FOURTEEN DEAD IN DENVER SHOOTING !

by Phizzy 114 Replies latest social current

• 

  PaintedToeNail

  I do not like handguns or any type of assault rifle...that being said, Americans have historically been in love with their weapons, religion and freedom of thought. When legislation was passed to outlaw the sale and drinking of alcohol in the USA in the early part of the 20th century, it drove the problem underground and created a perfect foothold for the mob or mafia.

  The laws against illegal drugs in the USA has created a perfect storm in Mexico, upsetting their their whole country and resulting in the murders of thousands and mayhem to the local populace. Has it done anything to combat illegal drug usage in the US? No, not really. Meth labs are being set up in peoples cars, homes and the like. All the legislation in the world won't stop the problem.

  If gun ownership were outlawed in the US, it would result in outright gang wars over the importation of illegal weapons, we cannot police our own borders now, keeping out illegal immigrants and illegal drugs.

  However, if one could hold the gun manufacturers liable financially for the carnage their product reeks, and virtually everyone who was a victim of gun violence or their family members, sued them, then the manufacturers would do something about their products. What if a gun only fired if the person who bought the gun used it? If they had some type of fingerprint ID built into the gun itself to prevent it being used by someone else?...

  It would also might be a good idea to make all teenagers work at an emergency room trauma center, to see first hand, what blood and guts look like, and to see pain first hand. It would be sobering.
• 

  Magwitch

  Such a sad day here in Colorado. My nephew was at a midnight showing of this movie less than a mile away from the shooting. My daughter was at a midnight showing 15 miles away. This easily could have been them. This is such a good reminder that our lives are so fragile.
• 

  Quendi

  This story has certainly gone viral! Diest notes that the British media is on it, and I received an e-mail from a friend in South Africa less than an hour ago that it is all over the news in that country. Maybe Oompa meant no harm with his remark but it was still tactless. Had the Littleton and Aurora tragedies occurred within days or weeks of each other, some kind of linkage might be inferred, but a thirteen year gap between them admits none.

  It has been a bad summer already in Colorado what with the wildfires that have destroyed hundreds of homes and burned up thousands of acres. Now the state has to face this all too human disaster. The shadow of Columbine has never really been lifted and here we have yet another episode of mass murder to record in state history. There have been others besides the aforementioned, but everyone involved in them is now dead. I fear it will take the passing away of all who have heard of these latest two to erase their effect on Colorado and its people.

  Quendi
• 

  Diest

  Frozenout,

  This is not the spot for talk about your politics.
• 

  Magwitch

  Some of the victims are at Swedish Hospital where my brother is a doctor. Here is the email he just sent me........... We have been working closely with our partner hospital The Medical Center of Aurora, University of Colorado, Children’s Hospital, Parker and Denver Health throughout the morning to care for the 50 injured who have been spread across hospitals in the Denver Metro Area. Thank you to all of you who responded this morning to lend a hand in this horrible hour, 3 operating room and 2 PACU nurses were sent to TMCA to offer support. Here at SMC we have had 4 victims: immediately following the shooting we received 3 patients with gunshot wounds. 19-year-old male currently fair, 20-year-old male currently critical, 29-year-old female currently critical. A few hours after the event we had a fourth victim, a 19-year-old female with injuries from shrapnel; she has been treated and released. There are several family members and friends of these individuals in our Emergency Department as well as the Main OR waiting room – please show the upmost care to this delicate situation.
• 

  FlyingHighNow

  Maybe Oompa meant no harm with his remark but it was still tactless.

  In what way was his comment tactless? Oompa commented on how close in terms of miles that this mass murder was to the Columbine mass murder: that's all. Many people are going to notice the close proximity of these two tragic shooting/mass murder events.
• 

  EmptyInside

  It's another sad day. My heart goes out to all the victims and their families.

  When evil happens,there just isn't a rational explanation.
• 

  Quendi

  @ FlyingHighNow: Oompa's comment is tactless because the implication is that the Columbine and Aurora massacres are connected. Many in the media are already saying so, trying to make the story more tragic than it already is. It's pointless and wrong. This tragedy stands on its own. Furthermore, as I noted in my first post in this thread, Littleton and Aurora are "close" only geographically. In every other way they are as distinct as apples and oranges. I know, having lived and worked in metro Denver and visited both cities on more than one occasion.

  If the two murderous rampages are to be mentioned together, then at least make the valid and important distinction that they occurred thirteen years apart. But I see no reason to combine them at all. To do otherwise implies that what happened in the one city has had a direct effect on the other. And "many people" have no idea of the urbanography of metro Denver. They don't know that it takes at least 45 minutes to travel from Littleton to Aurora, that the seemingly short distance between them is not quickly crossed. Most people aren't going to look at a map to see the spatial relationship between Littleton and Aurora but will instead believe media statements that they are practically next door to each other. That's what the Alabama media was doing today. My mother was shocked when I told her just how wrong they were to were.

  The mentioning of these two mass murders in the same breath also makes people think the events are close together temporally as well as spatially. I daresay few remember that Columbine occurred in 1999. If they did, they might well raise the same objections I am now. I've been in touch with my Colorado friends and of course the story has consumed the entire state. That is as it should be because this has impacted our state-wide family. But they have also told me that even there some are being careless with the facts. At a time like this, more care and attention should be given to them, not less.

  Quendi
• 

  Finkelstein

  I think fully automatic weapons should be banned from pubic possession.

  Sure any nutter can start shooting into a crowd of people such as a school or a packed movie

  theater with a hand gun or rifle but at least the potential carnage wouldn't be as great.

  The students that wrecked havoc at Columbine also had fully automatic weapons.
• 

  darthfader

  Finklestein: This idiot was well prepared and had on hand a whole cache of explosives and other illegal weapons. I don't think a ban on automatic weapons would have hindered his quest one iota.