So how did he get the guns? Noah Jacob Harpham was a recovering alcoholic and a Fundie nutter

[malaise]

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/victims-mourned-gunmans-rampage-colorado-springs-34905991
<snip>
The man who fatally shot three people during a rampage through the streets of Colorado Springs was a recovering alcoholic who posted an online video two days earlier expressing displeasure with his father for allegedly falling under the sway of a particular preacher — but gave no indication of the violence to come.

Authorities on Monday identified the gunman as 33-year-old Noah Jacob Harpham, who lived just steps from where his first victim was slain on Saturday.

Witnesses said Harpham had a rifle in one hand and a revolver in the other when he first killed a bicyclist. He then calmly walked less than a mile and fatally shot two women on the porch of a sobriety house. Harpham was then killed in a gunbattle with police.

His mother, Heather Kopp, a freelance writer living in New York, described his longtime struggle with addiction in "Sober mercies: How love caught up with a Christian Drunk," a book also about her own battle with alcoholism.

Authorities have not said whether there was any link between his substance abuse problems and the fact that two of his victims were women who themselves were in addiction recovery.

[Recursion]

1. Did he have a criminal record?

I'd assume he went to a store and bought them.

[FLson]

2. Unless was found guilty of domestic violence (either misdemeanor or felony)

or convicted of a felony. There was nothing to disqualify him from going into a gun store and buying a gun. Then you have to remember that he was 33. So there's at least 12 years there were he could have acquired the handgun legally and fifteen years for the rifle.

Having an addiction to alcohol is not a disqualifier.

[Duckhunter935]

3. That legal drug alcohol

Is not a disqualification.

[gratuitous]

4. Oh, well. He prolly got the guns legally

So, whaddyagonnado?

And even if he didn't get the guns legally, there was no way to tell if he was going to go irresponsible, so whaddyagonnado?

We know that what we're doing isn't working, but we're not going to do anything else. So, whaddyagonna do?

[FLson]

5. Behavoural sciences

really need to be looked into in these situations. Figure out what some of the common roots are besides "gun." Guns are an issue too many politicians are afraid of but mental health is something we could really gain traction on and maybe push a mental safety net which this country desperately needs anyways (two birds, one stone?).

Once behavoural sciences got pushed some, we could then potentially make cases of alcohol addiction grounds for seizing guns and making it unlawful to purchase them. Personally I'm for banning alcohol. At least pot in edible form has lots of health benefits. Alcohol besides red wine is really nothing more than poison. So let red wine be legal, oh heck even Meade, and ban the rest of the poisonous garbage that leads to so much death and suffering. There's no need for folks to get drunk, its' bad for their brain, heart, liver and lungs. We need to ban diabetics from consuming alcohol as well. It's just poison for them and they need the help to protect themselves from themselves.

[niyad]

6. and what flavour do you want on your pizza?

[hobbit709]

13. Looks like got a Tombstone pizza.

[KamaAina]

14. Aw, crap! His first post was a reply to one of mine.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/104011990#post1

[niyad]

19. that one lasted longer than I thought it would.

[hunter]

9. Oh, those poor little guns... how they are abused by the mentally ill.

Gun love itself is a vile disease and very serious public health problem.

[Eleanors38]

12. Guns is a "vile disease." Must be. Spread into GD. Again.

[Eleanors38]

11. Post aboutitin Gunz Discussion?

[niyad]

7. don't forget, this is the state where two state legislators were recalled for daring to vote

for the most minimal of gun control. this is also fundieville here. cannot imagine why that murderer was so freaked out about his father, considering the fundienuts right here.

my questions include: why was the first victim left on the street for HOURS? and why did it take the police so long to respond?

[KamaAina]

15. Why was Michael Brown left on the streets of Ferguson for HOURS?

[niyad]

8. . . .

[ileus]

16. Legally? Illegally? one or the other I'd dare say.

[Blue_Tires]

17. This is even more disturbing, actually:

Bettis said she recognized the gunman as her neighbor — whom she didn't know by name — and that before the initial slaying she saw him roaming outside with a rifle. She called 911 to report the man, but a dispatcher explained that Colorado has an open carry law that allows public handling of firearms.

http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_29059452/colorado-springs-police-confronted-shot-gunman-minutes

[etherealtruth]

18. Agreed, that is the most sickening part

There is a good potential those lives could have been saved.

I guess their view is that there is nothing they can do until dead and injured are laying on the sidewalk

[niyad]

20. there was a great deal of time between killing the cyclist, and killing the two women. a young

man had reported the cyclist shooting, and was reporting the shooter's movements. the police knew EXACTLY where he was.

[malaise]

21. I saw that - It's more than disturbing

I'm betting he was 'killing his own mother' when he shot those two women at the recovering center.

Is alcohol abuse any different than other drugs? It is clear as day that this murderer had mental issues.