Copying Amelia's starter here for appropriate discussion:

Hi, Jaguars fans.    Gunman and sniper shot from a 42nd floor from a nearby high-rise hotel. 

At least 24 people dead and more than 100 people injured perished after a Jason Aldean Harvest concert around 10:08PM Pacific Time,  1:08AM Eastern Standard Time, from a Jason Aldean Harvest concert at the Mandalay Bay Resort in the Las Vegas Strip.  40,000 people attended the concert. 2 off-duty cops died.

Developing story amid the chaos throughout the day.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

So far we know the suspect is dead, his 62 year old female companion is in custody, and both are described as "Asian."

Motive is yet unknown but we clearly can't rule out terrorism.

A suspicious object is also being contained, no word yet on what it actually is.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

How terrible. Already death toll higher than Orlando shooting

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Shooter now identified as Stephen Paddock from Mesquite, Nevada. Known to local law enforcement but unknown on the terror watch lists.

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“An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers.”. - Plato

I can hear the Libs now, GUN CONTROL! But from my understanding, the weapon involved was already illegal to possess anyway.....

And from what I just read, there's at least 50 dead...........

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/10/02/las...sacre.html

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Something we have to find out is, how did he get an automatic weapon. And how many other people possess automatic weapons.

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How did he walk through a hotel with a huge gun.

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http://heavy.com/news/2017/10/stephen-pa...os-motive/

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Something we have to find out is, how did he get an automatic weapon.  And how many other people possess automatic weapons.

I'm in no way a firearms expert, but I'm sure there are methods and parts freely available online to convert semiautos.

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Something we have to find out is, how did he get an automatic weapon.  And how many other people possess automatic weapons.

I'm in no way a firearms expert, but I'm sure there are methods and parts freely available online to convert semiautos.

Do you think we should regulate that a little better?

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When people snap and go nuts and they wanna do mass harm, an automatic weapon is just one way to do it. The guy also had his pilots license. He could have also flew his plane into a heavily occupied building, or drove his car through large crowds on the Vegas Strip.. So many ways to mass murder. Take away their weapon, they'll find another way.

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I'm in no way a firearms expert, but I'm sure there are methods and parts freely available online to convert semiautos.

Do you think we should regulate that a little better?

It's regulated just fine but like most items in this world, if someone wants to figure out a workaround or hack, they're going to. Hence, not a gun issue, it's a human issue.

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I'm far from a gun expert, but I grew up around guns and just about everyone I know owns several. Semi-Automatic weapons are pretty common and they have been the subject of a lot of debate over the last few years. You have to physically pull the trigger every time you take a shot. In this case however, the shooter reportedly used a fully automatic weapon which from my understanding, is a federal offense to own. You simply hold back on the trigger with those weapons and they keep firing until you let off. People can modify semi-automatic weapons to make them automatic, but if you get caught, you will go to prison for a long time. I'm not for sure, but I believe they might be classified as weapons of mass destruction.

In any case, this is an extremely sad and terrible situation. I was expecting to find out it was some radical terrorist, but instead it's some old white guy that caused this horrible massacre. What the Hell? Prayers go out to all the dead, injured, their families and all those people who were at the concert.

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Do you think we should regulate that a little better?

It's regulated just fine but like most items in this world, if someone wants to figure out a workaround or hack, they're going to. Hence, not a gun issue, it's a human issue.

Should we at least try to make the workaround a little more difficult?

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I'm in no way a firearms expert, but I'm sure there are methods and parts freely available online to convert semiautos.

Do you think we should regulate that a little better?

It's already a federal offense to own automatic weapons without the proper permits which are very, very hard to obtain. If you are caught with such weapons, it's like mandatory prison time. The problem is that when you have some nutjob who wants to cause a massacre, he'll find some way to obtain the weapons he wants, one way or another, whether it be automatic weapons, a bomb or even things like a plane or a car. These crazy wingnuts nowadays will turn anything into a weapon.

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I liked to hear why this guy was "known" to local law enforcement. Why is it every time there is an incident like this in America we find out they were "know" yet nothing done to stop it? It really has become a pattern. Also, it appears mental illness really is on the rise with little to help to identify and treat it. Is there too large of a social stigma? Man, these situations are useless and devastating.

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It's regulated just fine but like most items in this world, if someone wants to figure out a workaround or hack, they're going to. Hence, not a gun issue, it's a human issue.

Should we at least try to make the workaround a little more difficult?

And your suggestion as to how this is accomplished? Suck peoples brains of the knowledge on how to tamper? Ban all tools that could possibly be used? How do we keep people from going above posted speed limits? How do we keep people from going to the exit at the grocery store instead of the entrance? Going the wrong way in a parking lot? The point is, there is no way to regulate humanistic behaviors.

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Should we at least try to make the workaround a little more difficult?

And your suggestion as to how this is accomplished? Suck peoples brains of the knowledge on how to tamper? Ban all tools that could possibly be used? How do we keep people from going above posted speed limits? How do we keep people from going to the exit at the grocery store instead of the entrance? Going the wrong way in a parking lot? The point is, there is no way to regulate humanistic behaviors.

So we pass laws, and when people figure out how to get around them, we just throw up our hands and say, oh well, no way to regulate humans.  

We're not talking about going out the exit at the grocery store.  We're talking about people getting automatic weapons and shooting into a crowd.  You really think we should just throw up our hands and give up?  Because in the long run, we can't regulate humans, so why even try?  Give up and let it happen?

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And your suggestion as to how this is accomplished? Suck peoples brains of the knowledge on how to tamper? Ban all tools that could possibly be used? How do we keep people from going above posted speed limits? How do we keep people from going to the exit at the grocery store instead of the entrance? Going the wrong way in a parking lot? The point is, there is no way to regulate humanistic behaviors.

So we pass laws, and when people figure out how to get around them, we just throw up our hands and say, oh well, no way to regulate humans.  

We're not talking about going out the exit at the grocery store.  We're talking about people getting automatic weapons and shooting into a crowd.  You really think we should just throw up our hands and give up?  Because in the long run, we can't regulate humans, so why even try?  Give up and let it happen?

This is not a gun problem.  This is a mental illness problem. 

Stop wasting money on trying to regulate firearms and dump it into the mental health field.

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Last month I told my son (@ GT in Atlanta) to refrain from going to any peaceful protests because some nut job on one side or the other is going to kill massive amounts of people via a semi-automatic weapon. Little did I know it would happen to a crowd of innocent people enjoying a country concert --- unbelievable !!

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