Saturday, July 6, 2013

It's A Child's Second Amendment Right To Die

Apparently, in many backwards states (read: the South), it is perfectly acceptable to kill as many children as you wish provided you do it with a firearm.

To illustrate, it's virtually impossible for a day to go by without reading about yet another case where a child is killed by using an unattended firearm or having a friend or family member accidentally shoot them.  In just about every case, the adult gunloon isn't charged or in any way punished.

OTOH, if by any other form of neglect, a child dies--the adult can expect to be punished to the full extent of the law.

Oklahoma Boy Critical - No Charges for the Negligent Parents (Yet?)

Freak Out Nation


Women Lead Gun Rally in Indiana

From the Trenches

Adam Kokesh - The Newest Victim-Poster Boy



The Washington Post further to the video we posted yesterday and to replace the last victim-poster boy.

Sgt. Paul Brooks of the U.S. Park Police said officials became aware of the video entitled “Open Carry March on DC A Success” on Thursday morning.

“Adam Kokesh put up a video showing him loading what appears to be a shotgun in what appears to be Freedom Plaza,” Brooks said. “We checked the area and nothing was found. Now we are in the process of trying to authenticate the video.”

Brooks said it is unclear when the video may have been made.

Kokesh could find himself in legal trouble with his latest stunt if the video is authentic: Carrying a loaded weapon, concealed or unconcealed, is against the law in the District. The possession of a firearm not registered in the District carries a penalty up to a year in prison.

Trayvon Martin's Brother Testifies that it Was Trayvon Screaming for Help

Trayvon Martin's brother Jahvaris Fulton
Reuters/Gary W. Green - Trayvon Martin's brother Jahvaris Fulton takes the stand during George Zimmerman's trial in Seminole circuit court in Sanford, Florida July 5, 2013


The brother of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin testified Friday that it was his brother's voice screaming for help on a recorded 911 call the night he was killed by George Zimmerman.
But after Martin's brother, Jahvaris Fulton, first heard that 911 call, he told a Florida TV reporter that he wasn't positive the screaming was Trayvon's, Zimmerman's lawyer Mark O'Mara pointed out in court Friday.

"The best evidence is his own words he spoke to the reporter," O'Mara told a court during Zimmerman's trial for second-degree murder.

The question of who screamed for help on the 911 call is important because Zimmerman claims he killed the unarmed 17-year-old back in February 2012 because he feared for his life.

The month after his brother was killed, Fulton gave an exclusive interview to Miami's CBS affiliate, in which he shared memories of his brother Trayvon. During that interview, Fulton told a reporter that the words "You're gonna die tonight" — which Zimmerman says Trayvon uttered — just didn't sound like his brother.

When the reporter asked Fulton if it was his brother screaming for help, he gave this response: "I'm not sure. I haven't even really listened to them [the tapes] that good. I would think that's my brother, but I'm not completely positive that's him."



Missouri Governor Vetoes Extreme Gun-Rights Bill

 Yahoo News

Gov. Jay Nixon vetoed legislation Friday that would have made it a crime for federal agents to attempt to enforce federal gun laws in Missouri and could have landed journalists in jail for publishing the names of gun owners in the state.

The Democratic governor said the bill passed by the Republican-led Legislature violated the supremacy clause of the U.S. Constitution, which gives preference to federal laws over conflicting state ones. He said it also infringed on the First Amendment rights of free speech and press.

Judge Denies Request for Zimmerman Acquittal

Defense attorneys Mark O'Mara, left, Don West, center, stand with George Zimmerman during Zimmerman's trial in Seminole circuit court, in Sanford, Fla., Wednesday, July 3, 2013. Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder in the 2012 fatal shooting of slain teen Trayvon Martin. (AP Photo/Orlando Sentinel, Jacob Langston, Pool)

Yahoo News

A Florida judge has denied a request from George Zimmerman's defense attorney to acquit the neighborhood watch volunteer of second-degree murder for fatally shooting Trayvon Martin.

Defense attorney Mark O'Mara argued for acquittal Friday after prosecutors rested their case.
O'Mara said prosecutors hadn't proved their case. He said there was enormous evidence presented over the past two weeks that Zimmerman had acted in self-defense.

Prosecutor Richard Mantei argued the state had met its burden and that Zimmerman had lied about what happened.

Zimmerman is charged with second-degree murder for fatally shooting 17-year-old Martin last year. He pleaded not guilty, claiming self-defense.

Friday, July 5, 2013

Adam Kokesh Explains How to Stop the Government from Taking away Our Humanity


  Freak Out Nation

Adam Kokesh, the guy who planned an armed march on Washington D.C., has declared it to be a success. Contrary to his claim of success, the gun march was supposed to be today, and it was cancelled due to the police chief explaining that an armed march is not legal in D.C. and she will meet them before they cross the county line.

Kokesh says, “We will not be silenced, we will not obey, we will not allow our government to destroy our humanity. We are the final, American, revolution. See you next Independence Day!”

Adam’s definition of ‘success‘, must be that U.S. Park Police are aware of the video, according to a spokesman, and responded by going to Freedom Plaza to investigate the matter. Park Police officers did not find Kokesh, or any sign of a protest going on in the vicinity, nor can they determine how the video was recorded, and if and when Kokesh may have been to Freedom Plaza with a gun. And where are his fellow gun fondlers who are supposed to march beside him?

Another Open-Carry Kook Doing More Harm than Good to his own Cause

Another One Averted

Chris Matthews with Joe Manchin

Zimmerman Trial - Salient Points

Alternative Versions of the Star Spangled Banner



The Hill

Former Rep. Allen West (R-FL) blasted pop’s reigning queen of weirdness, Lady Gaga, for her rendition last week at a New York City gay pride rally of The Star-Spangled Banner. The singer substituted “home for the gays”  for the original lyrics “home of the brave.” Lady Gaga sang, “Oh, say does that star-spangled flag of pride yet wave / O’er the land of the free, and a home for the gays” while wearing a rainbow flag.

West blistered the pop star on Facebook Monday, writing:

Having served in the US Army for 22 years alongside some very brave men and women, I find Lady Gaga's defiling of our National Anthem reprehensible. We are the land of the free because America has always been the home of the brave from Lexington and Concord to Kandahar. This young lady should be taken to Ft. McHenry and given a history lesson as to why Francis Scott Key wrote those words incredible words. In this week where we remember the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and the 237th anniversary of our Independence is further evidence of the level of ignorance and disrespect some have for our national character. She and all those who cheered her abomination should be ashamed and apologize to every serving and retired member of our Armed Services. But perhaps I ask too much…

That's the same nonsense they said about Jimi Hendrix at Woodstock. Are you old enough to remember that?

 

Oliver Stone on the Tyranny of the Unitd States



Breitbart.com

Stone, the far-left filmmaker and apologist for liberal leaders worldwide, blasted the U.S. in a public appearance to promote his critically assailed series The Untold History of the United States at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival.

The director of Platoon and W. said NSA leaker Edward Snowden is a hero, the world should stand up to the U.S. and that the country's presence in the world must be countered.

It's a disgrace that Obama is more concerned with hunting down Snowden than reforming these George Bush-style eavesdropping techniques," said the outspoken, politically-charged filmmaker during an afternoon press conference at the Thermal Hotel in Karlovy Vary....
To me, Snowden is a hero, because he revealed secrets that we should all know, that the United States has repeatedly violated the Fourth Amendment." Stone said. "He should be welcomed, and offered asylum, but he has no place to hide because every country is intimidated by the United States....

Trayvon Martin's Body

Thursday, July 4, 2013

Ted Nugent for President - I Kid You Not


Ted Nugent is a musician and board member of the National Rifle Association. / Jack Kurtz, The Arizona Republic

Detroit Free Press

Ted Nugent for president? The Motor City Madman and gun enthusiast apparently is thinking about running.

A story for The Washington Post Magazine details Nugent's political activism and explains that the '70s-era rocker is indeed eyeing a White House bid. Arkansas former governor Mike Huckabee, who sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2008, says he'd help Nugent if he decided to run.

Nugent has already practiced his presidential campaign slogan. "Hi, I'm Ted Nugent, I have nine children from seven women, and I'm running for president," he told the Post's Steve Hendrix.

A presidential campaign may sound far-fetched, but there are people out there who would eat it up. Nugent for President memorabilia was all the rage at the recent National Rifle Association conference in Houston.

Whatever Happened to Eric Charlton?


FILE - This Dec. 20, 2012 file photo shows Eric Charlton, right, who pled guilty to accidentally fatally shooting his brother in the head during a camping trip, during his sentencing hearing in Nephi, Utah. After the sentencing, Charlton asked for a unique opportunity: to tell his story to kids and young adults, in an effort to deter them from making similar mistakes by mixing alcohol and guns. (AP Photo/The Salt Lake Tribune, Steve Griffin, Pool, File)

The last time we left the poster-boy of safe gun handling he had been sentenced to jail. Of, course all the charges were reduced to misdemeanors first.

Now, The Daily Journal provides a fascinating follow-up.

After Cameron's death, Charlton had an added stress when criminal charges were filed against him. Prosecutors originally charged the 28-year-old Weber County man with second-degree felony manslaughter. But after a preliminary hearing, 4th District Judge James Brady reduced the count to a class A misdemeanor.

In October, Charlton pleaded guilty to a class A misdemeanor count of negligent homicide and a class B misdemeanor count of carrying a weapon while under the influence of alcohol, and in January, Brady ordered Charlton to serve six months in jail.

But Charlton asked for a unique opportunity: to tell his story to kids and young adults, in an effort to deter them from making similar mistakes by mixing alcohol and guns. Brady granted the request, in part, ordering Charlton to serve 90 days in the Juab County jail and to make 90 presentations by July 2.

But during a review hearing on deadline day, defense attorney Susanne Gustin said Charlton had fallen short, having completed only 45 presentations. Gustin asked for more time, adding that Charlton's therapists are concerned with the presentations, because he is re-living the shooting every time he tells the story, and is not progressing as he should in therapy.

Brady extended the deadline to complete the other 45 presentations to the end of the year, but he also gave Charlton the option of returning to jail for an additional 45 days. Charlton said he is committed to telling his story because jail would be too easy.

Yeah, spending time in jail is too easy.  That's a good one. Or, maybe it's true.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Big Set-Back for New York Gun Rights - Appeal Denied in Suit Against New Gun Laws

A coalition of anti-gun groups and state officials joined New Yorkers Against Gun Violence (NYAGV) to mark the 6-month anniversary of the Newtown massacre on Friday, June 14, 2013 on the steps of New York City Hall. Leah Gunn Barrett, NYAGV executive director in a press release statement said 'the New York SAFE Act gives New Yorkers some of the strongest protections against gun violence in the country,' and joined the call for Congress to follow New York's lead and pass background checks.
A coalition of anti-gun groups and state officials joined New Yorkers Against Gun Violence (NYAGV) to mark the 6-month anniversary of the Newtown massacre on Friday, June 14, 2013 on the steps of New York City Hall. Leah Gunn Barrett, NYAGV executive director in a press release statement said 'the New York SAFE Act gives New Yorkers some of the strongest protections against gun violence in the country,' and joined the call for Congress to follow New York's lead and pass background checks. / AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

lohud.com

A state appeals court Wednesday rejected an attempt by gun-rights groups to block implementation of New York’s gun-control law.

Lead plaintiff Robert Schulz and more than 1,000 plaintiffs from around the state sought an injunction in March against the SAFE Act, the gun-control law enacted by Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the Legislature in January.


A Supreme Court justice in March denied the injunction, and a state appellate court Wednesday in Albany upheld the ruling. The groups could ask the Court of Appeals, the state’s highest court, to hear the case, but the court is not required to take it.

Wayne La Pierre

 NRA Head Wayne LaPierre As A Child Was A Real Monster

Glossynews

A recent biography of NRA Fuhrer Wayne LaPierre shows light on his character that reveals why he is so rabid on the topic of guns and their control. 

The new book entitled ‘LaPierre- Assault Mouth’, contains the following passages:

Chapter 2, page 32, describes a shrieking 6 year old LaPierre running rampant with a scissors in his hand. His teacher, Maura Tarala, trying to take it from him, suddenly found she had a miniature Tasmanian Devil on her hands.

“Wayne! Put that scissors down right now before you hurt somebody!”
No, I don’t have to!”


“Oh, yes you do, little man! I am the teacher!”


“You do not have full Congressional authority to do that! I have my rights!”


“Look here, you little brat. I am the authority here! You will do as I say and put those scissors down!”


“I will not! I don’t recognize your authority!”

Zimmerman Trial - Day 8

Trayvon Martin's parents Tracy Martin and Sybrina Fulton enter the courtroom after a morning recess in George Zimmerman secondnd-degree murder trial in the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin in Seminole circuit court in Sanford
Trayvon Martin's parents Tracy Martin (L), and Sybrina Fulton 

Yahoo News

Former neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman was well versed in Florida's self-defense laws before he shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, despite a previous claim to the contrary, jurors were told at Zimmerman's trial on Wednesday.

The contradiction came into evidence as prosecutors were preparing to wrap up their case on Friday after two weeks of testimony aimed at showing inconsistencies in Zimmerman's accounts of the February 2012 shooting.

Now that's a pretty big discrepancy. It sounds like George Zimmerman was not only thinking clearly when he wrote that statement we talked about the other day but perhaps he was thinking clearly even before the incident.

How do you get away with being a vigilante murderer?  Well, one way is not to deny the obvious. That's just stupid. And he almost got away with it.  He almost had them convinced.  But, now that they're checking everything, his story is full of holes.

Most damning is this:

Zimmerman, 29, has said Martin, 17, punched him in the face and repeatedly slammed his head into a concrete walkway. Zimmerman, who is white and Hispanic, could face life in prison if convicted.

Despite those claims, a DNA expert with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement testified on Wednesday that none of Zimmerman's DNA was found in scrapings of Martin's fingernails or on the cuffs or other parts of the hooded sweatshirt he wore on the night he died.

There was also no trace of Martin's DNA on Zimmerman's gun, the expert, Anthony Gorgone, told the court. Zimmerman has said Martin tried to grab the 9mm Kel-Tec semi-automatic before he shot him at point-blank range.

Police initially declined to arrest Zimmerman, accepting his story of self-defense.

The best Zimmerman can hope for is an acquittal and being known as another O.J. Simpson.  And considering the alternative, that would be a big win.

What's your prediction?  Will he be convicted or acquitted?

Please leave a comment.

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

A Typical Gun Owner

What about Illinois?

I'm surprised that Mike didn't mention Illinois governor vetoing parts of concealed carry gun bill saying "This is a flawed bill with serious safety problems that must be addressed".

Of course, I think that Illinois should have taken this up on appeal since the court said that "the majority of the 19th-century courts to consider the question held that prohibitions on carrying concealed weapons were lawful under the Second Amendment or state analogues".

Not to mention that the "may issue" laws were proposed by the same organisations which are trying to introduce the more permissive laws back in the 20s and 30s.

In the days when they had no problem with the Second Amendment and gun control...

I bet you lot love eating raw prawns--you certainly seem to be fed them quite a bit by your leaders.

And you call US "sheeple".

Open Carry - Gun Hand Entangled in a Dog Leash

That dog will hunt (courtesy opencarry.org)

Jim Morrison - December 8, 1943 – July 3, 1971

Connecticut Gun Control Laws

ABC Local

Adults 18 years and older can begin applying for the long gun eligibility certificates, which require completion of an instructional course and state and federal background checks. Those certificates or a valid state-issued gun permit will be required as of April 1, 2014, for anyone who buys or receives a long gun. The certificate will be good for five years.

Beginning Monday, adults 18 years and older can apply for the new ammunition certificate, which will require a national criminal background check. Starting Oct. 1, the sale of ammunition and ammunition magazines will be generally prohibited unless the buyer shows an ammunition certificate and a driver's license or other valid identification or has a handgun permit, gun dealer sale permit or long gun or handgun eligibility certificate.

People who've been involuntarily committed to a psychiatric facility, however, will now have to wait longer for such permits. Mary Kate Mason, a spokeswoman for the Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services, said the agency has always reported involuntary commitments to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System that occurred over the last 12 months. Under the new law, that review period will be extended to the previous 60 months.
Well, that's a little more like it. What do you think?

John Oliver on the Supreme Court and the Republicans



I love what Michele Bachmann said.

Zimmerman Trial - "Disregard that Testimony"





Prosecutors in the second-degree murder trial of George Zimmerman scrambled Tuesday to undo damage to their case by one of their leading witnesses, a Sanford police officer who interviewed the defendant hours after he fatally shot Trayvon Martin. 

The witness, Officer Chris Serino of the Sanford police, had testified under cross-examination on Monday afternoon that Mr. Zimmerman seemed to be telling the truth when he said he had fired his gun in self-defense. The officer’s remarks made for a dramatic moment in the trial — and clearly benefited the defense — but drew no immediate objection from the prosecutors. The court then recessed for the day. 

But early on Tuesday, citing case law, the prosecution successfully argued that Officer Serino’s comments about Mr. Zimmerman’s truthfulness should be disregarded by the jury. The judge then instructed the jurors, who are being sequestered during the trial, to ignore the officer’s statement — nearly 17 hours after he made it. 

Officer Serino’s testimony, in the second week of the trial in Seminole County Court, was the latest setback for prosecutors, whose witnesses have repeatedly helped bolster the defense’s case.

Of course this is not really a victory for the prosecution.  Any time the jury is instructed to disregard something that was said in court, they don't, they can't.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Gabby at the Range

CBS

Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., is reigniting her push for a federal law expanding background checks on gun purchases but with a strong emphasis on the idea that gun owners like herself should get behind stronger regulations.

To kick off her seven-day "Rights and Responsibilities Tour" on Monday, Giffords visited a shooting range in Las Vegas, Nevada.

"I am taking this week to pay tribute to the Second Amendment -- both the rights it bestows and the responsibilities it requires," Giffords wrote in a USA Today op-ed published late Monday. "In these divisive political times, gun safety and gun rights are too often pitted against each other. But Americans can meet in the middle. Now all we need is for our elected leaders to meet us there."

George Zimmerman Has a Bad Day in Court

Yahoo News reports

Volunteer watchman George Zimmerman suffered "insignificant" injuries in the fight in which he shot and killed unarmed black teenager Trayvon Martin, a medical examiner testified on Tuesday, as prosecutors attempted to undermine Zimmerman's claim he feared for his life.

In court on Tuesday, medical examiner Rao said Zimmerman's injuries did not involve great force and were consistent with one blow to the face and one impact with the concrete. He had a broken nose and two small cuts on the back of his head.

That's pretty much a bad day for GZ, but how about this?

Serino also said he thought Zimmerman had exaggerated his description of the blows that he claims Martin inflicted on him.

Despite Zimmerman's claim that Martin had put his hands over his mouth and nose to smother him, prosecutors have said there was no blood and none of Zimmerman's DNA on Martin's hands or clothing.

Tuesday, July 2, 2013

Kentucky Gun Owner Allows 4-Year-old Grandson to Shoot his 6-Year-old Sister - She Died - No Charges for Grandpa (yet?)

WSMV Channel 4

Huffington Post

19-Year-old Chicago Man Accidentally Shoots Younger Brother in the Head While Playing with Daddy's Gun

 Michael Whitney has been accused of manslaughter

The Daily Mail

A teenager shot his high school basketball star brother in the head while playing with his father's gun, a court has heard. 

Michael Whitney then attempted to cover his tracks by shooting out a window and moving his brother's body to another room on Friday, prosecutors have said. 

The 19-year-old had taken the semi-automatic handgun which belonged to his security guard father from a drawer before teasing his 16-year-old brother Malcolm.
Malcolm was a standout basketball player at Hyde Park Academy. 

At first police thought Malcolm, who was found face down on a sofa, died of an accidental self-inflicted gun-shot. 

But his older brother Michael was charged on Saturday with manslaughter and unlawful use of a weapon by a felon. 

According to prosecutors, Michael approached his brother who was in the bathroom and pointed the gun at him.

Before setting the bail amount, Circuit Court Judge Adam Bourgeois Jr. said, 'The problem is, this tragedy would not have occurred if a convicted felon had not touched a firearm.

Does anyone really think the security-guard dad has no accountability in this? With a 19-year-old 4-time felon in the house, is it right to keep the gun in a drawer?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Colorado Gun Laws Take Effect in Spite of the Expected Resistance

Fox News

"This is a very poorly thought-out, irrational law. And the shame of it is it's not going to stop one criminal from doing harm to anybody," said Paul Paradis, owner of Paradise Sales in Colorado Springs. Paradis said most of the magazines that will be banned soon have already been sold out at his store. 

He'll still do the checks for customers who buy firearms at his store because it's figured into his business costs. But he said he'll turn away those who show up at his store for a background check to sell a gun to someone else. In addition for the actual cost of a check - about $10 - the law says gun shops can't charge a service fee of more than $10 for those private sales. Business owners say they can't afford to do that. 

Those background checks currently cost stores $50 of processing work, said Richard Taylor, the manager at Aurora's Firing-Line. 

"We'll lose money if we do at it $10," Taylor said. 

Gun dealers are not mandated by law to do the checks on private sales, but it's the responsibility of a private seller to arrange the check through a dealer before transferring a firearm.

So, we've got one gun shop owner claiming to know the future and another flat-out lying about  "$50 of processing work."

What do you think? Will the new Colorado laws stand up to all the resistance?

Please leave a comment.

Zimmerman's Hand-written Statement Read in Court



To me this seems like even a better day for the Defense than the day Rachel Jeantel testified.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Zimmerman Trial - Week 2 - What to Expect

Monday, July 1, 2013

Slate Mistakenly Represents DGUs vs. Gun Crime

Slate

7. Guns are used for self-defense often and effectively. “Almost all national survey estimates indicate that defensive gun uses by victims are at least as common as offensive uses by criminals, with estimates of annual uses ranging from about 500,000 to more than 3 million per year … in the context of about 300,000 violent crimes involving firearms in 2008,” says the report. The three million figure is probably high, “based on an extrapolation from a small number of responses taken from more than 19 national surveys.” But a much lower estimate of 108,000 also seems fishy, “because respondents were not asked specifically about defensive gun use.” Furthermore, “Studies that directly assessed the effect of actual defensive uses of guns (i.e., incidents in which a gun was 'used' by the crime victim in the sense of attacking or threatening an offender) have found consistently lower injury rates among gun-using crime victims compared with victims who used other self-protective strategies.”

I don't know where the "300,000 violent crimes involving firearms in 2008" comes from.  I thought it was more like 500,000.  But the problem is this figure does not include all the kinds of incidents that are included in the DGU count. DGU estimates are based on a calculation that a certain percantage are unreported brandishings.

So, the Slate editorsseem to have been trying too hard to be fair and objective to have allowed such an apples and oranges comparison as that.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Lawful Louisiana Gun Owner Charged with Negligent Homicide - AR-15 Used



Local news reports

A 16-year-old is dead after being shot in the neck by an acquaintance holding an AR-15 rifle.

Police tell WWL-TV a 23-year-old was showing a group of people the newly-acquired weapon at around 1:00 a.m. in the 200 block of James Drive in Marrero when the incident happened.

The gun owner later told police he didn't know there was a round in the chamber, and "that he pulled the trigger to clear the weapon and it went off, striking the victim in the neck," according to WWL-TV.

Emergency responders prounounced the teen dead on the scene.

Update:  JPSO (Jefferson Parish Sheriff's Office) Spokesman Col. John Fortunato says Christian Cardon, who police say admitted firing the weapon, was booked this morning with one count of negligent homicide.
 

Forgetting there's one in the chamber happen more often in states like Louisiana.  And pulling the trigger to clear the chamber while aiming at another person takes a special kind of intelligence and gun-safety training.

If there were proper screening and qualifying done before issuing a gun ownership license, many incidents like this would be avoided.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

The Fear-driven Market - Gun Sales



 

 CNN

Reasons for owning a gun have changed. 

A national survey published in March by the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press reported that nearly half (48%) of gun owners say the main reason they own a gun is for protection, up from 26% who gave that answer in 1999. 

Less than a third (32%) cited hunting as the main reason, down from nearly half (49%) in 1999.
The findings make no sense, since violent crime in the country overall has dropped by 48% since 1993, according to Kellermann.

Perhaps even more important -- and less understood -- is the evidence that the benefits of keeping a gun for protection are far outweighed by the risks, he said.

But those studies are more than 17 years old and out of date, which is why, he said, new research is needed.

Sunday, June 30, 2013

Guns, Lies, and Suicides

Huffington Post

Whereas the NRA would have us believe that the solution to our alarming homicide rate is more good-guy guns and greater accessibility, that argument has been refuted beyond dispute when it comes to suicide. A recent landmark review by the Harvard School of Public Health begins with, "Every study that has examined the issue to date has found that within the U.S., access to firearms is associated with increased suicide risk." Based on hard scientific data, the unanimous verdict is in. Period.
From a multitude of statistics, I will cite a few that seem especially revealing:

  • In rural America, where guns are a far more accessible part of the culture, people ages 10-24 are twice as likely as their urban counterparts to commit suicide, overwhelmingly by gunfire.
  • 1.1 million people attempted suicide in the U.S. in 2012. A suicide attempt by gunfire is nearly always fatal. Only one in sixty suicide attempts by all other means combined is fatal.
  • A 2012 study found that suicide has surpassed auto accidents as the leading cause of injury-related death in the U.S. Gunfire is the fastest growing method.
  • A 2007 study compared 39 million people from the 15 states with the highest gun ownership versus 40 million people from the 6 states with the lowest gun owner prevalence. There were 9,749 firearm suicides from the high-prevalence states versus 2,606 from the low-prevalence states. Both groups had approximately 5,000 or so non-firearm suicides.
  • The oft-quoted study of sweeping gun control regulation in Australia, following the 1996 mass murder of 35 people by a lone gunman, resulted in a 65 percent annual drop in suicides by gunfire with no increase in suicide by other methods. A successful gun buy-back program reduced the rate still further by as much as 74 percent. These results only slightly exceed the drop in homicides by gunfire (59 percent), again with no increase in homicide by other methods.

Tennessee Rep. Joe Carr - Double-talking Flim-Flam Artist


For one thing, no one is talking about "removing the Second Amendment." But, even if they were, there's no reason to say its removal would jeopardize the others. This is an oft-repeated lie on the part of gun-rights fanatics.

Besides all that, he's got that insufferable arrogant way of referring to the Founding Fathers and instructing us about their intentions.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Ohio 12-Year-old Commits Homicide-Suicide with Granddad's Gun

Local news reports

Jackson County autopsy results from two boys show the half-brothers were fatally shot as a result of an apparent accidental homicide-suicide on Wednesday morning in Jackson, Ohio. 

Jackson officials say 12-year-old Austin Wiseman put a .44 caliber handgun to his chin and shot himself in the head after accidentally shooting 9-year-old Blake Campbell. 

Officials say the two bodies were found just feet apart on the second floor of their grandparents’ home on E. South St., along with the gun and hollow-point bullets. 

Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigations spent more than nine-hours investigating the scene. Neighbors say this is something they would never expect in their community. 

 "Nothing like this happens here," Bartam said. "It's very sad. It's heartbreaking." The boys were left home alone while their grandparents were visiting a local hospital.

What they meant to say  is the grandparents left them alone WITH ACCESS TO A HANDGUN while they were visiting the hospital.

Like most people who have "gun accidents," this Ohio boy had probably been raised with guns and gun safety. His parents and grandparents probably de-mystified guns for him. Yet, look what happened.

The grandparents should be in jail for child endangerment and for having allowed access to firearms to minor children.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.