A friend just linked to a site called thoughts and prayers the game. Should be easy to find. No matter how much I thought and prayed, no one was saved.
There are a lot of groups working for gun control, the brady campaign, everytown for gun safety, the coalition to stop gun violence, and more. There is one pro gun group- the NRA. I wonder if all these groups came together into one if there could be enough lobbying power to do something.
People who own guns should have to purchase insurance for when their weapons hurt or kill someone. Just like we have with cars.
Non-Hispanic whites are 61% of the population and 56% of the mass shooters according to those links. African Americans would be slightly over-represented, and Latinos significantly under-represented. The three Native American shooters would represent roughly twice what one would expect based on population percentage, but that can’t possible be significant given the low number. Same with “Asians,” 8% of shooters and 5% of population, but the numbers are too small to be meaningful at all.
A big problem seems to be that there is no standard definition of “mass shooting.” The Statista figures are based on 90 mass shootings in a 35-year period. The Guardian chart linked earlier shows more than 278 so far in 2017.
Trying to understand the relationship of Benjamin Paddock to his son Stephen, the shooter. By the time Stephen was born in 1952/53 his father had already spent time in prison twice for confidence games and auto robberies. Benjamin is paroled and comes home to Tucson, AZ where Mrs. Paddock and him have three more children.
In 1960, Benjamin takes off and robs three Arizona banks. He drove to Las Vegas where a tip leads an FBI agent to him. Benjamin attempts to run the agent over with his car, and the agent fires a shot that shatters the windshield. The FBI finally arrest him and find a loaded revolver in the car. Stephen is 8 years old. Benjamin serves 8 years in prison in Texas before escaping on Christmas Eve in 1968. Stephen is in high school at the time.
In 1977/78, Benjamin is finally caught at a bingo parlor in Oregon. He served more time before being paroled. Eric Paddock states his brother and him had no contact with their father. Both Stephen and his father loved to gamble and play cards. Both moved around a lot. Both were psychopaths.
Only Stephen’s mother who is either 89 or 90 knows for sure how much influence his father had on Stephen.
Guns and insurance: No insurance company provides coverage for intentional acts. Your auto insurance is not going to cover you if you intentionally mow down people on the street.
There will be a lot of people needing lots of money for medical care, rehab, lost wages and more in this. And looking at what we know now, there are no ‘deep pockets’ to sue to recoup any of it. I don’t see how either the concert venue or the Mandalay Bay was in any way negligent. The shooter has some assets but even his houses, his planes etc. will be insufficient.
I’m seeing reports that people are waiting up to 8 hours to donate blood. This is a good reminder to please donate as often as you can if you can. There is ALWAYS a chronic shortage.
This goes especially if you’re a type O blood.
@romanigypsyeyes They are recommending that people schedule blood donation appointments over the next several weeks. It is likely that many of the victims will need additional surgery.
Please donate blood if you are able.
I have to give in other ways because my veins are so lousy the Red Cross asked me not to come back. 
I understand how people can become desensitized to news of mass killings. But for me, anyway, the numerous cell phone videos in which the barrage of bullets can be heard will probably give me nightmares. These videos/audio recordings bring the reality home.
I am fighting a respiratory illness, but this event has made me feel even more physically ill. People, many of our kids would have been at this kind of event. It’s so tragic, and maddening that the killer took his own life so as to avoid accountability.
@MaineLonghorn same for me. I donated one time around age 20 and it took 45 mins to fill a bag. They told me not to come back. I have ridiculously tiny veins.
I do have a question. I for the life of me don’t understand why or how folks decided to pull out cell phones during this rampage. I can understand if perhaps you are a reporter but I’m a bit puzzled
Thanks for that @MaterS I’ll be sure to tell my students to consider donating blood if they’re able to. I can’t donate my own but I can at least try to encourage others.
The picture of the man in the wheelchair getting pushed out of the crowd was my last straw. I cried at that.
@partyof5, I’ve wondered the same thing. I think at least some of them came from cell phones that were already filming the concert.
@partyof5, Maybe they assumed the shots were not coming from the direction of Mandalay Bay and they were safe?
I would totally try to film if I were in a position to (i.e. not running, etc.). The police use the videos as evidence. You might capture a suspect on video (as they did in the Boston bombing).
What if you left your gun unsecured and your grandchild shot the neighbor kid? What if you left your gun unsecured and your nephew killed himself with it? Then you should be liable. You should have to pay. You should have to be insured against this.
What You may have to pay and what your insurer will pay based on your policy are different. For example, if you intentionally run over your neighbor with your car, attempted murder, your auto insurer will not pay out on your behalf. Your neighbor will sue you and get any money you have, however.
I say gun owners should be liable for the violence caused by their guns (unless the guns are reported stolen-- and if they were stolen, the owner better have a good story about how the thief broke their gun safe or overpowered them when they were carrying the gun).
The vast majority of gun crimes, like all crimes, are committed by people who are judgment proof. That is, they have no assets to collect from. Even OJ has yet to pay the Goldman what he owes on the judgment due to laws protecting his pension.