Saturday, August 9, 2014

Quote of the Day

Guns protect against lone predators, burglars, rapists, gangs and hordes of various sorts, zombies or otherwise. As a practical matter there is little difference between a zombie who wants to eat your brain and a criminal who would bash it in with a brick. Guns either repel them or dispatch them to an appropriate destination.
BTW, isn't a coward someone who lives their life in fear? Especially irrational fear?

Anyway, more on this topic here

Colorado Three-Year-Old Girl Shot By Five-Year-Old Boy

Gun protest 
A young girl attending an anti-National Rifle Association rally at the Colorado State Capitol wears an armband saying "NO GUNS" in Denver, May 1. The Colorado Coalition Against Gun Violence organized the rally to protest the NRA having its annual meeting in Denver after the tragic Columbine High School shootings on April 20. Reuters/GCC/JP/WS 

IBT

A 5-year-old boy shot and critically injured a 3-year-old girl in Pueblo, Colorado, on Monday, using a handgun that belonged to her mother’s boyfriend.

The girl was shot in the backyard of her home when a 9-year-old boy, who was playing with the two other children, gave the handgun to the 5-year-old, who then pointed it at the girl and pulled the trigger, shooting her once. The bullet went through the girl’s body without breaking any bones, Pueblo police said in a statement, Reuters reported. 

Due to their age, the two boys who handled the gun will not face charges but an investigation will focus on how the older boy got hold of the firearm, police said, adding that the girl’s mother was present at the home along with her boyfriend, Adrian Chavez, 22, when the shooting took place.

Chavez reportedly fled the location after the shooting, and was caught by police five hours later.

"Chavez will be charged with child abuse resulting in serious bodily injury for the gun that was left unattended," police said, adding that he also had an outstanding warrant for not appearing in court in an unrelated case.


8-Year-Old Texas Boy Shot By 7-Year-Old Relative

Texas City police told the Galveston newspaper that three children, including a 9-year-old, were alone at the apartment when they “found the handgun inside the residence.” The 7-year-old pulled the trigger and wounded his relative, according to the Daily News.


Police told the Daily News that the 7-year-old would not face charges due to his age.

However, police did note that the adult who was supposed to be supervising the children could face criminal charges, according to the Daily News.

Friday, August 8, 2014

Quote of the day

The class of cases to which the constitutional provision applies is widely different from the right of a private citizen to bear, concealed about his person, deadly weapons or arms. In the one, they are kept and carried in conformity with the Constitution and laws of the United States, with a certain specific object in view; in the other, they are kept and carried for private purposes, wholly independent of any constitutional regulation, and to answer private ends, wh[i]ch have no bearing upon the security of the State[.] If this idea be correct, then it follows that when arms are not kept or used for the defense of the State or Federal government, the manner of carrying and mode of using them are subject to the control and authority Of the State Legislature.
State v. Buzzard, 4 Ark. (2 Pike) 18 (1842)

The Confederate Flag - Symbol of Treason and of Slavery - Or Not

Confederate Flag 

Washington DC - -(Ammoland.com)-  A Confederate flag flies at mile marker 134 on Interstate 95 in Virginia, raised by the Virginia Flaggers “to honor the 246,000 Confederate soldiers who fought in separate battles in the Fredericksburg vicinity during the Civil War,” according to Fox News.
They see the flag as a symbol of “pride, not racism.”

However, they are being countered by the NAACP, which says the flag does symbolize “racism, oppression… [and] reminds people of slavery.”

Virginia Flaggers’ Barry Isenhour told The Washington Post that “he doesn’t think of the flag as a symbol of a fight to preserve slavery because” he doesn’t think the Civil War was over slavery to begin with. Rather, Isenhour said the Confederates were fighting against “Northern aggression.
Stafford County spokeswoman Cathy Vollbrecht said there have been numerous “complaints and inquiries” about the flag, but there are no plans to take it down. She said her office determined that “no laws have been violated.”
What do you think? Is this a nod to slavery or tribute to Confederate civil war soldiers?

The Dom Raso Video about Carry Permits for the Blind - So Embarrassing the NRA Took it Down

South Carolina Finally Cooperating with the National Background Check System

Local news reports

State agents say 136 people have been stopped from buying guns in South Carolina under a new law that took effect last year.

WCIV in Charleston reported last week that State Law Enforcement Division chief Mark Keel wrote in a letter those individuals had been deemed mentally incompetent to own a gun. In 2013, legislators required probate judges to submit those judicial orders to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System. While it was already illegal for those individuals to own a handgun, South Carolina had not previously been submitting the information to the FBI until last year.

The State Law Enforcement Division also said its agents have revoked 132 concealed weapons permits from CWP carriers who were ineligible to carry them under the law. SLED also revoked 29 applications, the letter stated.

More than 48,000 records have been submitted to the FBI so far, according to the Charleston Post & Courier.

Theodore Wafer Found Guilty of Murder


Theodore Wafer

Huffington Post

A jury in Detroit found Theodore Wafer guilty of second-degree murder and manslaughter in the death of Renisha McBride Thursday, according to the Associated Press.

Wafer, 55, was on trial in Detroit's Wayne County Circuit Court after shooting 19-year-old McBride on his porch in November. McBride appeared at Wafer's house in Dearborn Heights, adjacent to Detroit, around 4:30 a.m. on Nov. 2. She crashed her car nearby earlier that night, and no one knows her whereabout in the several hours between the accident and her death. She was severely intoxicated. She knocked on Wafer's door, potentially looking for help; he came to the door with a loaded shotgun and shot her in the face. 

One of the first images the jury saw in the trial was of McBride, lying lifeless on Wafer's front porch.
Wafer pleaded not guilty and his attorney sought to show the shooting was in self defense. According to the defense, Wafer woke that night to loud, intense banging on his front door and side door and feared multiple people were breaking in.

"In the depth of his being, he's never been that scared in his life," defense attorney Cheryl Carpenter said.

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Florida Judge: Schools Can Ban Guns from Dormatories

The Tampa Tribune

Universities are justified in banning guns in residence halls, a judge has ruled in a case that challenged the University of Florida's policy.

The gun-rights group Florida Carry Inc., which has filed suit against several universities and municipalities, argued in a suit filed in January that the state law making it legal to possess a firearm at home trumped another that bans weapons on school property.

But Alachua County Circuit Judge Toby Monaco entered a summary judgment on Wednesday stating that UF and President Bernie Machen were not violating Florida law by recognizing the Legislature's prohibition against guns in housing on university property.

Florida Carry last year won a decision by the 1st District Court of Appeal asserting that the Legislature has sole jurisdiction for gun policy, and universities could not ban weapons stored in vehicles.

“Unlike the right to have a firearm in a vehicle, the Legislature's recognition of a person's right to possess a firearm in a home does not extend to a residence hall on a university campus,” Monaco said in this week's order. “There is no exception in (state law) for a residence hall like there is for a vehicle.”

The university released a statement saying it was pleased with the ruling.

“The University of Florida fully complies with Florida law that allows individuals 18 years or older to store their guns securely in vehicles while on campus, as determined by a 1st DCA decision last year, and the university will continue to do so,” the statement said. “Florida law otherwise bans guns on university, college and K-12 campuses and at their events, with limited exceptions such as for law enforcement.”

Quote of the Day

"Both house and ground were vested and in trustees, expressly for the use of any preacher of any religious persuasion who might desire to say something to the people at Philadelphia; the design in building not being to accommodate any particular sect, but the inhabitants in general; so that even if the Mufti of Constantinople were to send a missionary to preach Mohammedanism to us, he would find a pulpit at his service."
The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin
http://www.ushistory.org/franklin/autobiography/page49.htm

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Crooked Illinois Gun Dealer Busted

Local news reports

A southwest suburban gun dealer is facing federal charges after illegally selling several firearms, including to an undercover agent posing as a felon, according to federal prosecutors.

Patrick Sean Keiran, 40, is charged with four counts of selling firearms without recording the name, age and residence of the purchaser; selling firearms to an individual he had reason to believe was a convicted felon; and selling firearms to an individual who did not display a valid FOID card, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s office.

According to prosecutors, in less than one month, Keiran illegally sold 11 firearms — eight 9mm handguns, two .22 caliber rifles, and a .38 caliber rifle. Keiran sold the weapons to an undercover agent posing as a felon, and to a felon cooperating with authorities.

Nevada Again Trying for Universal Background Checks

Las Vegas Sun

Backers of an initiative petition requiring background checks for gun purchases in Nevada won a court victory Friday and a spokesman said the group is ready to start gathering signatures.

District Judge James Wilson ordered a minor rewrite of the initiative, striking down most of the arguments of those who said the 200-word description of the petition was misleading.

Matt Griffin, attorney for Nevadans for Background Checks, said he was pleased with the decision, which will allow his clients to begin gathering the required 101,667 signatures to qualify the initiative.

Rew Goodenow, an attorney representing a pro-firearms group, said he did not think there would be an appeal to the Nevada Supreme Court at this stage but he wants to talk to his clients before deciding on future legal strategy.

The current law requires a person who buys a gun from a licensed seller to undergo a background check. The initiative would require a background check in purchases from an unlicensed dealer.
The petition says the law makes it easier for felons, domestic abusers and other dangerous persons to buy a weapon without a background check.

The background check would not be required in the transfer of firearms between family members, for those using the gun while hunting and trapping and who have valid licenses for this activity.

Great NRA Misquotations

Wayne LaPierre's miquotation of FDR's "the only thing we have to fear is fear itself" that he attributes to Winston Churchill, which makes it only more laughable...

if people were able to see beyond their fear and ignorance that what he is saying is obvious bullshit.



Here is the actual speech made by FDR (his first inaugural address):



This is a good analysis of the use of fear to manipulate people.  LaPierre wants people to be afraid since he knows scared people don't think very well. 

FDR, on the other hand, is making a speech of reassurance and hope.  FDR is trying to do the exact opposite of what LaPierre is doing (which probably would also be the case if Churchill had made such a speech--he would want people to be confident, not afraid).




The reality is that this is such blatantly obvious propaganda and fear mongering that this post should be unnecessary.

Unfortunately, it is necessary.

Propaganda is the use of emotions (in this case fear) to cause people to short circuit their intellect.

You're being played.

You would know that if you would sit back and use critical reasoning skills.

See also:

Patrick Henry's "That every man be armed."

This is the entire text of Patrick Henry's speech in context, but I will put US Constitution Article I, Section 8, Clause 16 as a reminder of what it says:
To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
The Citation for Henry's speech is The Debates in the Several State Conventions on the Adoption of the Federal Constitution (3 Elliot's Debates 384-7), Virginia, Saturday, June 14, 1788.
Mr. HENRY. Mr. Chairman, in my judgment the friends of the opposition have to act cautiously. We must make a firm stand before we decide. I was heard to say, a few days ago, that the sword and purse were the two great instruments of government; and I professed great repugnance at parting with the purse, without any control, to the proposed system of government. And now, when we proceed in this formidable compact, and come to the national defence, the sword, I am persuaded we ought to be still more cautious and circumspect; for I feel still more reluctance to surrender this most valuable of rights.

As my worthy friend said, there is a positive partition of power between the two governments. To Congress is given the power of "arming, organizing, and disciplining the militia, and governing such part of them as may be employed in the service of the United States." To the state legislatures is given the power of "appointing the officers, and training the militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress." I observed before, that, if the power be concurrent as to arming them, it is concurrent in other respects. If the states have the right of arming them, &c., concurrently, Congress has a concurrent power of appointing the officers, and training the militia. If Congress have that power, it is absurd. To admit this mutual concurrence of powers will carry you into endless absurdity— that Congress has nothing exclusive on the one hand, nor the states on the other. The rational explanation is, that Congress shall have exclusive power of arming them, &c., and that the state governments shall have exclusive power of appointing the officers, &c. Let me put it in another light.

May we not discipline and arm them, as well as Congress, if the power be concurrent? so that our militia shall have two sets of arms, double sets of regimentals, &c.; and thus, at a very great cost, we shall be doubly armed. The great object is, that every man be armed. But can the people afford to pay for double sets of arms &c.? Every one who is able may have a gun. But we have learned, by experience, that necessary as it is to have arms, and though our Assembly has, by a succession of laws for many years, endeavored to have the militia completely armed, it is still far from being the case. When this power is given up to Congress without limitation or bounds, how will your militia be armed? You trust to chance; for sure I am that nation which shall trust its liberties in other hands cannot long exist. If gentlemen are serious when they suppose a concurrent power, where can be the impolicy to amend it? Or, in other words, to say that Congress shall not arm or discipline them, till the states shall have refused or neglected to do it? This is my object. I only wish to bring it to what they themselves say is implied. Implication is to be the foundation of our civil liberties, and when you speak of arming the militia by a concurrence of power, you use implication. But implication will not save you, when a strong army of veterans comes upon you. You would be laughed at by the whole world for trusting your safety implicitly to implication.

The argument of my honorable friend was, that rulers might tyrannize. The answer he received was, that they will not. In saying that they would not, he admitted they might. In this great, this essential part of the Constitution, if you are safe, it is not from the Constitution, but from the virtues of the men in government. If gentlemen are willing to trust themselves and posterity to so slender and improbable a chance, they have greater strength of nerves than I have.

The honorable gentleman, in endeavoring to answer the question why the militia were to be called forth to execute the laws, said that the civil power would probably do it. He is driven to say, that the civil power may do it instead of the militia. Sir, the military power ought not to interpose till the civil power refuse. If this be the spirit of your new Constitution, that the laws are to be enforced by military coercion, we may easily divine the happy consequences which will result from it. The civil power is not to be employed at all. If it be, show me it. I read it attentively, and could see nothing to warrant a belief that the civil power can be called for. I shall be glad to see the power that authorizes Congress to do so. The sheriff will be aided by military force. The most wanton excesses may be committed under color of this; for every man in office, in the states, is to take an oath to support it in all its operations. The honorable gentleman said, in answer to the objection that the militia might be marched from New Hampshire to Georgia, that the members of the government would not attempt to excite the indignation of the people. Here, again, we have the general unsatisfactory answer, that they will be virtuous, and that there is no danger.
As you can see, Henry's concern is not for private arms, but the fact that Congress has the power to arm the militia.

Additionally, the issue of the use of military force is mentioned, since the real core issue was civilian control of the military, whether it is a professional standing army or the civilian militia. A militia needed to be under civilian control (i.e., "well regulated") as much, if not more so, than a professional army if there is to be domestic tranquility.

Anyway, when read as a whole, this text proves that this speech deals with the nature of the military force and how it was to be armed as opposed to anything else.

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Why does this seem to be missing from most of the discussions about the Second Amendment

Don't forget Article I, Section 8, Clause 16 of the Constitution, which is something that need needs to be mentioned in relation to the Second Amendment. This provision gives Congress the power to arm the militia.

That was really what the Second Amendment refers to.

No conversation about the Second Amendment should neglect that this is part of the Constitution:
(Congress has the power} To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;
Most of the quotations that are taken out of context refer to this part of the Constitution and the concern that congress would fail to arm the militia in preference for the federal army.

It's really annoying me that the Second Amendment is not only misquoted and taken out f historical context, but it is taken out of Constitutional Context:
The Constitution, as originally adopted, granted to the Congress power --

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions; To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining, the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress.

With obvious purpose to assure the continuation and render possible the effectiveness of such forces, the declaration and guarantee of the Second Amendment were made. It must be interpreted and applied with that end in view. US v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174 (1939)
I'm sick of people pretending that the first part of the Second Amendment is irrelevant to the Second.

And even sicker of people who would make any part of it irrelevant.

The right of the people to keep and bear arms is tied to the well regulated militia which is necessary for the security of the free state.

It must be read as a whole, not a part.

Truer Today than it was in 1969 - Steppenwolf - Monster



Once the religious, the hunted and weary
Chasing the promise of freedom and hope
Came to this country to build a new vision
Far from the reaches of kingdom and pope
 
Like good Christians, some would burn the witches
Later some got slaves to gather riches

But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
But she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light

And once the ties with the crown had been broken
Westward in saddle and wagon it went
And 'til the railroad linked ocean to ocean
Many the lives which had come to an end
 
While we bullied, stole and bought our homeland
We began the slaughter of the red man
But still from near and far to seek America
They came by thousands to court the wild
But she just patiently smiled and bore a child
To be their spirit and guiding light

The blue and gray they stomped it
They kicked it just like a dog
And when the war was over
They stuffed it just like a hog

And though the past has it's share of injustice
Kind was the spirit in many a way
But it's protectors and friends have been sleeping
Now it's a monster and will not obey

The spirit was freedom and justice
And it's keepers seem friendly and kind
It's leaders were supposed to serve the country
But now they won't pay it no mind
'Cause the people got fat and grew lazy
Now their vote is like a meaningless joke
You know they talk about law, about order
But it's all just an echo of what they've been told

'Cause there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into a noose
And it just sits there watchin'

Our cities have turned into jungles
And corruption is stranglin' the land
The police force is watching the people
And the people just can't understand

We don't know how to mind our own business
'Cause the whole worlds got to be just like us
Now we are fighting a war over there
No matter who's the winner, we can't pay the cost

'Cause there's a monster on the loose
It's got our heads into the noose
And it just sits there watching

America where are you now?
Don't you care about your sons and daughters?
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster

America where are you now?
Don't you care about your sons and daughters?
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster

America where are you now?
Don't you care about your sons and daughters?
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster

America where are you now?
Don't you care about your sons and daughters?
Don't you know we need you now
We can't fight alone against the monster
America

RIP James "Jim" "Bear" Brady

Former Reagan White House Press secretary who was also injured in the assassination attempt on President Reagan died yesterday.  Brady's injuries from that attempt left him in a wheel chair for the rest of his life.

Despite that, those who knew him will tell you he maintained a great sense of humour.

My thoughts are with the family at this time.

Fanatical Gun Activist, Alan Gottlieb, Compares Firearm Registration To Nazi Tattooing Of Jews



Media Matters

After a National Rifle Association lobbyist equated a proposal to expand background checks to the Nazi policies of Adolf Hitler, a prominent guns rights activist defended the offensive comparison and took it further, comparing gun registration to the Nazi practice of tattooing Jews with identification numbers.

The NRA is under fire after its Washington state lobbyist Brian Judy was heard telling opponents of the state's background check proposal that one of the proposal's primary supporters, who is Jewish, is "stupid" because "he's put half-a-million dollars toward this policy, the same policy that led to his family getting run out of Germany by the Nazis." Judy went on to mock the intelligence of Jewish individuals who support gun safety.

Now Alan Gottlieb, founder of the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) and the chairman of the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA), is coming to Judy's defense.

Gottlieb reacted to Judy's comments on Seattle's CBS affiliate, saying "I don't see anything wrong with those remarks," before comparing the "registration" of Jews with number tattoos during the Holocaust to firearm registration:
ESSEX PORTER, KIRO 7: You're Jewish, are those remarks appropriate?

GOTTLIEB: I don't see anything wrong with those remarks. I mean it's a historical fact that Adolf Hitler registered people's firearms and then confiscated them.

PORTER: Gottlieb says many gun owners see it this way.

GOTTLIEB: Gun owners don't like the idea that Jewish people had to have, you know, numbers tattooed and registered on their arms. They don't like the fact that they have gun owners that get registered either.

North Carolina Bumbling Gun Owner Shoots Neighbor through the Wall - It Was Just an Accident - No Charges

Local news reports

A Havelock man was injured Thursday evening when a pistol being cleared by a neighbor discharged, sending a bullet through a wall that divided the two residences in the duplex.


Brannaird Riley, 47, was wounded in the upper right arm, according to a release from Havelock Police Chief G. Wayne Cyrus. Riley was treated at the scene by Havelock rescue personnel and then transported to CarolinaEast Medical Center in New Bern, where he was treated and released.

Marianne Lee, 26, of 128 Village Court, was attempting to clear a 9 mm pistol for packing for a move to California when the gun fired, according to the release. The bullet went into the wall, ricocheted off a stud, passed through Riley’s living room and then went through his bedroom wall. Riley was struck while in his bed, according to the release.

Cyrus said information from the investigation was provided to District Attorney Scott Thomas. The discharge of the gun was determined to be accidental, and no charges were filed against Lee, according to the release.

Republican Voters Break With NRA On Gun Ban For Stalkers


And now for something completely different...

I was looking for signal mirror since I spend a lot of time in the woods (and tend to look for useful items).  This popped up:


IMHO, this has got to be the coolest gadget to go into the woods with.

Monday, August 4, 2014

Being a "liberal" isn't as bad as the alternative...

This goes to the reality challenged right thing...


H/T to artist Paul Kinsella. and Tumblr's MemeGOP http://bit.ly/1toz25u

Larry Pratt, Executive Director of Gun Owners of America vs. John Rosenthal, Chairman of Stop Handgun Violence

Pregnant Florida Woman Dead - It Was Just a Tragic Accident - No Charges


 Katherine Lynn Hoover


Local news reports

A five-month pregnant woman died after she was shot in the head while admiring a friend's gun collection, Hernando County authorities said Sunday.

The Citrus County woman and her husband were looking at the gun collection belonging her friend William DeHayes in Brooksville when DeHayes .22 caliber revolver discharged and hit the wife in the head.

Katherine Lynn Hoover, 25, was quickly transported to a nearby hospital and then airlifted to Regional Medical Center Bayonet Point, where doctors removed the woman's baby, but he did not survive. Hoover died early Sunday.

Deputies are continuing to investigate the incident, which they believe was an accident. They did not immediately say whether DeHayes would face charges of negligence.

Doctor Shoots Armed Patient in Philly Hospital Gun Free Zone


Richard Plotts

CSM

A mental-health caseworker is dead and a doctor and his patient wounded after a bizarre gunfight at a gun-free-zoned hospital in Yeadon, Pa., near Philadelphia, Thursday. As police prepare murder charges against the wounded patient, focus is shifting to the gun-toting psychiatrist who stopped the mayhem, likely saving other lives.

Prosecutors say Dr. Lee Silverman opened fire on Richard Plotts, after Mr. Plotts shot his caseworker and barged his way toward Dr. Silverman’s office desk after gaining access to Mercy Fitzgerald Hospital. Silverman crouched down behind his desk and fetched his gun, which he then fired at Mr. Plotts, wounding him several times before he was subdued.

In the gunfight, Silverman was grazed in the temple by a bullet. The caseworker allegedly shot by Plotts, Theresa Hunt, died from her wounds, police said. She was transporting Plotts to the hospital for treatment. One of Silverman’s colleagues told the Monitor Friday that he was “surprised” that the Mercy Fitzgerald psychiatrist was armed.

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Thomas Hobbes and the Twisted Genius of Open Carry

An interesting blog post that ties together a bunch of things I've mentioned here:
Open Carry is a stalking horse for a kind of DIY Governance whose goal is to systematically erode and ultimately destroy public trust in government — to return America to what the conservative movement imagines is its “pure,” pre-federal government state of nature

When the Founders looked for inspiration for the Declaration of Independence, they found it in the works of John Locke, Thomas Hobbes, and the Baron de Montesquieu — the so-called “Social Contract” theorists. These men argued that humans existed in a State of Nature where every man was his own judge and jury and where, therefore, little good was ever accomplished.  It was stable government — or, as they called it, “Commonwealth” — that provided the basis for economic, political, or social progress.

What the gun nuts and Second Amendment absolutists are determined to do, in alliance with the Tenth Amendment fetishists, is to fundamentally undermine America’s social contract and the government upon which it depends – devolution to Hobbes’ description of life without government, a “war of all against all:”
…a time or war where every man is enemy to every man…wherein men live without other security than what their own strength and their own invention shall furnish them withal. In such condition there is no place for industry, because the fruit thereof is uncertain, and consequently no culture of the earth, no navigation nor use of the commodities that may be imported by sea, no commodious building, no instruments of moving and removing such things as require much force, no knowledge of the face of the earth; no account of time, no arts, no letters, no society, and, which is worst of all, continual fear and danger of violent death, and the life of man solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.
Which is just the way the Gun Lobby likes it. Because nothing pumps up gun sales like continual fear and danger of violent death.
The whole thing is well worth a read

Quote of the Day--Who said it????

I don’t know why any individual should have a right to have a revolver in his house, The kids usually kill themselves with it and so forth....why “can’t we go after handguns, period?”
“I know the rifle association will be against it, the gun makers will be against it.” But “people should not have handguns.”
Who said that?  Was it:
  1. Barack Obama
  2. Joe Biden
  3. Richard M. Nixon
  4. Al Gore

The Poorest Counties in the US Are All Rich in Guns

Man with a Muckrake

No surprise there. Red state legislators seem to be happy to keep their people poor and ignorant. That way the legislators can keep their cushy jobs election after election.

Texas, 17; Kentucky, 16; Mississippi, 14; South Dakota, 10; Louisiana, 5; Alabama, 4; Georgia, 4; Montana, 4; New Mexico, 4; North Dakota, 3; Arizona, 2; Idaho, 2; Nebraska, 2; Tennessee, 2; West Virginia, 2; Alaska, 1; Arkansas, 1; Colorado, 1; Florida, 1; Missouri, 1; Oklahoma, 1; South Carolina, 1; Utah, 1; Wisconsin, 1.

The almost perfect overlap with gun availability and loose gun laws is unmistakable.

Montana Man Charged with Shooting His Girlfriend Accidentally

Gross  
Christopher Ryan Gross


Local news reports

A man arrested on suspicion of accidentally shooting his girlfriend in the chin made an initial court appearance Thursday on a charge of criminal endangerment.

Yellowstone County sheriff’s deputies arrested 27-year-old Christopher Ryan Gross Wednesday night after responding to a call in Lockwood of an accidental shooting, according to Sheriff Mike Linder.

He later told the deputy he is a disabled veteran and was very upset at the government. Gross went on to say that he called a local television station to talk about his experience in the military and, in order to make a statement to his girlfriend, grabbed a handgun from the kitchen, according to charging documents.

He didn't check to see if the gun was loaded, and while sitting on a couch and swinging the gun up and down, it went off with a round hitting his girlfriend, the affidavit states.

A preliminary breath test also revealed that Gross had a blood-alcohol level of 0.220 percent, according to charging documents.

Idaho 5-Year-old Dead - Lengthy Investigation Continues - So Far No One Responsible - It Was Just a Tragic Accident



Local news reports

"No animosity?"  What's wrong with these people?  How can there be no animosity, no outrage? They must be fanatical 2nd Amendment Believers themselves. Imagine your belief in guns everywhere being so important that you're capable of accepting the unnecessary and preventable death of your own kid.

The owner of the gun which the other 5-year-old used to kill little Noelle should already be in the slammer. 

Chicago Sings The Delta Blues As Guns Flow North

Local news reports