Saturday, June 1, 2013

Florida's Stand Your Ground Law is a License to Commit Murder

Ralph Wald
Ralph Wald

RT.com

It took a Florida jury just two hours to acquit a retired US Army lieutenant colonel who invoked a controversial self-defense law to explain his decision to kill his wife’s lover.

Jurors decided, after two days of testimony, that Ralph Wald, 70, was justified in killing Walter Conley when Wald arrived home one night to find Conley, 32, having sex with Wald’s wife, Johnna Lynn Flores. Wald testified he shot Conley in the head and chest because he thought the younger man was an intruder who was raping the 41-year-old Flores. 

Wald’s attorneys successfully argued that their client’s case fell under the jurisdiction of the Stand-Your-Ground law, a self-defense plea used by defendants who witness a situation where someone appears to be in harm’s way and the only option is to intervene with deadly force. Nearly half of the fifty United States have some form of the law.  

Unbelievable. It's not surprising that a travesty of justice as blatant as this took place in Florida. 

What do you think?  Please leave a omment.

Texas 2-Year-old Dead - Another Victim of the Gun Culture

Huffington Post reports

A Texas toddler died after shooting himself with a 9 mm handgun he found in his home yesterday, prompting Child Protective Services to take custody of two other children living there.

Trenton Mathis, a 2-year-old Cherokee County boy in east Texas, was pronounced dead at a Tyler hospital after he shot himself in the face.

Mathis' great grandmother, Carolyn, told the station that Trenton went looking for gum through a bedroom door that was not closed all the way. He got onto her bed, and found the handgun on a nightstand.

The home belongs to the Carolyn Mathis and her husband, who were present for the accidental shooting. The other two children were removed from the home by authorities after the incident, the Tyler Morning Telegraph reports. It wasn't immediately clear whether charges would be filed.

Whaaat???!!! It's not clear?

Well it is Texas, after all.

What's your opinion?  

'NRA Psychosis' Should Be Classified as a Legitimate Mental Disorder

NRA psychosis, an epidemic sweeping the nation that involves misinterpreting the Second
 The Huffington Post

Amendment and compulsively buying guns with the intent to form a militia and overthrow a tyrannical government via armed rebellion. 

Unlike regular psychosis, which the National Library of Medicine defines as "a loss of contact with reality that usually includes: false beliefs (delusions)... and seeing or hearing things that aren't there (hallucinations)," NRA psychosis isn't as amusing as sitting next to a guy on the subway having a conversation with Harvey the Rabbit. This is largely on account of NRA psychosis always involving guns (as well as fear, ignorance, and anger).

And while recognized mental disorders can unfortunately involve a stigma leading to suffering in silence, no one with NRA psychosis seems to be in the proverbial closet. Those afflicted gleefully display their mental illness, likely because they're oblivious, but perhaps because the Second Amendment is so perfect that it also offers them psychiatric advice. Within the NRA bubble, NRA psychosis is actually a celebrated and trendy mental disorder.

Highest-paid Public Officials by State

Deadspin provides the explanation - I sure would have gotten this one wrong. How about you?

Infographic: Is Your State's Highest-Paid Employee A Coach? (Probably)

Sen. Mark Pryor (D-AR) Responds to Bloomberg's Attack Ads


The good senator is doing what a lot of defensive gun-nuts have been doing during this debate. He's pretending that the gun control folks have said expanded background checks would have prevented "Newtown, Aurora, Tucson or even Jonesboro."

What we actually do say is that expanded background checks would make it harder for unfit people to get guns. It's that simple and that's why the vast majority of people agree with it.

These superficial tricks will fool no one except the already fooled (fools).

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Friday, May 31, 2013

Tennessee (not NC) 17-Year-old - Another Victim of the Gun Culture

Pennsylvania 82-Year-old Woman Shoots herself in the Chest - The Gun Just Went Off

Local news reports

An elderly woman was taken to UPMC Hamot tonight after police said she accidentally shot herself in the chest with a handgun at her Erie residence.

Police identified the injured woman as Delores Smith. Police said she is in her early 80s and that she lives alone. A Hamot nursing supervisor had no information on Smith's condition tonight.

Smith told police she was looking at the gun, which belonged to her, when it accidentally fired, striking her in the chest, police said.

Smith told police the incident happened at about 3 p.m. Police said Smith's daughter found her wounded mother when she came to check on her.

Her relatives and family members and all the local gun nuts thought she was better off with a gun.  How else would she protect herself from masked home-invading rapists?

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.


California Senate Approves Gun-control Bills

USA Today

Spurred by mass shootings in Connecticut, Colorado and Arizona, the California Senate on Wednesday approved seven bills to tighten regulations on guns and ammunition.

The measures would:

• Outlaw detachable magazines in rifles and so-called button bottoms;
Prohibit magazines that hold more than 10 rounds of ammunition;
• Require background checks for all buyers and sellers of ammunition;
Reclassify certain shotguns as assault weapons;
• Require all gun buyers to take a firearm-safety certificate class;
Expand crimes that would result in a 10-year ban on owning or buying firearms. Additions include drug- and alcohol-related offenses, hazing, violations of protective orders and court-ordered mental health treatment.

The legislation cleared the Democratic-controlled chamber on party-line votes. All Republicans voted against the measures; four Democrats voted against the ammunition background checks.
The bills move to the Assembly, which is also controlled by Democrats.

Senator Mike Crapo (R-ID) Explains Why We Don't Need Gun Control

 Local Fox News reports with video

Senator Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, says failed attempts by Congress to limit 2nd Amendment rights were wrong not only in policy, but also in focus.

"The appropriate reaction is to focus on the causes of violence in our society, and to take the necessary actions to identify and treat mental illness,” he says.

So, the Senator is joining a bi-partisan effort to continue funding a program that trains officers to recognize mental illness in prisoners.

He says the focus on mental health tackles the real problem behind crime in our country, and it will mean resources in our prison systems are better utilized.

"There are savings in the approach that we are talking about, because of the inefficient and frankly ineffective ways that we are dealing with the issue today," says Sen. Crapo.

But the total cost of the bill is $40 million nationwide, a $10 million decrease from current funding.
The majority of responsibility of dealing with mental health issues lands on the state, and state lawmakers say they too plan to focus more on mental health in the coming year - by trying to shift money to mental health management - money they say is already in the health and welfare budget.

"Somewhere in that $3 billion, I am confident that we can parse out some money that can go into the communities,” says Meridian Senator Marv Hagedorn, “to get some community help to recognize behavioral issues before they become a problem."

We've heard variations of this one before, starting of course with La Pierre's official NRA announcements.

The obvious fact is this is nothing more than obfuscation and diversion.  They keep talking as if it's a given that we can EITHER work on gun control OR work on mental illness. That's the lie.  There's no reason we can't work on both, and the fact that mental health plays a major role in violent crime is certainly no reason to make it easy for unfit people to get guns.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Oprah Speaks about the Gun Control Debate

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Snoop Lion's Anti-Gun Video and Colion Noir's Critique


I've always thought it was a weak argument that gun control folks should be concerned with all violence not just gun violence.  First of all, it's just stupid.  Everyone is concerned with all violence, even when we talk about a specific type.  Secondly, since most murders are committed with firearms, it seems like gun violence is a pretty good place to start.

The video was generously sprinkled with personal attacks.  This is what the gun-rights folks do to people they disagree with. Snoop is too old to be convincing as a gangsta rapper, he's "transforming" into Snoop Lion, he's doing a bad imitation of Bob Marley, etc., etc. 

Another common complaint which Colion uses is the "focusing on the gun" thing. This one is a bit baffling because it could just as easily be seen as "focusing on the gun user."  In spite of what the gun-rights fanatics say when trying to mock gun-control people, we all know that inanimate objects don't act on their own.  We know it's a "people problem," we know it's a "people who misuse guns problem." And we know those people are often lawful gun owners.

The key point Mr. Colion tried to make also failed. He said while the video is vilifying guns, "real people are using firearms to protect their lives with." The reason that fails is that the misuse of guns outpaces the defensive use by about 10 or 20 to 1.

Besides all of that, I though the new Snoop video was pretty cool.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Good Riddance to Bad Rubish - Michele Bachmann

Rachel Explains How the Republicans have Changed

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

Study Shows Republicans are “the less credible party”

Study: Republicans are  
 (Credit: Jeff Malet, maletphoto.com)

Salon
 
Many politicians stretch the truth or obfuscate to some degree or another —  but does one party do it more than the other? According to a new study from the Center for Media and Public Affairs at George Mason University the answer is an unequivocal yes. Parsing 100 statements evaluated by the fact-checking website PolitiFact between Obama’s second inauguration and this month, the researchers found that claims from Republican officials were labeled as “false” or “pants on fire” by a 3-to-1 margin, compared to claims from Democratic officials. Conversely, half as many Republican claims were labeled “entirely true.”

“While Republicans see a credibility gap in the Obama administration, PolitiFact rates Republicans as the less credible party,” said CMPA president  Robert Lichter in a press release. An earlier study from the CMPA found the website rated the Romney campaign worse than the Obama campaign during the 2012 election. Not surprisingly, Michele Bachmann is one of the most poorly rated politicians on PolitiFact.

Gun Nut Sends Ricin to Mayor Bloomberg


The first letter was opened at a New York City mail center in Lower Manhattan on Friday, the police said. Although staff members at the mail center do not appear to have become ill, several police officers who came into contact with the letter’s contents “indicated some mild symptoms the next day, including diarrhea,” and they are being treated in hospitals, the New York Police Department’s spokesman, Paul J. Browne, said on Wednesday afternoon. “They’re being checked out as a precaution.” 

The second letter, which was opened on Sunday in Washington, was addressed to Mark Glaze, the director of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group Mr. Bloomberg helps run and finances, officials said. Mr. Glaze opened the letter, an official said. No injuries were reported, Mr. Browne said.
Both letters were identical in content, bore references to the debate over gun regulation and contained written threats to Mayor Bloomberg, Mr. Browne said. “It’s threatening, and it’s very clearly about one issue,” one official said of the letters. 

Both letters had a Louisiana postmark, said one official who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is continuing. 

Ricin can be made from castor beans, and a quantity as small as a grain of salt can be lethal if ingested. 

In April, a former taekwondo instructor from Tupelo, Miss., was arrested on charges of sending ricin-laced letters to the president, a United States senator and a local judge. The letters sent to Washington were intercepted in mail sorting facilities serving the White House and the Capitol. 

Louisiana and Mississippi, always Louisiana and Mississippi.

The only surprising thing is that this doesn't happen more often. I mean, Bloomberg is a threat, right?.  The policies he proposes are nothing short of a lethal threat which true gun-rights supporters have a moral obligation to resist by any means.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Lawful Lesbian Gun Owner Goes Crazy

Local news reports

A 41-year-old pediatrician is being held on $2 million bail after she allegedly fired several shots at her former partner, striking her three times and narrowly missing their 11-year-old son.

Lauren Patricia Daly, a pediatrician at A.I. du Pont Hospital for Children in Wilmington, Del., is charged with attempted homicide and related offenses in connection with the Memorial Day shooting that occurred about 6:49 p.m. in the driveway of her home in the 200 block of North Middletown Road, according to Pennsylvania State Police.

Daly reportedly was upset at not being able to speak with her son and allegedly responded by firing several rounds through the windshield of the victim’s black Volvo, striking the 49-year-old woman in the face and torso. The boy was not physically harmed.

According to the affidavit of probable cause written by Trooper John O’Donnell, Daly and the victim had been in a relationship that ended several years ago.


Daly was held overnight then arraigned Tuesday morning by Magisterial District Judge Walter Strohl on charges including attempted homicide, aggravated assault, recklessly endangering another person, two counts, endangering the welfare of a child and possessing instruments of crime. Daly did not post the $2 million bail and was remanded to Delaware County prison.

They keep telling us more and more women are buying guns.  Maybe they're right.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

The Worst State in the Country

Business Insider

1. Mississippi. 


Lowest average life expectancy, poorest, fattest, second highest teen pregnancy rate and highest teen birth rate, one of the lowest high school graduation rates and still a lot of opposition to interracial marriage being legal.

The only people who staunchly opposed exiling the Magnolia State were residents of Alabama, who realized that the only reason they were not considered the worst state was because of the presence of Mississippi. Louisianans, however, were quite taken with the idea.

And to think, I always thought it was between Florida and Arizona.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Tennessee Gun Report

Southern Beale provides an enlightening recap of the week in Tennessee gun shenanigans, including this one that I somehow missed.

Stop Honoring the Institution of War

Lawrence O'Donnell on Product Liability and Gun Manufacturers

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Gun Makers Saw No Role in Curbing Improper Sales


Stephen Crowley/The New York Times
FEDERAL PROTECTION FOR THE GUN INDUSTRY Congressional Republicans surrounded President George W. Bush as he signed a law shielding firearms manufacturers from liability in 2005. Testimony from lawsuits filed before the bill passed provides a look at the gun makers’ thinking. 


The Glock executive testified that he would keep doing business with a gun dealer who had been indicted on a charge of violating firearms laws because “This is still America” and “You’re still innocent until proven guilty.”  

The president of Sturm, Ruger was not interested in knowing how often the police traced guns back to the company’s distributors, saying it “wouldn’t show us anything.” 

And a top executive for Taurus International said his company made no attempt to learn if dealers who sell its products were involved in gun trafficking on the black market. “I don’t even know what a gun trafficker is,” he said. 

The world’s firearms manufacturers have been largely silent in the debate over gun violence. But their voices emerge from thousands of pages of depositions in a series of liability lawsuits a decade ago, before Congress passed a law shielding them from such suits in 2005, and the only time many of them were forced to answer such questions. 

Although I can understand their position, it does seem a bit unfair that they can profit from the flow of guns into the criminal world, and even lobby for laws which make that possible, and still claim that they're not responsible in any way.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

California Dad Kills One Daughter, Wounds Another, Commits Suicide

Fox News

A man shot and killed his adult daughter in a Central California home with her three young children inside, also shooting and wounding another daughter before apparently turning the gun on himself, authorities said.

Jennifer Kimble, 37, was found dead from multiple gunshot wounds by deputies responding to a call from her 8-year-old daughter, the Tulare County Sheriff's Department said in a statement. Kimble's two sons, ages 13 and 11, were also in the house, but all three kids were unharmed.

Deputies also found Kimble's father Anthony Alvarez, 63, dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound, sheriff's officials said.

Another daughter, Valerie Alvarez, 33, had at least one gunshot wound and was flown to a Fresno hospital in critical condition. She was stabilized and having surgery, sheriff's spokeswoman Sgt. Chris Douglass said.

Sounds like another wonderful example of a family that was much better off with a gun.  The gun owner protected his daughters and their families from home invasions and mad rapists - right up until the day he went nuts.

What's your opinion?  Would he have done exactly as much damage with a knife if no gun had been available?

Please leave a comment.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Is this Tyranny or Just Hypocrisy?

Florida Man Dies in Shooting Range Accident

Local news reports

A Clermont man is dead after suffering a gunshot wound at a Polk County gun range Sunday morning.


Larry Simpson, 71, was at the Tenoroc Mine Shooting Range in Lakeland with a friend shooting clays, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.


Investigators said around 9:40 a.m., Simpson’s friend heard a gunshot come from behind him from where Simpson was helping to operate the remote control for clay machine.


The man told deputies he turned around to see Simpson had been shot and his shotgun was on the ground beside him.


The friend called for help and started resuscitation efforts, deputies said, but Simpson died at the scene.

More on the Oklahoma 15-Year-old - She Died


The other day when we posted this story, she was in critical condition. She later died in the hospital. The local pastor sums up the general attitude perfectly, no outrage about the gun availability.

Jon Stewart on the Corporate Tax Code

More on the Extended Gun Rights for Texas Legislators

 Dallas News further to our story the other day when it looked like this would pass.

In a hail of angry words, lawmakers fought over gun rights and special privileges before all but defeating a bill that would give legislators and congressmen the right to carry concealed weapons anywhere in Texas.

The provision was tacked onto a bill that initially had widespread legislative support. But House members balked when the bill’s authors quietly negotiated a deal to give certain elected officials a broad right not extended to other concealed handgun license holders.

“When I was sent here, I was sent to take care of my constituents, not to advance my own self-interests,” said Rep. Kenneth Sheets, R-Dallas.

Bill sponsor Rep. Ryan Guillen, D-Rio Grande City, came under withering criticism for seemingly promising he would strip off the language that gave legislators the special right to carry guns anywhere.

Instead, Guillen acknowledged that he not only didn’t take the provision out, he added members of Congress, as well. He also denied ever pledging to erase such a privilege, prompting a fellow Democrat, El Paso Rep. Joe Pickett, to question Guillen’s integrity.

Republicans and Democrats alike denounced the bill, saying it was wrong to allow themselves perks that others didn’t have. The procedural vote to take up the bill was defeated, 103-38.

Monday, May 27, 2013

Texas Shooting Spree - 2 Dead - 5 Wounded

Chicago Tribune reports

The first incident took place about 4:30 a.m. when the suspect opened fire on vehicle near Eden, wounding a woman, who was later hospitalized in San Angelo, the statement said.

The suspect wounded two more people a short time later as they sat in their vehicle outside a convenience store in Brady, and then returned to Eden, where he fired on another vehicle and wounded another person. Those three were treated and released.

About 6 a.m., Torres was found shot to death in her car in Eola.

Some 15 minutes later, Concho County Sheriff Richard Doane encountered the suspect on a highway north of Eden. The sheriff was wounded and taken to a San Angelo hospital with non-life threatening injuries, the statement said.

The gunman was killed in a shootout with a Highway Patrol trooper and game warden who arrived to assist the sheriff, the statement said.

Cincinnati Ohio Teen Dead - No One is Responsible

Oklahoma 15-Year-old Critical

Local news reports 

A 15-year-old girl was taken by helicopter to Tulsa after she was accidentally shot in her home Sunday afternoon in the Tucker community in northwest Le Flore County.

Le Flore County Sheriff Rob Seale said the girl and her 12-year-old sister were handling a .380-caliber semi-automatic handgun when one of the girls placed the gun on a counter. When the 15 year old reached down to get her cell phone, Seale said the gun discharged.

Seale said the girl’s mother was outside when the accident happened. He said an investigation is ongoing but it appears to be an accidental shooting.

“It looks pretty clear-cut accidental,” Seale said.

Did ya get that part, the "pretty clear-cut accidental" part?  In backwards gun-loving states like Oklahoma, that's code for "we're not gonna hold the irresponsible gun owner accountable."

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.


Negligent Ohio Gun Owner Shoots Himself in the Foot - No Charges

 Local news reports

A man is recovering after accidentally shooting himself in the foot.

According to deputies, Dan Gray was preparing to target shoot with several friends when the .357 revolver went off while he was pointing it at his right foot.

No charges will be filed at this time since it's believed to be a self-inflicted, unintentional discharge. Alcohol was not involved.

Violating two or three of the 4 Rules of Gun Safety should always result in charges and the loss of gun rights. With the same incredible irresponsibility, he could have killed someone.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

The Tucson Survivors



This was one of the cases in which magazine capacity proved to be a factor.

North Carolina Teen Breaks into Insecure Gun Shop 2 Weeks in a Row

17-year-old Jvon Plas Sneed 
17-year-old Jvon Plas Sneed

Local news reports 

Raleigh police have arrested a teenager accused of breaking into the same gun store twice this month and stealing a total of 34 firearms.

17-year-old Jvon Plas Sneed allegedly broke into the Eagle 1 Supply Store on Saturday morning and on May 11. The suspect is accused of taking 15 weapons from the business on Craftsman Drive around 1 a.m. Saturday and 19 firearms two weeks earlier.

Authorities said the suspect was charged with 34 counts of larceny of a firearm, two counts of breaking and entering, and misdemeanor larceny.

He also faces two counts of possession of firearm by felon, resisting public officer, and possession of burglary tools.

When breaking into a gun store is so easy that a high-school kid does it two weeks in a row, I have to question the gun store's security.  Something's wrong.

And what's going to happen when this boy comes of age? I'll tell you.  His extensive juvenile record will not disqualify him from gun ownership or from obtaining a concealed carry permit.  That's why "may issue" is so important.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Texas Politicians Exempt Themselves from Concealed Carry Rules

Dallas News

After taking some heat for quietly exempting themselves from the law on concealed carry, state lawmakers decided to revisit the bill.

And they did end up changing it. Now, they’ve just not exempted themselves, but all members of Congress, too.

“This is a bad move on their part,” said Rep. Kenneth Sheets, R-Dallas.

Earlier this week, lawmakers added language into a bill that was designed to levy penalties for keeping guns out of public buildings where they should be allowed. The new language said the nine statewide elected officials and all 150 members of the Legislature who held concealed handgun licenses could carry their guns anywhere in Texas.

Under state law, CHL holders are prohibited from carrying guns into a handful of public places, including bars, sporting events, schools and federal buildings. Also excluded are privately-owned buildings that have a no-weapons sign posted.

We usually hear the gun-rights crybabies complaining about how the police are the "only ones" who can do things with guns that the regular civilians cannot.  In Texas it seems like the politicians are also guilty of this.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Memorial Day Anti-War Tribute - Gimme Shelter - The Rolling Stones

States Advancing Gun Control - Including Some Surprises

 Think Progress

As Congress fails to make progress on reforming the nation’s gun laws, state legislatures have filled the void. A number of states around the country, and not just deep-blue ones, have taken steps to crack down on gun violence. Even some very conservative states have defeated National Rifle Association (NRA) supported bills that would have significantly weakened state gun laws.

Here’s a run-down of ten instances of state progress that were in some cases mere proposals as recently as this January:
1. Colorado. A purple state with a strong gun culture, Colorado nevertheless enacted universal background checks and a ban on high-capacity magazines.
2. California. Governor Jerry Brown (D) signed legislation at the beginning of May that would provide $24 million for confiscating illegally owned weapons that the police have identified, but hasn’t had the resources to seize. California is also considering thirty-odd measures strengthening the state’s gun violence prevention measures.
3. Georgia. The Georgia legislature killed a bill at the end of the last legislative session that would have allowed concealed carry in churches, courthouse, and college campuses.
4. Maryland. Maryland enacted one of the most sweeping new gun laws in the country, including an assault weapons ban, restrictions on magazine size, and a requirement that all gun purchasers get a license and submit a fingerprint sample.
5. Rhode Island. The Ocean State’s legislature is considering an omnibus gun bill, supported by its governor, Lincoln Chafee (I), that would set up a police registry of guns to better track crime guns as well as make it harder to get a concealed carry permit.
6. Delaware. In early May, Governor Jack Markell (D) signed a universal background check bill into law.
7. Wyoming. The Wyoming legislature, which can be quite hostile to gun regulation, voted down a bill authorizing teachers to carry guns.
8. New York. New York strengthened its already strong gun laws, including stricter assault weapon and high capacity magazine bans.
9. Connecticut. Connecticut also passed a comprehensive package that included universal background checks for bullets as well as guns, as well as an assault weapons ban and magazine restrictions.
10. Nevada. Just this Wednesday, the Nevada Senate passed a universal background checks bill that would require a check on all private sales.

54 Loaded Guns Seized at Airports Last Week

NBC

The TSA announced a dubious record this week, reporting that it had seized 65 firearms at airport security checkpoints.

The seizures buried the previous mark of 50 guns, the TSA reported, and included 54 loaded weapons -- 19 of which at rounds chambered.

Among the seizures was a firearm strapped to the prosthetic leg of a male passenger at Salt Lake City International Airport. Authorities said the passenger received a pat-down after an anomaly was detected during advanced imaging technology screening.

During the pat-down, officers discovered a fully loaded .22 caliber firearm inside the passenger's boot and strapped to his prosthetic leg. The man was arrested by Salt Lake City Airport Police on a state charge of "carrying a concealed weapon in a secure area."

I'm sure the poor, persecuted gun owner just forgot the gun was there in his fake leg. The resultant arrest, at least according to the gun-tights fanatics, would be overly harsh, evil, some of them would say.  The problem is it's impossible for the authorities to distinguish between the guys with bad intent and those who are just stupid and irresponsible. This is not unlike the poor, persecuted Texan who just needed to nap in NJ.

One thing for sure is, guys who illegally bring guns to the airport, or into New Jersey, for whatever reason, should lose their right to own guns.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.


Mississippi 5-Year-old Dead - No Charges

Local news reports

Tishomingo County authorities say a five-year-old died after being accidentally shot by a family member Thursday night.

Sheriff's officials say they were called to the Cotton Gin Trailer Park in Burnsville along with Burnsville Police around 10 p.m.

When officers arrived, they found the child.
What can I say, except the idea that fewer restrictions on the supposedly god-given, natural-human right to own a gun, which ensures that we'll have more of these incidents than we otherwise would, is wrong.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Accidental School Shooting in Miami

WSVN-TV -

La Pierre: The Guys with the Guns Make the Rules

Second Amendment Solutions Threatened over Arizona Medicaid Debate


Huffington Post 

Arizona's bitter debate over a signature part of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul has sparked an investigation into lawmakers' safety after at least nine legislators received a threatening email over Gov. Jan Brewer's push to expand Medicaid access.

The message referred to Second Amendment rights and shooting someone, but did not include any direct threats. It was sent to House Speaker Andy Tobin, who opposes the Medicaid expansion, and eight other Republican House members.

"Please kill SB1492, the Medicaid Expansion Act," the email begins, before quoting the Second Amendment. It then reads, "If you are ever asked why you shot the person, the only answer from your lips should be, I felt my life, or/and my family's life was in immediate danger of death. So I did what I had to do in order to eliminate this threat. "

This reminds me of the advice Robert Farago often gives to the hidden criminals who commit murder and try to pawn it off as defensive.  In the same way, the dispensers of the advice in Arizona are probably not the guys who will actually pull the trigger.

Second Amendment solutions, and the threat thereof, are what gun ownership is all about.  You remember what Wayne said.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Arizona Student Wears Confederate Flag To High School On ‘Redneck Day’


Redneck

Freak Out Nation

A student in Arizona at Queen Creek High School wore a large Confederate flag on Wednesday at a day the school celebrated called “Redneck Day,” which prompted anger among some African-Americans and civil rights leaders because of what the flag represents and the title of the day itself, which is a stark reminder of segregation and slavery.
 
Steve Montoya, a prominent civil rights attorney in Phoenix said, ”Among other things, the Confederacy represents the horrible institution of slavery, and that is a direct attack on African-Americans.”

I can't wait to hear all the defenses and justifications for this abhorrent and nearly-treasonous behavior. It's bad enough to celebrate something called "Redneck Day," with it's unflattering connotations of low-educated, beer-swilling, Southerners - fans of professional wrestling who mainly live in trailer parks, but when you bring the Confederate Flag into it, you're getting into racist, anti-American territory.

What's your opinion?  Is Arizona vying to retake the crown?

Huntsville Texas Youth Killed in Accidental Shooting

The Huntsville Item

A teenager was shot and killed at a Walker County residence over the weekend in what is being investigated as an accidental shooting.

Officers with the Walker County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call of a reported shooting at a home in the 3000 block of Highway 19 in the early morning hours of May 18. Deputies discovered that two young boys were involved and one had been fatally shot.

Sheriff’s office detectives interviewed witnesses, including the surviving boy involved in the incident. At this time the investigation is still ongoing and, according to the sheriff’s office, is being handled “very delicate” pending further investigation and results from the Montgomery County Forensic Center.

The investigation "is being handled "very delicate" pending further investigation."  I realize that kind of grammar an syntax will drive the moral compass of Kurt completely crazy, but what do you think it means?

I think it means they need time to decide if a simple warning to be more careful is sufficient, it was an accident after all, and depending on who their daddys are, charges may very well be unnecessary.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.