Saturday, November 17, 2012

Concealed Carry Safety

My response to Robert's latest podcast.

Robert, You can't remember one single incident of a concealed carry causing collateral damage. I suppose, in order to maintain some integrity with that remarkable statement, you have to narrow down the parameters.

You have to exclude guys like this who drop their guns causing negligent discharges. And you'd have to overlook all the ones like this guy who stupidly leave their guns laying around or the ones who shoot themselves by "accident." I guess they don't count.

And what about all those who shoot at animals and hit people instead, like this skunk shooter. And let's not forget the ones who become out and out murderers.

No, you're absolutely right. I can't recall a single incident like the Empire State shooting in which civilians acted as bad a cops often do. One possible explanation could be that in spite of the ridiculous numbers you guys put on DGU shootings, they are fairly rare, whereas the cops are out there doing their job every day. That could have something to do with it.

California Man Gets 7 Years for Accidental Shooting

Local news reports

A Santa Maria man was sentenced to seven years in state prison Thursday for accidentally firing a gun, badly injuring his son and nephew.

Evans pleaded no contest last month to felony child endangerment and admitted a special allegation that he personally inflicted great bodily injury on his nephew, causing paralysis.

It seems a bit excessive to me. We see cases frequently where people get a warning or a slap on the wrist for doing this kind of thing.
Like them, he was a lawful gun owner, and no mal-intent was suspected, yet they threw the book at him. Wasn't it enough punishment that he injured his own son and paralyzed his nephew?  That's they usual rationale.

Sentencing disparity is something black defendants know about. This is a good example.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.


Alaska Man Dead Because he Left the Kids Access to a Gun

The Anchorage Daily News reports
A man shot dead at a remote cabin south of Skwentna in October was hit by a bullet fired inadvertently by his child, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Charles Lamb, 61, died in the Oct. 15 shooting and it remained unclear for about a month who fired the gun and whether the gunfire had been accidental or the result of foul play. On Friday, troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said one of Lamb's children accidentally shot Lamb with a .38-caliber handgun while Lamb split and stacked firewood.

 "One of the children was handling a small handgun without Mr. Lamb's knowledge when it unintentionally discharged, striking Mr. Lamb in the torso, causing a fatal wound. Mr. Lamb was nearby and out of view of the young child at the time of the shooting."

[troopers spokeswoman Beth] Ipsen declined to release the child's age because it would identify the child, who is not charged with any crime.
Nice of them to not charge the kid with a crime. I wonder if they realize the only one guilty of a crime is dead. In Alaska they love to shift the blame when it comes to gun mismanagement.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting in Florida - 16-Year-old Dead

Local news reports with video

Officials said 16-year-old Yardeh Gautier accidentally shot in himself in the eye while looking at a gun inside an Orange City library.

He was rushed to Halifax Health Medical Center. Officials say Gautier died Friday afternoon.

Police said the University High School student was showing off a gun to a pair of friends inside the Dickinson Memorial Library off U.S. 17-92 in Orange City when it went off about 4 p.m.

Detectives said Gautier found the .38 Special Wednesday. The gun was stolen in a burglary in Deltona 10 years ago.
The original owner could face charges. I won't hold my breath, though.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Criminal Act Disguised as a Legitimate DGU

Local news reports
A Longview woman who was walking at Lake Sacajawea with her 6-year-old son pulled a gun on a man who exposed his genitals to her Wednesday evening, according to police.

The 35-year-old woman was near Martin Dock around 8:10 p.m. when the man approached her “aggressively,” sat down and began performing a sex act, then suggested she should watch him, according to the woman and accounts from police.

“I put the magazine in my gun. I cocked it,” the woman said in an interview Thursday night. “I said, ‘You need to leave or Ill shoot you. I’m going to blow your brains out.’ ”

“Oh, [expletive]!” the man declared, before running away.
As distasteful as this guy's behavior was, there was no threat of bodily harm. There was no reason to draw the gun and certainly no reason to threaten to blow his brains out. A simple walking away and calling the police would have sufficed.

You see, this is one of the ways gun-rights fanatics compile those incredible totals of so-called DGUs. Many of them are criminal acts disguised.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Florida Man Arrested for Threatening Obama on Facebook

Huffington Post reports
Some people just don't know when to stop talking, or when to stop posting on Facebook.
A Florida man was arrested this November after posting threatening messages about President Barack Obama on Facebook. When Secret Service agents came to question 28-year-old Christopher Castillo about his violent comments, The Smoking Gun reports that the situation quickly deteriorated.
On Nov. 1, Castillo wrote the following on Facebook, apparently in response to Obama's views on health care:

That’s the last straw, if he gets re-elected I’m going to hunt him down and kill him watch the life disappear from his eyes.
Threatening the U.S. president's life is never taken lightly. After a tip-off from a concerned citizen, Secret Service agents arrived at Castillo's Melbourne home on Nov. 8 to investigate his intentions behind the Facebook post. 

According to the felony complaint report filed by the Secret Service, an agent asked Castillo what his actions would be "if the President was standing here right now?" The angry man didn't hold back his opinions, replying he would “bitch slap him, and beat the shit out of him.” He also stated he would scream and call Obama a terrorist.
"Bitch-slap" is what superior, arrogant white idiots do to inferiors, they may be women or younger people or blacks. This is inexplicable Obama hatred, which is synonymous with racism.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

An Answer to the Whining Secessionists

The Examiner
The petition from Texas alone has accrued over 100,000 signatures at this writing. But backing off from a 2009 suggestion to a Tea Party gathering that succession might be an option for the Lone Star State, Governor Rick Perry distanced himself from the petition.

A counter-petition asking the president to “sign an executive order such that each American citizen who signed a petition from any state to secede from the USA shall have their citizenship stripped and be peacefully deported” has gathered over 10,000 signatures since it was created two days ago.
Is that a riot, or what?

The Heritage Foundation Refutes the Big UN-Arms-Trade-Treaty Conspiracy

Media Matters reports

The right-leaning Heritage Foundation has thrown cold water on the revival a conspiracy theory pushed on Fox News by contributor Dick Morris and the National Rifle Association that the United Nation's Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) is actually a sinister Obama administration plot to eliminate the right of private individuals to own a firearm.

During a Heritage Blogger Briefing, senior research fellow Ted Bromund stated, "I don't think that the ATT is a gun confiscation measure for a variety of reasons. First, because I don't regard that as within the bounds of possibility in the United States and secondly, because that is not what the text says."

Bromund's assessment is correct. The stated goal of the treaty is to regulate the international trade of firearms in order to prevent the diversion of arms to human rights abusers, and the most recent version of the treaty's text expressly prohibits the regulation of firearm ownership within sovereign nations.

The preamble of the July 26 treaty draft clearly "reaffirm[s] the sovereign right and responsibility of any State to regulate and control transfers of conventional arms that take place exclusively within its territory, pursuant to its own legal or constitutional system." Furthermore, the Department of State has stated that it will oppose any treaty that contains "restrictions on civilian possession or trade of firearms otherwise permitted by law or protected by the U.S. Constitution."
The gullibility of the gun-rights folks is really funny.  When Wayne tells them to be afraid, or to be outraged, they obey blindly.  They love to perceive themselves as victims fighting to the death against overwhelming odds.  I've named this phenomenon grandiose victimism.

What's your opinion?  Will the pronouncement of the Heritage Foundation ease their troubled minds?  I doubt it.

Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting Death - San Antonio Man Gets the Book Thrown at Him

 Local news reports

A San Antonian who told police he accidentally shot a fellow gang member in the head while playing with a gun as they celebrated a friend's release from juvenile detention agreed Thursday to a 25-year prison sentence.


Michael Juarez, 31, pleaded no contest to manslaughter in the March 2010 slaying of Johnny Trevino Jr., 17, at a home near Jefferson High School. 


Juarez initially was arrested on a charge of manslaughter, but a year later police enhanced the count to felony murder — a designation in which intent to kill is not necessary.

A person can be charged with the offense if a death is caused in the course of committing a felony — in this case, felon in possession of a firearm.


That's a helluva sentence for an unintentional shooting. Often we see lawful gun owners who do something like this receive a slap on the wrist with a warning to be more careful.  Does it seem right that a disqualified person should receive so much more?

Sentencing disparity is one of the big problems facing gun control advocates. The whole thing needs to be regularized.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Off-Duty Los Angeles Cop Commits Murder

Los Angeles Times
A veteran Los Angeles County sheriff's deputy was arrested Wednesday for allegedly shooting and killing a man in Sylmar while off-duty in June, authorities said.

The deputy, Francisco Gamez, 41, has been with the department for 17 years and was last working as a station detective in West Hollywood.

Law enforcement sources told The Times that the deputy's son got into a dispute with another person. The son, they said, called his father to the scene. The deputy allegedly drove up soon after and exchanged words before opening fire from inside his car, striking one man, the sources said.

He then allegedly drove a short distance before shooting at a second person, added the sources, who asked for anonymity because the investigation is ongoing.

The other victim, Armando Casillas, 38, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead from a gunshot wound to the chest just before midnight on June 17.
The defensive pro-gun folks always claim cops are worse than civilians at causing collateral damage and committing gun negligence. I suppose they're worse at losing their tempers and committing murder too.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Rachel Maddow has More on the Sore Losers

via Democurmudgeon

Texas Gun Owner Leaves Gun in the Pickup - It's Stolen


Local news reports
A New Braunfels man reported to police that someone stole his handgun from his pickup truck while it was parked at a local restaurant last week, a police spokesman said.

Also stolen, along with his .357-caliber Smith & Wesson handgun, were his 25-year-old spurs, said Capt. John McDonald of New Braunfels Police Department. The victim valued the gun at $400 and the spurs at $500.
Gun-rights fanatics will never admit that failure to safely store a gun which is then stolen is wrong.  They will do everything to resist accepting this responsibility. They blame the thief, of course, which no one could deny, but they do it to the exclusion of all else.  The fact is, leaving a gun in a vehicle is not safe and responsible behavior.

The other trick they have is to blame the law which says guns aren't allowed in the restaurant or the post office or wherever the gun owner happened to be going when he decided to leave the gun in the car. If it weren't for that silly law, they cry, he wouldn't have been forced to do it. Of course, failing to hold the gun owner accountable, they conveniently forget that he had choices.  He could simply not go to that place which prohibits guns, or, and here's a real shocker, he could leave the gun at home in the safe. That's assuming he owns a gun safe, which most of these cavalier, irresponsible gun owners do not.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Oklahoma Concealed Carry Guy has Gun-Dropping Incident

Local news reports
A gun went off at a Tulsa hospital where the speeding bullet barely missed flammable medical equipment. Officers responded to a call at the hospital on Monday and learned a patient’s gun fell out of his jacket in the doctor’s room and fired. No one was hurt. 

"It's clearly a violation and you have to follow the rules,” said Tulsa Police Sergeant Kurt Dodd. Signs posted on the doors at St. John Medical Center warn patients they can’t bring a gun into St. John.  

"He stated he always carries his gun with him," said Dodd. A Derringer, small two-shot pistol with no trigger guard. 

During the St. John incident, police took away the man’s concealed carry license and sent it to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations. OSBI will determine if his license will be revoked. Police did not arrest the man but the District Attorney could charge him with reckless handling of a firearm. That would require jail time and a fine up to $1,000. Oklahoma state law prohibits gun owners from carrying firearms concealed or openly into airports past TSA security, public meetings, schools, federal buildings, courthouses, college campuses, sporting events and bars. OSBI reports last year they issued 24,000 handgun licenses and less than 2% were revoked and only two were for recklessness.
How much you wanna bet his license is not revoked?  That's one way the keep the percentage down.  The other, the main one is that no one is checking if people who commit crimes have a concealed carry permit.  It just doesn't come up.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Lawful Pennsylvania Gun Owner Shoots Girl for Spotting Deer

Local news reports
Police have charged a man with aggravated assault for allegedly shooting a teenage girl who was using a spotlight to look for deer near his southwestern Pennsylvania home.

State police say Jeremy James Pritts shot a 17-year-old girl Sunday night after she used a spotlight from the back of a pickup on an outing with her parents.

Investigators say pellets from the shotgun struck Cortney Snyder in the arms, face, chest and abdomen. Her parents called an ambulance from their nearby home.

Police say Pritts admitted firing at the light, saying he was frustrated with spotters and poachers in the area. He was released on bail Tuesday following his arraignment. Court records don't list an attorney for him.
He was frustrated, so he used a gun. What else would he do?

The problem is guys who act like this with guns are not the rare cases the pro-gun crowd claims they are.  They are all too numerous.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

More on the Burney CA Kid Shooting

Local news reports with video.
Our original post.

Wednesday morning detectives released new details about the events that led to the arrest of Kevin Venia, 30 of Burney.  They said he initially misled investigators about owning the weapon.

The incident happened Monday morning at Venia's home at  37126 Highway 299 in Burney.  The Shasta County Sheriff's Office Major Crimes Unit along with the Burney detective completed interviews in this case. They learned that Venia had a sawed-off shotgun in his residence for a couple of weeks.

On Monday, he took the shotgun off of a shelf and began to play with it in front of his children. According to investigators, he then placed the loaded shotgun onto an ottoman where his kids were playing.

Venia then left the residence leaving the kids alone with the shotgun in reach. After a short time, the shotgun fired severely injuring the 4-year-old girl and 2-year-old boy. Through statements of the 5-year-old son and his mother, it is believed that the 5 year old child got a hold of the shotgun and accidentally shot his siblings.
One sure way to get arrested is to lie to the cops. Of course this guy should have been arrested anyway, no question.  The part I don't get is that someone isn't always arrested when a kid gets hurt with a gun.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting in Texas - Three People Hurt Including a Baby - No Charges

Local news reports
According to police reports, several people were in the apartment at the time of the shooting. A 19-year-old woman was seated holding the infant. At the same time, a 21-year-old man was unloading a 9 mm pistol. 

When the pistol accidentally discharged, it struck the man in his left hand. It then struck the young woman in the left hand before striking the baby in the face. The bullet continued on and entered the residence next door, where it lodged in a piece of furniture. No one was injured in the adjoining apartment.

The investigation into this incident is continuing. No charges have been filed, and no arrests have been made in this incident. At the time, Sowell said the incident is being treated as an accidental shooting.
In Texas, as in most states, if it was an "accident" there will be no charges. They wouldn't want to deprive this young man of his god-given, Constitutionally-protected, basic human rights too lightly. He only shot three people including an infant through his reckless negligence.

What's your opinion? 

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Where Did the Debt Come From?

The Benefits of Concealed Carry

Bill O'Reilly on the Left

Accidental Shooting in California - Two Kids Hurt - Gun Owner Arrested

Local news reports

Shasta County Sheriff’s deputies say 29-year-old Kevin Venia left his gun out on an ottoman in his Burney home where his children were playing. Somehow, deputies say, the gun went off after Venia left the room and two of his kids were injured.

The weapon is described by investigators as a “long gun,” possibly a shotgun or rifle.

Venia was arrested for child endangerment.
He was arrested for child endangerment and not for being a felon in possession of a firearm. You know what that means, right? It means that up until his arrest he was a lawful gun owner of the hidden criminal variety. It seems to me they outnumber the true lawful gun owners.

Why do you think this guy was arrested when so many others are not, this one for example?

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Derek Carlile Gets a Mistrial

Local news reports

Derek Carlile's daughter Jenna was killed after he left a gun unsecured in the family's van while Carlile and his wife were out of the vehicle. His 3-year-old son got ahold of the weapon that went off, shooting Jenna in the stomach.  She later died at a hospital.

The jury told the judge that after several votes, it was deadlocked.  The judge questioned jurors, and declared a mistrial Tuesday afternoon.

Prosecutors said the little boy, who was used to playing with toy guns, saw Carlile's loaded .38-caliber service revolver, that the gun could have been put in a lockable storage box and that its safety lock was not engaged.

Carlile's attorney said the officer meant to put the off-duty weapon on his ankle, but simply got distracted and never meant to leave his children in danger.
That's as good as a not-guilty. Gun negligence is not taken seriously enough unless someone is killed. In those cases, especially if it's the gun owner's kid, the pity factor gets them a pass. How could a jury be deadlocked in a open-and-shut case like this otherwise.  They felt sorry for the guy.

A man who does something like this should never have another chance to misuse his gun rights. I don't see much good in putting him in jail, but the loss of gun rights should be a given.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

The Problem with Concealed Carry

The Daily Illini
There are a number of issues with this argument. First of all, most individuals when confronted with danger are not likely to take measured and calm action. With the presence of bystanders, the possibility of innocent, civilian death goes up tremendously. But even more strongly, the numbers just don’t back up the claim that a right to carry a concealed weapon reduces violent crime.

Fact-checking website Politifact also took issue LaPierre’s claim of a connection between right-to-carry and lower violent crime and rated his statement as “false” for its contention that data supports an “across-the-board” reduction.

The hard truth is that these arguments are not verifiable. In a 2005 study, The National Academies of Sciences concluded that “with the current evidence it is not possible to determine that there is a causal link between the passage of right-to-carry laws and crime rates.” Even more troubling, after analyzing the data the authors found that even the term “self-defense” is unclear in this context, writing, “We do not know accurately how often armed self-defense occurs or even how to precisely define self-defense.”
In my opinion, it's even worse than that. Not only is there no connection between concealed carry and crime reduction, concealed carry makes it worse. How often do we see a lawful gun owner, or even a concealed carry permit holder, do something wrong? Too often, and that's with the poor reporting we have.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Bad Scene at a Michigan Police Station

Freep reports
Harold J. Collins, 64, had been battling health problems for years, including a tumor on his face, when he walked into the Southfield Police Department on Sunday and without a word, tried to fire his gun at an officer.

Neither neighbors nor police could say whether the veteran purposely chose Veterans Day to walk into the station and brandish a gun nor can they say what motivated him to shoot at an officer after repeated requests to drop his weapon.

Collins was shot and killed by police officers, but not before a sergeant was shot in the left shoulder. Police are awaiting ballistics reports to officially attribute the shot to Collins.

Did you get that? They want to attribute the shot which wounded a cop to Collins.
According to police, he parked his white Dodge Caliber in the south-facing parking lot of the Police Department and walked into the lobby.

There, an officer behind protective glass spoke to Collins, who did not attempt to answer or make any gestures to communicate. Collins simply stared blankly before pointing a .38-caliber handgun at the officer and pulling the trigger.

But the gun didn't fire.

Five officers responded to the desk officer's call for help, emerging into the lobby and demanding that Collins drop the gun. He didn't comply, and the gunfire began, although it isn't clear from police statements who shot first.
So, he either had no bullets in the gun or it was malfunctioning. Too bad there wasn't one cop on the scene heroic enough to handle the situation without blowing the guy away.  Not only that, they shot one of their own in the process and now want ballistics to prove it was Collins.

What's your opinion?  Shouldn't trained police officers show more restraint than that?

The story gives us a good illustration of  several things.  The fact that gun violence can happen anywhere, it's not limited to gun free zones, the fact that too many unfit people have easy access to guns, and the idea that no one is checking if people like this have concealed carry permits. 

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.




Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Marine Corps Veteran of Afghanistan Killed By Police

Local news reports

Police fatally shot a Camp Pendleton Marine who struck an officer with a car in a parking garage in Palm Springs, authorities said Monday.

The Marine repeatedly ignored orders to stop after being approached by officers on bike patrol around 2 a.m. Saturday, the Palm Springs Police Department said in a statement.

One of the officers partially climbed into the passenger window to stop the car, but the Marine accelerated, striking the other officer, the department said. The Marine kept driving with the officer hanging out of the window until the car crashed near the garage exit, it said.

Both officers were treated for injuries at a hospital and released. They have been placed on administrative leave while the department investigates.

The Marine died at the scene and the lone passenger, another Marine, was not injured, authorities said.

"In the course of these events, fearing for their safety and the safety of others both officers discharged their weapons," the statement said.
This is one of those intrepid warriors that the rah-rah patriots over on TTAG were celebrating the other day. The picture would have been taken during basic training, about three-and-a-half years ago. He looks to have been just 17 or 18. I doubt very much if the following jingoistic nonsense applied to him.

To answer the call for service, to put on the uniform and steel yourself to step in harm’s way, is a step in beginning to repay the debt of honor owed to our ancestors.

No, most who join are too young to possibly have such lofty motives.  In fact, most join for the wrong reasons, usually to escape one thing or another. Then boot camp training and a year or so in a combat zone, who could possible be whole.  As former servicemen, it's all about aggrandizing what they'd done.

No, these guys, in most cases are not heroes to be honored but suckers to be pitied.  They fell into the trap set by old politicians who almost to a man had not served. As I said the other day, if you consider the foreign involvements we've been engaged in over the last 45 years, is there anything there to be proud of?  No, there's not.  And to have participated is not something to be proud of either.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Maryland Student Arrested for Making General Threatening Remarks

The Washington Post reports

A Montgomery College student was taken into custody by Rockville police Monday afternoon after commenting that he “felt like shooting people just for fun,” a spokeswoman for the school said.

The student said he was upset over a breakup, according to Elizabeth Homan, the college’s communications director. No weapon was found, she said.

People the student spoke with on Montgomery College’s Rockville campus were concerned and went to the campus’s security office, and officials called in the Rockville police. Police and campus security eventually found him eating lunch, Homan said.

Rockville Police Lt. Eric Over said a decision on whether or not the student will face criminal charges is expected to be made Tuesday following an investigation.

Police issued a “letter of trespass” that prevents the student from coming onto campus for three years without permission of the college, Homan said.
It sounds a bit invasive, but how else are they going to prevent spree shootings unless they pursue leads like this? I'm a little uncomfortable with it, though.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Jon Stewart on the Petraeus Affair

2012 Election Breakdown

The New York Times has an awesome graphical breakdown of voting data from the 2012 Presidential election.
In case you had any doubt about how the country breaks down along gender, age, race, financial status, religion, education, and community lines, just have a glance at these stats.
  • Obama won "Women" by 11 points (55% to 44%). This was very important, because women made up 53% of voters.
  • Romney won "Men" by 7 points (52% to 45%).  Men were only 47% of voters.

Accidental Shooting in Washington Hair Salon - Woman Critical

Seattle PI reports
Responders said the incident took place at Headlines Salon, but police did not immediately have additional details.

Responders said the woman had a .45 caliber gun and shot herself in the chest. The bullet exited by her mouth and she was not responsive when medics found her. She was rushed to Harborview Medical Center with her spouse, medics said.

Police said it was not clear what happened before the shooting, but it was reported as accidental.
I'm betting this woman had a concealed carry permit. Why else would she have had a gun with her in the hair salon?

One thing for sure, if the news reporters don't pick up on it, no one is checking.  That suits the pro-gun folks just fine because they can continue to cite those false statistics that seem to indicate how safe and responsible permit holders are.

The truth is concealed carry permit holders are no safer than other gun owners, and everyone knows that leaves something to be desired.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

The Utter Stupidity of Guns on Campus

Local news reports
Two people suffered minor injuries on Nov. 9 when a gun accidentally went off at the University of Colorado School of Dental Medicine at the Anschutz Medical Campus in Aurora. 

A spokesman for the university says the owner of the gun is a CU employee and is currently on administrative leave. 

The injuries did not require hospitalization. 9NEWS received two newstips about the incident on Monday, one of which identified the person who owned the gun as a female staff member. 

University spokesman Dan Meyers says campus police are investigating the incident, and that the gun's owner had a concealed carry permit for it. 

The University of Colorado for many years enforced a ban on all weapons on its campuses, but in March 2012 the Colorado Supreme Court struck down the university's gun ban, which means visitors and staff members with a valid concealed carry permit are allowed to have guns on campus.
Where there are guns there is gun misuse.  It's a scientific and philosophical axiom.  In spite of all the pro-gun claims to the contrary, concealed carry permit holders are no safer or more responsible than anybody else. Why would they be, the requirements for obtaining the permit are so lax that anybody can get one.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Proof that the Republicans are Double-Talking Con Artists

via TYWKIWDBI

More Thoughts on Remembrance Day

My comment on The Truth About Guns in response to a enough jingoism to bring the house down.
I think you guys are full of it. Most young servicemen don’t know their ass from a hole in the ground. They join for all the wrong reasons. They end up in wars that old politicians, who usually have not served, cook up. It has nothing to do with the Constitution or service to the country. Some of them end up dying in the process, many more come home damaged. They weren’t the valiant heroes you’re pretending they were, they were lost children. 

Look at the last 5 or 6 “official” wars this country has fought and the last 20 or so unofficial actions. Are they something to be proud of? I think we should honor the war-resisters and the conscientious objectors. They’re the ones with real principles.

John Lott Admits His Book's Title is a Lie

I don't think that increased sales of any particular type of gun is associated with crime rates

Second Amendment Rights

via Baldr

For Remembrance Day

Alabama Woman Shot Accidentally by her Husband - No Arrest

Local news reports
A woman was flown to the hospital with injuries after an accidental shooting on County Road 179 in DeKalb County.

Sheriff's deputies said a man was holstering his weapon around 11:30 p.m. Saturday when the gun went off and hit his wife in the side.

Deputies are saying the incident was an accident.
When it comes to shootings, there's no such thing as an accident. It's either on purpose or else it's negligence. If it's negligence then one or more of the 4 Rules of Gun Safety were violated. If that's the case then one strike you're out should apply.

The reason this is important is that many of these negligent gun owners are not making their first mistake ever.  And, thanks to the nonchalance with which these incidents are handled, they won't be their last.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.


Accidental Shootings in South Carolina - Three of Them - Zero Arrests

Local news reports
Two people accidentally shot themselves in southern Beaufort County Saturday, while a third shot a hole in the floor of a Bluffton business Sunday, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies responded to a report of a shooting at Simmons Fish Camp on Hilton Head Island at 3 a.m. Saturday, where a man had allegedly shot himself in the calf. 

On Saturday evening, a 70-year-old man shot himself in the left hand while cleaning a .22-caliber revolver at his Sun City home. His wife reported the incident. The injured man's wife told deputies he had said the revolver was jammed before she heard a loud bang; deputies saw the spent cartridge was still lodged in the gun and could not be removed, the report said. 

Rounding out the weekend of accidental shootings, a manager at Montana's Grizzly Bar on Kitties Landing Road in Bluffton reported a customer had shot a hole in the floor at about 12:30 a.m. on Sunday. According to the report, the customer had reached in his pocket to pay and accidentally discharged a gun. No one was injured and the customer left before the manager could get any information.
In spite of the pro-gun insistence that gun negligence is rare, the news media have begun reporting these incidents like they report Chicago shootings, lumping them altogether.

The problem is that these three negligent gun owners were probably not making their first mistake ever, and thanks to the nonchalance with which these acts are treated, they won't be the last either.

There is a solution.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Sunday, November 11, 2012

No Charges for Negligent Georgia Gun Owner

Local news reports
No charges will be filed against the owner of a handgun that an 8-year-old boy brought to C.B. Greer Elementary School last week, said Rodney Ellis, chief of the Glynn County school system’s police force.

School police investigator Ricky Hilburn determined that the .25-caliber pistol belonged to a close friend of the child’s family and that the boy found the gun while visiting the elderly man, Ellis said.
The man was in another part of the house and was unaware the second-grade student was looking around, Ellis said.

The boy found the gun in a shoebox stored on the top shelf of the closet and removed it, likely standing on a chair or some other object, Ellis said.

Ammunition for the gun was stored away from it, and the owner didn’t know the gun was missing until police showed it to him, Ellis said. The child did not bring any ammunition with the gun. The owner also had never shown the gun to the child nor let him handle it, Ellis said.

“It does not appear from our perspective that the gun’s owner deviated from a reasonable standard of care,’’ Ellis said.

There is no probable cause to bring any charges, he said.
A shoebox in the bedroom closet is not my idea of safe storage. Of course, in Georgia it is considered adequate. That's the very definition of weak or non-existent gun laws.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

California DOJ Cracking Down on Disqualified Gun Owners

 Local news reports
Locked and loaded, special agents from the California Department of Justice are on the hunt for people who they say lost their rights to own guns, but still have them.

A KTVU news crew went on a ride along with these agents in San Leandro earlier this month as they searched for "armed prohibited persons."

There are 19,374 people in California who fall under this category and these people have an estimated 34,000 guns. As of last month, the California Department of Justice identified more than 2,700 of these individuals living in the Bay Area.
They should have been doing this all along. What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

The NRA's Political Clout Becomes a Joke

Beaumont Enterprise reports
The NRA fired mostly blanks in the 2012 election, spending $3.4 million to oppose Democrats who won six key Senate races.

The NRA's PAC and its Institute for Legislative Action also spent $11.7 million supporting defeated former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney and opposing President Barack Obama, according to campaign finance data for the 2012 election cycle compiled by the non-partisan Center for Responsive Politics and its Website, opensecrets.org.

In all, the National Rifle Association spent more than $17 million on the 2012 presidential and congressional contests, $11.9 million specifically in opposition to Democrats and $5.4 in support of Republicans.

With a membership of 4.3 million gun owners and gun-rights supporters, the NRA has long enjoyed a reputation as an influential lobbying group with enough clout to doom lawmakers from red states who oppose their agenda.

The 2012 election results undercut that perception, gun-control advocates insisted.

"It shows their influence over elections is a myth,'' said Brian Malte, political director of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. ``Right now, it's important to see that the NRA is ineffective, and if you're a politician weighing a vote and thinking `the NRA can take me out,' well, they don't have a very good track record.''

That's two presidential elections in a row.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Michigan Highway Shooter - Lawful Gun Owner - Charged With Attempted Murder

USA Today reports
A Wixom man accused in a series of shootings across four Michigan counties last month was charged Friday with 60 counts — including attempted murder — involving eight shootings.

Raulie Wayne Casteel, 43, is being held without bond on the assault with intent to murder charges.

One of his attorneys, Charles Groh, said Casteel is a college graduate who lived in Wixom at his in-laws' house with his wife and 2-year-old daughter. He said Casteel has been unemployed for the past two years, was financially supported by his wife, has never been convicted of a crime and was a stay-at-home dad.
It's amazing how the pro-gun crowd keep telling us how safe and responsible they are. Yet, we keep seeing stories like this one.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Colorado Man While Demonstrating Safe Gun Handling - No Charges, of Course

Local news reports
A man was showing his wife how to safely handle a gun Friday night when it accidentally fired, wounding him, police said.

Police officers were dispatched the home at 1964 Summernight Terrace at about 8:30 p.m. Friday. Jacob Cherry had been cleaning his handguns. While showing his wife how to handle the weapon, a round fired, police said.

The bullet hit the man in the left hand and left leg. He was taken to the hospital in good condition, police said.


There were no charges pending a review of the case.
Ironic and embarrassing but not criminal. It seems to me Colorado has the right idea on pot and the wrong idea on responsible gun ownership.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Jon Stewart Interviews Paula Broadwell, the Biographer/Girlfriend of General Petreaus

The Daily Mail 

Obama Won by a Landslide

Yahoo News reports
President Barack Obama was declared the winner of Florida's 29 electoral votes Saturday, ending a four-day count with a razor-thin margin that narrowly avoided an automatic recount that would have brought back memories of 2000.

No matter the outcome, Obama had already clinched re-election and now has 332 electoral votes to Romney's 206.
 
The win gave Obama victories in eight of the nine swing states, losing only North Carolina. In addition to Florida, he won Ohio, Iowa, New Hampshire, Wisconsin, Virginia, Colorado and Nevada.
I suppose there are different ways to define "landslide."Merriam-Webster says this:
a : a great majority of votes for one side
b : an overwhelming victory

A simpler way might be if Obama wins Florida and almost all the other swing states, that's a landslide. If this keeps up, I guess we'll have to reconsider who holds the crown this year.

Another way is to look at those electoral votes. The popular vote was a bit closer but not what some folks had hoped.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.