@dlowan,
Mass shootings are also more likely when assault weapons, equipped with high capacity clips are used. These weapons fire a lot of shots very quickly, which enables more people to be hit very rapidly.
An American Muslim Army psychiatrist, and radical Islamic sympathizer, opened fire on fellow sevice members at Fort Hood in Texas, and killed 13 and wounded 29 in 2009 He was not a nut--the shooting was a politically motivated act of terrorism.
Quote:According to pretrial testimony, Hasan entered the Guns Galore store in Killeen on July 31, 2009, and purchased the FN Five-seven semi-automatic pistol that he was to use in the attack at Fort Hood. According to Army Specialist William Gilbert, a regular customer at the store, Hasan entered the store and abruptly asked for "the most technologically advanced weapon on the market and the one with the highest magazine capacity." asan was allegedly asked how he intended to use the weapon, but did not give a straight answer, insisting that he simply wanted the most advanced handgun with the largest magazine capacity. The three people with Hasan—Gilbert, the store manager, and an employee—all agreed upon the FN Five-seven pistol. Gilbert, who personally owned one of the pistols, spent nearly an hour describing it to Hasan, explaining that the gun was extremely lightweight and accurate, and telling him that the bullets it fires cause severe damage on impact.
When the conversation ended, Hasan left the store, saying he needed to research the weapon. He returned to purchase the gun the next day, and visited the store on a weekly basis to buy extra magazines, along with hundreds of rounds of 5.7×28mm SS192 and SS197SR ammunition.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hood_shooting
It is the rapid fire weapons with high capacity clips that facillitate mass shootings.
And these mass shootings are not that uncommon here--we have them in workplaces, schools, college campuses, churches, etc., the one 3 days before the movie theater shooting took place outside a bar.
This one took place in a mall
Quote:The Westroads Mall shooting was a murder-suicide that occurred on Wednesday, December 5, 2007, at the Von Maur department store in the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Nineteen-year-old Robert A. Hawkins killed nine people (including himself) and wounded four, two of them critically.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Westroads_Mall_shooting
The weapon involved? A Century WASR-10 (a commercial copy of the AKM 7.62x39mm) semi-automatic rifle with two 30-round magazines that were taped together.
And last year, a congresswoman was shot, along with 18 other people, and six died, when the shooter opened fire with his 9mm Glock 19 semi-automatic pistol with a 33-round magazine.
The one consistent feature in these mass shootings is a rapid fire semi-automatic weapon with a high capacity magazine. It's the weapon of choice when you want to shoot as many people as possible as fast as possible.
And, in most parts of the U.S., these weapons are easily, and legally, obtainable. So, no need to search hard for why we have mass shootings--we have the weapons available to facillitate those acts.
