Don G. Dinsdale Loc: El Cajon, CA (San Diego County)

In Orlando's Aftermath

June 13, 2016


There has been an enormous amount of discussion in the aftermath of the Orlando terrorist attack that claimed the lives of 50 people.

That's to be expected. What is also to be expected is that much of the commentary will be based on political talking points.

We prefer to follow the facts as the story unfolds. Even as we write this, there are still a huge number of unknowns. But what we do know is incredibly disturbing.

It is no accident this attack occurred inside a crowded nightclub, where carrying a concealed weapon is not permitted - a "gun free" zone. Honest people can debate where guns should or should not be allowed, but they were not in this case. So the patrons were defenseless in the face of an armed k**ler.

We know that the k**ler -- call him a terrorist, an Islamic radical, a monster, wh**ever fits -- bought his weapons legally, from licensed firearms dealers. He had training. And he was on the FBI's radar for some time. For more of what is known, check out this post at the Hayride(link is external), one of our favorite political blogs.

On the larger issues surrounding this attack...

Despite what some people may think about the acceptability or morality of homosexuality, we think it's beside the point.

When disagreements over how someone lives his or her life devolve into egregious acts of violence that disrupt civil society, we oppose the acts, and perpetrators, of that violence. We also feel that any effort to demonize or blame the victims of this tragedy is wrong.

Policymakers and other folks from the political class have already begun to use this incident to agitate for additional gun control measures - and pointing to the weapons as a reason for the attack. We don't think this makes any sense at all. It might make sense for these officials to blame gun control, after all, that allows them to demonize their political rivals, instead of having to admit their failed efforts to prevent terrorist strikes in America.

That the last several mass shooting incidents were perpetrated by terrorists, or terrorist wanna-bes, should give us reason to think, not demonize.

How far are we prepared to go, what are we willing to do, in order to make our neighborhoods and nation safer? Are we ready to surrender more of our rights in exchange for the promise of greater safety? Are we willing to engage in a much wider, far longer, and much more deadly, war against those who wish our nation harm?

Do we have the political leadership to carry out such an endeavor? Are we really willing -- every one of us -- to make the sacrifices necessary to permanently eliminate the sources of the evil?

Those are the kinds of questions we should be considering, carefully, and without talking points.

Until then, mourn the dead, whose lives were cruelly taken from them.


Facts And Theories About Orlando Shooting

June 14, 2016

Predictably, the call for further gun restrictions, and the banning of so-called "assault weapons" like the AR-15 have reached fever pitch in the wake of the Orlando massacre.

There are any number of problems with such calls to action, such as the fact the shooter did not use an AR-15. But this speaks to a wider problem with the anti-gun narrative: it's not concerned, at all, with using the right terms. It makes them up as it goes along.

One of the better primers we've seen on the topic of assault rifles, efforts to ban them, and the sketchy language used to define them, can be. Click through the site -- it's quite informative.

After that, you may want to, which if true (and that remains a big "if"), casts a lot of early narratives about the shooter and his possible motive into doubt.

As we noted before: this story will have any number of twists and turns and it is critical not to jump to conclusions. Calm analysis doesn't sell newspapers or generate clicks on web stories. And it certainly doesn't help pressure groups and their political agendas.

But in cases such as this, where emotions, understandably, run high, facts are essential to understanding.