Myth Debunk

Debunking Political and Historical Myths

Did Charles Whitman only use a 3 Round Magazine?

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Was Charles Whitman having mental health problems? Did what guns he used matter? Was he a Democrat?

This picture is mostly true, but leaves a lot of important details out, and while it makes the point of the problem, fails to grasp it.

In addition to the Remington 700 mentioned in this graphic, he also had a .30 caliber M1 carbine, a sawed off semi-automatic 12 gauge shotgun, a .35 caliber Remington, a 9mm Luger pistol, a Galesi-Brescia .25-caliber pistol and a Smith & Wesson M19 .357 Magnum revolver, 700 rounds of ammunition and several 15 and 30 round clips. [1]

He was a Marine, a highly skilled marksman, and had a 172 IQ. He was court martialed for illegal possession of a firearm on base, and threatening other marines. He was also addicted amphetamines and was having health issues including severe headaches. He had been to the doctor’s office requesting psychiatric help, saying he had feeling of overwhelming violent impulses and had requested that an autopsy be performed after his death to determine if he had any visible physical disorder (he had a fatal brain tumor). In his last note he requested that any life insurance money be donated to a mental health foundation to prevent further tragedies of this type. If his doctor could have warned police that might have helped. [2]

I have found absolutely zero evidence corroborating that “fact” that he was a democrat, all biographies, stories, his own journals, and books written about him fail to mention his voter registration, who he voted for, or any political ideology whatsoever. If you have found different, please submit it.

These are perfect examples of why not allowing people with mental health problems to own guns, or taking away guns from people who are obviously a danger to themselves or others would be more help than gun bans. Gun bans wouldn’t have helped, gun magazine size bans wouldn’t have helped, what type of guns they had wouldn’t have made a difference. Off the top of my head, in recent shootings, the Aurora shooter, the Newtown shooter, and the Virg. Tech shooter all were seeing psychiatrists for mental problems. They would have more likely been stopped by a call to the local police dept or never having been able to buy those guns (or have access to them) than a gun ban.

References

[1] Ready for Battle – Crime Library
[2] What transformed a Marine into a Mass Murderer?

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A Sniper in the Tower: The Charles Whitman Murders

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  • DanD

    Only 1 in 4 mass shooters has a psychiatric record.

    http://www.propublica.org/article/myth-vs-fact-violence-and-mental-health

    While bans don’t help, very few people are calling for bans (except on high capacity, rapid firing weapons). What are, generally, being called for are complete background checks, waiting periods, permitting and training requirements, and the like.

    • Frdmftr

      See the discussion above about the loss of ALL our rights because of the background check scam.

  • Frdmftr

    I am very concerned when you say “They would have more likely been stopped by a call to the local police dept or never having been able to buy those guns (or have access to them) than a gun ban.” That approach, first, is the purpose of the background check when you buy a gun, the purpose of the background check when you hand a friend a gun to marvel over that subversive Michael Bloomberg and his ilk want to pass, and, second, that is the approach that has never prevented a crime in the history of the planet! But it does accomplish something else near and dear to the hearts of the totalitarian liberal thugs who want to ban ALL rights: It SUCKERS gun owners into waiving their 4th Amendment right to be secure from unwarranted interrogation and search and seizure of their rights in the absence of probable cause of criminal conduct, waiving their 5th Amendment right to be secure from the loss of their rights without due process by a Court of Law, our 9th Amendment right to rights not enumerated, and our 10th Amendment right to be secure from the federal exercise of power not delegated and (in Bloomberg’s gig) our 10th Amendment right to be secure from State exercise of power PROHIBITED to the States by the U.S. Constitution and Bill of Rights. You need to understand background checks are a SCAM designed to destroy our ENTIRE BILL OF RIGHTS, our ENTIRE RULE OF LAW protecting our rights by suckering gun owners into supporting background checks because it makes them seem somehow “special,” vetted as “one of the good guys.” Look, guys, leave our rights alone and we can deal with the likes of the Charles Whitman’s of the world. But stop advocating the destruction of the foundation of the first nation in the history of the planet to place private individual rights above the arbitrary whims of kings and princes and neighborhood warlords every time, no exception, no excuses!

    • Dexter Brown

      So you think NO laws should be made at all regulating guns?

  • Contontos

    I never heard of “Myth Debunk,” nor do I care if I never do again. But a fair comparison of this silly screed and the facts decisively establishes that it should have been posted at “Myth Distract.”

    • Dexter Brown

      Since you’ve added nothing to the conversation, and not even corrected anything or pointe out what was wrong, don’t let the door hit ya.

      • P J

        I added. You just failed to benefit. And speaking of that, I appreciate your concern, but because I don’t share your struggles in that regard, you might prefer to make better use of your personal experience with doors hitting you by instead counseling some blood relative of yours, as intelligence does seem to be largely genetic.

  • Joshua Beardsley

    You didn’t really debunk shit. Yes he had other firearms and many rounds of ammo. However, his mother and wife were stabbed. The people in the tower on his way up were shot with a shotgun. The people he shot from the tower were with the Remington 700 bolt action rifle. Cache doesn’t mean shit if it wasn’t used. Most of what he has wasn’t even touched.

  • Jeff Burton

    Thank you for writing this. This idiotic meme is like a zombie at this point. It keeps surfacing after the latest gun mass murder. Maybe this will finally drive a stake in it’s heart.

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