Police: Autistic teen With AK-47 Opened Fire

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http://www.wfsb.com/news/16262219/detail.html
?!
What's most interesting to me is: Why did that boys father who is a Minister have an AK-47?!

Great! The gun control lobby will be trying to restrict anyone on the spectrum from owning a gun now!
Yet another reason not to get a formal DX.

The minister having an AK-47 isn't that unheard of in America...God, Guns and Glory as the expression goes.
I'm not a gun nut by any means, but do believe in the right of self defense, and that every constitutional amendment was put there for a reason.

Obviously guns are tools, and like any tools can be used for evil purposes as well. The father should have had it better secured if the boy was prone to that kind of violence when he has meltdowns.

I'm really glad that no one he shot at got hurt anyway.

Last edited by LoveableNerd on 15 May 2008, 12:34 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Sounds like dad should have bought a safe. Among other guns, I also own an AK variant, but when I'm not home, it stays locked up. I don't have kids or anything, but if someone were to break in, I wouldn't want to make it easy for them.

Contrary to common belief, AKs are a lot of fun to shoot recreationaly. The gun itself is reasonably inexpensive, and the ammo is quite cheap. As a gunsmith, they are a fun challenge to make accurate, though it can be done. I don't see the problem with a man of the church who likes to plink some cans on Sunday afternoons after service, it's a lot of fun. I do think he should have been more careful with his guns though, knowing about his son's temper problem and all.

[sarcasm] And, that nasty, selfish minister probably drives an environment destroyer to make his rounds of his parishoners, too. [/sarcasm]

The primary difference between an AK-47 and my Ruger carbine is that the media can spell AK-47 easier when they make "news" out of the name of the tool, rather than the action taken by the kid.

Take any small, handy rifle, put it in a plastic stock, paint it black and put a toggle or two on it. That suddenly becomes an item of terror. Take that same rifle and put it in a wood stock and it becomes something just ho-hum. Funny, how a change of color can frighten NTs.

Pops

Last edited by rifler39 on 15 May 2008, 2:18 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Guns aren't ho-hum if they are shooting at you. Gun apologist crap.

Hey now c'mon thats not fair. Sure the father made a HUGE mistake by not locking up the gun, but that doesnt mean hes a bad person, just didnt use his brain and screwed up royally, and probably should be charged. To say hes nasty and selfish isnt cool.

Your statement is correct. I fixed my post so you could see that that as sarcasm.

Pops

Guns don't shoot at you, they are inanimate objects. Screwdrivers don't jump off the shelf and screw you.

The only thing that will save your ass when there's someone firing a gun at you - is to fire a gun back at them. Throwing poop will not help. Hiding behind an overturned table will not help. Running will not help, unless you are The Flash. Reasoning will not help, if the shooter was reasonable he wouldn't be shooting at you in the first place.

Guns don't kill people. Not having a gun when you need one kills people.

You forgot one... sidestepping the bullet won't help, unless you are Neo..

The gun should have been in a safe, locked up.

Until a month ago, I was extremely anti-gun myself. But a friend of mine (who happens to be a bit of a gun nut) really made me reconsider my perspective. I live in the US, and I've grown unsure about trusting the government to keep me safe. If anything, I'm more afraid of the current administration, and of domestic crime, than of "terra-ists". :/

In any case, I feel it's a mistake to blame the availability of guns in this case; we should lay proper blame on the child and his parents. Autistic or not, the child made a decision to obtain and use a deadly weapon. And even though the parents made an effort to secure the weapon, the protections were inadequate. Owning a weapon makes you responsible for securing it adequately. It'd be a shame if the child's Autism gave him special consideration; after all, don't we want to send the message that Autistics' decisions matter just as much as non-Autistics'?! It's harsh, but equal treatment runs both ways! :/

That's not to say I don't support a sentence that's sensitive to his condition (counseling, etc.), but I don't think his condition should affect the verdict itself. Personally, if I were the father, I'd be grateful to those kids for keeping my son from making a terrible mistake.

Well said, tharn.

Pops

Guns are weapons, not tools.

The same defense could be had with a 12 gauge shotgun or a hunting rifle.

This is typical American mentality. This is why you have so much violent crime and death. If you carry the apologism too far, it becomes absurdly skewed.

Hey, easy with the stereotypes there. Just because I'm American doesn't mean I agree with their mentailities.