Sikh Temple Shooting

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U.S. army vet named as shooter in deadly Wisconsin Sikh temple tragedy

Wade Michael Page, a 40 year-old war veteran who was dishonorably disccharged, went into a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin and shot nine people. Six of them were killed, including the leader of the temple, while the other three were seriously injured. Page also shot a police officer nine times, though thankfully non-fatally, and was subsequently shot down by another officer.

This is just horrible. The Aurora shooting was barely two weeks ago, and while not as many people were injured or killed in the Sikh temple shooting, it's still a terrible event.
 
I heard about this yesterday when the shooting happened... absolutely sickening. My deepest condolences and prayers go to the victims and the families of the victims.
 
And they say that gun control laws should be more lax. Though I guess this isn't the case here as it was a war vet, but still... this just horrible. My condolences go out to the victims and their families.
 
Nabber said:
And they say that gun control laws should be more lax.
I could argue that if the Sikh had guns, then it wouldn't have been as horrible because they would have shot back and got the guy.

Not that I mean to be insincere and just treat this as a reason for relaxed gun control - the most important thing is obviously that six families will have to cope with this tragic loss.

And he probably didn't even have a good reason/any reason, which makes this all the more heartbreaking.
 
Why not?

I can especially see them now, considering the Sikh may feel less safe after this incident.

If there was a serial killer targeting only Christians, then I'd be perfectly okay with members of my church carrying guns during service. It'd be safer.
 
Jack Noir said:
Nabber said:
And they say that gun control laws should be more lax.
I could argue that if the Sikh had guns, then it wouldn't have been as horrible because they would have shot back and got the guy.

Not that I mean to be insincere and just treat this as a reason for relaxed gun control - the most important thing is obviously that six families will have to cope with this tragic loss.

And he probably didn't even have a good reason/any reason, which makes this all the more heartbreaking.
I'll just keep out of the "gun laws" conversation and say that Page is a neo-nazi that was part of a couple of white-power bands called Define Hate and End Apathy. He may have targeted the Sikhs due to 9/11. Since a lot of people confused the Sikhs with the Muslims due to their long beards and turbans, the New York-based Sikh Coalition has received over 700 threats. So essentially, Page might have murdered six people because he mistakenly thought they belonged to the same religion as the people behind 9/11.
 
iirc a major tenant of sikhism is 'carry your sword everywhere (for defence)', so i dont think it would be that unrealistic to have a gun in a gurdwara for the same purpose

i don't know though, i'm not a sikh. maybe i can summon one to clarify this
 
Gideon Gordon Graves said:
GreenDisaster said:
Page might have murdered six people because he mistakenly thought they belonged to the same religion as the people behind 9/11.
That is fucked up in a variety of ways.
Is this the first you've heard of Sikhs being mistaken for Muslims?

Educate yourself.

Americans can be just as cruel in stereotyping Middle Eastern types as they are in stereotyping us.
 
That is so horribly messed up. I know people commit acts of terror against religions...but this is just sad.

I can't say anything about the gun control laws, considering I'm not American. I did see Bowling for Columbine in english, though. It's a documentary about that stuff.
 
Jack Noir said:
Nabber said:
And they say that gun control laws should be more lax.
I could argue that if the Sikh had guns, then it wouldn't have been as horrible because they would have shot back and got the guy.
I suppose you'd want everyone in a school to carry guns, too, in case some kid who was traumatized by a couple of bullies decides to go on a shooting. Regardless, I don't think allowing everyone to carry a gun with them in the public in case a nutjob attacks will do much good. It would even make it easier for someone to do this exact kind of thing. A place of worship hardly seems like a great place to do it, either.

On-topic, I hope for the best for the families and friends who are going through this. Sickening to hear this happening so shortly after Aurora.
 
I don't believe it. My condolences for the families and friends of those who were killed
 
This is terrible, especially so soon after the Aurora shooting. My condolences to anyone killed or otherwise affected.
 
Groden said:
Jack Noir said:
Nabber said:
And they say that gun control laws should be more lax.
I could argue that if the Sikh had guns, then it wouldn't have been as horrible because they would have shot back and got the guy.
I suppose you'd want everyone in a school to carry guns, too, in case some kid who was traumatized by a couple of bullies decides to go on a shooting. Regardless, I don't think allowing everyone to carry a gun with them in the public in case a nutjob attacks will do much good. It would even make it easier for someone to do this exact kind of thing. A place of worship hardly seems like a great place to do it, either.
I'm of the opinion that if you're desperate enough to do something like this, then the law won't have much sway in stopping you from smuggling a gun in somehow... And I'd rather have the right to defend myself in such instances.
 
Jack Noir said:
Gideon Gordon Graves said:
GreenDisaster said:
Page might have murdered six people because he mistakenly thought they belonged to the same religion as the people behind 9/11.
That is fucked up in a variety of ways.
Is this the first you've heard of Sikhs being mistaken for Muslims?

Why would you think that? I'm saying it's fucked up, which it is.
 
It's been something uninformed people have done since 9/11 and it needs to stop. Sikhism is a completely different religion from Islam.

And it would be just as bad if someone went into a mosque and shot the place up. These radical terrorist organizations that some of these murderers are against are a gross misrepresentation of Muslims.
 
Ignorant people will continue to fester in their ignorancy and with extremists on both sides the volatility is too much; innocents die. Guns most likely wouldn't be allowed inside gurdwaras even after this example of human depravity. Confusing the two religions would make this more worse than it already is. My condolences to those fellow Sikhs as well; but this sort of shit just won't stop and eventually humanity will destroy itself. 22 was just talking to me about the ceremonial sword/dagger. Not every Sikh carries one, and it's highly unlikely to be used for anything other than those ceremonial purposes. The double-bladed khanda sword is rarer than the kirpan, but is a Sikh weapon so might/might not be allowed in gurdwaras.
 
Gideon Gordon Graves said:
At the very least, it should be illegal for people with mental problems to buy guns.

1 - How would you know that people would be mentally unstable? I mean, the shooter in Aurora obviously showed no signs of being crazy.

2 - Just because someone might have a mental problems doesn't mean that they are all insane or deserves to be unable to own something. It was rather offending, as I suffer from a mental disability known as Autism.

3 - I hate how it's been one shooting after another lately, and even though it wasn't as fatal as the Aurora shooting, it is still very sad to see more people die.
 
Bec Noir said:
Gideon Gordon Graves said:
At the very least, it should be illegal for people with mental problems to buy guns.
It's America. Anyone can get guns.
...aside from convicted felons.

But then, that's okay because they've already proven that they will only use their 2nd Amendment rights to harm innocents, not protect themselves.
 
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