Florida Woman Kills ex-Husband

Bradenton.com reports

Detectives searching Pier Point subdivision in Northwest Bradenton on Friday morning found the handgun they say is the weapon used in a bizarre slaying that has stunned one of Bradenton’s most quiet and exclusive neighborhoods.

Also known as 86th Street Court Northwest, Pier Point is where 10 large and luxurious homes rise among old oaks and mango trees.

But it is also the place where a divorced couple, Robin Claire Crane, 49, and her ex-husband, Ernie Crane, 56, apparently shared a rental home and had a domestic dispute that, according to the Manatee County Sheriff’s Office, led to Robin Crane fatally shooting Ernie Crane at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

They called this shooting "bizarre" because the police "had issued the couple domestic violence packets, which they had both signed and which deputies dispense dozens of times a day in the waning moments of domestic disputes."

The only problem was in this case the dispute was not in its "waning moments."

Now, I'm usually on the side of the woman in domestic violence situations. I realize that men are almost always the abusers in these cases and even in the rare situations in which the woman turns the tables on her abuser and kills him, it could often be considered self-defense.

Nevertheless, when a woman decides to pick up a gun and shoot her abusing ex-husband or boyfriend, I'm afraid I have to blame her for pulling the trigger.

Unless her life was in imminent danger that very moment, I don't accept the cumulative effect of domestic abuse as an excuse. She needs to find another way to resolve the problem other than killing him.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Pregnant Florida Woman Shoots Boyfriend

The Orlando Sentinal reports on the action.

Patricia Ann Jaggon, 27, faces a charge of attempted murder. Bobby Cord, 58, described by Daytona police as Jaggon's on-again, off-again boyfriend, suffered non-life-threatening injuries to the arm and chest.

Jaggon is about six months pregnant with Cord's child, police said.

According to Jaggon's arrest report, Cord arrived at the couple's Jean Street apartment to take away his belongings at about 6:30 p.m. Saturday. Inside were Jaggon, two other adults — identified as Kyla Cord and Osnique Smarts — and seven children, ranging in age from 1 to 12 years old.

She told people she was going to kill him. She said she'd injure herself in order to claim self-defense. But the best part is this.

As Cord searched, Jaggon took a .380-caliber handgun from under her pillow and shot him, according to the report.

"Under her pillow," in a house full of kids. This is Florida at its gun-lovin' best.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Wisconsin Concealed Carry Confusion

Yahoo News published a wonderful article by Joshua Huffman (not to be confused with Joe Huffman because Joshua sounds quite reasonable).

Fortunately, Lambeau Field officials will have ample time to interpret the law for the new Wisconsin concealed gun law that should be passed this October. Green Bay police aren't aware of how the law impacts their ability to prevent fans from entering the stadium with a handgun.

The NFL prohibits fans from carrying guns into any stadium. However, they could be prohibited from enforcing their own policy on Lambeau Field. The NFL doesn't own the stadium, therefore can't impose their anti-gun policy. Pat Webb, the stadium's executive director, stated, "I don't know enough about Wisconsin's specific law to know if the stadiums are exempt or not or can be exempt."

I wouldn't be comfortable with people carrying guns in an environment of 50,000 people or greater. Post-game driving is hardly safe with the alcohol that's consumed at these sporting events. It only takes one person to create a chaotic scene. I'd be worried about someone trying to pry the gun away from the holder. Some people make irrational decisions when angered. That irrationality is magnified under intoxication.

What's your opinion? How does it work in other states with lax gun laws? Are folks permitted to carry concealed at sporting events in say Florida or Arizona?

I would think the fanaticism of some sports fans is even worse when mixed with guns than your general bar and drinking environment. At huge sporting events some of those sports nuts might also be CCW permit holders and some of them might decide to drink a few beers, you know, bad-rules-be-damned and all that.

What do you think? Good idea or bad idea?

Please leave a comment.

Misogyny in Music

Three recent music posts have had a common theme, the same theme as many of our other news-related posts, misogyny.

I'm opposed to censorship in music, to Parental Advisory labels and all that nonsense, but I'm also opposed to passively receiving the messages in these songs with a type of apathetic acceptance. I find that some rap music, with its in-your-face message of violence, can be easily recognized for what it is and enjoyed without subconsciously taking the lyrics to heart. The suggestion that music like that is responsible for violence is absurd.

Main stream and classic rock and roll, however, with its incredibly pervasive and pernicious message about women, goes largely unnoticed and accepted. Take this one for example. Neil Young is actually singing about having shot his woman for cheating on him. Everyone knows the Jimi Hendrix version of the ballad Hey Joe. Same message there, shoot the offending woman. But, did you realize that even The Beatles sang about this?

One interesting difference is the U.K. artists refer to a generic killing while their North American counterparts specify doing it with a gun.

It's interesting that male-dominated rock and roll music is shot through with this ugly message. More interesting still is that it is largely unrecognized for what it is.  It's no wonder that domestic violence is as widespread as it is. And like all types of violence, gun availability makes it worse.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

4 Dead in NY Pharmacy Robbery

The AP reports

Four people killed during a pharmacy store robbery in suburban New York City, including a teenager due to graduate high school this week, were shot at very close range by a dangerous suspect intent on stealing painkillers, a police official said Monday.

Everyone agrees we have a terrible crime problem. Most feel that the war on drugs is not helping things. But when it comes to gun availability, the gun-rights fanatics draw the line. This has nothing to do with it, they cry.

What's your opinion? Drug addicts who become stone killers AND have easy access to guns are a bigger problem that they would be if we would only control the flow of guns better. Don't you think?

Please leave a comment.

Crescent City CA Shooting

Contra Costa Times reports on the tragedy which left one woman critically wounded, a 14-year-old brain dead and the shooter dead by suicide.

They don't get much sicker than this one. The one thing you can count on is everyone's ability (right?) to own a gun.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Big Murder - Suicide in Yuma - 6 Dead

Seattlepi reports.

An elderly gunman who killed five people before taking his own life on Thursday in Yuma, Ariz., formerly lived in South Kitsap.

Not many details are yet available, but you can be sure of one thing. Arizona is number one when it comes to gun mischief.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Oakland Gun Violence - 2 Dead

 KTVU reports with video.

A man and a woman are dead after a Sunday night shooting near the East Bay Dragons Motorcycle Club that left another woman hospitalized with major injuries, Oakland police said.

Officers responded to reports of gunfire at 88th Avenue and International Boulevard at about 9:20 p.m., Officer Holly Joshi said. The three victims were found with gunshot wounds near the East Bay Dragons' clubhouse, Joshi said.

One of the video surveillance cameras showed "several people with guns."

Florida Man Shoots Girlfriend in the Face

via the news-press.com

The man charged in the Thursday shooting death of a North Fort Myers woman told investigators the two were fighting about her cheating on him when the argument turned physical, and he shot her, according to a Lee County Sheriff's Office report.

Guns are very bad news for women in Florida. Don't forget, ladies, your state wears the crown.

What's your opinion? Is it wrong to malign Florida when this kind of thing happens frequently in many other gun-friendly states?

Please leave a comment.

via knoxnews.com

John Homer Moyers, 50, was shot to death after he fired a gun at officers outside his home at 345 Cline Road following a domestic disturbance, said Claiborne County Sheriff David Ray.

Moyers went to prison in 1988 at the now closed Brushy Mountain Correctional Complex in Wartburg for a manslaughter conviction after fatally shooting a man with a pistol, Ray said.

Most recently, Moyers served time in the Kentucky State Penitentiary for felony convictions that included escape.

There's certainly nothing to complain about here, if anything the cops waited too long to take him down. He was asking for it and his record indicates he was probably a hopeless case. Plus, there was no indication that the cops shot him 73 times. So, about the shooting, I have no complaints.

What I do have a complaint about is the fact that a guy like Moyers was able to get a gun. I'll bet it wasn't hard either. That's the problem. Because of weak and ineffectual gun control laws in places like Tennessee, dangerous guys like this have no difficulty getting their hands on guns.

It may seem overly optimistic, but I believe with proper gun control properly enforced, this could change.

What do you think? Please leave a comment.

The Toll of Gun Violence is not Only Counted in Dead Bodies

The Indy Star reports on the recovery of Chance Jackson shot twice one month ago.

The boy had significant damage to seven vital organs. His gallbladder had to be removed. He had operations on his liver and pancreas; a kidney was injured. A major artery in his stomach was severed and had to be removed. A bullet broke one of his ribs.

He had trouble putting weight on his legs after being stuck in an Indianapolis hospital bed for two weeks. He can walk and talk now, but both wear him out.

Can you imagine the monetary and emotional cost of something like this. And the thing is, it happens dozens of times a day all over the country.

Often we get caught up counting deaths, but in a sick way, serious woundings are even more costly.

I place the blame on the easy access to guns in Indiana, the prevalent attitude that guns are the answer and the gun-rights folks who make those two things possible.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

New Armed Robbery Trend

Man holds up store with submachine gun: krqe.com

Tough Times and Guns Don't Mix

Tampa Bay Online reports

She had a stable job as an office manager. She had a husband who made decent money as a delivery man. They had a cute blonde daughter.

That was in 2008, and the ensuring three years weren't so kind. She went through a divorce, her husband fell behind on child support and she was arrested several times, including on embezzlement and drug charges. She no longer had the office manager job.

Still, no one could have envisioned what would happen Thursday night.

Foster shot her 10-year-old daughter in their Dunedin apartment, then put the gun to her own head and pulled the trigger, Pinellas County Sheriff's Office investigators say. Foster died at the scene; her daughter, Kassidie Rae McMillen, was flown by helicopter to Bayfront Medical Center in St. Petersburg, where she underwent emergency surgery and was in critical condition on Friday.

A large-caliber handgun was recovered in the apartment at the Windemere apartment complex, 1763 Main St., deputies said.

Gun availability strikes again.

What's your take on it? Please leave a comment.

Bad Boy with AK-47 Arrested in Missouri

The Associated Press reports

Further investigation by the state Highway Patrol showed that Willcoxson fired more than 80 rounds at pursuing officers, reloading an AK-47 assault rifle as he drove. Officers recovered several other firearms when Willcoxson was arrested four hours after he was denied entry at Fort Leonard Wood due to concerns over his identification, said Highway Patrol Sgt. Dan Crain. The guns were believed to be stolen.

Some guys have all the luck, you know?  How many can do what he did and not kill someone along the way?  But, he keeps trying.

Willcoxson was released from the Oklahoma Department of Corrections in 2008 after serving about 3½ years for burglary, escaping from jail and other felonies.

He was among nine inmates who attacked a jailer and fled on foot from the Delaware County Jail in Oklahoma a decade ago. He had escaped at least one other time previously, and authorities suspected him of masterminding the jail break. Willcoxson remained at large for nearly three years before he was arrested in Texas in 2003.

OK, what do we say about a solution? Surely, violent offenders and "masterminds" like this one have to stay in jail longer. Agreed? While we're working on that, why don't we make it a bit more difficult for guys like Wilcoxson to get guns? Wouldn't that be the smart move?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

PA Gun Owner Murders Wife and Wounds Himself

Lehigh Valley News reports on another "nice" family gone down the drain with gun violence

A child made a desperate call to 911 Tuesday night, after gunshots rang out in the family home. Now, the mother is dead and the father is in the hospital, about to be charged with murder.

The pro-gun folks keep trying to pretend this has nothing to do with them. The truth is it IS them.

The gun-friendly state of Pennsylvania makes it entirely too easy for unstable and irresponsible people to own guns.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Greensboro North Carolina - Big Increase in Gun Violence

via The News and Record

Police look at patterns to fight crime. But the recent spate of gun violence perplexes them.

Other than the rising use of guns, there is no easily discernible pattern, Greensboro police Chief Ken Miller said.

Wait a minute, did they really say, "other than the rising use of guns, there is no easily discernible pattern?"

How about if we just call it "the rising use of guns," or perhaps, "the ever increasing gun availability?"

What is so difficult about this? It's not rocket science. When there are more guns there is more gun violence, period.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Brad Kozak on the Big Dilemma. Should You Lock Up the Guns?

Preparedness? Really? That's total lunacy if you ask me. The comments are a priceless collection of paranoia justification complete with links to horror stories.

Domestic Shooting in Tustin California - 1 Dead, 1 Wounded

The Los Angeles Times reports on the unusual domestic shooting, unusual since it was the woman who did the shooting. Had it not been for the gun availability perhaps she would have found another way to resolve her differences, whatever they were.

A woman allegedly shot and killed an elderly man and wounded a teenage boy during what appears to have been a domestic dispute Sunday afternoon at a home in Orange County, authorities said.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

Los Angeles Gun Owner Does Murder Suicide - 4 Dead in Total

The Associated Press reports

A man shot and killed his girlfriend and two 5-year-old twins before turning the gun on himself in a murder-suicide inside an SUV that was witnessed by three other children, Los Angeles authorities said Sunday.

The shootings occurred Saturday night in a residential area of East Los Angeles, according to Sheriff's Sgt. Michael Thomas.

Salvador Acevedo, 45, was driving with his girlfriend, Iris Oseguera, their young twins and three other children when the two adults began to fight, Thomas said.

Acevedo pulled out a handgun and shot Oseguera, 33, and the twins, striking each victim in the upper torso.

He then drove the three other children, described as adolescents, to a relative's home. After Acevedo drove away, the children, who were not injured, told an adult about the shootings and authorities were notified.

Guns are bad news for women and children when the guns are in the hands of the wrong men.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment?

Fairfield California - Triple Homicide, Attempted Suicide

Mercury News reports.

Residents of a normally quiet, upscale neighborhood were stunned Saturday afternoon as they watched police officers wearing tactical gear and with weapons drawn storm a home where four people had just been shot. 

Three of the people -- including the suspected gunman -- died of their wounds. The fourth was taken to a hospital for treatment. Their identities were not available at press time.

Another story of gun-owner-gone-wild or criminal-with-gun killing people?

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.