Maybe this will give you the willies

While you are all worried about the evil guvment (nevermind that big business is a whole lot more evil, but you've been drinking the water--er, kool-aid).  It seems that the NSA can snoop on your computer even if you are not connected to the internet according to the latest leak from Edward Snowden.

Remember that while you are violating the constitution by plotting against the government (Article III, Section iii)!

But, don't worry, they also have implants that can read your mind as well.  You can expect to be sitting in some secret prison rotting away after the mind police arrest you.

Another Law Abiding Gun Owner leaves an AR-15 in their car

It seems to me that most crime guns are reported as being "stolen" for their method of entering the illegal arms stream, people would want to take better care of their assault rifles.  On the other hand, they are great for shooting kindergardners and cinema goers and not much else.

So, why not leave it in your car, especially if you are a pro-gun activist.  We need more headlines like this one from the Salt Lake Tribune:

Prominent Utah gun lobbyist's AR-15 assault rifle stolen from his car

I have a post in the making called "why the pro-gun position may not be so good if you really like guns" and this might be a good thing to add to it.

What you can do with bear arms

If we are going to be silly buggers about it: bear arms can play a harp:

I have quoted from Aymette v. State, 2 Humphreys (Tenn.) in other places, but it makes it clear that the terms "bear arms" means in a military context--Despite what "Fat Tony Scalia" says:

"We think there is a manifest distinction. In the nature of things, if they were not allowed to bear arms openly, they could not bear them in their defence of the state at all. To bear arms in defence of the state is to employ them in war, as arms are usually employed by civilized nations. The arms, consisting of swords, muskets, rifles, etc., must necessarily be borne openly; so that a prohibition to bear them openly would be a denial of the right altogether. And, as in their constitution the right to bear arms in defence of themselves is coupled with the right to bear them in defence of the state, we must understand the expressions as meaning the same thing, and as relating to public, and not private, to the common, and not the individual, defence.
But a prohibition to wear a spear concealed in a cane would in no degree circumscribe the right to bear arms in the defence of the state; for this weapon could in no degree contribute to its defence, and would be worse than useless in an army. And, if, as is above suggested, the wearing arms in defence of the citizens is taken to mean the common defence, the same observations apply.
To make this view of the case still more clear, we may remark that the phrase, "bear arms," is used in the Kentucky constitution as well as in our own, and implies, as has already been suggested, their military use. The 28th section of our bill of rights provides "that no citizen of this state shall be compelled to bear arms provided he will pay in equivalent, to be ascertained by law." Here we know that the phrase has a military sense, and no other; and we must infer that it is used in the same sense in the 26th section, which secures to the citizen the right to bear arms. A man in the pursuit of deer, elk, and buffaloes might carry his rifle every day for forty years, and yet it would never be said of him that he had borne arms; much less could it be said that a private citizen bears arms because he has a dirk or pistol concealed under his clothes, or a spear in a cane. So that, with deference, we think the argument of the court in the case referred to, even upon the question it has debated, is defective and inconclusive.
In the case of Simpson v. The State, 5 Yerg. 356, Judge White, in delivering the opinion of the court, makes use of the general expression that, " by this clause in the constitution, an express power is given and secured to all the free citizens in the state to keep and bear arms for their defence, without any qualification whatever as to their kind and nature."

Repeating lies does not make them true

Let's start with

Guns save lives 

Seriously? What concrete proof do you have for this statement?  Looking at the news, there are far more examples of guns doing what weapons do, which is kill or cause serious bodily injury.

I'm open to proof that guns save lives, but right now there is precious little proof this statement is anything but BULLSHIT.

The US doesn't have a gun problem--it has a mental illness problem/crime problem/texting problem

Again, give me a break.  Are you telling me that other countries don't have these issues as well?  Guess what? they do, but they don't have the gun problem the US has.

Guns are inanimate objects/tools

Yes, they are.  Although, calling them tools is a bit disingenuous since they are actually weapons and as such have the purpose of killing or causing serious bodily injury.  That's why there is a big difference between hammers, swimming pools, cars and all those other false analogies to firearms.

Firearms are weapons.

Anyway, we are seeing loads of empirical evidence to the fact that the US has a serious gun problem, but people are in denial and coming up with all sorts of piss poor reasons for doing nothing about the problem.

Denial ain't a river in Africa, but the US sure is deep in it.

Or is that shit creek?

The History of English in 10 Minutes

I can see why registration and background checks could be scary....

I can just imagine this as a reason for owning a firearm and putting it on an application to buy and register one.

No wonder people want to call them "Modern Sporting Rifles"  (only if the sport is "shoot the kindergardener in the classroom").  More fun here

The Gun Violence Debate in the US runs on ignorance

I've already mentioned that the federal funding for gun violence research has been cut since the facts have an "anti-gun" bias and the Tiahrt Amendment protects the  illegal firearms trade, which means that the debate has been running on literal science fiction (not to mention the work of Lott and Kleck which is figurative science fiction).  "Fat Tony" Scalia produced a judicial "opinion" that was pure sophistry hiding ignorance of the facts.

The real point here is that even statistics are suffering in this battle to stack the deck.  Thus, The National Rifle Association likes to argue that criminals, or people intent on committing a crime, will obtain guns no matter what the law says. Among the 5,417 gun homicides in 2012 that the FBI assigns a circumstance to (3,438 are "unknown circumstances"), a mere 1,324 were committed in conjunction with another felony. Three times that (3,980) were committed by otherwise law-abiding citizens. Of that, over half (1,968) were the result of an argument that escalated fatally out of control.

To put it another way: otherwise unpremeditated murders, where people kill out of momentary rage, are the single most common type of gun homicide in America. More than gangland killings (822); more than murders committed during robberies (505) and drug deals (311) combined.

But, are the data which is coming from official sources even accurate in this matter?  Slate magazine tried to find out the facts, but like concrete data as to how many concealed carry permit holders actually go bad and who REALLY relies on the "get away with murder" laws, anything that has to be turned up needs to be done manually.

The feature was meant to be a provocation of sorts: We knew that those rows of figures, each one attached to a name, piling atop one another every day, made for an arresting visual, one that might trouble even the most ardent gun-rights supporter.

But as time went by and the interactive was discussed, questioned, and cited, this provocation also became a kind of experiment. How many deaths were being reported on, and how many were falling through the cracks? Why was it that no single source was collecting this data in real time? In other words, we wanted to know if an interactive like this can actually be valuable as something besides a provocation—whether crowdsourcing can produce real-time data and whether that data is useful and complete. (Hoping people might use our data for their own research purposes, we made it available as a downloadable file.)

A year after Newtown, the 11,400-plus human figures on that list remain a chilling reminder of the toll guns take on Americans every day. And the answers to our questions have started to become clear. Some people did use our data, for both interesting visualizations and public programs (sometimes, alas, without reading it carefully first). But we’ve also learned some tough lessons about how hard it is to track death by gun in America. The overwhelming likelihood is that our interactive missed more than half of the gun deaths in the past 12 months. The main reason there is no single source collecting this data in real time is surely because it is an enormous, daunting task—one that we only made a small dent in, with the help of devoted volunteers.

The statistics which are slowly, painstakingly assembled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from death certificates, find that about 32,000 people are killed by guns in America each year.  Unfortunately, the CDC's data in addition to possibly being incomplete is not published in a timely fashion.  For example, the most recent year for which preliminary data is available is 2011 and the CDC's "exact" number was 32,163. Slate also found that some gun deaths fell through the cracks.  Additionally, Slate used everyone who was killed by a gun (e.g. Tamerlan Tsarnaev), which caused an uproar from the right.

Slate also found that:

Suicides, it turns out, are this project’s enormous blind spot. Most every homicide makes the local paper, even if in large cities these stories are sometimes relegated to a mere news brief. Accidental shootings are usually reported upon, as are shootings by law enforcement and incidents in which civilians kill in self-defense. But suicides are mostly invisible. And the fact is that suicides make up 60 percent or more of all deaths by gun in America. In our interactive, misleadingly, only about 10 percent of recorded deaths were deemed suicides by our crowdsourced categorizers.

Slate has a companion piece to this The Missing 20,000 Gun Deaths. Suicide accounts for the bulk of gun deaths, which is a fact I know annoys you greatly.   On the other hand, the data also shows that owning a firearm is far more dangerous to the owner.

Ultimately, the lack of information filters down to researchers. Though most scientists Slate talked to said that they’d always found individual police departments forthcoming and helpful.  There is widespread frustration that data isn’t systematically available in a more timely manner for people doing the research. “I don’t know why we don’t have rapid case accounts,” said Harvard’s Cathy Barber. “It’s crazy that we are using 2010 data.”

The real bottom line is that we cannot have a serious discussion about this topic without accurate information.  The information which has been fueling the debate is pretty much wrong whether it is that the Second Amendment relates to private arms or studies that show more guns is the reason there is less crime.  Indeed, it doesn't help your side of the argument if the "facts" you provide are bullshit, or just plain non-existent.

It's time the debate started using facts rather than wishful thinking.

Modern sporting rifle?

Shooting sports the modern way. Isn't Sir Guy using a modern sporting rifle?

At least you have your guns...

Health care isn't a right.

The same goes for housing

Voting

Or water

You may be aware of the chemical spill that contaminated a river supplying water to hundreds of thousands of people in West Virginia. Officials say there wasn't much regulation at the site where the spill occurred and that little is known about the chemical that leaked.

On the other hand, US House republicans passed a bill that will gut toxic waste clean up regulations in the United States. H.R. 2279, otherwise known as ‘The Reducing Excessive Deadline Obligations Act’ would basically eliminate the power of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to impose clean up deadlines, following toxic spills like the recent WV spill.

That bill passed on the same day the Chemical spill poisoned the water in West Virginia.

But for some reason, guns are no matter how idiotic that proposition is when you really think about it.

You might want to read about how you are being conned into voting against your interests here--but I doubt you will.  It's nicer being conned than realise you've been conned.

I guess it makes it easier to kill yourself when you realise that fact.

More responsible gun ownership

It seems that Lauren Tannehill, wife of Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill, turned in a rental car, but forgot to remove an AR-15 rifle from the back seat.  it doesn't appear that leaving a weapon used to slaughter people (e.g., small children) in rental cars is a crime.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/01/15/3872773/report-wife-of-miami-dolphins.html#storylink=cpy

Call in interview with Adam Lanza

A year before he opened fire on an elementary school in Newtown, Conn., Adam Lanza reportedly called into an Oregon radio show to discuss mass shootings.  When you read about him, you get this feeling that he was incapable of expressing himself.


The New York Daily News obtained audio from the call into "Anarchy Radio" that took place in December 2011. In the call, Lanza discussed "Travis," the domesticated chimpanzee who mauled a Connecticut woman in 2009, leaving her severely disfigured.

The phone call has been authenticated and can be heard here.

Guns save lives?

My usual sarcastic comment would be to say she bought the gun to protect her family.  Of course, we all know, deep down, that a gun in the home is more likely to kill a family member than an intruder.

Unfortunately, despite the repeated lie that "guns save lives" we have the second incident where a mother kills her family:

A Utah mom described by pals as positive and caring shot and killed her two young daughters before turning the gun on herself the same day her fiance packed up his belongings and moved out of her house, authorities said.
Kyler Ramsdell-Oliva, 32, killed her pretty blonde daughters, Kenadee Oliva, 13, and Isabella Oliva, 7, Tuesday evening in their home in Syracuse, a town on the Great Salt Lake about 25 miles north of Salt Lake City.

As I said, she probably got the gun to protect her family.

Too bad this is yet another case where the person the family needed protection from was another family member.

As I said on Facebook:  The pro-gun myths should backfire when people realise more guns don't make them safer. Unfortunately, that happens on a case by case basis, not the massive scale necessary for change.

Indiana Not-Quite Mass Shooting - Not a Gun Free Zone - 3 Dead Including the Shooter

Florida popcorn shooting: Are concealed guns about self-defense or power?

You may be aware that those old "may issue" concealed carry laws that gave the issuing authority some discretion had been proposed by the Handgun Owners Association and NRA in the 1920s and 1930s.  We had the statement of Then-NRA President Karl T. Frederick:

MR. FREDERICK: ... "I have never believed in the general practice of carrying weapons. I seldom carry one. ... I do not believe in the general promiscuous toting of guns. I think it should be sharply restricted and only under licenses"

Yet, for some reason (most likely it is the best way to get people to act against their interest), the NRA now proposes and advocates the "general promiscuous toting of guns".

The Christian Science Monitor has a piece with the same title I used here that points out that this has been a bad decision:

But in a country in which the number of permits to carry concealed weapons has skyrocketed, Oulson’s death has also become one more piece of evidence of what some see as the sinister and frightening side of expanded gun rights. In that view, the act of carrying a hidden gun in public is as much about wielding power over fellow citizens as self-defense.
“There are a lot of people dead today who would be alive but for [a gun carrier] who gets angry and accelerates an argument to a homicide,” says Kristen Rand, legislative director at the Violence Policy Center in Washington. “It’s very clear that carrying a concealed gun creates a mindset among some people that, ‘I’ve got a gun, the state sanctions it, therefore I have a right to use it’ ” in public.

There is something called the weapon effect, which is where the presence of a weapon will tend to cause the situation to become more violent.  The CSM mentions this:

But others see a more disturbing pattern highlighted by the popcorn shooting. The Violence Policy Center has used press accounts and other sources to compile a database of deaths attributed to non-self-defense instances where concealed-carry permit holders fired their weapons. Since 2007, 555 people have been killed in 33 states in such instances.

“With alarming regularity, individuals licensed to carry concealed weapons instigate fatal shootings that have nothing to do with self-defense,” the Violence Policy Center's Ms. Rand said in a statement commenting on the Florida shooting.

I know people will come up with the usual "guns save lives " bullshit.  Bullshit since they have yet to come up with a serious study that backs that up. On the other hand, there are some people who are honest in this debate.

Meanwhile, some permit holders acknowledge that carrying a gun around in public can tweak a person’s decision matrix in the face of potential trouble, primarily by imparting to the gun-carrier a greater sense of responsibility and urgency in avoiding conflict.

That’s because of an understanding among responsible gun owners that, as one concealed carrier told the Monitor, “if it gets ugly, you know it can get ugly on an amazing scale.”

I am sure that when more serious research is undertaken it will reinforce the fact that relaxing the gun laws is a bad idea which has been driven by ideologues.  Remember that the studies were coming out that showed guns were a detriment when the funding for them was cut.

Ideologues driven by science fiction and the belief that "an armed society is a polite society"

California Concealed Carry Permits by County

CONCEALED WEAPONS PERMITS IN CALIFORNIA
 

Ten years later:

Background Checks

Pennsylvania Woman Goes to Jail for Straw Purchasing a Gun for her Boyfriend the Felon

Local news reports

A Secane woman was sentenced Tuesday to serve 11-22 months for providing a convicted felon with a handgun.

Rosemary Epright, 33, of the 800 block of Quaint Street, was convicted on a single count of illegally transferring a handgun without a license following a jury trial in December.

Judge James Nilon fashioned the sentence so that Epright will serve 60 weekends at the Delaware County prison, for a total 120 days, before serving the remainder of the minimum balance on electronic home monitoring. She reports for her first weekend this Friday.

According to an affidavit of probable cause, Glenolden police responded to a report of an assault at a fencing company in the 100 block of North MacDade Boulevard on Jan. 29, 2013.

While investigating, officers discovered that the company’s owner, John Romano, was in possession of two handguns despite having a burglary conviction on his record, which barred him from legally owning firearms.

Romano turned over to police a loaded Smith & Wesson 9 mm handgun and a loaded Glock .40-caliber handgun that were in his desk drawer. He allegedly told investigators the guns had been purchased by friends for his protection.

The 9 mm Smith & Wesson was registered to Epright, who allegedly told police she bought the weapon at a Collingdale gun shop in November 2008 while with Romano. An employee of Romano’s said they had frequently seen Romano in possession of three different handguns, including the Smith & Wesson.

Tennessee Gun Report Notes 4 Accidental Shootings in Just One Week

Southern Beale

Four accidental shootings this week, y’all! Plus, waaaay too many high school boys bringing guns to school. What the hell is up with that, anyway?

If that's a typical week in only one gun-lovin' state, it seems to me something's wrong with the stats we keep hearing about how few accidental shootings there are each year. Maybe one of our math masters can help explain this apparent conundrum.

Even if we double the accepted numbers, it still seems off.

What do you think?

Is America a Christian Nation?

Yeah, I bet you probably have no real idea what the Constitution ACTUALLY says--you know what you WANT it to say.



After all, who cares what the Constitution ACTUALLY says when you can go by what you THINK it says!

The Final Night of the Living Van Vliet - Captain Beefheart Festival 2013-2014

Good night Captain Beefheart, wherever you are. Happy Birthday

January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010

Florida banning junk food?

It seems that Junk Food is a good reason to kill someone in Florida: after all, Trayvon Martin threatened George Zimmerman with ice tea and skittles.  The latest victim not only texted (a crime worthy of the death penalty in itself), but threw popcorn.

He had to shoot him.

This all sounds like Monty Python. "And now we will show you how to protect yourself against a person carrying candy and popcorn. Pull out your gun and shoot them."


What do you expect when you pass ""get away with murder" laws?

Penis substitutes?

Maybe it is time for s similar type of exchange programme in the US like this one for knives:

More on that idiotic quote from Robert Heinlein.

"An armed society is a polite society", which comes from Robert Heinlein’s "Beyond This Horizon" where duels may easily occur when someone feels that they have been wronged or insulted is attributed as a custom that keeps order and politeness. One difference, Heinlein's world had a code where someone who didn't want to duel could wear a yellow ribbon.

That doesn't seem to be the case in the US.

Arkansas 3-Year-old Dead - Sheriff Says it Was Just an Accident

Local news reports

Authorities in Greene County say the weekend shooting death of a 3-year-old boy was accidental.

Greene County Sheriff Dan Langston says 3-year-old Logan Carter of Fontaine died from a gunshot wound to the head. The sheriff says a relative accidentally shot Logan with a .45-caliber semi-automatic handgun on Saturday.

According to the sheriff's office, the boy's family took him to Arkansas Methodist Medical Center in Paragould after the shooting. The boy was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Langston says officials are still investigating the case to determine whether any charges should be filed.

Pennsylvania Man Charged in Friend's Accidental Shooting

Local news reports

A 19-year-old Penn Township man was charged with the accidental shooting of his 18-year-old friend Tuesday afternoon.

Police said Colton Cline and Tyler Fetter were hanging out at Cline’s Lux Road home just after noon when Cline fired one shot.

According to the criminal complaint, Cline reportedly told police he and Fetter were “goofing around” when Fetter threatened to beat him up. In response, Cline reportedly pulled out a shotgun, prompting Fetter to ask, “Am I supposed to be scared?”Cline told police the gun went off as he was moving the gun away from Fetter.

Investigators said Fetter was shot once with a shotgun in the arm and chest area.

Bumbling Lawful Ohio Gun Owner Shoots Himself Protecting the Chickens

Local news with video

New Mexico 12-Year-old Shoots Two Classmates

USA Today

A 12-year-old boy was taken into custody Tuesday after a shooting at a Roswell, N.M., middle school that left two teenage classmates seriously wounded. 

An 11-year-old boy was in critical condition and a 13-year-old girl was upgraded to satisfactory Tuesday night after being air-lifted to a Lubbock, Texas, hospital, about 175 miles away, according to a University Medical Center spokesperson. 

Officials said the boy, apparently the intended target, was shot twice in the face with a shotgun, and the girl once in an arm. A classmate said the shooter, a seventh-grader, was being bullied, but New Mexico state police said they still did not have a motive. 

Roswell police said the shooting occurred about 8:11 a.m. local time (10:11 a.m. ET) in the gymnasium at Berrendo Middle School. A teacher subdued the suspect.

North Carolina 15-Year-old Arrested with a Gun at School - No Charges for the Parents

Charlize Theron Convinces Sean Penn to Get Rid of the Guns

Charlize Theron and Sean Penn

Express

IT MUST be love. SEAN PENN has credited new flame CHARLIZE THERON with convincing him to give up his 60-strong gun collection.

The 53-year-old has been amassing the arsenal for years but now has revealed the guns will be decommissioned and made into a sculpture by artist Jeff Koons with all profits going to hisHelp Haiti Home Foundation.

Charlize’s influence over Penn’s decision is particularly poignant given that her mother shot dead her alcoholic father in 1991 following years of abuse, in what was deemed a lawful killing.

A better method of execution.

I understand that Wyoming Senator Bruce Burns is proposing firing squads for execution.  His reasoning is:

"The state of Wyoming doesn't have a gas chamber currently, an operating gas chamber, so the procedure and expense to build one would be impractical to me," said Burns, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"I consider frankly the gas chamber to be cruel and unusual, so I went with firing squad because they also have it in Utah," Burns said. He's introduced the bill for consideration in the legislative session that starts Feb. 10 in Cheyenne.

"One of the reasons I chose firing squad as opposed to any other form of execution is because frankly it's one of the cheapest for the state," Burns said. "The expense of building a gas chamber I think would be prohibitive when you consider how many people would be executed by it, and even the cost of gallows."

Actually, the guillotine is a much less expensive and cost effective method of execution. It has the additional deterrent value of being able to stick the criminal's head on a pole as a warning to others not to commit a crime. It was used in Europe well into the 20th century, which means that it may not fall under the constitutional prohibition on "cruel and unusual punishments".

It's a win-win!

After all, see how well it worked after the French Revolution!

Mikhail Kalashnikov isn't alone in his remorse

You may be aware that Mikhail Kalashnikov, designer of the Automat Kalashnikov rifle wrote this in a letter prior to his death:

"The pain in my soul is unbearable. I keep asking myself the same unsolvable question: If my assault rifle took people's lives that means that I, Mikhail Kalashnikov, ... am responsible for people's deaths."

Kalashnikov isn't alone amongst the remorseful firearms manufacturers: Sarah Winchester, the widow of gun magnate William Wirt Winchester. It started with the death of her child, Sarah, from marasmus in 1866. Her husband also died prematurely of tuberculosis. She had the combined grief of losing both a child and a spouse as well as $20,000,000 and all the time in the world. She consulted spiritualists to console her grief.

According to some sources, the Boston Medium consulted by Mrs. Winchester explained that her family and her fortune were being haunted by spirits – in fact, by the spirits of American Indians, Civil War soldiers, and others killed by Winchester rifles. Supposedly the untimely deaths of her daughter and husband were caused by these spirits, and it was implied that Mrs. Winchester might be the next victim.
However, the medium also claimed that there was an alternative, Mrs. Winchester was instructed to move west and appease the spirits by building a great house for them. As long as construction of the house never ceased, Mrs. Winchester could rest assured that her life was not in danger. Building such a house was even supposed to bring her eternal life.

 The upshot of the story is that Sarah Winchester built a house in California which is now privately owned by Winchester Investments LLC and is on the U.S. National Register of Historic Places and is California Historical Landmark #868.


In a Discovery Channel account about the house, "She believed her only chance of a normal life was to build a house, and keep building it. If the house was never finished, no ghost could settle into it. The house contains many features that were utilized to trap or confuse spirits. There are doors that are small or lead nowhere and windows that look into other parts of the house. The mansion may be huge but there are only two mirrors in the whole place. This is because Sarah believed that ghosts were afraid of their own reflection."

Interesting how some people are haunted by the harm they inflicted upon others.

Florida Retired Cop, Lawful Gun Owner, Shoots and Kills a Fellow Moviegoer Over a Trifle

A retired cop, Curtis Reeves, 71 of Tampa shot and killed one man and wounded his wife with one shot for texting inside a Wesley Chapel, FL theatre. – Facebook picture of shooting victim Chad Oulson and daughter

Addicting Info

A retired cop, Curtis Reeves, 71 of Tampa shot and killed one man and wounded his wife with one shot for texting inside a Wesley Chapel, FL theatre.

While attending a screening of Lone Survivor, Chad and Nicole Oulson sat in front of Reeves who was accompanied by his wife. Prior to the start of the film an argument began because the Oulsons were texting their 3 yr. old daughter and making noise. A witness stated that Reeves left to get a manager but returned alone. And that’s when the altercation escalated inside the theatre.

What witnesses saw inside the theatre.

Charles Cummings, a 68 yr. old Vietnam War veteran in attendance for his birthday, was two seats away from Reeves with his son Alex. They saw and heard the whole thing. Prior to the movie starting but during theatre previews the argument began. When Reeves returned without a manager the argument began again it grew louder. Popcorn was thrown and Reeves drew a .380 pistol and fired. Nicole Oulson put her hand up in an attempt to protect her husband but the round went through her hand and into Chad’s chest.

All the news reports are talking about "texting" being the cause of the trouble, but I don't get it. Isn't texting a silent and unobtrusive activity? 

Gunloon Myth: Gun Violence victims are gang bangers.

In the State with the famous "get away with murder" law, where people are killed for possessing ice tea and skittles as they walk to their home, or loud music, we now have someone who received the death penalty for the heinous crime of texting during movie previews:

Two couples were among patrons at a matinee of “Lone Survivor” at the Grove 16 movie theater in Wesley Chapel, about 20 miles northeast of Tampa, when one of the men, a retired Tampa police officer, got angry because the man in front of him was using his phone during the previews, despite being asked to stop several times, said Douglas Tobin, a Pasco County sheriff’s office spokesman.

I just thought you might like to see how depraved and evil this person was.  I mean he did deserve to die for using his cell phone to the annoyance of others.

Nothing like the bullshit quote from Robert Heinlein (Beyond This Horizon).  You know, his novel where duels may easily occur when someone feels that they have been wronged or insulted is attributed as a custom that keeps order and politeness (you have actually read it--haven't you?),  You know the one I mean:

An armed society is a polite society

Nothing makes fora polite society like shooting people yakking on cell phones.

Now, tell us again about how guns make us safer?

Mikhail Kalashnikov Expressed Regret Prior to his Death

Slate

Mikhail Kalashnikov, the inventor of the Kalashnikov rifle, better known as the AK-47, died at the age of 94 last month, but not without regrets about the impact of the assault rifle that carries his name. In a 2012 letter published in a pro-Kremlin newspaper on Monday, Kalashnikov wrote to the head of the Russian Orthodox Church, expressing anguish and remorse about the impact of his invention.

Here’s an excerpt of the letter from the BBC:

"I keep having the same unsolved question: if my rifle claimed people's lives, then can it be that I... a Christian and an Orthodox believer, was to blame for their deaths?" he asked. "The longer I live," he continued, "the more this question drills itself into my brain and the more I wonder why the Lord allowed man to have the devilish desires of envy, greed and aggression."

Kalashnikov had long refused to take responsibility for the deaths caused by his rifles, of which there are more than 100 million worldwide.

Virginia Couple Get a Slap on the Wrist for Failure to Secure their Gun - 10-Year-old Son To Be Held Accountable

WRIC Richmond News and Weather - 

This is an example of what's wrong. The parents will pay a fine of $100, and that's it, while the 10-year-old will stand trial.

Maybe they should try the kid as an adult and give the parents an award.

Ohio Man Arrested for Accidentally Killing his 11-Year-old Daughter

It sounds like he fired those shots in anger, but they demonstrate in a terrible way the problem with warning shots, the ones Greg says are sometimes appropriate.

Missouri Republicans Plot New Strategy for Defying Gun Laws That Don't Exist

Washington Post

Having failed in an earlier effort to bar federal agents from enforcing gun regulations in Missouri, conservative lawmakers are trying a new tack this year: banding together with other like-minded states to defy certain federal laws at the same time.

Supporters believe it will be more difficult for the federal government to shrug off such statutes if more states act together.

Missouri’s latest proposal, introduced this past week, would attempt to nullify certain federal gun control regulations from being enforced in the state and subject law enforcement officers to criminal and civil penalties for carrying out such policies.

“We continue to see the federal government overreach their rightful bounds, and if we can create a situation where we have some unity among states, then I think it puts us in a better position to make that argument,” said Republican Sen. Brian Nieves, who is sponsoring the legislation.

Missouri’s efforts came after President Barack Obama called for expanded federal background checks and a ban on assault weapons following deadly mass shootings at a Colorado theater and a Connecticut elementary school.

What is wrong with these people? Are they unaware of the fact that Obama's proposed gun control laws FAILED to pass? 

Oregon 8-Year-old Shot By Dad Accidentally - No Charges

Local news reports

An 8-year-old boy successfully underwent surgery Saturday after police said he was accidentally shot by his father.

The boy's father was putting a shotgun into a gun safe when he accidentally shot his son, according to police.

Police said the boy was inside a home in the 17900 block of SE Marie Street when the shooting was reported just after 2 p.m.

Officers found the boy with a bullet wound in the abdomen.

Tennessee Teens Find Parent's Gun, Play With It, 17-Year-old Takes One in the Head - No Charges (Yet?)

WRCBtv.com | Chattanooga News, Weather

Article VI for laymen:

What I am referring to is, Article VI of the US COnstitution which states:

The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the members of the several state legislatures, and all executive and judicial officers, both of the United States and of the several states, shall be bound by oath or affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious test shall ever be required as a qualification to any office or public trust under the United States.

I am seriously annoyed that no one in the US, especially people who say they "support the Constitution", protest when this topic is brought into the political arena.

Anyway, this meme pretty much sums up how I would like a politician to respond to the issue.

What part of "shall not be infringed" don't you understand?

Normally, I shy away from memes, but this one is too good to pass up for the country which likes to claim it is in some way a Christian nation, yet passes laws that make it easier for people to kill without consequences.

Bumbling Kansas Gun Owner Shoots Himself by Accident - No Charges

Local news reports

A man is in serious condition at a Wichita hospital after accidentally shooting himself Saturday morning in rural Reno County.

James D. Meyer, 52, was setting up to do some reloading on his .40 caliber handgun shortly before 9 a.m. in the 11000 block of Paney Circle Drive. He attempted to remove a magazine from the gun when it discharged, hitting his upper left leg.

His brother, who was in the same room, called 911 and began treating Meyer until EMS arrived, according to the Reno County Sheriff’s Office.

Meyer was taken to Via Christi St. Francis in serious condition.

The shooting is being investigated as accidental.

Read more here: http://www.kansas.com/2014/01/12/3223866/accidental-shooting-leaves-reno.html#storylink=cpy

India Makes Gun for Women as Defense Against Rape

(Made by ordnance factory, Nirbheek weighs 500 grams and can fit into a purse.)

The Times of India reports

Giving more power to women to defend themselves and as a tribute to December 2012 gangrape victim Nirbhaya, the Indian Ordnance Factory, Kanpur, has manufactured Nirbheek, a .32 bore light weight revolver, India's first firearm designed for women. At 500 grams, it is also the first IOF handgun made of titanium alloy.

Time World says:

An Indian gun manufacturer has made its first gun intended to help women defend themselves against sexual violence.

The lightweight titanium alloy revolver is designed to fit easily in a handbag and was named in tribute to Nirbhaya, the pseudonym of a 23-year-old victim of a 2012 brutal gang rape that took place on a bus, reports the Times of India.

The gun was released on Jan. 6, and has received 20 orders. It is priced at 122,360 rupees, or around $2,000. Reports of sexual assault rose 6.4% in 2012 from the previous year, but some incidences are due to increased reporting, police say.

Now that's a helluva humanitarian effort to help the poor women of India, a gun priced at $2,000.

I guess gun manufacturers are the same all over, greedy bastards who pretend their product will help people.

Virginia Gun Owner Who Shot Teen Intruder in the Back Still Not Charged

I probably filed this one under "Incredibly No Charges" when it happened. Guess I was right.

The 26th Night of the Living Van Vliet - Captain Beefheart Festival 2013-2014

Only three nights to go till the big birthday.




January 15, 1941 – December 17, 2010

Played for Suckers

If Loughner Didn't Have an Extended Magazine Little Christina WOULD Be Alive Today

Gun Range Suicides - Enough is Enough Says Florida's Biggest

Orlando Sentinal

Shoot Straight, Florida's largest independent gun-shop chain, has stopped renting guns to prevent its eight Florida ranges from becoming suicide parlors.

Khaled Akkawi, founder of the Apopka-based chain, made the decision last month after the latest suicides at one his gun ranges.

"We've had enough," Akkawi said Friday. "They've been increasing real fast and the one common denominator — everyone is done with a rental gun."

Shoot Straight joins a growing number of gun ranges across Central Florida that have restricted or prohibited gun rentals to stem the deaths.

While no agency tracks gun-range suicides, there have been at least 11 of them in greater Orlando since 2009, according to Orlando Sentinel reporting on the deaths. All were committed with rental guns.

Oak Ridge Gun Range, the scene of the latest suicide last week in Orange County, changed its policy after a previous death more than a year ago. Oak Ridge is now attempting to identify customers who would be a suicide risk.

"We don't rent to any white male Florida resident who comes in alone," said owner John Harvey. "In the past 30 years, we've never had a suicide that wasn't a white male Florida resident who came in alone. They don't want to mess up their families' homes, so they do it here."

Gun-rights Group Stupidly Attacks Rochester Mayor for Having Armed Bodyguards

Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren

Local news reports

The state Rifle & Pistol Association is criticizing Rochester Mayor Lovely Warren for hiring armed security detail after she supported New York's tougher gun-control laws.

The new Democratic mayor said last week that she will hire two armed bodyguards on the city payroll, including one who is her uncle and former security guard for Gov. George Pataki.

The gun-rights group said in a statement that Warren's decision "demonstrates the fraudulent nature of the citizen disarmament movement."

Warren supported the SAFE Act, the gun-control law passed a year ago. The Rifle & Pistol Association is seeking to have the law overturned in federal court.

The group said that if Warren believes the SAFE Act makes New York safer, "then there is no legitimate reason for her to have armed security because the SAFE Act makes her becoming a victim of violent crime impossible. The New York State Rifle & Pistol Association calls upon Mayor Warren to dismiss her security and live with the same sense of comfort she advocated for city residents."