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Stephen Paddock Bought 33 Guns in 12 Months. That Should Be Illegal.
The Nation ^ | OCTOBER 23, 2017 | George Zornick

Posted on 10/04/2017 7:59:24 PM PDT by E. Pluribus Unum

How much lethal firepower should citizens be allowed to possess?

On October 1, there were 16,000 American soldiers serving in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. But it was Las Vegas that most resembled a war zone and represented the biggest danger to American lives that day. From the punched-out windows of his 32nd-floor suite at the Mandalay Bay hotel, Stephen Paddock rained down an appalling level of destruction on a country-music concert below. Using an enormous cache of guns, in less than 12 minutes he single-handedly massacred 58 people and injured 527 more. It was a deadlier day than American soldiers have ever suffered in Iraq or Afghanistan, and the worst mass shooting in modern US history.

This latest slaughter demands that the country grapple with gun-control issues beyond the debate over background checks. A more fundamental question is at hand: How much lethal firepower should citizens be allowed to possess?

There will be a fierce debate about where to draw the line, but no reasonable person can say the Vegas shooter wasn’t well past it. Paddock had effectively assembled a small ordnance depot in his luxury hotel suite. He had at least 23 firearms and hundreds of rounds of ammunition. A majority of those guns were military-style assault weapons; some were mounted on shooting platforms with scopes and tripods and outfitted with devices that made them fully automatic. Investigators later found 19 more guns and thousands of rounds of ammunition at his home.


TOPICS: News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: banglist; paddockweapons; stephenpaddock
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To: txnativegop

The guy could have mounted a dozen on a frame and used electric door lock solonoids and a car battery through a fast flasher and relay, but i hate to even mention stuff like that in the thought that someone does it in the future.


41 posted on 10/04/2017 9:11:34 PM PDT by Daniel Ramsey (Thank YOU President Trump, finally we can do what America does best, to be the best)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Um. Nope.

We don’t take away rights from the entire population that did nothing wrong, simply because idiots exist.

We just need to deal with the idiots properly.


42 posted on 10/04/2017 9:13:23 PM PDT by Secret Agent Man ( Gone Galt; Not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: Daniel Ramsey

I’ve always wondered if it would even work given the thin casing and being a rim fire.


43 posted on 10/04/2017 9:14:09 PM PDT by txnativegop (The political left, Mankinds intellectual hemlock)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet

Thanks for posting that quote.


44 posted on 10/04/2017 9:14:55 PM PDT by Inyo-Mono
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To: Daniel Ramsey

What was old is new again.

an electrified volley gun, but with separate mechanisms and full-auto. NASTY.


45 posted on 10/04/2017 9:15:53 PM PDT by txnativegop (The political left, Mankinds intellectual hemlock)
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To: Migraine

What good what that do, keep him from buying a 34th gun?


46 posted on 10/04/2017 9:16:25 PM PDT by Rebelbase (Two scoops, two genders, two terms. Get used to it.)
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To: Inyo-Mono

Are you old enough to remember that he was considered ultra-liberal back in the day? LOL


47 posted on 10/04/2017 9:16:38 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You cannot invade the mainland US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
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To: Daniel Ramsey

.22 cal gatling gun
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_4i9_kkg30o


48 posted on 10/04/2017 9:19:15 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet (You cannot invade the mainland US. There'd be a rifle behind every blade of grass.)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
A more fundamental question is at hand: How much lethal firepower should citizens be allowed to possess?

so he agrees we are allowed lethal ( vs. non-lethal ?) firepower ?

and the punchline should be..."Now we’re just haggling over the number"
49 posted on 10/04/2017 9:20:35 PM PDT by stylin19a (Lynch & Clinton - Snakes on a Plane)
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To: txnativegop

Saw a feral pig remote operated gun, it was a quad shotgun affair, semi auto 12 gauge, used i think to run off of car door lock solonoids and a car battery, and was rigged to run remotely by cell phone.


50 posted on 10/04/2017 9:21:46 PM PDT by Daniel Ramsey (Thank YOU President Trump, finally we can do what America does best, to be the best)
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To: Daniel Ramsey

Human imagination knows no bounds.


51 posted on 10/04/2017 9:36:57 PM PDT by txnativegop (The political left, Mankinds intellectual hemlock)
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To: Migraine
When you purchase three guns within 30 days, the ATF automatically takes a look at you.

As for the number of guns, those who question numbers show their ignorance.

It takes one kind of gun to hunt squirrels, a another kind to shoot ground hogs, another for deer, another for bird hunting, another for goose, another for bear. Some guns are satisfactory for two of the species, but no gun is right for all. For instance, there is no way you would hunt hogs with the same gun you would hunt prairie dogs or antelope.

And if you like to go to Africa for really big game, most have a special gun for that.

And then there are the guns for concealed.

A very small easily concealed for formal clothes, another one for walking in the woods where dangerous animals live, another for work carry in bad areas where thugs work in teams or groups.... and still another if you want to hunt with a side arm.

And then there are some of us who have multiples of all of these just because we can never decide which gun we like the best We want a light rifle when walking up steep mountain grades, a short barrel if we re hunting hogs but we would take a heavier gun to shoot from a blind or a tree stand.

Now add to that a couple of hundred rounds at a minimum for each gun so as to get the sights adjusted and still have enough for a hunt and you soon acquire a thousand or so rounds.

I have friends that hunt all of the above, shoot all of the above guns and they are to be admired for they know how to live.

52 posted on 10/04/2017 9:39:21 PM PDT by old curmudgeon (There is no situation so terrible, so disgraceful, that the federal government can not make worse)
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To: Migraine

Like the one the Tsarnaev brothers were on?

No.


53 posted on 10/04/2017 9:43:21 PM PDT by TigersEye (0bama. The Legacy is a lie. The lie is the Legacy.)
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To: 2ndDivisionVet
My Marlin 60 never jams, and with my cheap scope I'm nailing the red at 400 meters. My cheapest rifle is my Mosberg 100 ATR in the 30-06 round (I got it on sale), and I'm hitting the nail at 600 meters. Money doesn't equal accuracy. Since I'm a Christian I could never kill another human being unless he or she was a threat to my family.
54 posted on 10/04/2017 9:49:24 PM PDT by Do the math (Doug)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
I could go for this law - strictly out of envy.

I always liked Phil Gramm's (sp?) response to the question as to how many guns he owned: "More than I need, and less than I want".

55 posted on 10/04/2017 9:50:21 PM PDT by El Cid (Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house...)
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To: E. Pluribus Unum
Using an enormous cache of guns

how many did he actually use?

56 posted on 10/04/2017 9:52:21 PM PDT by blueplum ( "...this moment is your moment: it belongs to you... " President Donald J. Trump, Jan 20, 2017)
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To: Terry Mross
There is no reason one person needs that many guns.

That's a very slippery slope. You must never surrender to the mindset that some other person is better qualified to decide what you need and may possess. If you purchase a desired item with the fruits of your own labor and do no harm to others, there is no moral reason to surrender the ability to choose for yourself.

There are a multitude of reasons to have many types of guns. A .22LR is fine for a rabbit, but totally inadequate for an elephant or bison. A 460 Weatherby is fine for an elephant, but would spatter a rabbit. You choose the right tool for the task. Usually just one from a potentially large collection suitable for various purposes. A double barrel 16 gauge shotgun is just right for dove. A skeet shooter wants a 12 gauge semi-auto to engage two clay birds from the high and low house. Shooting steel silhouettes is done with long barrel pistol or revolver. A concealed carry pistol or revolver needs to be small. If you do all of those things, you might well have a large collection. Each suited to its purpose. The rest securely locked up away from children and thieves.

57 posted on 10/04/2017 9:55:21 PM PDT by Myrddin
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To: bunkerhill7

Historically private citizens often had firepower equal to and in some cases superior to the military. Pennsylvania rifles were superior in accuracy to the musket. River flat boats often had small swivel cannon to defend against river pirates. Private western trading posts likr Fort Brifger boasted wheeled cannon. Drovers on cattle drives with Colts and Winchesters outgunned Cavalry platoons. Even in the early 20th Century civilians owned Remingtom Model 8s or 81s, semi auto rifles. In the militia tradition personal weapons were not restricted and prior to the Civil War there were a multitude of private artillery companies, though it is doubtful their pieces were kept at home.


58 posted on 10/04/2017 9:56:21 PM PDT by xkaydet65
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To: E. Pluribus Unum

Better get your bump-stocks before they’re made illegal.


59 posted on 10/04/2017 9:56:41 PM PDT by jim35 (The Tree of Liberty is coming in to bloom again.)
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To: Migraine

it should damn sure trigger him onto a pretty strict watchlist, no?


No. Many gun owners own multiple guns. This doesn’t make them mass murderers. I shouldn’t have to explain this.


60 posted on 10/04/2017 9:59:39 PM PDT by jim35 (The Tree of Liberty is coming in to bloom again.)
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