North Carolina 3-Year-old Dead - No Foul Play Involved - It Was Just an Accident - No Charges Expected

UPDATE: McDuffie (the responsible adult) said that he has a concealed weapon permit but that he keeps his gun hidden.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/04/14/4841497/grandfather-3-year-old-in-northwest.html#.U04MnfmSzeI#storylink=cpy

Local news reports

A 3-year-old died from an apparent accidental shooting Sunday afternoon, Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said.

The shooting was reported about 1:20 p.m. in the 700 block of Glasgow Road, near Moores Chapel Road in northwest Charlotte. The 3-year-old boy, whom police did not identify, was taken to Carolinas Medical Center and pronounced dead, police said.

Police say they believe the child was inside a home when he was shot. Preliminary information indicates that there was no foul play involved, and family members who were inside the home at the time of the shooting were cooperating with the investigation and were being interviewed by detectives, police said in a release.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2014/04/13/4839312/3-year-old-killed-in-apparent.html#storylink=cpy

The Republican Base has Elements that Are Animated by Racism

Man with a Muckrake

 Over 50 years after Congress passed the Civil Rights Act, the issue of race is back in the political headlines, after comments from Attorney General Eric Holder and events marking the anniversary of the law’s passage renewed the dialogue over race relations in the 21st century.

Rep. Steve Israel, D-New York, said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that “not all” of his GOP colleagues are racist but “the Republican base does have elements that are animated by racism.”

What can be said of the GOP can also be said of the gun rights movement.

Another Detroit Home/Gun Owner Gets Away with Manslaughter

Fox News

Fox 2 News Headlines

Colorado Private Sale Background Checks

The Denver Post

Previously released statistics related to the newly regulated private sales of guns in Colorado — figures which became a flashpoint in recent legislative debates — don't tell the full story.

The actual number of private gun purchases submitted to the Colorado Bureau of Investigation is much lower, a Denver Post analysis finds.

While the Colorado Bureau of Investigation reported in January that 6,198 private-sale checks were conducted from July 2013 — when the law went into effect — through December, the actual number is almost half that.

That's because, under the "private checks" category, the CBI lumped in the newly regulated private sales with sales conducted at gun shows, which the bureau has tracked since 2001.

The Post asked the CBI to separate out the new sales and found that for the six-month period, there were only 3,838 background checks. Forty of those resulted in denials, or a rate of 1.04 percent, according to The Post's findings.

During those same six months, CBI processed 2,361 background checks from gun shows, also netting 40 denials, according to The Post's findings.

First of all, I have to say, with this new law, private sales have not been banned, as one of our commenters continually says. 

Secondly, regardless of the percentage, the 40 people denied a gun sale make the whole thing worthwhile. 

Thirdly, this story is all about convenience vs. inconvenience.  A few thousand lawful gun owners had to go through the inconvenience of doing a background check in order to prevent 40 known unfit people from obtaining a gun. Only the most fanatical extremist self-centered maniacs would complain about that.

Oklahoma Ingenuity - The First Gun Range with a Liquor License

via Southern Beale

14 States Had More Gun Deaths than Car Deaths in 2010

Mother Jones

It's little surprise that many of these states—including Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Indiana, Utah, and Virginia—are notorious for lax gun laws. What's more, the numbers aren't driven just by "bad guys with guns." Nationally, close to two-thirds of gun deaths are suicides, and the split is much higher in states such as Alaska, which reported more than twice as many gun suicides as traffic deaths in 2010. Utah (the "most depressed" state, whose suicide problem we cover in detail here), Nevada, Oregon, and Washington are also seeing more gun suicides than traffic fatalities. Idaho, Montana, and others are close behind. We'll leave you with this chart showing the most recent nationwide numbers available:

North Carolina Woman Dead in Accidental Shooting - No Charges

Local news reports

The fatal shooting of a Mount Airy woman in late March has been ruled accidental, a city detective said Friday when additional details also were released indicating that the death resulted from a “perfect storm” scenario.

Darlene Jeanette Combs Tate, 57, died from a single gunshot wound to the abdomen on the night of March 29 during a family gathering at her home at 338 Austin Drive, an investigation showed.

The official classification of the death as accidental was based on an investigation at the scene, including interviews with witnesses, and the results of an autopsy.

“It was just a family get-together,” James said of what preceded the incident, during which Tate’s husband, Edgar, who is wheelchair-bound, was present. He was in possession of a .22-caliber derringer at the time, although no explanation has been given for his being armed.

Family members were helping Edgar Tate get out of his wheelchair so he could go to bed. “And the weapon fell from his person,” possibly from the man’s lap, James said.

“It just hit the floor and discharged,” the detective added of the gun, with the bullet striking Mrs. Tate. He described the situation as resulting from an unlikely set of circumstances that “you probably couldn’t duplicate.”

Police Chief Dale Watson said early on in the investigation that the failure to properly secure the weapon appeared to be the main culprit in the death.

Friday’s ruling closes the case, with no charges to be filed.

But, failure to secure the firearm is not a crime? That's the problem.  That's the special treatment.