From the office of U.S. Sen. Barbara Mikulski:
U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), today issued the following statement on the mass shooting this weekend in Orlando, Florida:
“This is a national tragedy. I join Maryland and the nation in offering my deepest condolences, prayers and heartfelt sympathies to the families, loved ones and communities of those killed in this senseless act of violence and hate in Orlando, Florida. My deepest thanks to the first responders who arrived on the scene and the law enforcement officials.
“The facts will come out. Until then, we must stand together in strength and unity to support all people touched by this tragic event.
“Most importantly, we must continue to share this message with the American people — that America’s strength lies in its diversity. We are #StrongerTogether.
“This terrible attack is rightly called a hate crime. No hate crime can be tolerated against any community, ever. All of us must stand together in denouncing prejudice and violence directed at any group. I join the LGBT community and my Muslim friends in speaking out against hate in any form.
“Americans deserve to know their neighborhoods are safe and free from intolerance and discrimination. As we grieve with the families of the victims and struggle to cope with the latest tragedy, we should also lift up our voices in a unified call for peace.”
Interesting the calls for the removal of the Confederate Flag after the horrific South Carolina murders and the call for understanding after this. ‘Free from intolerance’ and we have so many calls for the banishment of the Rebel Flag. Mikulski should take her calls for this to the Muslim nations. Try demanding tolerance for the LGBT community there, or women’s rights. Stop accusing Americans of intolerance when we have accepted so many willingly.
“This terrible attack is rightly called a hate crime. No hate crime can be tolerated against any community, ever. All of us must stand together in denouncing prejudice and violence directed at any group.”
Sorry Babs, I plan on being prejudice against a community like ISIS and the people who represent them. In fact, I advocate violence against the whole sorry ass ISIS group, and it is my desire that we wipe them from the face of the earth.
Sen. Mikulski, how can you join your Muslim friends in speaking out against hate in any form when their religion requires them to kill non-believers? Open your eyes, woman.
The war on terrorism has not been, and should not be, a war of religion
“Six days after the 9/11 attacks, Bush told the world, “The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That’s not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace.” In succeeding years, Bush repeated this message over and over.”
http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2016/06/fearmonger-republicans-have-been-waiting-for.html
Maybe you should take a few minutes and research the history of this peaceful religion.
“Islam is peace.”
Islam is so peaceful that Muslims, practicing their religion, slaughter other Muslims, rape Muslim women and children and commit other untold atrocities, all in the name of their religion.
For the reasons above, reasonable people understand that such a thing as “Radical Islam” exists, and reasonable people refuse to bury their head in the sand and ignore this fact.
You say that Islam is a religion of peace. Your problem is convincing those who are committing these atrocities that they are not really doing it in the name of their religion.
PauL Ryan disagrees:
“I think there is a really important distinction that every American needs to keep in mind: This is a war with radical Islam. It’s not a war with Islam,” Ryan said Tuesday.
“Muslims are our partners. The vast, vast majority of Muslims in this country and around the world are moderates. They’re peaceful,” the Speaker continued. “They’re among our best allies, among our best resources in this fight against radical Islamic terrorism.”
No, Paul Ryan did not disagree with what I posted. As I stated in my post, reasonable people understand that Radical Islamist exist. In fact, there are thousands of them. It’s why they kill other Muslims along with killing Americans and other nationalities of free western nations. Paul Ryan also stated that America is at war with radical Islam. So, where does Mr. Ryan differ with me?
Kinda like the Crusades…..
Can’t swing a dead cat around the Dagger without hitting a religious harford county idiot.
Yeah, but that was like, a long, long time ago, so that doesn’t count.
Well, I guess Muslim history could also be considered a long, long time ago, but that counts because…well, because it’s Muslim history, so it counts.
Besides…don’t you know that this man represented the will of the other 1.6 billion Muslims around the world? I think they have a secret ballot system to elect who will be the next Muslim to go crazy and kill a bunch of people. It’s a representative system. You know…kinda like Congress.
“Besides…don’t you know that this man represented the will of the other 1.6 billion Muslims around the world?”
It is not necessary to know if a terrorist represents 1.6 billion other Muslims. It is “reality” that the terrorists represent their interpretation of what they believe their religion requires them to do. That is why the term “radical” is applied to those who act in a violent way based on their religion.
Exactly. Which means that a terrorist is acting on his “interpretation”, which is a representation of HIS beliefs, not the other 1.6 billion. Which means his terrorist actions does not make the other 1.6 billion part of a terrorist organization.
@Invisible Man,
Who said that the actions of a Radical Muslim made all Muslims Radical?
Just as I always suspected. Did she just come out of the closet?
Where have you been?
Assault style weapons should be banned from civilian sale, period. Can anyone provide a serious, plausible reason as to why the average citizen should own one? Is the argument simply the second amendment? If so, why can’t we own tanks, bazookas, grenade launchers? Why stop there?
“Bad guys will get them anyway.” Okay, fine. Banning them makes it that much harder.
The defense of owning these weapons is reprehensible. They clearly cause more harm than good.
What good are they? How do they benefit anything?
I own guns. Guns are great. I own handguns and shotguns. I have shot AR-15s. It was a lot of fun. But really, I am finally at a point of enough is enough with these assault weapons. To argue that they don’t make killing large numbers of people way easier is insane. To say he would have just used something else to carry out his act is moot. He may have, but he would have had to figure it out. He couldn’t have simply walked into a store and bought a bomb or some other means of causing such destruction.
Gun laws are not the answer. Stopping pieces of garbage from first coming into the country and second noticing when they take long trips to their “homeland” where they come back crazy.
Wouldn’t have stopped this, Care to share what attack your suggestions would have stopped?
Actually don’t bother responding the answer is zero.
I guess you’ve never heard of Oklahoma City.
He didn’t even have an AR15. Apparently it was a Sig Sauer MCX.
Yes, let’s ban all military-style weapons. This was never the intention of the writers of the Bill of Rights… oh, wait a second. ALL guns were military-style weapons when the Constitution was written.
Never mind.
TheMoneyTree, that really wouldn’t help. Saudi Arabia isn’t his homeland. As a muslim, as with all muslims, they are required to take a pilgrimage to Mecca in their life.
He was born in the U.S.
All these mass shootings have the weapon of choice in common. Why? Because it is the most effective means to kill lots of people, fast.
I must laugh at all you silly infidels,,,, Why do you think we come here to the USA in droves??? Because we like Starbucks coffee?? hahaha,,, of course not,,, we will be soo many , we will vote you out of office, we will run your schools, your public offices, your churches will torn down to make way for our huge beautiful mosques. Oh and Thank you Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton , and aaaaaaal the stupid ,,,er ah,,, thoughtfull Democrats …
The most amazing part of listening to the rants of our gun banning liberal friends is their complete lack of understanding that the second amendment protects our natural right to self defense from them. They are the tyranny acknowledged by the founding fathers.
Banning an individual’s right to protect themselves causes dependence on the government for that protection. The very same government that has failed to protect us from these maniacs inspite of red flags raised for each of them. The government can’t protect you, it can only react to the aftermath, point fingers and make excuses. The gun laws in place didn’t work, why would more do any better.
Who is talking of taking all the guns away, you dolt? Stop selling assault weapons. They serve no purpose. Guess what, this is 2016. Send a couple guys with assault rifles back in time and they could wipe out a regiment of the Continental Army from out of the range of their muskets. These are weapons that were absolutely unfathomable at the time the constitution was written. If you are wanting to rise up in arms against the U.S., you sir are the traitor.
Assult rifles fire one round per one pull of the trigger.
They are semi automatic, the same as a semi auto matic hand gun.
You banning pistols too?
Who said anything about pistols? Pistols are a self-defense weapon, and clearly have a purpose. Assault rifles have no purpose to the average citizen.
Go educate yourself idiot
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/14/sunday-review/the-assault-weapon-myth.html?_r=0
We have already been down this road in 1994 with slick willy.
Okay. Maybe you can share that with the people who decide to carry out their mass shootings. San Bernadino, Sandy Hook, Orlando, that theater in Co, etc. Why? Because it is extremely accurate and deadly. You can fire off rounds accurately as fast as you can pull the trigger.
Pray tell, why do you need an assault rifle? I am still waiting for a valid reason to own them. Sure, they are fun to shoot on the range. But that really isn’t a reason for their existence.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/14/nyregion/ar-15-rifles-are-beloved-reviled-and-a-common-element-in-mass-shootings.html
Murder Victims – 12,664
Death by rifle = 323 (2.6%)
Death by pistol = 6,220 (49.1%)
Death by knives = 1,694 (13.4%)
Death by hands, feet = 726 (5.7%)
https://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-11
You plan on banning hands, feet and knives as well…
Go Educate Yourself Idiot:
So, what you are saying is that hands, feet and knives are just as lethal and useful as weapons as pistols and rifles…I get it.
So therefore, you really have no need or reason to have a rifle or a pistol to defend yourself, because you already have it taken care of. You can use your hands and feet to defend yourself just as effectively as a rifle or pistol.
Thanks for clearing that up!
Learn to read statistics you clown. Hands and feet are responsible for 5.7% of murders compared to rifles at 2.6% of all murders.
No one said anything about effectiveness of murdering someone.
The point is that banning rifles won’t make a dent in the murder rate. Because people who want to kill people will use any means at their disposal. If you want to reduce murders start in the cities with criminal gangs.
The only thing that will stop a bag guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun. I suppose you expect elderly people to fight off criminals in hand to hand combat and homeowners to protect themselves with a golf club against an armed criminal.
Lots of people are calling for partial and total bans. You must not be paying attention. I also didn’t say anything about rising up against the government, even though part of the reason for the second amendment was to prevent a tyrannical government.
Judging from your hysterics, your lack of reading comprehension, and your lack of respect for others with the name calling and light use of the word traitor, I doubt you are responsible enough for the handguns and shotguns you claim to own. Huh?
Doesn’t matter. The contemporary second Amendment is null and void.
How many more right wing nut jobs have to commit mass murder with AR style and similar semi auto rifles loaded with 30 round mags?
Look around, more people want guns unavailable to the general public.
How many Police Officers in this state want thousands of more people packing a pistol on their hip with a carry permit?
Believe me, NONE. They may be conservative Republicans but they don’t want you carrying a gun in public, especially when it involves them at a traffic stop on you.
Omar Mateen was a registered democrat.
Lots of people around you are carrying guns without you knowing. Many are bad guys.
Concealed carry works well in many other states with responsible gun owners who have respect for law enforcement.
When the constitution was drafted, guns were a necessity of life. The country was mostly wilderness and rifles were used for hunting food as well as protection against criminals and other wild animals..
It was determined by the writers of the constitution that a well armed militia of citizen-soldiers was the best defense against terrorism; British or otherwise. During the British occupation, British solders were housed, by law, in the homes of the residents who were expected to feed and provide domestic services to these solders. The residents had no say and could not refuse to accept them in their homes.
This was not the most serious act against the colonist, but our founding fathers realized that it was only by the grace of their guns that they would able to expel the British and install self-rule in this country.
Our mighty war machine will never be able to stop a concerted guerilla attacked. Our boarders are too porous and easily crossed. With our government in the horrible fiscal shape it’s in, they will never be able to muster a defense against a flood of radicals hell-bent on destroying America and all we stand for.
The truth of this is in what has already happened and how ineffective the government was in stopping it.
I have nightmares about jeep loads of “Islamic terrorist” driving down my street armed with the worst that can be stolen from the American war machine and what they will do to my unarmed neighbors. They can take what I have, but they will do it only when the can take the guns out of my cold dead hands.
If the politicians and the Fed Reserve don’t get their act together and get the American economy back on a paying bases where we have the ability to produce what we need instead of buying it on credit from foreigners, they won’t have the resources to stop a full blown assault from an army trained and supplied by the American taxpayer.
Sounds crazy doesn’t it? Our real enemy is Washington greed and politician who sells out to the highest bidder while running up a deficit even our grandchildren won’t be able to pay. When the foreign countries holding all that IOU paper the treasury has been issuing, decide we are no longer able to pay up, this county is going to go down like a T-Rex caught in a pack of Allosaurus .
Consider this… the FBI interviewed this creature twice due to reports they’d received. They knew pretty much everything they could know about him… where he was born, his parents, his education background, criminal record, work history, etc. Everything. He then went on to murder 49 people. How can Obama look me in the eye and say they can properly vet and be certain that all the tens of thousands of refugees he wants to scatter around the country are safe and mean us no harm when they know absolutely NOTHING about them? Nothing. Obama has treated the American public like a bunch of rubes since day one… he considers all of idiots and a majority of people in this country have proven him correct.
Obama does not make laws, Congress does…. well that’s when they actually do something which hasn’t happened since Obama got elected. So blaming OBama once again makes you the idiot. Thanks for playing.
Obama is in charge of the executive branch responsible for enforcing the laws Congress passes. He is not enforcing immigration laws or following the advice of Homeland Security and the FBI.
In what way did I imply Obama was making laws? Why do liberals use insults as their first tool of rebuttal? He wants to bring refugees here. He said so. I didn’t make that up. He assures us that they will be thoroughly vetted. All I’m saying is that recent events prove that is simply impossible… and he knows it. If you would simply put emotions and idol worship aside you’d know it too.
The nutbag shooter was vetted. He broke no laws and legally purchased a gun from a gun store that hated both the President and Muslims. Until you recognize the problem you will not solve it.
Cause of Death 2016 –
Abortion: 498,251
Heart Disease: 280,309
Cancer: 269,974
Tobacco: 159,694
Obesity: 140,075
Medical Errors: 114,731
Stroke: 60,731
Lower Respiratory Disease: 65,221
Accident (unintentional): 62,077
Hospital Associated Infection: 45,171
Alcohol: 45,627
Diabetes: 34,899
Alzheimer’s Disease: 42,680
Influenza/Pneumonia: 25,198
Kidney Failure: 19,511
Blood Infection: 15,269
Suicide: 19,516
Drunk Driving: 15,426
Unintentional Poisoning: 14,490
All Drug Abuse: 11,409
Homicide: 7,665
Prescription Drug Overdose: 6,844
Murder by gun: 5,244
Texting while Driving: 2,733
Pedestrian: 2,281
Drowning: 1,786
Fire Related: 1,597
Malnutrition: 1,265
Domestic Violence: 666
Smoking in Bed: 356
Falling out of Bed: 272
Killed by Falling Tree: 68
Struck by Lightning: 37
Mass Shooting *
Generic: 10
Radical Terrorism: 49
The problem is what exactly?
The problem is that the only certain thing in life is you are going to die. The manor of death only matters if you can prevent it. Some people will die regardless of what you do to try and stop it.
When it’s your time, it’s your time. But even though your days are numbered, the Bible says we can change this through our behavior.
In your list, are there any causes of death that are not preventable in some way? Selling a “hot shot” to a junkie is just as much an act of murder as pointing a gun at him and pulling the trigger. The drug laws aren’t doing much to prevent Heroin use either.
Maroon,
How do you know the gun store hates the President and Muslims?
50 people get gunned down in a club and it gets non stop coverage in the media and Obama and Hillary start screaming “ban guns” from the mountain tops.
50 people a month, EVERY MONTH get murdered just in Chicago and these people say nothing.
The hypocrisy is amazing when they have an agenda.
That comparison of circumstances and motives is apples and oranges. Not defending the media, but your comparison is off.
Islamist Extremism….the new religion of peace. We are STILL waiting on an official statement from our Muslim neighbors…(crickets).