But it doesn't stop them from getting their hands on guns...
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Gunloons when confronted with the truth about where illegal guns come from
But it doesn't stop them from getting their hands on guns...
And while we're on the topic of lead poisoning
Note: I was going to not publish this, but it is different from the post that Baldr put up--so here goes!
It seems that the endangered California Condor is threatened by lead poisoning.The California condor, which once numbered in the thousands in the western United States and Mexico, is the largest land bird in North America. Attempts at reintroduction since the bird's near extinction in 1982 have led to free-flying populations in Arizona, California and Baja California. Dubbed "thunderbird" by American Indians, its impressive wings can span more than 9 feet. A type of vulture, the creature's bald head allows feeding without the mess of carcass flesh sticking to its plumage.
The Condor is endangered by lead exposure from ammunition and requires ongoing human intervention for population stability and growth, according to a new study led by the University of California, Santa Cruz, and involving the University of Colorado Boulder.
Since 1982, the condor population has increased from 22 to approximately 400, but only through intensive management including captive breeding, monitoring and veterinary care. The bird's recovery has been deceptively successful as its primary threat -- poisoning from lead-based bullets ingested as fragments from carrion -- has gone largely unmitigated, according to the study. Twenty percent of condors captured every year have deadly levels of lead. Scientists said they were surprised at the high numbers, but a condor eats between 75 and 150 dead animals a year and one lead fragment is enough to kill it.
A study, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, shows that annually from 1997 to 2010, 20 percent of the California condors sampled suffered lead poisoning and needed chelation therapy, a metal detoxification process that also is used for children with lead poisoning. Cumulatively over the time period, nearly half of the population tested was poisoned by lead, with many birds suffering repeat poisoning within and across years.
"Lead exposure and poisoning levels in condors continue to be epidemic," said co-author Dan Doak, a new endowed chair and professor in CU-Boulder's Environmental Studies Program. "Despite the current efforts to help the species, the wild population will decline again toward extinction in a few decades unless these unsustainable and very expensive efforts continue in perpetuity."
From 1997 to 2010, the annual prevalence of lead exposure -- with blood lead levels indicating potentially serious but nonlethal effects -- ranged from 50 to 88 percent in California condors in the wild. Also, the annual median blood lead levels in free-flying California condors exceeded the average for pre-release condors bred in captivity by at least threefold.
The researchers found no evidence that California's having outlawed lead shot in key areas inhabited by condors in 2008, resulted in lower incidence of lead exposure and poisoning. Although alternatives to lead-based bullets are available, regulations limiting the use of lead-based ammunition face stiff opposition from hunting organizations and gun-rights groups, according to the researchers.
The National Rifle Association regards any attempts to limit the use of lead in ammunition—for instance, using substitutes like copper—as an anti-gun move to infringe on gun owners’ constitutional rights.
To Learn More:
- California Condors Face “Epidemic” Lead Poisoning, Finds Study (by Stephanie Powers, Christian Science Monitor)
- Lead Poisoning and the Deceptive Recovery of the Critically Endangered California Condor (Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences)
- Bullet Fragments Killing Condors (by Ker Than, Live Science)
- New Study: Lead Poisoning of Condors at “Epidemic Proportions” (by Paul Rogers, Mercury News)
- EPA Sued over Wildlife Exposure to Spent Ammo Lead (by Laura Zuckerman, Reuters)
- California Condors Face Lead Menace (by Meera Subramanian, Nature)
Friday, July 20, 2012
Update to the Colorado Shooting
The number of injured has gone up, although some of the new totals differ; that will likely be finalized soon. While the number of dead has been listed as 12, there appear to be at least two people from the nearby military base who are missing and presumed dead that may not be included in the lower total. One woman who was killed had narrowly avoided being shot in a Canadian mass shooting last month at a mall in Toronto. The Canadian authorities blame the lax U.S. gun laws for their increasing problem with firearms coming across our northern border in speaking about that June 2012 mass shooting.
The assault style rifle has been variously described as an AK 15 or an AK 47.
The information that the (alleged) shooters car had Tennessee plates was incorrect.
The youngest victim was 3 months old; the oldest in their mid-40s, as reported so far.
The shooter apparently had a history of identifying with the villains in comic book hero genre movies. He is reported to have made some statement to law enforcement while being arrested that he was the Joker, a reference to a BatMan villain. It has been reported that the shooter had died his hair either red-orange or orange. The comic book Batman villain Joker has usually been portrayed as having green hair, or yellow-green hair, with a few exceptions, like this example of the Ceaser Romero from the campy 60s Batman series.
His two handguns appear to be .40 Glocks. What does not appear to be true is that he was known to smoke pot, or that he ever had any psychological or mental illness problems. Rather he appears to have been a very shy and quiet but very intelligent man. There is no explanation for his actions so far.
He began acquiring the firearms this past May; it is sitll unconfirmed if the purchases were legally or illegally obtained, what kind of permits if any he may have had, or what kind of training if any that he had.
The assault style rifle has been variously described as an AK 15 or an AK 47.
The information that the (alleged) shooters car had Tennessee plates was incorrect.
The youngest victim was 3 months old; the oldest in their mid-40s, as reported so far.
His two handguns appear to be .40 Glocks. What does not appear to be true is that he was known to smoke pot, or that he ever had any psychological or mental illness problems. Rather he appears to have been a very shy and quiet but very intelligent man. There is no explanation for his actions so far.
He began acquiring the firearms this past May; it is sitll unconfirmed if the purchases were legally or illegally obtained, what kind of permits if any he may have had, or what kind of training if any that he had.
Gohmert, Thoughts of a Drooling Idiot on the Colorado Mass Shooting
Congressman Louis Gohmert rivals the worst of the right wing extremists who celebrate and exalt stupidity.
He's in the running with any number of the extreme right who say stupid, factually challenged things. Gohmert has made some spectacularly ignorant and foolish comments in the past, including
his claims the CDC are going to become the jackbooted bacon police pounding on your door over your ill-considered dietary choices.
It would be funny if it weren't for the fact that even more foolish and ill-educated people keep electing the dufus; you know, those far right winger Texans who believe the Loch Ness Monster is real and demand that pseudo-fact in some of their textbooks.
So it should come as no surprise that Gohmert has outdone himself recently, joining our own spectacular embarrassment entry in the foolish, mean spirited fact-averse derby, Michele Bachmann, in calling for the McCarthy-ist witch hunt of Huma Abedin, along with some other right wing bigots, Lynn Westmoreland (who called the Obamas 'uppity', a typical Georgia racist), Trent Franks, an Arizona-style extremist who thinks Obama is pro-jihad and who wants to criminalize ALL abortion, and Thomas Rooney of Florida. But since Bachmann has drawn the most attention for that debacle, Gohmert has made an attempt to outdo Bachmann in tasteless, ill-considered, and just plain wrong stupid claims.
Here Gohmert goes, pulling ahead of our own Minnesota popsie air-headed Christian bigot Michele in the right wing nut stupid AND prejudiced derby:
There is NO attack on Christian-Judeo beliefs. This country is not Christian, or Jewish, or any other specific religion; we are a secular nation that includes equally ALL religions, and those who do not embrace any religion, both atheists and agnostics.
What Gohmert fails to note is that both of the mass killers he mentions here, McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing, and Breivik in Norway, were professed CHRISTIANS, attacking predominantly other Christians. There are absolutely NO instances that I can find where someone with either an open OR a concealed carry permit who was actively armed at the time EVER stopped a mass shooting, including the armed police officer at the Columbine High School tragedy.
It resonates however to the same god loves guns, god wants me to shoot people, the Bible asserts a right to guns crowd that George Zimmerman was appealing to when in his recent Faux News interview he asserted that shooting an unarmed teen whom he provoked and stalked was 'God's plan'.
Apparently these religious zealots of guns and violence missed that key parts of the Bible that address loving your neighbor as you love yourself, or the quote from 1 Corinthians 13:13:
He's in the running with any number of the extreme right who say stupid, factually challenged things. Gohmert has made some spectacularly ignorant and foolish comments in the past, including
his claims the CDC are going to become the jackbooted bacon police pounding on your door over your ill-considered dietary choices.
It would be funny if it weren't for the fact that even more foolish and ill-educated people keep electing the dufus; you know, those far right winger Texans who believe the Loch Ness Monster is real and demand that pseudo-fact in some of their textbooks.
So it should come as no surprise that Gohmert has outdone himself recently, joining our own spectacular embarrassment entry in the foolish, mean spirited fact-averse derby, Michele Bachmann, in calling for the McCarthy-ist witch hunt of Huma Abedin, along with some other right wing bigots, Lynn Westmoreland (who called the Obamas 'uppity', a typical Georgia racist), Trent Franks, an Arizona-style extremist who thinks Obama is pro-jihad and who wants to criminalize ALL abortion, and Thomas Rooney of Florida. But since Bachmann has drawn the most attention for that debacle, Gohmert has made an attempt to outdo Bachmann in tasteless, ill-considered, and just plain wrong stupid claims.
Here Gohmert goes, pulling ahead of our own Minnesota popsie air-headed Christian bigot Michele in the right wing nut stupid AND prejudiced derby:
There is NO attack on Christian-Judeo beliefs. This country is not Christian, or Jewish, or any other specific religion; we are a secular nation that includes equally ALL religions, and those who do not embrace any religion, both atheists and agnostics.
What Gohmert fails to note is that both of the mass killers he mentions here, McVeigh in the Oklahoma City bombing, and Breivik in Norway, were professed CHRISTIANS, attacking predominantly other Christians. There are absolutely NO instances that I can find where someone with either an open OR a concealed carry permit who was actively armed at the time EVER stopped a mass shooting, including the armed police officer at the Columbine High School tragedy.
It resonates however to the same god loves guns, god wants me to shoot people, the Bible asserts a right to guns crowd that George Zimmerman was appealing to when in his recent Faux News interview he asserted that shooting an unarmed teen whom he provoked and stalked was 'God's plan'.
Apparently these religious zealots of guns and violence missed that key parts of the Bible that address loving your neighbor as you love yourself, or the quote from 1 Corinthians 13:13:
But now faith, hope, love, abide these three; but the greatest of these is love.To round out the spewing forth of false accusations we have this:
The content of Breitbart's site that Gohmert mentions is so dishonest, so consistently ugly and hateful, that if used to mop up sewage, it would get the sewage dirty. What other news sources with greater integrity and professional standards reports is quite different from what Gohmert claims here.
First, Obama has consistently used the referenced $1.5 billion in aid as leverage. Back in 2011, Obama threatened to withdraw it if Mubarak didn't stop his persecution of protesters, and if he didn't genuinely reform his regime.
In March of this year, some four months ago, the Guardian newspaper in the UK reported this about the current status of our aid to Egypt, which is ENTIRELY different than what Gohmert is claiming.
U.S. officials and lawmakers said Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton has determined that it was in the U.S. national interest to allow $1.3 billion in military assistance to flow. She also certified that Egypt is meeting its obligations to the Israeli-Egyptian peace treaty, which frees up an additional $200 million in economic aid, they said. A senior State Department official said the decisions "reflect our overarching goal: to maintain our strategic partnership with an Egypt made stronger and more stable by a successful transition to democracy."In the same article, from back in March, the Guardian noted this:
While disappointed, Leahy urged Clinton to release the money in stages and make payments based on improvements in the situation in Egypt. Leahy is the chairman of the Senate Appropriations subcommittee that oversees foreign aid and operations.So, no surprise, that is EXACTLY what Sec. State Clinton is doing -- providing the money, as Egypt demonstrates compliance, in small amounts.
The Daily Beast, just today, noted:
But the Brotherhood’s priorities are clear, and Morsi is a loyal Brotherhood member. The priority now is governing—and that means wrestling with the military and the judiciary, managing the economy, steering the transition process. It does not mean picking fights with Israel or the United States. The movement has managed carefully to find out what Western interlocutors needed to hear and then say the words it was asked—that it would honor Egypt’s international obligations and make no unilateral changes in the peace treaty with Israel.Gohmert is an idiot; Gohmert is a hateful idiot who is an islamophobe, willing to launch an unjustified attack on people. We should be very wary and distrusting of anyone who uses religion to justify violence, and that includes people calling themselves Christians. I use the description 'calling themselves Christian' because their conduct and statements suggest they have failed to grasp the core beliefs of that religion.
This is true of Bachmann and Gohmert and their three stooges who signed the unconscionable letters trying to start an unjustified investigation into Huma Abedin, and it is true of Gohmert trying to blame a lack of what he considers Christian conformity for the mass shooting in Colorado. Hatred is what is behind such shootings, hatred and the inability to identify with others as like yourself.
Fear and suspicion and false attribution of wrongs are behind mass shootings. Our gun culture is behind such shootings. People who contribute to suspicion and hatred, whether it is fear of Muslims, or fear of black teens in Hoodies, are responsible for senseless and utterly avoidable violence and tension. On an individual level, that means violence that results in murders; on an international level is means violence that results in war and massive bloodshed.
They differ in degree and scale, but not in their essence. Gohmert and Bachmann, Sean Hannity and Faux News and George Zimmerman are dangerous hate mongers in the name of religion. They should be repudiated, they should be disregarded, they should receive the contempt they so richly deserve.
Neither Bachmann or Gohmert should ever be allowed near political power in the future; Zimmerman should probably spend a good part of the near future of his life behind bars, and definitely never, ever be allowed to own a gun again, and never, ever be allowed to become a member of any kind of law enforcement entity.
Update on apparent Colorado Mass Shooting Suspect
So this guy appears to have been a successful med student until recently, and a law abiding citizen, (contrary to the misinformation of a commenter who didn't pass moderation - probably some misinformation from one of the right wing media propaganda sources).
Somewhere along the way he also became a gun nut, and part of the violent gun culture failure in the U.S., part of the gun culture stain.
From CBS News:
(CBS/AP) The suspect apprehended in the mass shooting at a suburban Denver movie theater has been identified as James Eagan Holmes, 24, law enforcement sources told CBS News correspondent Bob Orr.
Twelve people died in the shooting at a showing of the new Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colo., early Friday morning. A law enforcement source told Orr the shooting appears to have been carried out by a lone gunman.
One federal official told CBS News that at this time Holmes appears to have been "under the radar." CBS News reports Holmes doesn't appear to have a criminal record in Colorado or in California's San Diego County, where he lived previously. Pentagon officials said there is no record of Holmes having served in any branch of the military.
According to the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, Holmes dropped out of medical school last month, The Associated Press reported. School spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery said she did not know when Holmes started school or why he withdrew.
There was no immediate word of any motive. Federal law enforcement officials were briefed on the attack, but at this point there is no indication it is terrorism-related, CBS News senior correspondent John Miller reports.
Police evacuated the area surrounding Holmes' Denver-area apartment, saying the residence was apparently booby-trapped. A law enforcement source told Orr that police saw what looked like "buckets of extra ammunition" and some kind of chemical inside his home.
Aurora Police chief Dan Oates said it could take hours or days to safely enter the apartment.
Police recovered four guns at the theater, including two pistols, a shotgun and what is believed to be an assault rifle, Orr reports. Authorities also recovered a ballistic helmet and a gas mask.
A law enforcement source told CBS News investigative producer Pat Milton that the attack appears to have been planned well in advance. Holmes parked his vehicle at the rear of the Century 16 theaters at the Aurora Mall and entered the theater through an emergency door in the back. He exited through the same door and was apprehended without incident.
The violent and chaotic scene erupted about 12:30 a.m. local time as the gunman stood at the front of the theater. Witnesses reported that the gunman entered the theater through an emergency exit door and threw a gas canister before opening fire.
"Witnesses tell us he released some sort of canister. They heard a hissing sound and some gas emerged and the gunman opened fire," Oates told reporters at a news conference.
Police, ambulances and emergency crews swarmed on the scene after frantic calls started flooding the 911 switchboard, officials said.
Officers found Holmes near a car behind the theater.
It was the worst mass shooting in Colorado since the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999. Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, opened fire at the school in the Denver suburb of Littleton, about 15 miles west of Aurora, killing 12 classmates and a teacher and wounding 26 others before killing themselves in the school's library.
The shooting occurred in Theater 9, which has a capacity of around 300 people, according to CBS station KCNC-TV in Denver. The youngest reported victim is a 3-month-old, who is said to be doing fine at University Hospital, which is treating 20 patients, including nine in critical condition. Another victim is a six-year-old being treated at Children's Hospital, where a total of six victims were taken. Their condition wasn't known. Victims were rushed to six area hospitals overall.
Aurora police spokesman Frank Fania on ABC's "Good Morning America" said he didn't know yet if all the injuries were gunshot wounds. He said some might have been caused by other things such as shrapnel.
Police had earlier reported 14 deaths but later said that only 12 fatalities were confirmed.
An amateur video posted to YouTube showed people walking around outside the theater, apparently in the moments after the incident. One man was seen wearing a shirt that appeared to be bloodstained. He was being led by a police officer. Some people could be heard shouting.
William Kent, who was in an adjacent theater, said bullets came through the wall but, with the action on screen, people didn't realize what was happening.
"And they started the fire alarm or the emergency alarm, said that there had been something that happened in the building and evacuated everybody. There was a huge commotion to get out of the theater. When I exited, there were police officers with assault rifles running in," Kent told CBS News.
Benjamin Fernandez, who was also in an adjacent theater, said he saw a young girl, around 12 or 13 years old, laying on the concrete when he exited the building.
"From what I saw, she had two bullet wounds in her leg and just blood all over her stomach. Her friends were all just yelling, crying. ... We were just all pretty much in shock," he said on "CBS This Morning."
Witness Hayden Miller told KUSA-TV that he was inside Theater 16 and 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."
Paul Otermat, who told Sky News he was in the theater when the incident occurred, said he "thought it was a publicity stunt," when he saw a man in a long coat walk in and hurl what he believed was a tear gas canister at the crowd.
"Then he started firing shots into the crowd," Otermat said. He said he and his girlfriend ducked to the floor and crept out as gunfire continued. "My girlfriend saw a canister on the ground that was still foaming ... We ran through the lobby and we heard more shots, and we ran out into the parking lot and got into our car and left."
The police said 10 victims died at the theater and two at area hospitals.
Two people in critical condition were rushed to nearby Swedish Medical Center, spokeswoman Nicole Williams said.
She said emergency crews told her staff to prepare for several more patients from the shooting scene.
"We're on standby to receive," she said.
Aurora is located on the southeast outskirts of Denver, about 10 miles from downtown.
President Obama said in a statement that he and first lady Michelle Obama were "shocked and saddened" by the "horrific and tragic" shooting. Mr. Obama said his administration would do everything they can to support the people of Aurora.
"As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family. All of us must have the people of Aurora in our thoughts and prayers as they confront the loss of family, friends, and neighbors," Mr. Obama said.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said in a statement that he and his wife, Ann, were "deeply saddened by the news of the senseless violence" that led to the loss of life and injuries. He said they were praying for the families and loved ones of the victims "during this time of deep shock and immense grief. We expect that the person responsible for this terrible crime will be quickly brought to justice."
Somewhere along the way he also became a gun nut, and part of the violent gun culture failure in the U.S., part of the gun culture stain.
From CBS News:
Colorado Movie Theater Massacre
Updated at 11:32 a.m. ET
(CBS/AP) The suspect apprehended in the mass shooting at a suburban Denver movie theater has been identified as James Eagan Holmes, 24, law enforcement sources told CBS News correspondent Bob Orr.
Twelve people died in the shooting at a showing of the new Batman film "The Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colo., early Friday morning. A law enforcement source told Orr the shooting appears to have been carried out by a lone gunman.
One federal official told CBS News that at this time Holmes appears to have been "under the radar." CBS News reports Holmes doesn't appear to have a criminal record in Colorado or in California's San Diego County, where he lived previously. Pentagon officials said there is no record of Holmes having served in any branch of the military.
According to the University of Colorado School of Medicine in Denver, Holmes dropped out of medical school last month, The Associated Press reported. School spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery said she did not know when Holmes started school or why he withdrew.
There was no immediate word of any motive. Federal law enforcement officials were briefed on the attack, but at this point there is no indication it is terrorism-related, CBS News senior correspondent John Miller reports.
Police evacuated the area surrounding Holmes' Denver-area apartment, saying the residence was apparently booby-trapped. A law enforcement source told Orr that police saw what looked like "buckets of extra ammunition" and some kind of chemical inside his home.
Aurora Police chief Dan Oates said it could take hours or days to safely enter the apartment.
Police recovered four guns at the theater, including two pistols, a shotgun and what is believed to be an assault rifle, Orr reports. Authorities also recovered a ballistic helmet and a gas mask.
A law enforcement source told CBS News investigative producer Pat Milton that the attack appears to have been planned well in advance. Holmes parked his vehicle at the rear of the Century 16 theaters at the Aurora Mall and entered the theater through an emergency door in the back. He exited through the same door and was apprehended without incident.
The violent and chaotic scene erupted about 12:30 a.m. local time as the gunman stood at the front of the theater. Witnesses reported that the gunman entered the theater through an emergency exit door and threw a gas canister before opening fire.
"Witnesses tell us he released some sort of canister. They heard a hissing sound and some gas emerged and the gunman opened fire," Oates told reporters at a news conference.
Police, ambulances and emergency crews swarmed on the scene after frantic calls started flooding the 911 switchboard, officials said.
Officers found Holmes near a car behind the theater.
It was the worst mass shooting in Colorado since the Columbine High School massacre on April 20, 1999. Students Eric Harris, 18, and Dylan Klebold, 17, opened fire at the school in the Denver suburb of Littleton, about 15 miles west of Aurora, killing 12 classmates and a teacher and wounding 26 others before killing themselves in the school's library.
The shooting occurred in Theater 9, which has a capacity of around 300 people, according to CBS station KCNC-TV in Denver. The youngest reported victim is a 3-month-old, who is said to be doing fine at University Hospital, which is treating 20 patients, including nine in critical condition. Another victim is a six-year-old being treated at Children's Hospital, where a total of six victims were taken. Their condition wasn't known. Victims were rushed to six area hospitals overall.
Aurora police spokesman Frank Fania on ABC's "Good Morning America" said he didn't know yet if all the injuries were gunshot wounds. He said some might have been caused by other things such as shrapnel.
Police had earlier reported 14 deaths but later said that only 12 fatalities were confirmed.
An amateur video posted to YouTube showed people walking around outside the theater, apparently in the moments after the incident. One man was seen wearing a shirt that appeared to be bloodstained. He was being led by a police officer. Some people could be heard shouting.
William Kent, who was in an adjacent theater, said bullets came through the wall but, with the action on screen, people didn't realize what was happening.
"And they started the fire alarm or the emergency alarm, said that there had been something that happened in the building and evacuated everybody. There was a huge commotion to get out of the theater. When I exited, there were police officers with assault rifles running in," Kent told CBS News.
Benjamin Fernandez, who was also in an adjacent theater, said he saw a young girl, around 12 or 13 years old, laying on the concrete when he exited the building.
"From what I saw, she had two bullet wounds in her leg and just blood all over her stomach. Her friends were all just yelling, crying. ... We were just all pretty much in shock," he said on "CBS This Morning."
Witness Hayden Miller told KUSA-TV that he was inside Theater 16 and 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."
Paul Otermat, who told Sky News he was in the theater when the incident occurred, said he "thought it was a publicity stunt," when he saw a man in a long coat walk in and hurl what he believed was a tear gas canister at the crowd.
"Then he started firing shots into the crowd," Otermat said. He said he and his girlfriend ducked to the floor and crept out as gunfire continued. "My girlfriend saw a canister on the ground that was still foaming ... We ran through the lobby and we heard more shots, and we ran out into the parking lot and got into our car and left."
The police said 10 victims died at the theater and two at area hospitals.
Two people in critical condition were rushed to nearby Swedish Medical Center, spokeswoman Nicole Williams said.
She said emergency crews told her staff to prepare for several more patients from the shooting scene.
"We're on standby to receive," she said.
Aurora is located on the southeast outskirts of Denver, about 10 miles from downtown.
President Obama said in a statement that he and first lady Michelle Obama were "shocked and saddened" by the "horrific and tragic" shooting. Mr. Obama said his administration would do everything they can to support the people of Aurora.
"As we do when confronted by moments of darkness and challenge, we must now come together as one American family. All of us must have the people of Aurora in our thoughts and prayers as they confront the loss of family, friends, and neighbors," Mr. Obama said.
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said in a statement that he and his wife, Ann, were "deeply saddened by the news of the senseless violence" that led to the loss of life and injuries. He said they were praying for the families and loved ones of the victims "during this time of deep shock and immense grief. We expect that the person responsible for this terrible crime will be quickly brought to justice."
Gun Show Sales
While checking out the information about required gun show private sale background checks in Colorado, I came across this charming little paragraph. It demonstrates what a crock of organic fertilizer the claim was that FWM made recently that if we required background checks on gun sales, everyone would have to transfer their firearms to an FFL's inventory.
CLEARLY, that is NOT true, and we can and should make the stricter provisions on private gun sales a federal requirement so as to make it effective and consistent.
From wikipedia:
Presently, 17 states regulate private firearm sales at gun shows. Seven states require background checks on all gun sales at gun shows (California, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Oregon, New York, Illinois and Colorado). Four states (Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) require background checks on all handgun, but not long gun, purchasers at gun shows. Six states require individuals to obtain a permit to purchase handguns that involves a background check (Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Iowa, Nebraska). Certain counties in Florida require background checks on all private sales of handguns at gun shows. The remaining 33 states do not restrict private, intrastate sales of firearms at gun shows in any manner.[16][17]
CLEARLY, that is NOT true, and we can and should make the stricter provisions on private gun sales a federal requirement so as to make it effective and consistent.
From wikipedia:
Presently, 17 states regulate private firearm sales at gun shows. Seven states require background checks on all gun sales at gun shows (California, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Oregon, New York, Illinois and Colorado). Four states (Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania) require background checks on all handgun, but not long gun, purchasers at gun shows. Six states require individuals to obtain a permit to purchase handguns that involves a background check (Massachusetts, Michigan, North Carolina, Iowa, Nebraska). Certain counties in Florida require background checks on all private sales of handguns at gun shows. The remaining 33 states do not restrict private, intrastate sales of firearms at gun shows in any manner.[16][17]
And then we had the equally massive fail on the truth-o-meter for FWM's claim that gun sales to prohibited people, like felons and drug users, were not occurring at gun shows, and that claims and videos showing it occurring were 'dog and pony shows'.
Of course, he didn't try to claim that those were factually inaccurate bad sales; because he has no basis for such a claim.
However this paragraph from the same wikipedia article shows how massively wrong his assumptions and beliefs are -- and how the NRA lies to the world about the failure of the gun culture in this country.
Research and studies
In 2000, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms (ATF) published the "Following the Gun" report.[18] The ATF analyzed more than 1,530 trafficking investigations over a two-and-a-half-year period and found gun shows to be the second leading source of illegally diverted guns in the nation. "Straw purchasing was the most common channel in trafficking investigations."[19] These investigations involved a total of 84,128 firearms that had been diverted from legal to illegal commerce. All told, the report identified more than 26,000 firearms that had been illegally trafficked through gun shows in 212 separate investigations. The report stated that: "A prior review of ATF gun show investigations shows that prohibited persons, such as convicted felons and juveniles, do personally buy firearms at gun shows and gun shows are sources of firearms that are trafficked to such prohibited persons. The gun show review found that firearms were diverted at and through gun shows by straw purchasers, unregulated private sellers, and licensed dealers. Felons were associated with selling or purchasing firearms in 46 percent of the gun show investigations. Firearms that were illegally diverted at or through gun shows were recovered in subsequent crimes, including homicide and robbery, in more than a third of the gun show investigations."
Gun-control advocate Garen Wintemute, Director of UC Davis’ Violence Prevention Research Program, released a study in 2007 claiming that gun shows are a venue for illegal activity, including straw purchases and unlicensed sales to prohibited individuals.[23] In contrast, in 2008, professors Mark Duggan and Randi Hjalmarsson at the University of Maryland and Brian Jacob from the University of Michigan released a paper that found no evidence that gun shows lead to substantial increases in either gun homicides or gun suicides.[24] The study looked at 2,200 gun shows in Texas and almost 1,200 gun shows in California during the period of 1994–2004 and examined their effect on gun homicide and gun suicide rates within a 25-mile radius of the shows in the four weeks immediately following their conclusion. The researchers stated that, “Taken together, our results suggest that gun shows do not increase the number of homicides or suicides and that the absence of gun show regulations does not increase the number of gun-related deaths as proponents of these regulations suggest.” However, the Duggan, et al., paper was critiqued publicly by other researchers from the University of California, Davis, the Harvard School of Public Health, the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Northeastern University, the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and the University of California, Berkeley. These researchers critiqued the model underlying the paper for failing to reflect the realities of the operations of gun markets and the dynamics of criminal gun use.[25]
In October 2009, the City of New York released “Gun Show Undercover: Report on Illegal Sales at Gun Shows.”[citation needed] The report details undercover investigations that took place at gun shows in three states—Tennessee, Nevada, and Ohio—between May and August 2009. Private investigators were hired by the Office of NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg to perform sting operations on federally licensed firearm dealers and unlicensed private sellers at 14 different shows in these states. Private investigators posing as purchasers approached 33 unlicensed sellers and told them that they “probably couldn’t pass a background check.” 22 (or 67%) of the private sellers sold a gun to them anyway. Additionally, 17 federally licensed dealers at the shows were approached by investigators who simulated a “straw purchase.” In a straw purchase, a prohibited purchaser recruits an individual with a clean criminal record to fill out paperwork, pass the background check, and purchase firearms for him/her. All but one licensed dealer sold investigators a gun in this manner, again despite the fact that it constituted a clear violation of federal law. These illegal transactions were videotaped by investigators.[citation needed
ATF criminal investigations at Gun Shows
From 2004 to 2006, ATF conducted surveillance and undercover investigations at 195 gun shows (approximately 2% of all shows). Specific targeting of suspected individuals (77%) resulted in 121 individual arrests and 5,345 firearms seizures. Seventy nine of the 121 ATF operation plans were known suspects previously under investigation.[1]
Additionally, ATF Field Offices report that:
- Between 2002 and 2005, more than 400 guns legally purchased at gun shows from licensed dealers in the city of Richmond, Virginia, were later recovered in connection with criminal activity. Bouchard notes that, "These figures do not take into account firearms that may have been sold at Richmond area gun shows by unlicensed sellers, as these transactions are more difficult to track."[3] It is noteworthy that the "in connection with criminal activity" category includes stolen guns later recovered from burglaries, but the report does not specify how many guns in the 400 gun figure cited were not guns used in the commission of a crime, but that were rather the fruits of criminal activity.
- The Department of Justice reports, "after reviewing hundreds of trace reports associated with guns used in crime recovered in the New Orleans area and interviewing known gang members and other criminals, ATF Special Agents identified area gun shows as a source used by local gang members and other criminals to obtain guns."[1]
- In 2003 and 2004, the San Francisco ATF Field Division conducted six general operations at Reno, Nevada, gun shows to investigate interstate firearms trafficking. During these operations, "agents purchased firearms and identified violations related to "off paper" sales, sales to out-of-state residents, and dealing in firearms without a license." The "ATF seized or purchased 400 firearms before making arrests and executing search warrants, which resulted in the seizure of an additional 600 firearms and the recovery of explosives."[1]
- ATF's Columbus Field Division conducted its anti-trafficking operations based on intelligence from Cleveland police that "many of the guns recovered in high-crime areas of the city had been purchased at local gun shows." Subsequent gun show sting operations resulted in the seizure of "5 guns, one indictment, and two pending indictments for felony possession of a firearm." The state of Ohio is one of the top ten source states for recovered guns used in crime.[1]
- The ATF's Phoenix Field Division reported that "many gun shows attracted large numbers of gang members from Mexico and California. They often bought large quantities of assault weapons and smuggled them into Mexico or transported them to California."[1] Garen Wintemute, a professor at the University of California at Davis, calls Arizona and Texas a "gunrunner's paradise."[26]
So any way you slice dice or chop it, gun shows are a highly significant contributor to the transfer of legal weapons to illegal buyers. Any way you fold, spindle or mutilate it, the NRA on behalf of their gun manufacturer puppet masters have a vested interest in the profits from all of these illegal sales -- it makes them money.
We need to close the loopholes, and to correct the bullshit misinformation and stupidity that is rampant among the gun nuts.
It wouldn't be a bad thing either, to restrict firearms so as to reduce or eliminate these occurrences of mass shootings, or the horrific frequency of murder/suicides and domestic violence, stalking and harassment incidents along with them.
It is morally, ethically, and logically indefensible for the gun nuts to try to justify any of the benefits of lax firearms regulation in the face of this obvious detriment to our life, liberty and pursuit of happiness.
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