Call Goes Out For Shooter Cease Fire

[Rule Britannia]

I'll put Battlefield aside for the night, I guess I'll play Skyrim

 

[Loonyyy]

Yeah, let's connect violent shooter games with violent shootings. I can't see any way that this will go wrong.

It's a nice idea, if you're into pointless gestures which do nothing to help anyone or solve the problem, but you might as well shave your head or castrate yourself to show your consideration.

 

[DataSnake]

Define "assault rifle." I have a feeling you're thinking of something that isn't really available to the average un-certified civilian. You probably also have a different definition of "automatic" than I do.

I don't recall saying anything about automatic weapons, but I'm pretty sure the term means weapons capable of firing multiple rounds off a single pull of the trigger, such as an AK47, an MP5 or an M4. I'd define an assault rifle as a semi-automatic, full-auto or select-fire (as opposed to bolt, lever or pump action) rifle or carbine (though for the purposes of this discussion I'd also include SMGs and machine pistols), generally with a high-capacity clip and/or a pistol grip.

 

[trollax]

Fuck them I'm getting a 25 kill streak that day.

 

[Anget Colslaw]

I'll just be here playing Metal Slug, GHOST Squad and Time Crisis. (Take that, constant FPS references!)

 

[bl4ckh4wk64]

Frankly, if they weren't trying to go out and ban firearm ownership in America because of the shooting, I'd be all in for this. However, simply because I fucking hate Californian government as well as most of our current government, I'll be spending Friday shooting trap at my local range, then I'll probably come back and play some Killing Floor or something.

To be perfectly honest, in this situation I really do have to blame the shooter's mother. She knew her son wasn't mentally sound and she tried to introduce guns as a way to calm him down. He knew how to use them as well as where they were stored. I'm not trying to speak ill of the dead, but you just don't do that.

For those people saying that people don't necessarily recognize mental instability, it's pretty easy to see signs that people are going to snap.
This whole thing kind of reminded me of this article [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/16/i-am-adam-lanzas-mother-mental-illness-conversation_n_2311009.html], and I feel that not enough people have actually read it.

 

[flaviok79]

Pearman is way of in this matter. I won't support it.

 

[Eggsnham]

Hmm... nope.

Don't get me wrong, I think the whole situation is horrible, but I'm not going to put myself up to some arbitrary challenge because of it.

If you really want to show your support for the families affected, you should actually do something to help them instead of pretending that abstaining from FPS games for 24 hours makes everything all better.

 

[Neverhoodian]

Nope, not doing it. I can't help but feel that this conveys the wrong message. All it's doing is giving credence to the "ban violent video games" zealots. I refuse to appease those asshats.

Besides, I plan on mostly healing people in my favorite FPS anyway. TF2's Mecha Update has just launched, and I want to give the Vaccinator (Medic's new medigun) a whirl.

 

[Something Amyss]

People seem under the impression that if someone has a gun they are going to kill someone. That is simply untrue.

You're reacting with the same blanket statement that you seem to think the other side has. Pegging someone as believing this isn't any different from someone actually believing it.

You can't dictate the rules for an entire society because psychopaths exist.

By that argument, we don't need murder laws, either. I mean, psychopaths exist anyway. Can't dictate rules of society simply because they exist.

But he could have had the same "success" in his endeavor if he had a small snub nose pistol.

He could have had the same success with a cricket ball, but the odds are long against. Could he have had the same success with a snub nose? Yes, but not likely. Have you ever handled a Bushmaster or AR-15 knockoff as opposed to a snub nosed compact? I have. Very different results. But then, this should be evident. The reason that the military uses the AR-15 as opposed to a snubbie is because the type of gun ISN'T irrelevant.

you and I have very different idea of what that actually means.

Please don't assume what my ideas on gun control are simply because I thought your argument was terrible. Don't put words in my mouth simply because I disagree with the integrity of your platform. You don't like the thought of being considered a nutjob, based on your statements; why would you then "pay it forward," so to speak?

but criminals will have them, which is the impetus for people who aren't criminals to have them

Which makes it a lot easier for criminals to get them. In terms of an arms race, that's a really bad deal.

Thing is, the number of firearm related deaths is higher in states with fewer gun laws. Places like NY, CT, and Ma where we are frequently told things are dangerous and guns run wild? Less gun violence per capita than Vermont or Alaska. The notion that having access to guns will make you safe is quite specious. "fire with fire" is rarely a viable solution. Not never, just rarely.

 

[Something Amyss]

He stole it from his mother.

Yay! Speculation!

Having more laws or control would not have deterred him.

So he would have still used his mom's Bushmaster if such weapons were illegal?

If anything, he likely would have used explosives or found a much more deadly fire-arm though illegal means.

LOL. Be serious. That's why actual bombings are so common, right? And everyone knows how to build one? You know he had both the knowledge and dedication to do more than what he did? Based on what? Ponies? I'm betting it's ponies. Because you have no real evidence to work with here.

False equivalence for the win.

 

[Nieroshai]

Define "assault rifle." I have a feeling you're thinking of something that isn't really available to the average un-certified civilian. You probably also have a different definition of "automatic" than I do.

I don't recall saying anything about automatic weapons, but I'm pretty sure the term means weapons capable of firing multiple rounds off a single pull of the trigger, such as an AK47, an MP5 or an M4. I'd define an assault rifle as a semi-automatic, full-auto or select-fire (as opposed to bolt, lever or pump action) rifle or carbine (though for the purposes of this discussion I'd also include SMGs and machine pistols), generally with a high-capacity clip and/or a pistol grip.

"WHAT THE FUCK DOES A CIVILIAN NEED AN ASSAULT RIFLE FOR?"
I recall you saying that before you cut out everything but my statement.
And so by your definition, anything but single-action revolvers and hunting rifles counts as an assault rifle in your terms. Semi-automatic is one pull-one bullet. Full auto and select fire are already illegal without a very hard-to-obtain permit from local authorities. All civilian models of AK, AR, etc have been modified to comply with regulations, those regs being a switch to civilian caliber and rounds, as well as restricting fire rate to semiauto. A carbine is just a short rifle that fires pistol rounds. A pistol grip increases stability, do you WANT more collateral damage than necessary? Finally, the length of a mag is irrelevant if the individual just carries more of them, unless on rare occasion somebody is suicidal enough to charge a gunman in the midst of the relatively short window reloading provides.

 

[Nieroshai]

He stole it from his mother.

Yay! Speculation!

Having more laws or control would not have deterred him.

So he would have still used his mom's Bushmaster if such weapons were illegal?

If anything, he likely would have used explosives or found a much more deadly fire-arm though illegal means.

LOL. Be serious. That's why actual bombings are so common, right? And everyone knows how to build one? You know he had both the knowledge and dedication to do more than what he did? Based on what? Ponies? I'm betting it's ponies. Because you have no real evidence to work with here.

False equivalence for the win.

Yay! Fact! The guns did belong to his mother. In fact, since we're on this, he was in violation of over 40 gun laws. Those laws stopped nothing.

 

[DataSnake]

"WHAT THE FUCK DOES A CIVILIAN NEED AN ASSAULT RIFLE FOR?"
I recall you saying that before you cut out everything but my statement.

Again, I'd include a semi-auto AR-15 in that category, so not sure what that has to do with how I'd define "automatic".

And so by your definition, anything but single-action revolvers and hunting rifles counts as an assault rifle in your terms.

No, any RIFLE that's semi or full auto, as well as any SMG or full-auto pistol. I still haven't seen an reason given why a civilian would need any firearm other than possibly a handgun, shotgun or hunting rifle.

Semi-automatic is one pull-one bullet. Full auto and select fire are already illegal without a very hard-to-obtain permit from local authorities. All civilian models of AK, AR, etc have been modified to comply with regulations, those regs being a switch to civilian caliber and rounds, as well as restricting fire rate to semiauto. A carbine is just a short rifle that fires pistol rounds.

I am aware of that, I just wanted to be sure we were on the same page.

A pistol grip increases stability, do you WANT more collateral damage than necessary?

We're talking about spree killings, not targeted assassination. Making the weapon harder to aim would only decrease the odds of it hitting anyone.

Finally, the length of a mag is irrelevant if the individual just carries more of them, unless on rare occasion somebody is suicidal enough to charge a gunman in the midst of the relatively short window reloading provides.

You mean the exact way Jared Loughner was stopped [http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/patricia-maisch-describes-stopping-gunman-reloading/story?id=12577933#.UNYGcm_EZI4]? It's worth noting that had he not had a high-capacity magazine Maisch and company would have had their window of opportunity sooner, which could easily have resulted in fewer casualties.

 

[BrionJames]

...

In all seriousness, no, I will continue to play my games and think nothing of it. While my heart certainly goes out to the families affected by the shooting, games and gamers were not the cause of it. So I will not be a part of this.

I agree with you. Not only that but if you aren't donating time or money or sacrificing something to help, than it really doesn't mean anything. It's more or less pressing the like button on someone's facebook page to show your support. My prayers and thoughts go out to those who lost someone that day, but I won't be a hypocrite and do something I think is a token gesture.

 

[Sansha]

I chose not to validate the argument that gamers are in any way responsible for this and thus should be paying a price or taking an obligatory part of a solution to the problem.

 

[Riobux]

I regret not knowing about this until now, I would of played some Counter Strike and Black Ops. Although judging by the date, I might of been playing Payday: The Heist, which might be a tiny bit more offensive.