Oklahoma 97-year-old Arrested for Killing Granddaughter as She Slept

Video link

Elderly Louisiana Man Drops Gun - It Fires and Hits Him - No Charges

Local news reports

Monroe police responded to a reported accidental shooting that at approximately 9:30 a.m. Saturday in the 800 block of East Rimes Street. 

According to a news release from the Monroe Police Department, an investigation revealed an elderly male subject was in his own carport when a handgun fell from his jacket pocket. The firearm hit the ground and discharged. The bullet struck the homeowner in his right thigh and groin area. 

The homeowner was alert and sitting in a chair when first responders arrived. He was taken to an area hospital, where he was treated for moderate to serious injuries. 

The homeowner was with his family at the residence, and no one else was injured. 

The incident is being investigated at an accidental shooting and no charges are pending.

96-Year-old Nebraska Woman Shoots Through the Door at Cops - No Charges Just Lots of Laughs

Local news reports

It's just so funny. Shooting through the door, yuck yuck. 

Man Shoots Gun at Dog - Goes From Being a Lawful Gun Owner to a Criminal

The Los Angeles Times reports wrongly that the shooter was guilty of child abuse. That charge was dismissed.

Carleton Raye States, 31, also was convicted of discharging a firearm with gross negligence and having a concealed weapon, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. Jurors deliberated for just more than a day.

On May 25, the girl was playing outside her home with her female terrier named Smalls when States began to provoke the dog, prosecutors said. The dog started barking, and States pulled out a gun. The girl ran inside her home as States fired a shot at the dog.

This is a perfect example of what I call the hidden criminals who own guns.The question of how many there are among the law-abiding gun owners is in dispute, but they're there.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

Florida 96-Year-Old Commits Murder

The St. Augustine Record reports

Stevenson is accused of killing Rice, 53, while he lay in bed. Police discovered Rice’s body about 9 p.m. after his wife reported that he was blocking her entrance to their bedroom and was cold to the touch.

Police said Rice was shot in the chest with a .357-caliber handgun, whose owner remains unknown.

A wheelchair-bound Stevenson appeared before a judge via video Monday morning and said little. She is being held in the St. Johns County jail without bail.

Yesterday, on another site, I was accused of equating the elderly and the severely handicapped with criminals. This nonsensical accusation came from a post I wrote once in which I made, what I thought was a common-sense suggestion, that some elderly people and some handicapped people cannot responsibly handle firearms and should be disarmed. The key word in category 5 is "incapacitated."

1. anyone who has ever violated a gun-law but has never been convicted of a felony.
2. anyone who abuses his wife or children in any way but has never been convicted of it.
3. anyone who is addicted to drugs and/or alcohol but has not yet been disqualified. 
4. anyone who has ever dropped a gun or caused a negligent discharge.
5. anyone who has become elderly or otherwise physically incapacitated.

Do you think Ms. Stevenson might have benefited from disarmament? How about her nephew and his family?

Why do gun-rights folks resist these simple and obvious suggestions so? Do you think they're afraid they themselves may be swept up in a frenzy of disarming people? Is it the slippery slope spectre that has them spooked?

What's your opinion? Isn't it possible to raise the bar in order to improve the quality of those who own and use guns without trampling people's rights?  I think so.

Please leave a comment.