# College Station, Texas shooting
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402
**Category:** The BBQ Pit
**Created:** [August 13, 2012, 7:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402 "2012-08-13T19:46:31Z")
**Posts on this page:** 20
**Page:** 8
### Author:  [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 11:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/141 "2012-08-14T11:09:04Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> I don’t want to jump to any conclusions, though.
>
> 1. It might not be an AK-47.
> 2. It might belong to an innocent passer-by that dropped it in the excitement.
That is ‘looks’ like an AK something has absolutely no bearing on whether it’s an ‘automatic weapon’ or not.
I’m sure Martin will be back to point that out; unfortunately, that factoid might get buried in his other whiling.
Edit: No, it does not look like an AK to me.
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### Author:  [@gamerunknown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gamerunknown)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/142 "2012-08-14T13:23:57Z")
> [@Martin Hyde](#):
>
> Now, why is 75,000 alcohol deaths not as meaningful as the 12,600 intentional homicides committed by firearms?
Because the guy didn’t take the police officer down in a blaze of tequila, I suppose. That and there aren’t laws against driving while under the influence of firearm. Or a lack of federal funding to states that allow firearm purchases under the age of 21.
That said, I wish the two wrongs fallacy came up in response to every piece of proposed federal legislation. That way the US couldn’t go to war until the necessity for mobilisation exceeded the necessity for regulating food consumption and exercise. In other words, after 41 9/11s in a year.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 2:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/143 "2012-08-14T14:28:44Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#):
>
> That is ‘looks’ like an AK something has absolutely no bearing on whether it’s an ‘automatic weapon’ or not.
>
> I’m sure Martin will be back to point that out; unfortunately, that factoid might get buried in his other whiling.
>
> Edit: No, it does not look like an AK to me.
That it might _look_ like an automatic certainly has bearing on initial reports that an automatic was involved in the shootings, don’t you think? If someone tosses something that looks like a grenade my way, my _initial_ response might be to yell out, “Watch out! A grenade!!”. Now, if someone came by afterwards and told me that it probably wasn’t a grenade and that I was ignorant for shouting out like that before all the facts were in, I might follow up by calling that person a smug asshole.
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### Author:  [@Jack\_Batty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jack_Batty)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 2:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/144 "2012-08-14T14:35:35Z")
> [@jtgain](#):
>
> I’ll bet that we can scour local websites across the country and read about different traffic accidents, all from yesterday, where several people were killed in auto accidents. Do we weep and mourn for each of them? Of course not. We don’t know these people and we might spend about 1 second feeling bad for their families, we move on because bad shit happens everywhere.
Yeah, because they are _accidents_. If some dick \*intentionally \*plows his car into a crowd of nuns and kills 20 of them, I guarantee we’d be seeing the headlines on CNN. Maybe even Fox ‘News.’
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### Author:  [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 2:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/145 "2012-08-14T14:50:44Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> What does [the rifle by the front of the vehicle look like to you?](http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/gallery?section=news&id=8772127&photo=11)
Actually, to me it looks more like an AR-15 based rifle than an AK47, meaning it might be a Law Enforcement weapon.
ETA: [Here, it looks even more like an AR15 than an AK47](http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/gallery?section=news&id=8772127&photo=17).
Of course, civilians in the U.S. also own AR15s.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/146 "2012-08-14T14:56:45Z")
> [@tomndebb](#):
>
> Actually, to me it looks more like an AR-15 based rifle than an AK47, meaning it might be a Law Enforcement weapon.
>
> ETA: [Here, it looks even more like an AR15 than an AK47](http://abclocal.go.com/ktrk/gallery?section=news&id=8772127&photo=17).
> Of course, civilians in the U.S. also own AR15s.
That is certainly a possibility. Possibly the weapon of one of the victims?
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### Author:  [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/147 "2012-08-14T14:58:13Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> That it might _look_ like an automatic certainly has bearing on initial reports that an automatic was involved in the shootings, don’t you think? If someone tosses something that looks like a grenade my way, my _initial_ response might be to yell out, “Watch out! A grenade!!”. Now, if someone came by afterwards and told me that it probably wasn’t a grenade and that I was ignorant for shouting out like that before all the facts were in, I might follow up by calling that person a smug asshole.
No; it has no bearing whatsoever.
95% of similar weapons you will see owned by civilians in the US are _not_ automatic. The percentage is actually probably much higher.
What it does look like iis an assault rifle. If the article had said ‘gunman opens fire on police with an assault rifle’, we would not be having this conversation.
The problem is that the words matter. The use of ‘automatic’ is a combination of willful ignorance and editorializing. The word ‘automatic’ in the story is gasonline on the fire.
If you don’t understand the difference, and you don’t understand the terminology, then shut up. It’s the same reason that I don’t try to opine on matters of physics or French cuisine. I don’t know what I’m talking about, so no matter HOW strongly I feel that I really really hate how neutrons behave in a magnetic field, I keep my fucking trap shut.
If you have strong opinions on how guns should be controlled, fine. I’m not arguing that. But if you _choose_ to have that discussion, at least familiarize yourself with the subject matter.
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/148 "2012-08-14T15:03:44Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#):
>
> No; it has no bearing whatsoever.
>
> 95% of similar weapons you will see owned by civilians in the US are _not_ automatic. The percentage is actually probably much higher.
>
> What it does look like iis an assault rifle. If the article had said ‘gunman opens fire on police with an assault rifle’, we would not be having this conversation.
>
> The problem is that the words matter. The use of ‘automatic’ is a combination of willful ignorance and editorializing. The word ‘automatic’ in the story is gasonline on the fire.
>
> If you don’t understand the difference, and you don’t understand the terminology, then shut up. It’s the same reason that I don’t try to opine on matters of physics or French cuisine. I don’t know what I’m talking about, so no matter HOW strongly I feel that I really really hate how neutrons behave in a magnetic field, I keep my fucking trap shut.
>
> If you have strong opinions on how guns should be controlled, fine. I’m not arguing that. But if you _choose_ to have that discussion, at least familiarize yourself with the subject matter.
Once again, jackass: _The OP wasn’t giving an opinion, editorializing, speculating or displaying ignorance, willful or otherwise. The OP was merely linking to an initial news report._
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### Author:  [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/149 "2012-08-14T15:05:33Z")
> [@Czarcasm](#):
>
> Once again, jackass: _The OP wasn’t giving an opinion, editorializing, speculating or displaying ignorance, willful or otherwise. The OP was merely linking to an initial news report._
And I was commenting on the news report…I realize that the OP was just using the language from the report.
Now, the speculation and willful ignorance was referring partly to the news article, but mostly to your posts.
Jackass.
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### Author:  [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hentor_the_Barbarian)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 3:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/150 "2012-08-14T15:09:21Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#):
>
> No; it has no bearing whatsoever.
>
> 95% of similar weapons you will see owned by civilians in the US are _not_ automatic. The percentage is actually probably much higher.
>
> What it does look like iis an assault rifle. If the article had said ‘gunman opens fire on police with an assault rifle’, we would not be having this conversation.
That has definitely not been my experience. Using the term “assault rifle” is just as likely if not more likely to get gun fetishists into high dudgeon. A multipage dissection of the semantics will arise from that term, and will be no more informative than asking libertarians to pick a defining position.
---
### Author:  [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/151 "2012-08-14T15:10:50Z")
> [@Hentor\_the\_Barbarian](#):
>
> That has definitely not been my experience. Using the term “assault rifle” is just as likely if not more likely to get gun fetishists into high dudgeon. A multipage dissection of the semantics will arise from that term, and will be no more informative than asking libertarians to pick a defining position.
Ok, then well you wouldn’t be having this conversation with _me_. I have no problem calling what is obviously an assault rifle an assault rifle.
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### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 4:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/152 "2012-08-14T16:14:25Z")
> [@Ludovic](#):
>
> I’m a liberal. And you’re a donkey cave.
Do you mean a burro burrow?
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### Author:  [@Condescending\_Robot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Condescending_Robot)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/153 "2012-08-14T16:26:52Z")
Breaking: Anybody who thinks that words mean things is now a “gun fetishist.”
(Cue, “but assault rifle does mean something! automatic weapon!” “This wasn’t an automatic weapon.” “I mean, any weapon that can kill a lot of people if you want it to!” “You mean, any gun as well as several things that aren’t guns?” “No, I don’t want to demonize all guns, YOU’RE the extremist here for insisting that I use words that mean things, not me!” “OK then…” discussion for the ten thousandth time…)
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### Author:  [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/154 "2012-08-14T16:44:59Z")
> [@Condescending\_Robot](#):
>
> Breaking: Anybody who thinks that words mean things is now a “gun fetishist.”
>
> (Cue, “but assault rifle does mean something! automatic weapon!” “This wasn’t an automatic weapon.” “I mean, any weapon that can kill a lot of people if you want it to!” “You mean, any gun as well as several things that aren’t guns?” “No, I don’t want to demonize all guns, YOU’RE the extremist here for insisting that I use words that mean things, not me!” “OK then…” discussion for the ten thousandth time…)
Cue strawman rebuttal.
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### Author:  [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 5:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/155 "2012-08-14T17:40:57Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#):
>
> The problem is that the words matter. The use of ‘automatic’ is a combination of willful ignorance and editorializing. The word ‘automatic’ in the story is gasonline on the fire.
Excuse me dumb ass but, as has been pointed out more than once, the only reason I used the phrase ‘automatic’ in the OP is because it was mentioned in the news story I linked to. Frankly, I could care less if it was auto, semi-auto or bolt action. The asshole killed a cop and seriously injured two law officers in addition to killing one other person and injuring another civilian. Learn to read for comprehension. YOU are the one who had the knee-jerk reaction.
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#):
>
> If you don’t understand the difference, and you don’t understand the terminology, then shut up.
I know the difference and I understand the terminology. I would suggest until you are able to understand the words you are reading in context that **you** shut up.
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#):
>
> If you have strong opinions on how guns should be controlled, fine. I’m not arguing that. But if you _choose_ to have that discussion, at least familiarize yourself with the subject matter.
Listen dip shit, where in this thread or any other on this board have I ever expressed ANY opinion about guns and how they should be controlled? Huh? Go ahead and search so you can see for yourself what a lying sack of shit you are.
What I have expressed is my disgust for people who use guns to hurt innocent people and for the limp-dicked, pathetic gun nuts who come running to defend gun rights when no one is actually threatening them.
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### Author:  [@BobLibDem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BobLibDem)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/156 "2012-08-14T17:47:25Z")
Must be so easy to be a gun nut. All you have to do is point to any other possible way for a person to die and say “SEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE??? Are you going to ban them TOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO???” Then go back to masturbating about how people are dying because of your insane fetish.
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### Author:  [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/157 "2012-08-14T17:52:59Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#):
>
> And I was commenting on the news report…I realize that the OP was just using the language from the report.
> [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](#):
>
> Excuse me dumb ass but, as has been pointed out more than once, the only reason I used the phrase ‘automatic’ in the OP is because it was mentioned in the news story I linked to. Frankly, I could care less if it was auto, semi-auto or bolt action. The asshole killed a cop and seriously injured two law officers in addition to killing one other person and injuring another civilian. Learn to read for comprehension. YOU are the one who had the knee-jerk reaction.
> I know the difference and I understand the terminology. I would suggest until you are able to understand the words you are reading in context that **you** shut up.
> Listen dip shit, where in this thread or any other on this board have I ever expressed ANY opinion about guns and how they should be controlled? Huh? Go ahead and search so you can see for yourself what a lying sack of shit you are.
>
> What I have expressed is my disgust for people who use guns to hurt innocent people and for the limp-dicked, pathetic gun nuts who come running to defend gun rights when no one is actually threatening them.
Thanks for paying attention. As you can see, I have already said that I was commenting on the use of the phrase in the article. Apart from that, I’m not sure how you construe the rest of those quotes as attacks on you.
There are other people here; assuming that I’m referring to you in _every_ post I’ve made in this thread actually kind of makes you either narcissistic or hypersensitive.
I mean for fuck sake, I even said _in the story:_
> [@](#):
>
> Originally Posted by Sicks Ate
> The problem is that the words matter. The use of ‘automatic’ is a combination of willful ignorance and editorializing. The word ‘automatic’ in the story is gasonline on the fire.
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### Author:  [@Morgenstern](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgenstern)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 6:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/158 "2012-08-14T18:01:33Z")
> [@DianaG](#):
>
> Try and kill three or more people with a knife. Go on. I’ll wait.
You mean like the Manson family did?
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### Author:  [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/159 "2012-08-14T18:06:49Z")
Ok you got me. I missed where you said that.
I doesn’t change the fact you jumped in on the second post and the only detail you noticed was the use of the word ‘automatic’. Dead and injured cops, dead and injured bystanders - yeah, that isn’t important.
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### Author:  [@Malacandra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malacandra)
#### Post date: [August 14, 2012, 7:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/college-station-texas-shooting/631402/160 "2012-08-14T19:12:21Z")
> [@Morgenstern](#):
>
> You mean like the Manson family did?
And ever since then, gun manufacturers, eager for truth in advertising, have always emphasised how when the chips are down you would do as well to rely on a simple kitchen knife.
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