Monday May 28, 2012

JAPAN NEWS AND DISCUSSION

Gunman opens fire at Tennessee church, killing 2

World Jul. 28, 2008 - 04:54AM JST ( 24 )

The requested article has expired, and is no longer available. Any related articles, and user comments are shown below.

Order by Time Order by Popularity

24 Comments

0

KwaabishJul. 28, 2008 - 07:49AM JST

Pretty soon, the phrase "going to church" will take on the meaning as "going postal"...
0

smithinjapanJul. 28, 2008 - 09:17AM JST

Another sad day for the gun-toting culture of the US. Some day they'll see.... some day. I just feel truly sorry for all the victims, as well as the people who KNOW that US gun laws are moronic, but can do nothing but sit back and pray it's not their school/church/workplace/house/street that the next guy or gal decides to target.
0

skipthesongJul. 28, 2008 - 12:27PM JST

US gun laws are moronic" So are our religious laws.
0

rajakumarJul. 28, 2008 - 02:28PM JST

Not good for tennessee, these church killings. USA tenessee,needs to stop messing up and prevent passing of people.

Enlightenment needs enlightenment of all tenessee folk.

They need steering wheels, without any favouritism and all fairness. Tenessee's peaceful nice ,image gets messed up, here. Thirst for own justice in peaceful tenessee, must be reduced with more enlightenment projects and steering wheels projects.
0

Zen_BuilderJul. 28, 2008 - 02:34PM JST

I feel sorry for the victims, their families and the by-standers.

Glad only 2 died.
0

cleoJul. 28, 2008 - 03:37PM JST

Hey, how about some anger management lessons, or easily accessable therapists. People have pent up rage and can`t control themselves.

Or maybe things are different across the water and we're not supposed to suggest that the killer was a looney.

The FBI are involved 'in case it turns out be a hate crime'. Is that different from an anger crime?

As with all senseless crimes where lives are lost, thoughts are with the deceased and their families, and with those who were injured.
0

sdmsecJul. 28, 2008 - 03:40PM JST

Thank goodness he didn't wait until everyone was exiting and plow into them with a large truck. It would have been much more devistating and harder to stop.
0

JoeBigsJul. 28, 2008 - 09:09PM JST

Sad but an every day part of living in Gun happy America....
0

SezWho2Jul. 28, 2008 - 11:01PM JST

So far no one seems to have mentioned that this wouldn't have happened if everyone at church had been carrying guns.
0

adaydreamJul. 29, 2008 - 12:08AM JST

So he has a 4 page letter and he's blaming the Liberals for not getting a job.

Blaming the Liberals and then killing innocent people.

This is a real pity. < :-)
0

BetzeeJul. 29, 2008 - 10:24AM JST

The FBI are involved 'in case it turns out be a hate crime'. Is that different from an anger crime?

Cleo,

A hate crime is one in which the perpetrator targets a particular group, say gays or some ethnic minority. Here the man identified himself as "hating liberals" so he sought out his victims in a church identified with liberal causes. Had his anger motivated him to go into the nearest fast food restaurant and open fire it wouldn't be classified as a "hate crime."
0

cleoJul. 29, 2008 - 10:34AM JST

Betzee -

OK, I see. It doesn't change the fact that he's a looney killing innocent people for no sane reason....right?
0

BetzeeJul. 29, 2008 - 10:39AM JST

That's right, the perpetrator's mental state of mind is not an issue; it's simply a question of whether his victims were selected intentionally or were people going about their business who happened to in the wrong place at the wrong time, in other words they were random victims of deadly violence.
0

BetzeeJul. 29, 2008 - 11:04AM JST

Cleo,

I don't know when this distinction entered into law, but it's relatively recent. It could be groups who felt they had been historically victimized pressed to have harsher penalties imposed on those who were found to have been motivated by prejudice. For example, the two guys who murdered Matthew Shepard, a gay young man in Wyoming whom they met in a bar, were covicted of a "hate crime."

Usually victims are selected based on their "ascriptive characteristics, i.e., their appearance, be it skin pigmentation or male effeteness. I haven't heard of many victims targeted for their freely chosen political beliefs, but I'm not surprised to learn that was the motivation either.
0

SezWho2Jul. 29, 2008 - 11:27AM JST

The ACLU, incidentally, takes no position on gun control although it does believe that the Supreme Court erred in its recent decision which held that the 2nd amendment was an individual right instead of a collective one.
0

JoeBigsJul. 29, 2008 - 11:34AM JST

Gee wiz SezWho2 if everyone in church had a gun then there would have been a lot more dead. Everyone would have opened up on each other!LOL Instead of 2 there would have been 20!!! LOL
0

SezWho2Jul. 29, 2008 - 04:01PM JST

JoeBigs,

Yes, that's my point. When you consider the argument that if every student at Virginia Tech had had a gun there would have been fewer people killed and then apply that to a church, it sounds quite different, don't you think?
0

SargeJul. 29, 2008 - 10:48PM JST

SezWho2 - "So far no one seems to have mentioned that this wouldn't have happened if everyone at the church was carrying guns."

That's because no one is that stupid.
0

SezWho2Jul. 29, 2008 - 11:53PM JST

Sarge,

Yes, that's right. It's entirely different when it's a church, isn't it?