Dropped Gun in Memphis Movie Theater Discharges - Idiot Lawful Gun Owner Arrested

George Gholson

Freak Out Nation

Memphis, Tennessee Police say that no one was hurt when a loaded gun fell out of a man’s pants pocket in a movie theater and fired. According to police,  63-year-old George Gholson was arrested and charged Tuesday with reckless endangerment and failing to follow a posted “no-weapons” notice.

News Channel 5 reports, ” Police said Gholson took a .38-caliber, two-shot Derringer into a movie theater in east Memphis. The gun, which was loaded with one bullet, fell out of his pants pocket and fired the round.”

The 18 people in the theater were not hit, police say. An off-duty police officer who was in the theater at the time took Gholson into custody.

Do Background Checks Work to Keep Disturbed People From Getting Guns?

Mother Jones

It's a question at the heart of the gun debate. Most Americans think the answer is yes (an overwhelming majority continues to support comprehensive background checks for gun buyers), while the National Rifle Association emphatically believes the opposite (its leadership opposes new firearm regulations of virtually any kind). Now, a new report from the advocacy group Everytown for Gun Safety crunches  some actual data: Citing figures from the FBI, the gun-reform group reports that the numberof mental health records collected from states in the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (known as "NICS") has tripled to nearly three and a half million since 2011—and that as a result, a growing number of mentally ill people have been stopped from purchasing firearms through licensed dealers.

The change owes to increased federal funding for the system and a wave of more stringent state laws put in place. As we documented at the one-year anniversary of the Sandy Hook massacre, 2013 saw a barrage of new state laws from coast to coast, both easing and tightening gun restrictions. Among them were laws in 15 states intended to keep firearms away from the seriously mentally ill.

New Jersey 10-Round Magazine Limitation Bill Goes to the Gov

Gun enthusiast and activist Bob Viden, left, and the National Rifle Association of America's New Jersey liaison, Darin Goens, right, listen as Anthony P. Colandro, center, holds up a decal that says, "I Will Not Comply," and asks spectators to hold up more decals, as he speaks against a legislative bill that would reduce the legal capacity of ammunition magazines from 15 to 10, during legislative hearings May 5 at the Statehouse in Trenton.

Local news reports

The New Jersey Assembly passed a bill today that would outlaw ammunition magazines that hold more than 10 rounds.

The bill, A2006, also has cleared the state Senate and now will go to Gov. Chris Christie for his consideration. The Republican governor signed many firearms bills into law last year, but he issued conditional vetoes of some of the more contentious ones, including a ban on .50-caliber rifles.

Parents of children killed in the 2012 Newtown, Connecticut, school shooting joined Democrats today in calling for Christie to sign it into law. The bill passed 44-34 along party lines.

"This is a long overdue but welcome step toward the goal of preventing gun violence in New Jersey," said bill co-sponsor Louis Greenwald, D-Camden/Burlington. "Gov. Christie needs to do the right thing here and sign this bill."

Current New Jersey law allows magazines to hold a maximum of 15 rounds of ammunition. Supporters of the bill say the ammunition magazine limit could make mass shootings less deadly by requiring shooters to stop to reload more often, giving police and potential victims more time to react.

Owners of larger magazines would have 180 days to dispose of them. Exempted fro the proposal are tubular .22-caliber magazines.

Gun rights supporters say it would make it harder for citizens to protect themselves and could have the effect of banning certain guns.

Colion Noir on Mass Shooters and Gun Free Zones

After that ridiculous pick-up-basketball game metaphor, he went on, in his strained way, to push one of the most tired themes of the pro-gun crowd - mass shooters are attracted to gun free zones.

It's funny because this oft-repeated nonsense has never made much sense. The proof is that our own favorite gun-rights extremists who comment here have all agreed it's not valid.  Of course that took some doin'.  I had to explain several times how maniac spree shooters normally seek out the venue of their grievance, real or imagined, for their venting.  They do not consider its gun free status. Even our most contentious and dedicated pro-gun commenters have acquiesced to my logic.

But not poor Colion.  I'm afraid his rising celebrity has blinded him to even the most basic self-examination. Or perhaps he's simply spending too much time reading and associating with fellow gun nuts instead of expanding his world view a bit.  Or maybe he went with the theme of this video solely for the opportunity to use that overblown example of the sexual predator in "the on-line pre-teen chat room." That was really cute. The only problem is, of course, it's completely wrong.

Candlelight Vigil in Santa Barbara

A candlelight vigil earlier on the campus of the University of California Santa Barbara | Getty pic.twitter.com/X5Pdh3UFDy

— Brandon Wall (@Walldo) May 25, 2014

Detroit Woman Killed in Freak Accident - It Was No One's Fault

Iowa Dad Arrested in Connection with 4-Year-old Daughter's Accidental Shooting Death

Local news reports

The father of a 4-year-old who accidentally shot herself in April was arrested this afternoon on four felony and misdemeanor charges.

Adam Mead, 24, turned himself in to Des Moines police. He was charged with involuntary manslaughter, neglect of a dependent person and two counts of making firearms available to minors.

Charging Mead in connection with his daughter's death is a rare move, one legal expert said.

Mead told police his daughter wandered into a bedroom in which he was moving things around. He set a loaded .45 caliber handgun onto a dresser and turned his back for a moment, authorities said.

Seconds later, he heard a single shot behind him. He turned to see a look of shock on his daughter's face and red spreading across her shirt, officials said.

Investigators said they believed Mead's version of events.

"Evidence supports his statements, the autopsy supports his statements," Des Moines Police Sgt. Jason Halifax said. "There was nothing to suggest otherwise."

If Mead is convicted of all the charges, he faces a maximum 17 years in prison.

The neglect charge, a Class C felony is the most serious and alleges Mead knowingly or recklessly exposed his daughter to a danger against which she couldn't be expected to protect herself.

The manslaughter charge accuses Mead of causing Lillium's death by the commission of another, non-felonious crime.

Officials also found a second, unlocked gun in an area where they thought Lillium could access it, Halifax said.

Police took seven weapons from Mead's apartment, including a rifle, three handguns and three pellet guns, Halifax said.

Prosecutors had several charging options, including child endangerment causing death, a Class B felony punishable by up to 50 years in prison, Drake University law professor Bob Rigg said.