Authorities said it was the same caliber/type weapon used by the beltway snipers.
All you who still live the illusion that the ban will sunset September 2004, can give up all optimism. I'm sad to say, but our hobby is done for.
Condolences to the victims' families.
to the sniper: go eat shit and die motherfucker

Just what we needed.....SHIT!!!!
Where did this one happen.

[url]http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/South/08/18/w.va.shootings/index.html[/url]

same old.
high profile low value.


we will get our gun rights back.

Nice attitude.  People like yourself are going to be the ones who sink it for us all if you don't keep sending the letters.  Did you send out letters today as requested by awbansunset.com for the August letter drive?  If you haven't get on it.  If your giving up then go spread your negative attitude somewhere else.

I've send my letters, but do you honestly think that they will make any difference?? the power is in the media! And this is all the media needed to renew and extend the ban. Assult Rifles have always been considered "unpractical" "unnessessary" and downright "evil".
It's not a negative attitude, it's called REALITY. Welcome to it my friend.

Pipe down you two [;)]

The last thing we need is to start fighting amongst ourselves!

The letters are a good idea! How widespread is the media on this? Haven't seen anything on FOX news- only been home about 1/2 hour. Good thing is that the news is filled with Kobe, Arnold, Lacy, and Iraq. HOPEFULLY this little tid bit will slide under the radar (wishfull thinking I suppose).

Since no one has been movitvated by the last couple mass shootings, why would this one change matters?

Where does it say that it's a 5.56mm?  From what I heard this morning it was a .22!

Hey Chicken_Little, no one is mentioning anywhere a particular caliber for the WV murderer.

Give this one time to get worked out.  Its early yet.  If you go off the deep end this easily, what will you do when the hard stuff happens?

C_M

I think in spite of this, the attitude of people seeing a need to own a firearm to protect themselves wont change,and the actions of a rotten apple dont mean the whole bunch is bad,in spite of this I dont think it will tip the scales to the anti gun crowd if that were the case we would already be sunk from the last series of workplace shootings,but we do need to stick together and not fight with eachother,wasnt it Ben Franklin who said"We need to hang together for we will surely hang seperately"a little solidarity...please.

Well, evidently the Congress wasn't crazy about renewing the ban after last year's sniper shootings. Why would this case be any different? Keep a cool head guys and don't panic. Besides, we have no idea what the weapon is. From what I have heard it seems it may even be a .22 caliber rimfire. Of course the news media will paint it as some sort of assault weapon, but if it turns out to be a little Marlin, Henry or a Ruger 10/22, won't those news media whiz kids look kinda stupid? Hell, that would probably even turn Imbroglio against 10/22's! [:D]

-Charging Handle

[chicken little]THE SKY IS FALLING   THE SKY IS FALLING[/chicken little]

I swear, what a bunch of pessimistic people. It's no wonder we get beaten down many times.

Why not look at the bright side?

This is a PERFECT opportunity to DEMAND CCW rights to every single citizen in every single state.

It's OBVIOUS that the police cannot protect us.

Citizens carrying firearms is the perfect response to domestic terrorism.

Get a grip.

[size=6]YES[/size=6]



Only if YOU give it to them, which by your attitude shown here, you have already done.



Not by me or the huge majority of people I know. Again more media hype that is not believed by the majority of Americans. DONT FALL FOR THE HYPE.

TURN OFF YOUR TV.



No, it's not reality.

Repeat after me,

It's not reality, it's media hype.
It's not reality, it's media hype.
It's not reality, it's media hype.
It's not reality, it's media hype.
It's not reality, it's media hype.
It's not reality, it's media hype.

I'm sorry I misread the article
It said that they were the same caliber and from the same weapon....I thought that they were comparing it to the beltway sniper's bushy. I must have been too pissed off when i first read it. Sorry to have cause such a stirr. here is the that i misread:

[i]Bullets that killed three people in separate shootings outside convenience stores in and around West Virginia's capital were of the same caliber and fired from the same kind of weapon, officials said[/i]

Edited to add: http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030816/ap_on_re_us/west_virginia_shootings_6

Today on Fox News I heard them say that it was the same type of weapon and caliber as the other two wahoo's. I am going to dig around and see if I can find an actual story. Maybe they just jumped the gun, I hope so anyway.

I will have to respectfully disagree bvmjethead.
I belief is that the majority of the population is stupid enough to believe anything their television spoon-feeds them.

I first heard about this today at my Dr.'s office...they said it's a .22, but the news guy was holding a .22 magnum when he was doing his report...but from what he was saying, it doesn't sound like .223...'cos the guy mentioned it was not a typical "sniper" round.  As I recall, he even mentioned .223 and .308 specifically as different from what's been used in this case.  

Or how about, I swallow this shit. I am a sheep.
I swallow this shit. I am a sheep.
I swallow this shit. I am a sheep.
I swallow this shit. I am a sheep.
I swallow this shit. I am a sheep.
I swallow this shit. I am a sheep.
I swallow this shit. I am a sheep.
I swallow this shit. I am a sheep.
I swallow this shit. I am a sheep.

We are thinking about our gun rights, but what about the destroyed familys of these victims. A tiny fraction of the population, one or two people in millions who are obviously derranged with no respect for human life and with no soul cause this suffering. Its not the gun that kills its the mental retard behind it.The last thing on any law abiding gun collecters mind is to do anything that would hurt someone ele's.
Everyone needs to remember that inanimate objects dont hurt people, people hurt people. I hope the authorities put an end to this soon before anyone ele's is killed.
The victims should be in your prayers.

Bloke, well said my friend. Here we all are worried about our gun rights when once again the lives of the famalies of our countrymen are being destroyed. We all have family, we all have guns. I think though Bloke, it is tough because we are always on edge. This won't amount to a hill of beans when it comes to the anti-gun crowd. Think of this, American history is cyclical and is always comprised of backlash. When I was a kid growing up in the 70's, guns were everywhere. You talked about guns and hunting with your neighbors, hell I still have an un-opened box of .30-.30 from 1976 that is a special commerative bicentennial box of the good 'ole .30-.30. Then comes the 80's. We got our first Colt AR-15 in 1980 and back then NOBODY wanted them, I believe then new it was $400 and that was big money. But the 80's brought a wave of anti-gun rhetoric as the purely Communist and idiotic Babyboomer generation came of age and watched too many episodes of L.A. Law. Then comes the 90's...no comment needs to be made about the general concensus of the 90's, we all know it was the worst decade in American history for gun rights. Now times have once again changed. Look, I work in a very, very liberal business, and the people who are good people by the way that for years I have known to be rabidly anti-gun are really, truthfully re-thinking their positions an the American gun. I will take partial credit for preaching the good word to them but they are beginning to understand that more people are killed each year in America from McDonald's Big Mac's then by guns. They are beginning to understand that an America without the gun, is no America at all. And when you explain to them that "the shot heard around the world" the famous quote denoting the beginning of our war of independence was sparked by the Brits marching on Lexington and Concord, you see their liberal eyes start to spin. You can't blame people for being ignorant, you can only explain the truth and hope they have the brains to swallow it. We are gaining more gun rights back then ever and quicker then ever. Lawsuits against manufacturers being thrown out by juries in NYC, 70% of the Union with legal CC and guys, I'm sorry but the AW ban WILL expire if for no other reason then it was a law drafted by Billy Bob who is hated by the GOP. Congress renewing the AW ban would be like Sadaam Hussein becoming a CIA agent, political opions are emotional and partisan, Congress will not renew it. The police cannot protect us as one gentlemen said but it's not because they are incompetent or because they are lazy it's because many times they are way under-funded and they can't be everywhere at once. What I will say though is the amount of time it takes local law enforcement to track down these snipers is unacceptable. people are dying and that can't happen. In the era of GPS, there is no excuse for not being able to track down one guy in a pickup in West Virginia. Do you know what would happen to our President our or military if we didn't have the excellent and I mean excellent counter-snipers we have? Do you guys have any idea just how amazing a Marine Sniper or counter-sniper is? Why are the police not on rooftops with Remington 700's and NV? Why are they not canvassing the area by satellite? I would have no problem seeing LEO's on rooftops with scoped rifles in a situation like this as a matter of fact, I welcome it. And when they find him, simply drop him he is a waste of our court's time and tax money. Support your police, help them get the funding they need, let them use your land for rifle practice. these guys are doing noble work for us and they never get the credit they deserve. Before I end my rant I think the NRA needs to become more involved in things like this. For instance, when something like this happens they need to become public, denounce the shootings and work with police to nab the bastard. At the end of the day and we all know it's true the only solution to this problem is an armed public. There would be zero snipings in America if we not only had CC in every state but if everybody had a rifle rack and a rifle in their vehicle. A sadistic Dirty Harry type sniper would think twice if he knew he'd receive return fire. A marine sniper can kill you by seeing your muzzle flash, the glint of a bolt or a scope reflection. if the general public at large could do the same, sniper problem solved. I pray for the families of the victims and Godspeed to the law. I hope this bastard eats lead real soon.

Stepping off the soapbox

Very well put kudo's

ALTHOUGH the media and gun controllers have another human tragedy to exploit, we should be encouraged that we survived the last tragedy without further erosion of our God given right to bear arms.  In fact, it seems that we have made some progress since then, especially with concealed carry.  Even some "liberals" seem tired of trying to take away our guns, especially the ones who have started owning and shooting firearms.  (Saw and talked to alot of "converts" and people buying guns for the first time at the gunshow this weekend).  Of course there are still the same (hard)core people and organizations (both in government and the private sector) that will not rest until the 2nd A. and our firearms are confiscated -- I mean stolen.

I am 41 yoa and I bought my first firearm when I was 25.  A friend of mine took the time (and I mean time -- talking, going to gun shops/shows, shooting, cleaning weapons, firearm safety, reading gun mags and sharing his NRA Rifleman, etc.) to get me hooked and I owe him my love and my life for that.  What a true friend!  And, thank God my wife's father is the same way and we have shared a lot of good times talking about and experiencing the RKBA. Every time I spend the cash I have the blessing of my wife having heard her father say countless times without argument from her wonderful mother that "guns are a great investment," "you never lose your money", (hahaha!), "you can never have too many guns/too much ammo", etc, etc. you know the lines!  

Anyway, we should never lose hope and put our trust in the LORD.  Human beings will fail, but He never fails.  The right we cherish is from Him, and men will never take it away from us if we will have faith and keep up the fight.  We all have different talents but we are one.  Everyone one of us has something to give or do in the fight.  if you can't do anything else -- pray.  Write letters.  Bring a friend to firearms.  BTW, I am not trying to bring anyone to Jesus so forgive me if I have offended you.  If He isn't already in your heart, that is Him at the door knocking, not me. Rev. 3:20.

Right will always in the end beat wrong and good will always in the end prevail over evil. Nothing offesive about Jesus brother. And keep that wife!