Florida 5-year-old Shoots Self

The Miami Herald reports on the shooting.

EDGEWATER, Fla. -- A 5-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the foot after grabbing a shotgun off a table at a Volusia County home.

Edgewater police say the boy's grandfather had been cleaning the shotgun Friday morning when set the weapon on a table to clean another gun. The boy, who was not identified, grabbed the shotgun and fired it. He was taken to a nearby hospital, where he was treated for the foot wound.

Police say they aren't planning to charge the grandfather.

No surprises here. Florida's always prevalent in the gun news. And of course not charging the grandfather is what you'd expect from them. What I'm curious about is why the gun was loaded if he was cleaning it? Is that normal practice, or do you think it was just an oversight like leaving a round in the chamber and not being aware of it?

The guys who keep doing that, forgetting about the round in the chamber, are they the same ones who talk about situational awareness? Are these they gun owners who are hyper-aware of their surroundings in order to be prepared if the worst happens? Maybe all that stress when out and about leads to relaxing and sloppiness at home. What do you think?

Or are some gun owners (not many and not most), are some gun owners just plain too stupid and irresponsible to own guns safely? What's your opinion?

Please leave a comment.

The Planet of the Apes

No racism here, just overly enthusiastic Glenn.

Gun Friendly Florida

TBO.com reports on the latest gun incidents down Tampa way.

1. Road raging maniac loses control.
2. Guy wounds police dog, cops kill guy.
3. Guy wounds deputy, SWAT team kills guy. That happened during a "wellness check" whatever that is.

One trenchant observation was this.

Turner [Police Chief George Turner] said he couldn't explain the recent spurt of gun crimes that has taken place throughout the city and county.

"There are just a lot of violent people out there who don't care about the lives and liberties of others," he said.

I wonder if he could be referring to another kind of "liberty" than the one the pro-gun crowd is always talking about. This sounds more like the liberty of not living in a society where guns are so available, where the pro-gun folks keep preaching that more guns is the answer, now fewer. I think that's the kind of liberty the police chief is talking about.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Groton Man Sentenced

Theday.com reports on the sentencing of a gun offender in Connecticut.

A Groton man was sentenced Friday to 14 years in prison in connection with an incident in which he pointed a gun at a Groton Town police officer at the Time Out Sports Cafe on Oct. 30, 2008.

Police Officer Bridget Nordstrom had testified that she and four other officers went to the Route 12 bar after a confidential informant told her in text messages and a phone conversation that Carter had a gun and was going to "pop a white dude."

Nordstrom said Carter pointed the gun at her for several seconds when she entered the bar. The officers subdued Carter after a scuffle that lasted about 10 seconds. They recovered a Jennings .22-caliber pistol, its magazine loaded with five rounds of ammunition, from his right pocket.

Now, I'm all for tough sentencing for gun offenders and all that, but to read this story on the same day as the Philadelphia cop getting off who shot wildly into a building eleven times, actually wounding people in the chaos, is a bit discouraging.

Cops doing wrong get one set of standards. Civilians doing wrong get another, especially if they do that wrong to cops, and especially if they're black and the cops are white.

Is that too cynical? What do you think?

Please leave a comment.

Murder-Suicide in Upstate New York

The Utica Observer Dispatch reports on the latest.

The first time David Hoole placed a loaded gun against the head of one of his wives 10 years ago, he threatened to kill her before firing several rounds off inside their Westmoreland home, according to court records.

But authorities said when David Hoole pointed a gun at his most recent wife earlier this week, she wasn’t able to escape.

Hoole, 41, pulled the trigger over and over again as he shot his wife, Lisa Guzzardo, 45, in the head before turning the gun on himself, Oneida County sheriff’s investigators said. Guzzardo was shot four times, and Hoole killed himself with a single shot to the head.

He'd picked up a felony conviction from the first incident and had had numerous scrapes with the law since. Yet the article provided this odd observation.

Officials said they still are investigating whether the handgun used this week was registered to Hoole, and whether he was legally allowed to own such a weapon after being previously convicted of a felony.

Is there any way this guy could have owned a handgun legally? Please tell us if there is. But, even if for some strange reason he was not a disqualified person, can we all agree he should not have owned a gun? Isn't Mr. Poole a good example of the kind who shouldn't?

Are there gun rights people who find restrictions, any restrictions so abhorrent, that they would dispute this? I think I know the answer to that, and I say to you, you are part of the problem.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

The Most Hated Cops - Philadelphia's Finest

Philly.com reports on the late-coming but not unexpected development in the George Marko case.

For 2 1/2 years, friends and relatives of George Marko and Abebe Isaac have wondered how it would all play out.

Marko, a veteran Philadelphia police officer, was on duty shortly after midnight on New Year's Day in 2008, when he responded to a report of gunfire in East Germantown. He wound up firing 11 shots into a rowhouse after a suspect, Dontate Mitchell, ran inside.

Isaac, 33, was an unarmed man inside that house. He was wounded five times and died a week later. Three other people who were inside, including a 9-year-old boy, also were wounded.

What's your opinion? Does Officer Marko sound like the kind of policeman who can responsibly decide how and when to use his gun? Do you think the District Attorney sometimes delays these kinds of decisions as a strategy? What do you think Internal Affairs will do?

Please leave a comment.

Beck, O'Reilly and Stephen King