The Concealed-Carry Fantasy

New York Times

The more that sensational gun violence afflicts the nation, the more that the myth of the vigilant citizen packing a legally permitted concealed weapon, fully prepared to stop the next mass shooter in his tracks, is promoted.

This foolhardy notion of quick-draw resistance, however, is dramatically contradicted by a research project showing that, since 2007, at least 763 people have been killed in 579 shootings that did not involve self-defense. Tellingly, the vast majority of these concealed-carry, licensed shooters killed themselves or others rather than taking down a perpetrator.

The death toll includes 29 mass killings of three or more people by concealed carry shooters who took 139 lives; 17 police officers shot to death, and — in the ultimate contradiction of concealed carry as a personal safety factor — 223 suicides. Compared with the 579 non-self-defense, concealed-carry shootings, there were only 21 cases in which self-defense was determined to be a factor.

Unbelievable!

The Problem Isn't Guns or White Men

Ann Coulter

The media act as if they're performing a public service by refusing to release details about the perpetrator of the recent mass shooting at a community college in Oregon. But we were given plenty of information about Dylan Roof, Adam Lanza, James Holmes and Jared Loughner.
Now, quick: Name the mass shooters at the Chattanooga military recruitment center; the Washington Navy Yard; the high school in Washington state; Fort Hood (the second time) and the Christian college in California. All those shootings also occurred during the last three years.
The answers are: Mohammad Youssuf Abdulazeez, Kuwaiti; Aaron Alexis, black, possibly Barbadian-American; Jaylen Ray Fryberg, Indian; Ivan Antonio Lopez, Hispanic; and One L. Goh, Korean immigrant. (While I'm here: Why are we bringing in immigrants who are mentally unstable?)
There's a rigid formula in media accounts of mass shootings: If possible, blame it on angry white men; when that won't work, blame it on guns.

Probably Just a Coincidence

Accurate Gun Storage Info Hard to Find on the Internet: Study

NBC

A new study found that gun owners who search online for firearms storage tips might not be getting the best advice. 

Only 2.3 percent of websites with information on firearms storage contained all the practices "shown to protect children and adolescents living in homes with gun," according to the study, led by Katherine Freundlich of the University of Michigan Medical School. 

The researchers examined 87 webpages found by googling the 10 most common search terms related to gun storage. Most of the websites were not easy to use or read, the study found. The sites also listed on average less than one of the four safety tips recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics: 

1. Keep guns unloaded.
2. Lock guns away.
3. Store ammunition separately from guns.
4. Lock ammunition. 

Overall, only two of the websites listed all four of the safety measures. 

"People who are considering turning to the Internet for guidance on home gun storage should be aware that the information they find is unlikely to give them all the advice they need," Freundlich said in a statement.

U.S. Police Chiefs Call For Background Checks For All Gun Purchases

Huffington Post

Police chiefs from across the United States called on Monday for universal background checks for firearms purchases, saying opinion polls consistently show that most Americans support such restrictions.

The proliferation of firearms is one of the factors behind a rise in homicide rates in many U.S. cities this year, according to senior law enforcement officials at the International Association of Chiefs of Police conference in Chicago.

Acknowledging the power of the gun lobby and the reluctance of Congress to enact stricter gun laws, the police chiefs told a news conference they were not anti-gun but wanted to keep weapons out of the hands of people with criminal backgrounds.

Las Vegas 8-year-old

You lawful  and responsible gun nuts continue  to amaze and entertain  (with your denial and bizarre  justifications ). The poor kid lost his older sister to an accidental shooting and still his negligent  parents allowed  this to happen.