Four Dead in Buffalo

Buffalo News reports on the terrible way this wedding reception ended.

Eight people were shot early this morning, four fatally, outside City Grill, a popular Main Street restaurant in the heart of the downtown Buffalo business district.

The shooting spree occurred at around 2:30 a.m., when a private party -- possibly part of a wedding celebration -- was being held inside the restaurant.

There's nothing particularly interesting about the story, just another of the daily examples of what we've become inured to.

What Robert Farago said about it I found very interesting.

Alcohol, firearms and family vendettas don’t mix.

I sometimes wonder why he even posts stories like this, or his regular feature called "Irresponsible gun owner of the day." But in this case his take on it made me think. Of the three factors mentioned, alcohol, guns and vendettas, which do you think would be the easiest to get rid of? I'm talking about diminishment overall, and stricter enough restrictions that many of the abusers of guns just can't get them. Believe it or not, I'm not talking about banning guns outright.

Let's imagine guns were extremely hard to get, a lot of the bad boys out there would carry knives, pipes, bats, etc. The really determined ones would still do some damage, but not like this. They wouldn't kill four and wound four others in a single incident.

Why is that so hard for the pro-gun folks to accept?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

The Associated Press reports on the Brady endorsement of Sen. Gillibrand.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence notes Gillibrand had been an NRA favorite when she was an upstate congresswoman in a Republican district. But the group says in less than two years as an appointed U.S. senator she has become a leader in sensible gun laws.

Now how did that happen? Did the NRA have it wrong before? How could that be, they base their rating on the voting record, don't they? Did Gillibrand change? Was changing part of the deal, in order for her to take Clinton's place she had to change her gun stance?

What do your think? Please leave a comment.

Home Protection

Teen Uncle Left Gun in Twins Room

The Chicago Tribune reports on the arrest of the teen uncle who stashed the gun in his twin nephews' room. Last week one of the 5-year-old twins shot and killed the other.

Antoine Heard claimed he'd found the gun and wanting to keep it, hid it in the twins bedroom. Whether that's true, or whether he's a gang member as his facial tattoos and prior criminal record might suggest, is irrelevant. There is only one factor in this sad story that can be addressed, that's gun availability.

As much as we may attempt to correct the social conditions which lead to gang activity and drug involvement and inner city violence, these situations are here to stay in certain places. What can be done is the availability of handguns can be diminished to the point where fewer of these tragedies happen. That can be done over the next few years, long before we eradicate poverty and unemployment.

What's your opinion? Do you think the availability of that handgun played a role in the tragedy? If there'd been no gun there, the twins would still be together, right?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Florida Woman Pleads Guilty in Shooting

The Miami Herald reports on the case.

A north Florida woman has pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the shooting death of a Jacksonville firefighter.

Fisthnise Saint Breux entered her plea Thursday.

Authorities say the 18-year-old was riding with 21-year-old Emanuel Porter II and two other people when they stopped at a gas station in December. When Porter got out the car, he reportedly pulled out a gun, removed the magazine and put the gun and the magazine on the front seat.

Police say Saint Breux picked up the gun, and Porter told her to put it down. Saint Breux pointed the gun at Porter's head and said she wasn't going to shoot him. The gun fired and hit Porter in the head, but Saint Breux later said she didn't remember pulling the trigger.

Saint Breux faces up to 30 years in prison when she is sentenced next month.

I realize the pro-gun crowd will relegate all the people in this story to the "other side" of the law-abiding fence, but I don't know if that's fair. Let's consider that the young fireman might have owned the gun legally and did what is done every single day, all over the country, which is remove the magazine and leave a round in the chamber.

Then let's say the girlfriend, or whoever she was did what is done every single day all over the country and pointed the gun at someone not intending to shoot but just fooling around.

Disaster followed. You see, here's the trick. Disaster doesn't follow every single one of these scenarios, but in order for the worst thing to happen, you need some combination of these risky behaviours. Yet, the gun folks keep telling us about the 4 Rules and how gun owners are more responsible than other folks because of the tremendous importance of exercising their rights, and blah, blah, blah.

I say gun rights advocates ought to spend their time and effort in policing their own, in educating their own. It is from among their own that these problems arise. All we hear in response is some form of writing off the offenders as being from the "other side."

What's your opinion? Do you think the vast majority of gun owners is responsible and careful and well trained and intelligent enough to safely manage guns? I don't. This case in Florida, although just one story, is an example of your typical gun owners. The gun bloggers who continually claim to be so responsible, which I believe is the truth, are the exception to the rule, not the rule.

Please leave a comment.

For the Pro-Gun Crowd

If you repeat a lie often enough it becomes gun politics. Thanks to thinkmogul via TYWKIWDBI.

Georgia Gun in Harlem Shootout

DNA Info reports on the origins of the gun which was involved in the Harlem shootout the other day.

Two members of the Joint Firearms Taskforce and the ATF flew to Columbus, Ga., to interview a man who bought the Smith and Wesson and two other handguns in 2007.

I can't wait to hear the results of that interview, how about you?