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The gargoyle depicted in this entry is a reproduction of a gargoyle which adorns the National Cathedral in Washington, DC. The gargoyle's expression reflects how I feel about the Las Vegas shooting massacre.
One of the first things that came to my mind upon reading about the Las vegas massacre was the 1966 University of Texas Tower shooting. In that event, for 90+ minutes the shooter rained rifle fire down upon people, killing 17 and wounding 30 more.
The 2 events are remarkedly similar with one notable exception. The Texas shooter did not use automatic weapons which thankfully resulted in "only" 47 casualties. Contrast that with the Las Vegas shooting in which the shooter was armed with multiple weapons which had been converted to automatic firing capabilities. That difference resulted in 58 deaths and 500+ wounded IN LESS THAN 11 MINUTES.
My anger, re: the Las Vegas massacre, is not directed at the shooter but rather at the (primarily) GOP members of Congress who refuse to address the issue of automatic weapons for just about anyone who wants them. Those weapons are the weapons-of-choice for every mentally unstable perpetrator who seeks to commit mass carnage.
Some simple facts - the US has 50% of guns in private hands in the world. The US has a gun-related homicide rate that dwarfs the rest of the world combined. States with more guns have more homicides than those with fewer guns. States with more guns have higher death rates for law enforcement personel than those with fewer guns.
There are those who claim that guns don't kill people, rather that people kill people. However, the fact is that people with guns kill people. The 2 factors-guns/people-are inseparable. They are inextricably linked and, since we can't eliminate people from that equation, that leaves guns as the only component of that equation which can be addressed.
To do nothing in the face of 1,518 mass shooting since the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting-(1,715 deaths/6,000 wounded)-is nothing more than a criminal act.
FYI, to be absolutely clear on the matter, I do not suggest that gun ownership should be eliminated. I suggest that gun ownership needs to be subjected to common sense regulation.