Church and State

Daisy wrote about an interesting development in South Carolina.

And finally, the judge says NO.


South Carolina can't issue 'I Believe' tag, federal judge rules
By Tim Smith • Staff writer • November 10, 2009
Greenville News

COLUMBIA -- A federal judge today ordered the state to stop producing "I Believe" license plates, ruling the case is a "textbook example" of a constitutional prohibition of government endorsing a specific religion.

U.S. District Court Judge Cameron Currie, who issued a preliminary injunction against the plates in December, on Tuesday issued a permanent injunction, finding the legislation creating the plates violates the establishment clause of the U.S. Constitution and its 14th Amendment.

She also singled out Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, who pushed through the legislation.

"Whether motivated by sincerely held Christian beliefs or an effort to purchase political capital with religious coin, the result is the same," Currie wrote in her order. "The statute is clearly unconstitutional and defense of its implementation has embroiled the state in unnecessary (and expensive) litigation."

Here is my first blog post about this sordid debacle.

(I still think a bumper sticker would do just fine.)

What's your opinion? Is South Carolina moving in the right direction all of a sudden? Could this decision have a domino effect on other laws and other states?

Please leave a comment.

also posted at Man With a Muck-Rake

Guns in Bars in Colorado

UPI ran a story on an incident which took place in Vail Colorado.

A 63-year-old Vietnam War veteran in Vail, Colo., shot four people at a local bar, killing one, police allege.

The Denver Post said Monday that Richard "Rossi" Moreau is accused of fatally shooting Gary Bruce Kitching, 70, last weekend and injuring three others during a shooting at the Sandbar Sports Grill in Vail.

Witness Chester Noel alleges Moreau drew a gun and began firing Saturday night when bar manager Jason Barber attempted to remove him from the bar.

"The bouncer said, 'Put the gun away,' then I saw flame shooting out in front of my face," alleges Noel, who said Barber, 29, was among those injured in the incident.

Police have not released the identities of those hurt in Saturday's shooting. Two of the gunshot victims, identified only as a 29-year-old and a 63-year-old, were still hospitalized as of Monday.

Vail Police Chief Dwight Henninger told the Post that Moreau had previously faced weapon charges and an unspecified number of weapons were found in his apartment following the shooting.

Wait, don't say it, I know the answer. He was already a criminal and no law could have prevented this. That's the pro-gun argument, isn't it?

What I say is it's too easy for guys like Mr. Moreau to get guns. Posting a sign at the bar entrance forbidding firearms or passing a state law banning guns in bars is not enough. The source of his guns needs to be dealt with. That's where gun control laws can and should make a difference.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Responding to School Shootings

The Minnesota Public Radio site ran a story on the latest techniques for police officers responding to school shootings. Via Laci.

Police officers from seven states are in Fargo-Moorhead this week, learning new tactics to respond to school shootings. Traditionally, officers wait for a SWAT team before entering the building. The new tactic calls for school resource officers to respond immediately, without backup.

That's the whole story right there, respond without waiting for backup. What do you think? Did they need a special training for something like that? Wouldn't any officer of the law naturally want to do just that?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Fox News Coverage of the DC Sniper

Liberal Viewer continues to expose the incredible bias of Fox News.

Happy Birthday USMC

Laci on Ft. Hood

Laci the Dog published a wonderful piece on the Ft. Hood shooting. For any faint-hearted pro-gun folks who have been offended by Laci's satire, I can assure you there's nothing here but straight up analysis. And I really like what I read.

This for example:

First off, that it could have been allowed to happen. Even more so when you consider that the ridiculous access to firearms is done under the guise of the Second Amendment. This is a text that includes the words:

"necessary to the security of a free State"

And this:

Yeah, sure guns are tools. They are highly effective tools for killing. They work quite quickly as the Fort Hood shootings show.

And especially this:

It is completely moronic to give terrorists the tools they need to accompllish their goals. Those who block any restrictions, especially if they do it in the name of "fighing tyranny" are complicit in this act.

What's your opinion? Does Laci make some good points? Please leave a comment.

More Men Killing Women

The Associated Press reports on a chilling triple homicide.

Illinois State Police say a suspect has been arrested in a weekend East St. Louis shooting that killed three women as they sat in a car with kids who managed to escape unharmed.

Illinois State Police Lt. James Morrisey says police in nearby St. Louis arrested the suspect Sunday at an apartment. His name was not released because no charges had been filed in Saturday's deadly shooting.

Morrisey says the women were in a car with at least two children at a gas station Saturday night when the suspect drove up, exchanged words with one of the women and opened fire.

Canikia Harvey and Raykel Gathing, both 26, and 24-year-old Jaimaca McDaniel died later at a hospital.

Morrisey says the suspect knew one of the women.

The pro-gun response to this is more women should be armed in order to better protect themselves. The gun control response is fewer criminals should have access to guns. Which idea do you support and how do you propose implementing it?

The Miami Herald reports on a weird twist in a domestic shooting case.

A central Florida television station reports that a man accused of fatally shooting his wife inside their mansion attended the woman's memorial service this weekend.

According to the Orlando Sentinel, a judge had granted Bob Ward's request to attend services for his wife, Diane, in Brevard County. WFTV-TV reported that Ward was spotted at St. John the Evangelist Catholic Church in Viera this weekend.

The couple lived in Isleworth, one of Florida's most expensive and prestigious neighborhoods. The secluded community in an Orlando suburb is home to hundreds of mansions and dozens of celebrities.

According to an arrest affidavit, Ward told dispatchers he shot his wife. He faces a second-degree murder charge.

Do you think if he'd been an impoverished black or Hispanic man he'd have been able to attend the funeral?

The St. Petersburg Times reports on this accidental shooting death of a Tampa woman.

A 32-year-old investigator, a rising star in the federal public defender's office, was accidentally shot and killed Saturday by her father while they were cleaning guns together.

Melissa Kupferberg spent the morning shooting pistols at a local range with her father, who was visiting from Maryland. They returned to her Seminole Heights home and began to clean the weapons.

But Kupferberg was having difficulty disassembling one of the pistols, Tampa police said. So she handed off a Glock Model 34 to her father, Stephen P. Kupferberg, 65.

Glock pistols require the trigger to be depressed to be cleaned. And as Stephen Kupferberg tried to tear down the pistol in his daughter's home around noon on Saturday, something went wrong.

A single shot was fired, striking Melissa in the upper body.

In spite of what kaveman seems to be implying, I fully realize that guns aren't bad news for women every single time. But, can anyone deny that there is too much gun violence being done to women by men. The examples above are taken from current news stories, typical of the daily fare reported by the main stream. Occasionally we have a female heroine like Officer Munley, no one's denying that.

What's your opinion? Are guns bad news for women, or not?