So was Loughner ex-military?

[stranger81]

Seems to have been a pretty good shot with a handgun.

[Taverner]

1. All you gotta say is REPUBLICAN

Goldbug, Palin follower, armed and dangerous....

[Peregrine Took]

2. I heard he applied but they turned him down. n/t

[Barack_America]

3. No. He tried to get into the Army but was rejected.

Per Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/01/08/jared-lee-loughner-gabrielle-giffords-shooter_n_806243.html

[Historic NY]

24. But he was able to get a handgun......

were going to find out eventually that he was mentally unsuited for the military.

[Barack_America]

25. And, as it is now being reported, was known to police for making death threats.

No reason whatsoever he shouldn't be armed.

:eyes:

[H2O Man]

36. He reportedly

failed the drug testing.

[Liberal_Stalwart71]

4. No. Apparently he applied and was turned down, according to the Pima County sheriff.

[Kali]

5. not hard to kill with a handgun up close

in a crowd for fucks sake

reports are he tried to join and was rejected a couple years ago

[gateley]

9. Especially with a semi-automatic weapon. nt

[stranger81]

12. Even up close, handguns are tricky.

Witness the guy at the city council meeting in Florida a few weeks ago, for instance. Close range, emptied his gun and didn't manage to hit anything.

[Kali]

23. eh

lots of deadly accidents with them

doesn't take any training to shoot up close

[hlthe2b]

6. rejected from enlisting...

[littlewolf]

7. i understand he flunked the drug test ....

[stranger81]

8. Interesting. How many people get rejected from the Army these days?

Sounds like they didn't want a Private Pyle on their hands.

[liberalmuse]

13. Not many.

They will let gang members in these days. I'm pretty sure they're lowering the bar significantly on the test you have to pass to get in. Look at it this way - if the dregs of society can get into the Army but Loughner couldn't, what does that say?

[hack89]

26. A lot

between being too fat and not smart enough to pass the aptitude test.

[Kaleva]

32. Quite a few according to one thread posted here at DU

I think it was something like 30-40% fail the military entrance exam.

[Name removed]

38. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Skittles]

40. A LOT

due to failing health/weight requirements and failing basic literacy tests

[liberalmuse]

10. The military pretty much lets anyone in...

so if they rejected him, he is worse than nucking futs.

[Name removed]

37. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[onenote]

39. actually, quite a few applicants are rejected

Some reports indicate upwards of one-quarter are rejected for not meeting the physical standards and more than 10 percent fail because of their drug use history

[Demoiselle]

Am I the only one who finds it worth noting that

a man the military rejected as being unfit can acquire a glock without a moment's problem?

[Barack_America]

14. You are not. nt

[Demoiselle]

16. Oops! You're right. I just saw Aquart's post. I'm not the only one!!

[Barack_America]

18. Actually, that was just my way of saying that I agreed with you.

;)

[Demoiselle]

20. Thanks!

[likesmountains 52]

15. +1000

[hack89]

28. Why not?

there are many reasons people are rejected - doesn't automatically mean they are a danger to others.

[Posteritatis]

41. The military would find me incredibly unfit to join

The fact that my lungs don't work doesn't mean I'd need to be flagged in the States when it came to firearms purchases, were I the type to want a firearm.

[aquart]

11. Rejected. So of course it was legal for him to buy a gun.

We wouldn't let him carry one in the name of our nation, though.

[Ruby the Liberal]

17. Beat me to it, and better stated than I was going to post.

[hack89]

27. Being rejected by the military is not the same as being certified insane. nt

[LisaL]

But we mustn't talk about gun control because it isn't popular.

:sarcasm:

[spin]

33. Sure we can talk about it ...

If the shooter had serious mental issues he should not have been allowed to legally purchase a firearm. We need to improve the existing NICS background check system to better identify such people.

Justice Department Funds Will Improve Brady Background Checks
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE September 14, 2010

WASHINGTON - September 14 - The U.S. Justice Department’s announcement yesterday of almost $17 million in grants to eight states to improve their Brady background check systems were made possible by legislation passed by Congress in December 2007 and signed by President George W. Bush in January 2008 following the Virginia Tech massacre in April 2007. A number of families affected by those shootings personally urged enactment of this law, along with the Brady Campaign.

Although a Virginia court had found him to be dangerously mentally ill, the Virginia Tech shooter passed two Brady background checks because Virginia had not submitted the appropriate record to the FBI’s National Instant Check System (NICS).

Seven of the eight states (Idaho, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Wisconsin) that were announced as grant recipients yesterday had submitted very few records of mental health adjudications to the NICS at least through November of 2008, according to an update the Justice Department released to the Brady Campaign in January 2009. Only Florida, which receives a $3,159,228 grant, had submitted a significant number of those records since 2001. The other seven states receiving grants had submitted fewer than 40 records combined as of November 2008.

“We commend the Justice Department for getting critical funds to these states to improve their Brady background record submissions. States overall have done a very poor job of submitting records of dangerously mentally ill persons who shouldn’t be allowed to purchase firearms,” said Paul Helmke, President of the Brady Campaign. “As a result, dangerous people who shouldn’t pass Brady background checks to purchase guns are passing those checks and getting armed.”
http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2010/09/14-10

This subject was discussed in the Gungeon:
http://demopedia.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x339670

[Kaleva]

31. Many are rejected for simply being overweight.

[aquart]

34. He's not overweight.

[Recovered Repug]

19. FYI. Most soldiers in the army don't fire handguns.

Even if he had been in the army, he probably wouldn't have learned to shoot there.

[nolabear]

21. FOX (forgive me) reported that the Army says he tried to enlist but was rejected.

I'm sorta hooked.

[Vickers]

22. Are you ex-military?

Just kidding, lol.

:eyes:

[LisaL]

29. No.

[nadinbrzezinski]

30. No, the army rejected him

[NuclearDem]

35. You don't really have to be military to be a decent shot with a semi-auto handgun...

Especially when you're firing an extended clip into a crowd and only managing to hit barely over hit with 50% of your rounds.

[Recursion]

42. In 8 years in the Marine Corps I think I fired a pistol twice

You have to have a job that uses a pistol to get training in them.