Just for fun let's imagine that at 17 seconds we have a glimpse of Linoge, Mike W. and Joe Huffman peeking into a gun control gathering, rewarded a short time later with the sight of what they knew all along, Paul Helmke in red robes.
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Nobody Can Spin It Like Prof. Lott
Fox News published an article by John Lott which is well worth reading. Basically he says that gun control folks are lying when they suggest that misuse of firearms by concealed carry holders is significant. And those making the ridiculous claims, according to Lott, fail to mention the number of DGUs, which is significant.
So, not only is the number of cases incredibly small, "the vast majority were apparently for people who accidentally carried their concealed handgun into a gun-free zone." Now, that's what I call some fancy spinning.
Another problem I have with his description, aside from the fact that he's guessing at what the "vast majority" might be, is the fact that he fails to allow for all the lesser incidents. He's talking about people who have actually lost their permits, the worst of the worst.
When John Lott counts 2,5 million DGUs per year, he includes all the undocumented cases of simple brandishing of the weapon which supposedly prevented crimes. But, when he counts the concealed carry license holders who have misused their guns, he counts only the ones who have actually been convicted of a crime and have forfeited the license.
When he makes one argument he uses the loosest standard possible to include every case. When he makes the other argument, he counts only the worst of the worst in order to keep the numbers as low as possible.
That's what I call spinning. What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
While the state doesn't provide a precise breakdown of the reason for those revocations, the vast majority were apparently for people who accidentally carried their concealed handgun into a gun-free zone, such as an airport or school.
Throughout the past 29 months, beginning January 2008, only three additional permit holders have had their permit revoked for a firearms-related violation. With more than 729,000 active permit holders, that is an annual revocation rate of 0.00017 percent.
So, not only is the number of cases incredibly small, "the vast majority were apparently for people who accidentally carried their concealed handgun into a gun-free zone." Now, that's what I call some fancy spinning.
Another problem I have with his description, aside from the fact that he's guessing at what the "vast majority" might be, is the fact that he fails to allow for all the lesser incidents. He's talking about people who have actually lost their permits, the worst of the worst.
When John Lott counts 2,5 million DGUs per year, he includes all the undocumented cases of simple brandishing of the weapon which supposedly prevented crimes. But, when he counts the concealed carry license holders who have misused their guns, he counts only the ones who have actually been convicted of a crime and have forfeited the license.
When he makes one argument he uses the loosest standard possible to include every case. When he makes the other argument, he counts only the worst of the worst in order to keep the numbers as low as possible.
That's what I call spinning. What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Chicago Cop Gets Probation
The Chicago Sun Times reports on the sentencing of an off-duty cop who pulled a gun on a cabbie over a fare dispute.
The article did not make it very clear if he lost his job and became a disqualified person for his trouble. Do you think a conviction for aggravated assault implies both those sanctions?
If that's the case, I don't have any problem with his not going to jail. What I oppose is the slap-on-the-wrist punishment which leaves the offender armed and dangerous.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
An off-duty Chicago Police detective who pointed a gun at a cabbie over a fare dispute avoided jail time Thursday -- a resolution that angered the victim.
"I think they gave him a [break] because of his" job, cabbie Karl Clermont told the Chicago Sun-Times after the sentencing. "Any normal civilian who would pull a gun on a person would have gotten a jail sentence. I feel like he's a disgrace to the badge."
John Killackey faced up to one year in jail after being found guilty last month of aggravated assault and theft of service for the April 23, 2009, incident. Instead, Judge Thomas Byrne imposed 18 months' probation and 60 hours' community service.
The article did not make it very clear if he lost his job and became a disqualified person for his trouble. Do you think a conviction for aggravated assault implies both those sanctions?
If that's the case, I don't have any problem with his not going to jail. What I oppose is the slap-on-the-wrist punishment which leaves the offender armed and dangerous.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Hartmann and Lott
I wish Thom Hartmann would have let Dr. Lott speak a bit more, but he made a good point about the inequality.
Fr. Guido Sarducci on Glenn Beck
Prophet Glenn Beck - Father Guido Sarducci
| The Colbert Report | Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c | |||
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Domestic Violence - Female Shooter
The Baltimore Sun reports on a rare case of the estranged wife killing the husband. From the daughter's testimony, we have this description.
Did you notice she used a gun? I suppose she could have used any number of tools, but she used the preferred killing instrument.
Where do you think it came from? Probably even a middle-aged mentally unstable woman could pick one up in gun-friendly Florida, don't you think?
So, in a reverse twist on the old theme, guns are still bad news for women.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
But in a few short years, she went on, the family's harmony dissolved into mistrust and recriminations, her parents separated, and Mary Koontz went to live in Florida. A year ago, after being gone for 19 months, she returned with a silver revolver and sneaked into her former home in Glen Arm while her estranged husband and daughter slept, prosecutors say. Once inside, they say, she shot her husband four times as he lay in bed and then went into Kelsey's room and fired at the girl. The bullet missed its mark.
Did you notice she used a gun? I suppose she could have used any number of tools, but she used the preferred killing instrument.
Where do you think it came from? Probably even a middle-aged mentally unstable woman could pick one up in gun-friendly Florida, don't you think?
So, in a reverse twist on the old theme, guns are still bad news for women.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Laci on Oleg Volk
Laci posted a wonderful article with several links to fascinating sites.
Volk’s interest in guns doesn’t run to purely self-defence, but he also does “fetish photography” with some of these pictures using guns as fetish items.It seems to me there's a glamorizing aspect to even the most innocent of his photos. What do you think?
Thursday, June 24, 2010
The Constitution and Slavery
Digital History has a wonderful article on this subject.
I enjoyed this bit of information very much because I often disparage mention of the "framers," referring to them as "slave owners."
As it turns out, only about half of them were. The reason some of the others went along with the scheme was pure politics.
Why in the world would anybody quote these guys or anything they wrote? Why would people take their names as their own, as Mike V. has?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comemnt.
On the 200th anniversary of the U.S. Constitution, Thurgood Marshall, the first African American to sit on the Supreme Court, said that the Constitution was "defective from the start." He pointed out that the framers had left out a majority of Americans when they wrote the phrase, "We the People." While some members of the Constitutional Convention voiced "eloquent objections" to slavery, Marshall said they "consented to a document which laid a foundation for the tragic events which were to follow."
I enjoyed this bit of information very much because I often disparage mention of the "framers," referring to them as "slave owners."
As it turns out, only about half of them were. The reason some of the others went along with the scheme was pure politics.
They were convinced that if the Constitution restricted the slave trade, South Carolina and Georgia would refuse to join the Union. But by sidestepping the slavery issue, the framers left the seeds for future conflict.And of course you've got plenty of double talk and hypocrisy.
A Virginia delegate, George Mason, who owned hundreds of slaves, spoke out against slavery in ringing terms. "Slavery," he said, "discourages arts and manufactures. The poor despise labor when performed by slaves." Slavery also corrupted slaveholders and threatened the country with divine punishment: "Every master of slaves is born a petty tyrant. They bring the judgment of Heaven on a country."
Why in the world would anybody quote these guys or anything they wrote? Why would people take their names as their own, as Mike V. has?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comemnt.
Who Looks Weak Now
Here's a wonderful little article for all the Obama haters on The Daily Kos.
What do you think? Wasn't it a decisive move to get the General to resign on the part of Obama? I agree with Phuck Politics, though. Being just another puppet, Obama's gesture in this instance will change nothing.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Conservative critics of President Obama long have derided him as weak. Intellectual, reserved, unemotional.
What do you think? Wasn't it a decisive move to get the General to resign on the part of Obama? I agree with Phuck Politics, though. Being just another puppet, Obama's gesture in this instance will change nothing.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
New Orleans Police Shooting
Nola.com reports on another New Orleans police shooting.
You would think that cops who have had so much bad press lately would be more careful.
It's interesting that a city with one of the worst murder rates also has one of the worst police forces. Do you think they're related?
Please leave a comment.
Three New Orleans police officers shot and killed a 17-year-old youth Sunday night in the St. Roch neighborhood after he allegedly pointed and leveled an assault rifle at the officers.The coroner's office determined that Jamyrin Points was shot 12 times, all in the back of his body.
"He had wounds in the back parts of his leg, in the upper area of his back, and one in the back of the head," said Dr. Frank Minyard, the Orleans Parish coroner, Monday. "I don't know what happened. All I know is that all 12 wounds came in from the back part of his body."
You would think that cops who have had so much bad press lately would be more careful.
The shooting comes amid heavy scrutiny of the police force and its use of deadly force. The FBI has at least eight criminal investigations into alleged NOPD misconduct, most of which center on police shootings in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Meanwhile, the Department of Justice's special litigation section is conducting a wide-scale assessment of the police force and its practices and policies.
It's interesting that a city with one of the worst murder rates also has one of the worst police forces. Do you think they're related?
Please leave a comment.
A Very Dramatic Murder - Suicide
CBS News reports.
What do you think, if guns were harder to come by, he would have bashed her brains out with a tire iron and then brained himself with it? Or, do you think gun availability plays a lethal part is sick stories like this?
That's what I think. Therefore, increased gun availability cannot fail to have a direct impact on the frequency of incidents like this. And those pushing for increased availability should accept that as part of the deal. If you want more guns, you are partly responsible for this mess.
Please leave a comment.
Tommie Hill of East St. Louis, Ill. shot and killed girlfriend Ashley Oliver of Chaokia, Ill. on Interstate 64, 50 feet away from his 7-year-old daughter, reported the station. Hill's daughter was unharmed and is now in the custody of her mother.
At approximately 2 p.m. Sunday, June 20, police began receiving calls from witnesses reporting the fatal shooting. According to eyewitnesses an injured Oliver leapt from the car, which police believe may have still been in motion, and starting running to northbound cars on the freeway.
Oliver pounded on windows--begging for help. Hill closed in on Oliver and pulled the semiautomatic gun from his pants, shooting Oliver in the head before pointing the gun to his own head and pulling the trigger.
What do you think, if guns were harder to come by, he would have bashed her brains out with a tire iron and then brained himself with it? Or, do you think gun availability plays a lethal part is sick stories like this?
That's what I think. Therefore, increased gun availability cannot fail to have a direct impact on the frequency of incidents like this. And those pushing for increased availability should accept that as part of the deal. If you want more guns, you are partly responsible for this mess.
Please leave a comment.
"Machine Gun" D'Annunzio Loses in NC
USA Today reports on what might be the North Carolina Republican party coming to its senses.
Isn't running a machine gun party like putting all your eggs in one basket? Do you think most North Carolinians would like such a thing?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Chalk up one victory for party leaders on an otherwise anti-establishment night: Tim D'Annunzio, who made national headlines with his "machine gun social" fundraisers, has gone down to defeat in a North Carolina congressional runoff, the Associated Press reports.The victor in the race, former sportscaster Harold Johnson, got a big boost from Republican party leaders anxious to avoid a controversy-plagued candidate in a district they think they can win this fall.
Isn't running a machine gun party like putting all your eggs in one basket? Do you think most North Carolinians would like such a thing?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Now It's Georgia
AJC.com reports on the "iron pipeline" running from Jonesboro, Georgia to New York City.
Do you think everything that can be done is being done? Do you think there's a bit too much of the old it's-not-my-fault attitude?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
A pawn shop in a Jonesboro strip mall was a major source of illegal weapons recovered by New York City police last year, according to a media report.The owner is reported as having said he runs a legitimate business and it's not his responsibility what happens with the guns after he sells them. I'll bet that bit of wisdom was accompanied by a shoulder shrug of indifference.
More illegal guns seized by police there came from Arrowhead Pawn in Jonesboro than from any other source outside New York state, the New York Daily News reported Monday.Georgia is part of a south-to-north "Iron Pipeline" around New York's comparatively tough gun laws, the newspaper declared. Eleven suspects were arrested on weapons possession charges related to nine guns purchased at Arrowhead, the newspaper reported.
"The guns used to murder people are typically unlicensed and from easy-to-buy states, including Georgia," New York Police Department Commissioner Raymond Kelly is quoted as saying.
Do you think everything that can be done is being done? Do you think there's a bit too much of the old it's-not-my-fault attitude?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Idaho's Treatment of Gun Offenders
CDAPress.com reports on the latest incident of a gun offender getting special treatment.
Even that's misleading. He did a good bit more than "wield" the gun.
This is where judges and newspapers and fellow gun owners all work together to allow risky people among them to continue owning and misusing guns, all for fear that stricter application of the laws will somehow eventually inconvenience them. This is a moral corruption and a self-centeredness that makes them all complicit.
Gun owners should be marching in the streets to strip people like this of their rights to own guns. That would be the smart move. By doing that consistently, the quality of the average gun owner would rise considerably, they'd minimize the taint with which cases like this cover them. But, I guess that's expecting too much.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
The Coeur d'Alene man who wielded a gun downtown in January pleaded guilty to disturbing the peace on Monday.
Even that's misleading. He did a good bit more than "wield" the gun.
I say, "one strike you're out," and this was a big strike. But in Idaho, they wouldn't think of such a thing. He had to surrender the gun he had that night, but nothing is done about the others he owns or will acquire in the future. A guy like this if far too dangerous to own guns responsibly and to believe he's learned his lesson from this slap on the wrist is foolish.Chapman was originally arrested for aggravated battery near the Third Street parking lot and Front Avenue around 2:30 that morning. Soon after, those charges were downgraded to possession of a concealed weapon while intoxicated.
The incident occurred as Chapman was leaving the Baja Bargarita on North Second Street. Witness testimonies varied on what happened, according to police reports, but shots were never fired.
Chapman told officers at the scene he began walking away from the group of five to eight men, some of whom followed Chapman to his truck parked on Sherman Avenue.
Defense attorney David Lohman said Chapman and his friend were being beaten and kicked as they tried to walk away.
According to police reports, Chapman said he retrieved the weapon after reaching his truck and placed it in his pants, but one witness, who was following Chapman telling him to "go home," said Chapman got the gun out of his truck and pointed it at the witness, chasing him to near the parking lot where the rest of the group was.
The incident ended in a physical altercation off Front Avenue, leaving Chapman in need of medical attention. City attorney Wes Somerton said it was an "unfortunate situation" in which Chapman was not the aggressor, but a situation that was fueled by "lots of alcohol."
"A drunken-fueled melee," he called it.
This is where judges and newspapers and fellow gun owners all work together to allow risky people among them to continue owning and misusing guns, all for fear that stricter application of the laws will somehow eventually inconvenience them. This is a moral corruption and a self-centeredness that makes them all complicit.
Gun owners should be marching in the streets to strip people like this of their rights to own guns. That would be the smart move. By doing that consistently, the quality of the average gun owner would rise considerably, they'd minimize the taint with which cases like this cover them. But, I guess that's expecting too much.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Chicago's Bloody Weekend
The Chicago Sun-Times reports on another bloody weekend in The Windy City.
Alan Gottlieb played with the truth, in his usual fashion. In this latest article which contains a list of each victim you can plainly see what a distorted version Gottlieb tried to sell.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
A bloody weekend of gun violence spilled into Monday, leaving 10 dead and nearly 60 men, women and children wounded all around the city.Instapundit made his usual sarcastic remark, which fails to take into account that every one of the guns use had previously been the property of a lawful gun owner.Investigators tied some of the shootings in the Gresham and Englewood neighborhoods to stepped-up in-fighting among Gangster Disciple gang members.
And some of the violence on the West Side was attributed to retaliation over the slayings of three men found shot dead early Saturday in the 2300 block of South Springfield.
But the remainder of the shootings followed no pattern and were not being tied together, leaving emergency rooms busy, investigators with scores of open cases -- and national newcasts focusing on Chicago violence.
The youngest victim was a 1-year-old girl who suffered a graze wound to her neck when shots rang out at a barbecue about 12:15 a.m. Monday on the Near West Side.
The 10 dead included a man dressed in women's clothing found dead on a sidewalk in the 7500 block of South Halsted Street, two naked men found dead near railroad tracks in the 900 block of South Holland and the three men found in and around a car on South Springfield.
Alan Gottlieb played with the truth, in his usual fashion. In this latest article which contains a list of each victim you can plainly see what a distorted version Gottlieb tried to sell.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Shutting Down the Internet
Newsy gives both sides of the story, but my favorite input is from Instapundit.
Multisource political news, world news, and entertainment news analysis by Newsy.com
The SAF Can Spin it Like a Top
Yahoo News reports on a press release by the Second Amendment Foundation about the gun violence in Chicago.
Did he really say "defenseless victims?" How many times have we heard the vast majority of gun crime is gang and drug related AMONG THEMSELVES. That's the argument when convenient, but it changes when the spin doctors want to emphasise something else.
The obvious conclusion is that more guns in Chicago will only increase the already deplorable situation. The fact that they already have strict gun laws is meaningless when their neighbor states do not. The problem is the exact point in which the guns used in crime in Chicago are getting into criminal hands, whether by theft or improper transfers. To curb that we need more laws in the places where they don't have enough, we certainly don't need to lessen those in Chicago.
Gottlieb should be ashamed of himself for saying something like, "defenseless victims are terrorized by armed thugs who have taken full advantage of an unarmed populace." That's beyond spinning. That's drawing a totally false picture, as if to say bad guys have guns and they only use them on poor defenseless good people.
What's your opinion? Do you think Helmke, Henigan and Sugarmann should be held to a high standard and called on every possible thing and Gottleib should get away with writing things like this?
Please leave a comment.
Fifty-two people shot, eight of them fatally in a single Chicago weekend, yet Mayor Richard Daley appears poised to go down screaming in his opposition to the Second Amendment Foundation’s lawsuit to overturn his city’s handgun ban, says SAF.The U.S. Supreme Court could rule any day on the case of McDonald v. City of Chicago, filed by SAF, the Illinois State Rifle Association and four Chicago residents. That ruling will likely strike down the handgun ban, thus opening the door to legal self-defense by Windy City residents.
“Chicago has become a slaughterhouse,” said SAF Executive Vice President Alan Gottlieb, “where defenseless victims are terrorized by armed thugs who have taken full advantage of an unarmed populace. Daley and his predecessors who perpetuated this ban are wading knee-deep in the blood of hundreds of crime victims who should have had the means to defend themselves.
Did he really say "defenseless victims?" How many times have we heard the vast majority of gun crime is gang and drug related AMONG THEMSELVES. That's the argument when convenient, but it changes when the spin doctors want to emphasise something else.
The obvious conclusion is that more guns in Chicago will only increase the already deplorable situation. The fact that they already have strict gun laws is meaningless when their neighbor states do not. The problem is the exact point in which the guns used in crime in Chicago are getting into criminal hands, whether by theft or improper transfers. To curb that we need more laws in the places where they don't have enough, we certainly don't need to lessen those in Chicago.
Gottlieb should be ashamed of himself for saying something like, "defenseless victims are terrorized by armed thugs who have taken full advantage of an unarmed populace." That's beyond spinning. That's drawing a totally false picture, as if to say bad guys have guns and they only use them on poor defenseless good people.
What's your opinion? Do you think Helmke, Henigan and Sugarmann should be held to a high standard and called on every possible thing and Gottleib should get away with writing things like this?
Please leave a comment.
Open Carry in North Carolina
The Sun News reports on the momentum open carry is experiencing in the Tar Heel State.
I wonder how you prove that charge, terror of the public.
Now, that would be Paul Valone's opinion, right? Many would say that open carrying to make a point about the 2nd Amendment is proof that you are a gun nut.
I'd say this type of stubborn behavior, which is counter productive to their own cause, and which comes from a self-righteous we're-right-and-you're-wrong attitude, makes these people dangerous.
I'll tell you what I mean by that. When an emergency happens, when that rare moment of truly needing a gun to save the day happens, I don't think people who demonstrate this type of thinking ability are capable of acting responsibly. I don't feel that way about most concealed carry people, but these open-carry warriors are bad news.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
In North Carolina, a grass-roots segment of gun rights advocates increasingly calls for firearms displayed as blatantly as a ballpoint pen in a shirt pocket. A national pro-gun Internet group, opencarry.org, ranks the state among the friendliest to those who wear a weapon for all the world to see. The state, like Montana, Arizona and Kentucky, gets a gold star.
Unlike concealed weapons, plain-sight guns are almost totally unregulated in North Carolina, where only a misdemeanor "going armed to the terror of the public" speaks to the issue.
I wonder how you prove that charge, terror of the public.
"It's gaining momentum," said Paul Valone, president of nonprofit firearms group Grass Roots North Carolina. "These are perfectly normal people. These are not gun nuts."
Now, that would be Paul Valone's opinion, right? Many would say that open carrying to make a point about the 2nd Amendment is proof that you are a gun nut.
So, everyone seems to agree, there's no good reason to do this except to stick it in the face of those who oppose it. The fact that most people do oppose it, according to Rasmussen, including many gun rights activists, puts these open-carry folks in a category of their own.At Perry's Gun Shop in Wendell, Barry Perry reports heavy interest in concealed handguns, showing off rows of pistols designed for that purpose in his display case. Most gun owners don't want people to feel intimidated by a weapon out in the open, he said. Others worry that open carry is too extreme and likely to generate a backlash that cuts into other firearms laws. More, even passionate gun advocates, doubt open carry's effectiveness as a crime deterrent.
Even Valone, who advocates removing many of the restrictions attached to North Carolina's concealed carry law, has doubts. If somebody were robbing a convenience store in which he were buying a soda, Valone said, he'd rather they not know he was carrying a gun. It takes away the element of surprise.
I'd say this type of stubborn behavior, which is counter productive to their own cause, and which comes from a self-righteous we're-right-and-you're-wrong attitude, makes these people dangerous.
I'll tell you what I mean by that. When an emergency happens, when that rare moment of truly needing a gun to save the day happens, I don't think people who demonstrate this type of thinking ability are capable of acting responsibly. I don't feel that way about most concealed carry people, but these open-carry warriors are bad news.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams
Vindy.com reports from Ohio.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
In the aftermath of a weekend shooting that left a 17-year-old girl dead and a star football player critically injured, Mayor Jay Williams pledged Sunday night the city will swiftly crack down on gun violence.What do you think that actually means? Is it a real program, this Interdiction thing, or just pressure on the police to do their job?
The city, in cooperation with federal authorities, will embark on the Violence-Gun Reduction Interdiction Program to clear guns from the city’s streets this summer, Williams said. Last month, Youngstown Police Chief Jimmy Hughes and Williams said that combining resources with the feds will ultimately mean more guns off the streets and longer prison sentences for those using guns to commit crimes.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Monday, June 21, 2010
The Argument Should Be Over
I'm seriously thinking about switching to a straight movie and music blog. This argument is over, or at least it would be if folks were reasonable and honest.
But, I suppose if my earlier posts like this one were unconvincing, nothing will do it.
But, I suppose if my earlier posts like this one were unconvincing, nothing will do it.
Busy Baltimore
The Baltimore Sun reports.
Shouldn't gun owners feel a slight twinge when they read stuff like this, knowing that all those guns started out legally owned and somehow slipped into the hands of criminals?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
At least six people were shot in four separate incidents, including one fatal shooting, Saturday night, police said.
A man was shot in the stomach in the 400 block of N. Luzerne Avenue in East Baltimore at about 5 p.m., Detective Jeremy Silbert, a police department spokesman, said.
Several hours later, at about 9:30 p.m., and less than three miles away, another man was shot in the chest and killed in 1900 block of Washington Street, Silbert said.
At about the same time, another man was shot in the Northwest area of the city at Park Heights and Woodland avenues, several blocks south of Pimlico Race Course. The victim was shot in the back.
A half hour later, about 10 p.m., police were called to the 1300 N. Montford Ave. in East Baltimore, where Silbert said three people were shot. He did not have any information about their conditions but said police are looking into the possibility of a fourth victim who walked into an area hospital.
Shouldn't gun owners feel a slight twinge when they read stuff like this, knowing that all those guns started out legally owned and somehow slipped into the hands of criminals?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Psycho
Motivated by my new favorite blog, Sunset Gun, I watched both Psycho (1960) and Psycho (1998) over the weekend. I loved every minute of them, which proves I'm not as obsessed with guns as most of the commenters around here. I love movies too.
The KKK and Guns
From Laci comes this fascinating video. I dedicate it to all my blog friends who keep trying to associate the Gun Control movement with the KKK. You know who you are.
Sunday, June 20, 2010
Medical Marijuana and Guns
Oregonlive.com reports on the happy results for medical marijuana users who own guns.
I'm a big supporter of medical marijuana, but I find it completely insane that the patients who use the drug should be allowed to own guns, let alone have concealed carry permits. The ones who just like to get high and have a doctor who'll write the script for them, should not have guns. These folks generally do not possess the serious and responsible character required for proper gun management.
The ones who truly need the pain or nausea relief brought about by using pot, should also be disqualified. They're not in shape physically to responsibly handle guns.
I don't believe that's discrimination. To me it sounds like good common sense. When a person becomes so ill that they need marijuana, or a number of other medications for that matter, it's time for them to give up the guns.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Oregon's 32,929 medical marijuana users can't be denied concealed handgun licenses, despite the efforts of at least two sheriffs who want to keep concealed weapons out of those hands.
The Oregon Court of Appeals ruled this week that Washington County Sheriff Rob Gordon and Jackson County Sheriff Mike Winters were mistaken in their interpretation of the federal Gun Control Act. The act states that "an unlawful user ... of any controlled substance" can't own a gun, and the sheriffs contended the federal act trumps Oregon's medical marijuana law. Though federal law prohibits marijuana, Oregon's 12-year-old law legalizes pot possession for patients with qualifying ailments and a doctor's approval.
I'm a big supporter of medical marijuana, but I find it completely insane that the patients who use the drug should be allowed to own guns, let alone have concealed carry permits. The ones who just like to get high and have a doctor who'll write the script for them, should not have guns. These folks generally do not possess the serious and responsible character required for proper gun management.
The ones who truly need the pain or nausea relief brought about by using pot, should also be disqualified. They're not in shape physically to responsibly handle guns.
Leland Berger, who represented four medical marijuana users who were denied concealed handgun licenses, was relieved by the Court of Appeals decision. He sees the sheriffs' denial of licenses as discrimination against patients who use cannabis to treat debilitating health problems -- including cancer, glaucoma, seizures, nausea and severe pain.
I don't believe that's discrimination. To me it sounds like good common sense. When a person becomes so ill that they need marijuana, or a number of other medications for that matter, it's time for them to give up the guns.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Marvin Harrison Loses Gun
Philly.com reports.
Let me ask you this, you law-abiding gun owners, do you know anyone who has been involved in incidents like these who really is a good guy? Have you ever known any innocent person who was accused of by two separate people of shooting them, one of whom ended up shot to death?
This kind of thing could be handled by the local police department. This is exactly where the local police could keep guns out of the wrong hands, even prior to indictments and convictions.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
A pair of patrol cops confiscated a 9 mm handgun from former NFL star Philadelphia yesterday, after stopping him for driving the wrong way on a one-way street, a police source said.Mr. Harrison had a gun in his possession that belonged to someone else. That should be one strike right there, but there's much more.The minor traffic incident, which occurred about 2:40 p.m., when Harrison was driving a Cadillac Escalade Indianapolis Colts wide receiver.
Harrison showed the cops a permit to carry a firearm that was registered in Montgomery County, where he owns a home. However, he failed to mention that he had a handgun in the SUV, which he was required to do by law.
The cops took the gun, which is registered to a man who lives in Philadelphia, the source said.
This guy should not have guns. Are the gun advocates so afraid that if these kinds of incidents are used to disarm Harrison, they'll also be disarmed at the whim of the authorities? That seems to be the argument. The law-abiding gun owners are so afraid they'll be stripped of their rights too that they're willing to allow guys like this to have guns.Local resident Dwight Dixon claimed that Harrison shot him in the hand on April 29, 2008, after the two fought near Harrison's garage at 25th and Thompson street in North Philly.
Another man, Robert Nixon, claimed he was wounded in the back by an errant shot fired by Harrison.
Police later said ballistics evidence proved that several shots had been fired that day by a gun Harrison admitted to owning.
Charges were never filed, however, because then-District Attorney Lynne Abraham said Dixon, Nixon, Harrison and several others told numerous contradictory stories about the shooting. Dixon and Nixon filed civil suits against Harrison.
On July 21, 2009, Dixon was riddled with gunfire on Girard Avenue near 28th Street, two blocks from Harrison's bar, Playmakers. Dixon told police he believed Harrison was behind that shooting. Dixon died two months later. His slaying remains unsolved.
Let me ask you this, you law-abiding gun owners, do you know anyone who has been involved in incidents like these who really is a good guy? Have you ever known any innocent person who was accused of by two separate people of shooting them, one of whom ended up shot to death?
This kind of thing could be handled by the local police department. This is exactly where the local police could keep guns out of the wrong hands, even prior to indictments and convictions.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Murder - Suicide in San Bernadino
Yahoo News reports on another prohibited person who had no trouble getting a gun.
The Associated Press report mentioned his "extensive criminal record dating back to 1972 that included assault with a deadly weapon and a restraining order taken out by a co-worker."
The solution is obvious, which is why the pro-gun crowd is so strong in their opposition. Guns must become so difficult to come by that life-long criminals like this guy cannot easily acquire them. Will that inconvenience the law-abiding? Yes, but that's the price for real freedom.
Arming more and more people, which makes it easier and easier for dangerous people to get guns, is not freedom. The frequency of these multiple shootings is not a by-product of freedom. It's only the pro-gun rhetoric which says it is.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
A man opened fire on his stepdaughter's family inside a California restaurant Saturday, killing her husband and 6-year-old son, critically wounding her and another child, and then fatally shooting himself, police said.Jimmy Schlager, 56, arrived at the Del Taco restaurant in San Bernardino on a bike at about 1 p.m., walked over to a table and fired several shots at his 29-year-old stepdaughter, her 33-year-old husband, and their sons, ages 5 and 6, San Bernardino police Lt. Jarrod Burguan said.
The Associated Press report mentioned his "extensive criminal record dating back to 1972 that included assault with a deadly weapon and a restraining order taken out by a co-worker."
The solution is obvious, which is why the pro-gun crowd is so strong in their opposition. Guns must become so difficult to come by that life-long criminals like this guy cannot easily acquire them. Will that inconvenience the law-abiding? Yes, but that's the price for real freedom.
Arming more and more people, which makes it easier and easier for dangerous people to get guns, is not freedom. The frequency of these multiple shootings is not a by-product of freedom. It's only the pro-gun rhetoric which says it is.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
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