thecrimeshop

I sat dumbfounded at the news of today’s mass shooting. I imagine many of you did as well. It’s heartbreaking. What the hell has happened to our beloved home?

December 2, 2015 

The United States started the Day with only 354 mass shooting for the year.

We Ended it with having the 355th Mass Shooting of 2015

Is the number really that high? It’s not that high, but shootings like this in the US are at an all time high. Reddit has a definition for mass shootings which says I believe 4 or more is considered a mass shooting which is why everyone is saying it’s 355. What does the FBI say, I have to date not seen anything from them about this number and I’d like to see something. 

Prayers for San Bernardino CA.

At my Last Count, 14 Killed, 17 Injured.

Before I dive in here I’d like to shout out to the Denver Colorado, Police Department, who reported an officer down. The DPD was assisting another agency this afternoon during the mass shooting/chase in San Bernardino, in serving a warrant on a suspect who was considered armed and dangerous when one of their officers was shot. The officer was in stable condition, in surgery as I type this and is expected to survive. Crime Shop is hoping for a speedy and full recovery of your officer DPD.
I am going to go out on a limb and guess the individual who shot the officer, was someone who under Colorado law, was not supposed to have a weapon, in which case yet again, I am glad to see those gun laws working.

San Bernardino, California December 2, 2015

I am glad the media jumped on this story, what makes me want to vomit is that they became experts on “crossfire, tactical and swat procedures.” Yes I did quote that because I was chatting as we both watched the news with an officer friend of mine who said that so well, that I had to include it here.

The media immediately began to speculate about the shooting, motive and commented so many times that I lost count that it was quite clear this was a well planned and executed shooting. It was planned but not well executed or planned out. That is where the media is so wrong it’s almost painful to hear them say it.

The police and FBI would back me in saying that it’s safe to say mass shooters, terrorists, and the like are not going to someplace where they could potentially be stopped before they cause the most amount of damage. If you don’t get that…ask a cop to explain it. The plan fell apart fairly early on. Unlike the attack in Paris where they went to multiple locations and actually coordinated the mass shootings, and some of them got away, these guys are trying to copy something they have not adequately planned for. 

The headlines other countries are posting about the US including the Washington Post are really embarrassing. They all elude to something like “Well folks it’s just another day in America with another Mass Shooting, No One Knows why but let’s head to our experts to guess why.”

To put the proverbial cherry on top,  President Obama had his two cents which basically amounted to the regurgitation of the shame shit we’ve heard over and and over again. Our hero, I feel safer already. The presidential candidates are weighing in as well, people are screaming for more gun control and it’s one big fat circle of shit that has not, to date worked and will not work!

The ban on Assault Weapons is a fail, the very backers of that ban have since admitted it didn’t work. I go on Twitter daily and see police from around the country doing weapons sweeps or catching felons who have these weapons! They post pictures of what they took from the bad guy. But don’t for a second let that fool you, for every one of those weapons the police successfully remove 5+ more end up on the streets and in the wrong hands.

And whose bright idea was it that police don’t need military grade vehicles or weapons???? By taking things away we are essentially making it worse which actually makes sense if you look at in a tis for tat, ying and yang, balance type of way. You end up tipping the scales in the favor of the bad instead of the good despite the fact that whatever laws and regulations being imposed are meant to be for the good of our nation.

To create a balance that will drastically cut down on mass shootings we need to first look at our current gun control laws compared to the recent shootings. The majority of the guns were purchased legally. So we have a chink in the fence that needs to be addressed on the federal level. This is basic. And it’s a start. Rather than jumping in and running frantically trying to fix it all at once, try breaking it into pieces like an investigator investigates a crime. 

Gun lovers you can get your hate on me for this.

Our problem is we want something done, we have a society that screams for it but as a society we just scream we need more gun laws, we don’t offer any insightful well thought out input into what those new laws should be and how to implement them yet we expect in fact we demand that lawmakers dream up gun control laws, then we just get mad when they do and accuse them of invading innocent people’s lives and taking away law abiding citizens rights.

Well I am tired of hearing that we need more gun laws and seeing very little action that would be of a benefit to our nation. I am also tired of pro-gun rights activists crying about how big brother is taking away your rights. On both sides, not one of you have come to the table and offered any solutions or compromise. 

I find it funny that the majority of the pro-gun, NRA guys are some of the first to condemn our laws, government and police when a mass shooter who purchased a gun legally, or the guns were in a home where the owners purchased them legally, shoots and kills people. Yet they are first ones to push back when someone tries to pass a law that might just work in an effort to better prevent mass shootings.

We Have to Have Compromise 

In some of the recent shootings the individuals exhibited disturbing behavior prior to the shooting. In some cases the police were called and even though charges were not pressed the police who actually do have a good feel for people about 97% of the time could have if we allowed for/empowered them to make a judgment call, made a decision about whether or not to report said individual to a “weapons owner advisory board.”  In some cases a therapist, doctor or co-worker saw the behavior but had nowhere to report it as well.

So yes I am suggesting that on a Federal level we have an advisory board in every state that has the authority to remove temporarily (if you got your panties in a wad pull them out, I said temporarily), weapons from individuals who are behaving in ways that might be deemed unsafe. The individuals must have 6 mental evaluations at different times, days and weeks to determine if they are a threat to society before they can obtain the weapons back or at all and or if they need some form of mental help.

So for those of you that want to sit around like my dad who I love and adore, yes you pops, who argue that this means the government can take your guns, listen to what I am clearly proposing. I never said the government past making a recommendation can do shit. The advisory board would be made up of experts that practice in the art of psychiatry and who do not work for the government. No elected officials. Hell let the guy who seems a bit off pick his own. At least then everyone gets what they want. Someone to hold accountable if the guy shoots anyone. Problem solved. 

Before everyone crawls up my ass and pitches a fork tent about this, allow me to explain. Sometimes people fall and are temporarily ill adjusted, I had that time myself for a few years as a matter of fact, which happens when left untreated, until I got passed abuse issues. I wouldn’t looking at who I was then as of today, clear me back then to own a weapon or live in a home where I had access to weapons. God no, I could have hurt others or myself and most likely would have. That is honesty that you are not going to get anywhere else folks. These are issues that have to be considered and ADDRESSED! To take that a step further some of my old police pals from Colorado knew I was not ok then and could have had I owned weapons done something about it then if they had the authority to. 

On the other hand, sometimes people should not own weapons again or at all. Ever. 

So what do you do when let’s say mom owns guns legally and one of her kids is off and shouldn’t be around them? Sadly you have to take them from the family unless the person who is part of that family does not live in the same home. We can’t afford to take that chance as history has proven twice in the most recent past I believe. The same goes for certain mental disabilities. People get so confused with privilege vs right vs is that really safe?

I know right now some of you might be fuming at reading that. Well to bad. Some of you are mad that doctors now ask if you own a gun…think about why. So what so they ask and you are honest that yes you do or no you do not.  Can everyone stop living the fantasy that you’ll always be ok…because sometimes despite our best efforts, that doesn’t pan out and we fall down.

IF something happened to you and you became mentally ill and not yourself would you want to become the next James Holmes? How about your loved one’s who live in your home that shouldn’t be around a gun…want them plastered all over the news for shooting up a bunch of people? I ask for a reason, because my old cop friends can tell you that I was fine then slipped into a world they didn’t know and into someone they did not know. The whole time I thought I was just fine and that the world was the problem. Think about how powerful that message is.

We always assume that gun laws are the same for all states, they are not. I can go to Florida and hit a flea market, with my dad, or a family friend with an out of state ID. IF I see a gun that I’d like to buy the seller who by the way always say they are licensed but I am never sure will allow for me to use a friends or my dad’s info and by the gun onsite for cash. No shit I can do that this weekend if I want to.

That said, on a Federal level gun laws need to be taken away from the states. That will for sure piss a lot of you off but if states can’t even bother to enforce current gun laws and regulations, or keep guns out of the hands of criminals then they most certainly don’t deserve the right to make up whatever gun laws they would like let alone choose what Federal laws they abide by. If it’s that easy for me to hit a flea market of all places to buy a gun what good does it do to demand lawmakers make more gun laws if states have the option to abide by them…or not abide by them?

Yes I am absolutely hands down saying gun laws need to be the same in every state within the US… But, in this case they need to be fair, and voters must agree to the proposed changes. The voters voice must out rule the voice of congress and the president. Hows that for an added twist?

That’s right, voters ultimately get the final say not congress. So if voters vote for changes that don’t work, they can’t blame congress, law makers or the President and the system can finally be the one’s to say “I told you so.” The point is, congress does not decide what laws are up for vote with regards to gun laws and they don’t get the final say in what laws are approved. The voters do. In other words to society you, myself included put your money where your mouth is and start coming up with solutions rather than expect for lawmakers to pull them from thin air then bitch about the new laws. Problem solved. 

We also need CCTV everywhere here. People hate it here but if you look at other countries that use it, they catch criminals a lot more than we do because of it. I vote yes to that over hoping someone got cell video of a crime.

Mass shootings  involve individuals who head into it planning to die. They don’t care. They don’t consider, you, I, our loved one’s, the innocent. They simply have no hope left in this world and do not care in anyway shape or form. All of you want an answer and most of you wouldn’t understand it if someone sat down and explained it to you.

The bottom line is this, We want the Government to protect us yet we render them useless to do so. The President is not going to declare Martial Law because of the mass shootings,  yes I’ve seen those conspiracy theories in case anyone thought I was not paying attention.  

We just need to help lawmakers find the right laws to impose rather than pout, complain, blame, accuse and demand. I haven’t seen anyone go to congress and offer a plan. All I hear is “we need to get guns off the street and out of the hands of criminals by imposing more laws,’ and ‘lawmakers can’t do that because that would be taking away MY rights as a gun owner.” I don’t see a lot of news reports where I see a person or a group of people sitting with congress and saying “look we can do this but I propose this law or that law because…” I see a lot of talking at one another and then finger pointing when things go south. 

So rather than bash each other for our beliefs on who has a right to own a gun, or lawmakers because they made up some new laws that affect everyone  realize this; because not one of you,  all of us in today’s society, offered up any viable put into action idea’s, we played a role in us meeting our 355th mass shooting this year…offer up some idea’s that offer compromise and flexibility so that lawmakers are not scrambling and making really stupid gun laws in an effort to protect us.

If you want to be heard all you have to do is speak up. It is really surprisingly that simple. I don’t have to jump the white house fence for the president to hear me…congress, the FBI, the CIA. I don’t have to shoot people for them to hear me. I just have to speak, as do you contrary to the bumper stickers I see plastered on cars. 
This isn’t kindergarten or rocket science. It’s really more simple than we make it out to be. 

Cristal M Clark