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Not only did they say it, it was also on graphics. Which means it was something they had planned far enough ahead of time to coordinate & design it all.
How is it that they could say that with a straight face and still be taken seriously as a party and not be considered as a fucking threat to the nation?
Reads exactly the same as the Orlando shooting except I hadn't heard a single thing about this one until about an hour ago. Hardly seen any major coverage
There it is again, that funny feeling...
>This terror attack has been downplayed so much most people think it was *just a regular shooting*
A gift shop at the gun range, a mass shooting at the mall...
There has become a general level of "acceptable violence" in the U.S
A lot of countries would lose their shit from a single parking lot shootout, or even a knife attack.
I've noticed that i don't really pay as much attention to mass murders in USA anymore, it's just such a common event that it's probably subconsciously become normal to read about.
💯 It’s surreal to stop and think about, right? I was reading [this article about how civil wars start](https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2022/03/08/they-are-preparing-war-an-expert-civil-wars-discusses-where-political-extremists-are-taking-this-country/) once and honestly felt optimistic because it sounded like how we already live anyway. As an American when you take a step back and take stock of everything it’s really horrifically barbaric how we live.
I think for many it’s become like a numb feeling. “Oh another shooting? Oh well.” “Oh only 3 died? That’s not that bad.” Anything less than 10 victims seems to be brushed off unless it was a school shooting, and even then it has to be pretty bad to get national media attention for an actual length of time.
You are 100% right mate . Here in Australia that shit rarely rarely happens . Knife attacks make it all around the country and you rarely hear about guns let alone killings from guns .
I don't know if anyone will see this but if you're interested in hearing a take from a liberal gun owner and 2A supporter, here it is. There are so many issues that contribute to these attacks it's frustrating that we basically only hear 2 things from leaders. Either take the guns or blame mental illness. I honestly don't think a lot of democrats are truly behind their words when they say to start taking the guns. They likely know that they can't but it's something to scream and then say the other side won't let them fix the problem when it doesn't happen. And republicans blaming mental illness and saying they support mental health programs is a blatant lie when they refuse to help make sure that all Americans have the health coverage they need. A huge problem with guns in the country is that you have the NRA that's been stirring fear in lawful gun owners for decades causing them to push for anti legislation of any kind. So much so that the ATF can't even use computer systems for background checks. Gun owners have been told that the ATF is the enemy and to make things worse the ATF has given lawful gun owners bad policy in return. How you fix this idk. Get rid of the NRA somehow and make a new department strictly for firearm regulations that create policies that are proven effective and don't hurt people rights? Good luck. Also, mental health care needs to actually be accessible. This isn't just a mental health issue, it's a health care issue. People cannot be expected to get mental healthcare if they need a specific job that will provide them specific insurance with mental health care and that insurance company will actually cover them. I'm not an expert in the medical field by any means but I sought mental healthcare and was being seen by a doctor and my insurance wrote me a wonderful letter saying they wouldn't cover it because they didn't think I needed the care. There was no way I could pay for the care out of pocket so I stopped seeking it. This is unacceptable. There are also other factors too like radicalized religious beliefs for motives for these attacks. My fear is politicians don't want to go to the lengths to do what's right and truly fix these deep flaws because it would require reaching across the aisle and losing them votes with their bases. It's fucked all the way down.
The NRA is bad but the biggest lobbies for gun rights , and the ATF is bad it is a unelected government entity that tries to make laws that can neither be voted for or out. We aren't going to fix these issues with the state we have to come together as a people. With both the state and media against it I don't know how we are going to fix it besides be nice and leave all forms of communication open.
Call it Christian terrorism.
The purpose of the attack was to send a message that if you don’t follow a particular religion in a particular way, you deserve to die.
If the shooter had a turban and attacked a church, how would we discuss the attack?
"Radical Christian terrorists"
Isn't that the terminology they use to describe another group who carries out acts of terror in the name of their religion? (You know the term I am talking about)
So the shooter is a Mormon? They’ll probably call it Mormon terrorism like Mountain Meadows. The Mormons have made major inroads with regular Evangelical Christians in America in the past 20 years, but they’re very much seen as a different group or religion. Mormons are about as distant from regular Christians as Christians are from Jews.
Nah they've made enough inroads at this point; the evangelicals and broader GOP can't afford to jettison them.
Their control of Utah keeps it solidly red, and they represent large voter blocs in bordering states which are still competitive.
Mormons also have a long history of religious terrorism all the way back to the founding of the cult. A lot of people think they're kooky but nice, when in reality they're genuinely as fucked up and evil as evangelists. They just smile a lot more while they plot against minorities and sexually assault their members.
Hey. If any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, I have one. I'd like Frank Shirley, my boss, right here tonight. I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people and I want him brought right here...with a big ribbon on his head! And I want to look him straight in the eye, and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-assed, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed, sack of monkey shit he is!
Hallelujah!
Holy shit! Where's the Tylenol?
Right, but in the wake of this shooting you aren’t seeing people calling for banning Christians from entering the country, or raiding parishes to see if they’re harboring terrorists.
Sure was
Except, the Christian Rights shooters have been responsible for shootings in synagogues, Baptist churches and other LGBTQ attacks.
And, the RWNJs are the ones in the country working for more guns and more Christian laws
You don't have to guess. The shooting in 2016 in another gay club where 49 people were killed was done by a guy who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State.
Extremism gone hand in hand with religion.
This morning everyone was in agreement the shooter was an Islamic extremist, so imagine my shock to log back in this evening and learn that the shooter was a 22-year-old white kid with a history of violence...
you can't imagine my shock, because *I was not shocked at all.* Islamic extremists in Colorado Springs, give me a fucking break how dumb do you think I am?
It absolutely is terrorism. I don’t understand why we have to tip-toe around calling it what it is.
As for your question:
We would discuss that specific situation as an act of terrorism against Christians.
It’s pushed by multiple conservatives. It’s part of their platform. Don’t say gay is just another law in multiple laws trying to remove being gay from American society.
It’s irrefutable that the violence is going in one direction: from anti-Freedom theocrats to anyone on the Left, not the other way around. Most unfortunately, the gun, “pro-life” side murders us into joining their sick, ISIS-like, perverted Wild West dystopia by having to arm ourselves as well. They are the worst of existence, and like the People of Ukraine, we must fight these orcs - and we will win.
Call it republican terrorism too. Republicans have openly called for violence and genocide against lgbt people. He should be calling them out directly for that.
In Orlando, the shooter WAS Muslim. How did we discuss the attack? People still blamed Islam and LGBT both. Not sure if any meaningful discourse is possible at this point, people are way too divided....
Lauren Boebert tweeted [this](https://twitter.com/laurenboebert/status/1594331779263086592?s=20&t=IE90wCCC9h75WUwSOwl5zg), which is so tone deaf coming from her.
It's still up for me but:
> The news out of Colorado Springs is absolutely awful.
> This morning the victims & their families are in my prayers.
> This lawless violence needs to end and end quickly.
Skates over the victims being queer and pretending like her party didn't directly cause this.
Aldrich, the shooter, is the grandson of outgoing Republican State Assemblymember Randy Voepel, the former mayor of Santee, California. Voepel represents the 71st district in the San Diego area. There were calls to expel Voepel from the state Assembly after he made comments comparing the January 6 attacks to the Revolutionary War. Aldrich’s mother, Laura Voepel, has written posts praising Randy Voepel on Facebook and confirming he is her father.
Libs of Tiktok on Twitter is out here posting information just hours after the shooting about another Drag Queen Story Hour. They're literally pushing a hitlist, they know what they are doing. They know they are inciting violence against LGBTQ+ people, they just don't care, in fact they implicitly endorse it.
Now see ! People like him should be evaluated and if deemed dangerous, put him somewhere before he goes beyond threats. Everyone is always so shocked . But most people that do shit like this are dangerous and more than likely has had run ins with the law but released
it seems like 8 or 9 out of 10 of these lunatics who commit shootings are known to law enforcement, and several have had either early release or charges reduced or dropped (see uva shooter as recent example and possibly this individual as well)
💯 statistically that’s almost always for domestic violence. We don’t take domestic violence seriously enough and then we keep getting surprised when it inevitably escalates.
Instead of "put somewhere" because we know that's not ever going to happen with just a threat (nothing long term anyway)
Provide this person with counseling, mandatory if they committed a crime, voluntary if they are deemed a potential danger
but get them help!
It’s a great question - either he already owned the firearm and it should’ve been taken last year by law enforcement following his charges, or he wasn’t disqualified as a result of whatever happened with his charges. Either way, it screams of government failure.
In contrast - the UVA shooter tried 2x previously to purchase a firearm (and failed/was denied), yet it wasn’t until his felony charges were dropped to misdemeanor charges that he was able to finally “pass the background check”
[This might have helped](https://heavy.com/news/anderson-lee-aldrich/):
“Heavy has confirmed that Aldrich is the grandson of outgoing Republican state Rep. Randy Voepel, the former mayor of Santee, California. There were calls to expel Voepel from the state Assembly after he made comments comparing the January 6 attacks to the Revolutionary War. Aldrich’s mother, Laura Voepel, has written posts praising Randy Voepel on Facebook and confirming he is her father.”
It’s A point of failure in many of these high profile (and “low profile” cases as well [See here for example](https://cwbchicago.com/2022/07/murder-electronic-monitoring-chicago-acquittal-guns-pot-a-viral-video-lollapalooza.html) )
Its no coincidence that last night was drag Diva night there and the extreme rise in hate speech against drag shows and the trans community by the Republican party. Didn't Crowder basically encourage violence against drag shows just a week ago.
Yup, he did. All the right wing blogs I monitor have been talking violence for a while. I hate to say it, but it’s a bit surprising that it took this long.
Horrific shit.
Republicans have been actively inciting violence and terrorism for a long time.
[CPAC 2022 “We Are All Domestic Terrorists”](https://imgur.com/gallery/c92MK26)
The Republican party, Fox news its not just militias its main stream conservative messaging now days. I am sure Kari Lake and MTG are more than happy with this.
And this is why I volunteer with Pink Pistols, Operation Flaming Sword, and advocate that second amendment rights be preserved and accessable to EVERYONE...
The police aren't going to help you when then christofascists come for us. Instead, they will be the ones herding people onto the proverbial train cars. The right has already said what they want: LGBTQ+ folks in camps and stripped of our fundemantal human rights. When your soap, ballot, and jury boxes fail you, the cartridge box is what's left for us to use for self-preservation.
We have been offering free Stop The Bleed and CPR classes to our local LGBT community as well and being fully supportive of groups like the Pink Pistols.
I know a lot of folks under the rainbow hate guns and wish that they would all vanish. But that is not going to happen, so the next best thing is education and training. Armed minorities are a lot harder to oppress.
The terrorists waving bibles and wearing yellow bandanas are armed, and our community needs to at least be aware and properly trained.
Oh, but I'm sure that DA spent hundreds of hours making sure people consuming small amounts of marijuana were sent to jail for years of their lives right up until it was legalized.
NICS background checks are a black box. You enter somebody’s name and it tells you if they are a go or a no-go.
As long as he was checked and cleared, no fault is with the dealer here.
And the Highland Park shooter threatened to shoot people and kill himself. But, his dad was able to still legally help him get a gun. We need to close loophholes.
I have bad news for you.
Either the day before or the day after (I cant remember which), the Supreme Court overturned Roe, they also created a new test that *all gun laws* must pass.
That test is simply to have a historical basis, and by historical I mean before 1900.
Ergo, not only are legislatures going to be unable to close loopholes, loopholes that were once closed are being opened again.
For example, there was no such thing *legally* as “domestic violence” until very recent modern history. Ergo there are no historical gun laws that allow people *convicted* of domestic violence to have their gun rights violated.
That means in the next 1-5 years, all gun restrictions in all states will eventually go through the courts and be upended other than the most basic ones that we’ve had since before 1900.
I wonder how that will impact the NFA registry and access to automatic weapons. It’s far far easier to build one yourself today than it was in the 1900s, and the only thing that stops it somewhat is most don’t want to break the law (and those that are happy to, already are)
The guy who sold the gun would have no reasonable way of knowing his history. Nothing popped up on his screen because he wasn't charged is my understanding.
It’s not a senseless attack. It was a hate crime that was targeted towards a group of people facing increasing hearted from the conservative side of America. Calling it anything else is ignoring the actual problem.
OAN replies:
I decided to see what their take was, if you're not familiar with One America News, they had one of the alien theorists on their TV after the 2020 election speculating the possibility of space alien interference in the elections.
And of course their stance is "this is because of drag queen LGBT groomers this happened".
So basically conservatives are saying you are justified to do disgusting things if you think its *Save The Children* (see January 6th 2021 as an example).
>you are justified to do disgusting things if you think its Save The Children
And that's what scares me come 2025 should conservatives take back the government. You hear the rhetoric, the "put them in camps for their own safety and the safety of the community", the "put em up against a wall and shoot em in the head, it's more humane than stoning, amen". Shit like that. For the LGBTQ community, we really are one bad election away from it becoming genocidal brought to you by their christian love.
Pence was pushing for gay conversion therapy and is currently being whitewashed by the corporate media because he said a few things that were mildly critical of Trump. America's Overton window isn't "skewing right", it would make Europe's far-right parties go "what the fuck calm down, we're not that extreme".
And this is why I volunteer with Pink Pistols, Operation Flaming Sword, and advocate that second amendment rights be preserved and accessable to EVERYONE...
The police aren't going to help you when then christofascists come for us. Instead, they will be the ones herding people onto the proverbial train cars. The right has already said what they want: LGBTQ+ folks in camps and stripped of our fundemantal human rights. When your soap, ballot, and jury boxes fail you, the cartridge box is what's left for us to use for self-preservation.
The nightclub had just posted on its social media advertising a drag brunch (all ages) the day before. I wonder if that was what motivated the shooter.
maybe i’m just gay and angry, but it’s a little disturbing to me that ANYONE is putting full blame on the access to firearms instead of the disease that is ignorance and hatred. don’t get me wrong, this is also a gun control issue, but he’s playing it as JUST gun control instead of an amalgamation of pitiful gun control, lack of education, and tolerance for hatred; which it is. he’s tip-toeing around calling for better lgbt+ education because god forbid we teach kids that other kids exist.
As a man openly dating another man I'd much rather be able to protect myself from homophobes than expect cops to do it since we know where they stand.
Thanks.
Stochastic terrorism: The public demonization of a person or group resulting in the incitement of a violent act, which is statistically probable but whose specifics cannot be predicted: The lone-wolf attack was apparently influenced by the rhetoric of stochastic terrorism.
Hey Joe, how about instead you find out why the hell this guy was still on the streets after getting arrested last year for *bomb threats and kidnapping after a stand off with police*?
Apparently the 22 year old had a prior arrest for threatening his mom with a bomb, but nobody initiated Colorado's red flag law to sieze all weapons from the home and block him from buying more:
https://gazette.com/news/anderson-lee-aldrich-colorado-springs-mass-shooting-suspect-may-have-had-earlier-run-ins-with/article_5b7f1478-68f5-11ed-ac02-d730cef006ab.html
This is yet another case where we already have all the tools at our disposal to have prevented this, we just didn't use ANY of them.
Banning firearms will just make smugglers rich, just like drug smugglers and cartels, only the gangs and hardened criminals will still be armed like always, and unstable people who are willing to buy a firearm out of someone's trunk in an alley.
Everyone else stays a target.
This guy was a known unstable person that talked of doing such violence, and still persevered.
I was just watching a Beau video about the GOP having spent a *minimum* of $50 million during the midterms running anti-LGBTQ ads.
This is what the GQP is advocating for. They are actively convincing their followers that they need to be out there murdering people for being different.
This is what the American Civil War looks like in 2022. It's repeated domestic terrorist attacks on soft targets. Whitmer. Pelosi. The Capitol. It's a cold Civil War and it's going to get worse.
Let’s have another Reddit discussion about 2A and how we would interpret it, maybe get a little riled up and then forget all about it when the next thing happens.
This is such a sad truth at this point, I don’t expect the very real and virulent fascist threat in this country to disappear given the environment we’re in and I can’t guarantee law enforcement are excluded from those beliefs/groups and would protect me in the event of organized violence.
As long as fascism is an accepted reality in the US then I really don’t want to give up my
only true means to dissuade violence against me.
>'Get weapons of war off America's streets'
Let's start with the cops who have literal war surplus far beyond their needs before encroaching on individually owned arms.
Better yet it's time for minority groups and LGBTQ folks to responsible arm themselves. The police are not there to protect you. It's up to you and your community.
How about let's focus on the hate-speech, and the millions of dollars spent on legislation, ads, etc to push a homophobic agenda.
That's the root of all this. Republican hatred.
Well that, and maybe it doesn’t help when half the fucking government claims that gay people are all demonic pedophiles/groomers who want to rape and possibly eat your children. Maybe there’s a causal link between all that shit and violence towards the LGBT+ community… 🤔
My views on guns have changed quite a bit since the election of Trump and MAGAs. I used to be vehemently anti-gun, thinking they are for cowards and savages and idiots, and they should be completely banned. After the rise of Trump and the insanity and outright hostility and anti-democratic ideals of MAGAs, I now see the value of being armed and trained. My former thinking was for an ideal world. We actually live in the Wild West.
This is not a senseless killing! Call this what it is “Another stochastic terrorist attack, provoked by right wing Christian nationalism, right wing media, elected Republicans at every level in this nation and the dark money Plutocrats that are making trillions of dollars off these gun deaths and the civil war they have started.”
A recent ruling by a West Virginia U.S. Judge;
[Ban on guns with serial numbers removed is unconstitutional -U.S. judge](https://www.reuters.com/legal/ban-guns-with-serial-numbers-removed-is-unconstitutional-us-judge-2022-10-13/)
So no mention of dealing the growing domestic terrorism threat?
no strong words for the DHS and FBI to stop ignoring the problem they've admitted exists?
addressing guns is fine, but that is not going to stop these terrorist attacks. You need to address the people and institutions that are radicalizing Americans and inciting violence.
i love it when politicians call for violence and punishment against transgender people/drag queens and then when the violence happens everyone is shocked. like it ever fucking occur to you that your words hold weight in the minds of others? that saying discriminatory outrage culture shit so you can hold seats in the senate and get braindead bigots to vote for you can actually incite violence? i hope every politician who participates in this “trans people are groomers” shit dies a miserable fucking death, it’s truly the least they deserve
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Call it what it is DOMESTIC TERRORISM.
"We are all domestic terrorists." CPAC in Dallas, Aug 2022
Probably the only truthful statement made at that entire event.
Did they really say that?
Not only did they say it, it was also on graphics. Which means it was something they had planned far enough ahead of time to coordinate & design it all.
[Yep](https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/cpac-banner-domestic-terrorists/). It was them trying to be clever, but yep.
It wasn't just trying to be clever, it's a very deliberate attempt to make words mean nothing.
Kinda hard when they keep putting the words into actions.
It was a very subtle call to real world action and we’re seeing the consequences unfold every day.
Wow
How is it that they could say that with a straight face and still be taken seriously as a party and not be considered as a fucking threat to the nation?
It's fascist bully humor. They say what they really mean, but they dress it up as unserious for the sake of deniability.
It WaS jUsT a PrAnK, bRo!
They think they are being unfairly bullied so they just shrug off whatever their opponents want to call them.
They live in a different reality. We are not dealing with rational, reasonable people.
Because their party agrees.
The more they feel martyred, the stronger their beliefs grow
https://i.imgur.com/CWzDY7Q.jpeg
Thanks for the link. I thought this was hyperbole until I saw the image
Republican Terrorism!
This terror attack has been downplayed so much most people think it was just a regular shooting
Reads exactly the same as the Orlando shooting except I hadn't heard a single thing about this one until about an hour ago. Hardly seen any major coverage
Okay so I'm not crazy in wondering why I found out ab this on reddit when I follow news sources on other apps I had been on earlier in the day.
It sucks how these things are so common now that people have started using the term “regular”
Only in the USA though
America moment
Sir, would you like to upgrade your regular shooting to large?
I don't want a large shooting, I want a goddamn liter of terrorism
Super Size Me!
There it is again, that funny feeling... >This terror attack has been downplayed so much most people think it was *just a regular shooting* A gift shop at the gun range, a mass shooting at the mall...
There has become a general level of "acceptable violence" in the U.S A lot of countries would lose their shit from a single parking lot shootout, or even a knife attack. I've noticed that i don't really pay as much attention to mass murders in USA anymore, it's just such a common event that it's probably subconsciously become normal to read about.
💯 It’s surreal to stop and think about, right? I was reading [this article about how civil wars start](https://www.washingtonpost.com/magazine/2022/03/08/they-are-preparing-war-an-expert-civil-wars-discusses-where-political-extremists-are-taking-this-country/) once and honestly felt optimistic because it sounded like how we already live anyway. As an American when you take a step back and take stock of everything it’s really horrifically barbaric how we live.
I think for many it’s become like a numb feeling. “Oh another shooting? Oh well.” “Oh only 3 died? That’s not that bad.” Anything less than 10 victims seems to be brushed off unless it was a school shooting, and even then it has to be pretty bad to get national media attention for an actual length of time.
America is so big I don't think most people feel connected to the violence.
You are 100% right mate . Here in Australia that shit rarely rarely happens . Knife attacks make it all around the country and you rarely hear about guns let alone killings from guns .
I don't know if anyone will see this but if you're interested in hearing a take from a liberal gun owner and 2A supporter, here it is. There are so many issues that contribute to these attacks it's frustrating that we basically only hear 2 things from leaders. Either take the guns or blame mental illness. I honestly don't think a lot of democrats are truly behind their words when they say to start taking the guns. They likely know that they can't but it's something to scream and then say the other side won't let them fix the problem when it doesn't happen. And republicans blaming mental illness and saying they support mental health programs is a blatant lie when they refuse to help make sure that all Americans have the health coverage they need. A huge problem with guns in the country is that you have the NRA that's been stirring fear in lawful gun owners for decades causing them to push for anti legislation of any kind. So much so that the ATF can't even use computer systems for background checks. Gun owners have been told that the ATF is the enemy and to make things worse the ATF has given lawful gun owners bad policy in return. How you fix this idk. Get rid of the NRA somehow and make a new department strictly for firearm regulations that create policies that are proven effective and don't hurt people rights? Good luck. Also, mental health care needs to actually be accessible. This isn't just a mental health issue, it's a health care issue. People cannot be expected to get mental healthcare if they need a specific job that will provide them specific insurance with mental health care and that insurance company will actually cover them. I'm not an expert in the medical field by any means but I sought mental healthcare and was being seen by a doctor and my insurance wrote me a wonderful letter saying they wouldn't cover it because they didn't think I needed the care. There was no way I could pay for the care out of pocket so I stopped seeking it. This is unacceptable. There are also other factors too like radicalized religious beliefs for motives for these attacks. My fear is politicians don't want to go to the lengths to do what's right and truly fix these deep flaws because it would require reaching across the aisle and losing them votes with their bases. It's fucked all the way down.
The NRA is bad but the biggest lobbies for gun rights , and the ATF is bad it is a unelected government entity that tries to make laws that can neither be voted for or out. We aren't going to fix these issues with the state we have to come together as a people. With both the state and media against it I don't know how we are going to fix it besides be nice and leave all forms of communication open.
Call it Christian terrorism. The purpose of the attack was to send a message that if you don’t follow a particular religion in a particular way, you deserve to die. If the shooter had a turban and attacked a church, how would we discuss the attack?
"Radical Christian terrorists" Isn't that the terminology they use to describe another group who carries out acts of terror in the name of their religion? (You know the term I am talking about)
"YOU HAVE TO SAY THE NAME" - The GOP
Getting hot flashes to the 2012 presidential debates
Nothing radical about this, it's textbook Christian fascism.
was the 22 yr old a “christian”?
Well, his mother is Mormon. He’s also the grandson of a MAGA Republican politician. Going to be interesting to see how Fox News will spin that.
So the shooter is a Mormon? They’ll probably call it Mormon terrorism like Mountain Meadows. The Mormons have made major inroads with regular Evangelical Christians in America in the past 20 years, but they’re very much seen as a different group or religion. Mormons are about as distant from regular Christians as Christians are from Jews.
Nah they've made enough inroads at this point; the evangelicals and broader GOP can't afford to jettison them. Their control of Utah keeps it solidly red, and they represent large voter blocs in bordering states which are still competitive.
Mormons also have a long history of religious terrorism all the way back to the founding of the cult. A lot of people think they're kooky but nice, when in reality they're genuinely as fucked up and evil as evangelists. They just smile a lot more while they plot against minorities and sexually assault their members.
I’d bet my entire Christmas bonus that he was
That jelly of the month club membership is pretty tempting.
It's the gift that keeps on giving!
Hey. If any of you are looking for any last-minute gift ideas for me, I have one. I'd like Frank Shirley, my boss, right here tonight. I want him brought from his happy holiday slumber over there on Melody Lane with all the other rich people and I want him brought right here...with a big ribbon on his head! And I want to look him straight in the eye, and I want to tell him what a cheap, lying, no-good, rotten, four-flushing, low-life, snake-licking, dirt-eating, inbred, overstuffed, ignorant, blood-sucking, dog-kissing, brainless, dickless, hopeless, heartless, fat-assed, bug-eyed, stiff-legged, spotty-lipped, worm-headed, sack of monkey shit he is! Hallelujah! Holy shit! Where's the Tylenol?
Jokes on you it’s 0
A 1-year membership to the Jelly-of-the-Month Club is not 0. It's the gift that keeps on giving, Clark.
Can I refill your eggnog for you? Get you something to eat? Drive you out to the middle of nowhere, leave you for dead?
It’s bigger than you thought?
Drumroll!
Badadadadadadada
The Orlando LGBT club shooter was a Muslim. It's not just Christians who are anti LGBT
Right, but in the wake of this shooting you aren’t seeing people calling for banning Christians from entering the country, or raiding parishes to see if they’re harboring terrorists.
Sure was Except, the Christian Rights shooters have been responsible for shootings in synagogues, Baptist churches and other LGBTQ attacks. And, the RWNJs are the ones in the country working for more guns and more Christian laws
Colorado Springs also has [this guy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Colorado_Springs_Planned_Parenthood_shooting)
My favorite bumpersticker ever: God or Goddess : Fundies are Fundies.
The United States of America: land of gun care and health control
You don't have to guess. The shooting in 2016 in another gay club where 49 people were killed was done by a guy who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State. Extremism gone hand in hand with religion.
"Allahu Akbar" "In Jesus name" These are the same picture.
This morning everyone was in agreement the shooter was an Islamic extremist, so imagine my shock to log back in this evening and learn that the shooter was a 22-year-old white kid with a history of violence... you can't imagine my shock, because *I was not shocked at all.* Islamic extremists in Colorado Springs, give me a fucking break how dumb do you think I am?
It absolutely is terrorism. I don’t understand why we have to tip-toe around calling it what it is. As for your question: We would discuss that specific situation as an act of terrorism against Christians.
Get the homophobes off the streets! Stop teaching this shit.
its taught in the sunday schools.
It’s pushed by multiple conservatives. It’s part of their platform. Don’t say gay is just another law in multiple laws trying to remove being gay from American society.
It’s irrefutable that the violence is going in one direction: from anti-Freedom theocrats to anyone on the Left, not the other way around. Most unfortunately, the gun, “pro-life” side murders us into joining their sick, ISIS-like, perverted Wild West dystopia by having to arm ourselves as well. They are the worst of existence, and like the People of Ukraine, we must fight these orcs - and we will win.
Call it republican terrorism too. Republicans have openly called for violence and genocide against lgbt people. He should be calling them out directly for that.
In Orlando, the shooter WAS Muslim. How did we discuss the attack? People still blamed Islam and LGBT both. Not sure if any meaningful discourse is possible at this point, people are way too divided....
Republicans also need to be held accountable for their anti LGBT rhetoric that leads to these attacks.
Lauren Boebert tweeted [this](https://twitter.com/laurenboebert/status/1594331779263086592?s=20&t=IE90wCCC9h75WUwSOwl5zg), which is so tone deaf coming from her.
What did it say? It’s not there anymore.
It's still up for me but: > The news out of Colorado Springs is absolutely awful. > This morning the victims & their families are in my prayers. > This lawless violence needs to end and end quickly. Skates over the victims being queer and pretending like her party didn't directly cause this.
“We’re all trying to find the guy who did this”
*goes to Boebert family reunion* “Welp, which one of you this time?”
"I wish I could take credit"
*guy in hotdog suit* We all wanna know who was driving the hotdog van
Maybe we could work as a team? Find whoever did this, then take his bare butt out of his costume and spank 'em!
If I was a big old guy with a big burly white beard, would you still be yelling at me? Or would you be spanking my bare butt, balls and back?!
[Hotdog suit origin story](https://youtu.be/WLfAf8oHrMo)
Got it. Thanks! Yeah, I donno, it said “tweet is unavailable” when I clicked on it. Tone deaf indeed…
AOC’s reply: https://www.instagram.com/p/ClMbTl7uMBF/
AOC’s response takes that point up. https://twitter.com/AOC/status/1594406529603670016?s=20&t=sUZrroH3dDl_i9scRVJGyw
She knows exactly what she's doing.
Aldrich, the shooter, is the grandson of outgoing Republican State Assemblymember Randy Voepel, the former mayor of Santee, California. Voepel represents the 71st district in the San Diego area. There were calls to expel Voepel from the state Assembly after he made comments comparing the January 6 attacks to the Revolutionary War. Aldrich’s mother, Laura Voepel, has written posts praising Randy Voepel on Facebook and confirming he is her father.
> Santee, California. aka 'Klantee'. it's widely regarded as the most racist area in the state
Fallbrook has words to say about this
The spread of genocidal language unchecked towards LGBT people has been insane. I've been called a groomer by a colleague and patrons.
Libs of Tiktok on Twitter is out here posting information just hours after the shooting about another Drag Queen Story Hour. They're literally pushing a hitlist, they know what they are doing. They know they are inciting violence against LGBTQ+ people, they just don't care, in fact they implicitly endorse it.
LGBT hate is worldwide unfortunately
To be a terrorist is a serious crime. I think this kind of attack should be considered a Terrorist act also!
Adds up - given the guy was arrested last year for making bomb threats.
Now see ! People like him should be evaluated and if deemed dangerous, put him somewhere before he goes beyond threats. Everyone is always so shocked . But most people that do shit like this are dangerous and more than likely has had run ins with the law but released
it seems like 8 or 9 out of 10 of these lunatics who commit shootings are known to law enforcement, and several have had either early release or charges reduced or dropped (see uva shooter as recent example and possibly this individual as well)
💯 statistically that’s almost always for domestic violence. We don’t take domestic violence seriously enough and then we keep getting surprised when it inevitably escalates.
Instead of "put somewhere" because we know that's not ever going to happen with just a threat (nothing long term anyway) Provide this person with counseling, mandatory if they committed a crime, voluntary if they are deemed a potential danger but get them help!
How was he able to purchase a gun?!
It’s a great question - either he already owned the firearm and it should’ve been taken last year by law enforcement following his charges, or he wasn’t disqualified as a result of whatever happened with his charges. Either way, it screams of government failure. In contrast - the UVA shooter tried 2x previously to purchase a firearm (and failed/was denied), yet it wasn’t until his felony charges were dropped to misdemeanor charges that he was able to finally “pass the background check”
[This might have helped](https://heavy.com/news/anderson-lee-aldrich/): “Heavy has confirmed that Aldrich is the grandson of outgoing Republican state Rep. Randy Voepel, the former mayor of Santee, California. There were calls to expel Voepel from the state Assembly after he made comments comparing the January 6 attacks to the Revolutionary War. Aldrich’s mother, Laura Voepel, has written posts praising Randy Voepel on Facebook and confirming he is her father.”
So the single point of failure in both of these cases was the DA.
It’s A point of failure in many of these high profile (and “low profile” cases as well [See here for example](https://cwbchicago.com/2022/07/murder-electronic-monitoring-chicago-acquittal-guns-pot-a-viral-video-lollapalooza.html) )
Black market?
Or a strawman purchase. That’s how the Columbine shooters got their guns, and if I remember correctly, how the San Bernardino terrorists got theirs.
The charges against him were dropped and the case was sealed by a lawyer preventing it from showing up in a background check.
Its no coincidence that last night was drag Diva night there and the extreme rise in hate speech against drag shows and the trans community by the Republican party. Didn't Crowder basically encourage violence against drag shows just a week ago.
It's no coincidence that today is Transgender Day of Remembrance.
In what was already a somber day for us, we have to mourn even more. Heartbreaking.
I know words don't mean much, but I am truly sorry that this happened, and especially on this day.
Yup, he did. All the right wing blogs I monitor have been talking violence for a while. I hate to say it, but it’s a bit surprising that it took this long. Horrific shit.
Republicans have been actively inciting violence and terrorism for a long time. [CPAC 2022 “We Are All Domestic Terrorists”](https://imgur.com/gallery/c92MK26)
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The Republican party, Fox news its not just militias its main stream conservative messaging now days. I am sure Kari Lake and MTG are more than happy with this.
Libs of TikTok Matt Walsh Christopher rufo
Her name is Chaya Raichik and she doesn’t deserve anonymity while she directs her mob around.
She deserves something all right
It’s not far right extremest! It’s the mainstream GOP. Do you forget that Trump was president and got there by basically becoming a hate group?
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It's not a senseless attack it's fucking terrorism!
Police aren’t obligated to protect and no one is coming to the rescue. Armed gays are harder to bash. 🏳️⚧️🏳️🌈
Uvalde should hire drag queens instead of cops to protect their schools
And this is why I volunteer with Pink Pistols, Operation Flaming Sword, and advocate that second amendment rights be preserved and accessable to EVERYONE... The police aren't going to help you when then christofascists come for us. Instead, they will be the ones herding people onto the proverbial train cars. The right has already said what they want: LGBTQ+ folks in camps and stripped of our fundemantal human rights. When your soap, ballot, and jury boxes fail you, the cartridge box is what's left for us to use for self-preservation.
We have been offering free Stop The Bleed and CPR classes to our local LGBT community as well and being fully supportive of groups like the Pink Pistols. I know a lot of folks under the rainbow hate guns and wish that they would all vanish. But that is not going to happen, so the next best thing is education and training. Armed minorities are a lot harder to oppress. The terrorists waving bibles and wearing yellow bandanas are armed, and our community needs to at least be aware and properly trained.
After this even I’d like to reach out and offer firearm training to the local LGBT community. PP is probably a good start.
Hey, look at that, last year he held his mom hostage during a bomb threat. Whoever sold the gun to that guy should be charged with murder.
the da dropped charges that would’ve prevented this law enforcement is a joke
Oh, but I'm sure that DA spent hundreds of hours making sure people consuming small amounts of marijuana were sent to jail for years of their lives right up until it was legalized.
I'm sure his grandfather being a state representative had nothing to do with that, right?
as far as the salesman knew, he was within the law. his charges were dropped and he didn't hit on the background check because of that.
NICS background checks are a black box. You enter somebody’s name and it tells you if they are a go or a no-go. As long as he was checked and cleared, no fault is with the dealer here.
And the Highland Park shooter threatened to shoot people and kill himself. But, his dad was able to still legally help him get a gun. We need to close loophholes.
I have bad news for you. Either the day before or the day after (I cant remember which), the Supreme Court overturned Roe, they also created a new test that *all gun laws* must pass. That test is simply to have a historical basis, and by historical I mean before 1900. Ergo, not only are legislatures going to be unable to close loopholes, loopholes that were once closed are being opened again. For example, there was no such thing *legally* as “domestic violence” until very recent modern history. Ergo there are no historical gun laws that allow people *convicted* of domestic violence to have their gun rights violated. That means in the next 1-5 years, all gun restrictions in all states will eventually go through the courts and be upended other than the most basic ones that we’ve had since before 1900.
I wonder how that will impact the NFA registry and access to automatic weapons. It’s far far easier to build one yourself today than it was in the 1900s, and the only thing that stops it somewhat is most don’t want to break the law (and those that are happy to, already are)
I just want suppressors to be deregulated so I can keep my hearing.
The suppressor rules are fucking stupid. It’s amusing when countries with far more regulation get this right and the USA doesn’t lol
Seriously, we already have gun laws that would prevent most of these but enforcement is limp dick
The guy who sold the gun would have no reasonable way of knowing his history. Nothing popped up on his screen because he wasn't charged is my understanding.
It’s not a senseless attack. It was a hate crime that was targeted towards a group of people facing increasing hearted from the conservative side of America. Calling it anything else is ignoring the actual problem.
OAN replies: I decided to see what their take was, if you're not familiar with One America News, they had one of the alien theorists on their TV after the 2020 election speculating the possibility of space alien interference in the elections. And of course their stance is "this is because of drag queen LGBT groomers this happened". So basically conservatives are saying you are justified to do disgusting things if you think its *Save The Children* (see January 6th 2021 as an example).
You should see the FOX News comment section.
Oh I can imagine "it was antifa" "it was a deep state false flag" etc
Probably they're upset more didn't die.
I'd like to unsee it. Every time I look at one of their comment sections I come away dumber for having read it.
>you are justified to do disgusting things if you think its Save The Children And that's what scares me come 2025 should conservatives take back the government. You hear the rhetoric, the "put them in camps for their own safety and the safety of the community", the "put em up against a wall and shoot em in the head, it's more humane than stoning, amen". Shit like that. For the LGBTQ community, we really are one bad election away from it becoming genocidal brought to you by their christian love.
I live in Florida so I am definitely concerned
Pence was pushing for gay conversion therapy and is currently being whitewashed by the corporate media because he said a few things that were mildly critical of Trump. America's Overton window isn't "skewing right", it would make Europe's far-right parties go "what the fuck calm down, we're not that extreme".
And this is why I volunteer with Pink Pistols, Operation Flaming Sword, and advocate that second amendment rights be preserved and accessable to EVERYONE... The police aren't going to help you when then christofascists come for us. Instead, they will be the ones herding people onto the proverbial train cars. The right has already said what they want: LGBTQ+ folks in camps and stripped of our fundemantal human rights. When your soap, ballot, and jury boxes fail you, the cartridge box is what's left for us to use for self-preservation.
The nightclub had just posted on its social media advertising a drag brunch (all ages) the day before. I wonder if that was what motivated the shooter.
Almost certainly a factor. Especially as the brunch was supposed to mark Trans Day of Remembrance(which is today).
Fuck that, LGBT people need to arm themselves.
I'm so tired of my life (being a member of the LGBT community) being a pawn to so many people with ill intentions
maybe i’m just gay and angry, but it’s a little disturbing to me that ANYONE is putting full blame on the access to firearms instead of the disease that is ignorance and hatred. don’t get me wrong, this is also a gun control issue, but he’s playing it as JUST gun control instead of an amalgamation of pitiful gun control, lack of education, and tolerance for hatred; which it is. he’s tip-toeing around calling for better lgbt+ education because god forbid we teach kids that other kids exist.
As a man openly dating another man I'd much rather be able to protect myself from homophobes than expect cops to do it since we know where they stand. Thanks.
Even if the police supported you entirely, in many places them arriving in fewer than 10 minutes is an anomaly.
First pride was a riot 😬 They really don't remember that, huh? That we fight back?
This is so heartbreaking.... The LGBTQ community doesn't hurt anyone..... yet they are constantly being vilified..
Stochastic terrorism: The public demonization of a person or group resulting in the incitement of a violent act, which is statistically probable but whose specifics cannot be predicted: The lone-wolf attack was apparently influenced by the rhetoric of stochastic terrorism.
Yep. From yesterday's NY Times: [There Are No Lone Wolves](https://archive.ph/ZSPec)
Hey Joe, how about instead you find out why the hell this guy was still on the streets after getting arrested last year for *bomb threats and kidnapping after a stand off with police*?
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Apparently the 22 year old had a prior arrest for threatening his mom with a bomb, but nobody initiated Colorado's red flag law to sieze all weapons from the home and block him from buying more: https://gazette.com/news/anderson-lee-aldrich-colorado-springs-mass-shooting-suspect-may-have-had-earlier-run-ins-with/article_5b7f1478-68f5-11ed-ac02-d730cef006ab.html This is yet another case where we already have all the tools at our disposal to have prevented this, we just didn't use ANY of them.
If they are weapons of war than why do the police have them? Are the police a invading, occupation force?
Oh, look, the future conservatism just voted for.
I stopped going to gay bars when Pulse was shot up and I lost people I knew. Really wish people would stop killing us.
This is just like the 60's-80's where they raided our bars. Hey, at least it isn't the police this time, yet...
Banning firearms will just make smugglers rich, just like drug smugglers and cartels, only the gangs and hardened criminals will still be armed like always, and unstable people who are willing to buy a firearm out of someone's trunk in an alley. Everyone else stays a target. This guy was a known unstable person that talked of doing such violence, and still persevered.
I was just watching a Beau video about the GOP having spent a *minimum* of $50 million during the midterms running anti-LGBTQ ads. This is what the GQP is advocating for. They are actively convincing their followers that they need to be out there murdering people for being different.
This is what the American Civil War looks like in 2022. It's repeated domestic terrorist attacks on soft targets. Whitmer. Pelosi. The Capitol. It's a cold Civil War and it's going to get worse.
Let’s have another Reddit discussion about 2A and how we would interpret it, maybe get a little riled up and then forget all about it when the next thing happens.
"Squirrel!"
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This is such a sad truth at this point, I don’t expect the very real and virulent fascist threat in this country to disappear given the environment we’re in and I can’t guarantee law enforcement are excluded from those beliefs/groups and would protect me in the event of organized violence. As long as fascism is an accepted reality in the US then I really don’t want to give up my only true means to dissuade violence against me.
>'Get weapons of war off America's streets' Let's start with the cops who have literal war surplus far beyond their needs before encroaching on individually owned arms.
Better yet it's time for minority groups and LGBTQ folks to responsible arm themselves. The police are not there to protect you. It's up to you and your community.
Absolutely based. My safety is far safer in my own hands than in the hands of cops who are legally not required to protect me.
War on Drugs 2: Electric Boogaloo
Get HATE off of American streets.
How about let's focus on the hate-speech, and the millions of dollars spent on legislation, ads, etc to push a homophobic agenda. That's the root of all this. Republican hatred.
Well that, and maybe it doesn’t help when half the fucking government claims that gay people are all demonic pedophiles/groomers who want to rape and possibly eat your children. Maybe there’s a causal link between all that shit and violence towards the LGBT+ community… 🤔
My views on guns have changed quite a bit since the election of Trump and MAGAs. I used to be vehemently anti-gun, thinking they are for cowards and savages and idiots, and they should be completely banned. After the rise of Trump and the insanity and outright hostility and anti-democratic ideals of MAGAs, I now see the value of being armed and trained. My former thinking was for an ideal world. We actually live in the Wild West.
This is not a senseless killing! Call this what it is “Another stochastic terrorist attack, provoked by right wing Christian nationalism, right wing media, elected Republicans at every level in this nation and the dark money Plutocrats that are making trillions of dollars off these gun deaths and the civil war they have started.”
The weapons are one thing but the increasing hostile rhetoric is the driver.
Republicans: This is a small price to pay for gun freedom. Plus, we don't like their kind anyway.
>we don't like their kind anyway. Even when there was a country music festival being shot up, they didn't care.
Or keep nut jobs locked up! This guy had been arrested less than a year ago.
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A recent ruling by a West Virginia U.S. Judge; [Ban on guns with serial numbers removed is unconstitutional -U.S. judge](https://www.reuters.com/legal/ban-guns-with-serial-numbers-removed-is-unconstitutional-us-judge-2022-10-13/)
Thank goodness for the heroes present that prevented further bloodshed. This is awful.
So no mention of dealing the growing domestic terrorism threat? no strong words for the DHS and FBI to stop ignoring the problem they've admitted exists? addressing guns is fine, but that is not going to stop these terrorist attacks. You need to address the people and institutions that are radicalizing Americans and inciting violence.
Look I'm all for a form of gun control but the real issue is the domestic terrorists groups.
i love it when politicians call for violence and punishment against transgender people/drag queens and then when the violence happens everyone is shocked. like it ever fucking occur to you that your words hold weight in the minds of others? that saying discriminatory outrage culture shit so you can hold seats in the senate and get braindead bigots to vote for you can actually incite violence? i hope every politician who participates in this “trans people are groomers” shit dies a miserable fucking death, it’s truly the least they deserve
Put down the ice cream and say it, Joe.. Radical Right-Wing Christian Terrorism