The Club Q shooter had threatened his family and told police he would kill them, too. El Paso County politicians refused to use their state's red-flag laws to prevent him from getting guns.
It is time to fight 2A absolutism and extremism with equal and opposite force: #Repeal2A. All this would do is to remove the absolutist status and send firearms regulation to the states. Where firearms make more sense, say in rural or ranching states, regulations would be looser. Whereas in urban areas they would be tighter. Only the fruitcakes who picture Jesus with an AR can think it’s a god-given right to have one.
I never dreamed I would feel this way; I really do wish the woman who stomped the shooter would have gauged the shooter’s eyes out with her high heels.
I completely understand protection of fundamental rights. My statements are based on 25 years as a police officer, trying to grapple with the many ways that combinations of mental health, domestic violence, online radicalization, and other human dynamics, combined with easy access to firearms have lit fuses of violence. Police are the representatives of government tasked with protecting lives. Red flag laws (as I said) are not a panacea, but we must not raise objections based on what people "think" or they "heard" is happening. The reason article cites problems without actually giving examples. Every ERPO law I know has a robust due process built in. If there are errors made, they should be addressed, but as Justice Scalia even openly acknowledged, no right is absolute. I believe allowing a system to intervene and save lives outweighs isolated cases of inconvenience. We have to do something. I'd gladly share the many experiences I have had at bloody crime scenes and tragedies that will stay with me forever. If I had the ability to prevent even one and save a life, I'd gladly take it. That is my belief based on my experience.
I really DO need my ranch rifle to defend my stock and orchards from predator beasts, but at this point I think we can all agree we need to consider a ban on suburban white boys. . .
I assume most humane Americans think El Paso County citizens are horrified by the killings in Club Q. But I also surmise this is wrong. It would not be shocking if an honest poll of said citizens (not going to happen) found far too many of the county's good [sic] residents are rather content with the slaughter of what they consider the local nature's degenerates, the wrenches in the Christian [sic] god's plan on Earth, i.e., the LGBT community. Why? Because El Paso County (and its 36 fellow "sanctuaries") is a living breathing heart of MAGA/GOP culture: guns, white Christianity, nihilism, hatred, anger, revenge. Alas, I am resigned to belief that American gun religion can not ever be vanquished. It is an indigenous disease without a cure other than moving to a more civilized division of Earth, say, Europe.
If we start with a person is innocent until proven guilty, and then we debate for a while about what constitutes a red flag...
Is no one here concerned with an honest, law-abiding citizen being denied a gun purchase because in the past they had an emotional outburst?
I would love for there to be no one armed in public ever but police & similar jobs. And for military weapons to be resticted to the military. But current legal & juidicial practice is a wide reading of 2nd amendment. Mental illness and past behavior connection to future risk are subjective areas. I am not a fan of anyone refusing to do their job based on politics or their reading of the Constitution.
But this liberal says red flag laws seem more progressive than moderate.
This is the problem with electing sheriffs, they put political ambition above enforcing the laws and political ambition often leads to corruption. I'm sure that everyone remembers the debacle that was Joe Arpaio, whose corruption cost Maricopa County about $140 MILLION.
Sometimes I think people assume CO to be a 'Blue' state or even a 'Purple' state, which is closer. Outside of metro Denver and Boulder, pretty much everywhere else is like Colorado Springs, only smaller. Remember, Boebert just was re-elected. Sigh. At least it wasn't by much. What that part of the state, and the other conservative areas need is an independent or democratic candidate that is white, Christian, and gun-loving but with other priorities such as decency, kindness and respect for all people. That's the kind of candidate that could beat the Boeberts of this state. I have been living in CO for 20 years and have witnessed all manner of crazy hatred.
As always, appreciate and value Tim Miller's framing of yet another tragedy impacting marginalized communities. Your voice is so important! Never stop being you.
Tim, thank you for this. I’m a retired police sergeant who has long been concerned and written about the danger of these so-called Constitutional Sheriffs. Look them up. They believe they are the ultimate arbiter of law, and say they are more powerful than even a president.
These extremists are in charge of counties nationwide. People need to understand how dangerous these sheriffs are to our freedoms.
Tim what is your feeling on the idea of sealing records for not just cases where charges aren't filed but cases where they are dropped too? I watched for a few minutes the press conference (Monday 4:00 mst) and it seemed from the District Attorney and Mayor's clarifications that the fact that charges were dropped and the records sealed made it less likely a red flag claim would've worked in this case.
I'll be honest this was a first for me to hear about records of the sort being sealed. Generally, when we hear about figures the times they were arrested are easy for reporters to uncover (and private citizens in many cases). With something so serious being alleged, even not pursuing charges shouldn't in my opinion seal the fact that it happened like this was a convicted Juvenile offender.
The tumor masquerading as a human being, Tucker Carlson, is outraged that people would call for consequences for people spreading hate speech, because, you guessed it, free speech. What a waste of oxygen.
It is time to fight 2A absolutism and extremism with equal and opposite force: #Repeal2A. All this would do is to remove the absolutist status and send firearms regulation to the states. Where firearms make more sense, say in rural or ranching states, regulations would be looser. Whereas in urban areas they would be tighter. Only the fruitcakes who picture Jesus with an AR can think it’s a god-given right to have one.
Great article.
I never dreamed I would feel this way; I really do wish the woman who stomped the shooter would have gauged the shooter’s eyes out with her high heels.
I completely understand protection of fundamental rights. My statements are based on 25 years as a police officer, trying to grapple with the many ways that combinations of mental health, domestic violence, online radicalization, and other human dynamics, combined with easy access to firearms have lit fuses of violence. Police are the representatives of government tasked with protecting lives. Red flag laws (as I said) are not a panacea, but we must not raise objections based on what people "think" or they "heard" is happening. The reason article cites problems without actually giving examples. Every ERPO law I know has a robust due process built in. If there are errors made, they should be addressed, but as Justice Scalia even openly acknowledged, no right is absolute. I believe allowing a system to intervene and save lives outweighs isolated cases of inconvenience. We have to do something. I'd gladly share the many experiences I have had at bloody crime scenes and tragedies that will stay with me forever. If I had the ability to prevent even one and save a life, I'd gladly take it. That is my belief based on my experience.
Proper training is emphatically not required for being armed in many states. I don’t know about Colorado.
I really DO need my ranch rifle to defend my stock and orchards from predator beasts, but at this point I think we can all agree we need to consider a ban on suburban white boys. . .
/s jic
I assume most humane Americans think El Paso County citizens are horrified by the killings in Club Q. But I also surmise this is wrong. It would not be shocking if an honest poll of said citizens (not going to happen) found far too many of the county's good [sic] residents are rather content with the slaughter of what they consider the local nature's degenerates, the wrenches in the Christian [sic] god's plan on Earth, i.e., the LGBT community. Why? Because El Paso County (and its 36 fellow "sanctuaries") is a living breathing heart of MAGA/GOP culture: guns, white Christianity, nihilism, hatred, anger, revenge. Alas, I am resigned to belief that American gun religion can not ever be vanquished. It is an indigenous disease without a cure other than moving to a more civilized division of Earth, say, Europe.
Ummm....
If we start with a person is innocent until proven guilty, and then we debate for a while about what constitutes a red flag...
Is no one here concerned with an honest, law-abiding citizen being denied a gun purchase because in the past they had an emotional outburst?
I would love for there to be no one armed in public ever but police & similar jobs. And for military weapons to be resticted to the military. But current legal & juidicial practice is a wide reading of 2nd amendment. Mental illness and past behavior connection to future risk are subjective areas. I am not a fan of anyone refusing to do their job based on politics or their reading of the Constitution.
But this liberal says red flag laws seem more progressive than moderate.
This is the problem with electing sheriffs, they put political ambition above enforcing the laws and political ambition often leads to corruption. I'm sure that everyone remembers the debacle that was Joe Arpaio, whose corruption cost Maricopa County about $140 MILLION.
Shooter got the entire can of Whoopass from Mr. Fierro.
To call this “Christian” is an abomination of what Christ was really about.
Lunacy. Idiocy. Wackadoodle extreme right craziness! Common sense needed.
Sometimes I think people assume CO to be a 'Blue' state or even a 'Purple' state, which is closer. Outside of metro Denver and Boulder, pretty much everywhere else is like Colorado Springs, only smaller. Remember, Boebert just was re-elected. Sigh. At least it wasn't by much. What that part of the state, and the other conservative areas need is an independent or democratic candidate that is white, Christian, and gun-loving but with other priorities such as decency, kindness and respect for all people. That's the kind of candidate that could beat the Boeberts of this state. I have been living in CO for 20 years and have witnessed all manner of crazy hatred.
As always, appreciate and value Tim Miller's framing of yet another tragedy impacting marginalized communities. Your voice is so important! Never stop being you.
Tim, thank you for this. I’m a retired police sergeant who has long been concerned and written about the danger of these so-called Constitutional Sheriffs. Look them up. They believe they are the ultimate arbiter of law, and say they are more powerful than even a president.
These extremists are in charge of counties nationwide. People need to understand how dangerous these sheriffs are to our freedoms.
Tim what is your feeling on the idea of sealing records for not just cases where charges aren't filed but cases where they are dropped too? I watched for a few minutes the press conference (Monday 4:00 mst) and it seemed from the District Attorney and Mayor's clarifications that the fact that charges were dropped and the records sealed made it less likely a red flag claim would've worked in this case.
I'll be honest this was a first for me to hear about records of the sort being sealed. Generally, when we hear about figures the times they were arrested are easy for reporters to uncover (and private citizens in many cases). With something so serious being alleged, even not pursuing charges shouldn't in my opinion seal the fact that it happened like this was a convicted Juvenile offender.
The tumor masquerading as a human being, Tucker Carlson, is outraged that people would call for consequences for people spreading hate speech, because, you guessed it, free speech. What a waste of oxygen.