Michigan gun rights fanatic denigrates recent high school gun massacre

A day in the life of gun violent America

Seventeen year old

T.J. Lane

fired 10 rounds into a group of teenagers in the Chardon, Ohio high school cafeteria, eventually killing three.  Lane didn’t know the people he shot, didn’t even go to Chardon high school; he attended Lake Academy, a school for students with academic or behavioral problems.  Just the day before the shooting, the Cleveland Plain Dealer ran an article on how legal concealed carry licenses in Ohio had doubled in the past three years.

Now this may have no direct relationship to the Chardon shootings but does point out once again just how many more guns are on the streets of America.  Where did Lane get the gun?  It has been reported that it was his grandfather’s, taken from his barn and

Thomas Lane

did go looking for it after he found it missing.  The next question is why didn’t grampa report it missing?

These are the kinds of questions about gun violence that go unanswered on a daily basis.  Meanwhile, the gun worshipping National Rifle Assn. and its gang of gun nuts go on their merry way, supporting laws to put even more concealed guns in the pockets of yet more gun bubbas.  The reasoning is bizarre. 



CSGV's Josh Horwitz



But Josh Horwitz, Executive Director of the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence (CSGV), takes the dilemma one step further.  He points out the arrogance of the pro-gun movement in his article on Huff Post, “When Buying a Gun Becomes Easier than Voting.”  Along with daily shootings throughout the U.S. and now what seems fairly regular gun massacres like Virginia Tech, Loughner’s Tucson, the Chardon High incident, the gun freaks want to just rub our noses in it.  Here’s the story.

It was only one day after the Chardon High mass shooting, Feb. 28, when Nicholas Looman in Grand Rapids, Michigan, walked into his voting place, also a public elementary school, blatantly carrying a loaded handgun.  Horwitz says, along with placing his vote, “…he also ‘wanted to make a point that he should be allowed to carry’ a gun while voting.”  Looman was asked to leave after voting and that apparently hurt the poor baby’s feelings.  The idiot asked for an apology.

CSGV’s Exec. Dir. comments: “His rights? Let's be clear... The landmark Supreme Court decision on the Second Amendment from 2008, District of Columbia v. Heller, found that the right to keep and bear arms is about individuals protecting ‘hearth and home.’ And that there certainly is no right to carry firearms wherever and whenever one wants -- much less at a school or voting site. The idea that there is a right to ‘vote and carry’ would be laughable if it did not expose a dangerous ideology that, if left unchecked, will fundamentally change our democratic system.”

Wow!  That is powerful stuff and helps confirm one of my most serious beliefs that these cowboys do not have the right to walk all over town with their concealed weapons, not even holstered guns that we can see.  I live in Arizona; yes, the loosest gun laws in the country, and our hair brained Governor and GOP legislature are trying to make them even looser. 

Looman would have a field day in this state; not only would they not ask him to leave, they would welcome him and his gun totin’ friends to hang around and discuss setting up a gun show once voting was over.  

Horwitz continues: “Our Founders drafted our Constitution explicitly to prevent force -- or the threat of force -- from influencing the political system. ‘Freedom’ was understood as the ability of the government to abide by the rule of law without interference from an unelected monarch or a frothing mob. In fact, the duty of the Militia, as defined in Article 1, Section 8 of the Constitution, is to ‘suppress Insurrections,’ not to foment them. Carrying a gun into a polling place or a legislative body turns that history on its head by making the statement that ‘The guys with the guns make the rules.’ Our country declared its independence under the banner of political equality. We must have the freedom to exercise our right to vote without being exposed to a show of force by someone who might disagree with us politically. And it's entirely possible that Looman's behavior alarmed and/or intimidated other voters on Tuesday.”

But voting is getting harder, according to Horwitz, with bills introduced in both Virginia state houses that make it harder for people to vote without government-issued identification.  It was called “Old South” and a return to the Jim Crow era by Benjamin Chavis, former director of the NAACP.  Horwitz says:

“And Virginia is not alone... Many GOP-controlled state legislatures across the nation are now moving to implement voter suppression laws before the 2012 elections. Of the eight states that require residents to show photo identification before voting -- Texas, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, South Carolina, Kansas, Indiana and Wisconsin -- all allow residents to purchase firearms through private sales without undergoing any type of background check or showing any form of identification. These sales are cash and carry, and no paperwork is required. 23 other states require residents to produce some form of identification before voting (though not necessarily a photo ID). Of those 23, only Rhode Island prohibits all private sales of firearms (Connecticut requires background checks for private sales of handguns only). Finally, in a development that may or not be coincidental, some states are now allowing residents to use a concealed handgun permit as an acceptable document to verify identity when voting, but not a student ID card issued by a public university.”

Horwitz finishes: “Seriously, when you can buy a trunk-load of AK-47s without government-issued identification but you can't vote - something is seriously wrong with our democracy.”

Think about it.

B-A-N-N-E-D by DAILY KOS for my views on gun rights fanatics – Part 3



Daily Kos gun rights fanatics



This is the third and last post in my series on being banned by Daily Kos for my views on gun rights fanatics.  You can read Part 1 here and Part 2 here.  So far the major reaction is the typical wacko comments from DK diarists, but one from a reader who agrees with my take on gun control.  I’m disappointed!  Had hoped for more of the imbecilic comments like I illustrated in yesterday’s post so you could witness more of the feeble-mindedness of this select breed of morons.

They are a pedigree unto themselves; more like a pack of mongrels.  But more important is the fact that this pro-gun gang is clearly on the march to silence anyone who disagrees with their gun-worshipping beliefs and will do anything to reach their goal.  That is scary!  And what is even scarier is the fact that Daily Kos lets these hybrid idiots run amok, to the extent that they can drive someone right off the DK blog because he disagrees with their views.



Gun control advocate on Daily Kos



To illustrate my point that these people will do anything to silence the opposition, there was a commenter who appeared to be educated, at least compared to those listed in yesterday’s post, who actually made a threat to disrupt my Nasty Jack blog.  The guy, online name Phoenix 182, among several other aliases, his real name, according to him, is Kristin Guttrormsen.  His comments were left on my NJ blog but later learned he was a Daily Kos diarist.

He made the following statement when he thought I had deleted one of his comments (I hadn’t): “Fortunately I save all posts I make, and can repost them an infinite number of times, from an infinite number of id's.”

When I told him I would report him for spamming, he said he didn’t care and that he had broken no laws.  It is one thing to be illegal but another to be blatantly unethical, and proud of it.  Pathetic!  It was basically because of this jerk that I had to start moderating comments.  This yahoo claims to have “…done so many interviews, lectures, written so many published pieces, etc.”  Thank God I wasn’t there or forced to read any of his pablum.

See video below as Ladd Everitt, Director of Communications at the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, addresses the crowd at a Lie-In outside the U.S. Supreme Court on 4/16/08, the one-year anniversary of the tragedy at Virginia Tech.  The Jared Loughner Tucson massacre would occur less than three years later:

 

And finally there is a harebrained comment that came up repeatedly on DK by another “anonymous” dimwitted diarist, afraid to use his or her real name:

“If you began taking your meds again according to the prescription (read the bottle), your understanding of this matter would greatly improve.”

Throughout all this, Daily Kos diarists kept up the divisive comments as if they disagreed with everything I said, but continued to read every one of my diaries, as evidenced by my high daily readership on DK.  As an example kestrel9000, alias Eddie Garcia, the “sap” from Vermont, ranted that my diaries weren’t worth reading, yet, he continued to read them and leave comments. 

I came to the conclusion that, based on the substance and tenor of my Daily Kos comments on gun control, you would think the blog had been infiltrated by a secret cult of gun zealots, had almost become an extension of the National Rifle Assn.

Now with the repugnant stuff out of the way, there were some encouraging comments that lead me to believe that diarists do exist on Daily Kos that are intelligent, sophisticated and reasonable in their reaction to gun control issues, although at times outspoken.  See them below: 

·       POed Lib said: “NJ: Excellent post. I used to be on DK, but was driven off mostly by posses of gunsel gunwacks, who would show up on comments and TR me. The gunwacks on DK have the pretense of civility and reason, but they are just a bunch of lying snakes who are no more reasonable than is LaPierre that massive pile of shit. I asked once for a single gun restriction that they would agree to, and they have none. They do not agree that the gun show loophole and private sale loophole should be closed. They don't agree with restrictions on number of sales, on restrictions on high capacity magazines, none of that stuff. They are just shills for the NRA and are all liars.”

·       Frank Blau said: “You won't get any love from the rkba nuts at Daily Kos... but I made my way here to tell you that there are SOME people (like me) on your side. :)”

·       Anonymous said: “You are likely to get shelled and take heavy fire on DK. I used to be there, before the Gun Lunatic Posse TRed me off. I tried on several occasions to get responsible limits consider: limits on rapid change magazines, # gun purchased/month, etc. No limit was acceptable, yet the gunsels continued to proclaim their ‘reasonableness’. Lying morons.”

·       Brasilaaron said: “Why would any sane person pretend that allowing random people to carry guns on planes is a good idea?  While in one's home, the 2nd amendment is a perfectly valid Right to admire.  Public safety while in public trumps the 2nd amendment; life, liberty and pursuit of happiness not life, liberty and the pursuit of firearms (i know, one's the Dec. of Independence the other the Constitution).”

·       IceMilkCoffee said: “Guns are bad for the same reasons why an arms race is bad. If a bunch of loons are allowed to come into our state with their guns and play Nimrod, then I, a non-gun owner, will now have to escalate and get a gun for myself.  If you agree that the arms race is a bad idea, then so is this escalation of gun ownership. It's bad for everyone except the gun sellers.”

What more can I say?  Goodbye and good riddance Daily Kos!

As school shootings increase, Arizona rushes to make guns legal on college campuses



Gun on college campuses legislation



There was a recent article titled “Why does America lead the world in school shootings?” by Dr. Frank Ochberg, a Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at Michigan State University and former Associate Director of the National Institute of Mental Health.  With notable credentials like that, the gun industry, particularly the National Rifle Assn. (NRA), should pay attention to his findings. 

One in particular was, “Access to guns is a significant factor in American school shootings. If kids could not and did not bring guns to school, we wouldn't have Columbine, Virginia Tech or Chardon, Ohio.”  He continues, “But the reason we have an American school shooting problem that exceeds other nations has to do with access to loaded weapons by kids who should not have that access.”

   

Other factors include peer warning signs, bullying gone unchecked, lack of recognizing mental illness, and violent role models and drugs.  Each is significant but without that access to the weapon there would be no killings or injuries, at least by guns, which are most prevalent in these incidents. 

What is most interesting about Dr. Ochberg’s study is that the U.S. has the worst problem in the entire world.  That is tragic for a civilized nation when compared to some third-world countries. 



AZ Sen. Ron Gould...finger pointing



But damn the killing of young adults and children, full speed ahead to force guns onto Arizona college and university campuses when both the educators and law enforcement are dead-set against it and have vociferously voiced their opinions.  The drive for Senate Bill 1474 is led by Arizona State Sen. Ron Gould who, some have indicated, has as his main intention to fire up the gun nuts in Arizona so they will vote for him in his run for a U.S. House seat.

The Arizona Republic says, “Currently, it is illegal in 22 states to carry a concealed weapon on a college campus. In 25 states, including Arizona, the decision is left to the individual college or university. No Arizona college or university allows guns on campus.  Oregon, Utah, Wisconsin and Mississippi require campuses to allow concealed weapons on campus.”  Another NRA promoted law forcing guns down the throats of those who don’t want them.

See video below on Arizona campus guns bill:



And while the Arizona gun bubbas are forging ahead with their campus legislation, there were two more shootings in the state, one at a Wilcox high school, the other at a Tempe (Phoenix suburb) nightclub, which wounded at least 14 people.  Tempe is the home of Arizona State University two miles from the club.  The shooters were not ASU students, who have said repeatedly that they do not want guns on their campus.



Chardon, OH shooter



Most of the focus lately has been on Chardon, Ohio’s High School where student

T.J. Lane

opened fire on February 27, in the Cafeteria, killing three and injuring two others, one paralyzed.  It wasn’t even his school, which turned out to be the Lake Academy, where a fellow student said he was “…being picked on for everything from his hair, to his clothes, to his quiet personality.”  Lane used a 22 caliber pistol and had a record of violence in the past.

But returning to the Arizona campus gun legislation, local Phoenix columnist Laurie Roberts puts the blame squarely on the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) exclaiming that if the NRA wants it, they will get it in Arizona.  And why not?  They have already been responsible for diluting the state’s gun laws to the extent that they are the loosest in the nation. 

Roberts says: “But then this bill isn't about making college campuses safe. It's about making the NRA -- and the sizable block of reliable Republican voters it can deliver (or take away) -- happy.”

And finally there’s the cost that will have to come from the university budgets that are already strained to the limit.  It is estimated that the legislation will result in one-time costs of $13 million for lockers to store guns that can’t be brought into buildings, with annual maintenance of $3 million.  The Arizona legislature has offered no support.  Pathetic!

Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) uses Super Bowl to launch latest drive for more gun control

The Giants beat the Patriots 21 to 17 in the 2012 Super Bowl where no one turns down the sound on commercials that can sometime be as interesting as the game itself.  One in particular stood out on February 5, showing New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Boston Mayor Thomas Menino vying for their local teams, food etc.  But the real focus of the 30 second commercial was a new push by Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG) for more gun control.

Bloomberg and Menino co-founded the organization in 2006 which currently has more than 600 mayors nationwide participating.  Their main thrust is to keep criminals from getting illegal guns. 

A good example of their work is the recent sting by MAIG at an Arizona gun show, a state where gun laws are the loosest in the nation.  MAIG investigators bought guns from a private weapons dealer there without anything but the money it took to make the purchase.  They even told the seller they probably could not pass a background check.  The seller simply laughed at their comment and sold them the guns, which is illegal.

MAIG plans to keep the heat on for more gun control right through the November election, although the Democrats still cringe at the thought of supporting any gun discipline legislation.  Unfortunately, there are more people in the U.S. with guns now and these newly created National Rifle Assn. gun worshippers are fixated on no control so anyone can buy a gun and take it anywhere.  And there lies the problem.



Arizona gun show sting



According to a Reuters report, “Members of the MAIG says it is not trying to take guns away from their legal owners, just to close loopholes that allow criminals to get guns and move them around undetected.”  Although murder is down in New York and nationwide, the mayors also comment that they still see too many killings of cops and teens.  It is rare for a day to go by in Arizona without a shooting, some of which end up as deaths.

This gun show loophole/background checks issue is one area that needs fixing.  But another is required education and training before you can own a gun.  Arizona has nothing, zip.  Most states don’t.  I decided to ask an expert so I contacted Ladd Everitt, Director of Communications for the Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, and asked the following question: “Can you tell me the average gun training/education a gun owner is required to have?”  His answer below.

“If they're simply purchasing firearms, none whatsoever.  If they are going to be carrying that gun in public, they MIGHT be required to have training.  In 28 states you can now openly carry a loaded gun in public with no permitting, screening or training.  Four states now require no permitting, screening or training to carry a concealed firearm in public. 

And even in ‘Shall Issue’ states that require one to obtain a permit to carry a concealed firearm in public, several have no training requirement.  In Arizona, it is wide open.  Law enforcement would have no idea what the background of a gun carrier is until he opens fire (unless that individual voluntarily obtained a permit to carry a firearm into certain sensitive public spaces).”

Phew!  That means a mentally unstable person from Arizona could walk into a gun store there and buy a Glock 19 with a 15-round clip, hop in his car, and assuming Congress passes HR 822, the federal open-carry bill, with a carry permit drive to any state and commit mass murders like Jared Loughner in Tucson and Seung Hui Cho at Virginia Tech.  Assuming he wasn’t caught, he could be on his merry way to another state to commit more mayhem.  Only in America.

More on MAIG later.

Gun nuts are right, guns don’t kill people; the NRA does by forcing loose gun laws



Why the NRA gets its way



In talking about the “Fast and Furious” fiasco, Democratic California Sen. Dianne Feinstein said, “anyone can walk in and buy anything,” referring to firearms.  F&F occurred in Arizona, which just happens to have the loosest gun laws in the USA, perhaps in the world.  The Senator’s home state has more stringent weapons laws such as a ban against assault weapons compared to Arizona that allows their sale. 

The National Rifle Assn. (NRA) filed a lawsuit in August of 2011, challenging a new federal regulation requiring gun merchants in states along the border with Mexico to report bulk sales of certain semiautomatic rifles.  The key word here is “bulk” as if NRA members need 10 or more assault rifles to protect their homes.  The organization was prominent in the appeal of the assault weapons ban

The NRA has the state of Arizona by the balls and yet it continues to push for more laws that will allow firearms everywhere in the state.  The latest to come out of this demented Republican legislature is a bill to force guns onto college and university campuses; you can already take them into bars.  The NRA has succeeded in diluting Arizona weapons laws to the extent that anyone can buy and carry a handgun concealed with absolutely no training.

In the following video you can watch one of the NRA's Exec. Dir. Wayne LaPierre's ludicrous answers to why the government should not monitor multiple gun sales along the Mexican border: 

In all fairness, the National Rifle Assn. has several gun safety programs available to its members, which it recommends on its site, but hardly the kind of thing that would appeal to a Jared Loughner before his Tucson massacre or Seung Hui Cho in the Virginia Tech bloodbath.

NRA new member

This all stems from a branch of the NRA, the Institute for Legislative Action, which is their lobbying arm.  It places its strength in the 4-million members of the organization and gun manufacturers that both contribute generously to the NRA.  The ILA depends heavily on grassroots efforts in the states to pass pro-gun reform legislation. 

Although it says its efforts are to “recognize the right of honest citizens to carry firearms for self-protection,” the ILA fails to mention that these same laws also allow lunatics to buy and carry around weapons with which they create mayhem on innocent citizens.

Other NRA approved state legislation includes: In Mississippi when you have a concealed carry permit and take an eight-hour education course, you can now carry a gun on college campuses, in bars and in courthouses; Despite Iowa loosening its gun law regulations back in 2010, the NRA demanded more, wanting more firearms on the street; In Tennessee gun laws look almost as loose as the state of Arizona.

Here’s an example of the NRA’s arrogance and misplaced priorities: "This is all a coordinated approach to respect that human, God-given right of self defense by law-abiding Americans," says Chris W. Cox, the NRA's chief lobbyist. "We'll rest when all 50 states allow and respect the right of law-abiding people to defend themselves from criminal attack."  From the Nashville, Tenn. Herald Sun.

NRA's Wayne LaPierre laughing at gun control

In Pennsylvania a bill is going through the legislature that would penalize municipalities - including Philadelphia and 29 others - that have enacted laws to curb illegal gun sales by requiring them to pay damages and penalties to plaintiffs who challenge those laws in the courts; Virginia is considering a bring your gun to work bill; And at the federal level, the “National Right-to-Carry Reciprocity Act of 2011” would make it easier for people to carry concealed handguns across state lines.

You can take a look at your state on Wikipedia’s “Gun Laws in the United States” site.  Then compare it with bizarre states like Arizona, Tennessee and Texas.  If your state has reasonable gun control laws, I can guarantee you that the National Rifle Assn. is lurking close.  It is simply a matter of time, unless you do something to stop it.

Starbucks position on open gun carry laws creates nightmare

If you are a Starbuck’s fan, and I am, and if you are an advocate of sane gun control, which I am, you might be looking for a place other than your local Starbuck’s store to get your daily coffee fix.  And I might just do that too if the gun bubbas attempt to bully their way around where my wife and I migrate to at least three or four times a week for our favorite brews. 

So far I have not seen one open-carried weapon where we frequent—we are in Arizona and that’s not normal—so maybe there is still hope.  However, that doesn’t mean that half the people we’re sitting around with don’t have a Glock in their pocket.  Hey, they can carry loaded handguns into bars in this state so why not their local Starbucks?  The whole concept amounts to sheer lunacy.

This past Tuesday the National Gun Victim's Action Council (NGVA) called for a boycott on all Starbucks stores because the company allows guns and assault weapons to be openly carried in its stores (in 43 states) and concealed and carried in its stores (in 49 states).  There is the implication by NGVA that Starbucks has been pressured by the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) due to its 2010 Pro-Gun Agenda where the "open carry" movement began meeting in popular major retail chains.





Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz



All the chains but Starbucks banned guns from being carried in their stores.  As a loyal customer, I asked Starbucks to email me their current policy on open gun carry which they did.  It dates back to March of 2010 which coincides with the NRA’s Pro-Gun Agenda so I decided to ask the company a question I felt might shed some light on the matter. 

The question was: “Is Howard Schultz (Starbucks CEO) a member of the National Rifle Association (NRA)?  If you cannot answer this question, please forward this email to Mr. Schultz's office.” 

I waited for over 10 days and when I received no answer sent this email: “As of this date I have not received an answer and would like to hear from someone at your earliest convenience.  Otherwise, I will proceed and write my article with the information I have indicating your response to the above.  That was on February 9, with still no answer yet.

Whether Howard Schultz is or is not a member of the NRA makes absolutely no difference in this matter other to simply clarify his personal position on guns.  If an NRA member, he could be as radical as certain factions of this organization that believe that guns should be available to anyone in the world and be able to be carried by their owners anywhere in the world.  But Howard decided to keep this information to himself and that is his right.

NGVA made this additional statement: “Starbucks has the legal right to ban guns but despite having been petitioned by thousands, asked at a shareholder meeting, and a direct appeal made to their Board, Starbucks clings to this policy that puts millions of Americans at risk every day and encourages the spread of guns being carried in public.”  They add, "Open and conceal and carry are among the reasons there are 12,000 gun homicides each year in the U.S.”



NGCA thinks "Starbucks’ steadfast support of the NRA's lethal pro-gun agenda damages its 'socially conscious company' brand.”  They said the boycott will continue until “Starbucks rejects the NRA's Pro-Gun agenda by banning all guns from their stores and committing to be an Aggressive Corporate Advocate for sane gun laws.” 

The Brady Campaign says: “Fifty six percent of those polled - favor Starbucks and other retail establishments establishing strict ‘no guns’ policies for their businesses - and far more gun owners support a “no guns” policy for Starbucks than believe Starbucks and other businesses should allow firearms on their premises,” this according to a poll conducted for the Brady Center by the polling firm Lake Research Partners. 

That is a pretty strong mandate that Starbucks has opened a can of worms it had better close before the boycotts start to affect their business, and there are even additional gun control organizations threatening more of the same.  Or…before someone is injured or even killed at one of their stores, which, based on daily reports of shootings that occur in Arizona, could happen at my favorite location.

U.S. open carry bill, HR 822, more of the same insane gun legislation



Typical squirrely NRA member



The National Rifle Assn. (NRA) must be stopped and whoever accomplishes this feat will be a hero, at least in my book.  They have ramrodded a new law through the House, HR 822, that would allow anyone in a state with loose concealed carry laws (like Arizona) to carry their handgun in any other state in the country, no matter what the laws of that state are.  This is the first piece of legislation this inept Congress has come up with since the Giffords shooting.

That means other wackos like Jared Loughner from the Tucson massacre and Seung-Hui Cho from the similar disaster at Virginia Tech—and they are walking around out there with guns in their pockets—could take their firearms to a state with stricter laws and hold their own massacre.  Pure idiocy.  “The Second Amendment is a fundamental right to bear arms that should not be constrained by state boundary lines," said GOP Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, chairman of the House Judiciary Committee in the Huff Post.



My 2nd Amendment right



Bullshit.  I am not even convinced that the 2nd Amendment literally includes the right to carry a concealed weapon and I think with the recent momentum of gun control advocates, this very point may be up for consideration.  It is sheer insanity to pass a law that makes one state law—especially one passed by deranged legislators like those in Arizona—a national law.  The latter are now trying to push guns on college campuses; you can already take them into bars.

Video on bullet hits White House, below:



The FBI’s Uniform Crime Report tells us that 8,775 people were killed in shooting incidents in 2010.  Barry Krisberg, a criminalist from Berkeley’s School of Law, says we can expect an increase in 2011.  He adds, in an article from The Telegraph in the United Kingdom, “Overall violent crime rates in the US are going down but comparatively, shootings and homicides are going up a little bit.  Last year we had both an increase in police officers shot and killed and also an uptake in citizens being shot and killed.”



The gun show loophole



Krisberg also said that a dilution of weapons legislation has led to people who are mentally ill and who have criminal convictions being able to go out and freely buy guns.  This is a result of the lack of background checks and the gun show private sale loophole. 

In another example of a deranged gunman that shouldn’t have had a firearm, he ended up shooting and killing a park ranger in Washington state.  According to the mother of his toddler daughter, he “was a former soldier who owned many knives and guns despite an emotionally unstable, vindictive and anger-prone mind-set.”

And the NRA wants to turn more of these lunatics loose across the country with guns hidden their pockets.  HR 822 is designed to do just that and it must be stopped now.

As long as the gun rights fanatics won’t negotiate, the killings will go on

NCCI Holdings, a company involved in workplace data, just released a new report on workplace violence.  According to the U.S. Dept. of Labor, nearly 2 million American workers each year report that they have been involved in some kind of violence where they work, which includes threats, physical assaults and homicides.  The Bureau of Labor Statistic says 11 percent of those incidents were homicides, the fourth-leading cause of occupational injuries.

An important NCCI finding which has not been played up by the media is the fact that 80 percent of workplace homicides were caused by guns, compared to 10 percent by stabbings.  This report was released just two days before the Tucson massacre where a mentally ill gunman injured U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, also injuring 14 others and killing six.  No particular connection to the workplace but an example of loose gun laws that allow a deranged gunman to buy a weapon.

The National Rifle Assn. (NRA) is even for keeping guns out of the hands of individuals trying to purchase a firearm but they aren’t championing the cause.  They are afraid that it will show weakness and their message is one of fear (that someone will take their guns away) rather than negotiation on things like background checks, the gun show loophole and concealed weapons laws.  So they whip their membership into a frenzy to deny anything that smacks of sane gun control.



A recent post I did on the issue, “New York’s strong gun laws make state safer than weaker states of Arizona and Texas,” brought me a conglomeration of comments from these NRA trained fanatics.  Some of their points are worth considering because there are always two sides to every argument.  Many are just very inane and an affront to any intelligent human being.  But not once does either group admit there are major problems with our gun laws like a lack of background checks, the gun show loophole and concealed carry.

There was a recent article by Leonard Pitts, Jr., Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for the Miami Herald that blames firearms for much of the political change in this country.  Like the fact that Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords was forced to leave Congress due to the reckless use of an easily available handgun. 

He recounts past instances in our history with similar outcomes like the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln, James Garfield, William McKinley, Huey Long, Malcolm X, Medgar Evers, the Kennedy brothers, George Wallace, Martin Luther King and others.



Glock 19



Citing Jared Loughner’s easy access to the semi-automatic Glock 19 he purchased at the Sportsman’s Warehouse outlet in Tucson, Arizona, Pitts exclaims that Loughner was able to acquire the gun despite the fact that he had been rejected by the U.S. Army and kicked out of a community college due to his behavior.  Pitts continues this line of thought with, “Which suggests that, while Loughner may be unbalanced, American gun laws are downright insane.”  I couldn’t have said it better.

Pitts also has an opinion on the refusal of the gun lobby to allow the banning of automatic high-capacity magazines: “The hunter who needs a gun that fires hundreds of rounds a minute isn’t much of a hunter.”  Amen!  And he even cites the political left for its crusade to get rid of all guns instead of concentrating on the specific issues of just making it harder for the bad guys to obtain them.  Just like the political right led by the NRA won’t give an inch.

Yes, the killings will go on if we don’t find some means for conciliation, and that includes both sides of the issue.  Pitts comments that this whole fiasco reflects the will of the people and that is tragic because they are the ones getting killed.

Gun insanity…state by state



Typical NRA sidearm

I am always looking for ways to explore the craziness of gun freaks who think more of their firearms than their own family. Otherwise, why would these morons leave their weapons around for children to play with? They act as if their 2nd Amendment rights are more important than their country; many of these twits can carry a concealed weapon around on the streets of their city with no permit, no background check and little if any educational training on how to use it.

Since President Obama and Congress have decided they will do nothing about more gun control enforcement, the states have decided to have a field day and pass more gun rights laws and loosen those already on the books.  The National Rifle Assn. (NRA) is licking its lips with the satisfaction of a demented fiend that is feeding off an equally demented following of losers.  If you don’t believe me, take one look at Wayne LaPierre, the “conspiracy a minute” Exec. V.P. of the NRA, when someone mentions gun control.

Wayne LaPierre befuddled

So I plan to cover the insanities of those states that seemingly make this issue a priority over education, the needy, the children, healthcare and a host of other matters that should take prominence over the idiosyncrasies of this disturbed group.  And where better to start than Arizona, the state with the loosest gun laws in the nation.

ARIZONA: State Sen. Ron Gould, a part of Arizona’s inept Republican legislature, wants to require colleges and universities to allow concealed weapons on campus…again.  Forged Gov. Jan Brewer has already shot his bill down once saying it was “poorly written.” 

FLORIDA: It is now legal to take your Glock with you to the maternity ward while giving birth so you can thrust it in the hands of your newly born to make sure he or she is fully protected when leaving the hospital.

NEW YORK: Tea Party crackpot Mark Meckler, licensed to carry a gun in California, felt he had the right to check his Glock pistol with 19 cartridges in along with himself.  He spent the day in jail and eventually left on a felony weapons charge.

WISCONSIN: 47-year-old Mark Manning from Indiana with a license to carry in Wisconsin was charged with threatening a truck driver on an Interstate highway.  Seems like muttonhead Manning cut off the semi and when the truck flashed its bright lights on the car, Manning pointed a gun back at the semi.

ARIZONA-AGAIN: a 7-year-old from Mesa was detained in school after a handgun he had brought with him in his backpack that day discharged on a loaded bus.  Fortunately, no one was injured.  The kid got the weapon from a closet at his home.

NEW YORK: Damark King was apparently trying to settle a score with someone when he blasted 5 rounds in a courtyard hitting a 21-month-old in a stroller in the face causing her to lose an eye.  I didn’t say NY-AGAIN because King had brought the 9mm handgun with him from Arizona with an expired license to sell it in New York.

ARIZONA-AGAIN: In a humorous appeal to a newspaper columnist in the rural town of Green Valley, a wife laments over the recent purchase by her 70-year-old husband of a shotgun and a .38 revolver he takes everywhere he goes.  The wife says she isn’t convinced he knows how to use the guns and fears that he will accidentally shoot her, himself or an innocent bystander.

Thanks to the Arizona Republic, The Globe and Mail, CBS News, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Huffington Post, Staten Island Live and the Green Valley News/Sahuarita Sun

More fun and games with guns later.