# The Float-Up Bar/Restaurant Shooter **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 28, 2025, 1:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-float-up-bar-restaurant-shooter/1023453 "2025-09-28T13:46:43Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Showing post:** 93
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2025, 3:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-float-up-bar-restaurant-shooter/1023453/93 "2025-10-28T03:48:17Z")
For a bit more context on firearms and bears: > [@Carrying firearms for defense against an aggressive bear?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/carrying-firearms-for-defense-against-an-aggressive-bear/1000420): > > In this [post](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588/4874) over in this [thread](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-stupid-republican-idea-of-the-day-part-3/986588), @Broomstick said the following: I have guns, too, but would not use them in self-defense against a bear. The vast majority of firearms are simply not that effective against an attacking or charging bear. The way to safely take on a bear with a firearm is at a distance with a high-powered rifle. A bear attack, on the other hand, is by definition at a much closer range such that a rifle is difficult or impossible to use. And the vast majority of handguns are fa… For our rather long discussion about it. And here in Colorado Springs between my wife and her mother, two experiences with in-city black bears in the last ten years. But see also my post where I mentioned how an individual in more rural Colorado was indeed killed by a bear, though it was the first time in 22 years it had happened in that area. To the greater theme though, I think the commonness of rural hunting for primary food purposes has declined dramatically over the generations in much of the nation. I own a large number of firearms (almost all inherited/on perpetual loan from my father-in-law) due to that change. The firearms included 3 .22 rifles, from his parents generation, including his _mother’s_ varmint gun. Several others from siblings who didn’t have kids, or don’t have kids that have any firearm experience. My wife and I target shoot (well, not since circumstances just pre-Covid spiked prices), and had taken handgun safety courses, so we have nearly three generations of inherited guns. Between you, me and the tree, I’ll properly dispose of 80% or more of them when they don’t have to be kept for “sentimental” value. Back to the origination of the thread though - if the reported suspect is confirmed to be guilty, we’re dealing with a subset of American gun ownership that is extremely challenging from the point of view of gun control changes: military veterans. There is a widely held belief that former military and LEO should automatically be exempt from the additional training/safety requirements that civilians need in some jurisdictions to own or conceal-carry a firearm. They are the ones expected to be _the most_ responsible, trained, and likely to use a personal firearm for _good_ reasons. And for the majority, it’s probably correct - I mean, I have a CCW in Colorado, and the training (including live practice) and licensing was not particularly long, onerous or expensive [not cheap though either]. But especially in light of diminishing funding and availability for the VA, not to mention a far-too-ignored degree of trauma for vets, it worries me from time to time. I’m not excusing the shooter for his actions, far from it. But most of the reporting from around the incident shows that it was known in the community he was deeply troubled, but no one seemed able to help him. Again, I worry about how many others there are just like him with the skills and weapons stewing in physical or mental distress who could do the same with little to no notice. --- _[View the full topic](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-float-up-bar-restaurant-shooter/1023453)._