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KC's Exchange in Roseburg, Oregon (courtesy nytimes.com)

A little known, little discussed fact: the Umpqua Community College mass shooting happened in a deeply conservative community. One that supports its citizens’ natural, civil and Constitutionally protected right to keep and bear arms. The New York Times, of all people, explored the “irony” of that. Like this . . .

A week has passed since J. J. Vicari huddled underneath a desk while gunshots exploded in the classroom next door. Now he is thinking about guns. Not about tightening gun laws, as President Obama urged after nine people were killed at the community college here. But about buying one for himself.

“It’s opened my eyes,” said Mr. Vicari, 19. “I want to have a gun in the house to protect myself, to protect the people I’m with. I’m sure I’ll have a normal life and never have to go through anything like this, but I want to be sure.”

As the article reveals, Mr. Vicar is hardly alone in his views on gun rights. Hence the more widely reported fact that the town has little desire to host the President of the United States, who would no doubt use his appearance at the crime scene to promote his gun control agenda.

Mr. Obama plans to visit Roseburg on Friday to meet the grieving families of yet another gun rampage, but many people here are bristling at his renewed call for stricter gun laws. In some ways, the rampage at the college by a 26-year-old student, Christopher Harper-Mercer, has actually tightened the embrace of guns in a rural town where shots at rifle ranges echo off the hills and hunters shoot deer and elk through the fall.

Some families touched by the violence and students who fled gunfire said they now feared that the kind of bloodshed seen inside Classroom 15 of Snyder Hall at Umpqua Community College could happen anywhere. Some said they were planning to buy guns. Others said they would seek concealed-weapons permits. Others, echoing gun advocates’ calls for more weapons on campus, said the college should allow its security guards to carry guns. A few said they thought that stricter gun control laws could have averted the massacre.

Some, others, others, a few. Take that, mainstream media. The real question: will the MSM report on these “others” when the Prez arrives? If so, President Obama is heading for a PR disaster. What are the odds? The same odds that the Times couldn’t find a pro-gun control voice to “balance” the views of “some people.”

And while the mass shooting here has pushed some people toward wanting to arm themselves, it has also pushed others in the opposite direction. Students like Devon Paasch, 36, whose writing teacher, Lawrence Levine, was among the victims, said the killings had intensified her belief that the country needed stricter gun laws. Ms. Paasch was not on campus that morning because she slept through her alarm; she has spent the past week tilting among grief, guilt and a fear of returning to school.

“No kind of gun control is going to stop everything,” Ms. Paasch said. “But in a situation like this, it could have saved 10 lives.”

The Times doesn’t contest Mr. Paasch’s contention. And concludes on this happy note:

“We are a weapons family,” Ms. Skinner said. She and Mr. Mintz have a 6-year-old son, Tyrik, who has autism and who also influenced her attitude toward guns. “I like to have the ability to protect myself and my child,” she said.

But Ashley Schmidt, 28, said the horror she heard through the walls of the classrooms had nudged her toward supporting rules that would regulate guns the way cars are. She was in Classroom 14 in Snyder Hall when the shooting started and ran out amid a storm of gunfire, yelling “Gun! Gun! Gun!” at a girl in the hallway whose earbuds had blocked out the noise.

Ms. Schmidt said she opposed “taking guns away,” and lamented that there was no foolproof way to keep guns away from criminals or would-be mass murderers.

“I’ve always felt like there is nothing I can do,” she said, referring to school shootings. “But I see this country falling apart.”

So do a lot of people, Ms. Schmidt. Another good reason to own a gun. [h/t Misgter3d]

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73 COMMENTS

  1. If the President makes a public appearance to argue for gun control, I wold be unsurprised to hear a bunch of booing. Even the mayor has said that the President should not come.

      • Wonder what would happen if a large number of Roseburg citizens did like Muntadhar al-Zaidi did to George W. Bush back in December of 2008: throw shoes at interloper Barack Hussein Obama?

    • Whilst you may be unsurprised at people booing, what are the likely chances of open unbiased press coverage of such an event if it did indeed unfold?

    • I would be unsurprised if the town’s population suddenly grew by more than 200% overnight with buses rolling in full of anti-gunners from across the country (maybe the UT prof’s, too), courtesy of blooms & shannon. Might even be the same sheep rounded up and used a couple years ago for Scott Walker in the Badger State. They’ll be the one’s interviewed and agenda forwarded…

      • I’m sure many useful idiots will be in attendance. Compensated for their time and flagged for interviews by the media no doubt. He who controls the media with his hamburger phone and selectable rainbow pen controls the conversation.

      • Judging by the pathetic attendance at their “rallies”, I don’t think the anti-gun folks could muster that many supporters for a cross-country bus trip.

        There is a huge “enthusiasm gap” working in our favor. We’re fighting to protect our rights, and they’re fighting to “do something, because guns make me uncomfortable”.

    • This shooting was a fraud. It was fake. It is just like Sandy Hook with crisis actors laughing and being bad actors. And there are devil signs this so called hero and is friends made. Click on the link I put up with no financial advantage to me. I blogged it on Patric.net I urge you all to read it and my other links by clicking on bgamall4. I am a liberal for gun rights. I believe both parties are globalists, but the Dems seek gun control and the Repubs seek bigotry and hatred. It is tough, because all the candidates are globalists. Anyway, please look at the site and keep fighting for gun rights but don’t trust Breitbart as it is globalist as well. So is WND. So is Bloomberg, and the list goes on and on. We are screwed as a nation.

    • Even if Wayne wanted to show up (not likely as he has too much class for that) I’d say leave these people alone for a couple of weeks. That goes thrice for the Narcissist in Chief.

      Ray

    • That sure won’t stop him from mucking things up. He (and Jarrett) can do that just fine, and even without his pen and phone; he’ll just delegate to his yes men and yes women to do his amateurish, incompetent bidding for him. Even the other side of the world isn’t safe from his lack of “common sense” on most things. Laughable if he and his Democrat administration wasn’t so dangerous and expensive for the rest of us.

      His lame useless misguided gun control agenda is but one example!!!

  2. The good people of Roseburg need to take a page from the N.Y.P.D., and their response to Dumblasio. Turn your back on him!!!! Make a great visual, if all the residents show up for the dog and pony show, and turn their backs on Odumbo, when he starts caterwauling about gun control.

    • Most every day citizens wouldn’t do that, conservative or liberal. Liberal extremists, paid protesters of any stripe will, and NYPD coppers are nothing if they aren’t mostly liberal, union Democrats.

      Of course, Mayor DeBlasto doesn’t have anything near the presence of the Office of the Presidency to get him some leeway on stupid remarks.

        • I quickly thought of several witty answers to that Ralph, but the truth is you, and most here, to a greater or lessor degree, are committed to the cause of the “people of the gun”, are personally invested in that cause and are willing to publicly express our disdain toward those who seek to impose their confiscatory political will over us.

          In that sense we are NOT like every day citizens who are seldom if ever moved to acts of public civil protest. Unless they believe they have some ‘skin in the game’ and are incensed that it is in jeopardy, most every day citizens are just spectators.

        • Roscoe has just drawn the sword from the stone, and Youtube’d the instruction video (no sarc.). Hooyah.

      • New York PD as well as ALL New York Politicians are as bad or worse than Oboma.
        You have to have a special permit to even own Pepper spray or stungun in NY city.
        So I’d say all cops and Politicians in NY city are accessories to murder, rape, assault and any other crime that happens where the common man had no means to defend themselves.
        At the very least should be tried for complacency.

    • The MSM would not show it or report that it happened…it would only show up on the internet and not be seen by the “great uninformed masses” that only get their news from TV…however, I’m all for it, on the chance that it would get out to the rest of the country.

  3. Laws that treat guns like cars?
    You mean we can buy as many as we want, no questions asked, and we only have to register them if we use them on the public streets?
    That kind of regulation is what you’re asking for?

    • Also in the car world, a Ferrari is a BMW is a Ford in terms of licensing. If I have a drivers license, I can buy a $300,000 Italian dream that goes 255 MPH regardless of age or background or skill.

      The equivalent in the gun world would be a select-fire M4A1 is an M&P 15 is a Kahr pistol. If you have your “permit” there’s zero restriction on the guns you can have.

    • Also in the car world…

      High schools provide firearm safety, I mean, driver’s ed training including time behind the wheel….

      CC permits, I mean, drivers licenses are recognized in every state you drive to….(even in Canada?)….

      Ammo, I mean, fuel is available on practically every corner….

      Shooting ranges, I mean, highways are built by the government and in most cases are free to use….

      • Don’t forget the rest of it.. vehicle inspections, regulated smog control, regulated tires, lights, fuel, registrations, facial recognition,license plate recognition arbitrary license suspensions tied to unrelated acts… Licensing is the worst possible thing.

    • If Guns Were Treated Like Cars:

      • no registration would be required to possess and operate a gun on private property for personal use
      • a permit/license to carry would be valid in all 50 states and the district of Columbia
      • permits would have to be “shall issue” in every jurisdiction and could not be denied based on subjective, discretionary criteria
      • gun laws would be largely similar nationwide, with only trivial differences to worry about when crossing jurisdictions
      • dealers would not have to obtain separate permission from the FBI for every gun transaction through their business
      • minor errors or violations harming no one (e.g. having 8 rounds loaded instead of 7 in New York, or having hollow point bullets in New Jersey) would be treated as civil infractions incurring a small fine, not serious crimes with potential for jail time
      • having been once involuntarily committed (e.g., for a few days several decades ago) wouldn’t automatically prohibit you from possessing a gun
      • felons and serious misdemeanants could still generally own guns and obtain a license to carry them, even if their past crimes had been committed with guns
      • it would be legal to produce new automatic weapons for private ownership (though limited perhaps to operation on private property)
      • guns wouldn’t be banned based on cosmetic features which don’t effect their performance and operation
      • young adults would be allowed to take their license test and start to carry guns in public several years sooner than they can now in most jurisdictions (age 21)
      • schools would offer a “shooter’s ed.” operation and safety class
      • the use of a car to commit a serious crime wouldn’t inevitably bring calls to ban or dramatically limit public access to cars
      • silencers (mufflers) would be mandatory safety and comfort equipment for public operation, instead of being a heavily taxed luxury requiring purchase permission from the ATF that can take six months or more to obtain

  4. Progressives cannot believe other people don’t think like they do, the poor souls just need to be “enlightened”, as they say.

    • Such is the progressive/conservative gap. It’s most evident in urban areas. Go to any neighborhood where the fashionable/artistic types hang out, and the conversation revolves around how “enlightened” and “with it” they are. My business takes me into the arts world, and one thing that is guaranteed to start a veritable “oh you poor thing” session is my views on self-defense and the Second Amendment. Half the crowd thinks I’m a mass murderer, the other half thinks I need to be “enlightened”.

      It’s their freedom to think that though, just as it’s my freedom to hold the views and policies I do.

    • Enlightened?

      They process things based on “feelings” and “projection” and unrealistic utopian fantasy.

      Good luck with enlightening most died in the wool progressive liberal minded antis’ or even the sheeple who blindly follow their lead.

  5. This is typical. The media and the Libs say people want gun control. And the people say they want to be armed to defend themselves, but the media always seems to miss that part.

  6. “It’s opened my eyes,” said Mr. Vicari, 19. “I want to have a gun in the house to protect myself, to protect the people I’m with. I’m sure I’ll have a normal life and never have to go through anything like this, but I want to be sure.”

    Ah, but Mr. Vicari, you are too young to carry a gun on campus, as you are either a drunk, a rageaholic, or a pothead. According to the antis. (And some fudds)

  7. “The real question: will the MSM report on these “others” when the Prez arrives? If so, President Obama is heading for a PR disaster.”

    The mass media drones won’t let that happen.

    They will ‘frame’ the story to their political slant…

    • They’ll bs and make it up, like the part about the girl yelling to the other becase she had her earbuds in. Ya, even a concrete block bldg would echo lkke a mf if you discharged a pistol several times in that school. Fdat

    • you cant even pump youre own gas in Oregon ?,,,,,,,and the libs in political offices tax the living pi%$ out of you ,,other than that ,,great place

      • As you say, taxes are high, but at least we don’t have a sales tax which is unfair if you are not rich.
        If your wondering what I mean, here’s a simple scenario.
        Family A makes $500,000 a year, and pays 30% federal tax, and 8% sales tax.
        Family B makes $40,000 a year and pays 5% or less federal tax, and still has to pay 8% sales tax!
        Imagine a couple has been saving up for 10 years to replace their 15 year old car. They buy a new one using all the cash they have saved, and then the dealer says, “Oh, and that will be another two thousand dollars for sales tax!

        • Model 31
          Don’t see your point, and why wouldn’t they buy a $32,000 car, for an offspring or anybody??

        • Texas state sales tax on cars is 6.25% so a $32k car runs a sales tax tab of $2k. Where you’re at and various taxes/rates will vary -which is not the point. The family making $500k a year are buying 75k+ Tahoes and Escalades…paying 5k sales tax and doing it every 3-4 years…not ever 15 years. In addition, its possible they’d buy a Ford Taurus for the kids to drive on top of both parent’s rides. If there is no state income tax, then they’re paying a king’s ransom in property taxes. The “poor” may be getting subsidies on their health insurance premiums, but the 500k family sure are not while their premiums and deductibles skyrocket. I guess the point is the 500k families are paying far more than you seem to recognize. They pay plenty of taxes. gotta let go of the class envy…only makes people victims in their own minds.

  8. Politicians just don’t understand how people feel.

    An attack like this makes you realize the government can only do so much to provide for security. So naturally we begin to think about how to provide better security for ourselves.

    What the politicians suggest is disarmament. But they themselves don’t honestly believe that works. They don’t disarm their own security teams.
    So we have to sit and watch obvious hypocrisy parade itself in our face.

  9. They will vet everyone who will be near the president to make sure everyone is a anti gunner. They may bus people in to stand behind him in support of Obumers BS. I doubt they will find any cops to do it as that jokes out of the bag.
    I find it interesting though that the very place that suffers a gun tragedy is fully 2A supportive and does not support Obummer and his gun policies. Reading between the lines tomorrow is going to be fun.

    • What Mr. Lloyd said. The possibilities of anyone booing the idiot in chief are Slim and None… and Slim just left. They will indeed bus in a crowd for the show and it will appear to the rest of the country that the area is in full agreement.

      • Video the bus arrivals. I’m gearing up a film crew for election time. We always get a greyhound election of homeless stoners registering after they’ve early/absentee voted elsewhere. We still be a red state.
        FU(D) we see your a_ _.

      • Obama will make more political points, and better represent the office he holds by simply meeting privately with the victims of this event as has been stated are his intentions.

        He would be politically foolish to grandstand a bunch of anti-gun rhetoric while at that venue, and I doubt he will.

        He’ll push his agenda elsewhere; he has to to divert people’s minds from his other ongoing failures.

        • As bad as he is (and his f’d up-ness will be legendary) he’s only one 1000th as f’d up as all the fing POS SH_tbag mfs that voted for him.

          F All of you, your five dads, and everything you give a sh_t about.

        • They drank from the punch bowl and fell for his class and racial warfare dogma. Many people ‘can’t see the forest for the trees’. And the ‘sheeple’ just go with the flow.

          Hope and change, yeah right. More like divide and conquer.

          Where’s the unity in the conservative ranks to unseat these anti freedom elitist Democrats, not that the ‘R’ politicians are so much better in many regards. But a Republican administration would certainly be at least SOME improvement.

  10. I can kind of understand the irrational requests for more gun laws from someone that has been through an ordeal like this. But then the next question is, “Exactly which laws would have prevented this?” The answer is not very clear and I have not heard ANY proposed laws that would have prevented this tragedy. Sounds like wishful thinking to me. Even Obama cannot come up with anything concrete other than “more gun laws”. So he is really just making political theater to try to gain votes for the Dems and doing that on the backs of those that are grieving for their dead loved ones. And that’s just despicable.

  11. In the summer of 1918 the Kaiser visited the Krupp works. At the end of his visit the foreman ask for three cheers for the Kaiser. Silence ensued. It was the beginning of the German collapse.

    I think Obama is headed for his Kaiser Wilhelm moment.

  12. He should bypass Roseburg and go to Eugene and/or Portland. They’d love having him in either place. Roseburg? No.

  13. Does anyone know how Saiga rifles are getting back on store shelves again? In the picture posted, there’s an unconverted Saiga 12 on the well. Seen other places selling new Saiga AKs again as well but thought they had been caught in the Russia/Ukraine sanctions.

    • Sitting in quarantine on the docks until customs release and then… Voila.

      Sooner Guns, Tulsa has one, and the Chinese Gnock-off (one or three). Enjoy.

  14. But Ashley Schmidt, 28, said the horror she heard through the walls of the classrooms had nudged her toward supporting rules that would regulate guns the way cars are.

    Great! I can own any motor vehicle with any modification, unregistered, untagged, uninsured, with no background checks 😉 – as long as I keep it on my private property. Sounds great – machine guns here we come! Let’s do this with guns!

  15. “…Students like Devon Paasch, 36, ….., said the killings had intensified her belief that the country needed stricter gun laws. Ms. Paasch was not on campus that morning because she slept through her alarm; …”

    Sounds like a fine responsible student. What are the odds she’s getting tax payer assisted tuition? 36 years old and still uses the “slept through the alarm” excuse. Yeah, let’s get her opinion on gun control.

    • Hell, I have a 36 year old employee the same way that I am trying to shitcan through company policies. Union shop. It is an epic battle and this guy knows all the tricks.

  16. The sky is falling! Ban the sky!

    This country is not in fact falling apart. To be sure parts of it are, and the government is tightening it’s grip ever more, but we’ve a long way to go before it collapses. Or even gets close.

    Maybe I am just more optimistic than some, though.

  17. He should send hand written letters, if he wants to console the grieving. Making a public appearance is tasteless grand standing, and bloody shirt waving – not to mention needlessly expensive for the tax-payers.

    • Well, it is a good excuse to blow a half-million dollars in jet fuel and push our nation that much closer to bankruptcy. And think of the overtime that will be required to compensate the giant entourage that accompanies Odumbo wherever he goes. Yet another “opportunity” to bankrupt us and bring about that “fundamental transformation” that he promised.

  18. The NYT has no credibility with me. They actually got Mr. Joshua murdered in Ferguson, by saying he was a grand jury witness and then publishing his address. I don’t know who hires the hacks that work for them, but they need to go out of business, They do not publish objective stories.

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