Ohio 14-Year-old Accidentally Shot at the Gun Range

Local news

A 14-year-old boy was shot in the leg at a local gun range in what police said appears to be an accidental firing of a gun.

Sharonville Police said the boy was struck by a bullet in the leg while the owner of a gun was reloading and the gun discharged a single round.

The gun's owner, whom police did not identify pending their on-going investigation, was also injured in his hand when the gun fired. Police said the man refused treatment for his injury.

Police are continuing their investigation and have not filed any charges in connection with the shooting.

Target World employees said the range remained open for business in the aftermath of the shooting.

South Carolina Wants to Tighten Up Their Response to Domestic Violence

Local news reports

South Carolina’s dubious distinction as the worst state in the nation for deaths per capita due to criminal domestic violence calls for stricter laws against repeat offenders and stronger measures to protect victims, state Sen. Larry Martin says.

He has filed a bill to be introduced early in the 2015 legislative session that calls for harsher penalties against perpetrators who commit violent acts again and calls for revoking gun ownership rights for 10 years of violators convicted of first degree criminal domestic violence or criminal domestic violence of a high and aggravated nature.

That gun restriction is patterned after a federal law that says those convicted of criminal domestic violence can’t own or purchase a weapon again, Martin said.

Violators who don’t get rid of their guns would be charged with a felony, under Martin’s bill.

“It’s already the federal law, but our guys can’t enforce it,” Martin said.

The bill also requires a felony charge for violators of two or more offenses and increases the sentence for multiple offenses to up to 10 years.

Under current law, the maximum for second-time offenders is one year and for third or subsequent offenses, up to five years.

It also adds under the heading of high and aggravated cases those in which a deadly weapon is used; impeding the normal breathing or blood circulation of a victim by applying pressure to the throat, nose or mouth; committing the offense in the presence of a minor; committing the offense against a pregnant woman; or committing the offense during a robbery, burglary, kidnapping or theft.

It also gives judges latitude to revoke gun rights of a person charged at the high and aggravated level while they’re out on bond.

Statistics for 2014 aren't in yet, but according to the state Attorney General’s Office, 46 people were murdered by a household member in South Carolina in 2013.

Of those 46 people, 38 were women, constituting 83 percent of the total, and eight were men,

Demographically, 65 percent of the victims were white, 33 percent were African American, and 2 percent were Asian. The average age of the victims was 41 years old, according to the AG.

Guns were used in 78 percent of the cases, according to the report.

Martin said South Carolina had the highest per capita death rate in the nation from domestic violence, with Louisiana coming in second. He said he patterned his bill on one recently passed in Louisiana.

Gun Channel Parody

Ohio Man Dead in Negligent Accidental Shooting - Misdemeanor Charge Possible

Aaron T. Johnson Local news reports

Middletown Police Lt. Scott Reeve said a group of friends were looking at a gun that one of the friends had just gotten when James Terrell, 35, of Middletown, accidentally shot himself in the hand.

“He (Terrell) didn’t think it was loaded,” Reeve said. “He has told us the first time he pulled the trigger he had his hand on the muzzle … and he pulled the trigger and nothing happened. He backed his hand off and pulled again and a bullet went through his hand and into his friend that was sitting next to him.”

The bullet traveled through Terrell’s hand and hit the stomach of Aaron T. Johnson, 27, of Monroe. Both men were taken to Atrium Medical Center where Johnson later died, police said.

Police say the gun was a 9 mm semi-automatic handgun that belonged to Dennis Wunn. Reeve says Wunn is legally allowed to own the gun and alcohol is not believed to have been involved in the fatal accidental shooting.

Police are still investigating the incident and no formal charges have been filed, but Reeve said a misdemeanor charge of negligent homicide could be filed against Terrell.

Gun Rights Group Names 2014's Top 10 'Anti-Gunners'

Town Hall

From being an advocate of the United Nations’ Arms Trade Treaty to pouring money into Washington state’s victorious I-594 gun control campaign, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms has come up with a list of the top 10 ‘anti-gunners’ for 2014. 

Not surprisingly, former NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg took the top spot this year for dumping millions into creating Everytown for Gun Safety and also helping to finance the I-594 effort in Washington.

The other nine are:

Paul Allen– The billionaire co-founder of Microsoft and principle owner of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trailblazers, he dumped a half-million dollars into the I-594 gun control campaign inWashington State.

Steve Ballmer– Another Microsoft alumni and owner of the L.A. Clippers who added more than$1 millionto the I-594 effort to criminalize perfectly legal activities in theEvergreen State.

Hillary Clinton– The former First Lady and Secretary of State suggested earlier this year that gun owners "terrorize" people by vigorously defending the Second Amendment. She also supported the unratified UN Arms Trade Treaty.

Andrew Cuomo– TheNew York governor who championed that state's Draconian SAFE (for Secure Ammunition and Firearms Enforcement) Act, which is responsible for job losses in addition to penalizing every gun owner in the state.

Rahm Emanuel– The vehemently anti-gun mayor ofChicago whose administration has stubbornly resisted adoption of rational gun policies that would allow citizens to defend themselves against out-of-control violence in the Windy City.

Bill Gates– This billionaire Microsoft co-founder and his wife contributed more than$1 millionto the I-594 gun control effort, thus helping to pay for one of the most insidious political campaigns inthe United States.

Nick Hanauer– Another elitistSeattle-area billionaire who launched the I-594 gun control campaign and poured more than$1 millioninto the effort. His deplorable effort to exploit the Pilchuck High School tragedy by sarcastically suggesting that, "We need more school shootings" was an offensive new low in anti-gun politics.

Eric Holder– The outgoing U.S. attorney general fought to stall release of thousands of documents related to the Operation Fast and Furious scandal, final losing his battle in federal court this past fall.

Shannon Watts– As founder of the Bloomberg-supported Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Watts has spread disinformation about gun crime and campaigned against laws that bolster personal protection outside the home.

Stop Blaming Mental Health for Gun Violence. The Problem is the Availability of Guns.

A group of police officers on Dec. 25 pay their respects at a makeshift memorial in the Brooklyn, where New York police officers Wenjian Liu and Rafael Ramos were shot and killed on Dec. 20 as they sat in a marked squad car. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

Washington Post

But it is time to recognize that adequate treatment for people with a mental disorder is a distinct problem from gun violence. A much better indicator of whether someone will be violent is whether they come from a violent, poverty stricken environment, and whether they struggle with addiction. Eliminating poverty, domestic violence and childhood exposure to bloodshed would likely make a dent in our problem with gun violence. It may even have made a difference in the life of Ismaaiyl Brinsley.

But these are not problems for the mental health system to solve. And neither is the big problem of availability of guns. Among developed countries, the United States has the highest number of guns per every 100 people (88 as compared to 15 in Australia, six in Britain and 31 in Canada). In a 2012 survey, 43 percent of individuals indicated that there was at least one gun in the household.

Blame the NRA and Its Supporters - Not Mayor De Blasio

Huffington Post

Patrick Lynch, the president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, is garnering headlines by blaming New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio for encouraging protests against police killing of black men which, he claims, has created a political atmosphere that led Brinsley to target the two police officers, gunned down while they sat in their squad car outside a Brooklyn housing project.

This is absurd. For one thing, de Blasio has been a strong defender of New York's police department, but he has also criticized police abuses and supported people's right to protest nonviolently. Equally important, Lynch must know that Brinsley was not making a political statement when he shot the two officers. Brinsley's sister told the media that her brother was "emotionally troubled" and suicidal. "He needed help," she said, "He didn't get it." He killed himself after murdering Ramos and Liu.

If Lynch wants to point the finger of blame for his colleagues' deaths, he should focus on the NRA, not de Blasio. For decades, the NRA has fought every effort to get Congress and states to adopt reasonable laws that would make it much less likely that people like Brinsley would be able to obtain a gun. The NRA even defends the right of Americans to carry concealed weapons in bars, churches, schools, universities, and elsewhere. This poses a huge threat to police and civilians alike.