But gun nuts put their fantasy fetish objects and their silly daydreams of how powerful and heroic they are over the plain and obvious reality of gun violence in this country. It hurts people far more often than it saves anyone, and when it is used to save, there are so very often better means to accomplish the same end.
THIS is the essence of our gun culture; people armed to the teeth doing what they think is right instead of relying on law enforcement and courts to more sanely, more peacefully, and less emotionally resolve conflicts. I have no doubt every domestic abuser believes he is right, every person who wrongly shoots someone believes they were doing something important and necessary. Guns in the hands of people kill people, and without guns in their hands, fewer people succeed at killing other people.
From NBC.com and the wire services by way of MSNBC.com:
2 dead, 3 wounded during fire, shooting at Los Angeles home
Patrick T. Fallon / APFirefighters battled a fire in the East Hollywood neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday afternoon at a house where two people were shot and killed and three were wounded. A gunman and one of his victims were found dead inside the smoldering remains of a Los Angeles house on Thursday. Three other gunshot victims were rescued from the burning home earlier that afternoon by police and firefighters, authorities said.
The bodies of the gunman and victim were found after the fire was out and authorities were able to search the house, a 1917 single-story rambler in LA's East Hollywood neighborhood, the Associated Press reported.
The three other victims – two 38-year-old women and a 34-year-old man – had been shot by the time police and firefighters arrived. They were transported in serious condition to an undisclosed hospital and were expected to survive.
Read more at NBCLosAngeles.com
The incident began shortly before 1 p.m. when emergency personnel responded to the home. Firefighters did not enter the home because they worried the gunman was still at large, fire Capt. Jaime Moore told the AP.
Authorities said the shooting was called "domestically motivated" and said the gunman had a relationship with one of the surviving victims, the AP reported.
Authorities cordoned off the block and nearby residents were evacuated, said Los Angeles Police Department Commander Andrew Smith. Some neighbors were concerned that gusty winds could spread the flames in the dense East Hollywood neighborhood.
It took about 150 firefighters and two and a half hours to fight the blaze, according to the Los Angeles Times. When the fire was out, cadaver dogs combed the scene for other possible bodies.
Neighbor Angelica De Paz, speaking in Spanish, told the AP that she was about to run errands when she saw a man kick in the front door of the house where the incident took place. The man was in his 20s or 30s, she said, and he wore a black shirt and blue jeans.
About five minutes later, De Paz said, she received a call from a neighbor who said the house was on fire.
"I thought it was a joke," De Paz said.
Another neighbor, Darwin Urbina, told the AP that he saw a man of the same description sitting on a curb outside the house shortly before he heard shots.
"He had this intent look," Urbina said. "He just stared at me for a while."
Urbina, who has lived in the neighborhood for a decade, described it as marked by gangs and drugs.
Mike Meadows / APFirefighters battle a blaze at a Los Angeles home on Thursday afternoon. A 34-year-old man and two 38-year-old women were shot; police removed them from the home and sent them to the hospital. They were in serious condition but were expected to survive, officials said.
