The even randomer thread

[darksabre]

Same here. The accounts I'm seeing are that he'd had a career as an accountant, socked away some money, bought some real estate, and was living the life of an early-retired, high-stakes (compulsive?) gambler. I also saw that his father was on the FBI's most wanted list (for bank robberies and a subsequent assault on police) back in the late 60s through the mid 70s.

 

It's somehow even more disheartening and terrifying to consider that neither mental illness nor religious radicalization played a role in this.

 

I think you're taking for granted how easy it is to be a sociopath in 2017. Given that so many of them are running our government or jabbering away on cable news, at some point we stop recognizing the behavior as other.

[Eleven]

I'd imagine that a golf bag with a travel case would make it very easy to get guns in.  No one's going to think twice about that.  He'd have to make a couple trips to the car, but again, that seems fairly simple enough.

 

 

Why would he even have to sneak them in?  They're legal, and any business establishment that forbids guns on premises has to deal with right-wing boycotts.

 

Same here. The accounts I'm seeing are that he'd had a career as an accountant, socked away some money, bought some real estate, and was living the life of an early-retired, high-stakes (compulsive?) gambler. I also saw that his father was on the FBI's most wanted list (for bank robberies and a subsequent assault on police) back in the late 60s through the mid 70s.

 

It's somehow even more disheartening and terrifying to consider that neither mental illness nor religious radicalization played a role in this.

 

 

Exactly.

 

I guarantee you that mental illness played a role.  No sane person fires at hundreds of people like that.

[ubkev]

Why would he even have to sneak them in? They're legal, and any business establishment that forbids guns on premises has to deal with right-wing boycotts.

 

 

I guarantee you that mental illness played a role. No sane person fires at hundreds of people like that.

You're not allowed to bring a gun into a casino. It's done all the time, but casinos don't allow it. When it happens at my joint, we escort them to their vehicle and see to it that the gun is put away. If the happens more than once with the same person, we let the state police handle them.

 

Madness, right?

[darksabre]

You're not allowed to bring a gun into a casino. It's done all the time, but casinos don't allow it. When it happens at my joint, we escort them to their vehicle and see to it that the gun is put away. If the happens more than once with the same person, we let the state police handle them.

 

Madness, right?

Except in Vegas, where you're allowed to bring guns into casinos.

[Eleven]

Except in Vegas, where you're allowed to bring guns into casinos.

 

Also, I thought he was shooting from his hotel room and not the casino.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

What a mixed up world we live in.

 

I have not been able to follow this, but my wife told me that she read some interesting tidbits in the reports ...

 

1.)  It seems that people in Nevada can carry automatic weapons around.

 

2.)  The only thing on this guys record was a parking violation.

 

Extremely sad day, indeed.

[That Aud Smell]

I think you're taking for granted how easy it is to be a sociopath in 2017. Given that so many of them are running our government or jabbering away on cable news, at some point we stop recognizing the behavior as other.

 

I don't see the need to venture into politics, tbh. 

 

Sociopaths -- which we have to assume this guy was -- have been able to mask their nature and urges for a long, long time. Buffalo's infamous Bike Path Rapist is just one example of the type.

 

 

I guarantee you that mental illness played a role.  No sane person fires at hundreds of people like that.

 

I think I was imprecise. It does not appear that this guy was so mentally ill as to be mentally incompetent. He appears to have known very well what he was doing. But, for sure, he had to have been a sociopath, which, yes, is a serious mental disorder (not sure whether that is distinct from an "illness") found in the DSM.

Edited October 3, 2017 by That Aud Smell

[SwampD]

Just to keep things truly random-

 

I gained five pounds this week. Not sure if I actually changed any habits or if the weather turning colder told my metabolism to store up some fat for winter.

[Eleven]

Just to keep things truly random-

 

I gained five pounds this week. Not sure if I actually changed any habits or if the weather turning colder told my metabolism to store up some fat for winter.

 

Someone's been spending too much time in the cheese thread.

[Sabres Fan in NS]

Just to keep things truly random-

 

I gained five pounds this week. Not sure if I actually changed any habits or if the weather turning colder told my metabolism to store up some fat for winter.

 

I have been experiencing the opposite ... loosing some, at least what appears to be, significant weight recently.  I feel OK, but I am feeling a lot of stress lately (I feel for you Randall and have nothing good to offer you in your stress thread, sorry).

 

I should spend more time in the cheese thread.

[josie]

It’s to the point that whenever I am in what appears to be a “soft target” area, I feel regular pangs of anxiety.

Yeah. I feel silly, but I always have a good 5-10 minutes of WHAT IF when at a movie theatre. Read a first person account of the Aurora shooting. Shouldn't have done that. At shows and movies and other gatherings, I always check exits/routes. Whenever I got a new classroom to teach in, I'd study a map and sort out possible escape/hiding routes. I don't tell others or make a deal about, I just quietly make notes and tuck it in the back of my mind. Course, FWIW, I also am the woman who carries her keys between her knuckles and avoids parking garages/dark lots alone if possible. You get grabbed a couple times while out for a run and it sticks with you forever. 

 

Scaredy cat, I guess. 

[Wilbur]

Just to keep things truly random-

 

I gained five pounds this week. Not sure if I actually changed any habits or if the weather turning colder told my metabolism to store up some fat for winter.

 

**squirrel**!

[shrader]

Also, I thought he was shooting from his hotel room and not the casino.

 

Most of the time you're walking through the casino to get to the hotel.  There might be some magical boundary that they consider to not be "casino" but you're definitely inside the casino.

 

And as for if they actually do allow guns inside, they're definitely not allowing the guns he used.

 

 

Wilbur!!!!

Edited October 3, 2017 by shrader

[Eleven]

Most of the time you're walking through the casino to get to the hotel.  There might be some magical boundary that they consider to not be "casino" but you're definitely inside the casino.

 

And as for if they actually do allow guns inside, they're definitely not allowing the guns he used.

 

 

Wilbur!!!!

 

I've only been to three casino / hotels.  I don't claim to be an expert.  But in none of those cases was it necessary to walk through the casino to get to the floor.  It would be easy as 123 to stock that hotel room (or any other hotel room in the US, for that matter) with that arsenal.

[ubkev]

I've only been to three casino / hotels. I don't claim to be an expert. But in none of those cases was it necessary to walk through the casino to get to the floor. It would be easy as 123 to stock that hotel room (or any other hotel room in the US, for that matter) with that arsenal.

Correct.

[Taro T]

**squirrel**!

The 1st Wilbur sighting of the season. Can the PA be far behind?

[shrader]

I've only been to three casino / hotels.  I don't claim to be an expert.  But in none of those cases was it necessary to walk through the casino to get to the floor.  It would be easy as 123 to stock that hotel room (or any other hotel room in the US, for that matter) with that arsenal.

 

Sure, definitely easy.  The quickest way to the hotel rooms is often through the casino itself, but that doesn't mean you can't take the longer walk or enter through a different door.  I stayed at MGM when I was there and their check in area was definitely setup to immediately funnel you into the casino for a much shorter walk.

[Weave]

I learned last night that you can convert an ordinary rifle to a fully automatic weapon by purchasing a replacement stock for about $40.

]

This doesnt seem right. Link? The ATF has always been very tough on anything with this functionality. If true, that is a very real WTF?.

 

My suspicion is that he filed down the sear of the rifles so they would slam fire uncontrollably. The sear is a safety device to prevent accidental discharge of the gun. If he did that, once he pulled the trigger the gun would continue to fire until it was empty. Yes, that is fully automatic. It is also uncontrollable, shooting until empty. Just my suspicion.

 

Does this change things in America? I dont know. A shooting involving children didn't change things when I thought for sure it would.

 

Weather getting more unpredictable, Presidents getting more unpredictable, terrorist attacks getting more unpredictable. I need to dig a moat.

[That Aud Smell]

**squirrel**!

 

Heel, boy. Heel.

 

/pats head

[WildCard]

This doesnt seem right. Link? The ATF has always been very tough on anything with this functionality. If true, that is a very real WTF?.

I don't know about that, but I knew quite a few people with probably illegal attachments/modifications for firearms 

[darksabre]

This doesnt seem right. Link? The ATF has always been very tough on anything with this functionality. If true, that is a very real WTF?.

 

My suspicion is that he filed down the sear of the rifles so they would slam fire uncontrollably. The sear is a safety device to prevent accidental discharge of the gun. If he did that, once he pulled the trigger the gun would continue to fire until it was empty. Yes, that is fully automatic. It is also uncontrollable, shooting until empty. Just my suspicion.

 

Does this change things in America? I dont know. A shooting involving children didn't change things when I thought for sure it would.

 

Weather getting more unpredictable, Presidents getting more unpredictable, terrorist attacks getting more unpredictable. I need to dig a moat.

It's always been like this. I can bump fire an AK with no problem. Anyone who is handy with a benchtop press can fabricate parts to convert full-auto turned semi-auto guns back into full auto guns. It's not that hard. 

[That Aud Smell]

This doesnt seem right. Link? The ATF has always been very tough on anything with this functionality. If true, that is a very real WTF?.

 

My suspicion is that he filed down the sear of the rifles so they would slam fire uncontrollably. The sear is a safety device to prevent accidental discharge of the gun. If he did that, once he pulled the trigger the gun would continue to fire until it was empty. Yes, that is fully automatic. It is also uncontrollable, shooting until empty. Just my suspicion.

 

Does this change things in America? I dont know. A shooting involving children didn't change things when I thought for sure it would.

 

Weather getting more unpredictable, Presidents getting more unpredictable, terrorist attacks getting more unpredictable. I need to dig a moat.

 

I'll see if I can look for it. I clicked a link on Twitter last night and read a very, very detailed account (replete with links to retailers (e.g., EBay stores)), but did not fave the Tweet. The replacement part is evidently an item that certain federal legislators have been railing against, to no avail.

 

To another of your comments, it is with regret that I essentially acknowledge the truth of what Dan Hodges had Tweeted a couple years ago (after another mass shooting (Charleston?)):

 

"In retrospect Sandy Hook marked the end of the US gun control debate. Once America decided killing children was bearable, it was over."

 

 

Edited October 3, 2017 by That Aud Smell

[Weave]

I don't know about that, but I knew quite a few people with probably illegal attachments/modifications for firearms

Feds dont mess around with full auto stuff. They make gun manufacturers that make military stuff change the design so that it can't be readily modded to full auto before they allow the semi auto versions for sale in this country.

 

Sorry, I dont want to defend guns here. Not even a little right now. I dont even want to know what the typical second amendment voices are saying. But I am genuinely curious how this guy got his mitts on automatic weapons because that needs to get locked down hard.

It's always been like this. I can bump fire an AK with no problem. Anyone who is handy with a benchtop press can fabricate parts to convert full-auto turned semi-auto guns back into full auto guns. It's not that hard.

Im not sure this is correct. My understanding is The recievers are made differently to not allow this. But I dont want to sit here and debate this after a tragedy like this. I am not interested in defending a guns right stance. I am interested in what is factual though. If there is info out there, I'd like a link PMd. If what you say is true, that is unacceptable.

[Eleven]

Feds dont mess around with full auto stuff. They make gun manufacturers that make military stuff change the design so that it can't be readily modded to full auto before they allow the semi auto versions for sale in this country.

 

Sorry, I dont want to defend guns here. Not even a little right now. I dont even want to know what the typical second amendment voices are saying. But I am genuinely curious how this guy got his mitts on automatic weapons because that ###### needs to get locked down hard.

 

Im not sure this is correct. My understanding is The recievers are made differently to not allow this. But I dont want to sit here and debate this after a tragedy like this. I am not interested in defending a guns right stance. I am interested in what is factual though. If there is info out there, I'd like a link PMd. If what you say is true, that is unacceptable.

 

I suppose I'm now on several watch lists due to my google search, but that's fine; I don' t have any guns anyway.  Here you go:

 

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2012/12/how-make-your-gun-shoot-fully-automatic-one-easy-step/

 

https://www.wired.com/story/las-vegas-shooting-automatic-rifle/

 

https://www.cnbc.com/2017/10/03/gunman-had-a-bump-stock-device-that-could-speed-fire.html

[darksabre]

Feds dont mess around with full auto stuff. They make gun manufacturers that make military stuff change the design so that it can't be readily modded to full auto before they allow the semi auto versions for sale in this country.

 

Sorry, I dont want to defend guns here. Not even a little right now. I dont even want to know what the typical second amendment voices are saying. But I am genuinely curious how this guy got his mitts on automatic weapons because that ###### needs to get locked down hard.

 

Im not sure this is correct. My understanding is The recievers are made differently to not allow this. But I dont want to sit here and debate this after a tragedy like this. I am not interested in defending a guns right stance. I am interested in what is factual though. If there is info out there, I'd like a link PMd. If what you say is true, that is unacceptable.

You can just buy a new receiver. They might be illegal, but you can buy them.

I come from a very strong custom paintball community, and there's a lot of overlap between machinists making custom parts for paintball gun and for real guns. You can get anything you want on the gray market of an internet forum if you know who to ask.

 

There are plenty of people who are willing to go through the effort of doing things legally when it comes to trying to get full auto guns in this country. It's only really a question of time and money. But if you want it, you can get it.

And from what it sounds like in Vegas, this guy wasn't necessarily going full auto. But he was doing the much easier and much more legal approach of taking semi-auto weapons to the redline with mods, where the line between full and semi RoF is basically negligible.