Saturday, March 15, 2014
Texas Dad Fatally Shoots Boy Found in Daughter's Bedroom
USA Today
"He should have let the authorities handle it."
Too many gun owners don't believe in that. And after they shoot someone, they know the right things to say. "He was reaching for something." And, "I was afraid for my life."
East Texas 13-Year-old Dead - Not to Worry - It Was Just an Accident
KLTV.com-Tyler, Longview, Jacksonville, Texas | ETX News
What happened to all the talk about education? Do you think this 15-year-old idiot who aimed the gun at his friend's head and pulled the trigger had never been trained not to do that? Do you think he'd never had the benefit of gun safety education?
Of course, the question of a responsible adult being held accountable is mute. In Texas, teenage boys are generally allowed access to guns. And that's because they're supposed to have been taught basic gun safety.
What happened to all the talk about education? Do you think this 15-year-old idiot who aimed the gun at his friend's head and pulled the trigger had never been trained not to do that? Do you think he'd never had the benefit of gun safety education?
Of course, the question of a responsible adult being held accountable is mute. In Texas, teenage boys are generally allowed access to guns. And that's because they're supposed to have been taught basic gun safety.
New York Man Arrested for Negligent Discharge Which Injured his Girlfriend
Police arrested an Olean man for accidentally shooting his live-in girlfriend earlier this week.
Around 9:30 a.m. Wednesday, police charged Logan Cooper, 24, of 1530 Martin St. with first-degree reckless endangerment, a class D felony; second-degree assault, a class D felony; and fourth-degree criminal possession of a weapon, a class E felony.
Authorities said Cooper accidentally shot Connie Mascho, 28, in the right shoulder with a .40-caliber semi-automatic pistol at 8:53 p.m. Monday. Cooper also injured one of his fingers in the incident.
Cooper, police say, does not have a pistol permit, as required under state law.
Would this be considered a SAFE Act arrest? Do you think he would have been arrested had there been no permit requirement?
Southern Beale's Tennessee Gun Report - Guns in Cars Edition
Southern Beale
2- Seeing a lot more of these stories now: road rage and fights escalating into shootings, now that everyone is carrying guns in their cars.
JACKSON, Tenn. — Police are investigating a fight that escalated into a shooting, Tuesday afternoon.Based on the preliminary investigation, four people were shot at while inside a minivan. The minivan was struck at least once. There were no injuries.
Breitbart Publishes a Misleading Interpretation of the Latest Pew Poll
Breitbart
A recently released Pew Study shows the majority of Millennials (born 1981-1996) oppose gun control.
The study was conducted January 23 to February 9.
In the study, Millennials opposed gun control by a margin of 50-48 percent. Although it's a small margin, WAMC Northeast Public Radio points out it is "roughly at par with the attitudes of older generations."
The chart from which they took their amazing title is on page 34 of the report. See what you think.
Gun Rights Advocate Martha Dean Enters Connecticut Governor's Race
Martha Dean (Courtesy of Chion Wolf/WNPR / March 11, 2014)
The Courant
Gun rights supporter Martha Dean shook up the Republican primary for governor Tuesday, unexpectedly announcing she was entering the crowded field.
A former two-time statewide candidate, Dean has been working recently with fellow attorneys who are representing gun owners in their battle against the state's new gun laws.
The word about Dean initially trickled out from the pro-gun Connecticut Citizens Defense League, which released the news on the group's blog. Dean confirmed later that she is running, but she declined to answer any questions about her strategy or the campaign. She said she will not conduct any interviews until speaking Tuesday at a time and place that will be announced in the coming days.
Dean's entrance would be late, particularly for fundraising, because she would need 2,500 contributors at $100 each to qualify for the public financing matching funds for gubernatorial candidates. Political operatives say that raising that amount of money — particularly with just two months before the convention — is much more difficult than it appears.
This should give us a good idea of how many gun-rights folks there really are in CT.
Friday, March 14, 2014
Northern Irish Open Carry Activists
Maybe I should have saved this for Saint Patrick's Day, but you lot want to say how you aren't like those "effete Europeans".
Are you really as fucking stupid as you act? I mean you people are seriously ignorant.
Anyway, here are some Irish Open Carry Activists from the Troubles.
Although, Ulster during the troubles had nothing on the US at the time. Still, it fucked up the people who had to live with it on a daily basis as this song by the Cranberries (a group from Ulster) points out.
)
Also, remember that Europe was the battle ground for some serious wars: not that most of you would know about the Battle of the Somme. The US usually wasn't involved until well into the action: especially during the First World War.
So, if you want real war to come to your shore, remember most of the rest of the world won't give a shit.
Especially since they are selling you the guns to kill yourselves.
Are you really as fucking stupid as you act? I mean you people are seriously ignorant.
Anyway, here are some Irish Open Carry Activists from the Troubles.
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Also, remember that Europe was the battle ground for some serious wars: not that most of you would know about the Battle of the Somme. The US usually wasn't involved until well into the action: especially during the First World War.
So, if you want real war to come to your shore, remember most of the rest of the world won't give a shit.
Especially since they are selling you the guns to kill yourselves.
Indiana 13-Year-old Dead - No Charges
A Greensburg boy died Tuesday night in what police believe was an accidental shooting at his home.
Craig Roberts, a 13-year-old Greensburg Junior High School students was shot and killed in a home in the 1000 block of Carver Street, according to our news-gathering partners at RTV6.
Police are still sorting out details, but a neighbor told the TV station that a father had been cleaning his gun in his home Tuesday night when he put it down and left the room for a few moments. That's when a younger sibling picked up the gun and shot his brother.
This marks the second shooting death of a student at the school in the last three weeks. In the last incident, 14-year-old Tyler Hall was killed by his father in a murder-suicide.
Neighbors React To Accidental Shooting Death of Oklahoma 2-Year-old
NewsOn6.com - Tulsa, OK - News, Weather, Video and Sports - KOTV.com |
The neighbor summed it all up, Oklahoma style: ""If it's not on his person, he has it somewhere where the kids can't reach it and we've told them, 'If it is out in the open it's not a toy, don't touch it, don't mess with it,'" she said."
The neighbor summed it all up, Oklahoma style: ""If it's not on his person, he has it somewhere where the kids can't reach it and we've told them, 'If it is out in the open it's not a toy, don't touch it, don't mess with it,'" she said."
1st World Countries
Wikipedia
The reason we compare US gun violence and US murder rates to other 1st World countries and not others is contained in the Wikipedia description: "In contemporary society, the First World is viewed as countries that have the most advanced economies, the greatest influence, the highest standards of living, and the greatest technology."
Including others is like comparing apples to oranges and is purposely misleading. It's an obvious attempt at obscuring the inconvenient huge differences.
After World War II, the world split into two large geopolitical blocs, separating into spheres of communism and capitalism. This led to the Cold War, during which the term First World was often used because of its political, social, and economic relevance. The term itself was first introduced in the late 1940s by the United Nations.[1] Today, the First World is slightly outdated and has no official definition, however, it is generally thought of as the capitalist, industrial, wealthy, developed countries that aligned with the United States after World War II. This definition included most of the countries of North America, Western Europe, Australia and Japan.[2] In contemporary society, the First World is viewed as countries that have the most advanced economies, the greatest influence, the highest standards of living, and the greatest technology.[2] After the Cold War, these countries of the First World included member states of NATO, U.S.- aligned states, neutral countries that were developed and industrialized, and the former British Colonies that were considered developed. It can be defined succinctly as Europe, plus the richer countries of the former British Empire (USA, Canada, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand) and Japan. Countries were also placed into the First World based on how civilized the country was. According to Nations Online, the member countries of NATO after the Cold War included:[2]
- Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, West Germany, Greece, Iceland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Turkey, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Including others is like comparing apples to oranges and is purposely misleading. It's an obvious attempt at obscuring the inconvenient huge differences.
California Concealed Carry Permit Holder Stopped by the Police
This must have happened because cops are so in favor of civilian concealed carry.
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Interesting product--unpaid product comment
Personally, I prefer a home security system to a gun for home protection.
I have mentioned before that a good home security system can cost less than a gun in the long run.
ADT had an ad where they pointed out that a security system can call the cops if you aren't home. I think they even had one that was even more "anti-gun" in that it wasn't likely to kill a family member or friend, which I am sure caused apoplexy for gun loons.
Anyway, this company came to my attention with this blurb:
It would be nice if it had video capability, which my system has. Don't get dumb ideas about harassing me since "big bruvver" is watching you. CCTV has been used as evidence at least one high profile case in my area.
Also, I am a bit wary about the wireless and use of batteries, even if they are lithium.
Still, this system is so simple that the average gun loon could put it in without too much frustration.
That sure as hell beats having something which is more likely to kill a family member and might even be an attraction to criminals lying about the house.
)
I have mentioned before that a good home security system can cost less than a gun in the long run.
ADT had an ad where they pointed out that a security system can call the cops if you aren't home. I think they even had one that was even more "anti-gun" in that it wasn't likely to kill a family member or friend, which I am sure caused apoplexy for gun loons.
Anyway, this company came to my attention with this blurb:
SimpliSafe was designed by our founder, a Harvard Engineer, with this principle in mind: Being Safe Should Be Simple. So he designed a security system that is easy to self-install, easy to purchase direct from us online, and doesn’t require a contract or a telephone line.I have installed and repaired security systems and this is one impressive little sucker. In fact, I would consider it if I didn't already have a security system installed. Hell, I am considering it, but it would require repainting my house (which was just repainted).
It would be nice if it had video capability, which my system has. Don't get dumb ideas about harassing me since "big bruvver" is watching you. CCTV has been used as evidence at least one high profile case in my area.
Also, I am a bit wary about the wireless and use of batteries, even if they are lithium.
Still, this system is so simple that the average gun loon could put it in without too much frustration.
That sure as hell beats having something which is more likely to kill a family member and might even be an attraction to criminals lying about the house.
)
More on the Baby Name Thing
Of course, playgrounds are not exactly brimming with little Berettas and Brownings quite yet. No gun-related names have cracked the top 10 most popular list; overall, the number of children given a name like Trigger or Wesson is small. To find out the popularity of these names, Wattenberg cross-checked a list of names of firearm manufacturers and terms against the U.S. Social Security database of baby names in 2012 compared with 2002. [Sophie's Secret: The 10 Most Popular Baby Names]
She came up with 15 gun-related names, each given to at least five babies in those two years: Barrett, Beretta, Browning, Cannon, Colt, Gauge, Gunner, Kimber, Magnum, Remington, Ruger, Savage, Shooter, Trigger and Wesson. And between 2002 and 2012, the popularity of those gun-related names took off.
"I was amazed at how strong and consistent the trend was," Wattenberg said. "Every single name had soared."
Not all parents who choose these names are motivated by guns, Wattenberg cautioned. Colt, which ranked as the 328th most popular boy's name in 2012, could also call to mind a horse or the Indianapolis Colts football team, for example.
Nevertheless, the joint rise of all these names is suggestive. One possibility for the popularity is that gun names provide a "macho" option for parents looking for unique names, as many new names, such as Madison, are androgynous, Wattenberg said.
Moreover, parents increasingly name their children based on their values, Wattenberg said.
"The parts of the country that have the highest rates of gun ownership tend to also be the most open to more creative names," she said.
Why Are So Many Conservative Politicians Brandishing Guns?
Yes, we know it's all a show, that it's all about appealing to (appeasing) the NRA crowd, and demonstrating that a buttoned-down insider like Mitch McConnell is really one of the guys. Fine. But I have to say, there's something about it that just feels sinister.
OK, so John Kerry pandered too in 2004, with his whole hunter shtick, but McConnell did something very different at CPAC this past week. He brought a gun to an explicitly political gathering (he then handed it to Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), as part of presenting Coburn with an NRA lifetime achievement award). Now, it's not like taking out your Colt .45 and laying it upon your desk on the Senate floor, but it's one more example of the mixing of politics and implicit violence that conservatives are deploying more and more often.
Among countless other examples, last month we saw Todd Staples, a candidate for lieutenant governor in Texas, run the following TV ad:
"You're not a king, and Texans bow to no one," Mr. Staples says, looking directly into the camera and addressing the president, before he is shown picking up a gun at a store, aiming it over a counter and vowing to "fight Obama's liberal agenda."(snip) [Staples] ends on an equally aggressive note: "So, Mr. President, if you still want to mess with Texas, we've got a saying for you: Come and take it."
In response, Kathleen Hall Jamison, the head of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, asked: "Why would [sic] need a gun to fight an agenda? You don't shoot a policy or shoot an agenda--you fight an agenda with words." Great question.
It doesn't appear that any of the other candidates criticized Staples (who ultimatelywon just over 16 percent of the vote in the Republican primary) about this ad, which clearly evokes the notion of violent resistance to the duly elected president of the United States.
That's a pleasant thought, isn't it?
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Jon Stewart on the CPAC Speakers
The Daily Show
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,The Daily Show on Facebook
Arizona Man Dead Playing Russian Roulette - No Charges for the Survivor
AZ Central
Authorities in southwestern Arizona say a 19-year-old man is dead after an accidental shooting.
Yuma County Sheriff’s deputies went to a Yuma home Friday after getting a report of a gunshot victim.
Upon arrival, deputies located David Henry with a single gunshot wound to the head.
Investigators say Henry and another person were playing Russian roulette with a loaded handgun.
After interviewing all parties that were present at the time of the shooting, sheriff’s investigators have ruled the incident as an accidental death.
John Lott on the NFL Decision to Ban Off-duty Cops from Carrying in Stadiums
“Banning off-duty law-enforcement officers from carrying seems completely crazy to me,” John Lott told Breitbart Sports. “We trust these law-enforcement officers when they are on-duty, but somehow we can’t trust them as soon as they are off-duty. Here these guys are willing to offer protection for free in case there is a terrorist attack and the NFL isn’t willing to let them do it.”
Lott, a onetime colleague of President Barack Obama’s at the University of Chicago, currently serves as president of the Crime Prevention Resource Center. An economist who has held positions at Yale, Stanford, Penn, and Rice, Lott has written extensively in the scholarly and popular press on multiple-victim public shootings.
“There are two ways of trying to prevent mass public shootings: 1) secure an area or 2) let victims defend themselves,” Lott posits. “It is basically impossible to completely secure an area. What you end up accomplishing is just ensuring that victims are defenseless. With unarmed victims, gun-free zones are a magnet for those who want to kill many people quickly.”
Now this will put our regular commenters into a quandary. They're gonna have to choose between supporting their hero John Lott and doing their usual cop-bashing. Interestingly, Lott didn't say a word about denying civilian gun owners with carry permits permission to carry in the stadiums.
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
The Fascinating Article in The New Yorker based on the Peter Lanza Interviews
The New Yorker
Depending on whom you ask, there were twenty-six, twenty-seven, or twenty-eight victims in Newtown. It’s twenty-six if you count only those who were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School; twenty-seven if you include Nancy Lanza; twenty-eight if you judge Adam’s suicide a loss. There are twenty-six stars on the local firehouse roof. On the anniversary of the shootings, President Obama referred to “six dedicated school workers and twenty beautiful children” who had been killed, and the governor of Connecticut asked churches to ring their bells twenty-six times. Some churches in Newtown had previously commemorated the victims by ringing twenty-eight times, but a popular narrative had taken hold in which Nancy—a gun enthusiast who had taught Adam to shoot—was an accessory to the crime, rather than its victim. Emily Miller, an editor at the Washington Times, wrote, “We can’t blame lax gun-control laws, access to mental health treatment, prescription drugs or video games for Lanza’s terrible killing spree. We can point to a mother who should have been more aware of how sick her son had become and forced treatment.”
***********************
Adam’s sense of humor endured. When he was sixteen, he found a picture of Karl Marx (huge beard), Lenin (small beard), Stalin (mustache), and Mao (clean-shaven), and sent it around with a caption, “Comrades, we must rectify the faltering facial hair standards.” Peter thought it was hilarious and got T-shirts made with the image and Adam’s words. Everyone tried to encourage Adam and looked for ways to engage with him. Nancy would take him on trips to the shooting range. Nancy and Peter thought that their son was nonviolent; the best way to build a connection to someone with Asperger’s is often to participate in his fascinations.
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During that year [2009], Adam developed his private obsession with killing. He started editing Wikipedia entries on various well-known mass murderers and seems to have been eerily well informed. But although there were still no outward signs of violent tendencies, he was becoming ever harder to deal with. Nancy wrote to Peter that Adam would sometimes close his door when she tried to talk to him.
******************************
Peter’s final communication from Nancy, the month before the shootings, was about buying Adam a new computer. Peter wanted to give it to Adam personally. Nancy said she’d discuss it with Adam after Thanksgiving. “I was doing everything I could,” Peter said. “She was doing way more. I just feel sad for her.” Peter is convinced that Nancy had no idea how dangerous their son had become. “She never confided to her sister or best friend about being afraid of him. She slept with her bedroom door unlocked, and she kept guns in the house, which she would not have done if she were frightened.” About a week before the shootings, Nancy reportedly told an acquaintance, “I’m worried I’m losing him.” But losing him seemed to be a matter of his withdrawal, not of violence. The cautiousness with which Nancy responded to her son’s demands indicates anxiety rather than fear, and it must have made her as lonely as it did him.
******************************
I wondered how Peter would feel if he could see his son again. “Quite honestly, I think that I wouldn’t recognize the person I saw,” he said. “All I could picture is there’d be nothing there, there’d be nothing. Almost, like, ‘Who are you, stranger?’ ” Peter declared that he wished Adam had never been born, that there could be no remembering who he was outside of who he became. “That didn’t come right away. That’s not a natural thing, when you’re thinking about your kid. But, God, there’s no question. There can only be one conclusion, when you finally get there. That’s fairly recent, too, but that’s totally where I am.”
Depending on whom you ask, there were twenty-six, twenty-seven, or twenty-eight victims in Newtown. It’s twenty-six if you count only those who were murdered at Sandy Hook Elementary School; twenty-seven if you include Nancy Lanza; twenty-eight if you judge Adam’s suicide a loss. There are twenty-six stars on the local firehouse roof. On the anniversary of the shootings, President Obama referred to “six dedicated school workers and twenty beautiful children” who had been killed, and the governor of Connecticut asked churches to ring their bells twenty-six times. Some churches in Newtown had previously commemorated the victims by ringing twenty-eight times, but a popular narrative had taken hold in which Nancy—a gun enthusiast who had taught Adam to shoot—was an accessory to the crime, rather than its victim. Emily Miller, an editor at the Washington Times, wrote, “We can’t blame lax gun-control laws, access to mental health treatment, prescription drugs or video games for Lanza’s terrible killing spree. We can point to a mother who should have been more aware of how sick her son had become and forced treatment.”
***********************
Adam’s sense of humor endured. When he was sixteen, he found a picture of Karl Marx (huge beard), Lenin (small beard), Stalin (mustache), and Mao (clean-shaven), and sent it around with a caption, “Comrades, we must rectify the faltering facial hair standards.” Peter thought it was hilarious and got T-shirts made with the image and Adam’s words. Everyone tried to encourage Adam and looked for ways to engage with him. Nancy would take him on trips to the shooting range. Nancy and Peter thought that their son was nonviolent; the best way to build a connection to someone with Asperger’s is often to participate in his fascinations.
******************************
During that year [2009], Adam developed his private obsession with killing. He started editing Wikipedia entries on various well-known mass murderers and seems to have been eerily well informed. But although there were still no outward signs of violent tendencies, he was becoming ever harder to deal with. Nancy wrote to Peter that Adam would sometimes close his door when she tried to talk to him.
******************************
Peter’s final communication from Nancy, the month before the shootings, was about buying Adam a new computer. Peter wanted to give it to Adam personally. Nancy said she’d discuss it with Adam after Thanksgiving. “I was doing everything I could,” Peter said. “She was doing way more. I just feel sad for her.” Peter is convinced that Nancy had no idea how dangerous their son had become. “She never confided to her sister or best friend about being afraid of him. She slept with her bedroom door unlocked, and she kept guns in the house, which she would not have done if she were frightened.” About a week before the shootings, Nancy reportedly told an acquaintance, “I’m worried I’m losing him.” But losing him seemed to be a matter of his withdrawal, not of violence. The cautiousness with which Nancy responded to her son’s demands indicates anxiety rather than fear, and it must have made her as lonely as it did him.
******************************
I wondered how Peter would feel if he could see his son again. “Quite honestly, I think that I wouldn’t recognize the person I saw,” he said. “All I could picture is there’d be nothing there, there’d be nothing. Almost, like, ‘Who are you, stranger?’ ” Peter declared that he wished Adam had never been born, that there could be no remembering who he was outside of who he became. “That didn’t come right away. That’s not a natural thing, when you’re thinking about your kid. But, God, there’s no question. There can only be one conclusion, when you finally get there. That’s fairly recent, too, but that’s totally where I am.”
Lawful Wisconsin Gun Owner Unintentionally Shoots Himself - No Charges
Local news reports
A Gleason man is recovering from a gunshot wound.
The shooting happened just after 2:30 a.m. Saturday at the residence of a 52-year-old man, who was able to call 9-1-1 and report he had been shot. The man told deputies he threw a bag containing a loaded pistol on the bedroom floor, and when it hit the ground, the .38 caliber Derringer discharged and shot him in the leg.
The man is hospitalized at Aspirus Wausau Hospital. The man’s name and present condition have not been released. No criminal charges will be filed.
This is one of those rare dropped-gun discharges. The gun-rights folks keep telling us how nearly-impossible they are, yet we keep seeing them in the news.
Terry J. Dunlop, Jr., Ohio Concealed Carry Permit Instructor and Serial Shooter of Innocents Finally Charged with a Crime - Sort Of
Terry J. Dunlap Sr.
Violet Township Trustee Terry J. Dunlap Sr. was charged today with negligent assault in connection to an accidental shooting of a student taking a concealed-carry class that he taught last year.
Lancaster Assistant City Prosecutor Stephanie Hall filed the misdemeanor charge in Fairfield County Municipal Court. She said Dunlap would be sent a summons to appear in court.
Dunlap, 74, said this afternoon that he did not know he had been charged and had no comment.
The charge was filed after special prosecutor Jeffrey Hunter filed a report last month with the offices of city prosecutor and county prosecutor. Hunter, who was appointed special prosecutor to look into the shooting, concluded in the report that there were no grounds for a felony charge because the shooting was an accident and Dunlap had not been acting recklessly.
"Not been acting recklessly?" Whaaat?
How the Firearms Industry is Responsible for America´s Gun Violence Epidemic
America is a violent place by any standard. The national firearm-related death rate has held steady at 10.5 per 100,000 people since 1999, well above the global average. Some of its cities exhibit epidemic rates of gun death on par with crime-affected urban centers in Latin America and the Caribbean. Hard as it might be to believe, levels of lethal violence are actually at historic lows.
Declines occurred after the passage of specific legislation designed to prevent gun-related deaths. Gun homicides dropped after the passage of the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act (1993), the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act or so-called Assault Weapons Ban (1994), and the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (1998). In the absence of significant federal legislation over the past, further reductions in gun violence have stalled.
It is worth putting the United States’ exceptional gun violence problem into perspective. The country´s firearm homicide rate is over six times higher than neighboring Canada’s, and 45 times as high as England’s. With the highest rates of gun homicide, suicide and accidental death in the industrialized world, it is not surprising that Americans also feel afraid.
The percentage of Americans who fear walking alone at night has increased since 2001 to nearly 4 in 10 in 2011. And yet national authorities have consistently refused introducing measures to curb gun violence. Strangely, Congress has opted instead to undermine gun control legislation, curb gun safety awareness, and abandon violence prevention programs, including some that registered positive results.
Meanwhile, in many states, laws intended to promote the responsible use of guns are being repealed. Instead, legislation that reproduces irresponsible firearms use – including so-called “stand your ground” laws – are being pursued. So what explains America’s reversal on gun control?
Concerted efforts to roll back progressive gun regulation began by stealth. They started with quiet lobbying campaigns to reduce American citizens` capacity to diagnose firearm-related violence and thus fully apprehend the magnitude of the problem. In 1996 under considerable pressure from the pro-gun lobby, Congress de-funded firearms-related public health research at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) by 96 percent. To put this in perspective, resources devoted to firearms research constituted just 0.0018 percent of the CDC´s 2013 budget. Given that firearm deaths constitute around 1.3 percent of total national mortality, it could be reasonably argued that the CDC’s gun-related research program should have been roughly 722 times larger.
Meanwhile, the Bureau for Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) has been prohibited since 1978 from compiling meaningful data on firearms sales. Moreover, its field offices in states bordering Mexico where illegal arms trafficking is rife are underfunded and understaffed.
More recently, a 2013 Congressional rider stripped the ATF of the authority to compile data on the very gun stores it licenses – data that the authors have made use of to estimate US-Mexico arms trafficking. Making matters worse, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is prohibited since 2003 from gathering data for the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) that it is mandated by law to administer on behalf of gun stores.
Without such detailed data, it is easy to misdiagnose the causes and consequences of gun violence, and therefore mis-prescribe the interventions needed to prevent it. Indeed, many lawmakers have expressed reluctance to pass gun legislation, arguing that they are (purportedly) ineffective. For instance, some pundits have argued that the massive stockpile of firearms in Americans hands renders firearms sales legislation impotent.
The gun-rights fanatics have some tricky ways to deny these obvious facts. One thing they love to do is disparage any talk of "gun deaths" because they include suicides. It's convenient for them to pretend that people who commit suicide are simply making a choice that is their right. Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. Most suicides are attempted out of mental illness, often temporary and passing conditions.The other way they disparage inconvenient statistics is by claiming that overall murder rates are not conducive to the gun control argument and that's why we only look at gun-violence. Well, in this case I think they work pretty well either way. According to this article, firearm homicides are "over six times higher than neighboring Canada’s, and 45 times as high as England’s." When you consult the list of OVERALL murder rates by country you still see a huge difference between the US and Canada and the US and England.
As far as blocking research and data-keeping as a way of preventing useful diagnosis of the problem, well they just deny that outright. That's always they're fall-back position.
New Test for Gun Rights
SCOTUSblog
What have our own gun-rights fanatics been calling it, oppressive and unconstitutional?
Judge Whyte, in refusing to prevent enforcement of the Sunnyvale ordinance, said that a right to have a magazine of greater than ten rounds “lies at the periphery” of the Second Amendment, and can be restricted in the interest of public safety. He concluded that the challengers were not likely to succeed in a final ruling on the validity of the ordinance.
What have our own gun-rights fanatics been calling it, oppressive and unconstitutional?
Monday, March 10, 2014
Italy Condemns Tasteless Ad Showing Michelangelo's David Holding Assault Rifle
Artlyst
The photoshopped image was created by an Illinois-based company called ArmaLite, and carries the slogan "a work of art" in promoting the $3,000 assault rifle. The Minister has now officially asked the company to remove the offending copy for the AR-50A1 weapon, without delay.
In a tweet Senior Franceschini complained "The image of David, armed, offends and infringes the law. We will take action against the American company so that it immediately withdraws its campaign." Italian Heritage and the Board of Fine Art's curator Cristina Acidini has served a legal notice to ArmaLite to withdraw the image immediately, stating it distorts the original artwork which is deep rooted in Italian culture and heritage.
The Italian government has expressed that it owns the copyright on the commercial use of images of David. The director of Florence's Accademia Gallery, where the statue is on display,Angelo Tartuferi, told the Repubblica newspaper: "The law says that the aesthetic value of the work cannot be distorted. "In this case, not only is the choice in bad taste but also completely illegal."
North Carolina Teen Killed by Accident - Extremely Lengthy Investigation Continues
video link
Investigators plan to meet with the district attorney this week to determine whether charges need to be filed in the shooting death of an Oakboro teenager.
Police say Will Hughes was shot by his friend Friday around 10:30 p.m. in the 600 block of East First Street. They say his friend was showing him the gun when it fired, hitting the 19 year old.
Hughes died at Stanly County Medical Center.
Police believe the shooting was accidental.
Investigators plan to meet with the district attorney this week to determine whether charges need to be filed in the shooting death of an Oakboro teenager.
Police say Will Hughes was shot by his friend Friday around 10:30 p.m. in the 600 block of East First Street. They say his friend was showing him the gun when it fired, hitting the 19 year old.
Hughes died at Stanly County Medical Center.
Police believe the shooting was accidental.
Grossly Negligent and Unfit Alabama Gun Owner Shoots Himself and His Girlfriend by Accident - No Charges
A man and a woman are out of the hospital following an accidental shooting that injured them both, Decatur police said.
Police said officers dispatched to 112 George Drive S.W. about 11:15 a.m. today found Tammy Lynn Harris, 41, and her boyfriend, Jeff David Massey, 24, suffering from gunshot wounds.
Detective Joshua Fisher said Harris and Massey were lying in bed and Massey was about to clean the gun when it discharged, striking him in the left hand. The bullet then struck Harris in her right leg, Fisher said.
Both were taken to Decatur Morgan Hospital, treated for their injuries and later released, police said.
Gun Rights Fanatics in the States Are the Laughing Stock of the World - Be Proud
L'ancienne candidate à la vice-présidence des Etats-Unis et vedette de télévision Sarah Palin a conseillé samedi 8 mars, à sa façon, au président Barack Obama d'adopter une stratégie plus ferme face à son homologue russe Vladimir Poutine dans la crise ukrainienne.
La phrase, prononcée en clôture de la grande conférence du mouvement conservateur américain (CPAC), près de Washington, est calquée sur le fameux slogan du lobby des armes à feu aux Etats-Unis, la National Rifle Association (NRA) : « La seule chose qui puisse arrêter un méchant avec une arme à feu, c'est un gentil avec une arme à feu ». Mme Palin a raillé l'administration Obama pour avoir menacé le président russe avec « un téléphone et un stylo ». (AFP)
New Jersey's Magazine Capacity Limitation
It was billed as a brave milestone in the political evolution of Democratic Senate President Stephen Sweeney.
The burly ironworker, who represents a semirural South Jersey district where hunting is popular and Second Amendment rights are venerated, was now switching from powerful foe to fierce advocate of reducing the capacity of ammunition magazines to 10 rounds rather than the 15 allowed under state law.
“I gotta tell you, when you meet families that have lost their loved ones, it’s pretty hard to explain why you can’t do a simple thing like this,” Sweeney said at a Feb. 24 news conference, his eyes welling with tears as family members of children murdered by a lone gunman at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., stood nearby.
Yet there was nothing simple about Sweeney’s announcement, and to the Sandy Hook family members and gun control advocates, nothing all that surprising. In April, when Sweeney publicly declared his opposition to the lower capacity limit — dooming any chance of passage in the Senate — he privately endorsed the idea in a meeting with the families and gun control advocates.
“He said it was a good idea and at the appropriate time he would introduce it and now he has,” said Mark Barden, whose son Daniel was among the 26 victims at Sandy Hook.
Now, it seems the appropriate time has come — for Sweeney’s political career.
Freed from having to worry about antagonizing gun rights groups after winning reelection in November in what was likely his last legislative race, Sweeney announced his support when it was safe. And given his ambitions of running for governor in a pro-gun-control state, the switch was a pragmatic pivot to the left.
Sunday, March 9, 2014
Orlando Gun Show Canceled after George Zimmerman Was Named as Featured Guest
The guest of honor: George Zimmerman, pictured with Mike Piwowarski and two other individuals, caused a gun show to be cancelled after he was named the 'featured guest'
The Daily Mail
A Florida gun show was cancelled after organizers publicly announced Trayvon Martin killer George Zimmerman would be a guest at the event - but Zimmerman will still make a public appearance.
‘The New Orlando Gun Show,’ scheduled for this weekend at Orlando’s Majestic Events Center, was cancelled Thursday despite more than 100 vendors threatening to take the owners to court if the show did not go on.
Organizer Mike Piwowarski, who also owns a local gun store, told ClickOrlando that the show was cancelled because of the announced Zimmerman appearance, and Zimmerman posted emails to his Twitter account backing up that claim.
‘We've had discussions with The Majestic and they decided to cancel the event because George Zimmerman was making an appearance,’ said Piwowarski.
When contacted by MailOnline, Piwowarski clarified that Zimmerman was to be a paying vendor who wanted to attend for a meet and greet - he would not have charged for any autographs.
Zimmerman's intent was to be able to attend an event where he would be more free to be himself, where there would be less negativity than he has encountered in other settings, according to Piwowarski.
When asked if organizers had considered possible backlash to Zimmerman's attendance, Piwowarski replied 'I’m not sure that we were gauging reaction at all.. it was someone who was legally able to have a table.'
Wayne La Pierre at the CPAC
"We don't trust government, because government itself has proven unworthy of our trust. We trust ourselves and we trust what we know in our hearts to be right. We trust our freedom. In this uncertain world, surrounded by lies and corruption everywhere you look, there is no greater freedom than the right to survive and protect our families with all the rifles, shotguns, and handguns we want. We know in the world that surrounds us there are terrorists and there are home invaders, drug cartels, carjackers, knockout gamers, and rapers, and haters, and campus killers, airport killers, shopping mall killers and killers who scheme to destroy our country with massive storms of violence against our power grids or vicious waves of chemicals or disease that could collapse our society that sustains us all."
Pennsylvania Lawful and Responsibe Gun Owner Arrested
Local news reports
CORRECTION: The story below initially listed the victim as a 20 year-old man. He is 22. Also, one sentence in the earlier story read that the victim held the infant while Forry pointed a loaded gun, and then another sentence showed that it was Forry who held the baby. According to the PA State Police report, it was Forry who held the one year-old girl. We regret the error.
State Police arrested Tyler Forry of York Haven on Wednesday after they say Forry pointed a loaded gun at a man while Forry held a one year-old baby girl.
Tyler Forry, 21, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, reckless endangerment, making terroristic threats, simple assault and harassment.
According to police reports, Forry was involved in an altercation with a 22-year-old man around noon on Wednesday at a home along the 100 block of Ridge Road in Warrington Township.
Forry was released on $20,000 bail. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 14.
California Store Backs Away from Smart Guns after Outcry from 2nd Amendment Activists
The California gun store that put the nation’s first smart gun on sale is facing a furious backlash from customers and gun rights advocates who fear the new technology will encroach on their Second Amendment rights if it becomes mandated.
Attacks in online forums and social networks against the Oak Tree Gun Club have prompted the store to back away from any association with the Armatix iP1 smart gun. The protests threaten the nascent smart-gun industry, which received a jolt of support recently when a group of Silicon Valley investors offered a $1 million prize for promising new technology.
The vitriol began almost immediately after The Washington Post reported last month that the Armatix iP1 smart gun was for sale at the pro shop. Electronic chips inside the gun communicate with a watch that can be bought with the gun, making it impossible to fire without the watch. Gun-control advocates, who believe smart guns could reduce gun violence, suicides and accidental shootings, marked the moment as a milestone.
“These people are anti-gunners,” someone said of Oak Tree on the store’s Facebook page, adding, “I will never step foot in this dump.” On Yelp, a user wrote, “If you care about the ability to exercise your [Second Amendment] rights, I would suggest that you do not continue to frequent this place.”
The protests are fueled by worry that being able to buy the iP1 will trigger a New Jersey law mandating that all handguns in the state be personalized within three years of a smart gun going on sale anywhere in the United States. Similar mandates have been introduced in California and in both chambers of Congress.
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