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Monday, January 11, 2010
Las Vegas Undercover
Are police sting operations unfair to criminals? I mean, how far should the police be allowed to go to entice people to commit crimes?
Open carry in Wisconsin
The Chicago Tribune reports on a man who is suing after being arrested for carrying a gun openly.
Now, that's a fascinating story. He was arrested on his own porch? And it was all because his home is too close to the school? Sounds a bit bizarre doesn't it?
Is this one of those cases where the gun owners are trying to have laws changed by getting arrested? Is this civil disobedience? Where do you draw the line? When does civil disobedience cross the line and become criminal activity?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
A Racine man arrested while openly carrying a holstered gun on his porch is suing the city and two police officers.
The Journal Times in Racine says Frank Hannan-Rock and a gun-rights group filed the federal lawsuit Friday.
The suit challenges Wisconsin's Gun Free School Zone Act, which restricts gun possession within 1,000 feet of a school. The plaintiffs say the act covers so much territory that it's too restrictive for gun owners.
Hannan-Rock was arrested in September when he refused to answer questions from officers investigating a report of shots fired in the area. He wasn't charged.
He says police told him they have probable cause to arrest him in his home when he has a gun and refuses to identify himself because he lives within 1,000 feet of a school.
Now, that's a fascinating story. He was arrested on his own porch? And it was all because his home is too close to the school? Sounds a bit bizarre doesn't it?
Is this one of those cases where the gun owners are trying to have laws changed by getting arrested? Is this civil disobedience? Where do you draw the line? When does civil disobedience cross the line and become criminal activity?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Sunday, January 10, 2010
New Favorite Blog
One of my new favorite blogs to read every day is SouthernFemaleLawyer, who wrote an interesting post called Tsk, Tsk....
In response to a barrage of hostility she received from some of our very own pro-gun commenters, she had this to say.
SFL has illuminated a fascinating aspect of the gun debate. As a gun owner herself and believer in the 2nd Amendment, she finds the blogging etiquette of some of the more passionate gun folks to be indicative of the fact that they may be unfit to carry guns around. I don't think I'm reading too much into her remarks when I say, as I often have, that some percentage of lawful gun owners are detrimental to their own cause.
The problem is identifying them. I described them pretty well in The Famous 10%, but still, how can they be identified? Daisy said it best in her wonderful post, What I learned from blogging this year, a cautionary tale.
What's your opinion? Do you ever wonder if the blogging comportment of certain individuals is indicative of their general behavior? How do you think the gun owner who is unstable and dangerous would sound in blog comments? Or do you think the one has nothing to do with the other?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
In response to a barrage of hostility she received from some of our very own pro-gun commenters, she had this to say.
Apparently, it is just a little too difficult to assess the situation before you jump in.
Which is, ironically, one of the main reasons that I do not think most people need to be hauling their guns around everywhere.
In addition to instilling me with a healthy respect for weapons in general, and those who serve our country in specific, my parents also taught me that we respect other people.
SFL has illuminated a fascinating aspect of the gun debate. As a gun owner herself and believer in the 2nd Amendment, she finds the blogging etiquette of some of the more passionate gun folks to be indicative of the fact that they may be unfit to carry guns around. I don't think I'm reading too much into her remarks when I say, as I often have, that some percentage of lawful gun owners are detrimental to their own cause.
The problem is identifying them. I described them pretty well in The Famous 10%, but still, how can they be identified? Daisy said it best in her wonderful post, What I learned from blogging this year, a cautionary tale.
If you can't decently handle the First Amendment, why should we believe you can handle the Second?
What's your opinion? Do you ever wonder if the blogging comportment of certain individuals is indicative of their general behavior? How do you think the gun owner who is unstable and dangerous would sound in blog comments? Or do you think the one has nothing to do with the other?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Carrying Concealed Guns Across State Lines
Seacoastonline.com reports on the arrest in Maine of two Pennsylvania truckers.
Both men claimed they thought their PA concealed carry permits were valid in Maine. That doesn't sound believable to me, what do you think? Isn't it more likely they knew very well it was not permitted but, being otherwise law-abiding gun owners, they took a chance? Isn't that what many would do? If people believe it's important to carry guns for their personal safety, and many truck drivers may be right about that, wouldn't they often decide to violate some of these overly restrictive gun control laws?
Wasn't there an attempt to make this kind of thing legal? Wasn't the failure to achieve Concealed Carry Reciprosity one of the few successes for the gun control folks last year? How common do you think it is that gun owners simply ignore the laws they don't agree with? Does that make them criminals who should be treated like any other?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Two Pennsylvania truckers hauling welding supplies were charged with trying to bring concealed weapons into Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The pair had gun licenses issued in their home state, but they're not valid in Maine.
Police Chief Ed Strong said a tractor-trailer was stopped at a shipyard gate Thursday morning when a Department of Defense officer conducted a search and discovered the driver and passenger were carrying handguns.
A Maine state trooper was called to the scene and arrested Jesus Acosta-Pileta and Juan Guevera-Pompa, both 44, on charges of carrying concealed weapons without valid licenses.
Both men claimed they thought their PA concealed carry permits were valid in Maine. That doesn't sound believable to me, what do you think? Isn't it more likely they knew very well it was not permitted but, being otherwise law-abiding gun owners, they took a chance? Isn't that what many would do? If people believe it's important to carry guns for their personal safety, and many truck drivers may be right about that, wouldn't they often decide to violate some of these overly restrictive gun control laws?
Wasn't there an attempt to make this kind of thing legal? Wasn't the failure to achieve Concealed Carry Reciprosity one of the few successes for the gun control folks last year? How common do you think it is that gun owners simply ignore the laws they don't agree with? Does that make them criminals who should be treated like any other?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
The Gun Safety Issue in Health Care
Media Matters reports on the latest hysteria to come from the Gun Owners of America (GOA).
Part of the GOA message reads like this:
As an aside, has everyone lost their minds over the word "troll?" Why is this word being misused so often? Are the writers of the word so bereft of a healthy vocabulary that they can't help themselves? And, I can't help but noticing which side of the political divide tends to do this most.
What's your opinion? Is everything objectionable "trolling" now?
About the gun safety issue in the health care debate, wasn't that taken care of? Why are these people still beating a dead horse?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
On January 7, 2010, the far-right Gun Owners of America sent an email to supporters claiming the Senate health care reform bill would trample Americans' second amendment rights. In reality, the bill specifically bans the collection and use of firearm-related data that would adversely affect the rights of gun owners.
Part of the GOA message reads like this:
Senators are now insisting that the current Senate health bill protects the rights of gun owners, even though this version would still allow the BATFE and FBI to troll through the ObamaCare database for gun owners who would be disqualified because of their medical information.
As an aside, has everyone lost their minds over the word "troll?" Why is this word being misused so often? Are the writers of the word so bereft of a healthy vocabulary that they can't help themselves? And, I can't help but noticing which side of the political divide tends to do this most.
What's your opinion? Is everything objectionable "trolling" now?
About the gun safety issue in the health care debate, wasn't that taken care of? Why are these people still beating a dead horse?
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Daddy's Guns Are Still Bad News for Kids
Yesterday when I wrote Daddy's Guns Are Bad News for Kids, claiming there are "scores" of examples every day, I received this comment from Stephen, one of my favorite author/bloggers, which reads in part:
Well, never one to avoid the truth, I admit he's right. There are not "scores" per day, at least not in the main stream media. That would make these stories 20 times more frequent than DGUs. There are only 2 or 3 per day. I tend to exaggerate for emphasis as well as use the occasional attempt at humor and irony. It's confusing I know.
MYNorthwest reports on a 12-year-old, and unlike yesterday's reports actually says it was daddy's gun, which will please FatWhiteMan.
Fox 12 Oregon reports on a sixth-grader. Perhaps the authors of these reports picked up on the observation of FatWhiteMan. This one also mentions the dad.
There are more, but I think you get the point. It's interesting that all the reasons kids used to bring guns to school in the good old days are never mentioned, you know, to do show and tell, to go hunting immediately after. Today's stories are both about being bullied. I wonder if this is also handed down from father to son. Years ago perhaps the gun owning dads were not so paranoid and fearful as they are today.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
Scores of these stories per day? I really doubt that.
Well, never one to avoid the truth, I admit he's right. There are not "scores" per day, at least not in the main stream media. That would make these stories 20 times more frequent than DGUs. There are only 2 or 3 per day. I tend to exaggerate for emphasis as well as use the occasional attempt at humor and irony. It's confusing I know.
MYNorthwest reports on a 12-year-old, and unlike yesterday's reports actually says it was daddy's gun, which will please FatWhiteMan.
Clark County sheriff's deputies have arrested a 12-year-old boy at his Vancouver-area middle school after finding an unloaded 9 mm handgun and two loaded ammunition clips in the boy's backpack.
Sgt. Craig Randall says the boy told investigators Thursday that he took his father's gun to Pacific Middle School, without permission, to protect himself and friends from a bully.
The unidentified boy was taken to Clark County juvenile detention on accusations of theft of a firearm and possession of a dangerous weapon at school.
Randall says officers learned the boy had displayed a knife at school on Monday and the gun on Tuesday and Wednesday. Evergreen Public Schools safety manager Scott Deutsch says a schoolmate told his mother about the gun Wednesday evening and she alerted the school early Thursday.
Evergreen spokeswoman Carol Fenstermacher says the district is investigating the gun incident and the claims of bullying.
Fox 12 Oregon reports on a sixth-grader. Perhaps the authors of these reports picked up on the observation of FatWhiteMan. This one also mentions the dad.
A 12-year-old boy suspected of bringing a handgun to school twice was arrested Thursday, deputies said.
Clark County sheriff's deputies were called to Pacific Middle School on NE 172nd Avenue at about 9:15 a.m. after school officials learned about the weapon.
Deputies were told the student brought his father's gun to school Tuesday and had shown it to other students. He also brought it Wednesday, deputies said.
A Glock 9mm handgun and two loaded magazines were found in the student's backpack, according to the sheriff's office. Deputies said the 12-year-old took the gun from his father without permission.
There are more, but I think you get the point. It's interesting that all the reasons kids used to bring guns to school in the good old days are never mentioned, you know, to do show and tell, to go hunting immediately after. Today's stories are both about being bullied. I wonder if this is also handed down from father to son. Years ago perhaps the gun owning dads were not so paranoid and fearful as they are today.
What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.
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