Coffee Break: Bad Guy With A Gun
It is rare for karma to deliver such a stinging rebuke to one of society’s proudest assholes, but such was the case this past week when the latest of our semi-annual school shootings was mitigated after a teacher talked the gun out of the would-be killer’s hands. This unusual example of God tipping his hand comes mere weeks after NRA spokesfuck Wayne LaPierre declared that “the ONLY thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun”, after which he declared that the NRA’s response to  the Newtown massacre is to put a gunslinger in every school. At taxpayer expense.
If our president is wise, Ryan Heber will be in the gallery at this year’s State of the Union address. Twist the knife, Barry! (Oh Christ, now someone is going to whine about how more people are killed with knives than guns on the third Thursday of every month ending in “R” and why don’t we ban those too…)
Quick, someone bust up his union and make him carry a gun.
The brain has always been a powerful weapon! I once witnessed a police officer talk an agitated man with a large knife into surrendering the weapon and being removed quietly. The officer never reached for his sidearm.
I like how people (*cough* Tea Partiers, Republicans) keep telling us that the Kenyan “Obowma” is trying to take our guns away. Well, when is Obama going to take our guns? He had plenty of opportunity during his first term. What’s he waiting for? More gun “enthusiasts” to jump aboard the lead train? Is he waiting for people to stockpile even more guns and ammo to make it more difficult?
I’m not even going to bother with Captcha.
Well, in reality the teacher didn’t stop the guy. Oliver shot his target before he was talked down. Now was he stopped from killing anyone else? Perhaps. He did have a large amount of ammo in his pockets which would seem to indicate he had further intent. We won’t know ’til that information is made public. Oliver also told Heber he didn’t mean to shoot him. Heber is lucky that Oliver still had a conscience to appeal to. If this had been Erick Harris or Adam Lanza, he would be dead right now, shotgun, rifle, or pistol aside.
On top of that apparently this school has a full-time, armed security guard that may have stopped this, but supposedly snow kept him from arriving to school on time. The “good guy with a gun” can’t stop anything if he isn’t there. http://www.cnn.com/2013/01/14/justice/california-shooting/
There’s a lot of conjecture and speculation that can be made about this and many situations like it. It goes without saying that the teacher is a hero with a giant steel pair for facing the kid down and talking him out of the gun, sadly there is also the possibility that it could have been stopped before it even started had the guard been there. 🙁
That guy doesn’t speak for me.
Columbine Had an Armed Guard, Virginia Tech Had a Police Department, and I’m pretty sure a military base such as Ft. Hood probably had a gun or two lying around.
Just sayin’.
The invasion scenario cannot be the starting point for gun control discourse. By the time that scenario occurs, order has already broken down and you have lost. And no, guns are not a deterrent. They are reactionary tool at best, facilitator at worst. We have to reduce the possibility of it happening in the first place.
Should that mean that law abiding citizens shouldn’t be allowed to own one? Certainly not. But it sure as hell shouldn’t be easy to acquire one.
If acquiring a gun in the U.S. was as difficult as filing any type of paperwork in the armed forces (especially anything that involves getting money from the government), there would be a lot less guns out there.
I always cringe a little when somebody complains about how “easy” it is to get a gun in the U.S. My grandfather owned a gun store for 30 years, so I can tell you it’s definitely not as easy as people think.
First you have to apply for a Federal Firearms License,which is a royal pain in the ass (the process is described at http://www.atf.gov/firearms/how-to/become-an-ffl.html ). A good percentage of people, something like 2 out of 5 I believe, will not qualify.
Now, if you have successfully obtained your FFL, you have to actually purchase a firearm. This involves a 2-4 week waiting period and more background checks.
Finally, to legally carry your firearm, you need to apply for a License To Carry, the process for this varies by state. Otherwise you can only transport it inside a carrying case.
Stricter gun laws will only make it more difficult for people to *legally* acquire firearms. It won’t change a thing for the illegal trade.
You know, the only thing that can stop a -bad- guy with a gun IS a good guy with a gun. Or a lack of ammunition.
The school shooting incident was not a bad guy with a gun. It was a stupid kid with a gun. A stupid kid who was afraid of what he was doing. He was not a criminal, nor was he a ‘bad guy’ by broad social definition. Had he gone there with the full knowledge and intent of what he was doing rather than as an emotional reaction to a personal problem – he would have simply blown that teacher away.
Please, tell me again about this wonderful world you live in where criminals give a shit about gun laws? Because all gun laws do is keep guns out of the hands of those good guys. Because good guys don’t break laws.
And please don’t quote senator whats-his-name with talking about ‘the spirit of the law’ – The spirit of the Constitutional Ammendment was that the people be armed so that in times of need they could act. Examples of such times of need are an oppressive tyrant, national defense, and keeping the peace. “People don’t need military hardware…” – When our country was founded, the best rifles in the country belonged to private civilians. When our Army got it’s first standardized rifle, it was a middle-ground piece of hardware. Even today, the United States Army uses a rifle that is far from top of the line. There are non-military weapons with greater accuracy, reliability, and stopping power.
Most pro gun control folks couldn’t even tell the difference between an M-16 and an AK-47. Proof of concept, can anyone tell me the differences between these three rifles? Rifle one – http://modernsurvivalonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/100_1075.jpg Rifle two – http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3129/3122496570_971aa6b81e.jpg Rifle three – http://www.ruger.com/products/1022Compact/images/1168.jpg
“You don’t need no gun control. You know what you need? We need some bullet control. Man, we need to control the bullets, that’s right. I think all bullets should cost $5000. $5000 for a bullet. You know why? ‘Cause if a bullet costs $5000, there’d be no more innocent bystanders. … Every time someone gets shot, people will be like, “Damn, he must have did something. He put $50,000 worth of bullets in his ass!” Niggas will say “I would blow your fucking head off–if I could afford it! I’m gonna get me another job, I’m gonna start saving some money, and then you’re dead man!. You better hope I can’t get no bullets on layaway!”~Chris Rock
I walked into Wal-Mart and left with a 12 gauge pump action shotgun and 250 rounds.
Not. That. Hard.
And every time people say that the only thing that stops bad guys with guns is good guys with guns makes me think…
The only thing that keeps insane people with violent tendencies from hurting people is proper therapy and medication.
Which should we be concentrating on?
How much of this could have been prevented by less stigma around mental health, better treatment, as many psychiatric care facilities being built as for profit prisons, and affordable medication?
But no, we need more firearms. Put in the hands of minimum wage people, hired by for profit companies making billions, without background checks or mental health checks.
I’m sure that will work out well.
CAPTCHA: She workedo
JY: I walk into Wal-MArt with a loaded weapon everyday too! But When will the Sudoku numbers arrange themselves into the Gordian Helix again and give me further instructions??
JY’S COMPUTER HAS BEEN HACKED BY MALACHI OH NO!
Man. I’ll be glad when ol’ Chuck is back in action.
Jeeze, seems like there aren’t any comics out there that won’t go on a political filibuster. It sure would be nice to be able to read a comic for the comic’s sake, without running into a political commentary every time something like this makes the news.
Swagner: Yes, how utterly and bafflingly unexpected it is that a comic that has been political satire since day one would dare to politicize something.
Jody – Military bases are a gun-controller’s wet dream. Sure, the people there may technically “have” weapons, but their access to those weapons is sharply limited. Those weapons are typically only issued when they’re actively training with them. The rest of the time, weapons and ammo are locked away in the armory. Any privately owned weapons have to be similarly locked away, and that’s assuming the base commander allows them AT ALL. The only people with ready access to weapons are the military equivalent of law enforcement.