Are you a hoplophobe?

Cross post from my blog:

I have to admit this is one of the most idiotic terms I have ever heard, yet it is repeatedly used to castigate those who support gun control. I have devised this simple test to determine if you are a hoplophobe or not:

A madman is pointing a large firearm at you (e.g., 12 Bore riot-shotgun with 00 buckshot, Desert eagle .44 with hollow points and laser sighting device, or something else of your choice which would most likely seriously harm, if not kill, you). He is far enough away that any attempt to disarm this person would be futile. Likewise, any attempt to pull a weapon would be met with his (or her) getting in at least a shot that would probably result in your being hurt, if not killed.
Are you:

1. Afraid
2. Not at all scared since you know full well that guns are not harmful in anyway, especially not in the hands of the insane or criminals, and you could not be hurt no matter how lethal the weapon or good the person’s holding its aim.

I am sure those gunloons out there will say that they have no fear and fit squarely into category 2.
Whereas anyone with a shred of sense would be afraid and say 1.

This is why the discussion of gun violence in the United States makes absolutely no sense whatsoever. “Gun rights” advocates place themselves and others in this situation through their policies, yet want to imply those who oppose them are in some way not sensible.

Is It Sufficient to Simply Remind Gun Owners to be Safe?

via Ammoland where they believe enough gun owners are actually going to take this stuff seriously that the problem will be solved.



My opinion is this kind of self-correction is good as far as it goes, but it doesn't reach the ones who really need it.  That's why gun owners need to be constrained by law to do these things. Too many ignore these common sense suggestions and when caught doing so there needs to be legislation in place with which to charge them.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Australian Swimmer Apologizes for Gun Photos

The Australian reports

When visiting the US, there are many things to see. You've got sights like the Grand Canyon and Yellowstone national park. You've got the Statue of Liberty, but what these clowns wanted to do was yuck-it-up in a gun store.

It's sad that the United States is now so associated with guns and violence that visitors go to gun shops.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Domestic Murder-Suicide in Baton Rouge

Local news reports

East Baton Rouge Parish sheriff's deputies are investigating a triple shooting that left two people dead and another seriously injured.

According to a news release, detectives believe that 38-year-old Rouche Coleman shot and killed his estranged wife, 35-year-old Kesia Coleman, and seriously injured her juvenile son before shooting and killing himself.

Authorities say Kesia Coleman called deputies around 4 a.m. Friday in reference to a suspicious person entering her home.

During the call, deputies heard what could have been shots fired, and at some point Kesia Coleman stopped responding to deputies.

What's your opinion?  You know what mine is.

Please leave a comment.

Two Dead at Atlanta Funeral - Payback

Reuters reports

A shooting in a church parking lot after a funeral on Thursday left two people dead and at least two injured in the Atlanta suburb of Stone Mountain, officials said.

Gang violence and payback, it sounds like something you see in the movies. Unfortunately it's true and these players have all the guns they need.  How do they get them? They get them through the first three major ways that criminals get guns.

The sad part is it is largely preventable.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Decriminalized Pot and Criminalized Soda

China Criticizes the United States on the 2nd Amendment

via The New American, where they didn't like this one bit.

But in an official report entitled “Human Rights Record of the United States in 2011,” released a day after the U.S. State Department published its findings on mainland China late last month, the communist government blasted the situation in America. "The United States' tarnished human rights record has left it in no state — whether on a moral, political or legal basis — to act as the world's 'human rights justice,'" the regime said in its report, after citing multiple issues it claimed to perceive as human-rights violations. 

“We hereby advise the U.S. government once again to look squarely at its own grave human rights problems, to stop the unpopular practices of taking human rights as a political instrument for interference in other countries' internal affairs, smearing other nations' images and seeking its own strategic interests, and to cease using double standards on human rights and pursuing hegemony under the pretext of human rights,” concluded the Chinese government report, produced by the “State Council Information Office.”

The first alleged “human rights” violations in the United States cited by the communist regime: high crime statistics and reports of teenage bullying. Next on the list — apparently seeking to create the perception of a link with crime — was the Second Amendment. “The United States prioritizes the right to keep and bear arms over the protection of citizens' lives and personal security and exercises lax firearm possession control, causing rampant gun ownership,” the report claimed, citing more statistics.

I guess you could say, it takes one to know one. I happen to agree totally with the Chinese criticism, especially the part about gun rights in The States amounting to a violation of civil rights.I also like the double standard they mentioned about policing the world while our own shop is in disorder.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Bob Welch of Fleetwood Mac - Suicide with Gun - R.I.P.

Accidental Shooting of 4-Year Old Florida Girl by herself - Parents Locked Up

 Local news reports with video

The parents of a 4-year-old girl are in the Orange County Jail and facing charges of child neglect in the accidental shooting of their daughter.

Leshumbia Stokes and Marie Buskey were in handcuffs and charged with child neglect just hours after their 4-year-old awoke from a coma in at Orlando's Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children.

The girl had been in a medically induced coma since she accidentally shot herself nearly a month ago in their Titusville home. She woke up on Wednesday.

Titusville police believe the girl's father, Stokes, left a loaded gun on the couch of his Craig Avenue home. They think the girl found the gun and shot herself.

It seems pretty clear that the dad is a gangster, bullet holes in the car and all that, but I'm sure he told his little girl to never touch daddy's gun. Criminals love their kids too.

The problem is guns and kids don't mix.

Accidental Shooting of NC Woman by her Hidden Criminal Boyfriend - You Won't See Him No More

 

The Fay Observer reports
on what was originally called a dropped gun case.

The boyfriend of a woman who was accidentally shot Wednesday at their home is being charged in her death, Harnett County authorities said Thursday.

Todd Laymond Brown, 25, of Pinehollow Drive in Broadway, was to be charged Thursday morning with involuntary manslaughter, Sheriff Larry Rollins said.

"It was described as an accident, but accidents are also the results of negligence," Rollins said. "In the course of our investigation, we decided the appropriate reaction right now is involuntary manslaughter."

I guess when you're a drug dealer and do it, you pay. Why doesn't this apply to everybody else? Why is it so rare for the investigating officers to recognize that "negligence" is criminal, always, every time.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting Death of 4-Year-old Mississippi Girl by her 7-Year-old Brother - No Charges

Local news reports 

The Perry County Sheriff's Department is investigating the shooting death of a 4-year-old girl who was allegedly shot by her 7-year-old half brother on Tuesday around 11 a.m., according to Perry County Sheriff Jimmy Smith. 

Smith said the brother was playing with a shot gun, when he reportedly shot his half sister in the face at their home on Wing Gate Cove Road in the town of New Augusta. 

The victim was declared dead on the scene. "Right now, it appears to be an accidental shooting," Smith said. Smith said one of the parents was home at the time of the incident.

What's your opinion? Mine is that Mississippi is one backwards, jerk-water place where the folks leave shotguns around for kids to play with. And Mississippi isn't the only place where they do that.

I'll bet the 7-year-old had been told not to touch the gun.  What do you think?

Please leave a comment.

Domestic Murder and Attempted Suicide by Cop in Tulsa

Local news reports

A woman is dead and a suspect is shot by police in north Tulsa. 

Police got word that a woman there had been shot.The first officers to arrive were confronted by an armed man leaving the house.

Police told him to drop his gun and he wouldn't. They fired shots, and the man went down.  He was hit once but should survive.

However, police found a 68-year-old woman dead in the living room floor.  Police say the man is her husband and they were going through a divorce.

One thing I like about this story is the police didn't shoot him 35 times and kill him. Other than that, it sounds like the usual domestic abuse that was increased by the presence of a gun.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Stand Your Ground Killer Claims Self Defense

ABC reports on the trial

A Houston man on trial for fatally shooting his neighbor says he was acting in self defense and his home video can prove it.

Rodriguez, a former firefighter, was recording his argument with neighbors, when he shot and killed Kelly Danaher, an elementary school teacher, and wounded two other people in May 2010. The 22-minute homemade video is the key to the trial, but what’s on the video might be in the eye of the beholder.

What's your opinion? Does his claim of having acted in self-defense sound reasonable?

Haven't we seen a few of these lately, where the gun owner aggressively presses the situation and then ends up supposedly acting in self-defense?

I don't think his defense will prevail.  How about you?

Arkansas Boy Gets 45 Years for Killing his Sister

 Fox News reports on this incredible story which we posted when it happened.

An Arkansas teen pleaded guilty Wednesday to murdering his sleeping sister and was sentenced to 45 years in prison for a crime he still hasn't fully explained.

Colton Harvey, 15, grabbed his father's .22-caliber rifle one January morning while his parents were out grocery shopping. He walked into his 16-year-old sister Candace's room, pointed it at her forehead and fired. She awoke with a scream, so he shot her in the head twice more.

He threw some clothes and ammunition in his father's pickup truck and took off, driving first into the hills but then to the sheriff's office, where he chickened out in the parking lot. He drove to a friend's for some chewing tobacco — a vice that led to his parents grounding him days earlier — and then back to the sheriff's, where this time he found the courage to go in and confess.

"I don't know why I did it. It just happened," Harvey told state police investigator Corey Mendenhall hours later, according to a transcript of the interview in which he described in detail what happened that morning. The Associated Press obtained the transcript under a Freedom of Information Act request.

Baldr's comment in January summed up my feelings perfectly.

NOTE to the gun guys: Here is an excellent case why it is NOT okay to allow a 15 year old to have his own gun collection, even if he is a hunter and has had safety classes. Children are impulsive, and having a loaded gun handy only adds to the danger.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Rachel on Mitt's Vietnam Avoidance

via Fuck Conservatives 

The NRA Circus of Fear

via Josh Horwitz' blog on HuffPo 

And when it comes to perpetual crisis, "nobody does it better" than NRA CEO Wayne LaPierre. Today, my organization posted a brand-new video, "The NRA's Circus of Fear," which features multiple clips of LaPierre at his fearmongering best, including snippets from his (now infamous) CPAC speeches. "We have nothing to fear but the absence of fear," he announces to kick things off, and from there it's a bizarre collection of paranoia, conspiracy theories, and well, "S*** Wayne LaPierre Says."

 

Kim Kardashian's Gun

The Huffington Post has the whole story including a fascinating slide show of celebrities with carry permits.

 

Accidental Shooting of Topeka Man by a Dropped Gun - No Charges

The Topeka Capitol-Journal reports

A 26-year-old man was taken to a Topeka hospital early Wednesday after he was injured in what authorities said was an accidental shooting.

Authorities said the victim suffered a gunshot wound to the leg after he dropped a gun he had been holding. The gun discharged and a bullet struck the man in the leg, police said.

I know, I know, he probably tried to catch the gun on the way down and hit the trigger. That's what the pro-gun folks keep telling us because, you see, modern guns don't discharge from dropping them.

For me it makes "no never mind," because the negligence already took place either way.

"One strike you're out," and I don't care if you negligently kill a little kid, shoot yourself in the foot or put a bullet in the floor. We have far too much trouble already with guns to allow proven negligent and irresponsible people to have a second chance.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting Death of NC Woman by a Dropped Gun - No Charges

ABC Local news reports

Big update: http://mikeb302000.blogspot.it/2012/06/accidental-shooting-of-nc-woman-by-her.html

Hidden Criminals in Philadelphia with Florida Carry Permits

Salim Wiggins


 Philly.com reports

A handful of warrant cops were out doing their usual thing on May 19 — pounding on doors, chasing down fleeing fugitives — when they came upon two guys who appeared to be urinating in a weed-strewn lot at 18th and Cumberland streets in North Philly.

Turns out the alleged tinkling twosome, Salim Wiggins and Raymond Stewart, were both off-duty Philadelphia Water Department employees. 

Oh, and they were packing heat.

Police say Wiggins, 31, stammered, "My bad, officer," and took off running down nearby Cleveland Street. The cops caught up with him quickly. After a brief struggle, they cuffed Wiggins and found that he was carrying a Smith & Wesson Sigma .40-caliber that had been stolen in 2004, according to law-enforcement records.

He was charged with receiving stolen property, possessing an instrument of crime, weapons violations and public urination.

Stewart, 31, was carrying a .40-caliber Glock 27 that he legally purchased several years ago. He also had a valid permit to carry from Florida, despite the 11 prior arrests — but no convictions — on his record for charges including aggravated assault and drug possession.

Stewart’s permit was obtained through the so-called Florida loophole, a policy that’s been driving local cops mad for years.

Now there's irony for ya. The guy who legally owned the gun and had a concealed carry permit for it turns out to be more of a threat than the guy who stole his.

What do you think?  Does this story illustrate the problem with out-of-state carry permits?  Does it show the need for "may issue?"

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment. 

Racist Home Owner Threatens 7-Year-old with a Gun

Local News reports

Do you think he'll be held responsible for this gross act of irresponsible gun management? Or will he plead to disorderly and keep his guns?

"It'll all play out in court," the newsman said.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Riker's Island Officer Does Murder, Attempted Murder and Suicide

Correction Officer Shawn Bryan

The New York Daily News reports

Bryan’s rampage came less than an hour after his baby’s mother, Charlene Mitchell, 29, took out an order of protection against him, claiming he was a “demon” who terrorized her.

Bryan, 34, shot Springfield Officer Kevin Ambrose, 56, through the door of Mitchell’s apartment, then opened it and put a bullet in the helpless cop’s skull.

Bryan then shot Mitchell in the head and ran from the apartment. He later shot himself in his car, authorities said.

Do you think if we took a good look at this guy's past we'd find reason to take his guns and badge away?

Better screening and higher standards for qualifying, that's what we need.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

True DGUs - How Many Are There Each Year

Lots of people have debated this 2.5 million claim. But one part of the argument I've never seen is this.

Some percentage of DGU incidents is not defensive and legitimate. If the bad guy is dead, it's easy for the shooter to shade the circumstances enough in his direction to make it legit. If the bad guy lives, people tend not to believe what he has to say, he is a bad guy after all.

This goes double for those supposed brandishings in which the bad guy runs away.

So, I take the lowest estimate out there, which is about 50,000 or 60,000 and cut it in half. That's what you've got for true DGUs, and that corresponds perfectly with what we read in the news.

Murder - Suicide in Indiana

Indy Star reports on the latest "guns are bad news for women" story.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department is investigating a Westside shooting where they believe a man shot a woman before killing himself.

Police received a call about the incident around 12:20 a.m. They found Jonathan Ogden, 43, and Veronica Bailey, 40, both of Indianapolis, in the front yard with gunshot wounds.

The two, who were not married but had been living together for more than 20 years, died at the home.

Police believe that Ogden shot Bailey and then himself after the two had a fight.

Ogden was arrested before — on May 25 — on suspicion of domestic battery.

"Arrested" not convicted, which means of course he probably still owned his guns legally and had a concealed carry permit in his wallet. It's true there's nothing about that in the story, but it's also true that just about any idiot can get one of those in Indiana.  And once you get one, it's nearly impossible to lose the thing.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Ray Bradbury R.I.P.

Cenk on "Stop and Frisk" and the Marijuana Laws

Accidental Fatal Shooting of 12-Year-old by 13-Year-old - No Charges

 The Post Star reports

A 12-year-old boy was accidentally shot and killed in a Keating Street home late Tuesday, police said.

Police were questioning the boy who was accused of firing the rifle shot, a 13-year-old, later Tuesday. It was unclear if any charges were planned.

In cases like these, the only question is often whether the kid should be charged as an adult or not, and that's when they do talk about charges.

I'd like to know why the parents of guardians are not involved. They should be held responsible, along with the gun owner if that is a different person.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Nail Gun Shooter Arrested in Maryland

Huff Post reports

Police have arrested a Maryland construction worker for shooting a co-worker with a nail gun following an argument at the site where the two were working. 

Guillermo L. Lopez-Molina of Hyattsville, Md., has been charged with first and second-degree assault and reckless endangerment. 

The 34-year-old victim was found just before 11:30 a.m. on Monday, "suffering from injuries to the upper body sustained from a nail shot from a nail gun while framing a house.

Are those charges enough to have gun rights removed? I mean if and when he's convicted, of course.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Self-Inflicted Shooting in Michigan - No Charges

M Live reports

The Saginaw Police Department responded to a report of a shooting on the 1000 block of Webster that they believe was an accidental and self-inflicted, police said. 

Saginaw Police Department Detective Sgt. Joseph Dutoi said police believe the shooting was accidental and self-inflicted, though details of the victim's condition were not immediately available.

Hopefully he's not injured too seriously, that way he can get right back to mis-handling his guns. Next time maybe it'll be serious enough for some action to be taken.

It's a damn shame that someone has to be killed or hurt before these "accidents" are taken seriously, and even then sometimes they're not.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of NC 4-Year-old by himself - Parents to be Charged

The-Dispatch reports

A 4-year-old remained hospitalized Tuesday afternoon at Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center in Winston-Salem after he accidently shot himself in the foot late Monday afternoon, said Davidson County Sheriff David Grice.

Upon arrival, deputies discovered a 4-year-old boy had been shot in the foot. The investigation revealed the child had obtained the gun from the parent’s room, was playing with it and discharged the firearm.

The Davidson County Sheriff’s Office will be seeking charges on the parents for violation of storage of a firearm to protect minors.

This is the way it should be, unless they plea bargain it down to something minor enough to keep the gun rights. What do you think?

Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Minnesota Woman by 15-Year-old Hunter - No Charges

The Post Bulletin reports

A 26-year-old Rose Creek woman was injured Friday night in an accidental shooting. Maja Iverson suffered a gunshot wound to the back of her head, said Mower County Sheriff Terese Amazi.

Iverson and her husband were tending to chickens in a shed on property in the 60000 block of 205th Street about 8 p.m. Friday. Her husband heard a shot, saw Iverson collapse, saw an injury behind her ear and "put two and two together and called for help," Amazi said.

A 15-year-old boy who was shooting a .22 caliber rifle at birds on the property apparently fired the shot that went through the shed wall and hit Iverson.

That's the risk of living in the country. What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of West Virginia Man by Himself - No Hospital - No Charges

Local news reports

The Monongalia County Sheriff's Department is investigating an apparent accidental shooting in Morgantown. 

The sheriff's department said a man shot himself in the leg sometime on Tuesday, but EMS did not take him to the hospital. 

I wonder how often that happens, a negligent discharge results in a minor enough wound that no hospital or police report is involved?

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Fresno California

Incident 1.

Fresno Police continue to investigate a shooting that left two people dead and two others badly hurt.

The shots rang out around 2 p.m. in the area of Shields and Hughes.

Hughes is closed from Shields to Dakota.

Incident 2. 

Two people are in jail after a running gun battle with police through the streets of central Fresno. It started around 5:00 Monday morning near First and Dakota, police say, where two people in a stolen red Honda took off, and it ended at Cedar and Ashlan.

 That's where, deputies say, the driver crashed, but only after opening fire on them as the deputies gave chase. The deputies were not hit but a deputy and one of the suspects did get banged up in the crash and scuffle. The pair were arrested.

Jon Stewart on the Queen's 60th

The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

"The Last Family on Earth" - Survivalist TV Show

via Baldr

KVAL.com reports

The Spike television network is airing a competition this fall to award a fortified bunker to a family that believes the end of the world is near.

Seriously.

The network said Tuesday that its six-episode series called "Last Family on Earth" will feature survivalists competing to show how tough and resourceful they are. The winner gets an underground bunker in an undisclosed location.

Sharon Levy, executive vice president of original programming at Spike, said the series doesn't necessarily coincide with the theory that the ancient Mayan civilization predicted the end of the world will arrive in December 2012.

Levy said polls show that many people believe that there will be some catastrophic event like an earthquake or epidemic that threatens civilization, and these are the people who will participate in the show.

"We don't think there's anything funny about that," Levy said. "We think it's a very interesting segment of the population that is very prepared, is highly intelligent. These are regular people. These are not people that you may think are living in a shelter in the middle of the woods. These could be your friends.

"We're taking it very seriously," she said. "We know they're taking it very seriously, and we think it's going to be incredibly riveting."

What's your opinion? Are these interesting people who could be your friends? Or are they the extreme lunatic fringe?

In the drawing above, why is there no place for storing guns and ammo?

Please leave a comment.

The Definition of a Hidden Criminal - Ian Stawicki

Seattle Weekly reports

There is at least one certainty about the otherwise inexplicable Ian Stawicki. He was mad but not quite mad enough. He punched out his brother and broke his girlfriend's nose. His wild-eyed anger scared people. His father thought he was "crazy." But under state law he couldn't be forcibly committed. 

Yet he could legally carry a gun, and owned six of them. As Dan Turner puts it, "He didn't break the law until he pulled out a pistol and started shooting." That was last week at Cafe Racer in the U-District where Stawicki killed or mortally wounded four people, then shot a woman to death during his escape and subsequently killed himself, earning the hate of a city. Up to then, he was merely disliked by many.

Pro-gun folks often ask me what I mean by "hidden criminals." It's really a rhetorical question, more a statement on their part. More or less they're saying they don't believe in my idea.

The idea is simple, the world of gun owners is not neatly divided between good guys and bad guys. This false and simplistic view of things serves the gun-rights argument that being good guys, they are not responsible for the gun violence that never seems to end.  They blame the bad guys.  It's convenient.

The truth is, however, that the group of people they call "lawful gun owners" contains many volatile characters like Stawicki, folks who are obviously unsafe with guns but who have not yet picked up the necessary convictions to be disqualified.

In addition there are a legion of gun owners who believe that "bad rules be damned."  Either for convenience or out of a libertarian-type rebellion, they disregard the laws they don't like.  

Then, of course you've got the true criminals who haven't been caught yet, and, let's not forget the ones who use drugs, drink too much or suffer from mental illness.

I covered this in my posts The Venn Diagram of Gun Owners as well as in The Famous 10%.  There's nothing new here.

The article I linked to contains part of the solution.  Replacing "shall issue" states with "may issue" would certainly prevent some of these undesirable characters from obtaining the conceal carry permit. But we need to go much further than that, and the first goal is awareness.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment

Accidental Shooting of Ohio Woman by Juvenile - No Charges

 Local news reports

Police said that a juvenile's mishandling of a loaded gun resulted in an accidental shooting Monday in Williams County, Ohio. 

The victim, Donna Mercer, 69, was later flown to a hospital in Toledo, where she was last reported to be in stable condition. 

Sheriff's deputies determined that the shooting happened at Mercer's home on County Road J in Montpelier. They said it was accidental and occurred as a result of a male juvenile mishandling a loaded gun.

I know, it's under investigation. But does anyone really think this kind of "accident" will result in the responsibly persons being charged? I certainly don't.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Guns, Drugs and Cell Phones Seized in Caracas Prison

Fox News reports on the incredible situation in Venezuela's prisons.

This fascinating story made me wonder about that other report we recently discussed about civilian gun bans in the country.

Like I said, It's gonna be interesting down there. What do you think? 

Domestic Murder - Suicide in Tennessee and Kentucky

 Local news reports

The man police said was responsible for shooting and killing his estranged wife inside a Green Hills medical office building has been found dead in Kentucky. 

Officials said 51-year-old Gilbert Devon Pearsall was found dead on the side of Interstate 24 outside of Paducah Monday, with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

How does it work in Tennessee when a person picks up a misdemeanor for domestic abuse? Is he prohibited from buying guns in the future? Does he lose the ones he already owns? Do the police come to his home and search it for weapons.

I suspect the answer to these questions is "no."

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Another Good Clean DGU

via The Second Amendment, Shooting and Firearms Blog

 Local news reports with video

A citizen with a gun stopped a knife wielding man as he began stabbing people Thursday evening at the downtown Salt Lake City Smith's store.

Police say the suspect purchased a knife inside the store and then turned it into a weapon. Smith's employee Dorothy Espinoza says, "He pulled it out and stood outside the Smiths in the foyer. And just started stabbing people and yelling you killed my people. You killed my people."

Espinoza says, the knife wielding man seriously injured two people. "There is blood all over. One got stabbed in the stomach and got stabbed in the head and held his hands and got stabbed all over the arms."

Then, before the suspect could find another victim - a citizen with a gun stopped the madness. "A guy pulled gun on him and told him to drop his weapon or he would shoot him. So, he dropped his weapon and the people from Smith's grabbed him."

You have to really keep your eyes open for these stories, but there out there. I especially like the ones in which the good guy acts like a good guy and doesn't kill anyone. In those cases there's practically no question of right and wrong.

Those of us who read gun blogs and gun news every day, and are open-minded about it, see that the ratio between legitimate DGUs and the misuse of firearms is about 1 to 100, maybe more.

The story about 2.5 million DGUs a year, and the slogan that "more guns equals less crime" are some of the most bizarre arguments of the pro-gun propaganda machine. One only needs to read the news to see that.

What's your opinion?  please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of 14-Year-old Alabama Boy - No Charges

Local news reports

The Colbert County Sheriff's Office is investigating an accidental shooting that landed a 14 year old boy in the hospital.
        
Sheriff Ronnie May says the teen was shot by a 13 year old boy. We're told the victim was hit in the neck with a bullet from a .22 caliber rifle.

Day after day, the hits just keep on comin'.

Yet, the gun-rights boys keep tellin' us how few these are.  I keep tellin' them how preventable they are.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Brother Arrested in Detroit Shooting of 15-Year-old Girl - May Not Have Been an Accident

The victim, 15-year-old Kadijah James The Detroit News reports on the latest developments in this sad story.

Police have arrested a 17-year-old in connection with the fatal shooting of his 15-year-old sister Saturday on the city's east side.

Police arrived to find a victim had been struck and killed.

The brother was being questioned by Detroit police homicide investigators. The weapon has been recovered.

Police have sent the case to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office for review and determination of charges, Stephens said Sunday. She declined to discuss whether the shooting was deliberate or accidental.

Maybe these cops are turning accidents into murders like McNulty did to get better funding from the bosses. What do you think? Everybody else seems to think it was an "accident."

Nebraska Chat Room Death Ruled Accidental

Local news with video report

Back in March, a Bellevue teen shot and killed himself while others watched in a video chat room. Was it an accident? Or suicide? To find the answer, police launched a three-month investigation that spanned the globe. 

A 911 call from Florida led Bellevue police to a home in the Castle Ridge neighborhood. It was an online friend of 19-year-old Trevor George that called, worried he might have shot himself.

The buzz about what happened in the Tinychat video chat room that night was archived online. According to the chatter, George went by two screen names, TZIF and Jesus, with variations of Jesus.

Sad story. I wonder whose gun it was.

Arizona Man Shoots at Police Helicopter and Threatens Suicide

AZ Central reports on another lawful gun owner gone bad.

An ambulance employee was arrested on suspicion of firing shots toward a police helicopter Thursday night and stealing his wife's police car and gun.

Ronald McCown, 30, was pointing the gun at his head and threatening suicide during an argument with his wife at their home in Mesa, police said. When his wife called 911, McCown left in her police car.

As he was driving away, he saw a police helicopter overhead and headed back home. Once he arrived, McCown got out of his vehicle and fired four or five shots in the air. 

He said he did not know where the light was coming from and fired out of frustration.

McCown's wife, a Gila River Indian Community police employee, was still at the house when she heard gunshots, police said.

What's your opinion? Is something wrong with Arizona, I mean besides the lax gun laws? They seem to have more than their share of stories.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Arizona Road Rage Incident

AZ Central reports on another lawful gun owner with a sketchy background enjoying his right of Constitutional Carry.

A post-office employee was arrested on suspicion of aggravated assault Wednesday after he pointed a gun at a 10-year-old girl during a road-rage incident, according to police reports.

Michael Vigorito, 47, was driving a BMW near Gilbert and McKellips roads in Mesa on Monday night when he got into a confrontation with people in another car, police said. He pulled out a gun and pointed it at three people, one of whom was a 10-year-old girl, police said.

The victims got the license-plate number and identified Vigorito in a photo line-up the next day, according to police.

Vigorito was arrested around 12:30 p.m. Wednesday in Fountain Hills.

He has previously been arrested on suspicion of harassment, according to police reports.

There are too many unfit and dangerous guys legally going around with guns.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Family-friendly Gun Range Offering Birthday Parties for Kids

Local news reports

 

Do you think the lady had a point that mixing guns and fun can be confusing for young kids? How old should a kid be before participating in something like this?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Chicago Man Arrested on Gun Charges

The Chicago Tribune reports

Guns are sometimes recovered during traffic stops but officers got a surprise this week when the “gunman” was a 3-year-old girl in the East Garfield Park neighborhood.

When confronted by police the girl dropped the weapon safely and wasn't harmed, but an adult in the car was arrested.

Queshawn King, 19, was charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon for having a loaded weapon inside the vehicle, misdemeanor endangering the life and health of a child, and misdemeanor possession of a firearm without a valid FOID card, police said.

Well they sure threw the book at this guy? What could account for the incredible disparity in charging between this case and some of the others we look at? How often do we see no charges when kids shoot each other with daddy's gun and end up dead? Yet, in this case with no one injured they seem to be taking it so seriously.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Spartanburg Waffle House - Scene of a Murder

 Local News reports

Spartanburg County deputies have arrested a man in connection with a fatal shooting that happened at about 5 a.m. Sunday morning.

Hours after the shooting occurred, deputies arrested 27-year-old  Antwon M. Baker, Jr.  He has been charged with the murder of Anthony Terrelle Young, 23. Both men were from Spartanburg.

According to Spartanburg County Sheriff Chuck Wright, Baker and Young were familiar with each other. It is believed that Young was murdered as the result of an argument that escalated with gunfire.

Last January there was a shooting at a Spartanburg Waffle House, not sure if it was the same one. That one they called a DGU, this one is just an argument that got out of hand.

They sure know how to come out with the guns in that part of South Carolina.  What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Rest in Peace, Richard Dawson

Baldr Odinson's Gun Story

I survived a shooting in the summer of 1990.  Today is the anniversary.

It was June 1 in Hot Springs, Arkansas, and I was 18 years old, looking forward to entering college.

Complete text on New Trajectory.

Wisconsin Gun Owner Murders the Kid Next Door

The Washington Post reports

A 75-year-old Milwaukee man charged in the fatal shooting of a 13-year-old boy who lived next door had been a repeated target of break-ins, according to neighbors.

John Henry Spooner was charged with one count of first-degree intentional homicide, use of a dangerous weapon.

The boy, identified as Darius Simmons, was unarmed when he was shot in the street outside their homes.

According to the complaint, Spooner approached Simmons as the boy retrieved a garbage cart from in front of a house Thursday morning. The boy’s mother, Patricia Larry, who saw the shooting, said Spooner told her son he “wanted his stuff back and that he wanted his shotguns back,” the complaint said.

Simmons and his mother told Spooner they did not have his property. Spooner then pulled a gun, pointed it at Simmons and fired one shot from about five feet away.

Spooner fired a second shot at Simmons as the boy was running away.

Let's hope Mr. Spooner was a reader of The Truth About Guns. He would have known the value of STFU when caught doing murder. Then, if the investigation proves the dead kid really had been responsible for the break-ins, we've got all the makings of another pro-gun martyr.

Let's not fail to notice that Spooner was another lawful gun owner turned bad. The gun-rights folks keep telling us there are very few of them, but I'm not convinced.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

The Keystone Report on the Gun Show Loophole

David Broach, I think he said his name is, represents gun owners at large much better than the gun-rights extremists we hear so much from on the gun blogs. What do you think?

Accidental Shooting of Detroit 15-Year-old by her Brother - No Charges

Local ABC News reports

 

Black or white, rural or urban, it's the same story all over the country every single day. Kids are being killed due to negligent use of guns, guns that shouldn't even be there. And no one is being held accountable.

Recently one of our gun-loving commenters quoted the statistics about how many of the "accidental" killings each year are actually children. 80 something out of 600 he said.  I found that hard to believe, but now I'm convinced something is wrong with that number. 

In today's news alone there are THREE.  Now, that's a far cry from the ONE every four or five days that 80 would give us.  There seems to be some kind of disconnect between the supposedly bona fide statistics and the daily reports.

What's your opinion? Is this something that needs to be taken more seriously, or not?

Please leave a comment.

Accidental Fatal Shooting of 11-Year-old Georgia Girl by her Sibling with Parents Present - No Charges

ajc reports

The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says an 11-year-old girl in north Georgia has been fatally shot, apparently by a sibling who was playing with a loaded handgun.

[Special agent in charge Jerry] Scott says the fatal shooting Friday night appears to have been a "tragic accident." The girl was riding in the back of a pickup truck with her siblings and other children when she was shot. Scott says it appears that one of the girl's siblings was playing with a handgun when she was shot. 

Their parents were in the cab of the truck.

Of course there'd be no mention of charges or responsibility, it was a "tragic accident."

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Washington State Peace Officer by Himself at a Gun Show - No Charges

The Columbian reports

An off-duty employee of the Skamania County Sheriff's Office was sent to the hospital Saturday morning after he accidentally shot himself at a gun show in Carson.

When the sheriff's deputies arrived they found a Pete Tennison, 53, of Stevenson with a .45-caliber gunshot wound to the upper thigh.

Tennison, a sworn peace officer with a limited commission, supervises inmate work crews from the Skamania County Jail. He does not carry a firearm as part of his work.

What's your opinion? Do you think that's the very first negligent discharge Officer Tennison has ever had?  I doubt it.

One thing I feel strongly about is that it should be his last. What better proof do we need to determine a person is unfit to safely manage firearms? So many of the mentally unfit people are difficult to identify before they act badly, but this is proof positive.  One strike you're out.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of Maryland 11-Year-old by his Little Brother - No Charges

The Washington Post reports

An 11-year-old boy was killed by his 8-year-old brother in an accidental shooting Saturday in Harford County, Md.

The 11-year-old, who lived in Pylesville, was shot in the head in local woods, the authorities said.

Deputies were told at first that an unknown person had fired from an unknown direction, but they found a handgun hidden in the woods.

Authorities said the older boy was shot accidentally by his brother as they were playing.

The gun had been taken from a secured area on the property of an elderly neighbor when the boys went to his house to help with yardwork.

No charges had been filed, and the county prosecutor’s office would review the incident, authorities said.

First of all, the gun was obviously NOT stored in a secure area. Secure means little kids cannot get it. The gun owner should be held responsible.

Secondly, where do you think an 8-year-old learned to hide a gun and lie about the shooting shortly after such a traumatic event? That sounds nearly impossible unless he had adult assistance. That person should be held accountable.

What is it with the response to these offenses of negligence? Is everybody so shocked and saddened that they lose their minds?  Are they so overwhelmed by the tragedy of it that they fail to see whose responsible?

It was just an accident, they say.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

The Napalm Girl, Kim Phuc, 40 Years Later

via Under the Lobster Scope

Here's her story from The Guardian