Home Invasion Victim Arrested for Having a Gun

The New York Times reports on the heartbreaking story of a guy trying to survive in New York. Link provided by Fishy Jay with the witty remark, "The Times, they are a-changin'."

The night the robbers shoved their way in, Jason Baez lay on the living room floor, terrified. He worried for his children, asleep in their bedroom; for his wife, prostrate next to him; and for himself as two men brandished guns and a third accomplice, a woman, lashed Mr. Baez and his wife with duct tape and electrical cord.

This happened on 101st Street in Manhattan. After a terrible ordeal trying to save his family by moving them to Jersey temporarily, the man bought a cheap handgun in order to protect them and was eventually arrested for it.

He was arrested, and despite having no criminal record, he faced up to three and a half years in prison. Prosecutors offered him a deal of one year if he pleaded guilty, and he accepted. He is to be sentenced Jan. 27.

“We were afraid to fight it,” Ms. Baez said. “We couldn’t be without him for three and a half years.”

I'd say that's a story that would touch the cold heart of even Mayor Bloomberg. But, I guess we'll find that out on January 27th. What do you think?

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Colin Goddard for the Brady Campaign

The Brady Blog post which featured these videos was mainly about guns on college campuses. I thought this first video made a better point about the background checks.



And in this video, I thought Colin did better than Bloomberg's friends. What do you think?

Arizona Moms

kaveman sent me this link with the message, "Have fun."

Authorities say they have arrested an Arizona woman who traded her 2-year-old daughter for a gun.

Maricopa County sheriff's deputies arrested 33-year-old Tanya Nareau of Mesa on Tuesday after receiving a tip.

Deputies say they spoke with a family friend who had the child and confirmed Nareau gave the girl to him for gun.

Deputies say Nareau felt the friend would do a better job raising the child than she would.

Authorities say Nareau has been charged with the unlawful sale of a child and solicitation to possess a weapon by a prohibited person.

Now, I have as much a sense of humor as the next guy, but this is very serious. There must be a hidden segment of the gun owning public that does this. What percentage do you think it is?

Theater Shooting in Albuquerque

KOAT.com reports on the questions raised after an accidental shooting in a crowded theater.

Saturday’s movie theater shooting has many questioning New Mexico's law on gun control.

“If this young man had actually had a license to carry the weapon, he would have been much better trained. I doubt, very seriously, that he would have actually been in a situation where the gun would have just discharged,” said State Rep. Gail Chasey.

Police said Dante Aikins had no permit to carry the loaded revolver. It went off in a crowded theater, injured one person, and it has lawmakers asking questions.

“Would we then want to look at changing the law?” Chasey said. “But I don't think there's the political will to further restrict the law."Chasey said that is the main issue -- no desire to change the state law.

The current law prevents weapons from being brought into courthouses, on school property and inside establishments that serve liquor.

Chasey even tried to introduce a bill called the Handgun Safety Standard Act in 2001. Her bill never made it passed debate on the floor of the House.

So for now, crowded venues, like theaters, stores and sporting events are fair game until the state gun law can be tightened.

I have to ask, along with my gun-enthusiast friends I would imagine, what tightening up of the state law would prevent something like this? Obviously none, at least not directly. When some dopey guy wants to bring a gun along, nothing will stop him.

What can be done though, is we can begin to gradually change our attitude towards guns. The idea that bringing a gun along is a good plan, whether you have a CCW permit or not, is just plain mistaken in most cases. When is the last time you needed a gun in the movies?

It's the gun culture that needs to be reined in.

What's your opinion? Do you think Gail Chasey is right to say if he'd had a license to carry he would have been better trained? Isn't the training minimal in any case? Isn't this type of gun mishandling more dependent on the person's character rather than the little training required for a license?

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Murder and Failed Suicide in Massachusetts

boston.com reports on the Westford man who killed his wife and attempted to kill himself.

A Westford man has pleaded not guilty to a first-degree murder charge after prosecutors said he fatally shot his wife and then turned the gun on himself during an argument.

Middlesex District Attorney's spokeswoman Jessica Venezia said Tuesday that Frederick Leduc was also arraigned at a Massachusetts General Hospital room on weapon charges.

The 45-year-old was taken to the hospital after turning the gun on himself after firing the weapon on 43-year-old Karen Leduc at their home on Saturday night.

The woman died at a Worcester hospital where she had been in critical condition since the incident.

Leduc was originally charged with armed assault with intent to murder, but that charge was upgraded after his wife died. His attorney did not immediately return a call for comment left after business hours.

I'm not sure what "turned the gun on himself" really means. Did he aim the gun at himself and not fire, did he fire and miss, did he give himself a superficial wound?

One thing is clear, this is a perfect illustration of why I say guns are bad news for women.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Shooting in Georgia - 2 Dead

Fox News reports on the deadly shooting in Georgia in which another deranged man shot up the work place and his colleagues.

Police arrived quickly on the scene of the deadly shooting -- a Penske truck rental on Barrett Lakes Boulevard -- and apprehended a suspect, a former employee according to the Penske corporation.

The truck rental group also said that of the five people shot, four were employees and one was a customer.

Police said the shooting in suburban Kennesaw happened inside the business Tuesday afternoon, just before 2 pm.

It seems like the disgruntled employee syndrome is flourishing in America. The economy probably has something to do with it, and the job market. What about gun availability? What about the ever-increasing attitudes in the country that the gun is the answer. Seemingly normal people will not leave home without a gun, even in circumstances where little or no danger exists. That's not to mention the folks who keep guns at home, "just in case." Some of them have never had the slightest reason for doing this.

Others, admittedly, have reason for being armed, folks who live in bad neighborhoods or whose work takes them into dangerous places. But I don't think this applies to most gun owners. The problem is the borderline lunatics, when they crack up they too often have a gun handy.

After the shooting, the suspect, dressed in camouflage attire, left in a pickup truck.

Little information exists about the killer at present, described by the policeman as "an older white male, in good condition, in police custody."

What's your opinion? Do you just shrug your shoulders and say, "what law could have prevented this?" Is that your response?

I say gun owners need to take responsibility for incidents in which one of their own does something like this. I don't think it's right for the larger body of law-abiding gun owners to continue writing off these guys who get caught committing crimes with guns as if they belong to a different group.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Texas Man Accidentally Shoots Self and Wife

The Galveston County Daily News reports on an accidental shooting.

A Texas City man who was reaching for his pistol accidentally shot himself in the hand during the weekend, police said.

The unidentified man’s wife also was injured when the gun fired.

The couple had just left a Texas City restaurant on Palmer Highway about 7 p.m. Saturday when the man reached under the seat of his car to remove his handgun. While handling the gun, it fired and struck the man’s left ring finger.

His wife had two small wounds on her leg as a result of the gun going off, police said.

The couple drove to Mainland Medical Center where they were treated and released.

While the man did not have a concealed handgun license, he won’t be charged because police said state laws allow someone to carry a pistol in the vehicle as long as it is concealed, Sgt. Joe Stanton said.

I'd say he has no one to blame but himself, and the gun of course. Even the reporting said, "it fired and struck the man’s left ring finger." "It fired..." I thought that was pretty funny.

What's your opinion? Do the pro-gun folks sometimes try to blame the laws and the gun control folks for mishaps like this? I mean, what kind of silly law says you're allowed to have a gun in the car as long as it's concealed? If a guy has no concealed carry permit, he cannot carry concealed outside of his vehicle, but inside he must? And all the while open carry allowed in Texas, isn't it?

With so many confusing laws, it's no wonder so many gun owners are running into trouble.

Please leave a comment.