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OK, so in the wake of this tragedy, which shall not be referred to, many celebrities have once again began open their mouths about guns and automatic weapons.

first in my mind is Seth McFarlane. I respect what this person has done to advance critical thinking and freedom from religion, but how in the feth can he open his mouth, spurt out ignorance, when he is a spokesperson for critical thinking and advancing knowledge.



Conan O'brien is another, who went on a rant. Although not as bad, there are fundamental flaws, however I can get behind his statements since he didn't necessarily try to push an agenda per se.

I am not saying the anger and sadness felt by many in the wake of tragedies is wrong to have. No one can tell anyone what to feel, or how to feel. But what is with people spurting off at the mouth, spreading falsities simply because they can. I for one would rather hear a point of view that I don't agree with, that is well thought out, based on evidence, has intelligent thought behind the words than listen to someone rant emotionally.

This thread is not meant to bring on a discussion about Florida, or the Walmart, or even gun control, but in why so many celebrities, even ones I thought of as intelligent and respected, seem to constantly speak before fact checking, knowing they will actually be heard.

What is everyone's take on this. Please keep it civil, we seem to be getting too many threads locked up lately, because posters can't stay on topic or think before they post.

edited to add a link.

Celebrities, while famous, are just people and are entitled to their opinions even when those opinions are based on demonstrably false assertions. While there is no excuse to not do at least some research on a topic before you try to speak on it authoritatively I don't hold celebrities to any higher standard than regular people.

Politicians are the ones that bother me when they pontificate on issues and make glaringly obvious errors about the subject matter. Which happens frequently on everything from the economy to the internet to guns. Politicians have the power to make laws and set policy so they have a responsibility to do the research and have informed positions on issues.

You lost me where you said you respected McFarlane for advancing critical thinking.

 Gordon Shumway wrote:
You lost me where you said you respected McFarlane for advancing critical thinking.

This.

And celebrities have opinions, I'm not seeing the outrage here.

These people arent experts, theyre just well known. They shouldnt be taken any more seriously than any other joe schmoe. The ignorance regarding firearms is always astounding however.

It's doubly amusing from a guy who made a nationally televised animated family sitcom episode where a baby attempts to murder his mother with an uzi, then eventually gets in a firefight involving automatic weapons and grenades with his mother before he's shot in the face by his father. I'm all for content like that, but it's hard to take ill informed statements about firearms seriously in such light.

i'm still trying to figure out how you ban items already banned by the law? Assault Rifles? banned already, Automatic Rifles? already banned so how do you ban these things which are already banned? ultra super secret ban?

 Gordon Shumway wrote:
You lost me where you said you respected McFarlane for advancing critical thinking.

He produced the 2014 Cosmos documentary that Neil deGrasse Tyson hosted and according to the show's Wiki entry really helped get the show green lit.

[McFarlane] was influenced by Cosmos as a child, believing that Cosmos served to "[bridge] the gap between the academic community and the general public".[10] At the time MacFarlane told Tyson, "I'm at a point in my career where I have some disposable income ... and I’d like to spend it on something worthwhile."[11] MacFarlane had considered the reduction of effort for space travel in recent decades to be part of "our culture of lethargy".[8] MacFarlane, who has several series on the Fox network, was able to bring Druyan to meet the heads of Fox programming, Peter Rice and Kevin Reilly, and helped secure the greenlighting of the show.[8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos:_A_Spacetime_Odyssey

Asterios wrote:
i'm still trying to figure out how you ban items already banned by the law? Assault Rifles? banned already, Automatic Rifles? already banned so how do you ban these things which are already banned? ultra super secret ban?

"Hurr hurr, his point's invalid becuz it's not entirely rite!"
So what if he said automatics. The AR15, in the hands of a reasonably competent shooter, can put up a decent rate of fire.

Agree or disagree?

Well...technically they arent banned, rather the supply is limited to whatever was on the NFA registry as of may19 1986. So you can get an assault rifle...but its a lot of paperwork and waiting...and $25K.

However...I cant find a single instance of a legally owned automatic weapon having been used in a crime.

 curran12 wrote:

 Gordon Shumway wrote:
You lost me where you said you respected McFarlane for advancing critical thinking.

This.

And celebrities have opinions, I'm not seeing the outrage here.

didn't say anything about outrage, my rage is something I keep buried down deep, and does not make its way out into open forums. However it does astound me. I mean if I was to go on TV, or twitter knowing I had a large number of people listening/reading I would atleast try to say something that didn't make me look utterly incompetent. I mean varying opinions are ok, and to be celebrated, because we are allowed to have them, but just kinda nonplussed when I listen to some of this dribble.

 Kanluwen wrote:

Asterios wrote:
i'm still trying to figure out how you ban items already banned by the law? Assault Rifles? banned already, Automatic Rifles? already banned so how do you ban these things which are already banned? ultra super secret ban?

"Hurr hurr, his point's invalid becuz it's not entirely rite!"
So what if he said automatics. The AR15, in the hands of a reasonably competent shooter, can put up a decent rate of fire.

Agree or disagree?

the AR-15 is neither an Assault Rifle nor an Automatic Rifle so your argument is invalid, and besides which i could do more damage with a 12 gauge shotgun, and more messier especially in close quarters like a night club. and AR-15 fires a small round (yes small I've trained on an RAI model 500 sniper rifle which fires a 50 cal. round or adjusted for a 20mm round) which can only fire as fast as you can pull a trigger.

 Vaktathi wrote:
Well...technically they arent banned, rather the supply is limited to whatever was on the NFA registry as of may19 1986. So you can get an assault rifle...but its a lot of paperwork and waiting...and $25K.

However...I cant find a single instance of a legally owned automatic weapon having been used in a crime.

well banned in as they don't make more of them available to the public as to existing stock those are treasures and very rarely if ever sold. (go Tommy Gun.)

 DarkTraveler777 wrote:

 Gordon Shumway wrote:
You lost me where you said you respected McFarlane for advancing critical thinking.

He produced the 2014 Cosmos documentary that Neil deGrasse Tyson hosted and according to the show's Wiki entry really helped get the show green lit.

[McFarlane] was influenced by Cosmos as a child, believing that Cosmos served to "[bridge] the gap between the academic community and the general public".[10] At the time MacFarlane told Tyson, "I'm at a point in my career where I have some disposable income ... and I’d like to spend it on something worthwhile."[11] MacFarlane had considered the reduction of effort for space travel in recent decades to be part of "our culture of lethargy".[8] MacFarlane, who has several series on the Fox network, was able to bring Druyan to meet the heads of Fox programming, Peter Rice and Kevin Reilly, and helped secure the greenlighting of the show.[8]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cosmos:_A_Spacetime_Odyssey

Yes this. Thank you. I was trying to look this up when net nanny started giving me fits.

Asterios wrote:
i'm still trying to figure out how you ban items already banned by the law? Assault Rifles? banned already, Automatic Rifles? already banned so how do you ban these things which are already banned? ultra super secret ban?

The Assault Weapons Ban of 1994 was a temporary measure that only lasted 10 years, ended over a decade ago and accomplished nothing besides makin all of the "assault weapons" that were already privately owned rise in value.

It is still legal to own fully automatic weapons in the US, such weapons are heavily regulated and in a very limited number.

So no, neither "assault rifles" or automatic weapons are currently banned.

The "journalists" can't even get it right. How can we expect a celebrity to do any better? "[C]an empty a 40-round clip in less than five seconds." That was a line from a recent article making the rounds about a journalist firing an AR-15 under the guidance of an expert. He still couldn't get the facts right. Why bother when those whose job is reporting accurately don't care? Information is a joke.

What part of This topic, and obvious derivatives, is off-limits for the next couple days while people calm down. was unclear?

Leave. It. Alone.