The Coloradoan
More people used a gun to take their own lives last year in Colorado than died in motor vehicle accidents, marking the first time that suicide by gun outpaced traffic deaths in the state.
Gun deaths have been more numerous than automotive fatalities in Colorado since 2009, but 532 gun-involved suicides outnumbered the 457 deaths in car crashes last year, state health data shows. Gun-involved suicides in the state jumped nearly 20 percent between 2011 and 2012, the largest such leap in more than a decade.
Experts say many of these deaths are preventable, but prevention requires framing suicide as a public health issue, not an insular problem.
Tuesday, November 26, 2013
Monday, November 25, 2013
Total Civilian Disarmament Was More Popular in 1959 than Today
William Shatner in Twilight Zone episode, "Nightmare at 20,000 Feet" • Shadow & Substance
While reflecting on the Briggs-Tabarrok Effect, I stumbled across a shocking Gallup survey. Back in 1959, Gallup started asking a random sample of Americans the following question:
What about the possession of pistols and revolvers -- do you think there should be a law which would forbid possession of this type of gun except by the police or other authorized person?The question was slightly changed over the years. Since 1980 it's been:
Do you think there should or should not be a law that would ban the possession of handguns, except by the police or other authorized persons?The current breakdown is just what Europeans would expect of Cowboy Nation. Only 25% of Americans say "Yes, should be" - versus 74% who say, "No, should not be." But if you think this reflects a long-standing American tradition, you're dead wrong. Back in 1959, the breakdown was 60% yes, 36% no. Support for gun-grabbing fell almost non-stop during the ensuing decades, with just one odd reversal in 1979. The full survey history, 1959-2013:
Proposed Bill Would Ban Realistic Toy Guns
Toy guns made to look like the real thing would be banned in California under legislation announced Friday in Sonoma County, where a sheriff's deputy last month shot and killed a 13-year-old boy after mistaking his replica AK-47 pellet gun for an assault rifle.
The bill, to be introduced by five lawmakers, would require pellet and other toy guns to be brightly colored or translucent so they are easily recognized. Federal law requires the replica guns only to have an orange mark on the tip of the barrel.
The legislators held a news conference in Santa Rosa, a few miles from where Deputy Erick Gelhaus shot and killed Andy Lopez Cruz on Oct. 22 as the boy walked with a pellet gun near his home just outside the city.
According to police who are investigating the killing, Gelhaus pulled up behind the boy and ordered him to drop the gun - which did not have an orange tip - and then fired eight times when the boy began to turn. The shooting prompted street rallies and a lawsuit filed by Andy's family.
State Sen. Kevin de León, D-Los Angeles, one of the sponsors of the new legislation, introduced a similar bill two years ago after police shot and paralyzed a 13-year-old Los Angeles boy with a toy gun. That bill stalled in committee.
Sunday, November 24, 2013
Arkansas 10-Year-shot by his Sibling - No Arrests
A Cross County child reportedly accidentally shot his 10 year old sibling Saturday evening.
Cross County Sheriff J. R. Smith says the 10 year old was shot with a .22-caliber pistol in the stomach area at a home east of Wynne, off Hwy. 64. The child was flown to Le Bonheur Children's Hospital while his injuries do not appear to be life-threatening.
Police and investigators are still on the scene right now.
This sounds like one of Greg's neighbors who has the same low standards for gun safety and security that he does.
Whenever a kid gets his hands on a gun and shoots another kid with it, some adult should be held accountable. Thanks to the lax gun laws and even laxer attitudes towards gun negligence, this is rarely the case.
Lawful Missouri Gun Owner Shoots Someone and Gets Away with It
A Farmington auto dealership employee was accidentally shot in the leg just after noon Thursday.
According to a spokesman of the dealership and police, a customer had pulled his truck into a service bay. A company employee was at the driver's door collecting information off the vehicle. The driver of the truck, knowing he had a loaded rifle inside, went to the passenger side and was going to remove and unload the firearm.
The rifle was accidentally discharged, the bullet traveling through the seat and hitting the worker in the leg.
It was reported that the gun was a .308 caliber rifle.Farmington Police Chief Rick Baker said the man holding the rifle at the time of the incident volunteered to be checked for any alcohol or chemical impairment, and was questioned at length. The chief said there was no sign of drug or alcohol use, and no indication of any malicious intent ... it appeared to be solely an accidental shooting.
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