America's Gun Violence #2

Halifax2TheMax

Both sides are the same, nothing can be done. Happy 4th!

More Americans see gun violence as major problem, poll finds

A growing number of Americans, including Democrats and Republicans, now view gun violence as a significant problem, and a majority expect it to get worse over the next five years, according to a new poll released Wednesday from Pew Research Center.

While the poll found that twice as many Democrats as Republicans said gun violence is a “very big” problem in the nation, at 81 percent of Democrats compared with 38 percent of Republicans. Pew noted that, over the last year, the number of people in both parties who said gun violence is a “very big” problem has increased 11 percent.

The growing concern about gun violence comes amid an increase in mass shootings. According to a database maintained by USA Today and Northeastern University, the number of mass shootings in the country in 2022 was the second highest since the two institutions began tracking these incidents in 2006. So far this year, 28 mass killings have occurred, according to the database, all involving guns.

Mass killings in Columbine, Colo., Newtown, Conn., Las Vegas and Orlando indelibly marked the nation in the past quarter-century. So far this year, gun violence in Texas, Nashville and Michigan put 2023 on pace to set a modern record. According to the poll, 60 percent of Americans said gun violence is a “very big problem” in the country today, while 23 percent said it is a “moderately big problem.” Thirteen percent said it is a “small problem,” while only 4 percent said gun violence is “not a problem at all.”

The poll found that 62 percent of Americans said that the level of gun violence will increase over the next five years, twice as many as those who said it will stay around the same level. Pew also found that, since 2021, the share of Americans who said violent crime is a major problem has risen from 52 percent to 64 percent among Republicans and from 44 percent to 52 percent among Democrats.

Still, members of both parties remain split over the issue of gun ownership. The poll found that 79 percent of Republicans and independents who lean Republican said gun ownership increases safety, while 78 percent of Democrats and independents who lean Democratic said it decreases safety.

Last summer, President Bidensigned into law a bipartisan gun-control bill, the most significant legislative action taken on gun control in three decades, that was the result of negotiations by a handful of Republicans and Democrats on Capitol Hill, led by Sens. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) and John Cornyn (R-Tex.), in the wake of mass shootings in Uvalde, Tex., and Buffalo.

While members of both parties celebrated the measure, Democrats, including Biden, conceded that the law did not go as far as they or gun-control advocates wanted. In addition to providing funds for mental health services and school security initiatives, the law expands criminal background checks for certain gun buyers, bars a larger group of domestic-violence offenders from purchasing firearms and funds programs that would allow authorities to seize guns from troubled individuals.

According to Pew, the share of Americans who said gun laws should be stricter has shifted only slightly, from 53 percent in 2021 to 58 percent today. While a majority of women, at 64 percent, said gun laws should be strengthened, just 51 percent of men said the same. Notably, 77 percent of Black Americans said gun laws should be stricter, along with 74 percent of Asian Americans and 68 percent of Hispanic Americans. Among White Americans, 51 percent said the same.

Research released in April from KFF found that 42 percent of Black Americans have personally experienced being threatened by a gun, seeing someone injured with a gun or having a family member killed by a gun, including by suicide. Nearly six in 10 Black Americans said a family member has experienced one of those things. For Hispanic Americans, the figure is 54 percent. Less than half of White Americans said a family member has come that close to gun violence, and about a quarter of White Americans said they personally experienced such threats or violence.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/06/28/gun-violence-democrats-republicans-poll/

From the comments section:

The "wake up call" should have been the North Hollywood Bank Shootout.

2 Bank robbers over 45 minutes paralyzed a city for 45 minutes.

Injured 20 {12 police, 8 civilian} averaged 1 shot EVERY 2 SECONDS.

Discharged 1,100 rounds. Police & Criminal total approx. 2,000.

So even with every available officer responding, they did NOT match the fire rate of 2 criminals.

This was not their 1st robbery they had been arrested before with similar weaponry. Not only did they return to their "day job", they had little trouble acquiring and upgrading their weapons.

Ironically LA police had to beg for weapons from a gun store.

Even more ironically, these "off the shelf" AR 15s helped turn the situation.

gimmesometruth27

not sure where to put this. so the cop that did not confront the parkland shooter was found not guilty. 

what is it we are paying cops for if they do not act when a school is being shot up?

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1674500830563561481?s=20

Halifax2TheMax

Happy 4th.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/04/us/fort-worth-shooting-deaths/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/04/us/philadelphia-shooting-motive-suspect-tuesday/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/02/us/baltimore-shooting-sunday/index.html

brianlux

Halifax2TheMax said:

Happy 4th.

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/04/us/fort-worth-shooting-deaths/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/04/us/philadelphia-shooting-motive-suspect-tuesday/index.html

https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/02/us/baltimore-shooting-sunday/index.html

Yeah, was just reading about those shootings. 

The 4th of July is my least favorite holiday.  By a mile.

gimmesometruth27

if we stop talking about gun violence and counting victims it goes away.

they tried it with covid, it may work here.

Merkin Baller

Drove by this crime scene on my way to work this morning... soooo many yellow evidence markers on the asphalt. 

https://www.nbcboston.com/news/local/multiple-people-injured-in-mattapan-shooting/3082525/ 

Happy birthday, America. 

mickeyrat

https://apnews.com/article/el-paso-walmart-texas-crusius-bf7d25f3567959ee8b121deabcf1d9a1

 

The Texas shooter in a racist Walmart attack is going to prison. Here's what to know about the case

By Paul J. Weber, Morgan Lee

Today

EL PASO, Texas (AP) — A white Texas gunman who killed 23 people at a Walmart in 2019 returns to court Wednesday for sentencing in a mass shooting that targeted Hispanic shoppers in the border city of El Paso.

Patrick Crusius, 24, is set to receive multiple life sentences after pleading guilty to federal hate crime and weapons charges in one of the deadliest mass shootings in U.S. history. Although the federal government did not seek the death penalty, Texas prosecutors have not taken lethal injection off the table under a separate case in state court.

Investigators say the shooting was preceded by Crusius posting a racist screed online.

The sentencing phase could last several days. It is the first time that relatives of the victims, who included citizens of Mexico, will have an opportunity to address Crusius face-to-face in court.

Some things to know about the shooting and the case:

WHO IS PATRICK CRUSIUS?

Crusius was 21 years old when authorities say he drove more than 10 hours from his home in an upper-class Dallas suburb to El Paso and opened fire.

The son of a licensed therapist and nurse, Crusius had been enrolled as a student at Collin College, near Dallas, and had no criminal convictions before the shooting. On social media, Crusius appeared consumed by the nation's immigration debate, tweeting #BuildtheWall and posts that praised then-President Donald Trump's hardline border policies.

His views went further in a document posted to an online message board about 20 minutes before the massacre in which he said the shooting was “in response to the Hispanic invasion of Texas.”

In American politics, Republicans have continued using the word “invasion” to describe migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, waving off critics who say the rhetoric fuels anti-immigrant views and violence.

THE SHOOTING

Prosecutors say the Aug. 3, 2019, attack began in the parking lot on a busy weekend at a Walmart that is popular with shoppers from both Mexico and the U.S. Approaching the store, Crusius shot participants in a fundraiser for a girls' soccer team.

Inside, Crusius continued firing with an AK-47-style rifle, corning shoppers at a bank near the entrance where nine were killed, before shooting at the checkout area and people in aisles.

Crusius was apprehended shortly after the attack and confessed to officers who stopped him at an intersection, according to police.

More than two dozen people were injured and numerous others were severely traumatized as they hid or fled.

THE VICTIMS

The people who were killed range in age from a 15-year-old high school athlete to several elderly grandparents.

They included immigrants, a retired city bus driver, teachers, tradesmen including a former iron worker, and several Mexican nationals who had crossed the U.S. border on routine shopping trips. Witnesses recounted moments of terror, anguish and heroism.

An infant boy named Paul Anchondo narrowly survived with a broken hand as his parents were gunned down. Mother Jordan Anchondo is credited by relatives with shielding her baby.

David Johnson, 63, was killed after pushing his wife and 9-year-old granddaughter under a counter. The woman and child survived.

The funeral for one victim, 63-year-old Margie Reckard, drew thousands of sympathizers after her husband announced he had few relatives left and invited the world to attend.

TEST CASE

The sentencing arrives amid efforts by the Justice Department under President Joe Biden to more aggressively identify hate crimes and deliver meaningful results in the highest-profile cases.

The 2019 Walmart attack is the deadliest of a dozen mass shootings in the U.S. linked hate crimes since 2006, according to a database of mass killings in the U.S. compiled by The Associated Press, USA Today and Northeastern University.

Crusius agreed in February to accept up to 90 consecutive life sentences, avoiding the possible death penalty on charges of using a firearm in a crime of violence that causes death. Companion hate crime convictions against Crusius don’t carry the death penalty.

Federal prosecutors haven't formally explained their decision, but have acknowledged that Crusius suffered from schizoaffective disorder that can be marked by hallucinations, delusions and mood swings.

Adria Gonzalez, a 41-year-old El Paso native who survived the Walmart attack even as she helped panicked shoppers toward exits, says she fears that a life sentence won’t be enough to rein in racist attacks on Latinos.

“It’s not only him. There are other people, other groups that could hurt us,” she said.

WHAT'S NEXT

Crusius still faces capital murder charges in state court and could receive the death penalty if convicted.

It is unclear when that case will proceed. In November, El Paso County's former district attorney resigned over mounting criticism about her performance on the job, which included accusations that problems in her office were slowing down Crusius' case.

Also, victims' relatives have sued Walmart. Such lawsuits are common following mass shootings in the U.S. but typically face high hurdles to succeed.

___

Weber reported from Austin, Texas. Associated Press reporter Michael Tarm in Chicago also contributed.

mickeyrat

https://twitter.com/kylegriffin1/status/1677361869382721556?t=FXCBAxPuN1tY_Wko7t_e1A&s=19

mickeyrat

https://twitter.com/TristanSnell/status/1677748144669351937?t=V2vuRJPXJ-Ix7OmglXRSVA&s=19

nicknyr15

https://nypost.com/2023/07/08/scooter-riding-gunman-shoots-3-in-queens-kills-86-year-old-man-nypd/

3rd world country. More unlicensed scooters please. 

lindamarie73

gimmesometruth27 said:

not sure where to put this. so the cop that did not confront the parkland shooter was found not guilty. 

what is it we are paying cops for if they do not act when a school is being shot up?

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1674500830563561481?s=20

Boy, that’s a Blanket statement…sounds like a question a proud supporter of that fraudulent organization BLM would ask….The tax paying element of society are paying Police to try to keep the bad element and all the evils of society away from you.  Obviously police are not perfect, but boy some of y’all think they should be all the time.   I have said it here before, I don’t know how cops in urban areas go to work everyday risking everything for such a ungrateful public . 

Lerxst1992

lindamarie73 said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

not sure where to put this. so the cop that did not confront the parkland shooter was found not guilty. 

what is it we are paying cops for if they do not act when a school is being shot up?

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1674500830563561481?s=20

Boy, that’s a Blanket statement…sounds like a question a proud supporter of that fraudulent organization BLM would ask….The tax paying element of society are paying Police to try to keep the bad element and all the evils of society away from you.  Obviously police are not perfect, but boy some of y’all think they should be all the time.   I have said it here before, I don’t know how cops in urban areas go to work everyday risking everything for such a ungrateful public . 

That reads just like how trump speaks, attacking others without offering any proof. He has singlehandedly destroyed our civility. 

Is there any evidence of fraud or do we just make hateful comments?

If cops have anything to worry about @lindamarie73 its an armed group of trump supporters trying to make their beloved cop killer thrust into power on the steps of the Capitol as America's first great dictator. 

mickeyrat

Lerxst1992 said:

lindamarie73 said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

not sure where to put this. so the cop that did not confront the parkland shooter was found not guilty. 

what is it we are paying cops for if they do not act when a school is being shot up?

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1674500830563561481?s=20

Boy, that’s a Blanket statement…sounds like a question a proud supporter of that fraudulent organization BLM would ask….The tax paying element of society are paying Police to try to keep the bad element and all the evils of society away from you.  Obviously police are not perfect, but boy some of y’all think they should be all the time.   I have said it here before, I don’t know how cops in urban areas go to work everyday risking everything for such a ungrateful public . 

That reads just like how trump speaks, attacking others without offering any proof. He has singlehandedly destroyed our civility. 

Is there any evidence of fraud or do we just make hateful comments?

If cops have anything to worry about @lindamarie73 its an armed group of trump supporters trying to make their beloved cop killer thrust into power on the steps of the Capitol as America's first great dictator. 

great dictators get it done. fuckstick was and remains a failed wannabe.

gimmesometruth27

lindamarie73 said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

not sure where to put this. so the cop that did not confront the parkland shooter was found not guilty. 

what is it we are paying cops for if they do not act when a school is being shot up?

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1674500830563561481?s=20

Boy, that’s a Blanket statement…sounds like a question a proud supporter of that fraudulent organization BLM would ask….The tax paying element of society are paying Police to try to keep the bad element and all the evils of society away from you.  Obviously police are not perfect, but boy some of y’all think they should be all the time.   I have said it here before, I don’t know how cops in urban areas go to work everyday risking everything for such a ungrateful public . 

the question stands, linda. what are we paying that cop for if he did not do his duty? he let those kids get slaughtered.

and who are you calling a proud supporter of the fraudulent organization blm? it is not an organization. it is a movement. supporting them is better than licking boots, but i digress.

this cop IS the bad element. he did nothing to help. he gave that shooter a free pass. he heard the shots and was basically, "sorry kids, you are on your own."

if this kind of person is the cop you are wishing protected urban areas, the cops can keep him.

mahalo.

lindamarie73

gimmesometruth27 said:

lindamarie73 said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

not sure where to put this. so the cop that did not confront the parkland shooter was found not guilty. 

what is it we are paying cops for if they do not act when a school is being shot up?

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1674500830563561481?s=20

Boy, that’s a Blanket statement…sounds like a question a proud supporter of that fraudulent organization BLM would ask….The tax paying element of society are paying Police to try to keep the bad element and all the evils of society away from you.  Obviously police are not perfect, but boy some of y’all think they should be all the time.   I have said it here before, I don’t know how cops in urban areas go to work everyday risking everything for such a ungrateful public . 

the question stands, linda. what are we paying that cop for if he did not do his duty? he let those kids get slaughtered.

and who are you calling a proud supporter of the fraudulent organization blm? it is not an organization. it is a movement. supporting them is better than licking boots, but i digress.

this cop IS the bad element. he did nothing to help. he gave that shooter a free pass. he heard the shots and was basically, "sorry kids, you are on your own."

if this kind of person is the cop you are wishing protected urban areas, the cops can keep him.

mahalo.

BLM is a movement ya say??? If you are going to go w/ that I guess it was Kind Of like the movement I had after eating  Taco Bell the other day for the first time in a few years…had to keep the Dog from lickin my boots after that episode.  Yikes  

benjs

lindamarie73 said:

gimmesometruth27 said:

not sure where to put this. so the cop that did not confront the parkland shooter was found not guilty. 

what is it we are paying cops for if they do not act when a school is being shot up?

https://twitter.com/CNN/status/1674500830563561481?s=20

Boy, that’s a Blanket statement…sounds like a question a proud supporter of that fraudulent organization BLM would ask….The tax paying element of society are paying Police to try to keep the bad element and all the evils of society away from you.  Obviously police are not perfect, but boy some of y’all think they should be all the time.   I have said it here before, I don’t know how cops in urban areas go to work everyday risking everything for such an ungrateful public . 

Police are not perfect? How can you honestly say on one hand ‘just arm everyone and the kids will be safe’ and then look at a school shooting where a police chose not to go in BECAUSE OF FEAR FOR THEIR OWN LIFE and think it’s okay that kids be subjected to that moving forward? Anyone with this opinion in 2023 has their head buried so fucking deep in the sand or is too stupid to know better. There is no fucking excuse, rationalization, or anything of the like. Fuck anyone who thinks like this, and is okay with mother fucking murder of children because of racism, hatred, zealotry, lunacy, mental illness, all because YOU LOVE YOUR FUCKING WEAPONS MORE THAN YOU CARE ABOUT CHILDREN. Good fucking god.

nicknyr15

https://youtu.be/h8QM5c-rJBM

Gern Blansten

We had a death in our city on July 2...no explanation yet other than the teenager was sitting in the front seat of a car in a driveway and was shot in the back. The police issued a statement saying that they were investigating but that there was no threat to the public.

My guess is that his buddy was in the back seat fucking around with a gun and it went off and killed his friend.

Seems odd that we don't know for sure yet...almost two weeks later.

mickeyrat

https://twitter.com/JamesTate121/status/1679460500424257537?t=w5YZ88D5P8vhQxfRbIw4Tw&s=19

Gern Blansten

mickeyrat said:

https://twitter.com/JamesTate121/status/1679460500424257537?t=w5YZ88D5P8vhQxfRbIw4Tw&s=19

truth