Saturday, August 25, 2012

Republican Women for Obama

Irresponsible Florida Gun Owner Learns a Lesson

via The Blaze including video

A Florida man says he will no longer carry a loaded gun in his car after a disturbing incident at his Port St. Lucie home. Someone apparently wanted to teach him a lesson in gun safety.

Mike Maisonnueve told local police that his gun, bullets and a knife were stolen from his unlocked vehicle parked in his driveway. After realizing his car had been broken into, he started making his way back into his house when he noticed a bag next to the front door, with words scribbled on either side.

One message read: “LOADED GUN unlocked car = STUPID!!”

On the other side: “LOTS of children in the area.”

Inside the bag were Maisonneuve’s gun and knife, but missing were the bullets.

”I learned a lesson, a valid lesson” Maisonneuve told WBPF. “I should not carry a loaded firearm in my car.  My mind’s been other places the last week or so. I thought I locked my car. Apparently I didn’t,” he added.

While the person who pulled the stunt may have gotten his or her point across, police are currently looking for the suspect who removed and gun, ammunition and knife from the vehicle. The suspect could face charges of armed burglary.
Isn't it typical of Florida that the criminal in this case is the one who took the gun and returned it? The dangerous and irresponsible gun owner gets a pass.

It's situations like this that ensure Florida's continued possession of The Crown.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Anders Breivik

 The London Evening Standard reports


Mass killer Anders Breivik could be freed after serving just 10 years in jail for his shooting and bombing massacre that left 77 people dead.

The confessed murderer was today declared sane by a Norwegian court and sentenced to 21 years in prison, with a 10-year minimum, for the worst atrocities ever witnessed in the nation’s peacetime history.

As the sentence was passed a wry smile appeared to cross the face of Breivik, 33, who had fought to be recognised as “criminally liable” for the attacks last summer — describing them as “cultural self-defence” to halt the “Islamisation” of Norway.
What's your opinion? Does the Norwegian system of justice seem a bit too mild?  I don't know.

Eligible in ten years doesn't mean much, even Charles Manson eventually became eligible.  That doesn't mean he gets out.

If Brevik does the entire 21 years, upon release he'd certainly be under the strictest surveillance, what's the danger?

Overall, I think their system is good.  They have a smaller percentage of their population behind bars, compared to the US, and their recidivism rate is much lower.

Our way doesn't work.  That's for sure.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of CT Man by Young Boy - No Charges

Local news reports

A man was taken to the hospital after being shot by a young boy in Prospect Friday night.

State Police said the 7-year-old boy accidentally shot his 51-year-old neighbor Anthony Joseph Delucia, in the upper chest. Police said the shooting appears to be accidental, and the weapon used appears to be a small caliber handgun legally registered to Delucia.
The 7-year-old could just as easily have shot himself in the head.

Every time a kid gets ahold of a gun, an adult should be held responsible. In this case, the gun owner should go straight from the hospital to jail.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Omar Cruz - Gun Flow

And you thought gangsta rap was passé.

2 Dead, Several Wounded Near the Empire State Building

The Wall Street Journal reports

A laid-off apparel designer allegedly gunned down a former co-worker outside the Empire State Building on Friday morning, prompting a confrontation with New York police that killed the shooter but left nine others wounded on a crowded rush-hour Manhattan sidewalk.


The bystanders were most likely wounded by police in the 9 a.m. incident in the shadow of one of the nation's most recognizable landmarks.

Dressed in an olive-green suit and tie and carrying a black bag, Mr. Johnson hid behind a van outside the firm's office, then approached Mr. Ercolino and shot him once in the head with a .45 caliber semiautomatic handgun. Mr. Johnson then stood over the body and shot several more times. 


Mr. Johnson walked "very calmly" away from the scene, said police spokesman Paul Browne, but was followed by two construction workers who called for help to two police officers posted at the front entrance of the Empire State Building. The officers confronted Mr. Johnson, who took out his gun and pointed it at them from a distance of about eight feet. 


"He had the gun out and he pointed it right at them," Mr. Kelly said, citing surveillance video. Officers "returned fire when he pointed the gun at them." The officers fired a total of 16 rounds, striking Mr. Johnson at least seven times and killing him.

He bought the Spanish-made .45 semiautomatic handgun legally in 1991 in Florida, but wasn't licensed to possess the weapon in New York City.
From eight feet away, those cops only hit the guy with half their shots? Isn't such poor marksmanship unacceptable? People who carry guns, whether in law enforcement or not, must be better trained than that. Don't you think?

What about the ease with which people can buy guns in Florida?  Is that a factor?  I say yes.  Buying guns legally should be strictly controlled.  Fewer unfit people would have them.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Why Romney Cannot Win


Paul Ryan still opposes abortion with no exceptions for rape, incest, or the health or life of the mother. Mitt Romney isn't willing to go that far, but he has supported a personhood amendment to the Constitution that would effectively make Ryan's position the inalterable law of the land. Here's what you need to know about abortion rights. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, John Roberts, and Antonin Scalia think Roe v. Wade and Casey v. Planned Parenthood were wrongly decided and would overturn those cases. That would return the issue of abortion rights to the states, dozens of which are ready to ban the medical practice. There are five Justices who would vote to uphold Roe and Casey: Elena Kagan, Anthony Kennedy, Sonia Sotomayor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer.

Justice Ginsburg has only pledged to serve three more years. She's survived two battles with cancer, she's 81 years-old, and she recently fell and broke some ribs. If she cannot serve four more years, and Romney names her replacement, Roe and Casey will be overturned.
People probably think this outcome is unthinkable, but the modern Republican Party is a radical party. Look at Paul Ryan.

Friday, August 24, 2012

Alabama Gov. Don Siegelman Was Railroaded by the Republicans

The Reasons Behind Increased Gun Sales

via an interesting article in Forbes in which Frank Miniter argues that the surge in gun sales predatges Obama.

There are many other categories and statistics showing the tidal shift in gun ownership beneath this current wave of sales, all of which are related to legislative successes that freed up Second Amendment rights, judicial victories and a popular shift in the way American’s view guns. With all of this going on it’s a shame so many in the media are ignoring or cynically simplifying the movement behind gun sales. It’s just more convenient for them to say the surge in gun sales is only about fear of new gun-control legislation.

Though I don’t want to discount the fear. After all, when the Supreme Court twice comes within one vote of ruling that the Second Amendment of the U.S. Bill of Rights isn’t an individual right, Americans have a right to be concerned. When an incumbent president seeking a second term has already put two people on the nine-member Supreme Court who would vote away this basic human freedom, they have the right to be fearful. And when you realize that, if reelected, that incumbent president would have a good chance of getting a few more Supreme Court picks, and so could reshape the high court for decades, people have a right to be motivated to buy firearms now.
What do you think? He made some interesting points and connections to explain the increase in gun sales, but I still think this is the main one: "the Supreme Court twice comes within one vote of ruling that the Second Amendment of the U.S. Bill of Rights isn’t an individual right." 

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Jeff Cooper's 4 Rules of Gun Safety

RULE I: ALL GUNS ARE ALWAYS LOADED

RULE II: NEVER LET THE MUZZLE COVER ANYTHING YOU ARE NOT WILLING TO DESTROY
 
RULE III: KEEP YOUR FINGER OFF THE TRIGGER UNTIL YOUR SIGHTS ARE ON THE TARGET

RULE IV: BE SURE OF YOUR TARGET

Accidental Shooting by Ohio Cop - No Criminal Charges

 Local news reports
The prosecutor’s office determined the shooting was accidental and chose not to pursue criminal charges against the officer, Mike Volpe. Volpe, a detective, is back on the job.
Volpe was initially put on administrative leave with pay pending the outcome of the probe. He could still face departmental discipline as the city’s Internal Affairs office is now looking into the matter to determine whether any city police rules and policies were violated.

Investigators believe Volpe accidentally shot a suspect on Cleveland Avenue NW hours before the Aug. 4 parade. Volpe’s gun was drawn and it went off when he fell onto the ground.
How much you want to bet he gets a pass by the Internal Affairs too?  It was only an accident, right?

The fact is, you can trip and fall down all day long and as long as you're following the 4 Rules of Gun Safety, no one will get shot.  You might suffer a scraped knee, but unless you've got your finger on the trigger, which you shouldn't, the gun cannot go off.

This is unacceptable negligence.  When it's done by an officer of the law, it should be viewed as an automatic disqualifier as far as gun use is concerned.  People who do this are dangerous and cannot be trusted with guns.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting - Arkansas Man Kills Himself

Local news reports

A 59-year-old man in Boone County, Ark., is dead after an accidental shooting.

Boone County Sheriff Danny Hickman says deputies were called to 12057 Couch Bottom Rd. Tuesday. 

That's where they found Theodor Stansbery along the side of his home with a single gunshot wound.

Sheriff Hickman says investigators believe Stansbery may have tripped while walking outside his home and fell on his gun, causing it to discharge.

Stansbery's body has been sent to the State Crime Lab for examination to rule out any foul play.
I would imagine that people who experience deadly incidents with gun negligence are not always making their first mistake ever. In many cases this would be the culmination of a lifetime of sloppy gun handling. Sometimes they end up killing themselves, other times it's the neighbor's kid.

This is why one strike you're out is so important.  It's not simply a just response to a negligent incident, but a preventative measure for all future incidents.

What's your opinion?  Does that make sense to you?

Please leave a comment.

Dave Mustaine, Frontman of Megadeth, Hates Obama

The People's World reports

Dave Mustaine, frontman of thrash metal band Megadeth, has recently generated much controversy with his continuous flow of hateful, right-wing comments. But at an August 7 show in Singapore, he downright outraged musicians and an Aurora massacre victim when he suggested that President Obama was somehow responsible for various recent U.S. shootings.

The 50 year-old born-again Christian remarked, "Back in my country, my president is trying to pass a gun ban, so he's staging all of these murders, like the 'Fast and Furious' thing down at the border, and Aurora, Colorado, all the people that were killed there, and now the people at the Sikh temple.

"I don't know where I'm gonna live if America keeps going the way it's going, because it looks like it's turning into Nazi America."

The article goes on to explain that these rantings are a complete turnaround for Mustaine who actually supported Bill Clinton once upon a time.

His complete flip-flop on politics has confused many Megadeth fans and musicians, but Mustaine said his change of views came after he "ditched alcohol and became a born-again Christian."
The funny part about these Obama-haters, besides their born-again affiliations in many cases, is the fact that their ideas as so over the top as to be obviously mistaken.

Who could believe such nonsense?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Thursday, August 23, 2012

The Reason Romney Cannot Win

George Carlin on Pro-Life Conservatives

How Many Supreme Court Justices Do You Know?



Nine people helped determine the fate of ObamaCare this year—and most Americans can't name a single one. Two-thirds of us are unable to name a Supreme Court justice, according to legal website FindLaw.com's poll of 1,000 people. Chief Justice John Roberts was the most familiar name, known by just 20% of respondents. Only 3% could name Stephen Breyer, making him the least-known. The justices and their recognition levels, according to the Wall Street Journal:
  • John Roberts: 20%
  • Antonin Scalia: 16%
  • Clarence Thomas: 16%
  • Ruth Bader Ginsburg: 13%
  • Sonia Sotomayor: 13%
  • Anthony Kennedy: 10%
  • Samuel Alito: 5%
  • Elena Kagan: 4%
What do you think?

Murder Suicide in Indianapolis


13 WTHR Indianapolis

I wonder if he was a lawful gun owner and if he had a concealed carry permit. Often in these cases no one is checking, which makes the claims that very few lawful gun owners and CCW permit holders do stuff like this, wishful thinking at best.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Idaho Helicopter Shooter Goes to Trial

The Sacramento Bee reports

A north-central Idaho man who prosecutors say shot at a helicopter nearly two years ago is scheduled to stand trial in December.

58-year-old John Ross is set for a Dec. 4 trial in Shoshone County's 1st District Court on a felony charge of interfering with an aircraft. Ross pleaded not guilty to the charge earlier this month.

Prosecutors say on Oct. 14, 2010, Ross fired four shots at a helicopter owned by Hillcrest Aircraft Co. of Lewiston, hitting it twice. The pilot, Earl Palmer, was doing controlled burn work over Potlatch Corp. land in northern Idaho at the time, and he was able to land safely.
I'm not sure what type of weapon Mr. Ross used, but some states consider this a serious enough threat that .50 cal sniper rifles are banned.

Do you think that's an unreasonable concern?   Would such a restriction violate the spirit of the 2nd Amendment? 

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Cenk Uygur with Dinesh D'Souza

Author Dinesh D’Souza, whose The Roots Of Obama’s Rage is the basis for the newly-released hackumentary 2016: Obama’s America, is making the rounds to promote the film. On Tuesday night’s The Young Turks, host Cenk Uygur confronted D’Souza with the facts behind the film’s deranged view of President Obama, and asked him why he never complained about the George W. Bush policies that exploded the debt, and that President Obama is still paying for.
Credit D’Souza for submitting himself to an interview with a progressive outlet, and an aggressive progressive host, but he didn’t bring much else to the fight. Uygur began by challenging D’Souza on the defense budget. “The US military budget is now $695 billion, China is number two at $120 billion,” Uygur said. “We are about six to one ratio over our closest competitor. Jesus, how much money do you need we have to spend on nukes and defense spending before your friends, who are defense contractors, are happy enough?”



Mississippi and Tennessee Represent the Bottom of the Barrel

The Nashville Business Journal reports

Tennessee students' ACT test scores are in, and the results aren't pretty.

For the second-straight year, Tennessee's scores in the college aptitude tests were the second worst in the country, beating only the scores for Mississippi, The Tennessean reports.

According to ACT officials, 16 percent of Tennessee's graduating seniors in 2012 were ready for college.
This is the sad future of these states. Not much hope there.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Suspect by Transit Cop - No Charges

The Daily News reports

As one of the cops struggled with Pearson — who is homeless and has an extensive rap sheet that includes busts for assault and weapons possession — the second cop went to holster his service weapon to help, police said.

But the Sig Sauer 9-mm. pistol went off, firing one round into Pearson’s right calf, cops and witnesses said.

“It happened like an accident, he tried to put the gun back and bang — it went off,” one witness said.
“I thought my finger was off the trigger,” the cop allegedly said after the accidental discharge.
Gun-rights folks are always crying that the media is liberal and against them.  But, they don't say anything when, in story after story, the reporters describe things like this, "the Sig Sauer 9-mm. pistol went off."

They don't demand more accurate reporting, they don't point out that the gun is an inanimate object and not capable of an action like "going off."

And, did you notice how infrequently the word "negligence" is used in these daily reports? Practically never. The biased and dishonest gun-rights fanatics love that one.  It changes the whole thing from what it really is, an act of negligence, into "just an accident."

The cop in today's story should be riding a desk from now on and the most dangerous piece of equipment he should ever handle again is a stapler.  The one strike you're out rule demands it.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

You May Feel Safer With a Gun, But ...

You may feel safer with a gun, but you are in more danger.

Someone who owns a gun is far more likely to shoot himself, shoot a family member in an argument, or be shot by a family member in an argument, than to shoot a criminal. The suicide rate of gun owners is much higher than that of non-gun owners.

States with liberal gun laws and many armed citizens have higher crime rates than states with strict gun laws. The fact is that arming the citizenry will only increase gun violence.

Colorado Students in Class with Guns


So Colorado's supremes overrule CU's gun ban in Boulder and professors get to take it or else. Have to assume this applies to open carry as well if the college can not ban them in any form it seems.

Can you imagine a classroom where the students wear guns even if it's just one being displayed in that class?

This is where we're at these days and down the road there will be a price to pay for throwing common sense out the window to appease what manipulated people perceive as "freedom". This shit ain't right.
BOULDER — University of Colorado Chancellor Phil DiStefano notified the Boulder campus faculty Tuesday afternoon that professors "do not have the right to shut down a class or refuse to teach" should they learn that one of their students is lawfully carrying a gun under a concealed-carry permit.And, DiStefano added, any faculty members who do so will be in violation of their contracts and face disciplinary action.DiStefano's message comes a day after Professor Jerry Peterson, chairman of the Boulder Faculty Assembly, told the Camera that, under his own "personal policy," he plans to cancel class if he ever learns any of his students are carrying firearms. A Colorado Supreme Court ruling this spring overturned CU's Boulder campus gun ban, and university officials say that students with concealed-carry permits are allowed to bring guns into classrooms and labs. 

The Four Major Gun Control Laws Applied Federally

1. Licensing of all gun owners
2. Registration of all guns to a licensed gun owner
3. Background check required on all transfers
4. Three-day waiting period for first-time buyers

Accidental Shooting of Self by FFL Guy in North Carolina

Local news reports

A gun dealer shot himself in the hand just before a gun show in northern Charlotte Sunday morning.

Police haven’t released the name of the man, but said he was a dealer at the Dixie Gun & Knife Classic, which was held this weekend at the Metrolina Expo on Statesville Road.

“He was taking the gun out to display it and pulled the trigger and it went off,” said Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Capt. William Boger.

Detectives from the department’s assault with a deadly weapon unit are investigating, though the man is not expected to face any charges, Boger said. The man’s injuries aren’t life-threatening.

The event continued as scheduled.
The guy had a Federal Firearms License (FFL) and probably a concealed carry permit, but no one is checking on that.  In North Carolina you can get one of those without leaving your house.

Is it too severe to apply the one strike you're out rule to a guy like this?  I don't think so.

What do you think?

Owners of Loredo Gun Shop Indicted for Blatant Abuses of the Gun Laws

My SA (San Antonio, Texas) reports

Agents raided Jacaman Guns and Ammo and an adjacent business, A-Frame for You, on Monday and arrested the owners, Robert Jacaman Sr. and his wife, Veronica, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson of Houston said in a news release.

The Jacamans were indicted last week on charges that they conspired to acquire and sell thousands of rounds of .223-caliber ammo to an illegal immigrant; 1,000 rounds of .223-caliber ammo and 1,000 rounds of 7.62x39mm ammo to a Mexican national here on a nonimmigrant visa; and hundreds of .223-caliber ammo to a convicted felon. All are people prohibited from buying guns in the United States.

Prosecutions of gun shop operators are rare. It was the second indictment this year against gun store operators on the Texas border with Mexico.
Why do you suppose these types of indictments are so rare? Many believe the abuses are commonplace.  What's the problem?

My opinion is that lax or non-existent gun control laws make it nearly impossible to identify and arrest those involved in straw purchasing.  The solution is simple and would not interfere with the "sacred, god-given rights" of lawful gun owners.

One question is why do lawful gun owners oppose such regulations?  Are they so self-centered that they wouldn't want to accept even a tiny bit of inconvenience in order to clean up this mess along the border?

What do you think? What do you think will happen next?  Will the gun shop be closed permanently?  Will the abuse be stopped?

Well, if previous cases are any indication, what will happen here is the family won't miss a beat.  Sonny boy will take over and the gangster clientele won't even notice the difference. Meet Robert Jacaman Jr. on the right.

What's your opinion?  Is it too much to ask that when a licensed  firearms dealer is arrested, the family business is closed down permanently?  Are we really supposed to believe this is not a family disease, this law-breaking attitude of selling guns indiscriminately regardless of the law?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Murder and Suicide in Pennsylvania

Local news reports

Police in northeastern Pennsylvania are investigating a shooting that left two people dead and wounded a third as a murder-suicide. 

Authorities say 56-year-old Rodney Ezrapour apparently fatally shot 29-year-old Kristina Sue Adams at a home in Damascus Township, Wayne County, and wounded another man.

An official determination hasn't been reached but Wayne County District Attorney Janine Edwards says it appears Ezrapour died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Edwards says the incident appears to be a case of domestic violence.
Yes, ANOTHER case of domestic violence. Another case of a lawful gun owner gone bad. Perhaps another case of a concealed carry permit holder gone bad.  No one is checking, which is why all those stats the pro-gun folks like to throw around about how safe gun owners are and how rare it is for a CCW guy to commit a crime are worthless. No one is checking.

One thing we should be able to agree upon, even if we can't agree on the solution, is that too many unfit and dangerous people have access to guns.

Perhaps we should change the famous adage, guns are bad news for women, to guns are bad news, period.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

North Carolina Woman Commits Double Homicide

Local news reports

A North Carolina woman has been charged in the shooting death of her husband and his son in South Carolina.

Horry County police have charged 40-year-old Sandy Lee Locklear of Tabor City, N.C., with two counts of murder, burglary and filing a false police report.

Locklear is accused of shooting and killing her 66-year-old husband, Amos Hatfield, and his son, 40-year-old Thomas Howard Hatfield, at their home in Loris early Sunday.

Officials say Amos Hatfield had bought the home for his wife in Tabor City in June, while he lived with his son in Loris.
Retribution for domestic abuse is the first thing that comes to my mind, but really it could be anything. Heck, she could have been the abuser.

One thing for sure is, Sandy was one of the adherents of that school of thought which says "the gun is the answer."

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

The Lying and Twisting on "Guns Save Lives"

In their recent post about a new survey, Guns Save Lives had this to say.
In a new poll, conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute between August 8-12, it’s been found that over 2/3 of Americans think that the Second Amendment is just as important as the First Amendment. 
"As important as the 1st," I don't think that's exactly what the survey asked. At least I couldn't find that as one of the questions. For biased and mendacious people who interpret surveys with an axe to grind, I suppose you could take that from the results.

Here are some other FACTS that came out of the survey, according to a US News article about it.


- Just 11 percent of people say allowing more private citizens to carry guns for protection is the most important thing that can be done to prevent mass shootings, according to the survey. 

- Fifty-two percent of the public favor passing stricter gun control laws, while 44% are opposed.  

- Nearly 7-in-10 (69%) Americans oppose loosening current gun control laws, while 26% are in favor.
As far as legislative victories over the last few years, there's no question the gun-rights folks are winning. But, where public opinion is concerned, they are losing, losing, losing.

How long do you think it will be before the latter begins to affect the former?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Demand a Plan

Every day, 34 Americans are murdered with guns. That’s 48,000 Americans during the next presidential term.
Too often, the people pulling the trigger are able to buy guns because of gaps in our broken background check system. The shooter at Virginia Tech was a prohibited purchaser under the law, but he was able to buy the guns he used to kill 32 people because his mental health record was never submitted to the national database.
Five years after the largest mass shooting in U.S. history, new FBI data show that millions of records are still missing from the database. Every missing record is another tragedy waiting to happen.
Interactive Map

Neanderthal Attitudes in Georgia Lead to Extremely High Gun Violence

The Augusta Chronicle reports

The FBI’s 2010 Uniform Crime Report showed that 56 percent of aggravated assaults in Richmond County ended in someone being shot. The national average is 18 percent; in Georgia, 25 percent.

The Richmond County percentage is actually down from previous years. In 2007 and 2008, more than 70 percent of aggravated assaults were shootings – four times the U.S. rate and nearly three times Georgia’s rate.

 Of course the entire article presumes that all these incidents are done by criminals.  That's just not the case.  When two lawful gun owners have an argument and one of them commits a crime, from that moment on he's lumped in with the career criminals and the rest of the low-lifes.

It's deceptive and it's hard to identify how many of the offenders were formerly lawful gun owners. Naturally the rest of the lawful gun owners like to pretend this doesn't happen, that all the problems are due to criminals.

William Reese, a professor of criminal justice and sociology at Augusta State Univer­sity, said the area’s high rate of gun violence could be attributed to two major factors: Augusta’s location and the culture of the South in general.

“Here in the South, there’s a tendency to settle interpersonal disputes with violence instead of discussion or calling the police to intervene,” he said. “Firearms also carry prestige around here. It’s a symbol of status and kids want that reputation, that mark of manhood.”

“The availability of the guns is really all you need to know,” Reese said. “When the culture dictates that you solve those things with violence, shootings become statistically predictable.”
What's your opinion? Do you agree that the availability of guns combined with the Neanderthal attitudes prevalent in Georgia explains this phenomenally high percentage of shootings?

Is it something else?

Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting - Muskogen Man Pays Fine and Loses Gun

Local news reports

Norman Rashaad Young, 22, of Muskegon recently pleaded guilty to a reduced misdemeanor charge of reckless use of a firearm for accidentally shooting his girlfriend in the leg in their Amazon Building apartment April 29.

Young was sentenced to pay $275 fines and costs and to surrender his pistol to the Muskegon Police Department, according to court records. 

On the day of Young's plea July 30, the original charge of careless discharge of a firearm causing injury, a two-year high-court misdemeanor, was dismissed.
What does "surrender his pistol" to police mean? Is that like forfeit his right to own a gun from now on, or do they think taking away this particular piece will accomplish something?

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Monday, August 20, 2012

3,000 Years of Human History

(click once for a clearer and slightly larger view)

The Leaders of the NRA and What They Earn

via The Daily Beast

With some 4 million members and annual revenues of $228 million, according to the most recent figures available, the National Rifle Association is one of the country’s most influential and powerful lobbying groups. It has more than two dozen branches, including one focused on voter outreach and another that promotes hunters’ rights. There’s even one called NRA Country, which works to get country-music stars to sign up as spokespeople.

The group is credited with successfully lobbying for, and in some cases helping to draft, Stand Your Ground laws and legislation that allows people to carry concealed weapons in public. In the 2012 cycle, so far the NRA has funneled nearly half a million dollars’ worth of contributions to hundreds of congressmen, mostly Republicans, according to the Center for Responsive Politics’ review of FEC data. The NRA’s relentless work to protect Second Amendment rights, even in the wake of recent deadly shootings, has drawn criticism from groups that advocate gun control and nonviolence.

Here’s a look at some of the most influential people in the NRA, including paid executives and unpaid directors.
Please leave a comment.

509 Guns Turned in at Queens Church

The Daily News reports

A total of 509 guns were surrendered at a Queens church on Saturday as part of an effort to clean up street violence in the borough, the NYPD said.

Among the firearms collected in the six-hour buyback event at the New Jerusalem Baptist Church in Jamaica was an AK 47, a TEC-9; and a Calico 9mm with a 50 round magazin, cops said.

Amid a wave of gun violence that plagued the city streets this summer, the NYPD, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown and State Sen. Malcolm Smith hosted a gun buyback initiative. People turning in working handguns, rifles or shotguns received $200 bank cards.
Would one of the gun-rights fanatics mind reminding me again why this is a bad thing?

Please leave a comment.

Oregon Police Chief Doug Pettit - Anti-Gun Zealot or Reasonable Gun Owner

 The Cap Times reports

In an era in which pro-gun advocates have been racking up a string of victories, Doug Pettit is trying to hit the brakes. The Oregon police chief, who serves as the legislative chairman for the Wisconsin Chiefs of Police Association, is one of the most vocal proponents of expanding background checks for gun buyers.

Pettit and his group are part of a national push by the National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence, which hopes to convince federal lawmakers to mandate background checks on people who purchase guns at gun shows, flea markets and other venues that don’t involve licensed gun dealers.

How big a deal is that? The partnership says that about 40 percent of gun purchases fall outside background check requirements. So when you hear about record-breaking handgun purchases -- which are calculated using data from background checks -- you can calculate the actual number of new guns on the street by increasing the reported number by two-thirds.

Not only that, those who do go through background checks can slide through the cracks. Take Seung Hui Cho, who in 2007 killed 32 people at Virginia Tech. If state authorities there had submitted Cho’s mental health records to the background check system like they should have, Cho never would have passed the two background checks that paved the way for the massacre. Virginia now has one of the best compliance records in the nation, according to a group called Mayors Against Illegal Guns. Pettit’s group is pushing for other states to follow suit.

Pettit is a hunter, a gun hobbyist, and he carries a gun on the job. But his push for what he considers reasonable gun regulations increases his visibility, and he’s being painted by some in the pro-gun crowd as an anti-gun zealot.

“I’m not very well-liked out there,” he says.

Why do Massachusetts Gun Control Laws Fail to Keep Assault Weapons Out of the State?

Enterprise News reports

They are military-grade guns – the gun of choice for many terrorist groups. They can fire up to 60 rounds per minute, and are meant for “destruction,” police said.

And they’re here.

State and Brockton police confiscated two AK-47-type weapons and a high-capacity magazine Tuesday night in a Brockton apartment. Police come across weapons like these about once a month, said Lt. Paul Bonanca, and the gun’s potential to cause harm can’t be understated.

“You could spray a room (with bullets),” he said. “It’s not what we want to see here on the street.” Police would not comment on the possible reasons why the guns were being kept in Brockton. The weapon’s destructiveness speaks for itself.

“I don’t think there’s any other reason. ... It’s a weapon intended for more destruction,” Bonanca said.
In The Bay State it's illegal to own these guns and extended magazines. Why do they keep popping up then? Obvioulsy they're bought elsewhere and brought in.

The solution:  Massachusetts-type gun control laws in every state.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Military Suicides - It's not About Multiple Deployments

The Moderate Voice published an interesting article about military suicides and how the NRA actually presents an obstacle towards addressing the problem.  But the part I found most interesting was the simple debunking of that famous lie that the problem is due to the stress of multiple deployments.

As discussed here, in trying to find reasons or causes for the alarming upward trend in military suicides, TIME Magazine reporters Mark Thompson and Nancy Gibbs suggest that combat trauma alone can’t account for the trend and offer the following data:
Nearly a third of the suicides from 2005 to 2010 were among troops who had never deployed; 43% had deployed only once. Only 8.5% had deployed three or four times. Enlisted service members are more likely to kill themselves than officers, and 18-to-24-year-olds more likely than older troops. Two-thirds do it by gunshot; 1 in 5 hangs himself. And it’s almost always him: nearly 95% of cases are male. A majority are married.
“Two-thirds do it by gunshot.” Of course, you say. Our military are trained to use guns, they are “the tool of their trade,” troops have access to guns and many personally own firearms in their homes.
Naturally, Defense and military leaders are doing everything within their power to prevent or at least reduce this horrible, unnecessary loss life among the troops.

As part of what these leaders are doing to combat the suicide “epidemic,” they would like to talk to our servicemen and women who own a personal firearm and live off post.

There is one small catch, however. A relatively new law backed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) seems to prevent them from talking to these servicemembers.

The Graham Nash Interview

from the Graham Nash interview

AP: CSN played Red Rocks (in Colorado) in July right before the Aurora shooting. What's your take on the tragedy?

Nash: My take on that is that in probably less than 100 years the National Rifle Association and the gun lobby and the pharmaceutical lobby and the tobacco industry and the liquor lobby will all be seen as major criminals. Tobacco companies know that their cigarettes are killing people by the hundreds of thousands every year. They knew. They covered it up. That was that great whistle-blowing thing, you know? We know how many people die because of drink. Not because of drink of accidents and car accidents because people are impaired. We know that the pharmaceutical companies are ripping us off. We know all this. There's a tremendous amount of power that those financial companies have, and it will take a long time and a great deal of effort to bring it to the attention of people, but I still maintain that within 100 years they'll all be seen as major criminals.

AP: What's the solution to the senseless violence as seen in Aurora?

Nash: And what was it Mitt Romney said? We don't need to change the gun laws because of Colorado, wow. If those were any of his kids it would be in the Constitution by now.

AP: Do you feel people don't speak up?

Nash: That's right. Bread and circuses, baby. Give them something to watch like Kim Kardashian's (expletive). Give them something to eat, lie down and be sheep. Let us just rob them.
What do you think?

Pennsylvania State Rep. Todd Stephens on Tougher Sentencing for Gun Crime

Accidental Shooting Death of California Woman - Irresponsible Gun Owner Arrested

Local news reports

A 34-year-old homeowner in Riverside County has been arrested after a gun he was cleaning fired and killed a woman.

The Riverside Police Department said Saturday that Shane Dansie was booked Friday on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter and child endangerment.

Police have not yet released the victim's identity or relationship to Dansie. 

Police say Dansie was cleaning his handgun shortly before 6 p.m. when he accidentally discharged a round that struck the woman.
It's good when the person responsible is held accountable, but why is it so inconsistent? Why are some of these negligent idiots given a slap on the wrist, or less, some are given advice to be more careful, and others go to jail?

Guns are bad news for women is an idea that usually applies to domestic violence.  But, as we see in the news every day, it also works for negligent discharges of firearms.

Do you think some of these incidents are not really accidents at all?  I don't mean the difference between accident and negligence, I mean the difference between murder and manslaughter.  Do you think, just like some DGUs, some of these so-called accidents are really murder disguised?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Idaho Woman by her Negligent Husband - No Charges

SF Gate reports

The Canyon County Sheriff's Office says it's investigating a reported accidental shooting that left a 51-year-old woman with a gunshot wound to the head.

Authorities say police and emergency medical responders were called just after 8:15 p.m. Friday to a Middleton residence.

Police say they were told a 56-year-old man was reloading a .380 caliber handgun after showing it to his nephew when it discharged, injuring the man's wife.
This story touches upon two of our favorite themes. Guns are bad news for women and one strike you're out.

The only problem is in Idaho, neither of those ideas count for much.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

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