Ha! I had a guy asked me one time whether I'd prefer to be shot with a 9mm or a .45.

My answer was 'neither, they both hurt like a bitch'.

Sorry, Roy, you need to check your statistics and 'fess up to fake news. Here's the truth:

"Not surprisingly, gun ownership is strongly correlated with political party, with Republicans much more likely to own guns than Democrats.... That gap between the political parties has grown significantly since he early 1990s, as fewer and fewer Democrat and Independent households own guns.... Younger Democrats are less likely to own guns than older Democrats, but there’s very little difference between Republicans of different age groups."

Here, see for yourself:

https://thesocietypages.org/socimages/2012/12/19/gun-ownership-political-affiliation/

Why Thank You, Sir. Just for that, you may call me Larry.

You don't know about the Marine Corps Pecking Order? Oh, yeah, it's a 'thing'. It gives any Marine the authority to overrule any navy orders or routine simply on a whim. It's because of their superior intellect and overwhelming charm. You were in the navy and don't know about that? Hmm. Didn't spend much time around Marines, did you? I remember one story about a group of salties who were 'required' to play poker with a group of well-seasoned Marines one night. By the end of the night, they had not only lost every penny they had but were forced to sign over their paychecks for the next four months. There was the one who refused and was keel-hauled for his insolence, and then he still had to pay up.

Oh, yes. You don't want to cross a Marine, they can be very 'exacting' in their application of 'The Code'.

Best just pay up, OK?

Good. The more the safer. One thing to know about these 'mass shooters', they're cowards. They attack at the weakest point when they know there will be little or no resistance and maximum damage. Show them an armed classroom guard and they'll run a mile before attacking it.

Yeah, go for it. I forgot all about the Marine Corps Pecking Order. Tell him I need one too, mine's getting a little ratty.

It's a rock and a hard place then, isn't it? You either give them the ability to investigate what you 'might' do, or you make them wait until there's a crime committed. Can't have it both ways. Remember this, you are your own first line of defense, always. Oh, and when seconds matter, the police are only minutes away...

Oh dear. Maybe you should start sending him the bill, after all, it's only 'fair', right?

All true, in the event of a crime being committed. Until then, suck it up, coz they ain't interested.

How many is that now?

Here's a little experiment for you. Call your local sheriff's office and tell them there's somebody who looks like he might do something 'later'. Specifically when doesn't matter, but 'soonish', you know? Pay attention to the response. Fact is, they will not lift a finger until there is an actual crime to investigate. You can tell them what he 'looks' like he's going to go until you're blue in the face, it will make no difference. You will not get a police officer, sheriff's deputy or FBI agent to lift a finger until you have a crime to report. Until then, fergeddaboudit.

Wasn't the sharpest tool in the shed, was he?

You mean like they do now?

Oh, wow. They really do use trebuchets to fling pumpkins over considerable distances. It's called 'pumpkin chunking'. Well I'll be. Per Wikipedia:

"Trebuchets compete in one of the classifications of machines used to hurl pumpkins at the annual pumpkin chunking contest held in Sussex County, Delaware, U.S. The record-holder in that contest for trebuchets is the Yankee Siege II from New Hampshire, which at the 2013 WCPC Championship tossed a pumpkin 2835.8 ft (864.35 metres). The 51-foot-tall (16 m), 55,000-pound (25,000 kg) trebuchet flings the standard 8–10-pound (3.6–4.5 kg) pumpkins, specified for all entries in the WCPC competition."

Go figger. Still that's nowhere near the 10,000 feet you're looking for.

Sounds like a great idea. Just one question: How would you accelerate a pumpkin on such a trajectory without turning it to mush? 10,000 feet is nearly two miles... Once the mechanics are figured out, the accuracy would likely follow.