[dog2000tj]

more info

The gunman, William Spengler, had served more than 17 years in prison for beating his 92-year-old grandmother to death with a hammer in 1980 at the house next to where Monday's attack happened, Pickering said at afternoon news conference. Spengler, 62, was paroled in 1998 and had led a quiet life since, authorities said. Convicted felons are not allowed to possess weapons.

and currently his sisters whereabouts are unknown ... what a model citizen, I'm surprised he wasn't paroled sooner

[Mosin]

Remember when all you heard all summer was SHARK ATTACKS!!!! And people were flipping out, then all the scientists pointed out that it was a pretty normal year in terms of shark attacks.
Same thing...
Except this time the scum media wants you disarmed.

[JonM]

every parole board member or politician that decided it was a good idea to parole a guy that beat his own grandmother to death should be in prison serving time for murder of those firemen

[aandabooks]

Guy like that shouldn't spend 17 years in prison. About a half hour after conviction they should be taken out behind the courthouse and put a bullet in his ear. Figure how much taxpayer money he sucked up sitting in prison and then you don't have to worry about crap like this 30 years later.

I say bring back public executions and the crime rate will drop off the table. It worked into the early part of last century. Make it mandatory viewing for every little punk sitting in juvenile detention as a deterent to going further down the criminal road.

[Mosin]

Just another example of how gun laws don't work.
Just another example of society under strict gun laws...

[John_Deer]

I don't see how gun control would have prevented this shooting. The local chief of police said the shooter should have been in an institution. We would have money to care for the mentally ill if we weren't fighting the war on drugs.

Here is the police chiefs statement: Pickering, the Webster police chief, said it was important -- in the wake of the shooting in his town and others -- to "get a handle on gun control." He also said more needs to be done to make sure that dangerous people aren't in society, where they can kill.
"For the last 20 years we have been turning people loose and deinstitutionalizing people, and I think we've swung too far," he said. "I think there are still people that need to be in institutions that are a danger to themselves or others. And this is a classic example."

[rocshaman]

Originally Posted by trip286

I think if we all looked around, we will see that there is ABSOLUTELY no increase in shootings. Maybe one instance of outrageous depravity in the murdering of a bunch of innocent children, but I don't think for a minute that the frequency or severity has actually increased.

You're right Trip, violent crime is down overall for the 5th straight year. I actually found this reported on CNN, so if they say it, it's gotta be true right:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/29/justice/us-violent-crime/

I'm really surprised CNN even reported this, I suppose it owes to the fact it is so significant. I don't think that it's any coincidence that violent crime has gone down with the rise of concealed carry laws although of course CNN wouldn't attribute it, even in part, to that.

Here are the FBI's findings on it:

http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2012/june/crimes_061112/crimes_061112

Mass murders on the other hand, which are extremely rare when compared to the population as a whole, have remained at about the same level for at least the last 20 years or more. So in effect that means we have about the same number of nut cases out there on a year to year basis, To me, that says "mental health issue" and no amount of gun control will ever fix crazy. On the other hand "normal" homicides are actually cut dramatically by concealed carry and other measures, reducing the total amount of people murdered each year significantly. Mass murders are a tiny, almost infinitesimal fraction of the murder rates.

FBI Chart:

[shadamai]

May God bless the firefighter's families and those recovering in the hospital. That man should never have been allowed back into society. What do we really expect from a man who beat his elderly grandmother to death? How could anyone in good conscience approve his release? Those looking to do harm will do so one way or another; whether with a hammer, a gun, or fire.