Sunday, June 3, 2012

Wisconsin Gun Owner Murders the Kid Next Door

The Washington Post reports

A 75-year-old Milwaukee man charged in the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy who lived next door had been a repeated target of break-ins, according to neighbors.

John Henry Spooner was charged with one count of first-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon.

The boy, identified as Darius Simmons, was unarmed when he was shot in the street outside their homes.

According to the complaint, Spooner approached Simmons as the boy retrieved a garbage cart from in front of a house Thursday morning. The boy’s mother, Patricia Larry, who saw the shooting, said Spooner told her son he “wanted his stuff back and that he wanted his shotguns back,” the complaint said.

Simmons and his mother told Spooner they did not have his property. Spooner then pulled a gun, pointed it at Simmons and fired one shot from about five feet away.

Spooner fired a second shot at Simmons as the boy was running away.
Let's hope Mr. Spooner was a reader of The Truth About Guns. He would have known the value of STFU when caught doing murder. Then, if the investigation proves the dead kid really had been responsible for the break-ins, we've got all the makings of another pro-gun martyr.

Let's not fail to notice that Spooner was another lawful gun owner turned bad. The gun-rights folks keep telling us there are very few of them, but I'm not convinced.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

6 comments:

  1. Every Criminal is, by definition a Law-Abiding citizen who "goes bad."

    Killing someone with a car doesn't kill them any less dead, and you're not calling for Car control, are you?

    In 2007, there were 41,059 fatalities in vehicular accidents (exc some suicides that use cars as their method) and 31,224 gun related fatalities (inc all suicides with guns).
    US Citizens own approximately 270 million guns and 254 million passenger vehicles.

    So why aren't you calling for a ban on Cars because of Car Owners turning bad? Or suggesting that Car Owners lose their right to own a car if they ever drive in a negligent manner?

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    1. Dan I can't believe you're bringing up the cars vs. guns thing after the recent beating you guys took on that one.

      Even before that wonderful report about the 10 states that actually have more gun deaths than car deaths, the argument was bogus. Less than half of homes have guns. 90% have cars. The average gun owner, not you, the average guy uses his gun far less than he uses his car.

      This all makes the comparison a failure for gun-rights. Guns are far far more deadly than cars.

      The other thing you said is true. Even the worst career criminal started out clean and law-abiding. But, that's a bullshit distinction used to thwart the discussion. The gang-banger or drug dealer or professional killer are all in the same group called "criminals." The guy in today's story is in the other group called "law-abiding."

      We're interested in the ones in group 2 who migrate into group 1. Some were hidden criminals others were like today's guy, good guys who went bad.

      Does that make sense to you Dan, or are you gonna make me repeat it over and over again for tedium's sake?

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    2. We didn't take a beating; you did, and apparently it was to the point of senselessness. But you ignored Dan's point: Every criminal was once a law-abiding person. By your reasoning, every person should be subject to strict and intrusive state control.

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    3. MikeB: “This all makes the comparison a failure for gun-rights. Guns are far far more deadly than cars.”

      You forgot to add global warming to the bad side. That’s “deadly” right? And then you need to tally up the good side. How many lives are saved by cars?

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    4. Greg, I didn't ignore that point of Dan's comment. I dedicated half my comment to it.

      "The other thing you said is true. Even the worst career criminal started out clean and law-abiding. But, that's a bullshit distinction used to thwart the discussion. The gang-banger or drug dealer or professional killer are all in the same group called "criminals." The guy in today's story is in the other group called "law-abiding."

      We're interested in the ones in group 2 who migrate into group 1. Some were hidden criminals others were like today's guy, good guys who went bad."

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    5. But you act as though gun owners are a special class within good people who then go bad. What about the banker or broker who ruins the lives of thousands by some financial crimes? Every criminal starts out as a law-abiding citizen. Gun control wouldn't change that. Gun control wouldn't prevent that crossing over.

      In addition, you want to presume that every gun owner is a hidden criminal. We believe that most citizens are good people. That's the fundamental belief required for a democracy--that most people are good.

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