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Charleston shooting: System failure 'allowed Roof to buy gun' - FBI

ThePlayDrive

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From BBC:

The man accused of killing nine black churchgoers in South Carolina last month was able to buy a gun due to a background check failure, the FBI says.

Dylann Roof should have been stopped from purchasing a weapon due to a felony charge, FBI chief James Comey told reporters on Friday.

But he said the charge was either incorrectly entered into a background check system or mishandled by analysts.

Charleston shooting: System failure 'allowed Roof to buy gun' - FBI - BBC News

This is good and bad news. It's good news in the sense that it shows background checks, when properly used, can prevent shootings. The bad news is that they are not being used properly. The logical conclusion is that people need to be trained more effectively in entering information into the system and in analyzing that information. It's sad that nine people died as the result of something so preventable.
 
From BBC:



This is good and bad news. It's good news in the sense that it shows background checks, when properly used, can prevent shootings. The bad news is that they are not being used properly. The logical conclusion is that people need to be trained more effectively in entering information into the system and in analyzing that information. It's sad that nine people died as the result of something so preventable.



True. It is also proof no man-made system is ever going to be perfect, and sometimes loonies will slip through the cracks and bad things will happen. Life.
 
True. It is also proof no man-made system is ever going to be perfect, and sometimes loonies will slip through the cracks and bad things will happen. Life.

What alternative is there to a man-made system?
 
What alternative is there to a man-made system?


None I know of. I'm pointing out perfection in such matters is an unrealistic expectation.
 
I thought his father gave him the weapon for his birthday?
 
Look how many weapons got through our "detection system" at our airports recently when the undercover people all but brought tanks and submarines on board planes. How about the illegal that murdered the young woman that has numerous criminal charges and he has been back and forth like a ping pong ball on our border? The whole issue of security is a tragic joke and it is proven over and over and over every day, week, month and year. It's bad enough that we know but the bad guys know as well.
 
From BBC:



This is good and bad news. It's good news in the sense that it shows background checks, when properly used, can prevent shootings. The bad news is that they are not being used properly. The logical conclusion is that people need to be trained more effectively in entering information into the system and in analyzing that information. It's sad that nine people died as the result of something so preventable.

Nine people did not die as a result of some clerical errors - that's nonsense. Nine people died because a deranged and angry young man wanted to kill nine people. He had money in his pocket and if he hadn't been able to buy a gun the legal way he would have found an illegal way to do it or he would have found other means to carry out his plan. I'm guessing that someone who was apparently active in white supremacist groups would have been able to acquire what he needed within his circle of "friends".

Let's stop blaming people for the criminal actions of others. It is very unfair to leave the impression that had this young man not been able to buy a gun legally that the nine people would be safe and alive today.
 
I thought his father gave him the weapon for his birthday?

The father gave him 'birthday money' and then the killer bought the gun himself.
 
True. It is also proof no man-made system is ever going to be perfect, and sometimes loonies will slip through the cracks and bad things will happen. Life.

Exactly. So my question is...how much of our freedom will they (try to) take away to attempt to keep people 'safe?' Esp. when it's not possible?

From my old signature: "Freedom doesn't mean safe, it means free."
 
Let's stop blaming people for the criminal actions of others. It is very unfair to leave the impression that had this young man not been able to buy a gun legally that the nine people would be safe and alive today.
I specifically avoided blaming people so I'm not sure who you're talking to when you say "Let's stop blaming people". As the article stated, Roof was able to purchase a gun because of a mistake in the background check system. I don't know that that mistake was anyone's "fault" so no person should shoulder the blame besides Roof.

Whether or not he would have gotten a gun illegally if the background check had worked is uncertain. Perhaps he would have, but given that mass shootings tend to be done with legal gun purchases, I'm do not think that he would have. You may think differently. So be it.
 
I specifically avoided blaming people so I'm not sure who you're talking to when you say "Let's stop blaming people". As the article stated, Roof was able to purchase a gun because of a mistake in the background check system. I don't know that that mistake was anyone's "fault" so no person should shoulder the blame besides Roof.

Whether or not he would have gotten a gun illegally if the background check had worked is uncertain. Perhaps he would have, but given that mass shootings tend to be done with legal gun purchases, I'm do not think that he would have. You may think differently. So be it.

Perhaps I misunderstood the intent in your OP. You did end it with the following:

"It's sad that nine people died as the result of something so preventable."

That reads to me like deflecting blame to the system and those who man it. But I'll accept your above comments and apologize for the misunderstanding.
 
Nine people did not die as a result of some clerical errors - that's nonsense. Nine people died because a deranged and angry young man wanted to kill nine people. He had money in his pocket and if he hadn't been able to buy a gun the legal way he would have found an illegal way to do it or he would have found other means to carry out his plan. I'm guessing that someone who was apparently active in white supremacist groups would have been able to acquire what he needed within his circle of "friends".

Let's stop blaming people for the criminal actions of others. It is very unfair to leave the impression that had this young man not been able to buy a gun legally that the nine people would be safe and alive today.

Why do you find poor quality control acceptable? Do you tolerate it in Canada's food safety system? Or in its infrastructure?
 
Why do you find poor quality control acceptable? Do you tolerate it in Canada's food safety system? Or in its infrastructure?

Who said it was acceptable? I said it doesn't deflect the blame for the person who committed the crime. The "poor quality control" led to the purchase of a gun - not, in itself, a violent or dangerous action. The violent and dangerous actions were committed by Dylann Roof, period.
 
Perhaps I misunderstood the intent in your OP. You did end it with the following:

"It's sad that nine people died as the result of something so preventable."

That reads to me like deflecting blame to the system and those who man it. But I'll accept your above comments and apologize for the misunderstanding.
As the article stated, a mistake in the background check allowed Roof to get the gun. I consider that mistake preventable, but I don't think that that means an actual person should be blamed for how Roof capitalized on that mistake. Mistakes happen and we should always be working to prevent them. It just so happens that a bad person took advantage of this one.
 
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