Criminals Can Also Defend Themselves with Deadly Force

The Seattle Times

A 36-year-old Puyallup man has pleaded not guilty to a federal indictment on gun and marijuana-manufacturing charges after he killed two people in December while protecting his marijuana grow operation.

If convicted, Jeremy Peter Capodanno could face a 15-year mandatory-minimum sentence — and possibly as many as 40 years — for drug trafficking and for using a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The government is also seeking to seize his property, including two homes, and vehicles.

Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist said Thursday that his office formalized its decision not to charge Capodanno for the shootings.

“Regardless of whether you are operating an illegal enterprise, you still have the right to to use deadly force in defense of yourself or others or your property,” he said. “It is undisputed that these men were armed intruders.”

The federal indictment said Capodanno was armed with a 9-mm Glock handgun. Police also found two assault-style rifles, a Tec-9 semiautomatic handgun and a shotgun.

“This defendant chose to enter the illegal drug business, and armed himself to protect his trade, not his home,” U.S. Attorney Jenny Durkan said. “This conduct brought thieves to his door, put his 7-year-old son at risk, and ended with him taking two lives.”

It doesn't sound to me like the prosecutor did him any favors.  Allowing that he was justified in the shooting and then charging him with  "using a firearm in furtherance of drug trafficking" sounds like bullshit to me.  He was growing pot, for crying out loud.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Sandra Layne Sentenced to the Maximum

Detroit Free Press

A sometimes sobbing West Bloomfield grandmother told a packed courtroom she was sorry she had shot her teenage grandson to death, begging the judge not to give her a long prison sentence. “I don’t want to die in jail or prison,” 75-year-old Sandra Layne cried Thursday in Oakland County Circuit Court. “Oh, God! Oh, God! I don’t know what to say. I am so sorry.” 

Sandra Layne, 75, listens to Oakland County Circuit Judge Denis Langford Morris during her sentencing today. / Ryan Garza/Detroit Free Press

But Judge Denise Langford Morris exceeded sentencing guidelines and ordered Layne, who had no criminal history, to spend 20-40 years in prison. She was convicted of second-degree murder last month for fatally shooting her grandson Jonathan Hoffman, 17, in Layne’s West Bloomfield condominium on May 18. Guidelines called for 12-20 years in prison. 

The sentencing brought to a close a case that shocked metro Detroit, garnered national attention and tore apart a family already teetering on the edge. “This is a tragic case for everyone involved,” 

Langford Morris said before announcing the sentence. “This is a tragedy for the community. Grandmothers are supposed to be protected, and grandmothers are supposed to protect.” As the sentence was read, Layne turned to look at her daughter Jennifer Hoffman, Jonathan’s mother. Hoffman, who called her mother “pure evil,” smiled broadly and gave her mother a thumbs-up sign.

I guess the judge didn't believe her that she acted out of fear for herself.

What do you think?

Delaware Moving Ahead on Gun Control

Newsworks

In a 13-8 vote, the Delaware Senate approved a portion of Governor Jack Markell's gun control agenda which was unveiled following the deadly school shooting in Sandy Hook, Connecticut. 

House Bill 35 requires background checks for nearly all gun sales and is designed to keep guns away from both criminals and those who are mentally ill.

"This is not about so many things that the opponents wanted to make it about," Markell said.  "We believe in protecting the second amendment, we just want to keep weapons out of the hands of people who shouldn’t have them."  Markell is expected to sign the legislation into law, although a date for that signing has not been set yet.  Once signed, the background check requirements would go into effect on July 1.  

The legislation makes exceptions to the background check requirement for sales between immediate family members, as well as sales involving active duty or retired law enforcement officers.  The bill also exempts sales involving antique firearms and replicas.

This is just one leg of Markell's gun control package.  Other parts include a ban on the sale of high capacity magazines, an assault weapon ban.  Markell also wants to require gun owners to report a loss or stolen weapon within 48 hours.  He also is proposing a gun possession ban within 1,000 feet of a school.

Now that's not so bad, is it?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Boston Marathon Bombing - 2nd Suspect Arrested

Does anyone else get the impression that everybody's exaggerating about this? These news people were talking about how heroic everybody was, even themselves, repeating it over and over. On another video, the governor and police chief were doing the same thing. You'd think they'd just arrested the anti-Christ or some mass murderer who'd killed thousands, instead of a 20-something skinny kid.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

More on the Executive Actions

 Fox News

Blocked by Congress from expanding gun sale background checks, President Obama is turning to actions within his own power to keep people from buying a gun who are prohibited for mental health reasons. 

Federal law bans certain mentally ill people from purchasing firearms, but not all states are providing data to stop the prohibited sales to the FBI's background check system. A federal review last year found 17 states contributed fewer than 10 mental health records to the database, meaning many deemed by a judge to be a danger still could have access to guns. 

The Obama administration was starting a process Friday aimed at removing barriers in health privacy laws that prevent some states from reporting information to the background check system. The action comes two days after the Senate rejected a measure that would have required buyers of firearms online and at gun shows to pass a background check. That's already required for shoppers at licensed gun dealers.

The Obama haters and gun-rights extremists will probably find something wrong with this, but I really can't imagine what it would be.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Executive Actions Are Imminent

 From the Trenches World Report

Vice President Biden told White House allies in the gun control fight Thursday that President Obama will be announcing new executive actions on gun violence in the days after the Senate voted down a gun violence bill.

On a conference call with “stakeholders,” Biden told gun control advocates that the fight is not over and that eventual action on gun control will come. Press were not invited to the conference call; a participant provided BuzzFeed with access.  


“Look, I know you’re going to say that I’m just being an optimist and I’m trying to put a good face on this. But, you know, I’ve been around here a long time and we’ve already done, because of you, some really good things,” Biden said. “Number one, the president is already lining up some additional executive actions he’s going to be taking later this week.”

What do you think?  I don't believe everything I read over on the "Trenches" site, but this sounds interesting.

Please leave a comment.

Illinois House Defeats Lless Restrictive Concealed Carry Bill

The Chicago Tribune

The Illinois House tonight defeated a concealed weapons proposal favored by gun rights advocates, a setback that could spur negotiations toward finding common ground with lawmakers who back gun control.

The legislation represented a signature showdown in the critical gun debate that is in the spotlight this spring because a federal appeals court has set an early June deadline for Illinois to put in place a concealed weapons law.

Under the proposal, guns could have been carried on mass transit buses and trains but banned from taverns, schools, casinos, stadiums, child-care facilities, universities and government buildings, including courthouses, legislative offices and the state Capitol.

No Charges in Idaho Gun Show Shooting Incident

 Local news reports

UPDATE: April 18

The Ada County Sheriff's Office said Wednesday that no charges were likely in the wake of an April 13 accidental shooting incident at the Fort Boise Gun Show that sent a man to the hospital.

A 23-year-old man was struck in the eye with debris when a gun show attendee picked up a weapon from a vendor's table and fired the gun. A bullet struck two other guns, scattering shrapnel to a crowd. In all, five people were struck. 

The 23-year-old was rushed to St. Alphonsus Medical Center. He is expected to regain his full vision.

ORIGINAL POST: April 14

A Mountain Home man was rushed to a hospital and a second person was treated for a minor injury following an accidental shooting at an Expo Idaho gun show Saturday afternoon. 

Law enforcement was called to the Garden City fairgrounds around 3 p.m. following a report of a gun fired inside the main exhibit hall. Witnesses said someone attending the Fort Boise Gun Show picked a large-caliber handgun and fired the weapon into a display, striking two other guns. Flying shrapnel hit two bystanders. 

The Fort Boise Gun Show continues through 4 p.m. today at Expo Idaho while the investigation continues.

 It was just an accident.  The vendor who had a loaded gun on display can't be held accountable - that could happen to anyone.  And the guy who picked up the gun and fired it without first checking to see if it was loaded or that it was pointed in a safe direction, it's not his fault.  And least guilty of all is the management of the gun show. They can't help it if people don't follow the rules.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Arizona to Prohibit the Destructions of Turned-in Guns

 
Brian Skoloff/Associated Press - FILE - This Jan. 2013 file photo shows Tucson police officers cataloging a gun gun buyback program outside a police station in Tucson, Ariz. Arizona is now a step away from essentially doing away with the programs with lawmakers approving a bill that would ban cities from destroying the weapons and require them to sell the guns _ part of a broader movement among gun-rights lawmakers to limit gun buybacks.

The Washington Post

The months since the deadly Connecticut school shooting have seen dozens of gun buyback events across the country, with officials getting thousands of unwanted firearms off the street and sending them off to their destruction.

In Arizona, however, the Republican-controlled Legislature is now moving to save such guns.

Prompted by a gun buyback event in January in Tucson, where a 2011 shooting rampage left six dead and wounded then-U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and 12 others, GOP lawmakers crafted a bill that would require local agencies to sell the firearms to gun dealers. The bill, which has passed both chambers of the Legislature, tightens a 2010 law that requires police to sell seized weapons.

Kurt the Superman pointed out this story to me yesterday. It's ironic because he and others have repeatedly told us that the guns received in buyback programs are mostly useless, broken down junk.  Arizona doesn't seem to agree.

My opinion on this is, although it feeds into a sick cycle of re-routing guns into the criminal world, since proper gun control laws are lacking which would prevent that, I'm not really opposed. As our pro-gun friends keep reminding us, guns are inanimate objects and therefore neither good nor bad. Selling the turned-in guns to licensed gun dealers would at least make the buyback programs pay for themselves, which is another complaint we often hear.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Joe Scarborough: 'This Party Is Moving Toward Extinction'

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Obama Disarming America

The associations with Hitler and Mao are just stupid.  The claim that veterans with PTSD who've received the famous letters from the VA indicates a total ban on guns is coming, is just stupid.

What do you think?

The Presidential Reaction as Reported on The Truth About Guns

As reported on TTAG, where you can always have a ball reading the comments.

from the paranoid Silver

We have a rare and terrifying glimpse into this sociopathic madman’s true character. He’s only ever passionate when he’s denied being a tyrant, denied the ability to steal people’s human rights. You can practically hear him…”They DARE? They DARE DENY ME?!”

I’ll be blunt…I 100 percent expect a false flag in the near future.

to the thoughtful tk

You know, I am going to go out on a limb and say this is going to bite us in the ass big time. We won this round, but I think just like the tabacoo stuff this may be a phyric victory.

To the super-Obama-hater DB

I loathe the guy with every ounce but I must say this was the first time I’ve heard him speak with any degree of honesty and passion. He has ladled out the phoniness for five years running, but this is the first time I’ve detected sincerity in his voice. It was lecturing, hectoring, pompous, dismissive, but it was deeply heartfelt.

to the gloating and shining examples of  the Armed Inteligentsia Scott and Duzt

He appears a bit butthurt, LOL.

is uncle joe literally crying? ill sleep good tonight if i can stop laughing like a giddy school girl

Kansas Passes the Strongest 2nd Amendment Protection in the Country

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback waits for other hunters before heading into cover during the Kansas Governor's Ringneck Classic in western Kansas. (Brent Frazee/Kansas City Star/MCT via Getty Images)

Huffington Post

Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback (R) on Tuesday signed what is being called the nation's most pro-Second Amendment law, but one that could face constitutional challenges. The Second Amendment Protection Act exempts all guns that were made in Kansas and have not left the state from all federal gun control laws.

Last week, Brownback had signed a law to expand concealed carry of guns in public buildings in the state. Both measures had been sought by pro-gun lawmakers as a way to promote and expand the firearms industry in Kansas.

"My understanding is, it is the strictest Second Amendment protection law in the nation," state Rep. Brett Hildabrand (R-Shawnee), a co-sponsor of the exemption legislation, told The Huffington Post.

"That is really great news. It creates a stark contrast with our neighbors in Colorado. I consider it a pro-job growth bill because of it encouraging the large gun manufacturers or those who make gun components to move to Kansas."

The hypocrites who want to trample states' rights with reciprocal concealed carry laws love this one. Let's hear the justification.

One result will be more of this and this.  They should be proud.

Lawful Iowa Gun Owner Convicted of Shooting Dog

Local news reports

A jury in Atlantic took around 30 minutes to conclude that 56-year-old Charles Cutler, of Marne, was guilty. Cutler faces up to two years in prison when he's sentenced on May 6.

Authorities say Cutler used a shotgun to blast a 1-year-old chocolate Labrador retriever named Wrigley.

The dog belonged to Stacey Ernat, a teacher from Denver who had stopped in Marne with her boyfriend to visit her boyfriend's brother. The couple was headed to eastern Iowa.

Cutler testified that Wrigley and another dog that lived nearby with the brother had growled at him. Cutler said he feared for his safety and that of pets, so he got his shotgun and opened fire.

I don't know what's got into this Iowa jury.  The poor misunderstood gun owner even used the magic words, he "feared for his safety."

What do you think?

A Shameful Day for Washington

Yahoo News

Standing alongside tearful families of the victims of the Sandy Hook massacre, a seething-mad President Obama lashed out against lawmakers who opposed a bill that would have expanded background checks for gun buyers, saying today marked a "shameful day for Washington."

"There were no coherent arguments as to why we wouldn't do this. It came down to politics," the president said in a Rose Garden statement shortly after the Senate defeated the bipartisan Manchin-Toomey amendment.

The president said lawmakers who opposed the measure "caved" to pressure from the gun lobby and its allies who "willfully lied about the bill."

"A minority in the United States Senate decided it wasn't worth it," he said. "They worried that that vocal minority of gun-owners would come after them in future elections. They worried that the gun lobby would spend a lot of money and paint them as anti-Second Amendment. And obviously a lot of Republicans had that fear, but Democrats had that fear, too. And so they caved to the pressure, and they started looking for an excuse, any excuse, to vote no."

I think it will turn around and bite them on the ass, the pusillanimous Senators who feared voter retribution.  Since most people in the country agree with the need for better gun control, some of these guys will pay in the next election.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

A song for our time...

Guns Have Changed - Shouldn't Our Gun Laws

Moms Demand Action

Moms Demand Action

Kansas 6-Year-old Shot by Accident - 14-Year-old Cousin Arrested

Local news reports

Mission police are investigating after a 6-year-old girl was shot in the leg by a teenager Tuesday morning.

The shooting, believed to be accidental, happened at a chiropractor's office in the 6000 block of Martway.

Police Capt. David Maloy said the 14-year-old juvenile ran off after the shooting but was later taken into custody.

Do you think the boy was a gang member involved in the drug business or was he just the product of gun-nut culture, Kansas style?

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Alabama 2-Year-old Shoots Himself - No Arrests

Local news reports

The Madison County Sheriff’s Office responded to an accidental shooting Church Street in Gurley.

When deputies arrived, they discovered that an unsupervised 2 year old child had suffered a self inflicted gunshot to the hand. The child was taken to the hospital by ambulance with non-life threatening injuries.

The Department of Human Resources was notified and is handling the situation.

Neil A. MacGinnis was Having a Bad Week

 
Christiansburg Police Department/Associated Press - This photo provided by the Christiansburg Police Department shows Neil Allan MacInnis, of Christiansburg, Va.

The Washington Post

Our original post at the time of the incident.

The suspect in a shooting at a community college that injured two women legally purchased his weapon two days earlier and told detectives after his arrest he “was having a bad week,” police said Monday.

The Christiansburg Police Department said in a news release that Neil A. MacInnis, 18, purchased the 12-gauge shotgun allegedly used in Friday’s shooting from a licensed firearms dealer. Court records identified the seller as Walmart.

First of all, 18-year-olds should not be allowed to buy guns legally.  Secondly, without proper gun control like I suggest, young men who have a history of juvenile problems will continue to be considered qualified. "May issue" for gun ownership would put a stop to that.

The off-duty guard who stopped him was only able to do so after he fired 9 shots. Good thing the disturbed Mr. MacGinnis wasn't a better aim, huh?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

The Meaning of the 2nd Amendment

 This is an interesting article in which the author discusses standing armies and the early rebellions, Shay's and The Whiskey. His conclusion:

And, finally, let us be reminded that the militias of Washington's time no longer exist. The Dick Act of 1903 and the National Defense Act (1916) redefined the system into what we now call the National Guard. Consequently, there is no place in our constitutional life for individual citizens arming themselves with military style weapons like the AR-15.

You may ask how we as a nation and the Supreme Court, as the final arbiter of constitutionality, got it so wrong for so long? Just reflect on how long we embraced the notion that a "black man" was property, or that a woman lacked the right to vote.

In all the twisting and turning that the pro-gun folks do they never seem to answer this.  Why did the sacred and beatific founding fathers include the first four words if the right was not to be limited to the militia?

They wouldn't have.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Supreme Court Turns Down Challenge to N.Y. Concealed-carry Law

 The Morning Call

The Supreme Court left in doubt Monday whether gun owners have a 2nd Amendment right to carry a firearm in public.

Without a comment or dissent, the justices turned down a gun-rights challenge to a New York law that strictly limits who can legally carry a weapon when they are on the streets. To obtain a "concealed carry" permit, New Yorkers must convince a county official that they have a "special need for protection" that goes beyond living or working in a high-crime area.

Only about one-tenth of 1% of New Yorkers have concealed-carry permits, compared to more than 6% in the neighboring states of Connecticut and Pennsylvania, the court was told.

Several gun owners who were denied a "concealed carry" permit sued, arguing they had a 2nd Amendment right to carry a gun for self-defense.
 
Rather than hear their appeal, the high court let stand a ruling by a federal appeals court that held states have broad authority to regulate guns in public.

You see, this is why gun-rights will not prevail.  Even with a conservative Court, they cannot win. I't only gonna get worse for them.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Did Alan Gottlieb Sell out the 2nd Amendment?

 III Percent Patriots

Alan Gottlieb is being given (and taking) credit for being instrumental in the Toomey-Manchin deal.
Gottlieb is a felon who managed to have his 2A restored via ATF years ago.
He has always been seen as an enemy of the Left.  They made sure his Wiki page always pointed out his past convictions.
Yet with this deal, suddenly his Wiki page has been scrubbed of his former convictions.
Am I accusing the man of selling out 2A to return to the good graces of the Establishment?

Kansas 7-Year-old Dead Because of Dad's and Brothers' Negligence

Local news reports

The 7-year-old boy who was shot Friday, died at 6:44 p.m. Saturday at Wesley Medical Center in Wichita, Saline County Sheriff Glen Kochanowski said Sunday morning.

In an email from the Sheriff's office, the boy was identified as Gavin Brummett from northeastern Saline County.

The sheriff's office reported that Gavin had been with his brothers and his father, Rodney Lee Brummett Jr.,shooting a Master Piece Arms semi-automatic 9 millimeter handgun. Kochanowski confirmed Sunday that Gavin was shooting the gun. 

The case is still being investigated and the sheriff's office is awaiting results of an autopsy that will be performed Monday.

The gun-nut family of father and (living) sons should be doing their mourning in the local jail. Then, upon release they should surrender all their guns.

Oh, the horror of being unprotected, of being deprived of the best tools for self defense, cry the gun-rights fanatics. But, how about the horror of allowing a 7-year-old to shoot a gun he couldn't handle?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting at Lincoln Nebraska Shooting Range - No Charges

Local news reports with video

Not only will there be no charges, this fine example of responsible gun handling will go on to receive his Nebraska concealed carry permit. The world will then be a safer place.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Oregon 9-Year-old Dead Because of Gross Negligence and Stupidity - No Charges

Portland Tribune reports

An accidental shooting took the life of a 9-year-old Oregon City girl on Sunday afternoon. 

Oregon City police said Shayla May Shonneker was in the backyard of her house at 2012 12th St. at about 5 p.m. on April 14 when a handgun her mother’s boyfriend, 32-year-old Joseph Wolters, was handling inside the house accidentally fired through the wall, striking Shayla in the head.

According to police, Wolters had recently been hired as an armed security guard for an armored transport company. The handgun apparently fired as Wolters was practicing holstering and unholstering his gun inside the home, in preparation for qualifying with the handgun for his new job. 

Police said Wolters, a member of the military reserve, is a decorated Iraq war veteran.

And he should be in jail too. He could add that to his CV.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental Shooting in Fitchburg MA - Gun Owners Arrested

New York's Assault Weapon Registration Begins

 Associated Press/Philip Kamrass, File - FILE - In this Saturday, Jan. 26, 2013 file photo, gun enthusiasts gather during the annual New York State Arms Collectors Association Albany Gun Show at the Empire State Plaza Convention Center, in Albany, N.Y. Key measures of New York's tough new gun law are set to kick in, with owners of guns now reclassified as assault weapons required to register the firearms and new limits on the number of bullets allowed in magazines. As the new provision takes effect Monday, April 15, 2013, New York's affiliate of the National Rifle Association said it plans to head to court to seek an immediate halt to the magazine limit. (AP Photo/Philip Kamrass, File) 

Yahoo News

Key measures of New York's tough new gun law kicked in Monday, with owners of firearms now reclassified as assault weapons required to start registering the firearms and new limits on the number of bullets allowed in magazines.

As the new provisions took effect, New York's affiliate of the National Rifle Association planned to file a court request for a federal injunction to immediate halt to the magazine limit.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo calls those and other provisions in the state's new gun law common sense while dismissing criticisms he says come from "extreme fringe conservatives" who claim the government has no right to regulate guns.

"Yes, they are against it, but they are the extremists and the extremists shouldn't win, especially on this issue when it is so important to the majority," Cuomo said in a radio interview last week. "In politics, we have to be willing to take on the extremists, otherwise you will see paralysis."

New York's new gun restrictions, the first in the nation passed following December's massacre at a Connecticut elementary school, limit state gun owners to no more than seven bullets in magazines, except at competitions or firing ranges.

This will be a good test. According to our paranoid and hysterical friends, registration is ALWAYS followed by confiscation. This is a win/win for the gun control side. Either these guys will have to admit they were wrong, or they'll have to lose the guns.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Ron King Responds to the Charges of Using Trayvon Martin Targets

Further to our post about the decision to fire him.

The Gun Lobby's Dumbest Argument

 Real Clear Politics

As the Senate gets set to show that you can fight the National Rifle Association, let’s consider what has to be the worst reason ever put forward by anyone to oppose anything in the entire history of the human race: that the actions under consideration “won’t prevent” future tragedies or “wouldn’t have prevented” such-and-such sociopath from unloading hundreds of rounds into the bodies of children. Gun nuts invoke this argument as if it’s some kind of clincher, a discussion-ender. It’s anything but. It shows total ignorance about the reasons that we make laws in the first place.

Florida Cop Fired for Trayvon Martin Targets

In February 2012, Trayvon Martin, 17, was shot and killed in Sanford, Florida

CNN

A Florida police sergeant was fired for possessing several so-called Trayvon Martin shooting targets, authorities said Saturday.

Sgt. Ron King of Port Canaveral Police Department was fired Friday after an internal review investigated how he offered the hoodie paper shooting targets to two fellow officers, said John Walsh, interim CEO of the Canaveral Port Authority.

King, who bought the targets on the Internet, and other officers at the training site were on duty at the time, the affiliate said. Port officials said King had been employed at the police department since January 2011, the affiliate said.

I would think this is a bit of an over-reaction.  How many times have we seen a cop actually misuse his weapon and not lose the job?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

A Question of Balance - The Supreme Court on Concealed Carry Restrictions

Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote the decision in a key 2008 gun rights case.(Photo: Paul Morigi, Getty Images)

USA Today

Guns are on the docket in Congress and dozens of state legislatures. Can the Supreme Court be far behind?

The court may decide as early as Monday to consider whether the Second Amendment's right to keep a gun for self-defense extends outside the home.

The case under consideration is a challenge to New York's law that requires "proper cause" to carry a weapon in public. Ten states, including California, New Jersey, Massachusetts and Maryland, have similar restrictions. Most have been challenged in court.

Whether it grants the petition from New York or waits for another case, the court is virtually certain to weigh in soon. That's because lower federal courts have issued split decisions on state laws designed to restrict the prevalence of handguns on the streets.

I was hoping they wouldn't vote on this until the balance on the Supreme Court changed. It goes to show you the capricious and political aspect of these votes.  It's simply a Question of Balance.

Senate Decision Expected this Week

 
April 10, 2013: Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin, of West Virginia, left, and Republican Sen. Patrick Toomey, of Pennsylvania, announce a deal on gun-control legislation, on Capitol Hill, in Washington. (AP) 

Yahoo News

The bipartisan deal on expanded background checks for gun buyers appeared Sunday to garner more Republican support, but Capitol Hill leaders could not say whether the overall gun-control bill will have enough votes as the full debate begins this week.

The legislation will need 60 votes to pass in the chamber, which means it will need Republican support as well as support from Senate Democrats facing re-election in districts with a strong tradition of gun rights.

"It's an open question as to whether or not we have the votes,” Pennsylvania Republican Sen. Pat Toomey told CNN’s “State of the Union.” “I think it's going to be close."

Toomey joined West Virginia Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin in crafting the background proposal, which would cover Internet and gun show purchases but would still exempt sales between family members.

Other additions to the legislation also are expected to be debated this week, including a measure that would allow concealed hand gun permits issued by one state to be accepted nationwide as a de facto background check.

The flim-flam articst of Capital Hill think they're gonna stick us with concealed carry reciprocity. I can't wait to see where that goes.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Pro-Gun Lie Number 129: Swimming Pools are More Dangerous for Kids than Guns

CDC

Every day, about ten people die from unintentional drowning. Of these, two are children aged 14 or younger. Drowning ranks fifth among the leading causes of unintentional injury death in the United States.¹


Huffington Post 

In 2011, guns were used to murder 8,583 people living in the U.S., according to the most recent FBI data available. Among those murdered by guns, there were 565 young people under the age of 18, and 119 children ages 12 or younger -- the latter number nearly equivalent to six Newtown mass shootings. And these figures include only homicides. 

Free Public (quoting CDC)

CDC data show number of accidental firearm deaths for children under age 15 has gone back up to 62, a number that it was at in 2008. The 48 accidental deaths in 2009 was unusually low. A similar pattern also held for total accidental gun deaths for all ages: 2008, 592; 2009, 554; and 2010, 606. 

National Library of Medicine

An estimated 115,131 (95% confidence interval, 76,769-153,493) children and adolescents were treated for a nonfatal gunshot wound during the study period. The estimated annual rates of injury (per 100,000) were 2.0 (children 0-4 years old), 2.2 (children 5-9 years old), 15.4 (children 10-14 years old), and 106.5 (adolescents 15-19 years old). The ratios of nonfatal to fatal firearm-related injuries were 4.0 (children 0-4 years old), 4.4 (children 5-9 years old), 5.0 (children 10-14 years old), and 4.4 (adolescents 15-19 years old). An additional estimated 103,814 children (95% confidence interval, 69,223-138,405) were shot with a nonpowder firearm (BB or pellet gun). Boys 5 to 9 and 10 to 14 years old had the highest rates of injury related to nonpowder firearms, an estimated 36.2 and 99.8 per 100,000, respectively. Fifty-six percent of those 15 to 19 years old were assault victims. An estimated 48% of children and adolescents with powder firearm-related gunshot wounds and an estimated 4% with nonpowder firearm injuries were admitted to the hospital.

The lie is a tricky one because near-drowning injuries are rare and generally don't leave permanent damage.  Non-fatal gun injuries do. So, when the gun-rights fanatic says swimming pools kill more kids than guns, it's a carefully worded trick and not a very fair comparison.  Just ask that kid who's in a wheelchair for the rest of his life due to a spinal gun-shot injury.

Let's take the CDC number. They say for kids under 14, two drown every day.  That's about 700.

The kids in approximately the same age bracket who die from murder (119 in 2011 for 12 and under, so let's say about 150) and so-called accidents (48 in 2009) are about 200.   The National Library of Medicine, quoted above, says the ratio of fatal to non-fatal gun shot incidents is 1:4, which sounds about right.

That means dead kids (200) plus injured kids (200 * 4 = 800) total 1,000

That's swimming pools 700, guns 1,000.

So, the next time you hear one of the gun apologists claiming that swimming pools are more dangerous than guns, you can remind him that unless he's very careful how he words that ridiculous proposition, it's just not true.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Joe Biden's Most Absurd Comments

The Blaze has a list of Biden's five most absurd comments on the gun issue.  Here's my favorite.

“Just fire the shotgun through the door”

–

After giving his advice to go out and “buy a shotgun” rather than an AR-15, Biden issued, perhaps, his most controversial gun comment to date.

During an interview with Field and Stream, an outdoors magazine, the vice-president gave additional advice to those looking to protect themselves against would-be intruders: “Just fire the shotgun through the door.”

And, again, he said that most can ”handle a shotgun a hell of a lot better than they can a semi-automatic weapon.” Here’s a full transcript of his comments:

Well, the way in which we measure it is—I think most scholars would say—is that as long as you have a weapon sufficient to be able to provide your self-defense. I did one of these town-hall meetings on the Internet and one guy said, “Well, what happens when the end days come? What happens when there’s the earthquake? I live in California, and I have to protect myself.”

I said, “Well, you know, my shotgun will do better for you than your AR-15, because you want to keep someone away from your house, just fire the shotgun through the door.” Most people can handle a shotgun a hell of a lot better than they can a semi-automatic weapon in terms of both their aim and in terms of their ability to deter people coming. We can argue whether that’s true or not, but it is no argument that, for example, a shotgun could do the same job of protecting you. Now, granted, you can come back and say, “Well, a machine gun could do a better job of protecting me.” No one’s arguing we should make machine guns legal.

But as we’ve noted, just shooting through a door isn’t necessarily the best foot forward in terms of ensuring self-protection.

Toms River Tragedy Highlights Need for Gun Safety

Local news reports

In the days since a 6-year-old boy was killed accidentally in Toms River by a 4-year-old playmate, a handful of people have come to Cyrus Seervai’s Jackson store, hoping to buy combination gun safes.
“Most of the time, you will find gun owners are pretty responsible,” said Seervai, owner of Pineland Sporting Goods. “But, every now and then, one or two might be a bad apple.”

On Monday evening, a 4-year-old boy found a loaded rifle in his home and brought it outside, where he was playing with Brandon Holt of Toms River. A single bullet struck Brandon in the head. He was pronounced dead Tuesday.

The Atlantic County Prosecutor’s Office, which is handling the case because the shooter’s family has ties to Ocean County law enforcement, had not filed charges in the case as of Thursday.
Seervai sells combination safes for $300 to $3,000 and gun locks for as little as a few dollars, he said.

Sherman sells combination safes for $70 to $150, handgun lock boxes for $35 to $75 and biometric fingerprint impression safes — which can be opened only with the fingerprint of the owner — for $325 to $400, he said.

I suppose in Arkansas gun safes are ten times more expensive than in Jersey.  Isn't that what you told us, Greg?

And did you catch the reason for the foot-dragging in the investigation?  That's how they do it.

What's your opinion? Please leave a commenty.

Maher: "The 2nd Amendment is Bullshit"

He's absolutely right on two things. The 2A is bullshit, meaning it's anachronistic and should be considered meaningless in modern society. And, the Left is afraid to say it. The gun-rights fanatics even mock people for saying "I'm a great supporter of the 2nd Amendment, but..."

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Gun Rights vs. Gun Control, The Great Divide

 
United States Congresswoman Jackie Speier, flanked by elected officials and police chiefs on the Peninsula, hold a press conference during a gun buyback at the South San Francisco Courthouse in South San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, April 13, 2013. Congresswoman Jackie Speier and police departments of South San Francisco, Daly City, San Bruno, Pacifica, Burlingame, Colma, Millbrae, Brisbane and Broadmoor participated in the gun buyback. Individuals that surrendered weapons received up to $100 cash for a hand gun, shotgun or rifle, and up to $200 cash for an assault weapon.(John Green/Staff)

Mercury News

Reflecting the deep divide over America's relationship with firearms, the Cow Palace was even more packed than usual Saturday for the start of this weekend's Crossroads of the West Gun Show, while just seven miles away gun owners lined up to turn their weapons into cash.

William Bennett, 30, of Fremont, brought his 3-year-old daughter, Nouvelle, into the Cow Palace, where gun show organizers expect to see 10,000 to 12,000 paying customers this weekend -- three times the usual turnout. The organizers say the push for new gun restrictions in Congress and the California Legislature has sparked a gun and ammo rush.

As Nouvelle whacked at her dad with a plastic sword, Bennett considered the question of what it says about the Bay Area that a couple of hundred people lined up Saturday to turn in their pistols, hunting rifles, assault weapons and shotguns for cash at a government-sponsored gun buyback program while thousands more jammed into the gun show.

"The country's split down the middle over everything -- gays, abortion, culture," Bennett said. "With guns, it's always going to be an issue."

The gun buyback at the South San Francisco courthouse was the latest in a series held around the Bay Area since the December massacre of 20 children and six adults at an elementary school in Newtown, Conn. It was organized by Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, who was shot five times in Jonestown, Guyana, in 1978 and is now a vice chairwoman of the Congressional Gun Violence Prevention Task Force.


As she stood behind dozens of guns that had been turned in during just the first hour, Speier cited a long list of recent shootings in the Bay Area and beyond. They "are a tragedy that we can do something about," she said.

You see what the difference is, right? The thousands attending the gun show are already gun owners, for the most part. Those turning in guns at the "buyback" are changing sides, in many cases. They are leaving the ranks of "gun owners" and joining the other team.

This is another indication that  in spite of all the bluff and rhetoric to the contraty, the gun-rights movement is doomed.

Oh, and before any of you gun apoligists say there were thousands at the gun show and only hundreds at the "buyback,"   this one was "the latest in a series held around the Bay Area since the December."

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Newtown mom pleads for gun control at White House

 Yahoo News

The mother of a 6-year-old boy killed in the Connecticut school shooting used the opportunity to fill in for President Barack Obama during the weekly radio and Internet address to make a personal plea from the White House for action to combat gun violence.

"Thousands of other families across the United States are also drowning in our grief," said Francine Wheeler, choking back tears in the address broadcast Saturday. "Please help us do something before our tragedy becomes your tragedy."

Ben Wheeler was among the 20 first-graders and six adults killed in the Dec. 14 attack at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown.

Francine Wheeler was the first person to deliver the address other than Obama or Vice President Joe Biden since the two took office in 2009.