Episode 292 Show Notes- 3 Aspects of Mass Shootings – The Individual, The Culture, and The Gun
↓ The P.A.S. Report Podcast is on every podcast platform! ↓
Episode Description
The horrible events that lead to the murder of 19 innocent children and 2 innocent teachers at a school in Uvalde, Texas have reignited the debate surrounding gun laws, gun rights, mental health, culture, and what should/can be done to stop the madness. This is a complex problem that requires us to reflect inwards and ask how we got to this point. Professor Giordano explains 3 aspects of mass shootings- the individual, the culture, and the gun- and he explains possible solutions to mitigate this scourge on American society.
Click play above to listen to the entire episode or you can listen on any podcast platform
Show Transcript- 3 Aspects of Mass Shootings- The Individual, The Culture, and The Gun
Intro- 3 aspects of mass shootings
Welcome to The P.A.S. Report Podcast.
As we continue to focus on the mass murder in Uvalde, Texas, unfortunately too many have resorted to cheap political shots and want to exploit the crisis for their political gain.
This was a tragic event that never should have happened, but it did so we must identify the failures, as well as potential solutions. However, we have to be careful. There are so many people who want to oversimplify this issue.
Also, emotions are running high, and I understand that. How can you not get emotional when you see children, children who have done nothing wrong, brutally murdered by pure evil? Of course, it’s emotional because it never should have happened in the first place.
There were so many failures along the way, and as a society, we are failing. But it is important to put emotions aside when debating these issues. I know how hard that can be. I get it. But emotion clouds objectivity and judgment, and an emotional response isn’t going to solve this problem.
This will be an episode where I will talk about these mass shootings and 3 aspects of mass shootings. My goal for this episode is to identify the problem, attempt to get to the root causes, and then offer solutions to solve the problem. Some of you will like what I have to say, others won’t, but my job isn’t to validate your beliefs, it’s to inform you.
This will be an informative episode, and I have all the links up at The P.A.S. Report website backing up all the numbers and information I’m going to provide.
Unanswered Questions
There are so many unanswered questions involving the Uvalde shooting. There were also many failures in the response so an after-action report is going to be essential. After-action reports allow us to learn the lessons of the failures so that we can better prepare for, respond to, and recover from an incident like this.
And my advice to you is to ignore those who immediately try to make it political. Mass shootings aren’t a Democrat problem or a Republican problem. They’re an American problem. While some want to subscribe blame to one party or the other, let’s cut the crap. It’s not the Democrat’s fault and it’s not the Republican’s fault. It’s our fault because as a society we have failed somewhere along the way. And I am so sick of the public virtue signalers out there. They get on my nerves.
Here are just some of the questions I have regarding the mass shooting incident.
First, the shooter. It’s clear that he had issues long before he went on to murder 19 children and two teachers. In nearly every case, there were so many red flags, and while I will talk about that later, one of the main questions is related to the purchasing of firearms.
According to reports, the killer purchased one rifle on May 17. The next day, on May 18, he purchased 375 rounds of ammunition. Two days later, on May 20, he purchased another rifle. These purchases were all made at the same store. I want to know what his demeanor was like, and did these purchases raise any red flags at the gun store? If so, did the gun store make file any reports with local authorities? If not, why didn’t this raise any red flags?
You have a kid that just turned 18-years old purchasing two rifles and several hundred rounds of ammunition in 3 days. That should have triggered some alarm bells, especially when you consider the cost. The cost of the ammunition is about $300. The rifle he used in the shooting is nearly $2,000. The other rifle he purchased was probably around $800. So, in a matter of three days, you have an unemployed kid who would once in a while go to work with his grandfather, spending over $3,000. He didn’t come from a wealthy family at all, and I want to know where he got that kind of money, and how didn’t that raise any alarm bells.
Other questions I have pertain to the actual response. We now know for a fact that the shooter was outside the school for 12-minutes. I live in downstate, NY. If a mass shooting call comes in, the odds are the cops would be there in 1 to 5-minutes. I’ll admit, I’m not from Uvalde, and I know little about it, but 12-minutes is a long time. When the call came in, I’d like to know how far away was the nearest squad car and when the first officers arrived on the scene?
Another question I have is about the school. If the shooter blasted off a few shots at the funeral home across the street, why didn’t administrative officials make sure all entrances were secure. They had 12-minutes. It’s not to blame the school officials, but we need to know these answers.
Another question I have is why did police wait so long to breach the building and class? Before the 2000s, the response to these types of incidents was for police to secure a perimeter, possibly wait for specialized units, and then breach the area. However, that changed as we witnessed an increase in mass shootings where the protocols for the last 20-years have been that you don’t wait and make entry as quickly as possible. Why did Uvalde deviate from this? Again, this is not to pass blame, it’s to make sure we don’t ever see these failures again.
Examining 3 aspects of mass shootings
There are 3 aspects of mass shootings that we have to examine. We have to identify the problem and define what a mass shooting is. We also have to look at 3 aspects of mass shootings- the individual, the gun, and society as a whole, and I’m going to talk about all these because they overlap with each other, so first, let’s define the problem.
When examining society, we have to look at how the FBI defines active shooters and mass murders because these are important definitions. We have these conversations because of the events like Uvalde and Buffalo.
When it’s gang-fueled violence no one cares. The reality is what happened in Uvalde happens almost every weekend in a lot of urban centers, but no one cares because even though innocent people will die in the crossfire, those innocent people are not the intended targets. And when gang members target each other, there’s a clear motive- drugs, money, turf, etc.
I’m not saying it’s right. The fact that people ignore the violence plaguing most urban centers speaks volumes and tells you it’s all about a narrative. See, the public virtue signalers will come out in droves whenever there’s a mass shooting because it’s so emotional and they feed off of that. When it’s 3 people being shot here, 4 there, and a criminal element is attached to most of the victims, it gets ignored.
However, it is important to make a distinction between the mass shootings because they are senseless, and we need to know how deep the problem is.
Why I Stand
Active Shooter and Mass Shooting Incidents
The FBI defines an active shooter as “an individual actively engaged in killing or attempting to kill people in a confined and populated area; in most cases, active shooters use firearm(s) and there is no pattern or method to their selection of victims.”
The FBI defines a mass murderer as someone who “kills four or more people in a single incident (not including himself), typically in a single location.” (Rand)
When we look at the active shooter incidents, an overwhelming majority of them are perpetrated by men. According to FBI data, between 2000-2019, there were 333 active shooter incidents. (FBI)
- Active shooter doesn’t mean that these cases resulted in mass casualty deaths, but it gives us a window into the types of people we are talking about. Out of the 333 active shooter incidents, 135 met the definition of mass killings.
- A total of 1,062 people were murdered in these incidents, including 29 law enforcement officers, 10 security guards, and 1,023 civilians.
- 23% of active shooters were male. It’s not women that typically engage in these types of incidents. This raises an important question, and it is essential we begin to ask what’s going on with young men in our country.
- Looking at the top ten states during this period, 5 were blue states, 3 were red states, and 2 were purple states. This shows that it’s not about red or blue states, but it does highlight that those states with the strictest gun laws are not immune to these incidents. More on that later as well.
- Out of the 333 active shooter incidents, 62 of them occurred at schools, including primary, secondary, and institutions of higher learning. This represents about 18% of all active shooter incidents. If we just use K-12 institutions, it’s about 13%. The reason I break that out is that many colleges and universities have armed security or actual police on campus.
- When it comes to the 62 school shootings, 36 of these incidents were perpetrated by kids in their teens, 2 by preteens, 11 by someone in their 20s, and 15 by those older than 30. Seven in 10 school shootings were carried out by a child under the age of 18, and the median age was 16.
- A total of 179 people, including children, have been killed in these 62 incidents.
- Of the 333 incidents, handguns accounted for the majority of the choice of weapons, 67%. So, while the AR15 gets the most attention, handguns are the most widely used.
- The total number of deaths from these types of incidents over 20 years is 1062, amounting to about 53 people a year on average. This represents .001% of all deaths each year, and it represents .2% of all crime-related deaths each year.
While the events are horrifying, we have to put them in perspective because so many out there want to operate and peddle fear.
The fact is that no matter how horrifying we find these incidents, they are still rare events. They occur too often, but they are rare, nonetheless. and we shouldn’t be instilling fear in children about going to school.
If you ask most people and school officials, what they worry most about and what’s the biggest problem, they’ll probably say mass shootings, but the reality is drugs are a much bigger problem in schools and will end up taking far more lives.
With that being said, we do have to recognize that these incidents are increasing, and it is concerning. from 2000-2009, we averaged about 8.6 active shooter incidents per year. From 2010-2019, we averaged 22.1 per year, over double. So far from 2020-2021, the number has increased to 50.5 per year, again over double, and while I recognize that it’s only 2 years, 2020 and 2021, we can’t ignore the fact that the number is increasing.
In 2020, the FBI determined there were 40 active shooter incidents with 5 being declared mass killing events. (FBI) In 2021, the numbers rose to 61 active shooter incidents with 12 being declared a mass killing event. (FBI)
P.A.S. Report Listeners Get 10% Off at Design It Yourself Gift Baskets! Use Code: PAS
*PA Strategies, LLC. earns a small commission when you make a purchase through any affiliate links on this website and within this post.
Gun Violence
While we are seeing these incidents increase, some try to lump in gun violence data with mass shooting incidents. They do this intentionally to manipulate the issue.
Using a ten-year data set from 2010-2019, according to the CDC, the average number of firearm deaths per year is 35,894. (CDC) While this number seems high, we need to break it down because it shows why we shouldn’t be conflating gun violence and the mass murders from the shootings.
- First, the majority of the gun violence deaths are actually from self-inflicted suicide. The average number of suicides by firearm during this period was 21,979. This represents 61.23% of gun deaths.
- The media and punditry class mislead the people by including these numbers in the gun violence stats, and they make too many assumptions.
- You can’t assume gun control laws would affect this population. Many of these individuals purchased their firearms years before depression may have kicked in, and many would pass the background investigations.
- By using these numbers, you would have to assume that the 21,979 would not have found another means to commit suicide.
That brings the number of gun-related deaths down to 13,915, but again, that’s not the whole story.
- We also have to take out the unintentional firearm deaths, which according to the CDC average 512 deaths per year bringing the number to 13,403.
- The overwhelming majority of the 13,403 people that die by firearms are through homicides. According to the University of Pittsburgh, 79% of people arrested for gun crimes had an illegal firearm. We know that most homicides are committed through guns illegally obtained on the black market meaning. Any new gun laws would have a very limited impact on these homicides.
- Then you have the justifiable homicides you need to take out.
So, it’s not accurate or fair to lump gun violence and mass shootings in the same category. They are separate and distinct from each other.
The Individual
Knowing that, let’s take a look at the types of individuals who conduct these mass shootings as they all follow similar profiles.
As I stated before, over 96% of these mass shootings are conducted by males, and the recent mass shootings continue with that pattern. If it were truly a gun problem alone, then are we to assume that only men own and have access to firearms?
According to Pew Research, 22% of women own firearms, and 18% of women have access to firearms, so that’s 40% of women with firearms, yet they only account for 3% of these types of shootings.
If it was solely a gun problem, then why aren’t women also engaged in this type of violence, especially since they tell us that there’s no difference between genders?
According to FBI data on school shootings, factors include:
- 24% motivated by a desire for attention or recognition.
- 27% motivated by suicide or desperation.
- 34% motivated by an attempt to solve a problem.
- 54% had multiple motives.
- 61% motivated by the desire for revenge.
- 75% felt bullied/persecuted/threatened by others (FBI)
The Uvalde shooter was no different. Mass shootings also can include hate and racism like the Buffalo murders a few weeks ago, the Charleston murders, the Tree of Life Synagogue, and El Paso.
In most cases of mass shooting incidents, whether it’s at a school or somewhere else, most of the shooters are loners, isolated, and don’t have many friends. Many of them were considered socially awkward in some way.
In nearly all cases, there is some type of mental health issues present. Now I want to state this clearly because too many people are stigmatizing mental health. Millions of Americans suffer from some type of mental health condition, and 99% of those suffering from a mental health condition will never engage in an act of violence, let alone conduct a mass shooting, but it would be irresponsible to ignore this similarity amongst the killers. We have to walk a fine line examining the mental health component and at the same time not demonizing those who suffer from a mental health condition.
Another similarity is that many of these shooters actively played violent video games, many first-person shooter games. Again though, we have to be careful here. Over 95% of children will play some type of violent video game. Over 99% of them will never engage in an act of violence in their lifetimes. So, it is something we certainly have to look at, but at the same time we need to recognize just because someone plays these games doesn’t mean they’ll become a mass shooter.
When examining the life of the Uvalde shooting, it’s clear he didn’t have the most stable family life. From the little we know, it doesn’t appear that his mother and father were involved in his life, and we don’t know if he faced any abuse. But again, we see a common trait. Many of the shooters don’t come from stable homes. Even when they are from two-parent households, we don’t know how they were raised. If they faced abuse. If they were ignored. Just because you may come from a two-parent household, it doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a stable home. In nearly all the cases, we can find some type of enabling by the adults in their lives, whether they openly ignored the warning signs or hid the warning signs.
What about race? When you look at the breakdown in demographics, the race of the killer doesn’t play that much of a role. I know the media loves to highlight when a white person commits these heinous acts, but if we look at the last three mass shootings, the NYC subway shooter was black, luckily no one died in that shooting. The Buffalo killer was white, and the Uvalde shooter was Hispanic. When you look at the numbers, it’s reflective of the racial demographics of the United States. So, while race may be a motivating factor in shooting like the NYC subway and the Buffalo shootings, the racial demographics of the shooters themselves don’t point to any outliers.
What about politics? The left loves to make it as if it’s a bunch of right-wing extremists. Gun nuts. But here too, that’s not true. Politics doesn’t play that much of a role. Whenever they leave a manifesto, you’ll find there either is no political affiliation, or they’re all over the map when it comes to politics. Politics is rarely a motive in these killings, and the reason I don’t lump these incidents in with terrorism is that terrorism should be specifically defined where it’s the intentional targeting of innocent civilians as a way to instill fear and influence government policies. In the overwhelming majority of these cases, while they may target innocent civilians, while they are inspired by hate, they aren’t trying to influence or change government policy.
In nearly all cases of these individuals, there were always warning signs. They gravitated towards violence. They got off on harming animals, which is a key indicator of a sociopath. They made previous threats. School officials and others warned law enforcement. Time and time again, these red flags are missed or completely ignored. This illustrates how most of these mass shootings are preventable which should provide some hope that we can solve this problem.
LOCKDOWN: The Socialist Plan to Take Your Freedom
Society As A Whole
Knowing the characteristics is extremely important, and now that we identified some of those characteristics- isolated loner, proclivity to violence, mental health components, unstable family environment- we have to ask what’s happening in our society.
Why do these young men have such self-hatred and bitterness? Why are they so angry? Why are they in such despair and have such a deep sense of hopelessness? And why do they unleash all these feelings on innocent people?
Many on the left, the Democrats, will focus exclusively on guns. Many on the right, Republicans, will focus exclusively on mental health.
Far fewer will focus on culture, and how toxic our culture has become. We need to look internally and determine where we’ve gone wrong. When did this cultural shift occur where you have these young males become dehumanized with no regard for human life whatsoever?
We need to stop looking at only the surface-level issues. Dig deeper into the root causes. We need to recognize pure evil does exist, and this evil combined with a toxic culture is an explosive combination.
We also need to keep in mind that these incidents are rare, but something has changed within our society, especially when we explore history regarding mass shootings. Once again, it goes directly to our inability to think critically, but we have to understand our past so that we can identify the reasons why we see an increase in these types of mass shootings.
The same high-powered weapons that exist today have existed for over a half-century. Since the AR-15 has been in the news because of its use in a few mass shootings, many may be surprised to know that this firearm has existed since 1959. (NPR)
We didn’t have any real gun laws until the 1980s. Before 1986, there were three major federal gun laws, mostly dealing with licensing firearm dealers, and in 1968, preventing the sale of bombs, mines, grenades, and fully automatic machine guns. (Time) While some states had gun laws, they were extremely limited to a large degree.
Some scream that more households have guns, and that’s why this is happening. The problem is that’s not true. During this same period, the percentage of households with firearms has declined over the decades. According to a University of Chicago study, in 1973, 47% of American households had firearms, whereas 31% of households had firearms in 2014. (University of Chicago)
So, we have to ask the question- before the 1990s, when had few gun laws, and we had a handful of mass shootings. Starting in the late 1980s and throughout the 1990s up until the present day, we began to see extensive gun laws. Yet, at the same time, we saw an increase in mass shootings. How does that make sense?
It doesn’t, and that’s why we have to acknowledge that the problem is much deeper than one particular law or combination of laws. I’ll get to gun laws in a few minutes because it’s not to say certain laws don’t have merit. However, it is a lie that if we just pass a law the problems are solved.
Until we start to deal with the societal and cultural issues, you’re never going to tackle this problem.
Sense of Hopelessness
Let’s tackle the isolation and sense of hopelessness because I believe that is a key aspect of the problem. We have become a culture of materialism where the stuff we have defines us. We’ve been indoctrinated with a superficial belief that stuff makes us happy, and the more stuff we have, the happier we will be.
Well, this had been a dismal failure. When you look at today, we have a lot of stuff. Even if you struggle economically, let’s say you’re on the lower end of the socio-economic ladder, you have far more stuff today than an upper-middle-class family in the 1950s. At the same time, we are more disconnected and miserable than ever.
Could it be because previous generations had a much greater appreciation for what little they may have had? Could it be that we felt like we were part of a community, a family, and now we are isolated and alone?
America has become the most materialistic culture in the world. That’s an American problem. Maybe that’s why these types of incidents are unique to our culture as well because these killings are also an American problem, and we are one of the only countries to face this issue on this scale.
It appears all that stuff didn’t bring happiness, and what is happiness anyway? Happiness is just a moment in time, an emotion. What we should be searching for is contentment, fulfillment, and a sense of self-worth and purpose.
If nothing guides our own lives and if we have no respect for ourselves, how can we possibly respect others.
Don’t Burn This Country: Surviving and Thriving in Our Woke Dystopia
The Internet and Social Media
Rather than acknowledge the fundamental problem, we ignore it and isolate ourselves even further. We retreat to our electronics and live in virtual bubbles that aren’t real, but you can’t avoid the real world forever, and the real world can be cruel at times.
There is no denying that the internet and social media have played a key role in shaping the modern-day mass shooter. Again, it doesn’t mean that everyone on the internet and social media is going to engage in violence, but there is no denying that the more we communicate through machines, the more dehumanized we become.
Just look at the timeline. The internet goes mainstream in the mid to late 1990s. Social media is introduced in the early 2000s. It explodes in 2006 with the development of smartphones like the iPhone where we live our lives through apps and text messages. As the internet and social media became more popular, mass shootings increased. Does anyone believe this is a coincidence? It’s not to say it’s causation, but it’s certainly a factor.
The ability for shootings to go viral, and for the shooter to get instant fame, can be enough for someone suffering from a mental illness to trigger a mass shooting incident. Several studies are now validating this point. (Social Media’s Influence on Frequency of Incidents)
Also, nearly every one of these killers had some type of social media presence. They posted disturbing things. They announced their intentions. Funny how the big tech giants can immediately tag a post or shut down the account of someone who dissents from the COVID narrative, but they can’t flag a post that threatens mass shootings.
It seems the more we use the technology, and as the technology rapidly expands, we are losing pieces of our humanity. Traits like empathy, compassion, love, and prudence.
A Culture of Violence
Then look at the culture of violence that surrounds us day in and day out. You watch television programs or movies, and it’s mostly glorifying the worst vices of human beings. Where it’s all about self-indulgence. In some movies and shows, you can’t tell the difference between who are the good guys and who are the bad guys because even the good guys cross most moral and ethical boundaries.
How does this messaging impact our society? Shouldn’t we be asking that question? It’s not to say that these movies aren’t entertaining, and it’s not to say the government can even do something about it, but notice, the same public virtue signalers who scream the loudest, especially in Hollywood, are the same people peddling this crap to kids and making billions of dollars off of it.
You back 40-50 years ago, and most shows incorporated moral lessons in their episodes. The main character would usually do something wrong, or have some sort of moral shortcoming, and by the end of the episode, they learned the error of their ways. It was a way of instilling values. Differentiating between right and wrong.
What about violent video games? Like I said before, it’s not like every person that plays these games is going to resort to an act of violence, but let’s not pretend that the less than 1% that do engage in violence don’t get lost for hours on end in these games.
Race to the Bottom: Uncovering the Secret Forces Destroying American Public Education
Parents Need to Be Parents Again
Parents need to start being parents again. Enough with trying to be your kids’ friends. Kids shouldn’t be doing whatever they want, whenever they want. They shouldn’t be in front of a screen all day as a distraction. TVs and iPads shouldn’t be replacing parenting.
We need to talk to our children more. Understand what’s going on in their lives. Know who they’re hanging out with and be there for them. I’m sure this isn’t a problem for those that listen to this podcast, but too many parents have taken a hands-off approach, and this is the result.
We have a responsibility to raise our children to be decent human beings, and when we see something is off, we have to do something about it.
We also need to stop coddling our kids and trying to shelter them from every little thing. That’s not helping either. The whole not my child thing doesn’t work, and when you consistently try to shield children from everything, they don’t know how to handle obstacles. I know this sounds like a contradiction, in one sentence I say you have to be involved in your child’s life, and in the next, I say to back off a little, but there has to be a healthy balance.
We need to look internally as well. Look at how we treat others. Children learn from us, and they need to see us treat people with dignity and respect. This means doing away with the customer is always right attitude and the sense of entitlement that so many are guilty of. Enough with the victimization crap.
Mental Health
Most importantly, when you think your child may be suffering from some type of mental health issue, seek help. Don’t ignore it. Don’t let it linger. Parents are the first line of defense when it comes to these issues. It’s nothing to be ashamed of, and again 99% of people suffering from a mental health condition will never commit an act of violence in their life so let’s not be so quick to demonize those who are going through something.
Life is much more complex than a few decades ago. Remember, how all this technology was supposed to make our lives simpler, instead, they’ve become more complex.
We see high rates of depression and anxiety. Higher rates of bipolar disorder, borderline personality disorder, and antisocial personality disorder.
This problem has only been exacerbated by the draconian covid decrees over the last two years, and its metastasized.
As parents, we have to recognize the responsibilities and obligations we have, and at times it can be really difficult, but we have to be there for our kids and there is no way to legislate good parenting.
But I also want to say be careful when seeking help from medical professionals. Sadly, and all too often, healthcare professionals will simply prescribe powerful narcotics that may only serve as a band-aide if they do anything at all, and there are a lot of potential side effects. The point is to overcome, not to take a pill for the rest of your life. The number of kids on Ritalin, and other powerful drugs, is insane.
Sometimes, the mental health condition may rise to the level where a person may need to be committed because they pose a threat to themselves and/or others. Perhaps we went too far in the 50s, 60s, and 70s when it came to committing those suffering from mental health issues, but since then, we have gone in the opposite direction and have made committing someone nearly impossible.
We need to revisit this and make it easier to commit those who are truly a danger to themselves and others. It shouldn’t matter whether someone has the money or not. For those that pose a significant risk, we have to make sure they receive the care they need and ensure the safety of others. This can be done through legislation, and it can be paid for through grants when the situation warrants it.
P.A.S. Report Listeners Get 10% Off at Design It Yourself Gift Baskets! Use Code: PAS
*PA Strategies, LLC. earns a small commission when you make a purchase through any affiliate links on this website and within this post.
Gun Laws and Mass Shootings
Of course, many of the reactions in response to the Uvalde shooting are predictable and boring. People are immediately calling for new gun laws without providing any specific details.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but gun laws aren’t stopping this problem. Why is it that we always look to expand government power and authority? Also, understand that any laws that are passed only provide an illusion of safety and security until the next mass shooting happens.
Now, it’s not to say we can’t pass any laws. There are some laws I would be in support of, but I would like to see them done at the state level. One thing I think all states should do is raise the age to 21, and I know some of you won’t like that, but I want you to think for a second.
Is an 18-year-old in 2022 the same as an 18-year-old in 1980. We all know the answer to that. The fact is that 18-year-olds in 1980 were far more mature and responsible. It’s not to say they all were and there are always exceptions, but let’s be honest, the mindset is different.
However, it’s important to keep in mind that this would have a limited impact at best. I mean do you think that if the Uvalde shooter couldn’t purchase a firearm he would have magically become a responsible and productive member of society? A sociopath is a sociopath. Maybe it would have delayed the inevitable. Maybe he would have found another means to slaughter individuals.
It’s not like this solves the problem, especially considering that plenty of mass shootings have occurred by those under the age of 18 who couldn’t legally purchase a firearm. In many cases, they find their parent’s firearm because the parent or parents don’t secure it properly. So, if you want to consider strengthening laws to require parents to secure their firearms properly, it’s something we can discuss, and perhaps if the parents are found to be negligent and their child gets access to their firearm, those parents should be charged. Parents need to take responsibility for their children and themselves.
You have some irresponsible parents who are aware their child may be suffering from a major mental health issue, yet they enable the madness. It’s like the case in the Wisconsin shooting a few months back where the kid had major issues, yet the parents bought him a firearm for his birthday even knowing that the kid had a tendency towards violence and made threats before. It’s irresponsible parenting like that which enables sociopaths to commit mass murder.
But even if we do these three things, it won’t be enough for some. Some routinely push lies and distortions. They use the word assault weapons, and they don’t even know what an assault weapon is. They say that people shouldn’t have access to weapons of war and automatic weapons, and the truth is, they don’t.
Then you have red flag laws, which I am not a fan of because it makes a mockery of our entire justice system where you’re essentially guilty and has to prove your innocence. There is no doubt that these laws can be easily abused, especially when you look at how ideological the bureaucracy has become.
Take someone like myself. I routinely criticize the government, the politicians, and the senior leadership within the bureaucracy. It’s my job to ask questions. However, under the Biden administration’s National Strategy, I can be classified as expressing anti-government, anti-authority sentiment, and being threat tagged.
In nearly every mass shooting like Buffalo, like Uvalde, like Parkland, like so many other shootings, there were plenty of red flags that if they were acted on, perhaps these shootings could have been prevented. Yet, it was the institutions of the system that failed. It was the parents that failed. A new law isn’t going to fix that.
Do you want stronger background checks? I’m fine with that, but understand that in many of these cases, these individuals would have passed a background check. I’ve done plenty of national security background investigations for security clearances, and believe me, there are plenty granted the clearance even though they shouldn’t have been, and these are some of the most intense background investigations to exist.
Own Your FREEDOM, Your HEALTH, Your WELLNESS
Peace of mind in a box - keep a Medical Emergency Kit in your medicine cabinet
Get 10% off your order Use code PAS at checkout
While I support expanded background checks, understand this is not a fix, and won’t do much. How does this stop the teenager that takes their parent’s firearm? How does this stop the young adult who has never been arrested and doesn’t have any diagnosed mental health condition because they never saw a doctor? The honest answer is that it doesn’t.
I also support the three-day waiting period, but again, what would the real impact of such a law be? Would it do anything to solve this problem, and the answer is no. Can we at least be honest with ourselves?
Some may argue, that if it can prevent one mass shooting isn’t it worth it. The problem with that logic is that it will never be enough, and what happens when the next mass shooting occurs. It’s easy to see where this goes. See, as I always say, any legislation gives the illusion of security until the next incident, and when the next incident occurs, then they say enough wasn’t done and we need to pass even more laws.
And there are some ultimately pushing for a near-total ban on firearms, and even going as far as to call for gun confiscation. We already hear talk about an assault weapons ban, but that won’t do anything regarding mass shootings in the short term. First of all, while the AR-15 is getting attention, handguns are more widely used. Secondly, Article 1, Section 9 of the Constitution makes it clear that Congress cannot pass any Ex Post Facto laws, meaning that they can’t outlaw something today and make it retroactive.
Every firearm currently owned would have to be grandfathered into any type of ban. We are talking about 393 million firearms. Maybe this would have an impact 100 years from now, but in the short term, it would do nothing, and is it worth what we are giving up the answer is no.
Closing
I’m sick of people saying the constitution doesn’t matter when children are being murdered. The Constitution doesn’t matter when there’s a pandemic and people are dying. The Constitution doesn’t matter when there’s a crisis. So, when does the Constitution actually matter?
We are not going to legislate ourselves out of this problem. Don’t be fooled by the current rhetoric. Don’t be manipulated by emotions. If you really want to tackle this problem, we have to look beyond legislation. We have to recognize that something has gone horribly wrong within our culture. If you want to solve this problem, we start by beginning to fix ourselves, and our communities, and reengage in a civil society. Reestablish values and norms within society, have standards and hold people accountable.
Before I go, I want to give a shout-out to Shawna and Jason from Blue Collar Barbell. If you’re in Suffolk County, check Blue Collar Barbell out. I have the links up at The P.A.S. Report website and they are great patriots. I also have links up to their Facebook page and Instagram.
I hope you found this episode informative because this is such an important topic that doesn’t get enough attention. If you find the content informative, please share the episode with others because it is so important to get this message out there, even to those who may disagree politically.
The P.A.S. Report wants to hear from you. Send your feedback to podcast@pasreport.com. The P.A.S. Report Podcast appreciates all ratings and reviews on any podcast platform that allow them, including Apple Podcast and Spotify.
Please share this episode with others.
Follow Nicholas Giordano
You must be logged in to post a comment.