Saturday, September 26, 2015

We Lost Our Daughter to a Mass Shooter and Now Owe $203,000 to His Ammo Dealer


Jessica Ghawi

Huffington Post

We brought our lawsuit because we thought it was outrageous that companies could sell a dangerous man an arsenal without getting any information about him, and without making any effort to see if he was a dangerous killer -- which he was. When the killer had left a voicemail with a shooting range, the range operator knew that he was bad news and shouldn't be given access to guns. But these companies set up their business so people just like this killer can arm themselves at the click of a mouse. We wanted to change that. And we still do.

The judge dismissed our case because, he said, these online sellers had special immunity from the general duty to use reasonable care under the federal Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act and a Colorado immunity law. If you couple the PLCAA law with Colorado's law HB 000-208, (which says in essence: If you bring a civil case against a gun or ammunition seller and the case is dismissed then the plaintiff must pay all the defendant's costs), you have an impenetrable barrier to using the judicial system to effect change in gun legislation in Colorado.

Everyone else in society has a duty to use reasonable care to not injure others -- except gun and ammunition sellers.

To make matters worse, the judge ordered that we pay $203,000. This is an outrageous amount, especially given that this case was decided after one single motion! Lucky Gunner has said that it is going to donate all these fees to "gun rights" groups. The thought is disgusting to us that Lucky Gunner does not even plan to use this money to pay for their attorney's fees.

Friday, September 25, 2015

Connecticut's Mixed-Up Gun Laws - No Safe Storage Law but Reporting a Stolen Gun is Required

The Trace

Last Wednesday morning, police in the semi-rural Connecticut town of Orange received a flurry of reports that someone was breaking into vehicles. One of the callers was 66-year-old Vincent Brescia, who informed authorities that his loaded .38-caliber revolver had been snatched from the glove compartment of his unlocked truck, which was parked in his driveway overnight. The notice came well within the state’s mandatory 72-hour period to report lost or stolen firearms, but instead of officers leaving the scene with just an incident report, they charged Brescia with breaking the law.
 
Though he “expressed remorse for failing to lock his car,” Brescia was arrested for misdemeanor reckless endangerment, the Town of Orange Police Department announced on its Facebook page. Brescia’s pistol permit was also seized and sent to the licensing and firearms unit of the Connecticut State Police for review.

Anthony Cuozzo, the assistant chief of the Orange Police Department and a self-described “gun guy” who is also a firearms instructor, tells The Trace that Brescia was a “good citizen” for reporting his gun stolen. “But the number one tenet of responsible gun ownership is that the gun is properly secured and the owner maintains control of that gun,” he says.

New York Man Charged in Accidental Shooting


Man charged after tot accidently shoots mom  
Jonathan F. Coffey

Press Republican

A Lake Placid man faces felony weapons charges after his wife was accidentally shot Tuesday morning by the couple's 2-year-old son.
  Police said the 2-year-old was able to access an unsecured and loaded .40-caliber pistol.
The boy fired the weapon, police said, and the bullet hit his mother, Erin Coffey, 24, in the buttock and exited through her abdomen.
Further investigation revealed Mr. Coffey does not have a pistol permit in New York and thus is not legally allowed to possess the weapon, Lake Placid Police said.
As police executed a search warrant for the premises, they recovered a second loaded weapon, a revolver.

Skunk: A "degrading form of abuse" or safe, non-toxic alternative to rubber bullets?

Thursday, September 24, 2015

Kid Shootings - Small Price to Pay for Freedom

Another Failure of the Background Check System

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Florida Concealed Carry Permit Holder and Wife Beater Murders Deputy Rather than Give Up the Guns


Image result for Joel Dixon Smith
Joel Dixon Smith

CNN

A Florida deputy was shot from behind and killed after serving a domestic violence injunction Tuesday morning, the Okaloosa County Sheriff's Office said.


Deputy Bill Myers, 64, was working in Shalimar when he was struck by multiple bullets, including in his head and back.

The suspect, Joel Dixon Smith, was later killed in a hotel shootout with a tactical team, officials said.
Myers had served the papers, which prohibited Smith from having contact with his spouse, at the office of the suspect's lawyer and had talked to the suspect about surrendering his firearms, the sheriff said.

Severely Handicapped People Using Guns

From Hershel Smith at The Captain's Table (who also knows what God approves of)

During the first week of summer camp in 1992, a Scoutmaster approached me at registration and told me he had a young Scout in his troop who suffered from muscular dystrophy. The Scout was adamant about getting his rifle merit badge.
“I’m afraid he is just too crippled to shoot a rifle,” the Scoutmaster explained. “He can’t walk and he doesn’t have the arm strength to use crutches to walk. He is confined to a wheelchair, and we will have to carry him up to the shooting range.”
He also went on to explain that he had promised his parents that he would take good care of him if they would let him go with the troop to Scout camp.
The next day the troop up the hill with Tim on the Scoutmaster’s shoulders. I quickly ascertained that Tim could sit at the shooting bench and use his hands to stabilize himself and shift his position right or left as needed. A smile came over his face as I told him that in a way, it was a blessing that he didn’t have the strength to hold the rifle up himself.
That was because I was going to teach the boys to use a sling to support the rifle. All that was needed was his arm bone structure. The sling would hold the rifle for him and was perfectly in keeping with the requirements for the merit badge he sought.
When I shared this story with Kurt Hofmann, he told me about a loathsome worm who blogs under the name Mikeb302000.  Of this video, he says:
We cannot base our gun control regulations on an anomaly like this guy. Severely handicapped people are a danger to themselves and others when armed.
As if handicapped people have gone to Mikeb and asked for help in whatever he concludes is being safe.  Mikeb wants to be important and isn’t.  To Mikeb and all eugenicists of the world, I see the image of God in the boy in the story.  How sad for you that your view of life is so bleak and dark.  I pity you.  But only up to a point.

Perhaps after reading the report above, your heart will soften.  If not, I hope your head explodes.  In the mean time, I thought I would help the author of the story, Smokey Merkley, with a concluding sentence for the article.

And God smiled.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Guns are Just Another Tool

More on the Incredible Irresponsibility of Leaving Guns in Cars

Southern Beale

This is the kind of thing we warned about when the Tennessee Legislature forced guns-in-cars on us:
Several guns stolen from cars in Bartlett over weekend
BARTLETT, Tenn. — Four more guns are in the wrong hands on Mid-South streets Wednesday.
Bartlett Police confirmed three cars were broken into over the weekend and four guns were stolen.
One of the victims agreed to speak with WREG to prevent this from happening to others. He said he did not want to be identified because the crook or crooks are still out there.
“My stomach dropped. My heart sank,” he said.
The gun owner recalled the moment he saw the holster in his car was empty Sunday. The rag he used to cover the handle of the gun was on the seat.
You mean the magic invisibility rag you used to hide your gun didn’t work? Shocked face!
But this one for the win:
Police reports showed that all three cars that were broken into over the weekend were parked at home. Police reports suggested at least two of the three cars were left unlocked.
The man we spoke with admitted he left his car unlocked because he felt his neighborhood was very safe.
If your neighborhood is so safe, why the hell do you need a gun in the first place?

Southern Beale had a lot more to say about this insanity, but I'll provide just one more quote: "You. Fucking. Idiots."

Alabama Church Shooting - 3 Injured

James Minter 
James Minter has been charged with three counts of attempted murder after allegedly shooting a woman, an infant and a pastor inside a church. (Selma Police Department via AP) 

Local news

Witnesses told police that Minter entered the church and sat in the front row between his girlfriend and the baby, according to a statement released by the Selma Police Department. Minter then pulled out a handgun and started shooting, the statement said. The girlfriend fell to the ground, and Minter fired at her, striking her in the jaw and shoulder. The baby, a 1-month-old boy, was shot in the hand.

The church's pastor then grabbed Minter and was shot in the leg. Members of the congregation helped subdue Minter and managed to wrest away his gun, according to police. Minter then ran out of the church.

Monday, September 21, 2015

Donald Trump Commits to Position on Second Amendment

Guns dot com

In the post titled, “Protecting Our Second Amendment Rights Will Make America Great Again,” Trump addressed a number of topics about gun policy and highlighted boilerplate pro-gun arguments such as enforcing gun laws currently in place; fixing a broken mental health system; and defending the rights of law-abiding gun owners.

“We need real solutions to address real problems. Not grandstanding or political agendas,” he wrote.

He said gun and magazine bans are “a total failure”; a national right to carry “should be valid in all 50 states”; and U.S. troops should be able to arm themselves on bases and in recruiting stations.

He dismissed claims that background checks need to be expanded. “Too many states are failing to put criminal and mental health records into the system – and it should go without saying that a system’s only going to be as effective as the records that are put into it. What we need to do is fix the system we have and make it work as intended,” he wrote.

The GOA Denies Being Controversial

GOA-cover
Larry Pratt


Guns dot com

Lobbyist group Gun Owners of America raised issues with a recent article by Guns.com that discussed a shift in mainstream gun politics when presidential hopeful Ted Cruz said he was “honored” to be endorsed by the group.


The specific issues raised by GOA was our reference calling the group “controversial” because of connections and alleged connections to hate groups. The group penned an open letter to Guns.com — but never actually sent it to Guns.com — claiming inaccuracies.


To be clear, the article did not explicitly state that GOA was a hate group nor its executive director, Larry Pratt, a racist. However, because of accusations brought about by the lobbyist group and its members, we reviewed key details in the report that supported calling it “controversial,” particularly when compared to the much larger National Rifle Association.


Last September, GOA made headlines when it submitted an amicus brief challenging mandatory sentencing under the Armed Career Criminal Act. This was controversial because the defendant in the case was Samuel Johnson, a convicted felon, repeat violent offender, and known neo-Nazi who had been accused of plotting terrorist attacks.

Sunday, September 20, 2015

New Hampshire: Constitutional/ Permitless Carry Legislation Dies on “Veto Day”

Ammoland

Yesterday, September 16, the New Hampshire Legislature reconvened to debate overriding the legislative vetoes made by Governor Maggie Hassan during the 2015 legislative session.

After a short debate, the Senate decided to sustain the Governor’s veto of Constitutional/Permitless Carry legislation, Senate Bill 116. With a final vote of 13-10, the Senate effectively killed the bill.

As previously reported, SB 116 (R-Bradley) was vetoed by the Governor this past summer. This critical legislation would have allowed all New Hampshire residents, who are not prohibited by law from possessing a firearm, the right to carry concealed without obtaining a concealed firearm license.

New Data Adds Another Strike Against Vermont’s Reputation as a Gun-Filled, Violence-Free Oasis

 The Trace

Vermont does face a dilemma of gun violence, one that carries a grisly association with domestic violence. This month, the Violence Policy Center released the newest iteration of its continuing study tracking the number of women murdered in the United States by men. As it turns out, Vermont has the eighth-highest rate of any state, with 1.58 victims killed per 100,000 people. Of those slain by men they knew, three-quarters were intimates (wives, ex-wives, or girlfriends) of their killers, and two-thirds were shot to death. 
 
There is another tragic layer to gun violence in Vermont. In almost every year since 1990, the state has suffered a higher suicide rate than the country at large — a number that has continued to climb recently — and well over half of its suicides are committed via firearm. And the grim harvest of its weapon surplus can’t even be properly contextualized by looking at in-state numbers, since it’s also a northeastern hub of gun trafficking.

Again, in universal terms, the total number of homicides, domestic violence cases, and gun-related deaths is indeed small, which can make some of these rate statistics seem exaggerated. But the argument can be made that they’re also less deceptive than the happy reports of a Second Amendment oasis in the heart of New England. A truer picture lies in this final statistic: Vermont, which is virtually impossible to traverse without a car, is a state where firearms deaths outnumber traffic deaths.

Gun Violence Archive

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