Nashville Mayor David Briley wants “weapons of war” off the streets? Does he realize that AR-15s aren’t taken into combat? (Photo: Facebook)
Nashville Mayor David Briley is demanding “comprehensive gun reform” in the wake of a mass murder that left four people dead in a Nashville-area Waffle House early Sunday morning. Calling the type of rifle used in the shooting a “weapon of war,” he claims that the purpose of AR-15s is to “terrorize.”
“Let’s be honest about what happened. The citizens of Nashville were terrorized last night by a man with an AR15. That is the purpose of these weapons,” Briley said in a Facebook post. “If we all come together on this for the greater good, we can take weapons of war off the street.”
Briley’s response contrasts with the man who actually stopped the murderer.
“I figured if I was going to die, he was going to have to work for it,” James Shaw, Jr., told reporters Sunday.
Nashville police said that Shaw waited for the murderer to reload, then rushed the man and wrestled the rifle away from him. After Shaw threw the firearm over the counter, the suspect fled the scene.
Rather than calling for gun control reform, Shaw has used his newfound notoriety to start a GoFundMe page for the families of the four victims. The page has raised nearly $25,000 as of Monday morning, and Shaw told CNN that he would love to speak with the families and “know that you’re OK.”
“There’s four families that are grieving right now,” he said. “So much life was lost for no reason. I feel like it could be very selfish of me if I didn’t point it out. And I apologize.”
Shaw wants people to know that he doesn’t believe he’s a hero.
“I don’t want people to think that I was the Terminator or Superman or anybody like that,” he told reporters, adding, “I did that completely out of a selfish act. I was completely doing it just to save myself.”
When it comes to gun control, Shaw shied away from supporting the kind of “comprehensive reform” Briley is demanding.
“I hope we can bring violence in all facets — not just gun violence, but all facets of violence — to an end,” he said.
The suspect, Travis J. Reinking, reportedly entered the Waffle House wearing nothing but a green jacket and carrying an AR-15. Authorities now believe he is the same man who was arrested near the White House last July when he crossed a security barrier in pursuit of a meeting with President Trump.
SEE ALSO: Concealed-Carrier Stops Maniac with Hatchet in Washington
The FBI asked local police to seize Reinking’s firearms after that incident, and they were given to his father.
“He was allowed to do that after he assured deputies that he would keep them secure and away from Travis,” Sheriff Robert M. Huston of Tazewell County said in a news conference on Sunday. “We have no information about how Travis came back into possession of those firearms.”
Reinking exhibited troubling behavior even before the shooting, expressing a belief that Taylor Swift was stalking him and hacking his phone and Netflix account, according to the New York Times.
Even though laws already exist that bar the mentally ill from owning firearms, and despite the fact that Reinking has been barred from possessing his firearms, Nashville Mayor David Briley still believes more gun control will stop future mass murders.
“Tragedies like today should not happen,” he said. “This is our second mass shooting in seven months. We need comprehensive gun reform to address mass shootings, domestic shootings, accidental shootings, and homicides.”
Maybe in your hands mayor. When I am shooting one it is my hobby and I do it because I am a law abiding citizen, and because of that, I can. Wake up and realize you are wrong and a fool to make statements like that and include law abiding citizens in your foolish statements.
A dangerous thing, a politician who is also an idiot.
Some humans are made of flesh and blood, some are made of excrement.
Some excrement steal and murder and rape, some excrement get elected mayor.
Just the way the world is.
The so called “assault AR15s” would never be considered for military use as they are not select fire or full automatic. The tactical appearance is misleading. They are no different than grandpa’s semi-automatic hunting rifle. The is a huge misunderstanding of how the rifles operate. One trigger pull results in one shot.
The AR 15 et cetera is not much different that the M1 carbines that have been on the civilian market for generations. Maybe this mayor should look at other more current factors in the society that cause these terrible events.
The reason the AR15 is a weapon of choice for these kids running around is because that’s what they see in video games they stare at all day and night. They are the weapons of choice for the movie special effects companies or some version of assault style weapon that never go empty till they need a small break in the action. These kids are bombarded with the movie version of guns use and never the reality of the same. Too them it’s a game they have no idea of what really happens it just looks cool in the movies and video games. Put the blame where it belongs with the entertainment industry.
Yes and perhaps big pharma with the over prescriptions of psychotropic pharmaceuticals.
The original purpose of the AR15 when it was first designed, manufactured, and sold commercially was to hunt with. Military sales came later with the added feature of select fire.
Let’s see, how does liberal logic work… Man shoots up Waffle House, killing 4 people, at 3:30 in the morning, STARK ASS NAKED, and we are discussing banning AR 15s…
NOT a mental health epidemic that is being ignored.
NOT an opioid epidemic that is being ignored.
NOT failed gun laws, and government policy and intervention in this matter ALSO.
We’re going to blame gun; never mind it is simply the tool used.
Obviously David Briley is a Democrat, and he is reciting the Democrat mantra, for the sake of the party’s cause to disarm the American people. Wake up Nashville, make this Mayor go away.
So does he feel the same about the cops having that SAME weapon…but with full-auto capability?
I’m sure many have noticed by now the uniformity of the demands invariably made by members of the Democratic Party with regards to so-called ‘gun control’? A uniformity those old enough will remember the late and unlamented Soviet Union’s Communist Party using the same, tiresome practice of ‘the Party Line’ in their propaganda.
The toxic fruit does not fall far from the poison tree; today’s ‘progressives’ are the lineal ideological descendants of the early 20th century liberals who once proudly joined the Communist Party in their misguided youth. In their zeal to spread Communist dogma and subvert the country’s institutions they had infiltrated the highest levels of government, education, etc, as proven by the Venona Transcripts. Particularly education.
Their ‘Long March through the institutions’ to subvert them has resulted in schools of the latter half of the last century and the beginning of this one becoming little more than indoctrination centers, not teaching about rights and their defense but instead about rights being fungibles to be discarded by the almighty State.
Needless to say, that kind of indoctrination leads to the kind of public servants we have today. ‘Public servants’ who have no idea that the best way to secure liberty is to be a jealous guard of it against being encroached upon by that very State. Public ‘servants’ who seek to be masters by disarming ‘their’ people, like this ‘useful idiot’ of a mayor.
Well, the part where he says the citizens were terrorized by a man was correct; the rest was bunk. All terrorists are people, plain and simple. They choose to commit acts of terror and they are the only ones responsible.
Clifton David Briley was elected in 2015 as vice-mayor for mayor Megan Barry, he was sworn in as mayor after the mayor Megan Barry resigned on March 6, 2018 after pleading guilty to felony theft related to an extramarital affair with a city employee. Liberals at there finest
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Megan_Barry
I think the AR15 is great, for terrorizing the bad guys, such as B&E, home invasion etc.
This is what we called in the 1950’s, a COOL CAT. Very well mannered, well spoken, chooses his words well, and is honestly modest. And may I add, he is intelligent in the way it will work to his success in his work and personal life. There is no doubt he will do well in his life, and AT&T is very fortunate to have employees of his caliber, as any company would. One thing for sure, his Mama and Dad have got to be proud of him, and also they have a right to be proud of themselves for bring him up to the standard he is.
Yeah. All that, and he’s the biggest idiot and probably has NO CLUE what he’s talking about when it comes to firearms. He most likely doesn’t even know how to use one. Like most liberals. They continually SPEW their hatred for guns and like parrots only repeat what they have been told so they can SOUND smart. What a MORON!! Good luck trying to enforce or better yet getting the police to enforce grabbing anyone’s gun. The police will most likely be on the citizens side of it.
Wasn’t pop’s bolt action hunting rifle a weapon of war in 1918? countless conflicts were waged with lever action Winchesters. The British gun grab of 1775 started the American revolution at Lexington. Stones and hot oil were once weapons of war…maybe we should ban KFC???
what a great guy!!he didn’t try to jump on the fame bandwagon,he was truthful,well spoken nice guy. my hat goes off to his parents,they did a fantastic job of raising their son!! this is what true courage is.
Liberals teach Darwin’s theories, but don’t learn from them.
So sad to hear that another decent town, Nashville TN, is going to shit with liberal idiocy.
Btw, that Waffle House shooter’s father should go to the gas chamber with his son.
I would say it would never happen in Tennessee, being the “patron state of shootin’ stuff”, but they did manage to elect this idiot.
Every village has it’s idiot.
Who would have ever thought the current mayor of Nashville was a LIBTARD Democrat? OH if the Dems are not requesting useless gun control legislation, they are resigning for illegal activities. I presume the prior mayor attempted to salvage her career/name by resigning
Another dumb f***k brainless libtard Big surprise.
This brain dead buffoon wants to ban weapons of war he has got a very long list to ban! Animals, many times used with bombs strapped on them and sent toward the enemy. Pistols and rifles of every shape and size imaginable! Bows and Arrows. Swords, spears, knifes, bats, sticks, shovels, pitchforks, cars, trucks, tanks, and mean the list goes on and on and on of what has been used as a weapon in war!
You forgot the first weapon of war. A rock.
Unfortunately, what else would you expect a liberal democrat to say? It’s in his DNA.
‘The mayor claims that the purpose of AR-15s is to “terrorize.”
Sorry Mr. Mayor, every time I go to the range to shoot, I see a lot of folks shooting one of those evil, black rifles! Not one, mind you appears to be terrorized by that rifle! Everyone including me appears completely calm and rational. Maybe we’re just a crazy lot who doesn’t feel the mojo projected by that evil ‘assault rifle’ that y’all personified onto it? So Mr. Mayor, MOLON LABE, baby!
Remember what this politician is spewing out come election time. Obviously he is totally ignorant about the causes of shootings as he is about weapons. He’s just regurgitating talking points made up by the left wing media. You know, ‘comprehensive gun reform’, ‘common sense gun laws’, ‘universal background checks’, all the standard stuff that really means nothing but makes weak minded constituents think he knows what he is talking about. Never mind that the nut had his guns confiscated by IL police who handed them over to his father who promptly returned them to his crazed son. So much for laws protecting us.
“Weapons of War”? This man wouldn’t recognize a “weapon of war” if it came up and smacked him in the face. AR15s would be of no use in any real war or combat situation. They are no different than the millions of semi-automatic rifles sitting in every hunter’s closet or gun rack, they just look different.
Mayor Briley is out of his depth on this issue and has reverted back to the knee jerk response of every uninformed, gun grabbing, liberal in America, namely “take guns from the hands of the law abiding CITIZENS and leave them in the hands of all CRIMINALS”. Why are they so STUPID!!!???
SO THE FED’S DROPPED THE BALL…AGAIN..! SO LET’S TAKE. THEIR GUNS AWAY..!!!
Maybe you should visit Kansas City or St. Louis where I live. Great shooting towns, like most Democrap administrative cities. Sorry about the lack of AR 15 history, but ample opportunity for inner city handgun armor testing. Trying to catch up with Chicago.
Morons like this mayor don’t have a clue about any gun yet they get all the face time to spew their illiteracy.
The mayor’s local law enforcement failed to stop this guy when he stole a car days before the shooting. FRICKIN’ HYPOCRITE LIBTARD! I remember going to the NRA meeting in Nashville a few years back and the cabbie told me: “we’re pretty conservative down here, except for Nashville…bunch of liberal yuppies taking over the town.”
Once again, going after the weapon instead of person that USED a weapon to commit a violent crime instead of addressing mental illness or those prohibited from obtaining or possessing a firearm. This crap is never going to stop and unfortunately it’s getting worse than what it was decades ago.
Given that the Mayor’s City, IS, on of the most violent in America, His comments are the most self serving and hypocritical, I’ve seen a Marxist/Progressive utter in a long time. His electorate deserves his reign of mediocrity in that once great city.
The purpose of liberalism is sodomy.
The Terrorists are the Marxists hell bent on disarming us. One way or another there going to regret their war upon the Bill of Rights.
Typical blah blah from a politician, poor logic, the preposterous rhetoric about “weapons of war.”
How did we get saddled with this?
Hmm, coward mayor vs hero citizen?
He may say he isn’t a hero and whether or not he did it out of selfish reasons, he saved lives and isn’t demanding gun control. Pretty amazing feat in 2018, I just hope the people of TN side more with Mr. Shaw.