Mass Shootings: Take A Breath Before Bloviating

by Kerry Dougherty

On Wednesday morning I woke up at 4:00 a.m., planning to head to the radio studio for four hours of happy holiday banter with my co-host, Mike Imprevento.

Then I glanced at my phone.

A news blast from The Wall Street Journal: “Six Killed in a Shooting in a Chesapeake, Va. Walmart.”

The killing occurred at approximately 10 p.m. Tuesday. That’s what I get for going to bed early.

I rubbed my eyes and stared at the screen. It seemed unbelievable. SIX DEAD? IN CHESAPEAKE?

We met with our producer, Lee, in the studio at 5 and the three of us knew we would be doing a very different sort of show from what we’d planned. Fewer holiday ha-ha’s. Our neighbors were dead and dying. Tidewater would be in shock when they woke up.

When I checked local news, it was exactly as I expected: reporters contacted the usual suspects — local Democrats — and they denounced “gun violence.”

So predictable. As if a gun acted alone.

Mike and I have a 24-hour rule. We wait to weigh in on many issues for at least a day before opining on breaking news. We’re old school. We like to gather all the facts before popping off. And that’s what we delivered on Wednesday: the facts as they unfolded.

Pity others don’t do the same.

Right on schedule, the gun-control crowd weighed in. The person who Tweets for the president managed to politicize the shooting while the bodies were still warm.

In quick succession every leftie in the country including Barack Obama was screaming about a need to end “gun violence.”

Notice none explained what they’d do to accomplish this.

The only solution — and the one they won’t say out loud — is nationwide gun confiscation. Good luck with that.

There’s a real danger of looking like an idiot if you shoot off your mouth about motives while a tragedy is still unfolding. Yet these leftists never learn.

Take the mass shooting in the gay night club last week in Colorado Springs, for instance.

The left automatically assumed this was a hate crime against gays or drag queens or the whole LGBTQ community. Then they blamed conservatives, accusing us of homophobia and hate.

They simply can’t fathom that most of us are fine with gays and gay marriage. Our objection is to the genital mutilation of minors, the sexualization of kids, the growing push from the left to accept pedophilia as just a harmless lifestyle choice, and the move by mainline Democrats to allow biological boys to compete in girls’ sports and invade girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms.

No sooner had reports of the killings at Club Q hit the news than Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg ran his mouth.

If only he’d waited. Pete would have learned that the alleged shooter in the case was “non-binary” and uses the pronoun “Mx.” His father was a porn star and his mother is an accused arsonist.

I doubt he was wearing a MAGA hat.

Did Pete take down his Tweet? Apologize for blaming conservatives for the gruesome crime?

Heck, no. The left never says it’s sorry.

Same goes for the Chesapeake shooter. We don’t know why he did what he did. It’s a fools’ errand to guess.

By Monday, Mike and I hope we’ll have a clearer picture of what transpired. Right now, I’m doing the only thing I can do: praying for those families with an empty chair at their Thanksgiving table.

This column has been republished with permission from Kerry: Unemployed & Unedited.


Share this article



ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)



ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)


Comments

83 responses to “Mass Shootings: Take A Breath Before Bloviating”

  1. Sometimes it appears that pundits on the left are very quick to leap past the grief and mourning phase after highly publicized shooting incidents with a prepackaged policy narrative. Some right leaning pundits are equally quick to move past a “rhetorical moment of silence” and preliminary fact gathering. Perhaps it is my advanced and advancing age that inclines me more toward reflection after these events. Jumping into narrative wars so early after these tragedies is beginning to look a bit like “grave dancing to me.

    1. Stephen Haner Avatar
      Stephen Haner

      Just like Sherlock and UVA?

      1. Really anyone who jumps right in with narrative promotion prior to giving families of victims a bit of time “out of the limelight” and at least rudimentary investigation (which takes time). I have increasingly tried to wait at least 48 (preferably 72) hours before expressing an opinion about breaking news items. On the other hand, I am a nobody and the world would suffer if I waited 48 days or months before engaging in debate.

        1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
          Dick Hall-Sizemore

          I tend to agree with you, but in this era of 24-hour news reporting and mass social media, those luxuries are no longer available.

          1. You are right, but the feeding frenzies still feel kind of indecent and opportunistic.

          2. And since by the time “enough time has passed”, another shooting has happened.

            We’re already two shootings past UVA.

          3. James Kiser Avatar
            James Kiser

            That is why the press isn’t the press anymore.

        2. LarrytheG Avatar

          “investigation” and “time to grieve”.

          These are not individual murders. They are mass killings with very similar circumstances, i.e. folks with anger/grievance issues who get guns and go mow down innocents.

          1. However, speculation about motive and the intersectionality scores of murderers and victims is almost always premature and quite often grossly erroneous.

          2. James Kiser Avatar
            James Kiser

            And cars, and bombs, and knives, and planes and just about anything people can get their hands on.

          3. LarrytheG Avatar

            Yes but in what proportions?

            In other countries, they also have access to knives, cars, bombs, planes etc… where are the numerous mass murders in those countries?

          4. James Kiser Avatar
            James Kiser

            Gee France, Canada, Denmark, Sweden , India, Pakistan, Russia, China, Afghanistan, Somalia , Egypt and many others have all had them. Apparently you need to change channels or read real news sites.

          5. James Kiser Avatar
            James Kiser

            I left out Mexico which really proves you don’t watch any real news.

  2. LarrytheG Avatar

    re: “dancing on graves”……….. “thoughts and prayers”

    1. Thoughts & prayers doesn’t sound like grave dancing to me. A 26 point gun control program proposal might be.

      1. James Kiser Avatar
        James Kiser

        Please list your 26 points. Thanks

        1. I have no such program, as I am strongly opposed to almost any type of gun control. I was using hyperbole.

          1. James Kiser Avatar
            James Kiser

            ok thanks I was hoping for some real sensible points that have been made or could be made. I posted an article from the WSJ which made interesting points about solving the issue to a great extent but very few people seem interested.

          2. Understood. I am more apt to provide ideas about how our society deals with criminals and the mentally ill than I am to advance ideas which I believe to be unconstitutional. Controlling access to guns by criminals and the mentally ill seems reasonable in concept, but the administration of such controls would likely violate the natural rights of many who are neither mentally unstable nor inclined to criminal behavior. And, yes, our founders considered the right to bear arms to be a natural right, not a boon from government bestowed on the citizens at government whim.

          3. LarrytheG Avatar

            and that right includes those who are mentally ill?

            that’s Constitutional?

          4. Larry, you know that I didn’t say that. I said that I was sympathetic to controlling the access to guns for criminals and the mentally ill. However, in our current situation it is all to easy to label someone criminal or mentally ill without evidence. When falsely labeled with one of those categories the target has had his legitimate rights infringed. Do those situations bother you at all? I suspect not. I am tempted to add some snarky comments in my reply to you, but will refrain in the spirit of the holiday season.

          5. James Kiser Avatar
            James Kiser

            Agree with whole heartedly.

          6. LarrytheG Avatar

            will repost here again:

            ” In this approach, community residents, social workers and law-enforcement officers work together to identify the highest-risk individuals and groups and to communicate to them that the shooting must stop. They follow up by offering life coaching, job training, educational opportunities and other forms of assistance, and if these efforts fail, they use narrowly targeted investigations, arrests and prosecutions.”

            is this what you support but you’d still sell these people you want to counsel guns, but tell them they must stop using them to kill?

          7. James Kiser Avatar
            James Kiser

            I fail to get your whatever point you are trying to make. If you are trying to say the article said these people can buy firearms or any weapon at all, I didn’t see that in the article. The vast majority of mass killings done in this country are by black youth and men. That is a statistical fact. How do you keep people from doing illegal acts? There is no punishment for serious crimes. But the main issue is why do people do this? I can cite any number of cases where there is no info on why? I believe we know why the killers in CO and VA did theirs. I making an educated guess based on human nature and my personal experience in the emergency services field. Why Las Vegas? Why the Pulse nightclub ? Why no info on the DC attempted mass killing by a black youth with expensive firearms, an expensive apartment and no income? No info on this even after several months? What are authorities covering up? Back to your initial comment, explain to me when you and your SO are out and about shopping and three thugs walk up to you both and say they are taking your SO other out for a night on the town and you all have no choice in the matter. Firearms have been banned for the sake of this argument ? What are you going to do? ( BTW they I actually faced this situation with no firearm, I was 17)

          8. LarrytheG Avatar

            re: ” The vast majority of mass killings done in this country are by black youth and men.”

            mass killings?

            The article said:

            “In this approach, community residents, social workers and law-enforcement officers work together to identify the highest-risk individuals and groups and to communicate to them that the shooting must stop.”

            How would one go about “identifying” such folks?

            what process? How would you spot them and intervene?

          9. James Kiser Avatar
            James Kiser

            If you read the various reports and this isn’t the only one, Rand Corp did one too, the basic info was the community knows who the criminals are and so do the cops. Why it isn’t reported or acted on is beyond me . The reports give a number of reasons. Stat wise the vast majority of of shootings and in fact most crime violence is done by young black people. Chicago the other day had seven car jackings in one hour all done by black youth. You can check out crime stats at John Lott’s web site or JustFacts. Also fbi crime stats though they and the others are only as good as what is reported by local police or sheriffs.

  3. vicnicholls Avatar
    vicnicholls

    I live about 1.5 miles from that Walmart neighborhood. Everyone trying to get in on the action, we have local folks who are upset because they lost relatives. Tell me about being angry and furious at all those yelling about political agenda and NOT helping our own neighbors with grief.

    Next, she didn’t mention how Senator Louise Lucas of the 18th district, is sticking her nose in everything claiming it is HER district. It is NOT. I blasted that all over Twitter. The Battlefield Walmart is in the 5th district, which is Lionel Spruill. She’s over trying to grab into the district because she wants to be voted in. How is THAT for someone who doesn’t give a crap of 3 decades in her own district, she couldn’t give a fart about black life being murdered.

    Next Kerry is totally out of touch if she thinks that stuff doesn’t happen here. SoNo, close to us, is highest in the city for violent crime. Greenbrier, where I live, and where the Battlefield Walmart is, is highest in overall crime.

    SMH – and she’s in VB.

  4. Kathleen Smith Avatar
    Kathleen Smith

    Mental Health comes to my mind, but only gun control made it to the comments. Kerry is right, keep out the politics and blaming. It amazes me when someone asks why did this happen? Really? Nut control, not gun control.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar

      re: “nut control” – yes. do you mean not letting nuts get guns? Is it political to say that?

    2. Turbocohen Avatar

      Ding Ding Ding.

    3. James Kiser Avatar
      James Kiser

      Democrats the VA Leg cut he mental health beds in hospitals the last two years

  5. Jim Loving Avatar

    OK Jim, I won’t bloviate on the Chesapeake shooting, I only read the headlines and did not read about the manager/shooter to know why he did it. So, instead I’ll just post here my comments to an article in WAPO about the CO shooter, comparing him to the UVA shooter – November so far is a good month for commenting on mass shooters in America! These are intertwined issues, and yeah, 2nd amendment gun ownership is central to the issues involved, whether the Libertarians and conservatives among us want to admit it or acknowledge it.

    “Brian’s feelings and perspective are important here, but they do not tell the entire story. He tells the real story of hatred and discrimination against LGBTQ persons along with people of color – he gets to experience both.

    However, I am familiar with serious mental illness, understanding warning signs, and the laws in most states for having someone committed against their will for psychiatric evaluation. The three condtions are: – potential harm to themselves, potential harm to others, or inability to take care of themselves (shelter, food).

    It is the 1st two that cause mental health professionals and the police to not want people with significant social and mental impairments to own or have access to guns. Guns are designed to kill animals and people. They are very effective at doing so.

    Reading the profile of this shooter, in WAPO, it is not too different than the profile of the UVA shooter, who also had a troubled upbringing. Like the UVA shooter, both had access to a gun, had brushes with the law with a gun, both without consequence.

    The biggest problem is are gun laws and the 2nd amendment claims that all people for any reason can own and posess guns all the time. When society does a poor job of screening the mental well being of its population, while allowing that population to own and posssess a gun, while ALSO spewing hatred against specific groups, the mentally unwell can be and are incited to act violently against people.

    So we have a set of problems coming together: hatred, mental illness, and our gun laws. The USA has done a great job of hosing up public policy and social caring and support or control in all of these areas. Its no surprise that millions of Americans get caught in the cross hairs of all three of these. It will keep happening. Thoughts and prayers.”

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2022/11/21/colorado-springs-qbar-shooter/

    1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      Good analysis, especially the element of spewing hatred and inciting the mentally unstable.

      1. James Kiser Avatar
        James Kiser

        So the CO killer who Identified as “non binary” hated gays ? Maybe it was the report that he had been bullied in HS? And the WalMart killer a protected class ? who appears to have been paranoid hated his co workers? Does that sound like another black man who felt he wasn’t treated fairly by his co workers in Chesapeake? And killed quite a few in revenge, even management had been told of his issues?

        1. LarrytheG Avatar

          whether it was a hate crime or not , does not negate at all that it was a mass murder – like so many others, with a variety of reasons why – the main theme being a person with mental issues that still has a 2nd amendment right to purchase a gun – on the day he decides to murder – and we then argue as to why he should have been denied or not the right to purchase that weapon.

          1. James Kiser Avatar
            James Kiser

            Interesting isn’t it that all were known to others as having violence issues (Wal Mart) or were a protected class (Chesapeake), Parkland where the guy was well known to police yet no one deals with these people before they erupt. The guy who shot up the Church in SC was known to police and had been convicted yet wasn’t put in the data base or the air force guy court martialed and kicked out and not put in the database who went on a killing spree. Almost makes you think that it is deliberate on the part of govt to enable these killings to take place.

  6. People needs guns nowadays because we’re running out of police and woke DAs are letting criminals roam free.

  7. Fred Costello Avatar
    Fred Costello

    The shooters of recent mass murders seem to be products of the public schools within the past 20 years or so. Why have the public schools failed to teach the students how to be good citizens? Are all criminals insane or do we use insanity as a facile explanation? Do any people simply choose to be bad, perhaps for a selfish gain?

    1. Something like 90% of Americans go to public schools. Naturally the majority of shooters are going to be the product of those schools as a matter of statistics.

  8. James Kiser Avatar
    James Kiser

    Good points. The interesting thing about the Wal Mart shooting is another angry and disturbed individual who seems to have blamed everyone else for his problems just like the govt killer who killed fellow workers a few years ago in VA Beach. Same with the killer in CO. Who from news reports was supposedly bullied in HS. How do you sort out, identify and help or remove these people ? I have no idea. 2 generations of young people have been raised to hate and build their self esteem but very few have been taught self control or any virtues. And in many cases society or segments of it protect them from retribution in the years when change is possible.

    1. LarrytheG Avatar

      re: ” How do you sort out, identify and help or remove these people ?”

      The sense I get from folks on the right is that it’s “these people”, not the guns, that even without guns, they’d be going on killing rampages with knives and and other weapons.

      The killers 2nd amendment rights take precedence over their victims right to stay alive.

      Oh.. and it’s the fault of “woke” prosecutors to boot. That if they locked up criminals, we’d not have near as many mass killings.

      1. Stephen Haner Avatar
        Stephen Haner

        No, Larry. We see it as YOU people. And plenty do kill large numbers without guns. A gun has no more agency than a shovel or a toaster, just a tool in somebody’s hand.

        1. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
          Dick Hall-Sizemore

          It is much more lethal and efficient (kills more people quicker) than a shovel or toaster.

          1. Matt Adams Avatar

            That is false, it is no more lethal than any other object used to end someone’s life.

          2. James Kiser Avatar
            James Kiser

            Tell that to the people killed by knives in Idaho or those beaten to death. More people are killed by hands and feet than by long guns. And the greatest mass murder weapon in the US is Fentanyl shipped here by the Mexican drug cartels and the Chinese. 300.000 dead a year. Something the democrats are actively facilitating. se article I posted from WSJ

        2. James McCarthy Avatar
          James McCarthy

          Surprising naïveté!!

        3. James McCarthy Avatar
          James McCarthy

          Awww, Steve you know better. Toaster Fight at the OK Corral? No one attributed “agency” to the weapon.

          1. James Kiser Avatar
            James Kiser

            James I take it you have never worked in emergency services? Otherwise you would never make that comment.

      2. James Kiser Avatar
        James Kiser

        interesting that in the 90’s we locked up a lot of people and the murder rate dropped

    2. Stephen Haner Avatar
      Stephen Haner

      Simple. Sometimes I wonder if it really is simple. When we were elementary students, school days started with prayer, the Ten Commandments were on the wall, the lessons in class and even on the teevee and big screen had strong moral elements, and weekends included church or temple or a trip to the mosque, where we confessed our sins (a very unifying element.) We were told the consequences as our culture abandoned all that.

      Were we being taught myths? Very much so. But to condemn that is to ignore the power and role and necessity of myth in civilization. And it a loss of civilization we see. First you destroy the myths.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar

        You say that but how are we so different from all the other developed countries on this issue? Are they more/better “religious” than us?

        1. James Kiser Avatar
          James Kiser

          What do you mean by different? Other countries have mass killings. Populations and diversity of racial groups can affect numbers for one. The majority of mass killings in the US are committed by the Afro-American race. see article link posted above.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar

            Other countries DO have mass killings but how many compared to us?

            re: ” The majority of mass killings in the US are committed by the Afro-American race.”

            are you redefining what “mass murder” means?

            i.e. – one person killing many in one event?

            Why would you equate that kind of killing with conventional one on one killings?

          2. James Kiser Avatar
            James Kiser

            Murder is more murder. How ever if you are trying to get a handle on why they occur you have to look at all facts that are involved. Is it done for money? Is it done for lust? Is it racial ? I could go on and on about the various facts. More people are murdered with knives and hands and feet than are murdered with long guns. The largest group of mass murderers are the drug cartels killing over 300k a year. Quite a few mass murders are committed with cars. These are all issues that have to be looked at.

      2. James McCarthy Avatar
        James McCarthy

        Moral guides are unlikely to stop shooters. Nor are morals the equivalent of myths. Even non-religious laws reflect morality – thou shalt not kill. Since confessing sins is a private, privileged sacrament, its effect upon social unity seems a stretch.

        1. James Kiser Avatar
          James Kiser

          Now you are spreading a myth. You shall not commit murder is a commandment which according to Jews was given by GOD. No other religion had that.

      3. James Kiser Avatar
        James Kiser

        I for one don’t consider them myths. GOD in my opinion is not love but Goodness. GOD wants us to be good. Love is nothing without goodness. Love can be a evil as proven by the Nazi love for art as an example. This doesn’t mean that people raised to believe in a higher being such as the Judaeo-Christian GOD are automatically good. But at least you have established a base.

  9. William O'Keefe Avatar
    William O’Keefe

    It is unfortunate that these killings have to be politicized. The problem we face is neither left or right extremes but a failure to work toward a solution that is consistent with common ground and reflecting the views of a majority of Americans. Alleging that the “left” simply want to confiscate guns is the “rights” way of avoiding a serious discussion.
    I don’t know the answer to the problem of mass shootings but I do know that the status quo is the wrong answer.

  10. As pointed out, the left always starts the conversation with a lie before the facts are known, hoping to be proven correct. When the facts don’t support the lie, they lie again. It’s no wonder no one believes them.

    Best estimates are that there are over 400 million guns owned by over 80 million Americans. Less than 1% are used illegally. The left ignores the lawful uses of guns to prevent crimes. Peer reviewed studies show that guns are used over 2 million times each year to prevent a crime (numbers range from slightly under 1 million to just over 3 million), and, in most cases, without a shot being fired.

    The left correctly argues that not all gays are pedophiles and should not be held accountable for those few who are, that not all Muslims are terrorists and should not be held accountable for those few who are, not all drivers are drunks, etc. But when it comes to gun owners, the left demands that the innocent be punished.

    Every killer breaks laws far more serious than any gun control ordinance. Here’s a hint for the left – the criminal element doesn’t give a damn about your stupid laws. The only ones who obey them are the law-abiding citizens; are they your real target?

    If you want to fix the problem, start with the worst case. Why is the murder rate so much higher among young black men, both as victims and actors? Sacred cow warning: introspection required – BLM never had the guts to look there.

    1. It’s poverty, almost as if being poor tends to create future generations of the impoverished in some kind of cycle. And in turn creates the kind of desperation that causes one to turn to high-risk behavior.

      Do you think being classified as property for the first century or so of a country’s history would have any influence on their economic status?

      No, it has to single-parent households or rap culture or whatever excuse you have in your rolodex.

      1. James Kiser Avatar
        James Kiser

        Really I grew up poor and I have never attacked anyone with my firearms or anything for that matter.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar

          neither do the vast majority like you but overall more folks in poverty tend towards crime and violence as they have no job, no future and nothing to lose.

          those who have the hope of opportunity and/or a good job don’t often throw it away.

          1. James Kiser Avatar
            James Kiser

            agreed and more should be done in that area.

      2. So they are doomed forever to be poor because 200 years ago someone did something? That’s your theory?

        If only you’de read history. In the late 1800s, after being freed, blacks developed a strong middle class. In fact, many race riots were caused because whites saw blacks as getting ahead of them economically. How does your theory explain the success of the blacks of that era and the failure today?
        You insult the millions of honest, hardworking poor with your theory.

        Does your Rolodex have any thoughts on the relationship between economic success and the lack of a high school diploma? Why are young blacks rejecting the proven path to a good future?

        Poor blacks pull themselves out of poverty the same way poor whites do: stay in school and get an education, stay sober (avoid drugs), don’t get pregnant, and develop self-discipline and good work habits. None of that has anything to do with events 2 centuries old. You’re giving people an excuse for failure, not a recipe for success; as such, you contribute to their misery.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar

          So blacks got good educations and jobs….had a solid middle class but then fell back into poor educations and poverty?

          How did that happen?

          1. Yes! Finally, you found an acorn. And you asked an intelligent question. Now, will you search honestly for the answer, or will politics lead you astray?

        2. That middle class you mentioned was literally destroyed by racists. There are whole black communities under water due to the actions of racists in the early 1900s. The Tulsa Massacre destroyed one of the richest black communities out there.

          It’s hard to call a path to success “proven” when at any point a group of people can take that success away from you. Or, in modern times, simply getting a hospital bill.

          Do you not see how this would demoralize generations impoverished black children? Assuming you even get the needed education to pull yourself out of poverty.

          1. Thanks for proving my point. 150 years ago, blacks made it to the middle class. At a time when it was harder to do, they did it. They had the skills and ability to overcome. That’s the point – they did it then.

            That someone took their success from them is tragic, but it doesn’t change the fact that they overcame and made it. And they didn’t quit – they went on to win their rights and rebuild their culture. Once you accept that fact, you have to ask why it isn’t happening today. The Klan used to go to the black communities and kill the innocent; today blacks kill other innocent blacks. Why?

            If we followed your philosophy, we would all be losers. Don’t try to succeed at sports, you may get hit by a car and paralyzed. Don’t be a doctor, you may have a stroke and be brain dead. Don’t try to make your life better, because fate will steal it from you. Quit while you’re ahead and avoid wasting all that effort and time; Accept that you are a loser and just whine about it.

            What I see demoralizing them is the low expectations of liberals who encourage them to quit before they even try. Children are not born demoralized. They learn it from adults. If the only thing you have to offer them is another excuse for failure, please do them a favor and step aside.

  11. Eric the half a troll Avatar
    Eric the half a troll

    “They simply can’t fathom that most of us are fine with gays and gay marriage. Our objection is to the genital mutilation of minors, the sexualization of kids, the growing push from the left to accept pedophilia as just a harmless lifestyle choice, and the move by mainline Democrats to allow biological boys to compete in girls’ sports and invade girls’ locker rooms and bathrooms.”

    Here we have Kerry excusing violence against the trans community, intentionally conflating LGBTQ lifestyles with pedophilia, perpetuating a myth equating sexual transitions with “genital mutilation of minors” and generally vilifying the entire non-heterosexual communities. She is a part of the problem that leads to violence all too often… she does it for money.

    1. It can be hard to connect the dots sometimes.

    2. James Kiser Avatar
      James Kiser

      So you think drag queen hour is cool? I don’t. Why do you think sexualizing little children is good?

      1. LarrytheG Avatar

        you think drag queens “sexualize” kids?

        1. James Kiser Avatar
          James Kiser

          Yes seen the pics where the perverts are having the kids touch them on the groin or the chest feeling the fake boobs. And why are people taking their kids to a bar?

      2. Eric the half a troll Avatar
        Eric the half a troll

        I’ve got no problem with drag queen shows – makes for an interesting Sunday brunch sometimes. And, actually I don’t think Republicans putting their little kids in beauty pageants is good… not sure why you went there though…

        1. LarrytheG Avatar

          it does give some insight as to how folks on the right tend to think about these issues and in my mind, not new, they have thought this way about homosexuals for a long, long time also.

          They held that view but tended to not shout about it. Now, they shout.

          1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
            Eric the half a troll

            Yeah, they are still fighting to strip homosexuals of their rights to adopt. God forbid a trans person would want to…

          2. Eric the half a troll Avatar
            Eric the half a troll

            Yeah, they are still fighting to strip homosexuals of their rights to adopt. God forbid a trans person would want to…

        2. James Kiser Avatar
          James Kiser

          Because sexualizing children is perverted and many in the gay community are looking for underage partners just a heterosexual men can go after young girls. Any one who likes the stuff has serious mental issues.

          1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
            Eric the half a troll

            I agree with you that Republicans (gay or straight) need to stop sexualizing their own children. Only those with serious mental issues like those kiddie beauty pageants… 🤮

  12. By the very act of posting this Kerry politicizes the tragedy.

  13. James Kiser Avatar
    James Kiser

    Interesting article from the Wall Street Journal which discusses how to lower the murder rate. The one point to me is that their is no mention of trying a spiritual ( Christian component ). https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-u-s-knows-how-to-reduce-crime-11669391854?st=k792bkn4wply8pn&reflink=desktopwebshare_permalink

    1. LarrytheG Avatar

      ” In this approach, community residents, social workers and law-enforcement officers work together to identify the highest-risk individuals and groups and to communicate to them that the shooting must stop. They follow up by offering life coaching, job training, educational opportunities and other forms of assistance, and if these efforts fail, they use narrowly targeted investigations, arrests and prosecutions.”

      wow!

  14. joelrubin Avatar

    On Monday morning, now that we have read the Death Note, (which opined by the way that apricot seeds cure cancer better than modern medicine), talk about the fact that he wrote his death note and purchased his gun the SAME DAY he committed the murders. This might speak to the value of a waiting period. Think about this. The killer bought his house a few years ago in Chesapeake. I know because a good friend of mine, a real estate agent, and his wife, a mortgage broker, handled the sale and the financing. Trust me. He didn’t buy that house in a day. It took days and maybe weeks to agree on the price and close on the purchase. It took a minute (a New York minute Mike) to buy a gun and alter the lives of an entire community hours later. To me, telling someone to come back in a couple days or a week is not too much to ask, particularly with weapons like AR-15’s, even though that’s not what he used. And saying, “well he’ll just go buy one on the street,” is not a realistic option for someone who is not used to dealing with the black market. As a non-criminal until last Tuesday, that’s what he was. I agree that we often ascribe motives when they aren’t there, but as a society, I fear we are becoming averse to socializing in public settings. That’s good for Netflix but not for anything else.

Leave a Reply