Written in response to a mass shooting in 1978 (funny how many of those there are in the USA):
"There is no reason because there is no reason".
Well, other than the Gun Rights crowd blocking anything which might keep disqualified people from getting guns.
Friday, July 20, 2012
Update to Colorado Mass Shooting: Gunman Wore Gas Mask
I'm not all that surprised a mass shooter would wear a gas mask, and bullet proof vest.
Part of the fetish relationship between gun nuts and their weapons is the degree to which the weapons and their accessories have a strong emotional connection to their adherents. They get excitement, an emotional reaction from them, that ordinary equipment or items do not provide. It is part of a larger fantasy experience with gun nuts, part of a whole video-game/violent movie atmosphere heroics; they need the whole costume for the power rush. It seems similar to the kick that people get from the props for kinky sex. Watch a gun nut talking about their firearms sometime; look carefully at their affect for the emotions connected with firearms and related items. There are distinctive emotional changes that take place when the fetish items are involved.
That's why you see people inappropriately carrying firearms at social events, like the one Laci described here recently.
After becoming a focus for ridicule for his Dark Knight /Bain/Bane conspiracy theories........I wonder if Rush Limbaugh, or maybe the NRA is going to try to make up another silly liberal conspiracy theory out of this shooting at the movie, another bogus claim that this was done as a justification for Obama coming for their guns? Because Limp-bo and the NRA ARE that sick and twisted, althoguh it's hard to tell if it's from organic paranoia brought on by their politics deforming their amygdalas, or maybe just lead toxicity (or both).
from the STrib:
Part of the fetish relationship between gun nuts and their weapons is the degree to which the weapons and their accessories have a strong emotional connection to their adherents. They get excitement, an emotional reaction from them, that ordinary equipment or items do not provide. It is part of a larger fantasy experience with gun nuts, part of a whole video-game/violent movie atmosphere heroics; they need the whole costume for the power rush. It seems similar to the kick that people get from the props for kinky sex. Watch a gun nut talking about their firearms sometime; look carefully at their affect for the emotions connected with firearms and related items. There are distinctive emotional changes that take place when the fetish items are involved.
That's why you see people inappropriately carrying firearms at social events, like the one Laci described here recently.
After becoming a focus for ridicule for his Dark Knight /Bain/Bane conspiracy theories........I wonder if Rush Limbaugh, or maybe the NRA is going to try to make up another silly liberal conspiracy theory out of this shooting at the movie, another bogus claim that this was done as a justification for Obama coming for their guns? Because Limp-bo and the NRA ARE that sick and twisted, althoguh it's hard to tell if it's from organic paranoia brought on by their politics deforming their amygdalas, or maybe just lead toxicity (or both).
from the STrib:
1 suspect arrested in Denver area mass shooting involving gunman who wore gas mask
- Article by: Associated Press
- Updated: July 20, 2012 - 6:26 AMAURORA, Colo. - A police spokesman says the gas mask-wearing suspect arrested in connection with a mass shooting in the Denver suburb of Aurora is a man in his early 20s.Aurora police spokesman Frank Fania told ABC's "Good Morning America" that investigators don't believe anyone else was involved.
Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates says witnesses reported the person released some type of a canister, then they heard a hissing sound and saw a gas — and then the gunman started shooting.
Officers found the suspect near a car behind the theater and also located a gas mask, rifle, handgun and at least another weapon.
The suspect's name hasn't been released and police haven't indicated if there was a motive.
Second Mass Shooting This Week: 14 Dead 50+ Injured
Did you happen to notice that we have more of these than other places?
Yes, there was one in Canada this week, but those are very very very rare there. There hasn't been on in the UK for more than a decade. In the UK, there was one - ONE - in 2010, and there hadn't been one before that since 1996, and not one before that since 1987. (For those who believe the UK has a total ban on guns, the Cumbria mass shooter of 2010 had owned a shot gun since 1974, and a rifle dating to 2007.)
Clearly, while there are multiple factors contributing to mass shooting occurrences, the availability of firearms is a key factor. Without guns available, they don't occur. Because of the unique correlation between firearms and impulsive acts (notably suicides, but also other violence), and there is greater safety for the user and ease of use of firearms to harm others compared to other means of random mass attacks.
from the STrib:
Police chief says 14 dead in Colorado theater shooting; officers check for explosivesAURORA, Colo. - A gunman opened fire early Friday at a suburban Denver movie theater on the opening night of the latest Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises," killing 14 people and injuring at least 50 others, authorities said.
Yes, there was one in Canada this week, but those are very very very rare there. There hasn't been on in the UK for more than a decade. In the UK, there was one - ONE - in 2010, and there hadn't been one before that since 1996, and not one before that since 1987. (For those who believe the UK has a total ban on guns, the Cumbria mass shooter of 2010 had owned a shot gun since 1974, and a rifle dating to 2007.)
Clearly, while there are multiple factors contributing to mass shooting occurrences, the availability of firearms is a key factor. Without guns available, they don't occur. Because of the unique correlation between firearms and impulsive acts (notably suicides, but also other violence), and there is greater safety for the user and ease of use of firearms to harm others compared to other means of random mass attacks.
from the STrib:
Police chief says 14 dead in Colorado theater shooting; officers check for explosivesAURORA, Colo. - A gunman opened fire early Friday at a suburban Denver movie theater on the opening night of the latest Batman movie "The Dark Knight Rises," killing 14 people and injuring at least 50 others, authorities said.
The gunman, who is in custody, stood at the front of the theater and fired into the crowd about 12:30 a.m. MDT at a multiplex theater in a mall in Aurora.
"Witnesses tell us he released some sort of canister. They heard a hissing sound and some gas emerged and the gunman opened fire," Aurora Police Chief Dan Oates said at a news conference.
Police, ambulances and emergency crews swarmed on the scene after frantic calls started flooding the 911 switchboard, officials said.
Officers came running in and telling people to leave the theater, Salina Jordan told the Denver Post. She said some police were carrying and dragging bodies.
Officers later found the gunman near a car behind the theater.
"A gas mask, rifle, handgun at least one additional weapon (were) found inside," he said.
The suspect was taken into custody, but no name was released. Oates said there's no evidence of any other attackers. There was also no immediate word of any motive.
The suspect spoke of "possible explosives in his residence. We are dealing with that potential threat," Oates said
Police were at the Denver-area apartment and had evacuated other residents of the building. Oates did not say whether any explosives had been found.
He said police also checked for explosives in the parking lot and at the Century 16 theater and secured those areas.
Moviegoers spoke of their terror as violence erupted and people around them fell victim.
Bejamin Fernandez, 30, told the Post that he heard a series of explosions. He said that people ran from the theater and there were gunshots as police shouted "get down!"
Frenandez said he saw people falling, including one young girl.
Jordan told the paper that one girl was struck in cheek, others in stomach including a girl who looked to be around 9-years-old.
Jordan said it sounded like firecrackers until someone ran into Theater 8 yelling "they're shooting out here!"
Hayden Miller told KUSA-TV that he heard several shots.
"Like little explosions going on and shortly after that we heard people screaming," he told the station.
Hayden said at first he thought it was part of a louder movie next door. But then he saw "people hunched over leaving theater."
The police chief said 10 victims died at the theater and four at area hospitals.
At least 24 people were being treated at Denver area hospitals.
Eleven people were being treated at the Medical Center of Aurora for gunshots and ranged from minor to critical condition. Two others walked in to be treated for tear gas contamination.
Denver Health had seven victims — one in critical and the rest in fair condition.
The youngest victim reported was a 6-year-old being treated at Children's Hospital Colorado, where a total of six victims were taken. Their condition wasn't known.
Two people in critical condition were rushed to nearby Swedish Medical Center, spokeswoman Nicole Williams said.
Aurora is on Denver's east side and is Colorado's third-largest city with 327,000 residents. It is home to a large Defense Department satellite intelligence operation at Buckley Air Force Base, as well as The Children's Hospital, the University of Colorado Hospital and a future Veterans Affairs hospital.
- Article by: THOMAS PEIPERT , Associated Press
- Updated: July 20, 2012 - 5:35 AM
Lead Poisoning--maybe that explains the gunloon mentality
I'm not talking about the slang for being shot, I am talking about lead's characteristic as a neurotoxin. Lead is a neurotoxin that is especially damaging to foetuses and young
children, although it can harm the brains and nervous systems of adults,
as well.
It's not just a neurotoxin,Lead is a powerful neurotoxin that hurts almost all body organs, particularly the kidneys, red blood cells, and central nervous system. In young children, lead retards the development of the central nervous system and brain.Even tiny amounts can cause reduced IQ, reading and learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder and behavioral problems. As a result, childhood lead poisoning is associated with lower educational achievement, higher rates of high school drop-out and increased behavioral problems.
Lead's toxic characterisitcs have been well known for thousands of years. Hippocrates described the case of a metal extraction worker with abdominal colic . The metal was used extensively for purposes that ranged from tool formation in ancient Egypt to the sweetening of wines in the Middle Ages. Famously, in 1767 Sir George Baker demonstrated that Devonshire colic was caused by lead in the production equipment of Devonshire cider . In the 19th century lead poisoning was classified as a notifiable occupational disease in Britain, though the necessity of reducing workers' exposure was fully appreciated only in the latter half of the 20th century. Lead Paint It was banned in France and many other countries prior to 1920. Lead was banned in U.S. residential paint in 1978.
Lead dust is invisible, so tiny in fact that it passes through most masks & filters. You can not see or smell lead, and often, you can not taste it.
Lead shot and lead weight can severely affect individual organisms and threaten ecosystems (WHO 1989). After three to ten days of waterfowl ingesting lead shot, the poison will reach the bloodstream and be carried to major organs, like the heart, liver and kidneys. By the 17th to 21st day the bird falls into a coma and dies. Following the ingestion of lead shot, lead toxicosis has been observed in Magpie geese, Black swans, several species of duck (including Black duck and Musk duck) and Hardhead species (OECD 1993). We have also seen that it is effecting the California Condor population.
Children with blood lead levels higher than 5 micrograms per deciliter were also significantly more likely to exhibit and hyperactivity than children with lower lead levels. Children with levels above 10 micrograms per deciliter scored even worse on hyperactivity, antisocial and educational performance tests than children in the 5 to 10 microgram per deciliter group.
It's not just a neurotoxin,Lead is a powerful neurotoxin that hurts almost all body organs, particularly the kidneys, red blood cells, and central nervous system. In young children, lead retards the development of the central nervous system and brain.Even tiny amounts can cause reduced IQ, reading and learning disabilities, attention deficit disorder and behavioral problems. As a result, childhood lead poisoning is associated with lower educational achievement, higher rates of high school drop-out and increased behavioral problems.
Lead's toxic characterisitcs have been well known for thousands of years. Hippocrates described the case of a metal extraction worker with abdominal colic . The metal was used extensively for purposes that ranged from tool formation in ancient Egypt to the sweetening of wines in the Middle Ages. Famously, in 1767 Sir George Baker demonstrated that Devonshire colic was caused by lead in the production equipment of Devonshire cider . In the 19th century lead poisoning was classified as a notifiable occupational disease in Britain, though the necessity of reducing workers' exposure was fully appreciated only in the latter half of the 20th century. Lead Paint It was banned in France and many other countries prior to 1920. Lead was banned in U.S. residential paint in 1978.
Lead dust is invisible, so tiny in fact that it passes through most masks & filters. You can not see or smell lead, and often, you can not taste it.
Lead shot and lead weight can severely affect individual organisms and threaten ecosystems (WHO 1989). After three to ten days of waterfowl ingesting lead shot, the poison will reach the bloodstream and be carried to major organs, like the heart, liver and kidneys. By the 17th to 21st day the bird falls into a coma and dies. Following the ingestion of lead shot, lead toxicosis has been observed in Magpie geese, Black swans, several species of duck (including Black duck and Musk duck) and Hardhead species (OECD 1993). We have also seen that it is effecting the California Condor population.
Children with blood lead levels higher than 5 micrograms per deciliter were also significantly more likely to exhibit and hyperactivity than children with lower lead levels. Children with levels above 10 micrograms per deciliter scored even worse on hyperactivity, antisocial and educational performance tests than children in the 5 to 10 microgram per deciliter group.
Gun control doesn't work?
For the most part, any attempts at gun control in the US have been fairly insignificant. A few cities trying to ban firearms, some registration; otherwise, there hasn't been anything worth noting. With one exception.
The Firearms covered under the National Firearms Act (NFA).
Fewer than ten registered machine guns (out of over 240,000 in the nation) have ever been used in any type of crime (including nonviolent offenses such as failing to notify ATF of address changes, etc.). The criminal use of other legally-owned NFA weapons (e.g., silencers) is similarly rare. The Title II weapons used in prominent crimes, such the AK-47s used in the North Hollywood shootout of 1997, have universally been illegally-owned or illegally-converted weapons.
Why?
Maybe it's because these items are strictly regulated:
All NFA items must be registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Private owners wishing to purchase an NFA item must obtain approval from the ATF, obtain a signature from the Chief Law Enforcement Officer (CLEO) who is the county sheriff or city or town chief of police (not necessarily permission), pass an extensive background check to include submitting a photograph and fingerprints, fully register the firearm, receive ATF written permission before moving the firearm across state lines, and pay a tax. The request to transfer ownership of an NFA item is made on an ATF Form 4.[14] Many times law enforcement officers will not sign the NFA documents. There have been several unfavorable lawsuits where plaintiffs have been denied NFA approval for a transfer. These lawsuit include; Lomont v. O'Neill 2002 9th circuit, Westfall v. Miller 1996 5th circuit, and Steele v. National Firearms Branch 1985 11th circuit. In response Tennessee and Alaska have passed state laws which require the CLEO to execute the NFA documents. On October 28, 2010 in response to a writ of mandamus a Tennessee Williamson County Chancellor Robbie Beal found that the sheriff or CLEO is not required to execute NFA documents according to Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-1361.
The NFA makes certain conduct a criminal offense, in relation to engaging in business as a manufacturer, importer, or dealer with respect to (NFA) firearms without having registered or paid a Special Occupational Tax (SOT); receiving or possessing a firearm transferred to oneself in violation of the NFA; receiving or possessing a firearm made in violation of the NFA; receiving or possessing a firearm not registered to oneself in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record; transferring or making a firearm in violation of the NFA; or obliterating, removing, changing, or altering the serial number of the firearm.
Violations of the Act are punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison and forfeiture of all devices or firearms in violation, and the individual's right to own or possess firearms in the future. The Act provides for a penalty of $10,000 for certain violations. A willful attempt to evade or defeat a tax imposed by the Act is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $100,000 fine ($500,000 in the case of a corporation or trust), under the general tax evasion statute. For an individual, the felony fine of $100,000 for tax evasion could be increased to $250,000
Result:
In 1984, then-ATF Director Stephen E. Higgins testified before the House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime, that registered NFA firearms aren't likely to be used in crimes, and more specifically that registered machine guns aren't considered a significant law enforcement problem. "In summary," Mr. Higgins concluded, "I would say that the National Firearms Act provides a satisfactory regulatory framework for keeping track of legally obtained weapons possessed by responsible, law-abiding gun owners."
So, the framework ensures that these weapons are well regulated and kept in the hands of people who are known to be law abiding. There are also very strong incentives to keep the people who own them law abiding through stiff penalties should they fail to remain within the law.
While the people who advocate removing the strict regulation for these weapons fail to recognise is that it is that regulatory framework which keeps them from being as abused as other firearms. We have already seen them being subject to abuse prior to the NFA, which was also the reason for the NFA (does the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre ring a bell for you?).
If anything, the fact that NFA weapons are so rarely seen in criminal activity shows that gun control works. It present an argument that stricter regulation of other firearms might have the same result in reducing crime.
Remember Heller-McDonald found that laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms did not violate the Second Amendment. (Heller at 54-5)
Also, don't forget that Alan Gura said during the oral argument:
See also:
The Firearms covered under the National Firearms Act (NFA).
Fewer than ten registered machine guns (out of over 240,000 in the nation) have ever been used in any type of crime (including nonviolent offenses such as failing to notify ATF of address changes, etc.). The criminal use of other legally-owned NFA weapons (e.g., silencers) is similarly rare. The Title II weapons used in prominent crimes, such the AK-47s used in the North Hollywood shootout of 1997, have universally been illegally-owned or illegally-converted weapons.
Why?
Maybe it's because these items are strictly regulated:
All NFA items must be registered with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Private owners wishing to purchase an NFA item must obtain approval from the ATF, obtain a signature from the Chief Law Enforcement Officer (CLEO) who is the county sheriff or city or town chief of police (not necessarily permission), pass an extensive background check to include submitting a photograph and fingerprints, fully register the firearm, receive ATF written permission before moving the firearm across state lines, and pay a tax. The request to transfer ownership of an NFA item is made on an ATF Form 4.[14] Many times law enforcement officers will not sign the NFA documents. There have been several unfavorable lawsuits where plaintiffs have been denied NFA approval for a transfer. These lawsuit include; Lomont v. O'Neill 2002 9th circuit, Westfall v. Miller 1996 5th circuit, and Steele v. National Firearms Branch 1985 11th circuit. In response Tennessee and Alaska have passed state laws which require the CLEO to execute the NFA documents. On October 28, 2010 in response to a writ of mandamus a Tennessee Williamson County Chancellor Robbie Beal found that the sheriff or CLEO is not required to execute NFA documents according to Tenn. Code Ann. 39-17-1361.
The NFA makes certain conduct a criminal offense, in relation to engaging in business as a manufacturer, importer, or dealer with respect to (NFA) firearms without having registered or paid a Special Occupational Tax (SOT); receiving or possessing a firearm transferred to oneself in violation of the NFA; receiving or possessing a firearm made in violation of the NFA; receiving or possessing a firearm not registered to oneself in the National Firearms Registration and Transfer Record; transferring or making a firearm in violation of the NFA; or obliterating, removing, changing, or altering the serial number of the firearm.
Violations of the Act are punishable by up to 10 years in federal prison and forfeiture of all devices or firearms in violation, and the individual's right to own or possess firearms in the future. The Act provides for a penalty of $10,000 for certain violations. A willful attempt to evade or defeat a tax imposed by the Act is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison and a $100,000 fine ($500,000 in the case of a corporation or trust), under the general tax evasion statute. For an individual, the felony fine of $100,000 for tax evasion could be increased to $250,000
Result:
In 1984, then-ATF Director Stephen E. Higgins testified before the House Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Crime, that registered NFA firearms aren't likely to be used in crimes, and more specifically that registered machine guns aren't considered a significant law enforcement problem. "In summary," Mr. Higgins concluded, "I would say that the National Firearms Act provides a satisfactory regulatory framework for keeping track of legally obtained weapons possessed by responsible, law-abiding gun owners."
So, the framework ensures that these weapons are well regulated and kept in the hands of people who are known to be law abiding. There are also very strong incentives to keep the people who own them law abiding through stiff penalties should they fail to remain within the law.
While the people who advocate removing the strict regulation for these weapons fail to recognise is that it is that regulatory framework which keeps them from being as abused as other firearms. We have already seen them being subject to abuse prior to the NFA, which was also the reason for the NFA (does the Saint Valentine's Day Massacre ring a bell for you?).
If anything, the fact that NFA weapons are so rarely seen in criminal activity shows that gun control works. It present an argument that stricter regulation of other firearms might have the same result in reducing crime.
Remember Heller-McDonald found that laws imposing conditions and qualifications on the commercial sale of arms did not violate the Second Amendment. (Heller at 54-5)
Also, don't forget that Alan Gura said during the oral argument:
So, you shouldn't expect for NFA firearms to be deregulated, but it would make more sense and is backed up by the NFA experience that the act should be extended to other firearms.MR. GURA: Well, my response is that the government can ban arms that are not appropriate for civilian use. There is no question of that.
JUSTICE KENNEDY: That are not appropriate to –
MR. GURA: That are not appropriate to civilian use.
JUSTICE GINSBURG: For example?
MR. GURA: For example, I think machine guns: It’s difficult to imagine a construction of Miller, or a construction of the lower court’s opinion, that would sanction machine guns or the plastic, undetectable handguns that the Solicitor General spoke of.
ANOTHER EFFING MASS SHOOTING!
This time in a Denver suburb.
When the fuck are people in the US going to get their shit together about the Second Amendment--
The issue is standing army v. a militia--not "gun rights".
Remember what Justice William O. Douglas Said about the Second Amendment in Adams v. William, 407 U.S. 143, 92 S. Ct. 1921, 32 L. Ed. 2d 612 (1972)::
When the fuck are people in the US going to get their shit together about the Second Amendment--
The issue is standing army v. a militia--not "gun rights".
Remember what Justice William O. Douglas Said about the Second Amendment in Adams v. William, 407 U.S. 143, 92 S. Ct. 1921, 32 L. Ed. 2d 612 (1972)::
The police problem is an acute one not because of the Fourth Amendment, but because of the ease with which anyone can acquire a pistol. A powerful lobby dins into the ears of our citizenry that these gun purchases are constitutional rights protected by the Second Amendment, which reads, "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed."
There is under our decisions no reason why stiff state laws governing the purchase and possession of pistols may not be enacted. There is no reason why pistols may not be barred from anyone with a police record. There is no reason why a State may not require a purchaser of a pistol to pass a psychiatric test. There is no reason why all pistols should not be barred to everyone except the police.
The leading case is United States v. Miller, 307 U.S. 174, upholding a federal law making criminal the shipment in interstate commerce of a sawed-off shotgun. The law was upheld, there being no evidence that a sawed-off shotgun had "some reasonable relationship to the preservation or efficiency of a well regulated militia." Id. at 178. The Second Amendment, it was held, "must be interpreted and applied" with the view of maintaining a "militia."
He knows a lot more about Miller than that fat asshole Scalia and his clone Scalito.The Militia which the States were expected to maintain and train is set in contrast with Troops which they were forbidden to keep without the consent of Congress. The sentiment of the time strongly disfavored standing armies; the common view was that adequate defense of country and laws could be [p151] secured through the Militia -- civilians primarily, soldiers on occasion.Id. at 178-179.Critics say that proposals like this water down the Second Amendment. Our decisions belie that argument, for the Second Amendment, as noted, was designed to keep alive the militia. But if watering-down is the mood of the day, I would prefer to water down the Second rather than the Fourth Amendment. I share with Judge Friendly a concern that the easy extension of Terry v. Ohio, 392 U.S. 1, to "possessory offenses" is a serious intrusion on Fourth Amendment safeguards.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
NRA opposes changing away from lead shot which is killing wildlife
 |
| California condor |
California condors have been endangered for many decades, due to shooting and chemical toxicity. Now they face a new toxicity threat: lead. Like vultures, condors eat already-dead animals. Some of those animals have been killed by shooters, with the lead shot still inside their bodies.
Studies have now found that condors are dying at an alarming rate from lead toxicity.
HERE is a good article on it. From the article:
The impact of lead poisoning on the condor population has long been debated, but a study published this week in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences provides some clarity. It shows that many condors are suffering the effects of lead poisoning, suggesting the population will continue to struggle as long as lead ammunition remains in use.
Researchers compiled the results of over 1,100 blood samples taken from 150 California condors between 1997 and 2010. The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that children with blood lead levels above 450 ng/ml undergo treatment, and this is roughly the level at which the condors are taken in for treatment as well. About 20 percent of the birds sampled each year exceeded this level, and 48 percent of individuals living in the wild exceeded it at some point during the 14-year period. Blood lead levels as high as 6,100 ng/ml were seen.
Because blood samples only provide a snapshot of lead levels, the group also analyzed feathers from 18 condors. The concentration of lead in each segment of the feather depends on the concentration in the body at the time that segment formed. That means that each feather records a few months of exposure history. From comparisons of the most recent segment to blood levels, they were able to estimate blood lead levels over the duration of the feather.
The feathers showed that after ingesting lead, the birds’ blood concentrations exceeded 450 ng/ml for about a month. Unsurprisingly, blood samples often miss the peak lead concentrations, which were 1.4x to 14.4x higher. About 34 percent of the average feather history was higher than the level at which the condors are treated.
The Center for Biological Diversity just sent out a notice, urging their supporters to contact their legislators to put pressure on the gun industry to move away from lead shot.
Of course, the tons of lead shot into our environment each year don't just affect condors. They affect all wildlife... and us. I grew up in Arkansas, where duck hunting is very popular. Duck hunters routinely hunted in rice patties. Rice is a major crop in Arkansas, and they exported a large amount of their rice to Asian markets (believe it or not). Unfortunately, the level of lead in the rice, from all that duck hunting, exceeded safe limits for those Asian countries, who then banned purchase of the rice. Of course, us Americans were still eating it. (I don't know how long the ban lasted or if it is still in effect).
HERE is a report put out by the Arizona Game and Fish Department, reviewing the danger of lead poisoning to California condors and giving information on non-lead bullet sources. As the report details:
Biologists have documented over 300 instances of lead exposure in condors since testing began in 1999, with 45 to 95 percent of the condor population testing positive for lead exposure each year. ...
Although there may be other sources of lead, a scientific study funded by the Arizona Game and Fish Department has identified lead from spent ammunition as the major source of lead in condors. Background lead from the environment does not appear to be a factor. An additional study has determined that condor lead exposure rates are highest during the fall hunting season in northern Arizona. This study also concluded that during this same time, condors spend forage heavily on the Kaibab Plateau. The Arizona Game and Fish Department is committed to reducing the amount of lead available to condors by encouraging sportsmen to take lead reduction actions when hunting in condor range.
Condors incidentally ingest lead bullet fragments and shot remaining in game carcasses and gut piles. Fragments from lead bullets or lead shot have been found within the digestive tracts of condors 22 times in Arizona. Lead bullets fragment into hundreds of pieces before they exit a game such as a deer or coyote. Since condors are group feeders, and only one or two lead fragments or pellets can cause lead toxicity, one animal carcass or gut pile containing lead fragments or lead shot has the potential to poison several condors.
The report lists sources for non-lead ammo, and makes recommendations about minimizing effects, such as removing carcasses from access to condors.
Of course, I'm sure the NRA will label this as "junk science" and urge legislators to ignore completely. What's a few dead condors (out of only around 200 left in the wild) compared to gun industry profits and tradition?
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