New Jersey 10-Round Magazine Limitation Bill Goes to the Gov

Gun enthusiast and activist Bob Viden, left, and the National Rifle Association of America's New Jersey liaison, Darin Goens, right, listen as Anthony P. Colandro, center, holds up a decal that says, "I Will Not Comply," and asks spectators to hold up more decals, as he speaks against a legislative bill that would reduce the legal capacity of ammunition magazines from 15 to 10, during legislative hearings May 5 at the Statehouse in Trenton.

Local news reports

The New Jersey Assembly passed a bill today that would outlaw ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

The bill, A2006, also has cleared the state Senate and now will go to Gov. Chris Christie for his consideration. The Republican governor signed many firearms bills into law last year, but he issued conditional vetoes of some of the more contentious ones, including a ban on .50-caliber rifles.

Parents of children killed in the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting joined Democrats today in calling for Christie to sign it into law. The bill passed 44-34 along party lines.

"This is a long overdue but welcome step toward the goal of preventing gun violence in New Jersey," said bill co-sponsor Louis Greenwald, D-Camden/Burlington. "Gov. Christie needs to do the right thing here and sign this bill."

Current New Jersey law allows magazines to hold a maximum of 15 rounds of ammunition. Supporters of the bill say the ammunition magazine limit could make mass shootings less deadly by requiring shooters to stop to reload more often, giving police and potential victims more time to react.

Owners of larger magazines would have 180 days to dispose of them. Exempted fro the proposal are tubular .22-caliber magazines.

Gun rights supporters say it would make it harder for citizens to protect themselves and could have the effect of banning certain guns.

Colion Noir on Mass Shooters and Gun Free Zones

After that ridiculous pick-up-basketball game metaphor, he went on, in his strained way, to push one of the most tired themes of the pro-gun crowd - mass shooters are attracted to gun free zones.

It's funny because this oft-repeated nonsense has never made much sense. The proof is that our own favorite gun-rights extremists who comment here have all agreed it's not valid.  Of course that took some doin'.  I had to explain several times how maniac spree shooters normally seek out the venue of their grievance, real or imagined, for their venting.  They do not consider its gun free status. Even our most contentious and dedicated pro-gun commenters have acquiesced to my logic.

But not poor Colion.  I'm afraid his rising celebrity has blinded him to even the most basic self-examination. Or perhaps he's simply spending too much time reading and associating with fellow gun nuts instead of expanding his world view a bit.  Or maybe he went with the theme of this video solely for the opportunity to use that overblown example of the sexual predator in "the on-line pre-teen chat room." That was really cute. The only problem is, of course, it's completely wrong.

Candlelight Vigil in Santa Barbara

A candlelight vigil earlier on the campus of the University of California Santa Barbara | Getty pic.twitter.com/X5Pdh3UFDy

— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) May 25, 2014

Detroit Woman Killed in Freak Accident - It Was No One's Fault

Iowa Dad Arrested in Connection with 4-Year-old Daughter's Accidental Shooting Death

Local news reports

The father of a 4-year-old who accidentally shot herself in April was arrested this afternoon on four felony and misdemeanor charges.

Adam Mead, 24, turned himself in to Des Moines police. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter, neglect of a dependent person and two counts of making firearms available to minors.

Charging Mead in connection with his daughter's death is a rare move, one legal expert said.

Mead told police his daughter wandered into a bedroom in which he was moving things around. He set a loaded .45 caliber handgun onto a dresser and turned his back for a moment, authorities said.

Seconds later, he heard a single shot behind him. He turned to see a look of shock on his daughter's face and red spreading across her shirt, officials said.

Investigators said they believed Mead's version of events.

"Evidence supports his statements, the autopsy supports his statements," Des Moines Police Sgt. Jason Halifax said. "There was nothing to suggest otherwise."

If Mead is convicted of all the charges, he faces a maximum 17 years in prison.

The neglect charge, a Class C felony is the most serious and alleges Mead knowingly or recklessly exposed his daughter to a danger against which she couldn't be expected to protect herself.

The manslaughter charge accuses Mead of causing Lillium's death by the commission of another, non-felonious crime.

Officials also found a second, unlocked gun in an area where they thought Lillium could access it, Halifax said.

Police took seven weapons from Mead's apartment, including a rifle, three handguns and three pellet guns, Halifax said.

Prosecutors had several charging options, including child endangerment causing death, a Class B felony punishable by up to 50 years in prison, Drake University law professor Bob Rigg said.

Georgia Man's Stand Your Ground Defense Failed - Guilty of Aggravated Assault

Local news reports

A man accused of shooting his girlfriend’s brother last month was not acting in self-defense, a Henry County magistrate judge ruled Tuesday morning.

Marquez Marquis Bridges, 23, was charged with aggravated assault and reckless conduct in the April 26 shooting of Kirby Bullard during a birthday party in McDonough.

Bullard was shot once in the leg after confronting Bridges about his relationship with Bullard’s sister, said Henry County police Detective Joey Plemons during a preliminary hearing Tuesday in Henry County Magistrate Court.

Plemons said Bullard slapped Bridges in the back of the head with an open hand, and the two argued. Bridges left the room to get a gun and returned to shoot the unarmed Bullard in the leg, he said.

Bridges’ attorney argued that his client’s smaller stature made him fearful of the larger Bullard. Jail records show Bridges to be 5 feet tall and weighing 115 pounds.

Henry County Chief Magistrate Judge Robert Godwin disagreed.

“I don’t know anything in the law that allows aggravated assault in response to a simple battery,” he said. “Being height-challenged myself, I see where you’re going, but I don’t see it.”

The defense attorney then argued that Bridges was defending either himself or his girlfriend and invoked the “stand your ground” law. But prosecutor Bill McBroom disagreed.

“‘Stand your ground’ doesn’t say you have to retreat, but it doesn’t say you can escalate to deadly force and use that as an excuse to kill somebody,” he said.

Christopher Martinez' Dad Blames the Craven Irresponsible Politicians and the NRA