Another Terrorist Attack in America

[eclipse1966]

Good question Ken as I was wondering about that myself. I am not for gun restrictions in general but for the life of me how can a guy that was interviewed twice by the FBI manage to get a AR in less than a week. IMO this is where the US lacks control.

Hey ATV. You are from the US. What is the procedure to purchase restricted weapons in your country? How does a guy like Omar Mateen get an AR to begin with? They said in news reports he passed all background checks and had 2 security licence's what ever they are. I found it easy to buy restricted weapons in Canada but then I am not on an FBI watchlist either.

 

[Summitric]

YAH, I READ TODAY IT WAS A SEMI AUTOMATIC ASSAULT GUN.... HE PASSED 2 G4S CHECKS FOR GUN PURCHASES...

HERE'S MORE ON THIS DOMESTIC TERRORIST:

FROM THE EDMONTON SUN...
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Omar Mateen was more than just a homicidal, jihadist-inspired homophobe when he shot his way through an Orlando nightclub early Sunday morning, according to a couple of the establishment regulars.
He was also a repeat visitor.
A drag-dancing married couple described seeing Mateen as many as a dozen times at the gay-friendly nightclub where he'd later embark on the single worst gun massacre in modern American history.
Ty Smith and Chris Callen recalled the eventual killer being escorted drunk from the Pulse bar on multiple occasions, including one incident where he pointed a knife at a friend.
Both professed shock at seeing his face on TV: "It's the same guy," said Callen, who performs under the name Kristina McLaughlin. "He's been going to this bar for at least three years."
They expressed incredulity at the story being told by Mateen's father in the wake of the shooting, that the gunman had once been scandalized during a visit to Miami by the sight of men kissing each other.
They say Mateen saw plenty of men kiss -- and far closer to home than Miami.
"That's bullcrap, right there. No offence. That's straight-up crap. He's been around us," Smith said Monday in an interview at the GLBT Community Center of Central Florida.
"Some of those people did a little more than (kiss) outside the bar.... He was partying with the people who supposedly drove him to do this?"
Smith said the sometimes-visitor would show up with a buddy and let loose in a way he couldn't when he was closer to the family home in Port St. Lucie: "(He'd get) really, really drunk... He couldn't drink when he was at home -- around his wife, or family. His father was really strict... He used to bitch about it."
Neither Smith nor Callen would speculate on the sex life of the man who called police from inside the club early Sunday to profess his allegiance to a Middle East militant leader as he gunned down at least 49 people in cold blood.
But they expressed doubt over the family's story.
Other news reports fed the intrigue over his identity. An anonymous classmate from Mateen's police academy reportedly told the Palm Beach Post that Mateen was gay; that he'd been asked out by Mateen; and that they'd gone together to different gay bars at the time.
The Daily Beast, meanwhile, reported that the gunman frequently lunched at a diner where the waiter was an openly gay high-school classmate and drag queen. That classmate, Samuel King, said Mateen voiced no issues with gays and might have joined him at a drag show once or twice.
In separate interviews, both Callen and Smith described one incident that unnerved them.
They said they decided to keep their distance from Mateen after he exploded in anger at a joke told by one of their friends, possibly about religion: "He ended up pulling a knife," Callen said.
"He said if he ever messed with him again, you know how it'll turn out."
Now they're grappling with the shock of losing close friends. Pulse was like a second home to the couple after they moved from Indiana, and found new acceptance in Florida's more socially liberal climate.
Like several people interviewed Monday, they took exception to media descriptions of Pulse as a gay bar. Yes, they said, it has a predominantly gay clientele, but it catered to everyone.
Callen said he wished he had a place like that when he was an 18-year-old in Indiana. The place was so tolerant they even let him perform when he moved here four years ago and was far from ready for prime time.
"I was a hot mess," he said.
"And I grew to the queen that I am today... Straight people would come in. Couples. They would get up there and dance. They'd get birthday shots," he said.
"(It's a) place where you could come out. Just be you. To love who you are... That's what Pulse taught us."
The weekend's violent acts are spurring other signs of rapprochement between the city's communities.
A sign outside Orlando's LGBT centre warns that people should expect a security search of their bags upon entering. But visitors Monday overwhelmingly had acts of kindness on their mind.
Officials there said the loading area was filled with supplies people had dropped off, such as bottled water for families awaiting news about their loved ones.
One organizer said 200 people had responded to calls for grief counsellors. So many showed up that they had to create a database to keep track.
Rob Domenico said straight and gay people were lining up for hours to donate blood, in spite of U.S. restrictions on blood donations from men who have had sex with a man in the previous year.
"It's a tragedy," Domenico said.
"But it's wonderful to see a real community come together. Gay, straight... It's just a wonderful thing."

 

[Summitric]

AND ANOTHER STORY FROM TODAY'S SUN:

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The FBI is investigating reports that Orlando gunman Omar Mateen had been a regular at the gay nightclub he attacked and had used gay dating apps, a U.S. official briefed on the case said Tuesday.
A number of possible explanations and motives for the bloodbath that left 49 victims dead have emerged, with Mateen professing allegiance to the Islamic State, his ex-wife saying he was mentally ill, and his father suggesting he was driven by hatred of gays.
The picture grew more complex as patrons of the Pulse came forward to say that they had seen the 29-year-old American-born Muslim there a number of times or that he had been using gay dating apps.
Jim Van Horn, 71, said Mateen was a regular at the club. "He was trying to pick up people. Men," Van Horn told The Associated Press. While acknowledging he didn't know Mateen well, Van Horn said: "I think it's possible that he was trying to deal with his inner demons, of trying to get rid of his anger of homosexuality."
The official who said the FBI is looking into those reports was not authorized to discuss the investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.
Wielding an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and a handgun, Mateen opened fire at the club early Sunday in a three-hour shooting rampage and hostage siege that ended with a SWAT team killing him. It was the deadliest mass shooting in modern U.S. history. During the attack, he called 911 to profess allegiance to the Islamic State group.
Six of the more than 50 wounded were listed in critical condition Tuesday and five others were in guarded condition, Dr. Michael Cheatham of Orlando Regional Medical Center said at a hospital news conference in which doctors recalled victims arriving in "truckloads" and "ambulance-loads" the night of the rampage.
A choked-up Dr. Chadwick Smith described calling in additional staff members and telling them, "This is not a drill, this is not a joke." He said everyone answered: "I'll be right there."
President Barack Obama will visit Orlando on Thursday to pay his respects to the victims and stand in solidarity with the community, the White House said.
The Orlando Sentinel and other news organizations quoted other regulars from Pulse as saying they, too, had seen Mateen at the club repeatedly.
"Sometimes he would go over in the corner and sit and drink by himself, and other times he would get so drunk he was loud and belligerent," Ty Smith told the Sentinel. He said he saw Mateen inside at least a dozen times.
Gay dating app Jack'd did not immediately return a call for comment, Grindr officials said they "will continue to co-operate with the authorities and do not comment on ongoing investigations," and Adam4Adam spokesman David Lesage said the company is looking at conversations and profiles in the Orlando area for any activity by Mateen but hasn't found anything yet.
On Monday, the White House and the FBI said Mateen appears to be a "homegrown" extremist who had expressed support not just for the Islamic State, but for other radical groups that are its enemies.
"So far, we see no indication that this was a plot directed from outside the United States, and we see no indication that he was part of any kind of network," FBI Director James Comey said Monday. He said Mateen was clearly "radicalized," at least in part via the Internet.
On Monday night, about a mile from Pulse in downtown Orlando, thousands gathered for a vigil to support the victims and survivors. The names of the dead were read aloud. It was held on the lawn of Orlando's main performing arts venue, where mourners created a memorial of flowers, candles and notes for the victims.
Many said they felt compelled to attend because of the role Pulse played in their lives.
"It was a place that a young 20-year-old who wasn't openly gay felt safe for the first time," said Cathleen Daus, now 36, who worked at Pulse in her 20s. "Pulse gave me confidence, made me realize I was normal and so much like everyone else."
Some, including Jason Primar, who lost two friends in the massacre, released balloons that floated high above the downtown skyscrapers.
Primar went to Pulse at 2 a.m. Sunday, hoping for a good time with friends. When gunfire erupted, "I felt like I was over in Iraq," he said. He called his two friends inside; they never answered. He later discovered they died.
Comey said the FBI also was trying to determine whether Mateen had recently scouted Disney World as a potential target, as reported by People.com, which cited an unidentified federal law enforcement source.
"We're still working through that," Comey said.
He defended the bureau's handling of Mateen during two previous investigations in 2013 and 2014 into possible terrorist ties. As for whether there was anything the FBI should have done differently, "so far, the honest answer is, I don't think so," Comey said.
Mateen was added to a terror watch list in 2013 when he was investigated, but was taken off it soon after the matter was closed, according to Comey. People who are in that database are not automatically barred from buying guns. Mateen purchased his weapons in June, long after his removal from the list.
More details of the massacre emerged on Monday, with Orlando Police Chief John Mina saying Mateen was "cool and calm" during phone calls with negotiators. But Mina said he decided to send the SWAT team in and bash through a wall after Mateen holed up with hostages in a bathroom and talked about bombs and an explosive vest.
"We knew there would be an imminent loss of life," Mina said. As it turned out, Mateen had no explosives with him.

 

[ATV Rancher]

Hey ATV. You are from the US. What is the procedure to purchase restricted weapons in your country? How does a guy like Omar Mateen get an AR to begin with? They said in news reports he passed all background checks and had 2 security licence's what ever they are. I found it easy to buy restricted weapons in Canada but then I am not on an FBI watchlist either.

There basically aren't any fully autos, just a stupid and deceitful media. I heard a report where he was a security guard for Chris' Sake! It would probably be racist to deny any Muslim the ability to purchase weapons, when you get down to brass tacks. And as far as the FBI, the Democrat presumptive nominee, Hillary Clinton, is being investigated by the FBI in at least two separate cases (should be many more) so that really does a hell of a lot of good. Go Donald Trump!!

 

[lloydguy]

" it was a semi auto assault weapon" OMFG , I wish people would quit using that stupid term.
A semi auto is NOT an assault weapon.AND an AR 15 IS NOT AN ASSAULT WEAPON.
This was a tragic truly awfull thing that happened,but lying about the weapon used doesn't change
what happened.It only stir's up more anti gun terror for stupid people to use against legal gun owner's.
There are 10's of million's of semi auto rifle's in north america, calling them "assault weapon's" is stupid,
and a flat out LIE.

 

[dogsmack]

Lets face it guys, the world is afraid of its own shadow. Gone are the days of where Men are aloud to be Men. When I say that take 20 years ago if someone was work and being a total a$$ you took him around back and punched him in the face. End of problem.

Today you have people thinking stopping illegal immagration is racism, no it is illegal.

We have Man buns and man bags.

"men" growning beards that can't start a fire in a propane bbq with a tiger torch.

I call some lesbian a B!tch because she rants on about things she has no idea what the facts are, I'm a homophobe. No I'm tired of your crap and you are a b!tch. Care less who you love. Good chance I didn't even know she was gay, I have poor gaydar because I don't care. I do have a serious intolerance to a$$holes however.

Leaders of countries who's man card was questionable to begin with today's issues and actions confirms they are sock puppets and cowards. I've seen more backbone in under cooked pasta.

The CBC is liberal run and feeds the ignorant to fuel it political agenda.

Black rifles are black rifles, it could shoot candy coated raisins in fun at a kids party and someone would want it banned because it looks mean and scary. Again it is the political driven media that turns focus on what they want to focus on. Was and always will the fault of the firearm. Not the loser who couldn't figure out his own sexually and killed people to cover his tracks because of religious belief.

Man card is earned, not a right. Hats off to the women who support the Man Card, I am quite possitive you are very happy, loved, and free to be who you want to be.

I want my Canada back. I'm going fishin.

 

[freeflorider]

" it was a semi auto assault weapon" OMFG , I wish people would quit using that stupid term.
A semi auto is NOT an assault weapon.AND an AR 15 IS NOT AN ASSAULT WEAPON.
This was a tragic truly awfull thing that happened,but lying about the weapon used doesn't change
what happened.It only stir's up more anti gun terror for stupid people to use against legal gun owner's.
There are 10's of million's of semi auto rifle's in north america, calling them "assault weapon's" is stupid,
and a flat out LIE.

Welcome to the world of media, saying it was a single shot hunting rifle just does not sell papers.

 

[freeflorider]

Lets face it guys, the world is afraid of its own shadow. Gone are the days of where Men are aloud to be Men. When I say that take 20 years ago if someone was work and being a total a$$ you took him around back and punched him in the face. End of problem.

Today you have people thinking stopping illegal immagration is racism, no it is illegal.

We have Man buns and man bags.

"men" growning beards that can't start a fire in a propane bbq with a tiger torch.

I call some lesbian a B!tch because she rants on about things she has no idea what the facts are, I'm a homophobe. No I'm tired of your crap and you are a b!tch. Care less who you love. Good chance I didn't even know she was gay, I have poor gaydar because I don't care. I do have a serious intolerance to a$$holes however.

Leaders of countries who's man card was questionable to begin with today's issues and actions confirms they are sock puppets and cowards. I've seen more backbone in under cooked pasta.

The CBC is liberal run and feeds the ignorant to fuel it political agenda.

Black rifles are black rifles, it could shoot candy coated raisins in fun at a kids party and someone would want it banned because it looks mean and scary. Again it is the political driven media that turns focus on what they want to focus on. Was and always will the fault of the firearm. Not the loser who couldn't figure out his own sexually and killed people to cover his tracks because of religious belief.

Man card is earned, not a right. Hats off to the women who support the Man Card, I am quite possitive you are very happy, loved, and free to be who you want to be.

I want my Canada back. I'm going fishin.

I like you...not in a gay way, but fkn great post! Your my kinda peps. This country needs to step up and get over the politically correct BS.

 

[Summitric]

The left and the media have made the AR-15 the cause of the shooting at Orlando's Pulse nightclub.

Not Islamic terrorism, but a single and popular category of firearm.
As it turns out, not only is the AR-15 not to blame for the shooting, but an AR-15 wasn't even used for it.
A law enforcement official confirmed that the firearm used was actually a Sig Sauer MCX carbine rifle, which, while also a scary, black semi-automatic rifle, has little else in common with AR-15s.
The left has resorted to classifying the AR-15 as a fully automatic assault weapon, when it's neither fully automatic, nor an assault rifle. While people have found ways to convert AR-15s to selective fire firearms, they aren't readily available, nor are they legal.
Don't expect to read any retractions or corrections now that the actual gun has been revealed to be another type entirely.
The left thinks any two-handed black gun is an AR-15. The ignorance would be amusing if law abiding gun owners weren't being targeted as a result of it.

 

[bigdog67]

Has anyone else noticed that the story of the 2 police officers stabbed by the muslim extremist in Paris the day after the Orlando attack has gone by the way side. I guess focusing on the gun is easier than the big picture of the terrorist attacks that are beginning to frequent. What if he would have used a pressure cooker to blow the club up. Would there be a big out cry for cooking appliances ban....Liberal propaganda is getting to be the norm...

 

[snopro]

Has anyone else noticed that the story of the 2 police officers stabbed by the muslim extremist in Paris the day after the Orlando attack has gone by the way side. I guess focusing on the gun is easier than the big picture of the terrorist attacks that are beginning to frequent. What if he would have used a pressure cooker to blow the club up. Would there be a big out cry for cooking appliances ban....Liberal propaganda is getting to be the norm...

I was thinking the same thing dog. Think of everything that can hurt you and then ban it? There are 2 million assault rifles in the US they say owned by private individuals. The amount of times they are used are very small in comparison to all other weapons. I bet more people in the US are killed by knives than guns?

 

[LBZ]

Hey ATV. You are from the US. What is the procedure to purchase restricted weapons in your country? How does a guy like Omar Mateen get an AR to begin with? They said in news reports he passed all background checks and had 2 security licence's what ever they are. I found it easy to buy restricted weapons in Canada but then I am not on an FBI watchlist either.

Depends on the state from what I recall my southern friends saying.

 

[j335]

I'm all guns and all but don't ya think having a system closer to Canada would not hurt? Safety course, more extensive background check and 28 day grace period?
Believe me I hate this whole blame the gun media side but seriously why is it so bad? Because they think it might open a can of worms? Serious question.

 

[eclipse1966]

100% agree!

I'm all guns and all but don't ya think having a system closer to Canada would not hurt? Safety course, more extensive background check and 28 day grace period?
Believe me I hate this whole blame the gun media side but seriously why is it so bad? Because they think it might open a can of worms? Serious question.

 

[lilduke]

How'd they stop muhammad again,, oh yeah with guns. Everyone should have a gun, only way to defend yourself against terrorists with guns....

 

[dogsmack]

I've complied with all Canadain firearm laws and do not have a lack of firepower, reloading equipement or areas to use my stuff. To side with our southern brothers and sisters as I am sure they are all for a less chaos its opening the door to start the control. Those retards in power once they have a toe in the door won't stop at simply increasing wait times and better back ground checks. From what I've see lately of a lot of gov't they are trying real hard to take away any opposition good or bad. Control freaks run for power these days not people who want to do good for the people.

I'm all guns and all but don't ya think having a system closer to Canada would not hurt? Safety course, more extensive background check and 28 day grace period?
Believe me I hate this whole blame the gun media side but seriously why is it so bad? Because they think it might open a can of worms? Serious question.

 

[dogsmack]

Serious question, who here has fired an automatic weapon? AR or otherwise. I was infantry soI've used the C6, C7 Browning 50. What a serious amount of fun. Didn't kill anyone but wow like holding lightning in your hands. End of the day do I want to own, hell yeah. Why, because it is exciting. Nothing more. Own a Barrett 416 I wish. Hit a 24" metal gong at 1500 yards why not. Maybe catch that bastard yote that hangs up at 800ish yards from the house. Thats it. Novelty, excitement and yeah man stuff lol. Only thing I hurt humanity speaking is the odd ear drum. Bad people do bad things, good firearm owners are fun to have.

 

[dogsmack]

ISIS 'kill list' includes names of 151 Canadians - Canada - CBC News


Figures it's mostly women. Cowards.

 

[freeflorider]

I bet more people in the US are killed by knives than guns?

Not to mention fast food chains and smoking, heck the list goes on forever.

 

[Cdnfireman]

A couple of points to ponder......

why did it take the police in Orlando 3 HOURS to go in and take care of business?

How come when a private citizen owns a "black rifle" it's called an "assault rifle", but when a police department is issued and uses them they are called "patrol carbines"?