Residents in the Northeastern United States are reeling today after a mass shooting at a bowling alley and a nearby bar in Lewiston, Maine on Wednesday evening. From The New York Times:
Hundreds of police officers from local, state and federal agencies were hunting on Thursday for a gunman in Maine who is suspected of killing 18 people and injuring 13 others in a crowded bowling alley and at a bar in Lewiston.
The manhunt, in a largely rural state with many potential hiding places, locked down entire towns and the campus of Bates College as the authorities searched for Robert R. Card, 40, of Bowdoin. Residents were told to shelter in place for safety and not to approach Mr. Card under any circumstances.
“This is a dark day for Maine,” Gov. Janet Mills said at a news conference.
As of this writing, authorities are still searching for Robert Russell Card II, who is reportedly a sergeant first class in the Army Reserve.
It makes us sick to have to keep talking about gun violence in America, but we’re never going to find real solutions to the problem unless we keep acknowledging it at every step. According to the Times, this is the 8th mass shooting in the United States in 2023:
This is also another terrible warning that gun violence can strike anywhere. The entire state of Maine only averages about 18 homicides in a year.
Guns kill people. Full stop.
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Guns, sure. But as is really common, it was known well ahead of time that the shooter was trouble. Opponents to gun laws tend to default-deflect to mental illness, but a diagnosis after mass murder doesn't help anybody. If it's known that a person is a threat like this, there needs to be some kind of intervention, whether via red flag law or other steps, and if a red flag gets a person into mental health treatments, all the better.
https://www.nbcnews.com/now/video/maine-resident-people-knew-to-stay-away-from-robert-card-196448325881
"but a diagnosis after mass murder doesn't help anybody"
It answers the question "Why another senseless shooting?" but it certainly does nothing to prevent the next one.
I love the fact that the right wing recognizes that mental health issues are part of the problem. (Actually, the problem is usually found at the intersection of mental health issues and easy access to firearms. But the RWNJs only look at one of the two streets.)
But these are also the same people who, in their slavish devotion to "free dumb," want to deny people access to health care, including mental health care (to wit: repeal Obamacare).
So, to summarize, it's not a gun problem but a mental health problem. If you want to get help with a mental health issue (or any other health issue), you're on your own. Good luck with that.
IMO there's at least a 3rd side street at your intersection, gun glorification. It's politicians calling shooting a "2nd amendment solution," it's think-tankers coming up with stuff like "good guy with a gun," it's manufacturers saying a new rifle "punches your man card," etc. I don't know, but will guess some people with mental health issues might be less dangerous if nothing made them think shooting was a viable option.
Agreed 2Jung. Not everyone with mental health problems chooses to shoot up restaurants or schools. Some rant on street corners, others just curl up and disappear.
It's a culture of toxic masculinity problem, brought on by the slogans you suggest and a whole lot more.
Meiner, people with mental health problems don’t “just curl up and disappear”. They camp on your streets. They couch surf and work low wage jobs. They commit petty crimes and self-medicate with drugs and alcohol. They waste away in jails and prisons.
The lucky ones have insurance and can afford treatment. Most never get it.
Menal illness, like most endemic social problems, never “just disappears”.
Agree 2Jung that "focusing on mental health" is just a diversion so anti-gun control folks can talk about anything other than gun control. Then when the time comes around to talk about funding or supporting mental health initiatives, they have no interest in it.
I'm sorry, but it's Too Soon to post such a response. There needs to be at least a month of Thoughts & Prayers after each incident. When there's a break, then you can post about gun violence — but realize that since there haven't been any recent incidents, it's not an important issue.
Government won't do anything. Businesses need to do what Meow Wolf and Casa Bonita do. Put armed security upfront, magnetometers, bag checks, lift your shirt, pat down…
I'm sorry if it doesn't remind you of your childhood boomers but this is the price we pay for unrestricted guns a corporate police state. This is not satire I'm serious we need to start advocating this at every restaurant, entertainment, apartment complex…
If a comprehensive list were developed of businesses who do this (or would do this), I'd use it. And I'd tell the other damn businesses why I'm no longer there spending money.
Is BoBo’s bill to make the AR-15, “The National Gun” still a thing? Declaring the AR-15 the “National Gun of the United States.”??
Found it. An august group including George Santos and EmptyG:
. . . or the U.S. or us. Did you know that? U.S. is us??!! Just amazing. No one ever thought of that until I (your malignant narcissist) did.
Never forget what Grambo’s cordless hole puncher does to our young ones.
I have to wonder how that Grandpa would feel after picking up the chunks of one of his grandkids, torn apart by 3 or 4 .223's.
Should we tell her that ArmaLite was founded in Hollywood?