We can talk in circles from here until the next type of thing like this happens .
I hate to say it folks , something like this will probably happen again .
 
A couple of things off the top of my head . How would this have turned out of the guy was a better shot ?
Meaning he killed the performers on stage first and then worked his way through the crowd.
Things would have played out much differently .
Had he used some tracer rounds when he started shooting  he would have given away his position very fast but from the distance and height of his perch in the hotel he could have done much more damage .
I hate to say it ....He would have been able to dial in a more precise Kill Zone ....
Even if Law Enforcement had know where he was due to the tracers , between trying to rescue the victims and mobilizing a breach to capture the gunman his element of surprise once he started shooting  would have still left the killer plenty of time to inflict even much worse maximum damage than what had taken place  .
 
For equal air time , lets say the killer was not a gun guy . Lets say  he was an aerospace mechanical techno nut ..
Don't you think that is possible that he could have sent in a drone or two w explosives ? All the while as the music plays  a few of the concert goers are sitting there listening to the music and when they look up " Gee look at the pretty drones They must be filming the concert " Then Kaboom.
Just a thought ...lets see how long it takes for that one to happen then we can ban drones and birds ...
 
People here in this thread are Musicians ,  Was there a gun involved when George Harrison got stabbed in the neck in his own home by a deranged individual ? 
 
 
Someone in this tread mentioned earlier that unless you have a gun with you how can you feel safe if your a gun owner  and you have to leave it at home .
Due to legal logistics it is true that gun owners can't have guns with them every where that they go ...
SO I happen to feel that is a very valid point .
With out getting into the individual State Laws and Carry Laws which the criminals do not adhere to ...one has to use other survival resources .
 
The same can be said for a non gun person . How can you feel safe when you are out in public ?
The non gun owner is getting mugged , raped , beaten or killed the whole time hoping there's a police car close by to save them 
 
Hhhmm tough one huh ?
 
OK lets take a look at what a person can reasonably do ...
 
#1 thinking that your cell phone is your back up and your best defense is a total myth ...Yes I said it ....
A lot of people think that when things start getting hairy , pulling out their cell phone and figiting  around means they got back up ....
Yeah Right that's about as good as clicking your heels 3 times and saying "I want to go home "...
Now if you happen to be in a good position you may be able to film or make a record of what's happening to somebody else after you have made a call out for help ...If it is your a$$ that is the victim lets hope you got a call out for help and said your goodbyes ...if your lucky you may survive and have a record of what happened to you
 
IMHO , the most important survival tool a person can posses is a clear mind & a strong set of present moment Situational Awareness .
 
Situational Awareness is a skill that can be developed with a little practice ...it can go a long way to keeping one safe
 
A quick description of what Situational Awareness means in easy layman terms ...We are all musicians RIGHT ?
Let me start there with this example ...You are working on a tune , some things fit , some things do not fit , some things are totally out of place ...Yet as a musician you have no problem taking a deep breath and spending all the time you need or have  to hone in on all the little details so you can dial in your song ...
The reasons are many , they may include a feeling of having control in your music , a feeling of shedding away what you may no longer want to express in you music , or any other number of musical attributes you may want to enlist in you forms of self creation and self expression ....
 
The expression of self is a very high form of motivation  When one expresses themselves with out blockage or hindrance one can truly feel alive and in sync with their powers of being a truly living creative being with out limits .
 
Now someone may ask what does he mean by that ? How does that apply to what we are talking about ?
To that person I will say think a little deeper , do you or do you not have a right to live your life in accordance and in alignment with the attributes of your life that you find best to enhance your creative pursuits ?  
Is not your life an ever unfolding song that plays out in each and every circumstance and situation you may find yourself in ?
 
As in the song , Situational Awareness is the survival tool that helps us dial in our place in our every day interactions with our selfs / loved ones  , others and the environment ....
Anything that is out of place , or does not smell or look right has to be dealt with because as far as I'm concerned it is an uninvited element  in my life .
 
How do you feel when you come home from grocery shopping and as you are getting out of your car a total stranger approaches you unexpectedly and tries to start a conversation with you as they are looking you and your car over ?
They may happen to be homeless and have a machete strapped to their belt ..does this influence how you feel ?
do you feel safe ?
 
This has happened to me and I will never let that happen to me again  the time it happened it was with groceries , what if it was all my gear ?
 
 
Using S.A before I pull in anyplace regardless of what the activity is I scope the terrain , I want to see what's out there ...I want to read the book and know exactly what may present itself with out it having the element of surprise.  Always remember the element of surprise is a criminals best friend 
 
Now most of us are under surveillance most of the time ...some of it is by choice and a lot of it is not by choice
 
How many of you here realize that you are constantly under surveillance by the criminal element of your Geographical Area ?  Yes you ....
All the drug dealers and players out on the street are part of a network . They are in constant communications  w each other . You may happen to innocently be driving past one of their spots and as you are coming up on it there will be people calling out the plays out on the street to each other
Now maybe you don't know this , or maybe you think I'm full of $hit ...trust me I know what the eff I'm talking about first hand ...
Do you honestly think that when you leave the comforts of your home that every body out there has your best interests in mind ?
 
When entering or leaving your home and vehicle always place your full attention on what is happening in your surroundings . Those are the times when you are vulnerable 
When walking Duke I have people all the time riding up in their cars and watching me in a parking spot to see where I live ...
I had a guy the other night at midnight pretend that he parked by slamming his truck door .I looked and didn't see him get out so I milked the walk near where I live ..then I walked up looked in his truck and he was laying on the floor boards .He drove off rather fast after I caught him ...
The thing is this guy has been trying to mess with me for a long time using a different car .. sure enough I walked right around the corner from where I live and both his car and his newer truck were parked in his driveway ...
This ding bat doesn't realize that he will never gain the element of surprise with me unless he shoots me with a trank gun from hiding and drags my a$$ away  
 
How do you think people gain cred in Gangs ? All the true members have to earn their bones ...
Typically it may involve eliminating a person that has caused a RUB w the gang ,  a competitor , rival , snitch, or fill in the blank ...Often times the sad truth is it is nothing personal and plenty of times a soft target such as an unknown person just minding their own business waiting for a bus  may have become the members trophy ...   
 
Why talk about all this ? because I live in a world where these things happen all the time ...
It's a pretty sick reflection of the world when 2 girls of color are on a Max Train and a White supremacist insults them and then stabbed 3 people in the neck that came to their defense ....
 
Once again What's my point ?  
Developing a high degree of Situational Awareness is much more important than whether you are armed or not . 
It is no different than driving down the road and seeing a traffic jam and choosing to react to what possible choices you have still in the moment when you still have choices .
Once the $hit hits the fan a persons choices diminish greatly ...
 
Kenny
 
 
 
 

Beeps,
 
I am glad that you read up and educated yourself on some of the facts.  It makes it easier to have a conversation when facts are actually used.  
 
So, I will answer your question.  Yes, I believe that if someone can pass the extensive back ground checks to own a automatic weapon (which I have no desire) they should be able to be granted that permission.  Yes, I think it should be illegal to convert a semi auto to a full auto.  
 
Now comes the hard part, how do you enforce criminals from breaking the law.  Remember, this guy could care less that he would be breaking the law when he is breaking the biggest law of all, murder.  If your already going to kill yourself or go to the chair for murder, you really don't give a rats about semi auto conversion.