRA the name of their god is Power.
Save your God's blessings,
By Dot net
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 10:01am
Fish, save your God's blessings, and your drivel. I have better ways of supporting MY family. Tell me when you support comprehensive, common sense gun control. That means no more AR-15s and other civilian derivatives of the military's automatic weapons.
Do you remember the 1993
By CCD
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 10:34am
Do you remember the 1993 Federal Assault Weapons ban signed by Clinton? That seemed like a "comprehensive, common sense gun control" right? Well it expired in 2004 and "in 2004, a research report submitted to the United States Department of Justice and the National Institute of Justice found that should the ban be renewed, its effects on gun violence would likely be small, and perhaps too small for reliable measurement, because rifles in general, including rifles referred to as "assault rifles" or "assault weapons", are rarely used in gun crimes. That study by Christopher S. Koper, Daniel J. Woods, and Jeffrey A. Roth of the Jerry Lee Center of Criminology, University of Pennsylvania found no statistically significant evidence that either the assault weapons ban or the ban on magazines holding more than 10 rounds had reduced gun murders."
I do remember 1993 Legislation
By issacg
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 11:13am
And I don't necessarily dispute that in 2004, that might have been the case.
I think there is ample empirical evidence in June 2016 to say otherwise.
The law expired in September
By CCD
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 12:19pm
The law expired in September of 2004, making 2003 the last full calendar year in which the law was in effect. According to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) crime statistics, 390 people were murdered with rifles in 2003, making rifles the weapon of choice in 2.7 percent of murders that year.
In 2014, the most recent year for which detailed FBI data are available, rifles were used in 248 murders. And not only are rifles used in far fewer murders over a decade following the expiration of the 1994 gun ban, they’re also used in a smaller percentage of homicides. In 2003, when the gun ban was in full effect, rifles were used in nearly 3 percent of murders. In 2014, they were used in barely 2 percent.
Maura Healey disagrees
By Daan
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 11:25am
Interesting that Maura Healey on the radio disagrees. She claims that killings as a result have increased.
There is a researcher associated with Harvard and the Smithsonian that conservative legislators loved going to for his opinions about climate. He swore that climate change is due to the sun and have nothing to do with pumping massive amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere. A year or so later it was discovered that much of his funding comes from the petroleum industry. Of course he was not qualified to speak to climate change since that was not his speciality but that didn't sponsor Congress people who are in the pockets of petroleum interests from using him to justify their position.
So studies should always be taken with a grain of salt.
I would also be interested in CDC studies about gun violence. But the CDC is prohibited (by Congress) from conducting these studies.
Seems to me that there is a lot of lobbying money spent on preventing studies. So before I accept the conclusions of any privately sponsored study I want to know who paid for it.
There are other measures
By Dot net
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 11:34am
There are other measures beyond the limitations that the assault weapons "ban" promulgated, and others posting after me, that explain why research was stymied. Maybe if we repealed the ban on CDC and NIH funding and researching firearms injuries and deaths, you might have a leg to stand on.
It didn't expire in 2004.
By mplo
Tue, 06/14/2016 - 8:55am
G. W. Bush did away with the ban on assault weapons when he took office.
Nope, it expired.
By CCD
Tue, 06/14/2016 - 9:34am
Nope, it expired.
"The ten-year ban was passed by the U.S. Congress on September 13, 1994, and signed into law by President Bill Clinton the same day. The ban only applied to weapons manufactured after the date of the ban's enactment, and it expired on September 13, 2004, in accordance with its sunset provision.
In public policy, a sunset provision or clause is a measure within a statute, regulation or other law that provides that the law shall cease to have effect after a specific date, unless further legislative action is taken to extend the law."
And guess what
By bosguy22
Tue, 06/14/2016 - 10:16am
Had that ban not expired, the weapon used Sunday would still have been legal.
Incorrect
By Kaz
Tue, 06/14/2016 - 10:47am
The Colt AR-15 (and any duplicates/copies of same) was banned as part of the FAWB.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federal_Assault_Weap...
Really?
By bosguy22
Tue, 06/14/2016 - 11:26am
Which two of the following did the Orlando shooter's gun have?
Folding or telescoping stock
Pistol grip
Bayonet mount
Flash suppressor, or threaded barrel designed to accommodate one
Grenade launcher mount
If it didn't have two of the above, it would have been legal between 1994-2004.
Why are you still arguing?
By Kaz
Tue, 06/14/2016 - 11:59am
You can read the damn bill yourself.
There are a number of gun models that were explicitly called out for definition as banned guns. The Colt AR-15 and duplicate/copies of it was one of them.
https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/BILLS-103hr3355enr/p...
Hit Control+F and type "colt".
The laundry list of "2 or more of the following" was a catch-all for things they didn't name explicitly.
How few people would it take to paint a whole crowd for you?
By Kaz
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 10:25am
Just curious, O-FISH-L. Fewer than 0.5% of the Muslim world is in ISIS or professing allegiance to ISIS. So, why wouldn't we have a welcome mat for the 99.5% who aren't? And this guy didn't even need a welcome mat...unless you're professing that we should remove all Muslims from the country until we can determine if they've joined the 0.5% or not.
Furthermore, up until this occurred, the biggest discussion in the Christian South was where transgender people were given permission to pee (suddenly those same people are sending "thoughts & prayers" to their American brothers and sisters though, aren't they?).
Christianity has the same problem with homosexuality (and the Bible has more to say on it than the Koran does) that Islam does. This isn't a Muslim issue. It's a bigotry of various religions issue. It just happens to be the cross this asshole shooter decided to hoist himself up on. And so, when Westboro Baptists say that all gays should die, where are you? Are there too few of them to condemn all of Christianity?
The shooter was an American. One in 320 million. Should we be wary of all Americans or that too introspective for you to grasp? Or is 1 in 320 million too few people to paint all of us the same way?
At what threshold are you willing to stop trying to generalize the actions of the few to the actions of the many? 1 in 1000? 1 in 10,000? 1 in 100,000?
Or should we start with the fact that this guy was a legal gun holder. One in 100,000,000. How about we reevaluate the weclome mat for gun owners in our country unless they can be thoroughly vetted. Time for us to realize that gun owners are exterminating people across the Middle East and here in the US too.
If you want to impose
By ZachAndTired
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 10:40am
If you want to impose sanctions on a community that this guy was a part of, you've got the wrong one. Was he a Muslim? Sure, but most Muslims are not hateful pieces of shit like this guy. You should really be focusing your bile on the asshole community. This guy was an asshole. Assholes are the only group of people in the world that I feel comfortable unilaterally hating. They come from all walks of life, all races, religions, genders and sexual preferences. The one tie that binds them is that they are fucking assholes.
Percentage-wise
By Anon
Tue, 06/14/2016 - 1:27am
There's many more "assholes" (i.e. nutjobs who would gladly lop your head off because you don't think allah is akbar enough) among muslims than pretty much any other group out there. Now, we definitely shouldn't impose sanctions on the entire community over the actions of a few assholes, but at the same time our law enforcement agencies should be given the ability to find those assholes without having to worry about getting ripped to shreds be CAIR&Co and every bleeding heart idiot out there. Guns don't kill people, assholes do. Take away guns and assholes will start making bombs. Take away assholes and guns will be nothing but inanimate metal objects.
I'll also add, however, that Omar Mateen, the Orlando shooter,
By mplo
Tue, 06/14/2016 - 8:59am
is an Afghan-American, born to Afghan immigrant parents, here in the United States of America.
AN OPEN LETTER FROM ORLANDO CITIZEN DAVID BOUDREAUX
By anon
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 5:34pm
Reposting this...
Dear Omar,
It is not much more than 24 hours since you walked into Pulse Orlando and opened fire. You took more than fifty young lives right in front of us – in our backyard. People who were playing, laughing, loving. People who had so much to offer the world – to you. Omar, you don’t know this, but the painful irony of your actions is that the people you gunned down would have invited you into our world and called you friend if you had let them. They would have played, laughed, and loved with you. That you and others like you couldn’t see that is perhaps the most tragic aspect of this event. But we move on.
Perhaps you were trying to instill fear in us, but you failed. We will not fear. Did you think the GLBT community would capitulate? Well, Omar, you picked the wrong community for that. We have faced the hate that eroded your soul for as long as we have been on this earth – much longer than you have been around. We have learned that your hatred does not define us. We define ourselves, and long before ISIS and your skewed worldview became more prolific, we chose to carry the banner of love. That can never be taken away. You should know – you tried. I only wish you had lived to see how miserably you failed. We are the GLBT community. We will not run. We will not cower. We will not break. You may have taken more than fifty young lives yesterday, but their ambition, their spirit, their love will live on in us. We will be stronger for it – for them. If you thought you could teach us a lesson, you were wrong. There is no lesson in this that we have not already learned. We were forged in fire. We chose love.
Perhaps you were trying to stoke the flames of war – create such animosity toward your cause that we would lash out and exacerbate the global crisis that continues to plague humankind, but you failed. Do you think we will cry out against Islam? Against Afghanistan? You are a fool. The thing about us, Omar, is that we are not an ethnic, religious, or political group – we are everyone. We are Islamic, so you can’t make us hate Islam. We are Afghan, so you can’t make us hate our home. We are Jewish, and Buddhist, and black, and white, and Latino. We are European and Asian, we are Christian and atheist. We are your brothers and sisters, even if you don’t know us. We are mothers and fathers. We are sons and daughters. We are everywhere - from every walk of life that humanity has created. We are here to stay, and we will not hate. We are too busy loving. Loving each other, loving those who are gone, and finding within ourselves the courage to love even those like you. You see, we know from personal experience that hate will destroy us and love will save us. You simply cannot erase that fact with an assault rifle, and we will not acquiesce to your demands. We will show the world what it means to love.
Perhaps you simply hated our community and found solace in the twisted words of religious fanatics to justify what you thought was an appropriate course of action. I wish you had been alive to see how wrong you were. For all the strife that our community has been through, we aren’t alone. I wish you could have seen the world stand still and bow their heads in prayer for our well-being. I wish you had seen the thousands of our neighbors who stood in line for hours to give their own blood to help your victims. I wish you had seen the very humanity you attempted to snuff out, overflowing from every corner of The City Beautiful, this great state, and our beloved country. I wish you had seen our nation – your nation – get it right in the wake of your sad, misguided acts. As early as a decade ago I cannot say that I am sure we would have seen the same reaction to what you did, but you didn’t kill more than fifty young men and women a decade ago, you did it yesterday – and America has come so very far. Our friends outside the community who support us, encourage us, love us – they stepped up, too. They didn’t let this be an attack on the GLBT community, they acknowledged that this was an attack on us all. You see, Omar, we are a part of them, as well. They are a part of us.
So here we are. Just a day after your rampage, and where are we? Yes, you will find some of us still with tear-stained faces. You will find some of us still trying to make sense of what seems like a changed world. You will find some of us are gone. And you will find the rest of us holding them always in our hearts, running with their banner, and never ever letting hate prevail over the love in which we have fought our entire lives to live. You picked the wrong target, Omar. While you may have wounded us, we are certainly stronger now. For ourselves, for our friends who became your victims, for future generations, for humanity. We must be – just one more lesson we learned long ago.
Saint Francis of Assisi said “All the darkness in the world cannot extinguish the light of a single candle.†You tried, but the few wicks you snuffed out – their fire isn’t gone. We just moved it to our candles. We stand in solidarity. We are gay. We are lesbian. We are bisexual. We are transgender. We are all the people who have ever had to fight for love and acceptance. We are allies. We are Pulse. We are Orlando. We are America. We are humanity. We are love. And we will win.
May you rest in more peace than you found in life.
Sincerely,
David Tod Boudreaux
Condolences to all
By anon
Mon, 06/13/2016 - 12:05am
And particularly to William.
May the victims rest in peace.
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