Once again, a tragedy has taken place when on Sunday, June 8, 2014, two people, a husband and wife, opened fire on two Las Vegas police officers as they were eating lunch in a pizza place. They then went across the street to a WalMart and shot and killed an innocent bystander.
There is a wealth of news detailing the events of this horrendous crime, but it is a sad commentary on the state of things in the U.S.A. when every few days there is another mass shooting.
Just last week, a gunman went on a rampage at a Christian university in Seattle, Washington. One 19-year old man was killed and several were injured. A student monitor disarmed the gunman as he was reloading his shotgun by spraying him with pepper spray, then, with the help of other students, tackling him.
As I wrote in my last post, there was a massacre near U.C. Santa Barbara about two weeks ago, where six were killed and the perpetrator killed himself, as did the husband and wife who committed the Las Vegas murders.
I call this blog "A Humane Life", as I love animals and feel for them. There is so much cruelty against the most innocent of creation. Child abuse, animal cruelty, you name it, it happens all too frequently.
In the Vegas rampage, the victim at WalMart, a 31-year-old man, was carrying a concealed weapon. He spotted the male suspect and confronted him, but did not see the female suspect, who was behind him. Before he could use his weapon to neutralize the male, she shot and killed him.
The gun debate rages on, and I do not like guns for the havoc they cause. Innocent humans and innocent animals fall victim to firearms. However, ordinary citizens must have the right to own guns, because when all weapons are only in the government's hands, it can lead to totalitarianism.
The Vegas suspects held extreme anti-government views, and also were allegedly meth users. They also supposedly were part of the "militia" that descended on the Bundy ranch to face-off with the BLM. Bundy evidently thinks he has the right to graze his cattle on public lands without paying the ridiculously low fees to the BLM. We have far too many extremists on the loose in the U.S. today.
The accessibility of weapons in the U.S. has become so easy that even felons (the male suspect was a convicted felon) and the mentally ill can obtain them easily. Law-abiding citizens who pass a background check can and do buy and possess guns. I am in favor of more comprehensive background checks, but I think guns are far too easy to get illegally. Even with enhanced checks to attempt to keep weapons out of the hands of those who pose a danger to society, these individuals will find a way to obtain them illegally.
This afternoon, a convicted felon led police on a high-speed pursuit over several Los Angeles area freeways. As he drove, he stuck a high-powered assault rifle out of his car window. As I write this, police are looking for shell casings on the freeway, as the pursuing officers believe he actually shot at them. After exiting his vehicle and running through a North Hollywood neighborhood, the suspect entered a house (luckily no one was home). After several hours, tear gas was lobbed into the residence and the suspect surrendered, with no one being injured. It could have been a much different story, however.
Guns, even assault rifles, are easy to get, even by those prohibited from owning them because of felony convictions.
Enhanced background checks are a good idea, but I'm not naïve enough to think it will really stop the Sandyhooks, U.C.S.B.'s, Columbines, Virginia Tech's, and so many more unspeakable tragedies.
Anti-government extremists are a clear danger to our way of life. Every civilized nation must have a functioning government. All of us don't like certain things our government does, but we let our views be known at the polls. Also, these anti-government types would be the first ones to call the police or sheriff's department if their own life or their family's life was in danger.
The U.S. is going down a terrible, scary path. Also, statistics show that those who perpetuate cruelty against animals are more likely to perpetuate cruelty against human beings.
Very sad indeed.
Monday, June 9, 2014
Monday, May 26, 2014
Tragedy in California: Mass murder near UCSB
There has been another horrible tragedy involving a mass murderer. On Friday evening, May 23, 2014, suspect Elliot Rodger, age 22, went on a rampage in the college village of Isla Vista, near the campus of the University of California-Santa Barbara. He killed two sorority sisters, wounded a third, then killed Chris Martinez at a village deli. He apparently took his own life when confronted by police.
After the shooting, his apartment was searched and it was discovered that he had allegedly stabbed three young men to death there. All victims were UCSB students.
The suspect posted many videos and also had written a rambling manifesto that was discovered after the crime, and was clearly seriously disturbed.
Why am I mentioning this unspeakable event? Because this type of mass murder has become much too common in the United States. Rodger owned three high-powered hand guns which he had purchased legally. He also had 400 rounds of ammunition in his car.
Sadly, we in the U.S. have seen this happen frequently in recent years. We have seen Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandyhook, the mass shooting at a hair salon in Seal Beach, California, where eight people were killed, and several rampages on military bases.
It seems that what once was a peace-loving nation has evolved into a country where so many have so little regard for life. There is easy access to weapons, and even if common-sense gun control measures are passed (which I am in favor of), it is likely that criminals and the mentally ill will still be able to buy guns illegally.
I feel for all the victims of these heinous acts and their families. Nothing can ever bring their loved ones back home. We, as a nation, however, need to act to at lease attempt to curb this horrible violence.
I don't know about individual cases, but generally, statistics show that people who perpetuate violence again human beings often started by abusing animals.
Although we have more humane laws today then we had, say, when I was a child, I do not recall even a fraction of the cruelty being perpetuated in the sixties as today.
What is so disturbing to me is that there has been an upsurge in blood sports, e.g., hunting among women and young girls. I never remember hearing of any female hunters when I was young, it was horrible enough that men participated.
Our country is going down the wrong path-wanton violence against any and all members of society, and also, flaunting of laws and not accepting moral responsibility for the welfare of humans and/or animals.
Here is what I find so disturbing: Factory farms, with all their inherent cruelty (unheard of fifty years ago); hunting, with bow-hunting being even more gut-wrenching than hunting with guns (although both turn my stomach); exotic foods (a restaurant in Orange County, California was serving lion); rampant poaching (even of majestic redwood trees in California!); flaunting of rules, regulations and laws (we all have read of Cliven Bundy, who thinks it is his right to graze his cattle on public lands and not pay a dime for the privilege). The list goes on and on. Oh, and we are not along, what about the zoo in Denmark who has a penchant for slaughtering healthy animals.
We all need to wake up and give our best efforts to curbing all violence, wherever and however it rears its ugly head. Give what you can afford to the organization of your choice, whether it is MADD, a political candidate that shares your views, a children's hospital, or an animals welfare organization.
Vote and make it count. I research candidate's voting record on animal welfare and environmental issues before I make my decision. Each of us only has one vote, so make it count!
It would be wonderful if we could keep weapons out of the hands of those who should not own them. A daunting task, for sure, and it will never be 100% successful, as guns are, sadly, everywhere, but we can try.
If more tragedies like the one in California on Friday can in any way be avoided, it will be worth every ounce of effort put into it!
After the shooting, his apartment was searched and it was discovered that he had allegedly stabbed three young men to death there. All victims were UCSB students.
The suspect posted many videos and also had written a rambling manifesto that was discovered after the crime, and was clearly seriously disturbed.
Why am I mentioning this unspeakable event? Because this type of mass murder has become much too common in the United States. Rodger owned three high-powered hand guns which he had purchased legally. He also had 400 rounds of ammunition in his car.
Sadly, we in the U.S. have seen this happen frequently in recent years. We have seen Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandyhook, the mass shooting at a hair salon in Seal Beach, California, where eight people were killed, and several rampages on military bases.
It seems that what once was a peace-loving nation has evolved into a country where so many have so little regard for life. There is easy access to weapons, and even if common-sense gun control measures are passed (which I am in favor of), it is likely that criminals and the mentally ill will still be able to buy guns illegally.
I feel for all the victims of these heinous acts and their families. Nothing can ever bring their loved ones back home. We, as a nation, however, need to act to at lease attempt to curb this horrible violence.
I don't know about individual cases, but generally, statistics show that people who perpetuate violence again human beings often started by abusing animals.
Although we have more humane laws today then we had, say, when I was a child, I do not recall even a fraction of the cruelty being perpetuated in the sixties as today.
What is so disturbing to me is that there has been an upsurge in blood sports, e.g., hunting among women and young girls. I never remember hearing of any female hunters when I was young, it was horrible enough that men participated.
Our country is going down the wrong path-wanton violence against any and all members of society, and also, flaunting of laws and not accepting moral responsibility for the welfare of humans and/or animals.
Here is what I find so disturbing: Factory farms, with all their inherent cruelty (unheard of fifty years ago); hunting, with bow-hunting being even more gut-wrenching than hunting with guns (although both turn my stomach); exotic foods (a restaurant in Orange County, California was serving lion); rampant poaching (even of majestic redwood trees in California!); flaunting of rules, regulations and laws (we all have read of Cliven Bundy, who thinks it is his right to graze his cattle on public lands and not pay a dime for the privilege). The list goes on and on. Oh, and we are not along, what about the zoo in Denmark who has a penchant for slaughtering healthy animals.
We all need to wake up and give our best efforts to curbing all violence, wherever and however it rears its ugly head. Give what you can afford to the organization of your choice, whether it is MADD, a political candidate that shares your views, a children's hospital, or an animals welfare organization.
Vote and make it count. I research candidate's voting record on animal welfare and environmental issues before I make my decision. Each of us only has one vote, so make it count!
It would be wonderful if we could keep weapons out of the hands of those who should not own them. A daunting task, for sure, and it will never be 100% successful, as guns are, sadly, everywhere, but we can try.
If more tragedies like the one in California on Friday can in any way be avoided, it will be worth every ounce of effort put into it!
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