Posted by Greg Laden on November 6, 2009 The numbers are vague. The shooter is identified as 50 year old Jason Rodriguez who opened fire in an office building in Orlando, Florida, killing 1 and wounding others. He was a former employee of where he did the shooting.
The killer is at large. They think he took off in his 2002 silver Nissan SUV. Plate: D119UX.
Turn on the TV now if you want to watch the Amazing Fluctuating Numbers of dead and wounded. I just watched the number shot go from 7 to 9 within one sentence.
The suspect has been arrested at his mother’s house.
Which would only prove that one can become a gun nut in a matter of minutes.
I really wish you’d clarify your definition of ‘gun nut’, Greg. Up to this point, I thought that when you used the phrase ‘gun nut’, you meant a gun owner with a radical anti gun-control political agenda. Now it seems to mean ‘any nut-bar who happens to be holding a gun.’
Rt
I thought that when you used the phrase ‘gun nut’, you meant a gun owner with a radical anti gun-control political agenda.
That’s it, yes. For now I’m assuming that’s what we have here. Could be wrong, but it is a good guess.
I know this will offend a lot of gun nuts, but that’s not something that concerns me because at the moment they can’t find me to shoot at me.
“Which would only prove that one can become a gun nut in a matter of minutes. ”
“‘I thought that when you used the phrase ‘gun nut’, you meant a gun owner with a radical anti gun-control political agenda.’
That’s it, yes. For now I’m assuming that’s what we have here. Could be wrong, but it is a good guess”
Count me confused by your definition.
That’s it, yes. For now I’m assuming that’s what we have here. Could be wrong, but it is a good guess”
Hmmm…I’d be willing to bet you’re jumping the gun on this one.
Rt
RT: And the thing is, we will never know. Remember the holoween killing last year? Some asshole blew away a porch full of trick-or-treaters with an “automatic”? We never learned if the gun was really an automatic, or if the guy owned other guns. I was in touch for several weeks with a reporter local to the area, and she was totally stonewalled on that by the police and everybody else.
If this guy was a gun nut it will not become generally known. Which is partly why I’m calling him a gun nut. Let him prove he’s not.
Rodriguez. The name tells all we need to know. Another Catholic extremist has been allowed to infiltrate our engineering services and wage “crusade” against the American people. Their medieval religion has no respect for democracy and American values. They have no loyalty to America. Their fanatical religious leaders, called “bishops,” seek to undermine our system of government by controlling every facet of their primitive followers lives, including how they vote. Americans died bringing freedom to Catholics in 1945 and this is the thanks we get. Our leaders in Washington need to stop worrying about whether they like us in Rome and start doing what needs to be done to keep America safe. Michelle Malkin is right; we need to stop being so politically correct and reconsider the wisdom of internment.
Another Catholic extremist has been allowed to infiltrate our engineering services and wage “crusade” against the American people.
Well, if you put that together with the whole God’s Highway thing …. it kinda makes sense.
Rodriguez:
“Hi mom, I’m home. Oh yeah, I killed a guy and shot a half dozen more. The police may come here soon looking for me. What’s for lunch?”
I’m of the rather biased opinion that anyone who owns a functioning gun is at the least a potential gun nut. All it takes to go from “owner” or “enthusiast” to “nut” is a good dose of crazy, and sometimes it doesn’t take a lot to push otherwise rational people across that edge. Regardless of when he bought a gun, Rodriguez proves that gun “control” does not work. There is no foolproof process for screening out the crazies. Let the NRA argue all they want, but the only way to control guns is to ban them.
The guy definitely had mental issues:
http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-jason-rodriguez-bio-orlando-shooting,0,2152879.story?page=2
He had a history of violent behavior. A background check was performed, which found no criminal record, meaning at the time of the check, it was legal for him to own firearms. Even so, the phrase ‘ticking time bomb’ does come to mind.
RE: “gun-nuts” I think the term is more appropriate for those with specifically gun-related issues. This Rodriguez guy may have nuts, but so far, there’s no information in the reports to indicate he had any strong/irrational opinions about guns in particular.
RT: And the thing is, we will never know. Remember the holoween killing last year? Some asshole blew away a porch full of trick-or-treaters with an “automatic”?
Yes, I recall that episode.
We never learned if the gun was really an automatic, or if the guy owned other guns. I was in touch for several weeks with a reporter local to the area, and she was totally stonewalled on that by the police and everybody else.
IIRC, he wasn’t legally permitted to own a gun, due to a criminal record. This isn’t damning enough for you? The existing laws obviously weren’t enforced, and people died.
This latest incident points out an entirely different problem: Rodriguez had mental issues (I’m not sure what the exact diagnosis was, sorry.) but could still legally own firearms.
If this guy was a gun nut it will not become generally known. Which is partly why I’m calling him a gun nut. Let him prove he’s not.
He isn’t obligated to prove anything. (Until his court date, that is.) He’s innocent until proven guilty, and in any event, being a ‘gun-nut’ however you define the term, is not a crime, as much as you might wish it to be.
Rt
IIRC, he wasn’t legally permitted to own a gun, due to a criminal record. This isn’t damning enough for you?
I wasn’t going for a certain level of damning-ness. What I’m saying is that it is NOT routine for police and press to report the ownership status of weapons or information about other weapons owned by a perp, or in many cases accurate information about the weapons themselves.
Show me the database that proves me wrong.
being a ‘gun-nut’ however you define the term, is not a crime
NO, you can’t say that. See above! There is very little information available to make that connection or to rule it out in most cases, and there are enough cases where some gun nut if found to be in violation of numerous firearms laws.
How often there is a connection between gun nutiness and this kind of behavior is not known to you or me, so please do not rule it out a priori. Show me the database.
being a ‘gun-nut’ however you define the term, is not a crime
Yeah, that was real dumbass thing to say. However you define it? Okay, howsabout we define “gun nut” as “a crime”?
Fine, we’ll use the definition of ‘gun nut’ which Greg agreed to previously: a gun owner with a radical anti gun-control political agenda.
That’s not illegal. People don’t get locked up for having politics you don’t like.
Rt
And the database backing this up is?
Rt, no they don’t that is true. I just don’t assume that the average gun nut is a law abiding citizen. This is based on extensive personal experience.
Interestingly, a certain percentage of the people I know who own a lot of guns but who do not fit the gun nut definition we have all agreed on are law abiding citizens. Those who fit the definition are not. Pretty much breaks down perfectly.
Click here to visit my page for the novel Sungudogo
I and the BIRD … not just a Web Carnival any more
Human Evolution
Climate Change and Global Warming
Cats, Carnivores, and various Mammals
Gun Control
Birds and Bird Books
November 6, 2009
November 6, 2009
November 6, 2009
November 6, 2009
November 6, 2009
November 6, 2009
November 6, 2009
November 6, 2009
