We have had 24 hours to mourn, and allow some of the facts to come out. I feel now I can better address the situation as I see it.
There still is not a motive for this act of terror...and yes, it is terror! I keep seeing people touting that because no political or religious motive has been found, it can't be called such. Terror is anything that strikes fear in people, and yes, these events in Las Vegas have left people afraid! What we do know is that this was an older (in his 60's) white male who was rather well off. He was the son of a bank robber...a father who had been diagnosed with mental illness. Because of this, naturally, everyone is going with the lone wolf, mental illness excuse for this man's actions, though so far nothing has been uncovered to support the shooter suffered from mental illness....only the reports of his father's. It has been pointed out...and has gotten me thinking, as well...how race often seems to play out in these things! Someone noted, if the person is Middle Eastern, it has to be jihad...if the person is black, we start hearing how blacks are more likely to kill people...but if the person is white, it is mental illness, and ALL people want to talk about is mental illness! They don't want to talk about the weapons they used, or how they got them, etc. MENTAL ILLNESS! MENTAL ILLNESS!
But let's talk about the weapons of choice here for a moment...guns. After searching all of the shooter's residences and the hotel room, 42 firearms were recovered (23 of which were in his hotel room), thousands of rounds of ammo, and pounds of ammonium nitrate! Now, it is being said that it appears all the firearms and ammo were obtained legally, and some were then altered to function as automatic rifles. The question I've had to ask is how can someone LEGALLY obtain this much fire power, and stay under the radar?! I've been on some discussions about gun control, and I do believe that this issue needs to be taken up by Congress. Now, I'm not saying that folks need to have their guns taken away...which I've had to try to explain to people, yet they don't get. When you say gun control, all the Second Amendment fanatics quickly go into the "it's my right, you can't have them" defense, coming up with a billion scenarios why gun ownership should remain legal...thinking that you want to ban ALL guns. No, I'm not calling for a ban. I'm being realistic! NO ONE needs 42 firearms and thousands of rounds of ammo! Let's be real here! One firearm to protect your person and/or your home. Maybe two to three different guns for hunting or sport, if you are into that. That is all a person should be allowed to have. I'm not saying ban all guns...I'm saying we need to set limits on how much a single person can actually own! If we don't already have it, we need a database, where we record every purchase of a firearm or ammo, and red flags are raised in various situations...like say, if too much ammo is being bought within a short period of time. When a person has reached the "legal limit", they are informed by the seller that they cannot purchase the firearm or ammo, and if they have questions, call a number. "Well, what if I sold..." Then, once talking to the person on the phone number provided, if you have proof of the sale, you can submit it and after review they can give you your firearm credit back. If we want to allow people to be collectors, maybe require a special collector license that requires a mental check every year or two. If a collector fails a check...they will be flagged, and no longer allowed to purchase further firearms or ammo until they can pass a mental check (i.e., to avoid error, they can ask for a recheck after 2 months, while their purchase right is suspended). We also need to outlaw ARs and semi-automatics (as these are the easiest to convert to fully automatic with a few instructions from the internet). No one NEEDS these for home protection or hunting!
This data base should also contain entries for anyone diagnosed with a mental illness, regardless of if they are actively on medication (because anyone can simply stop taking their medication), and they should not be allowed to purchase a firearm. "But that is a violation of HIPA and doctor/patient privilege...etc." Really? You are screaming mental illness in these cases like Las Vegas, but you don't want to limit sales to people with actual diagnosis? And no, the person at the point-of-sale should not have access to the details. Much like it works when your credit card is denied...they receive a code when they run the person's ID (you know, because we can chip and use magnetic strips on those these days to contain all identifying info) that indicates the sale cannot go through, and they simply tell the customer, "Sorry, but I can't sell to you today. Please call this number, and you can talk to someone about why you are flagged." Of course, this would also mean reinstating the Obama-era policies that Trump so quickly undid upon taking office that prevented people who receiving SSD for a mental illness from buying firearms!
And then there is the issue being brought up with regards to suppressors. I've made the argument that no one NEEDS a suppressor, and that Congress should not proceed with deregulation of these in light of this. I was told to go do my research and quit watching movies! Seriously, I know what suppressors do, and no one NEEDS one. I've heard the argument "it allows you to use your firearm without having to wear ear protection"...that sounds like a want, or should I say a don't want...you don't want to wear ear protection, so you want a suppressor! I've also heard the argument that it quiets down your firearm so you can target practice on your own property if your neighbor doesn't like the sound of guns. Again, this sounds like a want...you want to target practice on your property. Truth be told, most people cannot do this because they live in neighborhoods, so you can really just do what they do if your neighbor is too bothered, and go to the range! You don't NEED a suppressor!
Bottom line, we need better gun control in this country! I keep hearing that there have been some 272 mass shootings of 4 or more people so far this year according to some group tracking these. I'm not certain about those numbers, but what I am certain is that we are seeing more and more of these kinds of events like Las Vegas, Orlando, and Sandy Hook here in the last decade of my life than I recall in my earlier years on this earth. Something needs to be done! "But they will just continue to buy on the black market"...well then maybe we need to concentrate more on shutting down the black market than say...I don't know...busting people for recreational pot! "But it will take money to build the database you speak of, and whatever organization needed to monitor and field consumer questions"...okay, well we really don't need that damn wall...so let's use that money to actually help prevent tragedies like this!