Saturday, May 26, 2012

Heartbreaking Testimony of a Family Member

Gun rights folks love to disparage this kind of information. They accuse us of "dancing in the blood of the victims." The truth is they can't face the fact that they are responsible. In supporting lax and non-existent gun control laws which make these incidents possible, gun-rights advocates know they are partly responsible. They are the one's dripping in blood.

Another trick they use is to pretend that the hard numbers of gun violence victims is the entire extent of the problem.  This heart-rending makes it clear that the damage extends far beyond that.

Valparaiso Indiana Hostage Taker Dead


Accidental Shooting of Washington State Woman by Son - Naturally No Charges

The Olympian reports

A 49-year-old Olympia-area woman was critically injured Friday when a .380 semi-automatic handgun her son was handling accidentally discharged.

The bullet hit the woman in the head. The mother was sitting on a couch with her sleeping 7-year-old daughter.

Her son, 20, was interviewed at the scene and has not been arrested.

“There is no reason to believe there was any criminal intent,” [Thurston County sheriff’s Lt. Greg Elwin said. “He was appropriately distraught.”

Read more here: http://www.theolympian.com/2012/05/25/2117969/olympia-area-woman-injured-in.html#storylink=cpy

How's that for a pathetic response to unconscionable negligence?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

From Behind Bars, Randy “Duke” Cunningham Begs For The Right To Own A Gun

 TPM reports

Randall “Duke” Cunningham, the disgraced former congressman currently serving an eight year sentence for his involvement in one of the biggest bribery scandals in congressional history, would like his second amendment rights restored when he leaves prison so he can hunt, fish and protect himself from rabid cougars, he wrote in a letter to a federal judge this month.

Unfortunately for 71-year-old Cunningham, that wouldn’t happen because legislation passed during his time in Congress bans ATF from using federal funds to investigate whether felons should get their gun rights restored.
It may surprise some of my fellow gun bloggers on both sides of the argument, but I feel it's wrong to remove gun rights from a non-violent offender. What's even worse is a system which does not allow for easy review of the case. What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

The UN Arms Trade Treaty

HuffPost published an article outlining the details of the UN Arms Trade Treaty and describing how things are now.

There are currently no international laws or treaties regulating the international sale of conventional weapons. You read that right. There is more international oversight of the sale of bananas and iPods than grenade launchers and AK-47s. As a result, the bullets killing our troops in Afghanistan and the weapons used by warlords to commit genocide in Africa are purchased on the black and grey international weapons markets that thrive in this unregulated environment. Thankfully, all of that is about to change -- at least, we hope.

You'd think there would be universal support for a treaty that will help stem the flow of weapons and ammunition to terrorists, warlords, pirates and dictators -- that would help save American lives and reduce atrocities around the globe. But if so, you haven't met the NRA and Heritage Foundation.
Sadly, for these groups, politics and money are more important than protecting our troops, patriotism and moral decency. And in the ATT, they see a way to raise money by telling their base that Obama and the UN are coming to take your guns. 

 They know full well that 1) the ATT charter forbids it from having any impact on domestic gun laws or sales, 2) the Obama Administration has said it would oppose any treaty that threatens the Second Amendment, and 3) no international laws trump our Constitution. But what are facts when money is to be made and political muscles can be flexed?
Why would the NRA pretend that this international agreement would have a direct impact on individual US gun owners when in fact it won't?

Well, I'd guess for the same reason La Pierre keeps telling the members Obama will come after their guns.

These lies instill fear into civilian gun owners and drive NRA membership as well as gun purchases.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment. 

The Volokh Conspiracy on Guns vs. Cars

responding to the report that in Michigan there are now more gun deaths than car deaths.

But wait: The number of accidental gun deaths in Michigan in 2009 (the most recent year reported in WISQARS) was … 12, compared to 962 accidental motor-vehicle-related deaths. 99% of the gun deaths in Michigan that year consisted of suicides (575) and homicides (495).

Now say what you will about whether some gun control laws might reduce suicides or homicides, but it’s extremely unlikely that any “safety-related changes” or “regulat[ions] … for health and safety” are going to eliminate all but a tiny fraction of those suicides and homicides, which are overwhelmingly intentional acts by people who are willing to kill and are unlikely to be stopped by “regulat[ion] by the federeal government for health and safety.” 

Yet curiously the op-ed says nothing about how few of the gun deaths were accidental, and how few homicides or suicides could be prevented by “safety-related changes” along the lines of the safety regulations imposed on cars.
My comment:

You're leaving out a couple things. 

1. The UK has an intentional homicide rate 4 times higher than the US, largely due to gun availability. So when you say gun control would not impact our homicides and suicides very much, you're wrong. 

2. The frequency of use and proliferation of cars is much higher than that of guns. Factor that in and your precious guns become 10 times more deadly than cars, or more.

What's your opinion? Is that Eugene Volokh one of the slickest gun apologists around, or what?

The problem is that his flim-flam attacks of reasonable gun-control arguments are swallowed whole and endlessly repeated by pro-gun bloggers. Some of them might even believe it.

Check out Sebastian, who seems to believe it, just like he believes anything that supports his agenda.

Glenn Reynolds, in his typical fashion, called the Detroit Free Press dishonest, not his buddy Eugene.

Say Uncle refers to the Volokh post as if it's the final word.

Every one of these guys, and most of their readers, are so biased towards gun rights and so dedicated to justifying their extreme positions on gun control that they've lost the ability to be reasonable.  They wouldn't recognize a truthful gun-control statement if it jumped up and slapped them in the face.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.




Chaparral Guns Owner Gets 5 Years


Reuters reports


Ian Garland, 52, the owner of Chaparral Guns, received the sentence from U.S. District Judge Robert Brack in federal court in Las Cruces, New Mexico, U.S. Attorney Robert Pitman said.



Brack also ordered three years of supervised release for Garland, whose shop was in Chaparral, New Mexico. He pleaded guilty in July 2011 to conspiracy and six counts of making false statements in the acquisition of firearms.

Garland is among 12 defendants who pleaded guilty to charges in the gun-running conspiracy.
The ones they catch are just a drop in the bucket. That's why we need licensing and registration to stop straw purchasing.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

T.J. Lane to be Tried as an Adult

Accidental Shooting of Louisiana Man - Three Juveniles Arrested

 Local Fox News reports

Three Slidell area juveniles have been arrested and placed in the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center after they shot and injured a man outside his place of employment Thursday afternoon.  So far. investigators with the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff's Office believe the shooting was accidental.
The three juveniles were located at a home near the other end of the trail.  Investigators interviewed the three boys, aged 12, 13 and 15, in the presence of their parents.  All three admitted to firing a .22 caliber rifle in the direction of the business.  Last night, the three boys were transported to the Florida Parishes Juvenile Detention Center and each booked with one count of Negligent Injuring and one count of Illegal Use of Weapons.
The parents should have been arrested instead of the kids. That's what I think.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Friday, May 25, 2012

CSGV on Jim Pontillo's Second Amendment Remedies

CSGV STATEMENT ON DAILY CALLER
GUN GIVEAWAY PROMOTION
  

Washington, DC—That Tucker Carlson and the Daily Caller would promote a man like firearms manufacturer Jim Pontillo to their readers is a testament to how far the American Conservative movement has moved to the right in the last several years. It is not just that Pontillo’s dislike of President Obama is tinged with not-so-subtle racism (“He will never be President of the United States; that job requires he represent all Americans, not just the angry black ones.”). Pontillo also believes that political violence has a legitimate place in American politics. He states that armed resistance to democratic government is “integral to the American DNA” and warns, "I can't imagine how much more insult the American people are willing to endure under the 'enterprises of ambition' by our politicians, but I do know, gun ownership and an understanding of our American Founders' vision will have positive and deliberate effect on the psyche of our populace and can subdue the overzealous and prejudicial effect of this ambition. When law is abused to achieve political ends where do the gallant citizens turn? Quite possibly to their guns."

Such commentary would have been inappropriate and dangerous even before Gabby Giffords was shot in the head by Jared Loughner (“ You don’t have to accept the federalist laws”). That the Daily Caller would associate itself with such rhetoric in the wake of Tucson is unfathomable.

Tucker Carlson has already attempted to downplay the controversy, suggesting that the only relevant detail about Pontillo is the fact that he’s a licensed gun maker. But giving away a handgun with the Bill of Rights engraved on its side is an overtly political statement. It is therefore relevant and worth asking whether Carlson embraces Pontillo’s ideas about “Second Amendment remedies.”

Finally, it is ironic that while Pontillo sees Liberals as a bunch of Socialists and Communists that are subverting all that is great about America, he seems to see no contradiction in his own effort to void sacrosanct democratic institutions like political equality and the rule of law.

South Carolina State Rep. Ted Vick (D) Arrested for DUI and an Illegal Gun

Huffington Post reports

South Carolina State Rep. Ted Vick (D) was arrested on Wednesday for drunk driving, speeding and illegal possession of a pistol.

Vick, who is running in a crowded field for the Democratic nomination in South Carolina's 7th District, refused a breathalyzer test and was taken to jail. He was released on the DUI and speeding charges on Thursday but is still awaiting bond for the weapons charge.



UPDATE: Spring Valley Patch reports that a 21-year-old female student was in Vick's car at the time of the arrest: "The 21-year-old USC student told Columbia police officers she met Vick at Delaney's Pub in Five Points where they were drinking, according to the report. They left and continued drinking at Jake's Bar. Vick offered the student a ride home when they were both leaving, according to the report."
Why was possession of the gun considered illegal? Was it simply because he was drunk and driving? Or is there more to it, what do you think?

How about the young chick in the car?  I realize the ""service to others, commitment and family" candidate was just giving her a ride, wink, wink, nudge, nudge.

And finally, let me mention that he's a Democrat. Normally these family-values hypocrites with guns are Republicans, but as our gun-rights friends keep pointing out, that's not always the case.
What's your opinion?  South Carolina does have its problems politically, doesn't it?

Please leave a comment.

Private Sellers at Gun Shows and Murderers Buying Guns

The Times Free Press reports

An affidavit filed by an undercover agent with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives details an undercover operation the agency conducted on Dawson months after the arrest of Jesse Mathews, who could face the death penalty if convicted in the killing of Sgt. Tim Chapin on April 1, 2011, during a botched robbery at the U.S. Money Shops on Brainerd Road.

Dawson admitted to investigators that he'd traded a firearm to Mathews at a local gun show before the shooting. An ATF investigator "advised Dawson he should seek a federal firearms license because of his apparent frequent and consistent firearms sales."
I'm confused about who's who in this story. One thing that's completely clear though, is there are criminals and there are hidden criminals, and they all have too much gun availability.

One of the best loved arguments of the gun-rights fanatics is that criminals will always get guns.  If we "close the gun show loophole," they'll just go elsewhere.

I don't think that's true, but even if it were, is that justification to make it easier for them to arm up?

This story highlights the fact that "private sellers" of guns are sometimes hidden criminals who flaunt the easily-circumvented laws about gun sales and background checks. This could be ended without any impact on the law-abiding.

Background checks on all gun sales should be combined with licensing of gun owners and registration of guns. Until that's implemented in all 50 States, we simply cannot be said to have gun control.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.


More on Cars vs. Guns

The Clarion published an article about the cars vs. guns situation in Indiana. It contained the following point,

“The bottom line is that one-third of American households have guns, while 90 percent have vehicles,” said VPC Legislative Director Kristen Rand during a brief Wednesday telephone interview. 

“That firearms deaths have exceeded car fatalities in 10 states, and are on a trajectory in the very near future to intersect on a national level, is a tragedy.”
Now that's a slam dunk. The frequency of use and the proliferation of cars compared to guns means guns are 10 times or 100 times more dangerous than cars.

But don't expect any gun-rights folks to admit it.  They've been using the car comparison for so long, it would be too embarrassing to turn around now.  They've got too much invested in the argument.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

In Utah 80% of Gun Deaths are Suicides


According to CDCP data, 217 of the 2009 firearm deaths — more than 80 percent — were classified as suicides.

John Malouf, a psychologist from Valley Mental Health, said guns are the most common method used in completed suicides, while pills account for the most attempted suicides.

Malouf said he feels that if guns were more controlled or less available, people might be less inclined to commit suicide.

"It’s easy access to a lethal method," Malouf said, "When you think about it, if someone is suicidal and they don’t have a lethal method, they usually get through the crisis OK. If they have a gun, they kill themselves, not realizing they would get through the next day."
I can understand the pro-gun attempt to separate suicides from other gun deaths. I disagree with it, but I can understand that it serves their argument.  They say there aren't all that many gun deaths to worry about. Further restrictions are unnecessary. Of course this is not true, but that's their argument.

What I can't understand is the justification that usually accompanies this argument, that people have a right to commit suicide, that it's a simple choice and that people are free to choose.

The psychologist quoted above put it perfectly.  The way I say it is this: suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.


World's Nicest Prison - It's in Norway

20% recidivism as reported on CNN

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Jane Got A Gun starring Natalie Portman

Just Jared reports (no, not that Jared)

 Natalie Portman is set to star and produce the Western Jane Got a Gun.

The film revolves around “a woman whose outlaw husband returns home barely alive and riddled with bullet wounds. She is forced to reach out to an ex-lover and ask if he will help defend her farm when her husband’s gang eventually tracks him down to finish the job,”

Janie's Got A Gun - Pink doing Aerosmith

Arizona Head Birther, Ken Bennett, Backs Down

HuffPo reports

Arizona Secretary of State Ken Bennett backed off his birther demands on Wednesday, going so far as to say that he considered the matter of President Barack Obama's ballot eligibility "closed."

On Tuesday night, Bennett, also an Arizona co-chair for Mitt Romney's presidential campaign, apologized for creating controversy and feeding a birther frenzy by requesting that Hawaiian officials verify the president's birth documents.

"If I embarrassed the state, I apologize, but that certainly wasn't my intent," Bennett, who had earlier threatened to keep Obama off the ballot if his inquiry wasn't met, said during an interview with radio station KTAR.
Did he embarrass Arizona? Well, as hard as that might be to do, he certainly did.

What could have caused the public turnaround?  Was he less than sincere all along, or did something happen to change his mind?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Remington Receives Big Grants to Stay in New York

The NY Daily News reports

Two gun-makers who have opposed a police-favored bill for bullet microstamping received more than $6 million in state economic development funds since 2009, the Daily News has learned.

Most of the grant money, $5.6 million, went to the Remington Arms Company, which threatened recently to leave New York if the state passes a microstamping measure.
What's your opinion? Isn't it odd that an industry that is booming would even be eligible for grant money?

Bar Fight in Louisiana - Man Does Murder-Suicide


According to witnesses, the suspect and a friend were involved in a disturbance inside of the establishment, when the disturbance went outside to the parking lot. During the disturbance the suspect allegedly retrieved a handgun from his vehicle and approached the victim’s vehicle, firing multiple shots at the victim. 

The victim was shot one time in the abdomen. The suspect then returned to his vehicle and shot himself in the chest.
This is certainly an unusual murder-suicide. I mean, usually they're about domestic problems.

Does Louisiana have a no-guns-in-bars rule?  Is that why the guy had to go to his car for the weapon?

I suppose the gun-rights extremists will point out this proves that banning guns in bars doesn't work.  We might as well just let them have their guns in the bars too.

I say it points out that the guy who did the shooting must have been a "law-abiding" citizen if he left his gun in the car. So, what we've got here is another "law-abiding" gun owner who turns out to be unfit to own guns.

There are too many like him and we're not doing enough to identify and disarm them.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Police Shoot Mountain Lion in Santa Monica

The LA Times reports

No one is exactly sure how a mountain lion roamed down into the heart of Santa Monica on Tuesday morning, coming face-to-face with the janitor of an office complex not far from the city’s bustling shopping district.

But he turned out to be an unwelcomed visitor--and that generated much debate in the city.
With news choppers circling overhead, Santa Monica police managed to corner the 3-year-old lion in the courtyard of the complex. Police said they made several attempts to calm what they described as an aggressive feline using tranquilizing darts, nonlethal bullets and a fire hose. When that failed to stop the lion from trying to escape, a police officer fatally shot it.
Is it possible to calm a mountain lion using a fire hose? It reminds me of the time in Ohio when that crazy guy let all his exotic animals free before killing himself. The cops took care of that in the same way.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

More on Guns vs. Cars

via Baldr with wonderful commentary

Islam Hate by Wild Bill for America



my comment:

Thanks for that video of Wild Bill. His description of all the things Islam has given the world was one of the most hateful and bigoted little diatribes I’ve ever heard. That, followed by his simplistic description ad the Arab-Israeli conflict, made that one of the all-time most hateful videos I’ve seen.

Accidental Shooting of Iowa Man by 4-Year-old Son - Man Fined

Local news reports

A Mason City man who was accidentally shot in a leg by his 4-year-old son has been fined $625.

The Mason City Globe Gazette reports that 29-year-old Christopher Upenieks had pleaded guilty to misdemeanor child endangerment after prosecutors agreed to drop a charge of allowing a minor access to a loaded firearm.

Upenieks was shot in his left knee Feb. 27 when his son found an unsecured handgun in his dad's truck and the gun fired.

Upenieks was in his truck when police arrived. Police say he had a valid permit to carry a gun.
So, a guy who proved himself to be incredibly irresponsible with a gun receives a small fine and keeps his gun rights, is that what this means?  Does that sound right to you?

Please leave a comment.

Torres' Airport Security Bill Advances Amidst Personal Attacks

Republican Tim Donnelly, gun owner
Redlands Daily Facts reports

Debate in the Assembly turned personal Monday when Norma Torres, D-Chino, introduced an airport security bill that many interpreted as a jab at Republican Tim Donnelly who was caught bringing a loaded gun through airport security earlier this year. 

The bill, which would require law enforcement officers to arrest anyone bringing a concealed gun into an airport, sparked partisan name-calling and accusations of dishonesty.
This bill would certainly create problems for the poor forgetful gun owners who truly have no ill intent. But how could we possibly distinguish them from the others who bring guns to airports with malice?

We can't, the behavior is exactly the same.  That means we would be demanding a higher level of responsibility from people who own guns.  We'd be asking them to know the whereabouts of their weapons at all times.

Does that sound like too much to ask?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Oklahoma City Brawl After NBA Playoff Game Including Gunfire - 8 Wounded

More on Grandma Sandra Layne

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Gun Deaths vs. Car Deaths

A new Violence Policy Center (VPC) state-by-state analysis of government data comparing firearm deaths and motor vehicle deaths shows that gun deaths outpaced motor vehicle deaths in 10 states in 2009, the most recent year for which state level data is available.  Nationally, there were 31,236 firearm deaths in 2009 and 36,361 motor vehicle deaths according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

Alaska: 104 gun deaths, 84 motor vehicle deaths
Arizona: 856 gun deaths, 809 motor vehicle deaths
Colorado: 583 gun deaths, 565 motor vehicle deaths
Indiana: 735 gun deaths, 715 motor vehicle deaths
Michigan: 1,095 gun deaths, 977 motor vehicle deaths
Nevada: 406 gun deaths, 255 motor vehicle deaths
Oregon: 417 gun deaths, 394 motor vehicle deaths
Utah: 260 gun deaths, 256 motor vehicle deaths
Virginia: 836 gun deaths, 827 motor vehicle deaths
Washington: 623 gun deaths, 580 motor vehicle deaths

Accidental Shooting of Colorado Man by a Friend - He's Dead

The Colorado Springs Gazette reports

A Colorado Springs man shot Saturday while looking at a gun, died from his injuries early Sunday.

Police have identified the victim as 27-year-old James Crouch.

Police say Crouch was looking at a gun with 22-year-old David McRea. Police say the gun McRea was holding fired, shooting Crouch in the chest.

Stephen Stanulonis, who lives in an apartment in the building, said the shooting happened on the front porch.

He said it sounded like a cannon shot. “Then I heard a blood-curdling scream,” he said.

When Stanulonis went to the porch, he saw Crouch with a bullet wound in his chest and several people trying to save his life. He was told that a group of people were looking at guns and, when a gun was handed to McRea, he grabbed it wrong, somehow pulling the trigger.
You know what I'm sick and tired of? I'm sick and tired of the gun crowd telling us gun accidents are too few to worry about. There are over 500 fatalities a year, a couple thousand people wounded, and  nobody knows how many negligent discharges in which no one is hurt. I'd guess tens-of-thousands.

That's too much.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Three Minor Victories for Gun Rights in Missouri

Naturally the pro-gun crowd calls these "big" victories. What do you think?

 Senate Bill 489 contains important Right-to-Carry reforms by honoring all live-fire training exercises as part of the concealed carry course prior to changes made in the training requirements last year.  SB 489 would also legalize the ownership of auto-opening, switchblade knives throughout Missouri.

House Bill 1647, would lower the Right-to-Carry age requirement from 21 to 18 years old for active duty military who are residents of or stationed in Missouri.  It would also remove penalties for an accidental exposure of a firearm by a concealed carry endorsement holder and establishes a process for restoration of firearm rights for those currently prohibited.

Senate Bill 480 is a transportation omnibus bill that includes a provision establishing a National Rifle Association license plate.  Purchase of Missouri NRA license plates will help fund important pro-Second Amendment activities in the Show-Me State.

Cobra on My Left, Leopard on My Right

Racism and Guns - New Zealand Style

Louis Crimp. Photo / Steven McNicholl The New Zealand Herald reports

Businessman and big ACT donor Louis Crimp, whose anti-Maori tirade last week sparked widespread condemnation, says he will get a gun and shoot anyone who tries to do "nasty things" to him.

Call for Stricter Gun Control in the UK

The Northern Echo reports

A YOUNG MAN whose mother, sister and aunt were shot dead by his stepfather has launched a campaign for stricter gun laws to be introduced. 

Bobby Turnbull, 23, lost his mother Alison Turnbull, 44, sister Tanya Turnbull, 24, and his aunt, Susan McGoldrick, 47 in the shootings in Horden, County Durham, on New Year’s Day. 

The gunman, Michael Atherton, who was Ms McGoldrick’s partner, also shot and injured her daughter Laura, who suffered minor injuries and escaped by jumping from a window, before turning the gun on himself, following an argument. 

Now Mr Turnbull and the rest of his family have started a petition in a bid to change gun licensing procedures. 

After the shootings it emerged that Atherton’s weapons were legally held, but they had been removed by Durham Police after concerns over alleged threats he made to harm himself in 2008. 

The weapons were taken from his house as a precaution, but as he insisted there had been no threat to harm himself, they were returned. 

Now Mr Turnbull and the rest of his family have started a petition in a bid to change gun licensing procedures.


What's your opinion? Do you think they're on to something here? Could better licensing and screening procedures identify some of these dangerous gun owners? Of course it could.

Please leave a comment.

Baby With a Gun



Pro-gun fanatics think this is funny, apparently. I think they're wrong about that. In spite of the ridiculous disclaimers, this video carries a terrible message.  It violates more than the 4 Rules of Gun Safety. It demeans the unspeakable tragedy of accidental gun deaths which happen hundreds of times each year, often involving children. It makes light of the importance of keeping guns away from very young children.

The overall message I take from this is "lighten up, don't take it so seriously."  That's wrong.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

No Room in the Nursing Home?

Bloody Weekend in Philadelphia - At Least 4 Dead

 Philly.com reports

Police are investigating a shooting in Frankford that left 26-year-old man dead and his 50-year-old father wounded.

An argument is believed to be the motive in the killing of Edwin Pagan outside his home.

Police found the older man shot once in his left forearm and the son suffering three gunshot wounds to his torso and groin.

Both were taken to Temple University Hospital, where Edwin Pagan died at 11:30 p.m., police said. 

Investigators said the father appeared to be intoxicated when police arrived, and witnesses told police they saw him shooting into the air with a handgun that was recovered by police. The witnesses told police they did not see who shot Pagan or his father.

Homicide detectives in the meantime are investigating the shooting deaths of three other men in Philadelphia over the weekend.
Do you think there are too many guns available there? I think that's definitely part of the problem.

Please leave a comment.

Monday, May 21, 2012

Cenk Speaks His Mind on Guns

Michigan Fanatics Hold a Rally for Gun Rights

LSJ.com reports

Armed with rifles, pistols, flags and banners, about 150 people rallied for gun rights Saturday on the lawn of the Capitol, warning lawmakers not to rollback firearms possession laws such as “stand your ground.”

Speakers urged lawmakers to expand gun rights by making Michigan the fifth U.S. state to adopt “constitutional carry,” essentially removing restrictions and licensing provisions for concealed carry.

Michigan already allows open carry for those 18 or older who are carrying a firearm that is legally registered and holstered in plain view, said rally organizer John Roshek, president of the Citizens League for Self Defense.

“Constitutional carry is about having no permits or permission slips from the state in order to be able to carry a gun,” he said. “It starts with repealing all pistol-free zones. It starts with repealing the concealed pistol license laws. We feel if you are legally able to obtain and purchase a firearm that is the only permit you should need.”

They've got their cool flags and all the banners, but I'll bet the one thing they didn't have is a picture of the All Time Poster Boy of Constitutional Carry.

Accidental Shooting of Florida Man by Himself - He's Dead


Local news reports

Police say they believe 36-year old Michael Jerome Moore accidentally shot himself in the stomach while handling a semi-automatic firearm. A friend took Moore to Okaloosa Medical Center where he later died. 


Authorities originally received conflicting information suggesting someone else may have pulled the trigger.

Police were first looking at this case as a possible criminal investigation, but after collecting evidence and witness statements, they now believe Moore accidentally shot himself. The entire incident is still under investigation.
What's your opinion? Is poor and irresponsible gun handling a bit more commonplace than the gun-rights advocates like to admit?

Please leave a comment.

US Guns Flowing into Canada


From 2007 through 2011, Canada submitted 6,574 guns to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives for tracing — a fraction of the 99,000 guns Mexico asked ATF to trace.

Virtually all of the guns recovered in Canada were traced to U.S. sources, with just over half linked to a retail purchase in the U.S. By contrast, ATF data showed just over two-thirds of guns from Mexico were traced to U.S. sources — a U.S. manufacturer or importer — and just under one-third were linked to a U.S. retail purchase.
"Virtually all," what do you think about that?

Shooting Near University of Wisconsin

Local news reports

Three people were shot outside bars near the University of Wisconsin-Madison campus, but their injuries are not life threatening.
  
According to Madison police, a gunman fired into a crowd of approximately 100 people and then fled around 1:15 a.m. Saturday.
  
The victims were a 26-year-old woman, an 18-year-old man and a 23-year-old man, all from Madison. None were UW-Madison students. All were expected to be treated and released from a hospital.
  

What's your opinion? Are the gun-rights advocates right in wanting guns in bars and on college campuses? Would those "rights" make situations like this any better?

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Another Bloody Weekend in Chicago - 4 Dead 18 Wounded

Chicago Sun-Times reports

A 14-year-old boy, a 12-year-old boy and two other people are dead and at least 18 people were wounded in separate shootings since Friday night, police said.

The bloodiest single attack killed a 23-year-old man and wounded five others when a shooter opened fire at a crowd gathered in the 11600 block of South Peoria Avenue at 2:28 a.m. on Saturday. Melvin Jacobs, of the 16200 block of South Paulina Street in Markham, was taken to Advocate Trinity Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead. 
The pro-gun folks keep using these stories to try and say gun control laws don't work. Well, of course it don't work, since we don't have proper gun control laws in place.

What our gun friends are trying to do with those nonsense claims is deflect attention from the fact that one of the primary factors in bloody weekends like this in Chicago is gun availability. It, gun availability, is a direct result of the lack of proper gun control laws which would work to diminish it.

And whose responsible for that?  Those very folks who are trying to deflect the argument by blaming the laws. Of course they have some formidable help from the NRA and the gun manufacturers, who benefit from things just the way they are. Dealers in death they are, all of them.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

White Affluent Detroit Grandma Shoots and Kills Grandson


Local news reports including a video 



Police in West Bloomfield said a 74-year-old woman shot and killed her 17-year-old grandson Friday at her home.

Jonathon Hoffman, 17, had been living with his grandmother and 86-year-old grandfather for the past six months to finish high school.

According to police, Jon and his grandmother were the only ones home and got into an argument late yesterday. The grandmother shot Jon several times with a handgun, which was recovered at the home.
Perhaps Granny has been reading The Truth About Guns where they often counsel murderers.Those guys are experts in how to change a murder into a legitimate DGU, especially when the shooter is the only one left standing. 

In the video, you can see the smirking lawyer acting anything but professional in the wake of this devastating tragedy.  He knows the tricks too.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.


Robin Gibb - I Started a Joke - May He Rest in Peace

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Accidental Shooting of SC Woman - One Arrest but not the Shooter

The Leader-Herald reports

City police today announced the arrest of a city man in connection with what police say was an accidental shooting of a city woman early Thursday morning on Spring Street.

Gloversville police Capt. John Sira said the victim - Danielle Shonfarber, 20, of Gloversville - suffered one shot to the torso and was airlifted to Albany Medical Center Hospital, where she is in critical condition.

Police arrested Michael Perreault, 23, who lives at the 174 Spring St. home where the shooting occurred at 4:30 a.m. Thursday. Sira said Perreault wasn't necessarily the shooter, but he was charged with attempted tampering with physical evidence and obstructing governmental administration, both misdemeanors.

Police said a different person brought the rifle to the apartment and was handling it when it discharged. Charges may be filed after the victim is interviewed, according to a news release.
Sounds like a crazy story in which several lawful gun owners are up to all kinds of mischief. What I find interesting is that tampering with a crime scene and destroying evidence are just misdemeanors. Don't you think they merit more than a slap on the wrist?

We'll have to watch this story for when the shooter is identified and the rest of the details emerge.  I won't hold my breath for a felony charge or a loss of gun rights.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Texas Man by his Brother - No Charges

Local News reports

A man in Lafayette Parish is lucky to be alive after he was shot accidentally in the abdomen. 

54 year old Kenneth Miles of Seabrook, Texas was shot while his brother inspected a revolver. 

Miles was transported to a local trauma center where is listed in stable condition. 

Deputies believe the brothers did not suspect the gun was loaded when the accident occurred. Kenneth Miles is expected to recover from his injuries.
How can there be so many incidents of "forgetting there's one in the chamber?" I just can't understand it. Wouldn't almost anybody, even those with little of no gun experience know about that?

The answer is definitely a mystery, but one thing we cannot deny is, people do this.  They do it every day, all over the place.  Imagine if we could count the times it happens and no one is injured.

It makes you wonder about gun owners.  It makes you wonder about all those claims that they are responsible and safe.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of St. Louis Man by Himself - He's Dead

The Morning Sun reports

Jim Baker, owner of Great Lakes Cattle Marketing of St. Louis, was killed Friday in a shooting accident. 

Baker, 50, was hunting after a raccoon in the barn when he tripped and fell, shooting himself, his father John Baker said Saturday.