Wednesday, January 25, 2023

Question Asked By Oregon's Attorney Defending Measure 114

How many mass murders were there before 1960?  What went into the Supplemental Declaration:

How do you kill lots of people without modern firearms technology?  Before 1960, there are four incidents with more than 50 dead.  Colfax, Louisiana (1873) where the KKK murdered 150 black civil rights activists using firearms; Mountain Meadows, Utah (1857) where Mormons with firearms of type unknown murdered 140 settlers moving west; Tulsa, Okla. (1921), at least 89 murdered by a mob, with a variety of weapons, Calumet, Mich. (1913) where one person provoked a panic that killed 74 people, mostly trampled to death.

By comparison, my database, while incomplete after 1960, has six mass murders with more than 50 dead after 1960: San Juan, P.R. (1986), 97, dead by arson committed by three men; New York City (1990), 87 dead by arson by one person; Oklahoma City (1995), 168, dead by explosive committed by two (only one was given a capital sentence); New York City (2001), 3047, dead by aircraft, and Arlington, Va. (2001), 184, dead by aircraft with 19 murderers from both events; Las Vegas (2017), 58, dead by one rifleman.


4 comments:

  1. Cherry-picking your evidence--a time-honored tradition. At least they had you there to inject a little objective truth.

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  2. Why are you putting the stake in the ground in 1960?

    Semi-automatic firearm designs go back to the 1880s, and certainly by the early 1900s they were common enough.

    Also I don't see the Bath school "disaster" up there.

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    Replies
    1. Because their side claims until mid-20th century firearms technology did not allow individuals to commit mass murder. Bath, Mich. is less than 50, but I do reference it in the declaration.

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  3. I think George Armstrong Custer might take issue with the shortness of your pre-1960 list.

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