Radical Muslim

    For almost a year I have unabashedly decried US focus on radical Muslim terrorists.  I have also advocated for the 2d Amendment of the United States Constitution.  Two days ago Omar Mateen, a domestic radical Muslim, (who has travelled to Saudi Arabia on several occasions) massacred almost 50 members of the LGBT community in an Orlando club, with over 50 others wounded.

Mateen's travels to Saudi Arabia were for religious reasons, not for terrorist training.  The man received his weapons training in connection with employment as a security officer.  The FBI interviewed him in 2013 due to hateful statements predicting violence, assessing he wasn't a threat.

On the day of the rampage, Omar Mateen declared allegiance to ISIS and praised the Boston Marathon bombers, highlighting that guns aren't the only weapons available to inflict substantial casualties upon an unsuspecting crowd.  But the Sig Saur MCX, firing 5.56mm projectiles, is hard to justify.    We don't know whether he shot everyone (about a third of the people in the club) with the MCX, or whether he used the Glock pistol he carried (purchased, like the MCX, several days before the shooting) for some of the shootings.

Omar's second wife apparently drove him to reconnoiter the club and was aware that he was planning a rampage.

Every time an incident like this happens, one side cries for disarming the population, while the other side calls for action against radical (even all) Muslims.  Even though these domestic attackers show more similarity to unstable mass murderers than Hamas or ISIS terrorists, and do not have legitimate ties to such terror groups, the connection is used to justify US investment in combating terrorist "safe havens" over seas.

Presumably, if weapons were harder to acquire in the US, these self appointed terrorists would need to build actual ties to sources of weapons.  They might have an easier time targeting us, but I won't spend a lot of time arguing that point.

Feeling too much sadness at the moment to make any arguments.  God help us... and those mourning, and those healing.