"Grieving father drives gun debate after Calif. shootings" by John Rogers | Associated Press June 01, 2014
LOS ANGELES — Richard Martinez, a 60-year-old criminal defense lawyer, took center stage in the gun debate when he showed up uninvited before a sheriff’s news conference a day after the May 23 killings. He stepped before a bank of microphones, and in a voice filled with rage and grief blamed the death of Christopher Michaels-Martinez on ‘‘craven, irresponsible politicians’’ who won’t pass stricter gun-control laws.
‘‘They talk about gun rights. What about Chris’ right to live?’’ he wailed. ‘‘When will this insanity stop?’’
On Thursday, an exhausted Martinez said he had hardly slept since that day, his hours filled with planning his only child’s funeral while fielding calls from around the world. News organizations from Canada, Great Britain, and Australia want to interview him. Other people just want to say they’re sorry.
‘‘I tell them, ‘Look, I don’t need your sympathy. What I need is for you to DO something,’ ’’ Martinez said during a lengthy, phone interview.
That something, he said, would be urging the nation’s leaders to engage in a serious discussion about restricting the availability of powerful, semiautomatic weapons such as the ones a lonely, troubled young man used to randomly shoot Michaels-Martinez and two other students near campus after stabbing three people to death at the apartment the killer shared with at least two of those victims.
I'm surprised that received a mention, although I am not surprised the SSRIs the kid was on are completely omitted.
Police think Elliot Rodger, 22, shot and killed himself after crashing his car as officers moved in.
Another bad actor?
Nearly overnight, Martinez has become a recognizable figure in hotels, restaurants, and on the streets near the Santa Barbara campus.
‘‘I didn’t choose this,’’ Martinez said, adding that he believes responsible people have a right to keep guns for hunting, target shooting, and their own safety. ‘‘I grew up on a farm and I had guns,’’ he said.
No, you were assigned the role.
After graduating from high school, he enlisted in the Army and served two years as a military police officer in Germany. He had to draw his weapon once to put an end to a domestic dispute. ‘‘I was prepared to use it if I had to,’’ he said.
Martinez, however, said he just cannot fathom the proliferation of high-powered, semiautomatic weapons in America.
‘‘How,’’ he asked of Rodger’s weapons cache, ‘‘does a troubled kid who clearly had problems wind up with 400 rounds of ammunition and three semiautomatic handguns?’’
Yeah, how? Fast and Furious?
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Has it been six weeks already?
Related: Fathers of victim, killer meet in Calif.
California Kid Hungered For Sex
I'm losing mine for this charade and fiction.
Santa Monica Psyop
Same time last year?
