Gun Violence

thesloppy · 06-12-2016, 11:17 PM

These awful mass shootings always make me thank God it hasn't happen to me and/or mine...until I remember the friends and family that I have lost to gun violence. Just wondering how common it is, anecdotally.

Vince, Pt. II · 06-12-2016, 11:23 PM

None of the above for me, thankfully.

NobodyHere · 06-12-2016, 11:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

None of the above for me, thankfully.

Ditto

kingfc22 · 06-12-2016, 11:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Ditto

Add me to this option

CraigSca · 06-12-2016, 11:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kingfc22

Add me to this option

Same.

thesloppy · 06-12-2016, 11:58 PM

I guess none could've been an option. Dur.

TCY Junkie · 06-13-2016, 12:25 AM

The closest thing for me is my uncles wife's first husband. He had millions in oil and land. He beat his wife. His oldest daughter was a complete slut with guys over in her bed and with her younger sister next door. The mom couldn't do anything, as the husband would not allow it. One time he dragged his wife into the shower with a shotgun. One day he went to his parents and put a bullet in his head. He owed millions in taxes, was going to jail for evasion. Didn't want to spend his money on taxes, just crack and other drugs. Saved some money with this asshole killing himself.

Galaril · 06-13-2016, 12:26 AM

Had my older brother who was 27 years old and killed when I was 14 thirty years ago. I think about it sometimes and realize he would probably be alive if there were no guns available but hard to say.

rowech · 06-13-2016, 05:35 AM

My brother's friend murdered his ex wife's boyfriend and tried to kill her before he killed himself. My best friend committed suicide by shooting himself so not sure if that counts.

spleen1015 · 06-13-2016, 07:32 AM

Google Joseph Harvey, Jr. He is my cousin.

Not sure what really happened. Some road rage that ended up with him being shot and killed by an off duty NJ cop.

Ben E Lou · 06-13-2016, 08:09 AM

Probably more than I can count accurately. Off the top of my head, at least three suicides, five murdered, two who murdered, and one shot and killed while trying to rob a liquor store.

miami_fan · 06-13-2016, 08:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben E Lou

Probably more than I can count accurately.

Unfortunately this is also the case with me.

Julio Riddols · 06-13-2016, 08:54 AM

I'd say zero for me, but I did kind of know a guy for a short while that I heard was shot in some kind of gang related thing.

I think it is largely the product of environment, bigger cities with more concentrated populations are a far more attractive target for mass shooters because there are so many people in a small area and more places where groups of different ethnicities, beliefs and sexual preferences gather in more homogeneous settings than are available in most small towns. Since I and most of the people I know are from smaller towns and have no criminal associations, I feel like we are the least at risk of gun violence (at least of the mass shooting variety).

britrock88 · 06-13-2016, 10:47 AM

I have had multiple relatives/acquaintances killed, neither in the close friend/immediate family category, though. One was a robbery gone wrong at a Florida gas station... Another was fairly newsworthy: Murder of Eve Carson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

digamma · 06-13-2016, 11:44 AM

I think most of you know my story. Hell, a good number of you lived it with me. For a long time, I've read through this board and others more as an observer, an observer with a secret, or really more of a secret vested interest. It's taken me a long time both here and in the real world to get to a place where I feel comfortable talking about my feelings on gun violence without feeling like I was doing it in an exploitive way.

Here is what I've come to believe:

1. I personally don't use guns, and I doubt I'll ever own a gun. I don't enjoy them and don't feel like they offer me much protection. That doesn't mean that everyone needs to follow my lead there.

2. That said, we have a gun violence problem. Whether it is a ISIS wannabe looney doing the unthinkable in a night club, a racist idiot walking into a church, a man having too much to drink and finding his gun in a fit of rage, a drug related crime in Chicago or DC or any other city or an easy way to commit suicide. Whatever the example, we have a gun violence problem.

3. While I don't think that means we have a gun problem, I do think it tips to a gun culture problem. The first reaction to these incidents shouldn't be to clutch our own weapons or to the idea of our own weapons. The gun is revered in our culture, and I don't know why.

4. That doesn't me I want to take your gun. It means if you have one, I want you to use it responsibly. I want you to have gone through a background check. I want you to be licensed. I want you to have to do a background check on your purchaser if you ever want to sell a gun to someone. Because here's the thing: background checks work. They work to reduce gun violence. Maybe they wouldn't have helped in *this* case, but maybe they would in the next one. In the one we don't have to read about.

4.a. There are lots of other things I think we can do, but the background checks are a start, and a sensible one. And I think they're more important for handguns and rifles, because those are the guns used in the every day stories, the domestic violence, the suicides.

4.b. I recognize that it is a cultural shift. But look at where we've come from on issues like this. My parents generation smoked around kids, called people faggots and niggers and were generally ugly to one another, even without meaning to be. Now love can win.

4.c. That's probably the most controversial thing I'll say and I know that it will rub some the wrong way here. I won't apologize for that, and am happy to discuss reasonably.

4.d. John Scalzi.

5. In the end, Dawn Hochsprung was right. Be nice to each other. It's all that really matters.

Scarecrow · 06-13-2016, 02:01 PM

Glenn Sharpe aka huve!

Breeze · 06-13-2016, 02:29 PM

My cousin was the first victim in the VaTech shootings...

DanGarion · 06-15-2016, 06:21 PM

Where is the none of the above option?

thesloppy · 06-15-2016, 06:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DanGarion

Where is the none of the above option?

I quickly realized that was an obvious oversight, but it doesn't appear you can edit poll options (probably to prevent after the fact manipulation?)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Breeze

My cousin was the first victim in the VaTech shootings...

Wow. That's about as relevant as you could get. My condolences to you and yours, that must have been very hard to deal with, and it's horrible that you were forced to do so. I imagine that the surrounding circus/publicity would make that even harder to properly process than most cases of gun violence.

My dad killed himself with a shotgun when I was 11, and my cousin was shot by a mentally ill co-worker with a 30-30 hunting rifle. I didn't know either particularly well, so though the impact was certainly drastic, it was mostly indirect in my case, reflected by the friends and family who were dealing with things more directly. I also had a co-worker in the '90s who was an anti-racist skinhead and shot and killed a racist skin at a gas station.

CU Tiger · 06-15-2016, 08:38 PM

One of my best friends growing up was shot when we were both 12. He was responsible for his own death, didnt make it hurt less.

I'm probably a bit of an outlier, as I've discussed before on here I went to a boys home, reform boarding school, Catholic home for troubled kids. Our 6th grade graduating class had 18 boys. Im 38. 7 of the 18 are dead today. 5 by guns.

thesloppy · 06-15-2016, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CU Tiger

I'm probably a bit of an outlier, as I've discussed before on here I went to a boys home, reform boarding school, Catholic home for troubled kids. Our 6th grade graduating class had 18 boys. Im 38. 7 of the 18 are dead today. 5 by guns.

Damn. No matter where you may be physically, mentally, or emotionally today, congratulations on making it there.

Marc Vaughan · 06-16-2016, 01:02 PM

None of the above thankfully, my daughter was at FSU when an incident occurred there but fortunately wasn't in the building involved.

(I've also been involved in numerous bomb-scares in England during the period the IRA were active there, but none of those involved guns)

SirBlurton · 06-16-2016, 02:06 PM

A woman I grew up with from elementary school to high school and then later worked with, was shot while inside in her own home, in front of her kids, by some losers who fired bullets from the street into the wrong house. Mixed up the address on a drug hit with tragic consequences.

View Poll Results: What's your experience with fatal gun violence?
Multiple friends or family members were killed by, or have killed civilians with a firearm.	8	25.81%
A close friend or immediate family member was killed by, or has killed a civilian with a firearm.	9	29.03%
An extended family member or an acquaintance was killed by, or has killed a civilian with a firearm.	16	51.61%
I have killed a civilian with a firearm.	0	0%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 31. You may not vote on this poll

06-12-2016, 11:58 PM	#6
thesloppy Pro Starter Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: PDX	I guess none could've been an option. Dur. __________________ Last edited by thesloppy : Today at 05:35 PM. Last edited by thesloppy : 06-13-2016 at 12:00 AM.

06-13-2016, 12:25 AM	#7
TCY Junkie College Prospect Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: TX	The closest thing for me is my uncles wife's first husband. He had millions in oil and land. He beat his wife. His oldest daughter was a complete slut with guys over in her bed and with her younger sister next door. The mom couldn't do anything, as the husband would not allow it. One time he dragged his wife into the shower with a shotgun. One day he went to his parents and put a bullet in his head. He owed millions in taxes, was going to jail for evasion. Didn't want to spend his money on taxes, just crack and other drugs. Saved some money with this asshole killing himself. __________________ I try to open things I probably have no chance of opening. Last edited by TCY Junkie : 06-13-2016 at 12:26 AM.

06-13-2016, 12:26 AM	#8
Galaril Pro Starter Join Date: Jan 2004	Had my older brother who was 27 years old and killed when I was 14 thirty years ago. I think about it sometimes and realize he would probably be alive if there were no guns available but hard to say. Last edited by Galaril : 06-13-2016 at 12:27 AM.

06-13-2016, 07:32 AM	#10
spleen1015 Coordinator Join Date: Sep 2003	Google Joseph Harvey, Jr. He is my cousin. Not sure what really happened. Some road rage that ended up with him being shot and killed by an off duty NJ cop. __________________ Why choose failure when success is an option? Last edited by spleen1015 : 06-13-2016 at 07:32 AM.

06-12-2016, 11:23 PM	#2
Vince, Pt. II Pro Starter Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Somewhere More Familiar	None of the above for me, thankfully.

06-13-2016, 05:35 AM	#9
rowech Pro Starter Join Date: Feb 2006	My brother's friend murdered his ex wife's boyfriend and tried to kill her before he killed himself. My best friend committed suicide by shooting himself so not sure if that counts.

06-13-2016, 08:09 AM	#11
Ben E Lou Morgado's Favorite Forum Fascist Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Greensboro, NC	Probably more than I can count accurately. Off the top of my head, at least three suicides, five murdered, two who murdered, and one shot and killed while trying to rob a liquor store. __________________ The media don't understand the kinds of problems and pressures 54 million come wit'!

06-13-2016, 08:54 AM	#13
Julio Riddols College Prospect Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Bryson Shitty, NC	I'd say zero for me, but I did kind of know a guy for a short while that I heard was shot in some kind of gang related thing. I think it is largely the product of environment, bigger cities with more concentrated populations are a far more attractive target for mass shooters because there are so many people in a small area and more places where groups of different ethnicities, beliefs and sexual preferences gather in more homogeneous settings than are available in most small towns. Since I and most of the people I know are from smaller towns and have no criminal associations, I feel like we are the least at risk of gun violence (at least of the mass shooting variety). __________________ Recklessly enthused, stubbornly amused. FUCK EA Last edited by Julio Riddols : 06-13-2016 at 08:55 AM.

06-13-2016, 10:47 AM	#14
britrock88 Pro Starter Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Madison, WI	I have had multiple relatives/acquaintances killed, neither in the close friend/immediate family category, though. One was a robbery gone wrong at a Florida gas station... Another was fairly newsworthy: Murder of Eve Carson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

06-13-2016, 11:44 AM	#15
digamma Torchbearer Join Date: Sep 2001 Location: On Lake Harriet	I think most of you know my story. Hell, a good number of you lived it with me. For a long time, I've read through this board and others more as an observer, an observer with a secret, or really more of a secret vested interest. It's taken me a long time both here and in the real world to get to a place where I feel comfortable talking about my feelings on gun violence without feeling like I was doing it in an exploitive way. Here is what I've come to believe: 1. I personally don't use guns, and I doubt I'll ever own a gun. I don't enjoy them and don't feel like they offer me much protection. That doesn't mean that everyone needs to follow my lead there. 2. That said, we have a gun violence problem. Whether it is a ISIS wannabe looney doing the unthinkable in a night club, a racist idiot walking into a church, a man having too much to drink and finding his gun in a fit of rage, a drug related crime in Chicago or DC or any other city or an easy way to commit suicide. Whatever the example, we have a gun violence problem. 3. While I don't think that means we have a gun problem, I do think it tips to a gun culture problem. The first reaction to these incidents shouldn't be to clutch our own weapons or to the idea of our own weapons. The gun is revered in our culture, and I don't know why. 4. That doesn't me I want to take your gun. It means if you have one, I want you to use it responsibly. I want you to have gone through a background check. I want you to be licensed. I want you to have to do a background check on your purchaser if you ever want to sell a gun to someone. Because here's the thing: background checks work. They work to reduce gun violence. Maybe they wouldn't have helped in this case, but maybe they would in the next one. In the one we don't have to read about. 4.a. There are lots of other things I think we can do, but the background checks are a start, and a sensible one. And I think they're more important for handguns and rifles, because those are the guns used in the every day stories, the domestic violence, the suicides. 4.b. I recognize that it is a cultural shift. But look at where we've come from on issues like this. My parents generation smoked around kids, called people faggots and niggers and were generally ugly to one another, even without meaning to be. Now love can win. 4.c. That's probably the most controversial thing I'll say and I know that it will rub some the wrong way here. I won't apologize for that, and am happy to discuss reasonably. 4.d. John Scalzi. 5. In the end, Dawn Hochsprung was right. Be nice to each other. It's all that really matters.

06-13-2016, 02:01 PM	#16
Scarecrow College Prospect Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: The Flatlands of America	Glenn Sharpe aka huve! __________________ Post Count: Eleventy Billion - so deal with it!

06-13-2016, 02:29 PM	#17
Breeze Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Northern Suburbs of ATL	My cousin was the first victim in the VaTech shootings...

06-15-2016, 06:21 PM	#18
DanGarion Coordinator Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: The Great Northwest	Where is the none of the above option? __________________ Los Angeles Dodgers Check out the FOFC Groups on Facebook! and Reddit! DON'T REPORT ME BRO!

06-15-2016, 08:38 PM	#20
CU Tiger Grizzled Veteran Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Backwoods, SC	One of my best friends growing up was shot when we were both 12. He was responsible for his own death, didnt make it hurt less. I'm probably a bit of an outlier, as I've discussed before on here I went to a boys home, reform boarding school, Catholic home for troubled kids. Our 6th grade graduating class had 18 boys. Im 38. 7 of the 18 are dead today. 5 by guns.

06-16-2016, 01:02 PM	#22
Marc Vaughan SI Games Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: Melbourne, FL	None of the above thankfully, my daughter was at FSU when an incident occurred there but fortunately wasn't in the building involved. (I've also been involved in numerous bomb-scares in England during the period the IRA were active there, but none of those involved guns)

06-16-2016, 02:06 PM	#23
SirBlurton High School Varsity Join Date: Feb 2007	A woman I grew up with from elementary school to high school and then later worked with, was shot while inside in her own home, in front of her kids, by some losers who fired bullets from the street into the wrong house. Mixed up the address on a drug hit with tragic consequences.

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