One Strike You're Out - Example

The Herald Net reports

on a perfect example of what I'm always talking about. Removing guns from people who demonstrate this kind of behaviour is essential if we expect to improve things.

A Tulalip man was arrested early Wednesday morning on suspicion of first-degree assault after allegedly pointing a gun at a friend, police reported.

The pair had been at a Marysville bar. The suspect's friend told him he was too drunk to drive, according to police reports.

The suspect, 42, agreed to get a ride home from the friend, Marysville Police Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux said.

The suspect put his backpack in the trunk of his car and then pulled out a handgun. He allegedly pointed the weapon at his friend's chest, according to police reports.

A brief struggle occurred. The friend was able to run back into the bar. Police were called.

The suspect told officers that he'd placed the handgun back in the car. Officers seized the gun.

No shots were fired and there were no injuries, Lamoureux said.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

Ooops?

from MSNBC:

United agent accidentally shot at New Orleans airport

By Rebecca Ruiz, Senior editor, msnbc.com

A United Airlines employee was shot in the leg at Louis Armstrong New Orleans International airport this morning when a passenger's rifle accidentally discharged.
The agent, who is not being named by the airline, was checking the passenger in when the rifle discharged. The flier, who had declared the gun, is reported to be 65-year-old Edward Deubler, according to the Times-Picayune.
Mary Ryan, a spokesperson for United, said that the employee sustained non-life threatening injuries and is reported to be in stable condition.
The airline's policy for checking firearms follow federal regulations, which require that guns in checked baggage or separate shipping cases be unloaded and declared.
Ryan did not know whether the rifle was in a bag or case when it was handled by the United agent.

So, here is a question for our blog readers: should there be some mechanism for taking guns away from people to old or senile to handle them safely? It's hard enough to get car keys away from the elderly who are no longer safe to drive. I can only imagine that taking away the guns of those suffering from senile dementia might be even more hazardous and difficult.  Should there be some sort of mandatory age check, like a driver's license renewal, after a certain age?

Insight into Violence and Mental Health Issues

This is a follow up story to one I posted awhile back.

From the STrib:

How did Michael Swanson get his hands on a gun?

Posted by: Jeremy Olson Updated: July 25, 2011 - 1:15

Reader reaction to the July 17 article on Michael Swanson -- and the failed attempts to help him before he shot and killed two convenience store clerks in Iowa -- has centered on two issues.

First, there's been frustration over the opportunities that were missed by mental health and county juvenile justice authorities to intervene more forcefully during the years when Swanson abused drugs and committed various thefts and other crimes. Swanson has now been sentenced to life in prison. His mother said she believes he should have been in residential mental health treatment on the night of the murders if earlier probation terms against him had been followed.
Second, how did a teen with a violent history get his hands on a gun? It's a question to which Swanson's mother, Kathy, is sensitive, because the family went to great measures to seal off firearms. So here are some more details, according to mother Kathy Swanson:
-- On the fateful November 2010 evening, her son stole her jeep and cash card from their home in St. Louis Park. His father's hunting rifles were in the house, but were locked in a safe. Normally, his father stored them in a separate, locked location, but they were at home because he had just returned from a hunting trip.
-- Swanson then drove 250 miles north to the family's cabin, where he encountered his grandfather (who is deaf) sleeping in a chair in the living room. Swanson then stole food and water from the refrigerator and found his uncle's loaded handgun and an unloaded rifle laying out in a bedroom. (Note: this is corrected information from the original story, which indicated that Swanson took a shotgun.) Normally, those weapons would be stored in a locked cabinet underneath the bed, but they were laid out to dry as the rifle had gotten wet during a snowy hunting outing.
Just prior to the Nov. 15 killings, there had been concern about Swanson's access to weapons. An official at the Hennepin County Home School, where Swanson had been detained until November 3 for prior offenses, had expressed concern after hearing that Swanson might be allowed to go on a hunting trip with his father, according to county records. Swanson's parents clarified prior to their son's discharge that he would not be allowed to go along.
Kathy Swanson later said in an interview that one of her other two sons would have been nervous being around Michael while he had a weapon. Because Michael had not been on the hunting trip, his uncle had felt safe leaving the guns out to dry.
Kathy Swanson said little to nothing to the press after his son's arrest and during his murder trial. She spoke to the Star Tribune, though, in the hopes that her son's story could motivate change.

"I think that people would be amazed at how many children are affected with mental illness, and how many families deal with these issues," she said. "To bring to light the problems in the system has to be a good thing – it’s the only way to make a change."

NRA Member, GOPer, Tea Partier Likes Killing Cops

Meet Jeff Mattox--NRA member, GOPer, Tea Partier:
A South Carolina Republican county co-chair is embroiled in a controversy over "liking" a Facebook article that advocated shooting law enforcement officers.
Jeff Mattox, who is also a tea party activist with the Kershaw County Patriots, gave digital plaudits to an article entitled "When Should You Shoot A Cop" posted on the Patriot's Facebook page.
"That’s what it means to have an unalienable right. If you have the unalienable right to speak your mind (a la the First Amendment), then you have the right to KILL “government” agents who try to shut you up. If you have the unalienable right to be armed, then you have the right to KILL ”government” agents who try to disarm you," argued a poster at copblock.org

As one commenter put it:
Golly, if I were a deputy sherriff down in them parts I might just have to pull Mr. Mattox over and make sure he isn't smuggling drugs or weapons into the county. I'd probably have to stick my 8 D cell Maglite into all of his cavities for a considerable distance to ensure that there wasn't any contraband or anything illegal in there. If he did happen to resist I am sure that the fellas down at HQ would probably like to have a look see too.

Update:  Since Jonathan Sullivan  (linoge) spends a lot of time here when he's not 'boycotting' us--it should be noted Jon is a Tea Partier, as well.

Finland Takes My Advice

Smart:
Acting National Police Chief Pentti Saira told YLE on Saturday that Friday's attacks in Norway have given new impetus to moving ahead with changes to gun laws.
"The programme of the new government includes a second package of firearms legislation which is now under preparation. There has not yet been a deep discussion of this package, but this will now be taken up by in a steering group meeting," said Saira.
The most recent changes in firearms legislation came into force at the beginning of June. The new regulations make it more difficult to acquire handguns, and raises the minimum age for handgun ownership to 20. Since the change, applicants for gun permits are also required to undergo testing for suitability for gun ownership.

Why You Should Never Send Your Kids to U. of Toledo

Brian Anse Patrick.

Any school that would hire someone like Patrick is, frankly, a school not worth attending.

Patrick believes Colin Goddard wasn't a victim--despite being shot four times during the Virginia Tech shooting.  He also believes Goddard is using (or misusing) his wounding for monetary gain.  The Virginia Tech shooter, Patrick maintains wasn't mentally ill--just a jerk.

Of course, Patrick isn't a medical professional.  Nor is he a mind reader capable of discerning the inner motivations of people he doesn't know.  But this hardly stops him from wildly opining about the guns he dearly loves.

And perhaps I'm too tough on the University of Toledo.  Maybe the faculty has a twisted sense of humor and keeps a few oddballs around in some sort of Dinner for Schmucks competition where each department has to bring a "talented" individual to faculty get togethers.

"I'll Take 'Stupid US Gun Laws' for $500, Alex"

Alex Trebek: "What does Al Qaeda, Anders Breivik, and the NRA have in common?"

What is......they all dislike gun laws?