Wednesday, December 26, 2012

Texas Shootout - 2 Dead, 1 Wounded

The Houston Chronicle reports

Norman, a corporal with the Bellaire Police Department and a 24-year law enforcement veteran, was mortally wounded following a brief struggle with a young man who had sped away when Norman pulled him over for a traffic violation. Seconds later, Taylor, the owner of a Maaco body shop, was shot by the same suspect when he emerged from the shop to see what the commotion was about.

The 21-year-old suspect, Harlem Harold Lewis, was shot during a gunfight with other Bellaire officers at the scene. Police say he ran away but a trail of blood led to his nearby hiding spot beneath a truck, where he was arrested and taken to Memorial Hermann Hospital. He was charged with capital murder of a police officer and was listed in critical but stable condition and is expected to survive his wounds. A .380-caliber pistol, the suspected murder weapon, was recovered nearby, police said.
They could blame this on the Muslims, I suppose, or maybe on the angry-black-man syndrome.  Perhaps it's the general breakdown of society or the video games.  The one thing they won't do, the gun-rights fanatics, is blame it on gun availability. The proliferation of handguns and the ease with which they can be acquired by ANYONE, would never even be mentioned as a contributing factor.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

6 comments:

  1. Mikeb wrote, "The proliferation of handguns and the ease with which they can be acquired by ANYONE, would never even be mentioned as a contributing factor [to violent crime]."

    What makes you think it would be hard for criminals to acquire handguns if the states or federal government passed any and all laws that you want? If people want something and are willing to break laws, they will get it. No one seems to have any trouble getting any illegal drug that they want. And it would be just as easy to get handguns even if all firearms were illegal.

    Criminal attacks are over in seconds ... long before a victim can even call 911. You can be a defenseless victim. Or, you can purchase a firearm and pay someone to train you in its safe and effective use. I choose the latter.

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    1. Yes, just like with illegal drugs, we track down the dealers and arrest them. We illegal gun sales, we outlaw tracking down the dealers, because we have no registration of serial numbers.

      Gunsucks sell guns to criminals using the gun show loophole. We should track these gunsuck criminals down, convict them, and execute them swiftly. Sales of guns to felons should be a capital offense.

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    2. Let's say, under your proposed scenario, that a convicted felon buys a gun, and uses it in a robbery. He covers his face, but his cover slips off. The store clerk sees his face. The felon is facing +-20 years for armed robbery, and the death penalty for buying a gun. Why would he not shoot and kill the store clerk?

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    3. " If people want something and are willing to break laws, they will get it."

      SOME of them will, but not nearly as many as do now.

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    4. That's the point, Mikeb. Dangerous people with a will to cause harm will get guns, while law-abiding citizens will be disarmed.

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    5. No, law abiding citizens would not be disarmed. Only the unfit ones would be.

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