Manslaughter in Moriusaq

This is an amazing story.

It should not be suprising, then, that Moriusaq's residents do not have a full-time police service ready for dispatch (to say the least).   So instead of departing for Moriusaq, the police advised the sober trio to fire back at their inebriated companion, aiming for his legs.

That's just a teaser. You've got to read the whole thing.

OK City - It's Like Deja Vu All Over Again

In Oklahoma City the latest shooting has left one dead and five wounded. That fair city is in the news a lot, much more than New Orleans, for example. I wonder why.

Murder in Tampa

Now, I'm usually as good as the next guy in reading between the lines and filling in the blanks of a story, but this one has me stumped.

Bailey had taken a woman to Briell's home on Wednesday night, deputies said. The unidentified woman and Briell, 39, went into a bedroom at the home while Bailey waited outside the residence, the sheriff's office said.

When the woman didn't return outside, Bailey entered the home and opened the door to the bedroom Briell and the woman was in, deputies said.

Bailey shot Briell multiple times, the sheriff's office said.

He then kicked opened Briell's roommate's bedroom door and ordered him to lie face down, investigators said. Briel's roommate, who hasn't been identified, wasn't injured.

What do you think? What was the relationship between Bailey and Briell?

Please leave a comment.

Mountain Dew Commercial

This wonderfully humorous video could make one ask who exactly is Mountain Dew trying to reach by mocking gun control. Fascinating.

Untranslatable Words

Take a break from the gun debate, it'll do ya no harm.

New Zealand's Air Rifles

FatWhiteMan picked up on a fascinating story from New Zealand, that enlightened island nation that knows common sense laws.

Certain types of air-guns are going to require a license to own and operate.  That has nothing to do with banning anything, lest anyone is tempted to jump on that bandwagon. This is about reasonable restrictions to reduce crime.

From 12am today these guns can only be possessed by a person at least 16 years old and the holder of a firearms licence, or a person under the supervision of a licence holder. Owners of air rifles affected by the change will have three months to obtain a firearms licence or dispose of the air rifle.

The change would apply to pre-charged pneumatic (PCP) air rifles which have been described as the weapon of choice for criminals. It would not apply to older-style spring-powered airguns or air guns powered by CO2 cartridges, BB guns or paintball guns.

“This change will mean that violent criminals can no longer walk in off the street and buy a class of airgun that can have similar power to a firearm,” [Police Minister Judith] Collins says.

What's your opinion? Did anyone notice the Police Minister is named Judy Collins and the acronym for the type of gun is PCP? Any other 70s references and I'd begin to think this whole thing was satire. How about you?

Please leave a comment.

The Legacy of Frank Rizzo

We've discussed a couple cases recently, here and here, which I described as indications that the Philadelphia cops are the most hated for good reason.  Steven Hart has the background.

Phoenix Cop Indicted for Murder

This one does not sound like a good clean police shooting at all. It sounds more like Arizona is going right down the drain.

A Phoenix police officer has been indicted on a second-degree murder charge for the on-duty shooting of an unarmed suspect during a violent encounter in which he also shocked the victim with a stun gun and killed his dog, officials said Thursday.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Murder - Attempted Suicide in Arizona - Son Kills Father

This is another sad story in the gun paradise of Arizona.  The elements were just a few: unstable 21-year-old, overbearing dad, gun in the nightstand.  That's all it takes.

What's your opinion?  Are you one of the folks who honestly believes that gun availability had nothing to do with this?

Please leave a comment.

Alvin Lee - Ten Years After

This is for the further edification of Laci who posted that terrible video the other day. I realize he qualified it in his remarks, nevertheless, I offer this as another example of truly great British music from the time when music was truly great.

A Good Clean Police Shooting

At least it sounds like it to me.  What do you think?

Thompson was walking in and out of his mobile home and making threats at neighbors and police, [state police Detective 1st Lt. Chuck] Christensen said, and ignored “more than several” demands from the officers to drop the shotgun.

The trooper fired when Thompson [the dead guy], standing outside his mobile home, “pointed the gun at police officers,” the news release said.

Christensen said the trooper fired two shots but declined Wednesday to say how many times or where on his body Thompson was struck, pending results of an autopsy.

Please leave a comment.

Oh, The Irony

The Teabagger known as Linoge asks why gun control blogs "always moderate comments"?

In truth, most every gunloon blog moderates comments. In fact, I don't know of any that do not.

What a fasz.

Cheney Shooting Victim Nearly Died

WaPo:

Paramedics rushed the bleeding and unconscious Whittington to a hospital in tiny Kingsville, Tex. Doctors deemed his injuries serious enough to transfer him via helicopter to larger hospital in Corpus Christi, about 40 miles away.
....
The shotgun sprayed upward of 200 birdshot pellets at Whittington, causing scores of wounds. His facial lacerations were the most dramatically bloody, but the injuries to his neck and chest were the most serious. Four days after being hit, the birdshot near his heart prompted it to beat erratically, forcing him back into the intensive care unit. Doctors said Whittington suffered a mild heart attack; he thinks it was something less, a heart "event."
Still, the injuries were more dire than previously disclosed. Whittington suffered a collapsed lung. He underwent invasive exploratory surgery, as doctors probed his vital organs for signs of damage. The load from Cheney's gun came close to, but didn't damage, the carotid artery in his neck. A rupture could have been fatal, particularly since it took the better part of an hour to transport him from the vast Armstrong ranch to the Kingsville hospital.

Note that many gunloon bloggers trivialized this.....

Robert Farago on the Slippery Slope

We're talking about the slippery slope of paranoia.  In his very interesting essay, Robert describes what many gun owners must experience. If the chances of needing a gun to protect your life are small, but you decide to do it anyway, you've set in motion a type of thinking that in some individuals goes way beyond the line where paranoia begins.

Although he gives us a humorous and self-effacing picture of his home life with regards to guns, it sounds to me like he's well along the way on that slippery slope.  And I know he's not alone in that. Xavier the Nurse is one that I always think of in this regard, one who's long since gone right over the edge.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Older Folks and Guns

I realize it's mean of me but I'm posting this video to embarrass and shame the gun owners who watch it.  Please notice the first eight seconds of the action.  With gun handling habits like that how long do you think it'll be before this poor lady becomes her own worst enemy?

At the one-minute mark we see a good close-up of the condition of Willie Biggs' gun, rust and all. Isn't that dangerous? Isn't that how guns blow up in people's faces? I'm assuming the working parts of the gun are in the same condition as the barrel and front sight.



What's your opinion?  My point is, although many older people live in fear, guns are not always the best solution.  For many they're the last thing they need.

Please leave a comment.

Gun-totin' Pennsylvania Women

In some relationships the woman is the abuser. Of course this one could be telling the truth, that she thought her boyfriend was an intruder.  Maybe it'll come out later that HE had been abusing HER and she just decided to put an end to it. 

Whatever the story, it's bad news for everybody involved and a gun was right in the middle of it.  This is Pennsylvania after all.

More on the Most Hated Cops - Philadelphia's

There are frequent incidents that could go under this heading. One we covered a while ago was this. Today there's another.

3 cops cleared in shooting death of man who fired at them

Now that could be a fine decision, the report was after all that the dead guy fired at the cops first. But 3 or 4 cops shot him several times each. The guy had 20 to 30 bullet holes in him.

That cannot be right. What better illustration could there be of excessive force?

In reference to the decision exonerating the cops, the DA had this to say.

"I'm very saddened at D.A. Williams's office for rendering that decision.

"The medical examiner's report doesn't lie. The holes in this man's body do not tell a lie. If they followed the lines of the medical examiner's report relative to the number of bullets in his body and the position of those bullets, it would tell the story that this man was murdered by the Philadelphia police."

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Texas - 3 Dead 1 Wounded

No details, no names, no motive.  The only thing we know for sure is guns were involved.

Oh, how I do miss Zorro.  If only he could be here to put his editor's eye on this line from The Dallas Morning News.

None of the victims were named.

Do you think the newspapermen in Texas study the same rules of English grammar the rest of us do? But, that's beside the point, like I often teasingly say to Zorro when he breaks out his [sic] notation. The point is Fort Worth, and every other city in Texas is awash in easily accessible guns. Multiply homicides are one result.

Please leave a comment.

Who's Next

Laci posted an interesting and humorous video which ties in to the gun debate. But, after watching the video which really is "rubbish" I needed to watch something great.

Today's Murder-Suicide

Fort Lauderdale, FL:

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (WSVN) -- A South Florida man has died and his sister remains hospitalized after an attempted murder-suicide.
According to police, 23-year-old Juan Orozco and his sister, 25-year-old Jesnishia Orozco, visited their mother, who works at a cigar stand at Beach Place, near Las Olas Boulevard and A1A, Wednesday afternoon. Police said, the siblings were discussing money and living arrangements when the male turned the gun on his sister, then himself. "We do have two people shot. They are brother and sister," said Fort Lauderdale Police Sergeant Frank Sousa. "Both of them have been transported to Broward General Medical Center. They're both in critical condition, the brother in a little bit worse shape than the sister."

Lots of gunloons pretend suicide doesn't really count...

Commenting Moderation Back On

Here's an anonymous comment very similar to about a dozen I've deleted in just the last two days. I've responded to this issue in a post last year, you can read it here. Apparently, our obsessed friend thinks he's harming me by asking questions over and over again that he knows I won't answer. The inevitable result of all this, as he probably planned, is that comment moderation is going back on.  I suppose this fine example of the pro-gun camp considers that a victory too. 

So Mikey,

No comment on why you owned guns?

Was it to avoid fights or to use the firearms in fights?

Did you illegally carry them?

Come on, talk to us. Unless you've murdered someone, the statute of limitations is up.

Just why did you go through the trouble of breaking the law to own firearms?

One of the things that I noticed is for a guy who claims to have all the winning answers, backed up by stats, of course, these are pretty shabby victories to spend so much time winning. But win he did. I refused to answer many many questions, I began deleting comments again, and now, the biggest victory of all, I'm putting back the comment moderation function.

Another thing is that, without comparing IP addresses, this guy's style is very familiar. I'm banned from his blog, as I am from many others.  Of course they can explain it till you're blue in the face, but I find it truly amusing that these self-proclaimed supporters of freedom and rights ban people from their blogs and engage in campaigns to get others to do so as well.

If you're interested you can look at the old and new Commenting Policies.  My way of handling it will be more or less the same.  Back then I remember another campaign was waged against me by this same character and a few of his friends.  That was the "child pornography" one, which came in the form of scores of seemingly innocent suggestions that I'm responsible for child porn, if gun owners are responsible for gun crime, which I sometimes argue. After a while it began to seem they were trying to smear my name by associating it over and over again day after day with that most abhorred crime against children.  When that became abundantly clear, I started moderating for the first time.

So, here we go again.  If you think I've mistakenly rejected a comment please resend it or shoot me an e-mail.

Of course you're more than welcome to comment on this post too.

Weymouth Mass Teen Shot

A knife-wielding teenager, perhaps attempting suicide by cop was wounded in the shoulder. At first I thought finally the cops handled one of these situations right, one shot fired in a non-lethal area of the body, but then came the explanation.

At a press conference Monday, [Capt. Joseph] Comperchio said the officer followed standard training to aim for a suspect’s chest when threatened with a weapon.

“From every indication, this was a justified shooting, and he did everything he was supposed to do,” Comperchio said. “(The teen) was threatening a police officer with this large kitchen knife.”

That's Captain Comperchio's official take on it, but I'd like to think the shooting officer purposely aimed to the right of center. What supports my theory is that only one shot was fired. In other cases where several cops empty their guns on a guy because he "lunged" at them, I have my suspicions. But in this case, I like the way it happened.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

More on the Illinois - Indiana Shooter

The friends and relatives of the cop arrested for these murders were right.  He didn't do it.

A Good Clean Fight

As we mentioned yesterday, it often seems the esteemed male institution of fist fighting to settle problems is no more. 

The probability of folks being armed has caused changes in many areas of our lives.  You can no longer safely express a little road rage, for example, and you certainly cannot call someone out to settle a fued.

Fairfield police Lt. Darrin Moody says the two groups of adults had arranged to meet there to settle a feud. Neither party had any association with the school or a school function.

Moody said as the two men began to fight, one of their associates opened fire with a handgun. Thornton was hit several times.

Do you think examples like these are a small price to pay for all that freedom? (/sarcasm) I don't consider living in a society like that being free. All the self-serving talk on the part of pro-gun people about freedom and rights is just so much nonsense. Because of them there is an increasing access to guns, and because of that we are all less free.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Des Moines - 2 Dead 1 Wounded in Murder Suicide

It seems to be increasing, I suppose with the economy the way it is, and of course the increasingly easier access to guns.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Mike W Loves...What??

He said it, not me.

Well, I suppose this might give him a chance for a date one day.

This Week's NRA Martyr

This week, we have a three-fer.
Gunloon and NRA member. And an Oath-Keeper--a group dedicated to staining the honor of the US armed forces. And, of course, a Teabagger--just like Linoge.
Meet Jonathan Irish. Irish claims the evvvvill Gubbermint is snatching away his infant daughter 'cuz he likes his guns, belongs to a group that besmirches the US military and is a Teabagger--like Linoge.
As always, with NRA martyrs, Oath-Keeping Liars, and Teabaggers--like Linoge, the truth is a bit different:

But according to an affidavit provided to Irish by the state Division for Children, Youth and Families, state officials took the child because of Irish's long record of violence and abuse. According to the affidavit, a judge determined that Irish abused Taylor's two other children. She is still married to the father of those children, though Taylor said yesterday that her husband has refused to accept her divorce petition for the past two years.

The affidavit also says that the police in Rochester report a "lengthy history of domestic violence" between Taylor and Irish, and that she accused him of choking and hitting her on more than one occasion. According to the document, Irish failed to complete a domestic violence course as ordered by the state, and that a hearing was held last month to terminate Taylor's parental rights over her two older children.

Another Dropped-gun Death

I'm sure it was an old piece o' junk gun, huh?  Modern weapons don't do this.

One of the witnesses had an intersting observation.

    “Kids up here all carry guns,” he said. “When I was a kid, we used to fight on Friday or Saturday night and be friends at school on Monday. But kids today don’t know how to fight.”

What do you think about that? Have we lost the good old values like fighting? Have guns ruined even that?

Please leave a comment.

Arming the Minorities

This is what John Lott must be talking about when he says minorities especially need to be armed to protect themselves.

High crime urban areas and neighborhoods with large minority populations have the greatest reductions in violent crime when citizens are legally allowed to carry concealed handguns.

What's your opinion? Does that make sense to you?

Please leave a comment.

Byron Williams Speaks from Jail

"More and more people are waking up," said the maniac who was on his way to murder people at the Tides Foundation and the San Francisco ACLU in July.



I've heard the theory that there's no such thing as shared responsibility, but doesn't Glenn Beck challenge that? Isn't there such a thing as verbally inciting to riot, or inciting to commit murder? How about if Bryon Williams is 100% responsible for everything he did and Glenn Beck is 100% responsible for what he did? What's wrong with that?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Boston's Inner-City Children

Laci sent us the link to a very touching article in the Boston Globe. It brought to mind the sarcastic mockery used by some pro-gun folks when they say, "it's for the children."  I would be ashamed of myself if I'd ever said that.

The article brings up an interesting point, too. The problem is much bigger than gun availability.  It's about poverty and poor education.  It's about the marginalization of entire groups of people in our cities. Many factors contribute to this ongoing tragedy which is now synonymous with America, gun violence.

Of all the contributing factors, I maintain, access to guns is the most tangible. It's the one we can address most directly, but not as long as private sellers can operate without using background checks and straw purchasers can easily buy guns and have no further accountability for them.

No, we need proper gun control laws and we need them desperately.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

The San Diego School Shooting

Flying Junior sent us the link to this eye-witness description of the events.

I would imagine the pro-gun crowd will say if there'd been armed good guys around the shooter would have been stopped even sooner. What's your opinion?

Please leave a comment.

Another Responsible Tennessee Gunowner

Tennessee NRA member asserts his God-given rights, kills couch:

A Maryville man was arrested and charged with aggravated assault and felony reckless endangerment Saturday after allegedly shooting a couch with a .44 Magnum.

William Michael Paine Jr., 24, Mountain View Circle, Maryville, was taken into custody at an area restaurant with the handgun still in his possession, according to a Blount County Sheriff’s Office report.

Deputies responded to the shooting call at 1:41 a.m. Saturday at a residence on Limestone Drive. When they arrived, they made contact with the 29-year-old victim, who told them that his friend’s sister and her boyfriend, Paine, came over to the residence to have “a few drinks.” When they arrived, Paine had a large silver revolver and two large knives in his possession and wouldn’t take them outside and leave them in his vehicle when asked by the victim.

Gun Carry Permits in New Jersey

North Jersey.com published an opinion piece by Linda E. Fisher, law professor in the Seton Hall Law School Center for Social Justice. In supporting the long-standing New Jersey policy regarding justification of needing to carry a gun outside the home prior to the issuance of a permit, she made a very important point which often goes overlooked.

Because the carry-permit law limits the situations in which the presence of a gun in public can cause a sudden escalation of violence, it serves to reduce the number of accidental shootings, homicides and serious injuries that plague far too many of our communities.

While opponents of gun regulation invariably claim that only law-abiding gun owners are affected by regulations on gun use, the reality is that gun violence is, tragically, not limited to known criminals.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

It Was Just Target Practice

In South Dakota.

In Ohio.

In Idaho.

They call it "plinkin'" or "shootin' at cans" or "target practice."  It's a harmless activity done by countless lawful and responsible gun owners.

What's your opinion?

Where the Two Sides Meet

One of the problems is the 10% of gun owners I'm often talking about.  These would be the least responsible and least qualified among the huge group of legitimate gun owners. Of course there's another large group called "criminal" gun owners, but we're concerned now with the problem of the 10%. We're not saying to address the problem of the 10% and NOT the criminals, no. We're saying in addition to all the ways in which crime is being dealt with, we need to do something about the Famous 10% too.

The gun control solution to this problem is increased and improved regulations which would prevent some, if not all, of these folks from owning guns. The usual pro-gun response is either to deny that this even exists or to resist any attempt to correct it. I always find it curious that truly law-abiding people would do that, but there it is.

Occasionally, there is a pro-gun voice which seeks to improve the situation from the other direction, using education. Robert Farago does that. Here's an example.



What's your opinion? Do you think that's good advice, the part about minimizing distractions? Do you think that advice is often overlooked or not emphasized enough?

I would imagine, like I said about the video of the woman giving advice about going to the public rest room while carrying concealed, the folks among the 10% who most need this advice are the least likely to be interested. Nevertheless, I applaud gun owners who strive to police their own through education and the sharing of practical and useful tips.

The forces of gun control activism and gun rights activism need not be antagonistic.  This is one place where they can meet.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Gun Rights Policy Conference in Burlingame, California

A reporter for Mother Jones, Titania Kumeh, attended this conference in order to do some fact checking and published a wonderful article with the expected results.

Alan Gottlieb claimed, in typical pro-gun exaggerating fashion, "What happens is that gun control spends all of our resources tracking and regulating the 99 percent of people with guns who don't commit a crime, and the 1 percent who commit the crime we don't do anything about."

I factchecked this, and the answer is: Not exactly. The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives found that states with tougher gun laws in fact export the guns used in crimes (PDF) at a much lower rate than states with weak gun laws. Illegal guns handled by criminals and confiscated at crime scenes are most often traced back to states that don't do background checks for all weapons purchased at gun shows [CLICK HERE FOR MOJO'S ARTICLE ON GUN SHOWS]; that don't require purchase permits; that don't prosecute gun dealers who violate background-check laws; and that don't allow local law enforcement to approve or deny conceal carry permits. Findings confirm that regulations do deter criminals from getting guns.

Yes, that's what a little fact checking can do to the never-ending exaggerations and hysteria that folks like Gottlieb keep pouring out.

I've often wondered about the pro-gun buzz words that are so consistently used on the gun blogs.  They actually preach this nonsense and legions of sheep-like followers repeat the formulaic phrases.

"THEY win if you say 'pro gun.' YOU win if you say 'pro rights,'' instructs "The Politically Corrected Glossary" handout (PDF).


Yes indeed, our pro-gun friends are a fascinating bunch.  What's your opinion?

Please leave a comment.


.

Florida Gun Owner Protecting his Bananas

This is an interesting story which brings up a couple of questions.

A neighborly dispute over bananas has resulted in the arrest of a Port St. Lucie man.

Richard Jeff told police that he was walking in his back yard this week and picking up branches and debris when his 85-year-old neighbor Joseph Giacomo confronted him.

Jeff said Giacomo accused him of stealing bananas from his tree.

He says Giacomo pointed a gun at his head and threatened to shoot. He claims Giacomo was holding a black firearm that looked like an automatic weapon.

All right, let's say he wasn't old and senile acting on some unfounded suspicion. Maybe the neighbor had been guilty of picking fruit and the old guy had just had enough. What he did would still be all wrong? Does anyone deny that?

Let's say in his mid-eighties he's begun to suffer from any number of conditions which would make him an unfit gun owner. Shouldn't something be done about that?

There may come a time in the life of any gun owner who lives long enough, when the danger he poses to himself and others supersedes his need for self defense.  Am I right?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Tulsa - 2 Dead 1 Wounded

Only the shooter is responsible for the shooting. No problem. But who is responsible for the easy access to guns in Oklahoma? They have to answer for their part, at least they should have to if we're going to all be responsible for our own actions.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Follow-Up on the Illinois - Indiana Shooter

The other day the shooter was at large and it was unclear if the bloodshed had come to an end.

Relatives and coworkers of a small-town police officer charged in a Midwestern shooting spree that killed one man and wounded two others say they're baffled by the cop's bizarre behavior and arrest.

Brian Dorian, a 37-year-old police officer in Lynwood, Ill., was arrested Friday and charged with first-degree murder. Three days earlier, he allegedly drove his blue pickup truck up to his would-be victims in two rural towns on opposite sides of the Illinois-Indiana border, asking them odd questions about honey bees or construction materials -- before pulling a gun and opening fire.

Friends and neighbors described Dorian as a friendly man who loves baseball and bow hunting, and dotes on his niece.

In fact they go further than the usual overtures surprise and shock. Close relatives said it can't be him that there must be a mistake.

What do you think about this fascinating case?

Please leave a comment.