Wednesday, September 21, 2011

More on the Lakeland FL Shooting

JadeGold reported this one the other day, but some interesting details have come out now.


The man accused of killing his wife and then shooting two church pastors had pleaded guilty and been sentenced to 10 years of probation in 1987 in the slaying of a previous wife, according to court records.

Jeremiah Fogle, 57, is charged with murder and attempted murder after Sunday's shootings. Authorities said Fogle shot his wife, Theresa, burst into the front doors of the church and shot the ministers before church members tackled him.
I suppose we can't blame Florida or the NRA for the fact that he got off so easily when he killed his first wife. But, it does seem like 10 years of probation is a bit light.

The easy access to guns, however, is the direct result of Florida's lax gun laws and the NRA's continued fight to keep them that way. I also spread a little blame around for all who support that sick system.

Recently a commenter expressed some difficulty in understanding what I mean by "guns are bad news for women."  Perhaps he didn't go to the link I provided which highlights a famous Hemenway study. Where there are more guns, more women die in domestic abuse, compared to states with fewer guns.  It's simple. 

In today's story another fascinating angle came up.

Authorities and relatives said he and Theresa Fogle had been members of the Greater Faith Christian Center Church before starting their own ministry out of their home.

Theresa Fogle's sister Maria Beauford said the couple ran a transportation business together. They had been members of Greater Faith, but had started their own ministry out of their house and regularly hosted Sunday services.
Fundamentalist Christians praying together in the trailer park home of a wife-killer-turned-preacher. And the gun-rights community supports people like this, at least until they go too far, then they're banished.

What's your opinion? Is this an "Only in America" story, or what?

Please leave a comment.

4 comments:

  1. I don't know if it's factored in but I'm just gonna say that, except for a small percentage who actually enjoy gore, most bullies want to do their work without gettin' themselves all nasty. Knives, fists and other weapons require--generally--a lot more effort and intimacy with the victim than a lot of bullies want to deal with. Just sayin'.

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  2. All the women who have had their lives saved by the firearms they carried (and their training in the use of said firearms) would certainly be surprised to hear that "guns are bad news for women". My wife, for instance.

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  3. I don't think any of us are saying that women never benefit from firearms. I will happily stipulate here that women police officers use them well and need them on the job.

    However, what Tenn Budd ignores because it doesn't fit his narrow, selective view of reality is that women are more often victims of male initiated gun violence than the other way round, by a significant margin.

    So, while there may be occasional exceptions to the rule, generally guns are more dangerous to women than they are preventive of harm to women (and children).

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  4. "All those women" don't add up to that much really. The harm done by gun proliferation far outweighs any good they may occasionally do.

    You guys are quick to say the numbers of kids killed is insignificant. But you won't accept that the number of DGUs is too, the number of real ones, I mean.

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