Did You Hear About the Shooting?

WhoWhatWhy has an interesting piece about mass shootings:

One of the most striking things about shooting incidents in America…is how common they are. Another striking thing is how often the media fails to note the previous point, or to explore what that means—or what might be done about it.

Late last night, a gunman walked into a movie theater in a Denver suburb, killed 12 and injured 50. Two days earlier a gunman opened fire outside a bar in Tuscaloosa, Alabama in an incident in which at least 17 were hurt. These were not really so exceptional. Every year, about 100,000 Americans are victims of gun violence, and every week, people calmly enter our schools, our workplaces, our leisure gathering spots and open fire on innocent bystanders.

Whenever we tweet or post about these, often the only people we hear from are those who say we need more guns not less. “If I had been there with my gun….” The problem, of course, is the public at large is being asked to arm everyone and trust that, while the rest of us cower, “the right people” will quickly dispatch “the wrong people” in the modern equivalent of the Shootout at the OK Corral. No mention of whether the teacher is supposed to be armed…when a nut walks into a preschool and starts firing away.

Given that there have been 125 Mass Killings since Columbine, you think some serious solutions would be mentioned, yet it seems that there is the consistent response of inaction, or worse, the loosening of restrictions which make it easier for these incidents to happen.

Commenting on Pro-Gun Blogs

via Criminal Wisdom, a picture that reminds me of what happens when I comment on a pro-gun blog.

A Legitimate Defensive Gun Use

via TTAG where of course they had nothing but praise for the shooter and nothing but criticism for the cops who expressed concern about civilians defending themselves.

My opinion is, although wild shooting in defense of oneself is not recommended, and chasing after the fleeing bad guys is wrong, this was a legitimate DGU.

Did it save a life, though? Had it not been for her defensive action, would she have ended up dead?

No one could know the answer to those questions, but as was mentioned in our other discussion, most encounters do not end up with dead people, so it's not right to claim that Defensive Gun Uses save as many lives as some people like to say.

The National Disgrace - Executing Humans

From the New York Times Opinion Pages

Marvin Wilson, with an I.Q. of 61, is scheduled to be put to death in Texas on Tuesday. His execution would directly contradict the Supreme Court’s 2002 ruling in Atkins v. Virginia that “the mentally retarded should be categorically excluded from execution” because of “their disabilities in areas of reasoning, judgment and control of their impulses.” The court should accept Mr. Wilson’s case for review and end Texas’s illegal defiance of its explicit holding that the death penalty for the mentally retarded is unconstitutional.

What do you think? Is this a national disgrace, or what?

Maybe it would be better to call it a Texas disgrace, since they are the most likely to partake in this travesty of justice.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting of VA Man at Gun Range by Himself - No Charges

Local news reports

A man accidentally shot himself in the finger at the shooting range of Superior Pawn in Virginia Beach Saturday afternoon.

A spokeswoman for Virginia Beach police told WAVY.com that a man in his 50s was on the gun range when he accidentally shot the tip of his finger.

It is my opinion that a man who does that should lose his right to own guns.

Does that sound too harsh?  Why?

The gun-rights activists are continually telling us we cannot take people's rights away because of what they might do in the future,  They refuse to consider mental health screening for fear that it'll be abused and unfairly restrict responsible people.  But how can they justify continuing to allow people who have proven themselves to be negligent to own guns?

It's wrong. Where guns are concerned, it should be one strike you're out.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

The Roots of American Gun Violence

The Edmonton Journal Op-Ed by Jason Opal, associate professor of history at McGill University in Montreal.

For more than 200 years, the men who most needed personal sovereignty were slave owners. Their demands - for work, sex or amusement - carried the force of law on their farms and plantations, in the sense that enslaved people who denied those demands could be whipped, beaten and, yes, shot. Most masters preferred persuasion, but they retained the right of violent force rather than granting that power to the larger social good as expressed in law. As a result, they loved the local and state governments that they controlled and hated all other governments, be they British or federal. 

The other major demand for sovereignty came from frontier leaders and communities terrorized by native peoples. American history is littered with frontier violence, much of which took place outside the purview of the national government.

Isn't that a hoot? Slavery and frontier vigilantism are the parents of today's cherished individual sovereignty.

What's your opinion?  Does the professor have a point? 

Please leave a comment.

Loughner to Plead Guilty - He's Eligible for the Death Penalty

Yahoo News Reports

Loughner, 23, is charged with 49 criminal offenses including first-degree murder over the shooting rampage, which wounded 13 people. A not guilty plea was entered on his behalf last year.

The Wall Street Journal, which also reported that Loughner would plead guilty, said Tuesday's mental status hearing had been changed to a change-of-plea hearing, citing an official familiar with the case.

If U.S. District Judge Larry Burns were to determine at Tuesday's hearing that he was fit for trial, Loughner - who is being forcibly medicated to treat his psychosis - could face the death penalty if found guilty.

Mentally ill people belong in hospitals, not jails, and they certainly should not be put to death.

What could  be clearer than a case in which the authorities have to medicate the suspect to treat his psychosis before he's even capable of standing trial?

The NRA, the gun manufacturers and their lobby machine are more responsible for this crime than this pathetic, sick man. That's where our focus should be, on the root of the problem.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.