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posted by takyon on Saturday December 12 2015, @08:31AM   Printer-friendly
from the smoking-hotcakes dept.

Many Americans agree and are stocking up on weapons after the country's worst mass shooting in three years. Gun retailers are reporting surging sales, with customers saying they want to keep handguns and rifles at hand for self-defense in the event of another attack.

"Everyone is reporting up, every store, every salesman, every distributor," said Ray Peters, manager of Range, Guns & Safes, a company that sells firearms and safes in Atlanta with an indoor firing range. "People are more aware of the need to protect themselves."

[...] Gun sales were already on the rise this year. On Black Friday, the popular shopping day on Nov. 27 after the U.S. Thanksgiving Day holiday, a total of 185,345 applicants were processed through the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System, a 5.5 percent increase from the year before.

The Pew Research Center found last December that 57 percent of Americans say they believe owning a gun helps protect people from crime, up from 48 percent in 2012. The rest said owning a gun would put personal safety at risk.


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  • (Score: 5, Informative) by Runaway1956 on Saturday December 12 2015, @10:19PM

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 12 2015, @10:19PM (#275581) Journal

    And, apparently, you've been living under a rock for the past few years.

    Date Country City/State Killed Injured Description
    4/14/1972 USA New York, NY 1 3 Ten members of a local mosque phone in a false alarm and then ambush responding officers, killing one.
    1/19/1973 USA Brooklyn, NY 1 1 Muslim extremists rob a sporting goods store for weapons, gunning down a police officer who responds to the alarm.
    7/1/1973 USA Bethesda, MD 1 0 An Israeli diplomat is gunned down in his driveway by Palestinian terrorists.
    7/18/1973 USA Washington, DC 8 2 Nation of Islam members shoot seven members of a family to death in cold blood, including four children. A defendant in the case is later murdered in prison on orders from Elijah Muhammad.
    10/19/1973 USA Oakland, CA 1 1 Nation of Islam terrorists kidnap a couple and nearly decapitate the man, while raping and leaving the woman for dead.
    10/29/1973 USA Berkeley, CA 1 0 A woman is shot repeatedly in the face by Nation of Islam terrorists.
    11/25/1973 USA Oakland, CA 1 0 A grocer is killed in his store by Nation of Islam terrorists.
    12/11/1973 USA Oakland, CA 1 0 A man is killed by Nation of Islam terrorists while using a phone booth.
    12/13/1973 USA Oakland, CA 1 0 A woman is shot to death on the sidewalk by Nation of Islam terrorists.
    12/20/1973 USA Oakland, CA 1 0 Nation of Islam terrorists gun down an 81-year-old janitor.
    12/22/1973 USA Oakland, CA 2 0 Nation of Islam terrorist kills two people in separate attacks on the same day.
    12/24/1973 USA Oakland, CA 1 0 A man is kidnapped, tortured and decapitated by Nation of Islam terrorists.
    1/24/1974 USA Oakland, CA 4 1 Five vicious shooting attacks by Nation of Islam terrorists leave three people dead and one paralyzed for life. Three of the victims were women.
    4/1/1974 USA Oakland, CA 1 1 A Nation of Islam terrorist shoots at two Salvation Army members, killing a man and injuring a woman.
    4/16/1974 USA Ingleside, CA 1 0 A man is killed while helping a friend move by Nation of Islam terrorists.
    3/9/1977 USA Washington, DC 1 1 Hanifi Muslims storm three buildings including a B'nai B'rith to hold 134 people hostage. At least two innocents were shot and one died.
    7/22/1980 USA Bethesda, MD 1 0 A political dissident is shot and killed in front of his home by an Iranian agent who was an American convert to Islam.
    8/31/1980 USA Savou, IL 2 0 An Iranian student guns down his next-door neighbors, a husband and wife.
    11/6/1989 USA St. Louis, MO 1 0 A 17-year-old girl is stabbed to death by her parents for bringing 'dishonor' to their family by dating an 'infidel' African-American.
    1/31/1990 USA Tuscon, AZ 1 0 A Sunni cleric is assassinated in front of a Tuscon mosque after declaring that two verses of the Qur'an were invalid.
    11/5/1990 USA New York City, NY 1 0 An Israeli rabbi is shot to death by a Muslim attacker at a hotel.
    1/25/1993 USA Langley, VA 2 3 A Pakistani with Mujahideen ties guns down two CIA agents outside of the headquarters.
    2/26/1993 USA New York, NY 6 1040 Islamic terrorists detonate a massive truck bomb under the World Trade Center, killing six people and injuring over 1,000 in an effort to collapse the towers.
    3/1/1994 USA Brooklyn, NY 1 0 A Muslim gunman targets a van packed with Jewish boys, killing a 16-year-old.
    3/23/1997 USA New York, NY 1 6 A Palestinian leaves an anti-Jewish suicide note behind and travels to the top of the Empire State building where he shoot seven people in a Fedayeen attack.
    4/3/1997 USA Lompoc, CA 1 0 A prison guard is stabbed to death by a radical Muslim.
    3/17/2000 USA Atlanta, GA 1 1 A local imam and Muslim spiritual leader guns down a deputy sheriff and injures his partner.
    9/11/2001 USA Shanksville, PA 40 0 Forty passengers are killed after Islamic radicals hijack the plane in an attempt to steer it into the U.S. Capitol building.
    9/11/2001 USA Washington, DC 184 53 Nearly 200 people are killed when Islamic hijackers steer a plane full of people into the Pentagon.
    9/11/2001 USA New York, NY 2752 251 Islamic hijackers steer two planes packed with fuel and passengers into the World Trade Center, killing hundreds on impact and eventually killing thousands when the towers collapsed. At least 200 are seriously injured.
    3/19/2002 USA Tuscon, AZ 1 0 A 60-year-old man is gunned down by Muslim snipers on a golf course.
    5/27/2002 USA Denton, TX 1 0 Muslim snipers kill a man as he works in his yard.
    7/4/2002 USA Los Angeles, CA 2 0 Muslim man pulls out a gun at the counter of an Israeli airline and kills two people.
    9/5/2002 USA Clinton, MD 1 0 A 55-year-old pizzaria owner is shot six times in the back by Muslims at close range.
    9/21/2002 USA Montgomery, AL 1 1 Muslim snipers shoot two women, killing one.
    9/23/2002 USA Baton Rouge, LA 1 0 A Korean mother is shot in the back by Muslim snipers.
    10/2/2002 USA Wheaton, MD 1 0 Muslim snipers gun down a program analyst in a store parking lot.
    10/3/2002 USA Montgomery County, MD 5 0 Muslim snipers kill three men and two women in separate attacks over a 15-hour period.
    10/9/2002 USA Manassas, VA 1 1 A man is killed by Muslim snipers while pumping gas two days after a 13-year-old is wounded by the same team.
    10/11/2002 USA Fredericksburg, VA 1 0 Another man is killed by Muslim snipers while pumping gas.
    10/14/2002 USA Arlington, VA 1 0 A woman is killed by Muslim snipers in a Home Depot parking lot.
    10/22/2002 USA Aspen Hill, MD 1 0 A bus driver is killed by Muslim snipers.
    8/6/2003 USA Houston, TX 1 0 After undergoing a 'religious revival', a Saudi college student slashes the throat of a Jewish student with a 4" butterfly knife, nearly decapitating the young man.
    4/15/2004 USA Scottsville, NY 1 2 In an honor killing, a Muslim father kills his wife and attacks his two daughters with a knife and hammer because he feared that they had been sexually molested.
    6/16/2006 USA Baltimore, MD 1 0 A 62-year-old Jewish moviegoer is shot to death by a Muslim medical student in an unprovoked terror attack.
    6/25/2006 USA Denver, CO 1 5 Saying that it was 'Allah's choice', a Muslim shoots four of his co-workers and a police officer.
    7/28/2006 USA Seattle, WA 1 5 An 'angry' Muslim-American uses a young girl as hostage to enter a local Jewish center, where he shoots six women, one of whom dies.
    1/1/2008 USA Irving, TX 2 0 A Muslim immigrant shoots his two daughters to death on concerns about their 'Western' lifestyle.
    7/6/2008 USA Jonesboro, GA 1 0 A devout Muslim strangles his 25-year-old daughter in an honor killing.
    2/12/2009 USA Buffalo, NY 1 0 The founder of a Muslim TV station beheads his wife in the hallway for seeking a divorce.
    4/12/2009 USA Phoenix, AZ 2 0 A man shoots his brother-in-law and another man to death after finding out that they visited a strip club, in contradiction to Islamic values.
    6/1/2009 USA Little Rock, AR 1 1 A Muslim shoots a local soldier to death inside a recruiting center explicitly in the name of Allah.
    11/2/2009 USA Glendale, AZ 1 1 A woman dies from injuries suffered when her father runs her down with a car for being too 'Westernized.' (10-20-09)
    11/5/2009 USA Ft. Hood, TX 13 31 A Muslim psychiatrist guns down thirteen unarmed soldiers while yelling praises to Allah.
    12/4/2009 USA Binghamton, NY 1 0 A non-Muslim Islamic studies professor is stabbed to death by a Muslim grad student in revenge for 'persecuted' Muslims.
    4/14/2010 USA Marquette Park, IL 5 2 After quarrelling with his wife over Islamic dress, a Muslim convert shoots his family members to 'take them back to Allah' and out of the 'world of sinners'.
    4/30/2011 USA Warren, MI 1 0 A 20-year-old woman is shot in the head by her stepfather for not adhering to Islamic practices.
    9/11/2011 USA Waltham, MA 3 0 Three Jewish men have their throats slashed by Muslim terrorists.
    1/15/2012 USA Houston, TX 1 0 A 30-year-old Christian convert is shot to death by a devout Muslim for helping to convert his daughter.
    11/12/2012 USA Houston, TX 1 0 A 28-year-old American man is shot to death by a conservative Muslim over an alleged role in converting a woman to Christianity.
    2/7/2013 USA Buena Vista, NJ 2 0 A Muslim targets and beheads two Christian Coptic immigrants.
    3/24/2013 USA Ashtabula, OH 1 0 A Muslim convert walks into a church service with a Quran and guns down his Christian father while praising Allah.
    4/15/2013 USA Boston, MA 3 264 Foreign-born Muslims describing themselves as 'very religious' detonate two bombs packed with ball bearings at the Boston Marathon, killing three people and causing several more to lose limbs.
    4/19/2013 USA Boston, MA 1 1 Jihadists gun down a university police officer sitting in his car.
    8/4/2013 USA Richmond, CA 1 0 A convert "on a mission from Allah" stabs a store clerk to death.
    3/6/2014 USA Port Bolivar, TX 2 0 A Muslim man shoots his lesbian daughter and her lover to death and leaves a copy of the Quran open to a page condemning homosexuality.
    4/27/2014 USA Skyway, WA 1 0 A 30-year-old man is murdered by a Muslim fanatic.
    6/1/2014 USA Seattle, WA 2 0 Two homosexuals are murdered by an Islamic extremist.
    6/25/2014 USA West Orange, NJ 1 0 A 19-year-old college student is shot to death 'in revenge' for Muslim deaths overseas.
    9/25/2014 USA Moore, OK 1 1 A Sharia advocate beheads a woman after calling for Islamic terror and posting an Islamist beheading photo.
    7/16/2015 USA Chattanooga 5 2 A 'devout Muslim' stages a suicide attack on a recruiting center at a strip mall and a naval center which leaves five dead.
    12/2/2015 USA San Bernardino, CA 14 17 A 'very religious' Muslim shoots up a Christmas party with his wife, leaving fourteen dead.

    Starting Score:    1  point
    Moderation   +3  
       Interesting=1, Informative=2, Total=3
    Extra 'Informative' Modifier   0  
    Karma-Bonus Modifier   +1  

    Total Score:   5  
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 12 2015, @10:53PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 12 2015, @10:53PM (#275597)

    Oh please, a cut-n-paste job without any verifiable citations? That site you copied it from just skimmed the internet for any murders involving muslims and then relied on your lack of context to assume the worst. Especially when it comes to "honor killings" which happen in all faiths like the 8000 hindu bride burnings each year in India [telegraph.co.uk] and christians defending it in Australia [theaustralian.com.au]

    You bigots are so credulous.

    • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Saturday December 12 2015, @10:57PM

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Saturday December 12 2015, @10:57PM (#275600) Journal

      That's your best? I demonstrate that Islam has been killing Americans for at least forty years, and all you can offer is, "Hindus do honor killings"??????

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 13 2015, @12:11AM

        by Anonymous Coward on Sunday December 13 2015, @12:11AM (#275620)

        > I demonstrate that Islam has been killing Americans for at least forty years

        You demonstrated that some people who happen to be muslim have probably killed a couple of people a year for various reasons unknown and known, reasons that killers of all other faiths have claimed too. But that's how bigot logic works, its all about exclusively applying negative stereotypes to the group you wish to persecute.

      • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Sunday December 13 2015, @03:28AM

        by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Sunday December 13 2015, @03:28AM (#275661)

        How many years (centuries? millennia?) have America and other Western nations been interfering with and killing those in Islamic nations?

        • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday December 13 2015, @06:55AM

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday December 13 2015, @06:55AM (#275710) Journal

          That's a fair question, Joe - but it is also a question which exposes the hole in your knowledge of history. Off the top of my head, I'll say it's been just a wee bit more than 1000 years. But, I have to look to get an accurate answer. Why don't I just do that, and fill you in at the same time:

          The Rashidun had conquered Spain by the year 750 - so that's 1250 years ago that the Muslims were slaughtering "western" Europeans. By that time they had established their power all the way up into the Caucusus, which meant they were also slaughtering eastern Europeans.

          Islamic incursions into southern and central Italy came a little later - between 830 and 902.

          To be fair, I'm not a history scholar, and I'm not qualified to judge the accuracy of the wikipedia article - but it matches well enough with my knowledge of Islamic conquest of Europe.

          https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muslim_conquests [wikipedia.org]

          So, the answer to your question is, Muslims have been fucking around in the "western world" for about 1200 years.

          We might say that it's payback time, Baby!

          • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Sunday December 13 2015, @06:39PM

            by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Sunday December 13 2015, @06:39PM (#275817)

            Islam arose out of people who had been invaded and conquered by western nations (and others, like Persia) long before Mohammed showed up. The Greeks and Romans, to name a couple prominent ones off the top of my head, but they had been kicked around by just about everyone at some point, including each other. It is no wonder they turned towards conquest and empire when their strength was consolidated. Islam arose in the power vacuum amid polytheistic religions after the decline of Rome. As soon as they gained enough strength the various factions began their own quests as powers, but you can bet they still remembered the Romans. The invasion of Spain could be viewed as a re-establishment of connections lost when Rome destroyed Carthage, the peoples of the region were allies of Carthage and constantly at war with Rome, and Moorish Spain matched those boundaries almost exactly.

            • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Sunday December 13 2015, @07:16PM

              by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Sunday December 13 2015, @07:16PM (#275823) Journal

              I suppose that point of view isn't really invalid. But, it's one that I can't agree with. As you mention, the people of the mideast/Arabia/Persia/North Africa had been feuding for ages, before during and after Greek and Roman times.

              Islam was a late comer to this whole thing. It was hundreds of years after Christ that Mohammed came along.

              Bearing in mind that Mohammed rejected philosophy, along with all previous religions, as well as all previous governments, I can't really accept that Islam has some heritage to claim in Europe. Islam kept Jehovah, and a few trappings from the Moon god. It claimed no connection to Persia, or to any of the civilizations of the Tigirs and Euphrates, to Egypt, or to any other civilization or culture. Islam was the new kid on the block, without a heritage.

              True to their master's word, they went conquering. I never saw that they were seeking vengeance on the Romans, or anyone else. They went conquering, and any who refused to worship the One God, according to the edicts of the imams, was to be put to death, or enslaved.

              It's just a bit hard for me to credit the Muslims with re-establishing any eastern influence in the west. The old nations were less than ghosts, and Islam rejected the ghosts. I just can't see it.

              • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Monday December 14 2015, @05:51PM

                by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Monday December 14 2015, @05:51PM (#276214)

                I'm not saying that most of it was entirely a conscious effort, but that Islam arose from that environment, although with nearly a thousand years of Carthage in Spain there were blood ties established. All those petty tribal feuds among the Arabs, their continually suffering invasions from more powerful neighboring nations, all led to their doing the same once Islam allowed their own power to be consolidated to the point they were powerful enough to do it themselves. Had some other force been able to unite them, the same sort of events would likely have followed. After all, there are biblical precedents for much of what Islam did in conquering neighbors, look up the Book of Numbers, Chapter 31.

                • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 14 2015, @06:22PM

                  by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 14 2015, @06:22PM (#276230)

                  You could also argue that the religion is in fact somewhat orthogonal. Different empires became powerful. The religion their leaders and people adhered to became powerful as a consequence. E.g. Christianity become powerful in the Mediterranean not because the cult was particularly different than many others throughout the region, but just because it happened to be chosen by enough Roman leaders. It is likely some religion would be chosen. A particular one being chosen may just be the random chance of social interaction and the luck of powerful people picking it. Another example is Latin America. Conquered by Spain, they became heavily Catholic because Spain was Catholic. The same argument holds for Islam. It may not be popular because of anything particular interesting about the religion (not that much different really than Christian or even Jewish Religions), but because it was The Religion of successful empires.

                  • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Tuesday December 15 2015, @05:59PM

                    by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Tuesday December 15 2015, @05:59PM (#276728)

                    While that is true, there are factors which help "choose" one religion over another.

                    Christianity become powerful in the Mediterranean not because the cult was particularly different than many others throughout the region, but just because it happened to be chosen by enough Roman leaders.

                    I think it was probably chosen by Roman leaders because they realized it was a perfect religion for helping control masses of poor people who were probably not enjoying their current life very much. Combine a doctrine that promises eternal reward for the "good" (obedient?) and much propagandizing of the virtues of being poor and suffering with at the same time a worship of feudal/monarchical/hierarchical authority and it is no surprise Roman leaders grabbed onto it in the declining days of the empire.

                    The same argument holds for Islam. It may not be popular because of anything particular interesting about the religion (not that much different really than Christian or even Jewish Religions), but because it was The Religion of successful empires.

                    I spent a good part of an evening years ago reading part of the history of Islam on the Albawaba website (over a 56k modem). I lost interest when it changed from a spiritual doctrine to Allah "commanding" Mohammed to attack and conquer various entities to gain their wealth and power. I think Islam succeeded so well because it is a perfect religion for allowing relatively well off leaders to encourage those underneath them to sacrifice themselves for the gain of the leader, promising them an eternal reward much greater than they were going to see in their actual lives.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 14 2015, @05:07PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Monday December 14 2015, @05:07PM (#276188)

        I demonstrate that Islam has been killing Americans for at least forty years, and all you can offer is,

        Different AC here, but I think you could argue that people claiming Muslim faith have been killing, and even enslaving, Americans for much longer than 40 years. The Barbary War is the first thing that pops to my mind which really indicates Muslims killing Americans since the beginnings of the US. But by the same token, you could also that people claiming the Christian faith have been killing, and even enslaving, Americans for the life of the Republic. In fact, I think it's a pretty safe bet that many, many more Americans have been killed and enslaved by self described Christians than by self described Muslims.

        So if we follow the logic that since some Muslims have killed Americans therefore we should be afraid and protect ourselves from Muslims in general, then we should also be even more afraid and even quicker to protect ourselves from Christians in general. Personally, I think this points out the ridiculousness of the original argument. But if you are arguing for protecting ourselves from Muslims and Christians and heck, lets just make it all religions (register the churches?, kick them out of the country?, disarm theme?, arm ourselves and keep a wary eye on them?, whatever), then at least the argument would be consistent.

        • (Score: 2) by Runaway1956 on Monday December 14 2015, @06:48PM

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Monday December 14 2015, @06:48PM (#276245) Journal

          I had to look back and make sure where we are here.

          "Americans stock up on weapons after California shooting" Got it. Bottom line is, looney toons are running around killing us, and it doesn't make a huge difference who is doing the killing. We have a right to stock up on weapons, so that if a Syrian, a Russian, a Briton, or a North or South or Central American attacks us, we can kill back.

          That goes equally for any race, religion, ethnicity, or political affiliation. As Americans, we have the right to defend ourselves.

          Now, as for Islam, I wish everyone would stop thinking of it as a religion. Islam is a complete political, religious, judicial, and philosophical system. Islam has gone back into history about 6 thousand years, and reincarnated something like the original prophets, kings, and judges of the Old Testament. Nice, self contained culture, independent of any outside influence. THAT is far more dangerous than a simple religion.

          And, yes, I'm perfectly willing to just tell them they can't come here any more. And, I'm willing to defend that decision with weapons.