* Email…
Good afternoon,
Congressman Lipinski is in northern California on vacation and was at the Gilroy Garlic Festival last night when the shots were fired. Both he and his wife Judy are ok. Attached is a statement from him. For now, Congressman Lipinski has asked that you respect his and Judy’s privacy during this difficult time.
Thank you,
Phil
Phil Davidson
Communications Director
U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski
* Statement…
My wife Judy and I were at the Gilroy Garlic Festival during the shooting. The shooter was not far from us as we heard the loud “pops,” which seemed to get closer as we ran. We are very thankful to law enforcement. The tragedy would have been far worse if not for their quick action. Also, the festival staff did a great job in the aftermath.
Judy and I are okay. Thank God. We pray for those killed and injured, and for their families.
The level of gun violence in our nation is sickening. It is an issue we must deal with not only legislatively, but spiritually and socially.
* Meanwhile…
Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Monday promised a “robust security plan” to protect patrons at this weekend’s Lollpalooza music festival after a random shooting at a California food festival killed three people, including a 6-year-old boy.
“Every time something happens nationally — you’ll recall that there was a report a year ago that the Las Vegas shooter had secured a hotel room here — so, we are taking all of these things into consideration,” the mayor said.
Lighftoot said she plans to participate in a “table-top-exercise” on Tuesday, two days before music lovers are expected to descend on Grant Park, to test the “robust security plan” put together by the Chicago Police Department and organizers of Lollapalooza.
“We are vigorously, aggressively reaching out, planning and drawing upon resources form our federal partners to make sure that there’s no incident here in Chicago,” the mayor said.
“Now, somebody who’s determined obviously poses a challenge. But it’s not gonna be for lack of preparation on our part.”
* Background…
Authorities in California on Monday identified Santino William Legan, 19, as the gunman whose rampage at the Gilroy Garlic Festival left three people dead and at least a dozen injured.
Gilroy Police Chief Scot Smithee confirmed the identity of the shooter, saying he entered the festival Sunday with an “AK-47-type assault rifle,” cutting through a fence to avoid metal detectors and other security efforts. He appeared to shoot randomly for less than a minute before three officers confronted him, Smithee said.
- State of DenIL - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 2:35 pm:
There have got to be ways we can take action against gun violence and protect our rights. Doing nothing is awful. National FOID?
- lakeside - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 2:55 pm:
So glad he and his wife are safe.
The picture of the little six-year-old who didn’t make it is heartbreaking. We gotta do better, guys. This can’t be worth it.
- Amalia - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:03 pm:
wow, so glad the Congressman and his wife are safe. He can help lead the party on this issue. His comment about legislative, spirtitual and social is spot on.
- Get a Job - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:04 pm:
@State of Denial - I am a 2A supporter, but would actually entertain a national FOID system. I personally do not believe the current system in IL to be overly burdensome for the average citizen.
That being said, unless I’m unaware of something from Legan’s background, such a system would not have prevented him from purchasing/owning a gun because he had no history. Legan passed a federal check just 3 weeks ago when he purchased the firearm used in the shooting.
- oh? - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:06 pm:
No amount of FOID card or gun reg laws would have stopped a 19 year old. He could not have had an AK47 legally. This country sees fictionsl murder and mayhem as entertainment. Look at tv..movies..video games. Is it any wonder this kid gave it a go?
- Cheryl44 - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:09 pm:
Ban semi automatic weapons. Also, treat legal weapons like cars–indivifuals have to pass a test in order to use a gun. If you want to own one, you get a license and insurance.
- lakeside - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:10 pm:
@oh?, I mean, he also promoted a white supremacists text to his instagram before the murders, so not sure this is a ‘it’s the video games’ problem.
- Get a Job - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:15 pm:
@oh? - Legan used an SKS, not an AK-47. SKS is semi-automatic and has never been manufactured with select-fire (fully auto) capability. The only think an SKS and AK-47 have in common is that they were both designed in Russia and both shoot the same round……they’re wildly different functioning guns.
@Cheryl - then you might as well just support a sweeping gun ban, as semi-automatics represent 99% of all modern guns.
- oh? - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:17 pm:
lakeside, I would suggest that violent entertainment inculcates violence as a means, what ever extremist views are held.
- Cheryl44 - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:26 pm:
That’s fine with me,Get. I’ve never been anti gun, but the guys with guns have talked me into becoming so.
- Birdseed - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:28 pm:
=== - oh? - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:17 pm:
lakeside, I would suggest that violent entertainment inculcates violence as a means, what ever extremist views are held. ===
I would suggest you read this:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/olliebarder/2019/02/15/new-study-shows-that-there-is-no-link-between-violent-video-games-and-aggression-in-teenagers/#29aa148b328e
- Commonsense in Illinois - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:37 pm:
Would anyone have known that the Congressman was present if not for the press notification and statement? Did the Congressman really need to issue a statement noting his presence?
- lakeside - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:38 pm:
Even if media effects theory were true, and, as Birdseed points out, there are lots of studies showing its flaws, his ability to his hands on that gun - legally or not - is what allowed him to kill people.
He got his hands on a very large, very dangerous and very real weapon. After apparently steeping himself in the view that some people are inherently better than other people. Again.
- oh? - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:39 pm:
Birdseed, I don’t see a parallel between British 14/15 year olds and the American scene. In the U.K. guns are not common….violence would be foreign to the culture. What this study deems aggrression or non aggression would be laughable in any zAmericsn scool house.
- Birdseed - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:45 pm:
- oh? -
LOL. No violence in London whatsoever…
- Paddyrollingstone - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 3:53 pm:
oh?
Yes, there is violence in London. According the Guardian in 2018 there were 135 people murdered there in 2018 and 15 were shot.
In Chicago there were 555 people murdered in Chicago over that same period and 2355 “shooting incidents” in 2018.
There were 8.7 million people living in London and approximately 2.8 million living in Chicago in 2018.
- Dotnonymous - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 4:02 pm:
The problem lies in the human heart?…hearts and minds are affected by the negative messages coming from our supposed leaders.
- Amalia - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 4:03 pm:
@Commonsense in Illinois, huh? The Congressman was there. it was a terrifying event, with a subject matter of great importance to the nation. that you think he should not talk about his presence and talk about the need for solutions is ridiculous.
- oh? - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 4:16 pm:
Lakeside…..you miss the point. The study is not germane to the American experience. Nor does it address long term exposure to violent entertainment.. it is a mere snapshot. It doesn’t track the subjects into adulthood. As far as applicability…meaningless.
- oh? - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 4:23 pm:
Birdseed I would appreciate it if you did not mischaractorize my comments. I did not claim there was no violence in London whatsoever
.
- theCardinal - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 4:23 pm:
one can make variuos arguments about guns and random acts of violence, street crimes and video games. The common denominator is the lack of value of human life is all over the place all one needs to do is watch the news reports its not just here its all over the place.
- RNUG - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 4:59 pm:
== … drawing upon resources form our federal partners to make sure that there’s no incident here in Chicago,” the mayor said. ==
Double standard on working with the Feds?
- Rich Miller - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 5:00 pm:
===Double standard on working with the Feds? ===
Huh?
In one instance, she’s trying to prevent a terrorist attack. In another, she’s refusing cooperation on civil matters.
- RNUG - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 5:02 pm:
== In the U.K. guns are not common….violence would be foreign to the culture. ==
Plenty of violence there … just happens to be mostly knives and chains and fists since guns are mostly banned, so it is less lethal overall.
- oh? - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 5:09 pm:
rnug….how do u define “plenty”? citation comparing u.s. stats to u.k. stats please. now gentlemen..forget it …u r out of your league…UK/US dual national…masters in educational research…ccw license holder..mensa member…viet nam vet…75 yo….u speak without knowledge
- oh? - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 5:37 pm:
I would add rnug…dont cherry pick trivial pieces. Crime stats in London have nothing to do with a limited study of 14/15 year old video players in Great Britain
- RNUG - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 7:23 pm:
Politifacts, in debunking another claim that England is 4 times more violent than the US, does suggest in their 2013 analysis the violent crime rates in the US and England are similar as best as they can tell, given the different definitions and reporting criteria.
https://tinyurl.com/y9ujtdup
- oh? - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 8:07 pm:
stay in your lane , rnug. I respect u there as do others.
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 8:17 pm:
===now gentlemen..forget it …u r out of your league…UK/US dual national…masters in educational research…ccw license holder..mensa member…viet nam vet…75 yo….u speak without knowledge===
Modest… “I know”….
LOL
- Oswego Willy - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 8:21 pm:
- RUNG - pulls up a cite, - oh? - gives a personal resume and tells - RNUG - to stay in his lane, with an “I know” kinda response.
Hmm.
- West Side the Best Side - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 9:48 pm:
Guess Mensa doesn’t take away points for spelling and typing.
- Southwest Sider - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 9:50 pm:
==Ban semi automatic weapons==
Large percentage of guns (and handguns) sold these days are semi-automatic.
- Token Conservative - Monday, Jul 29, 19 @ 10:05 pm:
@Cheryl- banning every pistol in America is not realistic. So, let’s talk common sense gun control. Serious background checks. Waiting periods. What’s the point of AR-style rifles? I’m pro gun and I certainly want to protect my home and enjoy shooting at the range, but I don’t need a 50 round mag to do it.
- oh? - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 5:12 am:
Westside…mensa doesnt take off for arthritis. OW… RNUG cites overall crimes stats….not mass shootings…cherry picking facts. per wikipedia 90 of 292 world wide mass shootings in the U.S. 1966-2010..3 in the U.K..also from wikipedia..the U.S.is far and away the worldwide leader in mass shootings.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 5:47 am:
===…US and England are similar as best as they can tell, given the different definitions and reporting criteria.===
That’s the measure that probably effects the victims.
I didn’t know “Wikipedia” was the preferred cite for Mensa folks.
That’s new.
- oh? - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 5:51 am:
I would remind the critics of my advancing a theory on mass shootings that the aggression study in the U.K.was cited as contradicting my theory. It does not…its scope and definitions are too narrow and it was not longitudinal. Now I am being drug into a debate on overall U.K. crime stats and my typing ability. Best the critics of my thoughts can do I guess.
- ih? - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 5:55 am:
OW. not similar in mass shootings….mass shootings OW..not overall crime stats. The subject is mass shootings..not if someine nicked something.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 5:56 am:
Gun or knife… death is the same to victims.
- oh? - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 6:03 am:
OW…who said anything about wikipedia as a preferred cite? If you didn’t argue with sarcasm and riducule you really would have no argument at all would you?
- oh? - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 6:04 am:
mass shootings is the subject ow..
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 6:05 am:
===…per wikipedia===
You chose it. That’s fun.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 6:06 am:
===mass shootings is the subject…===
It is. To dismiss mass casualty events, however, and making those events only shooting centric is short sided.
- oh? - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 6:12 am:
OW I advanced no theory on mass casualty events in general, only mass shootings.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 6:19 am:
===I advanced no theory on mass casualty events in general, only mass shootings.===
Huh?
=== == In the U.K. guns are not common….violence would be foreign to the culture. == ===
It appears that’s not the case.
See - RNUG -‘s cite.
You wanted the premise… “In the U.K. guns are not common….violence would be foreign to the culture.”
That was your take. Apparently not accurate.
Here, versus elsewhere, weapons of choice might be chosen due to availability. The question to the reduction of violence n correlation is what then became germane to an argument.
- Anonymous - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 6:39 am:
UNODC homicide rate per 100,000. US 5.3. UK 1.2. if it matters. I will say it with greater clarity…mass shootings are foreign to the U.K. My comment was in reference to the aggression study validating the rejection of my theory on causal factors for mass shootings. My take was accurate…gun violence is statistically foreign to the U.K. as compared to the U.S.
- oh? - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 6:42 am:
anon 639 was me
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 6:44 am:
The point is do video games cause people to be violent? If the games have the same level of violence as the games in the US and the kids who play them are not statistically more prone to violence, then the study has validity.
- oh? - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 7:15 am:
wolf…my original posting mentioned not just video games…also movies and tv. My observation of murder and mayhem across the whole entertainment spectrum led me to my conclusion. Still..the study does not equate and does not predict gun violence level. Routinley we find the casual observers of mass shooters.. teachers. classmates…neighbors saw no violent indicators. The cultural back drop is important. A Confederate flag would cause different reactions in a U.K. classroom than here By way of example
- oh? - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 7:24 am:
As a general observation I am somewhat surprised by what I perceive as a defense of the entertainment industry here.
- Oswego Willy - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 7:32 am:
===I am somewhat surprised by what I perceive as a defense of the entertainment industry here.===
“Because TV”?
“Because Media”?
“These kids today… “
The reason rational thought isn’t going after any or all media as hard as *you* want is outside influences, be they family, friends, society, media, education… scapegoating to aim anger at what you deem acceptable media, that isn’t the argument, especially if internet or social media could be a more mitigating factor now, which I dunno, only in very specific instances of direct events.
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 8:23 am:
You said violent entertainment inculcates a person to be violent. That has never been proven to be true and has been shown in some studies to have zero effect.
- Shall not be infringed - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 9:13 am:
@Cheryl44 -
>>>> I’ve never been anti gun, but the guys with guns have talked me into becoming so.
Do you know Senator Julie Morrison?
- Froganon - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 10:00 am:
The U.S military uses/recommends violent video games to keep soldiers in a soldier “mindset”. Some of the games have been re-purposed for the public. In the games there are no ethical or real consequences for killing. Players re-boot to start over. Research does show that the games can desenitize players to violence and empathy for their victims. http://theconversation.com/how-the-us-military-is-using-violent-chaotic-beautiful-video-games-to-train-soldiers-73826
- oh? - Tuesday, Jul 30, 19 @ 10:31 am:
wolf I said I would suggest that it inculcates not that it does. O was proposing a theory. zpleae do not mischarterize my comments for arguement. I proposed a theory….if you don’t agree fine. A thory is only that, not a statement of fact. Thankyou FROGANON
- Da Big Bad Wolf - Wednesday, Jul 31, 19 @ 6:36 am:
I see you did use a more ambiguous word. I apologize.