It’s time to reboot the NRA

The National Rifle association (NRA) has been around since 1871 and will no doubt be here for at least a few more years.  It started as a reasonable organization, founded for the purpose of teaching marksmanship and gun safety.  It has evolved into a gang of unreasonable lunatics demanding that anyone should be able to own a gun and take it anywhere they want to.  Led by the head wacko Wayne LaPierre, it has power most of us can’t comprehend.



Charlton Heston, one of the original NRA kooks



As a recent example, the NRA has joined up with the GOP in the drive for contempt charges against Attorney General Eric Holder re. Fast and Furious.  They are pressuring Democrats now to join Republicans in the fight to make Holder the first sitting cabinet member to receive such a charge.  Whatever the outcome to Fast and Furious, it is not about the issue but rather the fact that this group of fanatics can bring down such pressure on Congress.

The time has come to stop this nonsense.  I have been reporting on gun violence by documenting the monthly numbers of U.S. shootings, those killed, and those wounded since March.  There was a 37.5 percent increase in gun violence in April over March and another 30.4 percent in May.  June looks to be coming in with another increase and one wonders just how long this country will put up with this before taking some kind of action on gun control.

This has to start by eliminating the power of the NRA that is conducive to the rights of sane gun owners—yes, there are some of those out there—but restrictive of this radical philosophy of guns for everyone, everywhere.  It is time to reboot the NRA.  The term means restart, begin again, in order to correct errors that have occurred.  Precisely what this out of control bunch of extremists needs and the process of change must start soon or more will die from guns.

The excellent gun control blog, Common Gunsense, recently posted an article on the fact that guns are now responsible for raging fires in Utah and Colorado.  It is the result of target shooting, a right that the NRA demands for its members, your rights be damned if it starts a blaze that destroys homes and precious forests.  CG says the NRA doesn’t trust government, adding:

“The NRA wants the minority of folks who own guns and carry guns to determine public safety rather than the people who are actually charged with doing so for the good of our communities.”

Gun control today

Richard Aborn of the Washington Post made this statement, “The debate about guns in the United States has always been between David and Goliath. Last year, the gun lobby outspent advocates of gun control by 11 to 1, or $2.9 million vs. $260,000.”  The NRA is well known for spending 46 percent of donations on fundraising, only 54 percent on charitable efforts while most major 501(c) charities spend 75 percent on the latter.

Aborn continues, “…the United States leads its post-industrial peers with an average of eight times as many annual deaths as a result of gun violence.”  He cites a decrease in gun control support in the United States, comparing this at a level of 52 percent in 1994 with a recent November Gallup poll indicating it is currently only at 1 percent.  The apathy is likely to continue as long as millions of Americans are out of work and losing their homes.

With those figures in mind, the author charges all of us with three factors in taking back control of guns:

Number one, don’t believe it; the battle against violent crime has not been won.  “More Americans were killed by gun violence last year than all American troops who have been killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.”

Two, “Ninety percent of gun owners support reasoned measures to keep guns from criminals and the mentally unbalanced, bipartisan polls show.”  Gun control and gun rights groups must come to an understanding.

Three, the NRA has successfully worked to prevent government funding for scientific research on the effectiveness of gun control measures.  Aborn says we should look at other countries for the plunging number of gun deaths with reasonable gun control.  You can see an example in my recent post, “Canada laws prove that gun control works.”

Numbers don’t lie and my monthly documentation of gun violence should be a wake up call for all of us, especially those out there I call the “Apathetics.”  You have to care and somehow make a contribution to efforts that put a reasonable control on who owns guns and just where they are allowed.  If not, many of you could be one of my future statistics.

NRA’s open gun culture costs U.S. $174 billion

The NRA takes millions from weapons manufacturers to promote more guns, resulting in increased violence on the streets.  It is time for the public to turn their attention to one of the major culprits in the gun violence issue, the companies that produce these firearms.  Some of these include Bushmaster Firearms, the rifle used in the Newtown Sandy Hook massacre, Colt Manufacturing, Remington, Magnum, Smith & Wesson and Springfield.

There is a complete list of gun manufacturers here, with their locations, so you might want to write to these companies and let them know what you think of the NRA’s stand for loose guns throughout the U.S.

Wayne LaPierre and his National Rifle Assn. (NRA) minions should understand the monetary side of gun violence and the fact that it cost the U.S. $174 billion in 2010.  Since 2005, according to the Violence Policy Center, gun manufacturers have contributed around $39 million to the NRA allowing them to do their dirty work.  Some of that goes into paying LaPierre’s hefty annual salary of $970,300 and the rest goes for other NRA execs., and pushing more guns on the street.   

All of this loose gun utopia came to a head with the shooting of 20 little children, ages 6 and 7, and 6 educators in Newtown, CT at the Sandy Hook Elementary School , plus the shooter’s mother, on December 14, 2012.  The gunman, Adam Lanza, did it with an assault type weapon that the NRA fights to keep legal.  You can see a list of mass shootings documented by Mother Jones here, which is really only the tip of the iceberg in total gun violence.

The real figure is the fact that there have been about 11,000 homicides by firearms a year with an additional 18,000 that commit suicide using a gun.  As an example, this is compared to 550 homicides a year in the UK where gun control laws are much tougher.  Even the double-digit IQs in the NRA should be able to understand these numbers.  In total there are some 310 million nonmilitary firearms in the US.  The gun culture is out of control and the public knows it

This $174 billion includes work lost, medical care, insurance, criminal-justice expenses and pain and suffering.  This number is even higher than for automobile crashes in the U.S. that are alcohol-related at $129.7 billion.  The Bloomberg report by Henry Goldman breaks down the average cost of just one gun homicide and it is an unbelievable $5 million.

He says, “That includes $1.6 million in lost work; $29,000 in medical care; $11,000 on surviving families’ mental-health treatment; $397,000 in criminal-justice, incarceration and police expenses; $9,000 in employer losses; and $3 million in pain, suffering and lost quality of life.”

Philip Cook of Duke U. and Jens Ludwig from Georgetown U. published “Gun Violence: The Real Costs,” claiming “It’s an economic cost in that it’s a reduction in the standard of living and quality of life in the same way that having dirty air or traffic congestion can be translated into an economic cost.”  The question the American public has to answer now is whether they are willing to pay this high price just so LaPierre and gun manufacturers can continue to get rich.

The most recent CDC data from 2010 reported 105,177 shootings resulting in injury including 31,672 who died by homicide, suicide, law-enforcement action or accident.  If all these numbers aren’t enough to convince the Congress and the American public that guns must be regulated strenuously and now, then there are more double-digit IQs out there than I had thought.

NRA choking...going down

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 2, 2019 NEWS BYTES

The latest attack on gun violence...   

Assault weapons ban did work

Apparently the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) made a trip to Moscow that is a no-no for their non-profit status. If it did break the law governing nonprofit spending, the gang of gun nuts could lose its tax-exempt status. That could put the NRA out of business. And that could spark parades and flag waving throughout the country. David Love on Aljazeera says, "The tide is turning for gun control in the US."...

"In what would have been inconceivable just a few years ago, the ground is shifting in the United States on the issue of gun control and halting the proliferation of firearms. The once omnipotent gun lobby is now weakened, if not dying, and the public support for gun restrictions is increasing beyond party lines."

That combined with the NRA's internal problems from Oliver North to Maria Butina has prompted the investigation in a report...

"compiled by Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee and released on Friday, investigates the relationship between NRA leadership and Russian nationals with Kremlin ties. Those nationals include Maria Butina, a 30-year-old Russian who was convicted last year of conspiring to act as a foreign agent."

We can't let this happen...

In a 2015 trip to Russia by NRA officials, Butina promised an introduction to "powerful officials" and "those executives were told they would be given opportunities to advance personal business interests." The catch here is, "aside from the fact that the NRA is accused of willingly establishing relationships with Russian nationals with close ties with the Kremlin — is that tax-exempt nonprofits aren’t allowed to use their funds for personal gain."

There's more...

"New York Attorney General Letitia James also opened an investigation into the organization’s nonprofit status back in April following reports of financial mismanagement. The District of Columbia’s attorney general said his office launched a similar inquiry in July, sending subpoenas to the NRA and its charitable arms to collect 'financial records, payments to vendors, and payments to officers and directors.'”

House Democrats are cowards on assault weapons ban...

Aljazeera comments on American business CEOs concerned over out-of-control gun violence in the U.S....

"Other businesses have followed suit, as the chief executive officers of 145 companies wrote a letter to the US Senate, proclaiming the country is experiencing a public health crisis, and saying it is "simply unacceptable" to take no action on gun violence and mass shootings. The CEOs added that new laws mandating background checks for gun purchases 'are a common-sense solution with overwhelming public support and are a critical step toward stemming the gun violence epidemic in this country.'"

And to support the general consensus that more gun control is needed, a recent study has determined the former assault weapons ban was, in fact, effective. Here are the findings...

"The research from Stanford Law professor John Donohue and student Theodora Boulouta found that from 1994 to 2004, the Clinton-era federal assault weapons ban was associated with a marked decrease in mass shootings and victims of those shootings."

Here are the facts...

"in the decade preceding the assault weapons ban, there were 33 percent additional mass shootings and 65 percent more associated fatalities. Ten years after the ban expired in 2004, the number of mass shootings more than tripled and the number of fatalities spiked more than fourfold."

BINGO! But, then, facts don't seem to affect the votes of a cowardly Congress that has feared the NRA's wrath since head gun nut Wayne Lapierre took over. But that may all be changing as the new wave to curb gun violence begins to take hold. And when Senate challenger Mark Kelly (Gabby Giffords astronaut husband) running against Republican Martha McSally as a gun control advocate wins that seat, we'll have even more support in the Senate.

The course is clear, more reasonable gun control laws in 2020 as we get the guns off the streets.

YES-NO - Gun manufacturers responsible for gun violence?

Most of you know me and are well aware that I am an avid, passionate supporter of responsible gun control. I go to the extent that I would take all the cowboy vigilantes off the street and make them keep their guns at home. Don't worry guys, your girlfriend or spouse will still think you are a man...probably. But I don't agree with the parents of the Sandy Hook victim that exclaims Bernie Sanders is wrong about gun manufacturer responsibility for gun deaths.

What these folks are implying is that the morons in Congress have done the right thing by not addressing the real problem of gun violence...too many guns on the street in the wrong hands. The gun manufacturer, in fact, is not wrong selling an AR-15 rifle because it is legal and that is because Congressional idiots let the assault weapons ban expire in 2004. Sure, gun manufacturers are guilty of having absolutely no common sense at times selling them, knowing how dangerous they are.

It's not legally wrong. It is logically wrong. Mark and Jackie Barden should go after the bottom-feeders in Washington that take millions from the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) every year and then vote the way they are told on gun issues. It's sickening to see the way gun violence has taken over this country and the American public doesn't appear to give a shit. I want you to take a look at a report from the Gun Violence Archive 2016.

Total number of incidents              10,590
Number of deaths                             2,677
Number of injuries                           5,424
Number of children (0-11)
  killed/injured                                     613
Mass shootings                                      51
Accidental shooting                             534

And folks, this is only since January 1, 2016. But have you heard one member of Congress lamenting over the fact that these individuals died, especially the children? If so, it was not within earshot of the NRA. If you want to lay blame, put it squarely where it belongs, on Wayne LaPierre and his National Rifle Assn. Add to that those gun dealers who recklessly want to sell guns with little concern over who they are selling them to. One such case is straw purchase sales.

I totally agree with the end result the Bardens are fighting for and have great sympathy for their cause. It is just misdirected and infers that our dysfunctional Congress is not to blame for gun violence in America. The people of this country must stand up now and tell Washington that we want responsible gun control

Republicans have already abandoned gun control

August 21, 2019: PROGRESSIVE STREET NEWS BYTES...Where Liberals Walk

What will it take to get reasonable gun control? How many more deaths? 

What is this sick fascination?

The proof is in the congressional attitude and that currently seems to correlate with Donald Trump after his telephone conversation with the NRA's head gun nut, Wayne LaPierre. We already have enough gun laws including those that are for background checks. Here's the scenario...

"Senate Homeland SecurityChairman Ron Johnson (R-Wi) is casting major doubt on the prospects of significant gun regulations passing this fall, the latest sign that the effort to pass new firearm laws is starting to falter."

No one thought this kind of mindset was possible after Sandy Hook, or Aurora, Colorado, or most recently the California Garlic Festival, El Paso or the Dayton gun massacres. It is only possible because a cowardly Congress supported by a cowardly American public refuse to do anything. That refusal is, of course, prompted by the fact that Washington is afraid of the NRA and the public either doesn't have the brains or just doesn't care about gun violence.

There's more...

"The Wisconsin Republican said that a background checks measure based on the bill written by Sens. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and a national "red flag" bill are both unlikely to pass. He was open to GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham’s bill that would establish a red flag grant program, but said the Senate would need to 'attach to those grants very strict guidelines in terms of due process.'”

And that makes it absolutely clear that the GOP is more concerned with the NRA and gun manufacturers than they are with the innocent children and adults who die from gun violence.  

NRA problems reported by Rachel Maddow...

The New York Times says, "Following his talks with the NRA chief executive Wayne LaPierre and gun-rights activists, President Donald Trump struck a different tone on gun regulations in the weeks after two mass shootings. And this was caused by...

"The NRA reportedly launched a campaign to contact lawmakers in the wake of the shootings on August 3 and 4 in El Paso, Texas, and Dayton, Ohio. Both gunmen wielded assault-style rifles in the separate shootings, which killed 31 people."

Hey, these perpetrators of gun violence are supposed to be headed down the drain so who cares what the hell they say. Chuck Schumer said...

"We've seen this movie before: President Donald J. Trump, feeling public pressure in the immediate aftermath of a horrible shooting, talks about doing something meaningful to address gun violence, but inevitably, he backtracks in response to pressure from the NRA and the hard-right."

Donald Trump lies about action on background checks...

In other words, in order to get rid of gun violence we need to get rid of Donald Trump and Congress, something many Americans would agree with. Here's a headline: ‘I’m worried’: Allies fear NRA has lost its power in Washington." Anita Kumar and Gabby Orr of Politico report...

"The disarray at the NRA is alarming allies who say President Donald Trump and Congress appear to have a brief opening to pass legislation while the group is so politically feeble it isn’t able to aggressively lobby lawmakers against proposals or hold them accountable for their votes, according to a half-dozen Republicans familiar with the situation."

And finally an insider reports...

“There’s no coordinated effort. The staff feels like there is no plan. There’s not a lot of direction or a plan for how to proceed.”

If the wheels are coming off at the NRA, it can't happen soon enough.

Joe Biden talks with gun rights advocates...NRA gives typical hackneyed reaction

President Obama has now focused on getting new gun control regulations into law and has named Vice President Joe Biden to lead the cause.  Obama wants universal background checks, strengthen mental health checks, increase penalties for carrying guns near a school or giving them to minors and reinstate the assault weapons ban.  He also is in favor of a national database to track the sale of weapons.  Regulations that any sane American would favor.

Joe Biden has so far met with gun control advocates, gun rights advocates and select entertainment groups.  AG Eric Holder has also met with some gun retailers like Bass Pro Shops, Cabela’s, Gander Mountain and Wal Mart.  You can see a full list here.  Biden stated, "There has got to be some common ground, to not solve every problem, but diminish the probability.  That's what this is all about. There are no conclusions I have reached."

After the meeting, the National Rifle Assn. (NRA), made its typically dumb statements:

"We were disappointed with how little this meeting had to do with keeping our children safe and how much it had to do with an agenda to attack the Second Amendment.  While claiming that no policy proposals would be 'prejudged,' this task force spent most of its time on proposed restrictions on lawful firearms owners—honest, taxpaying, hardworking Americans."

"We will not allow law-abiding gun owners to be blamed for the acts of criminals and madmen."

Vice President Joe Biden chairs group on gun violence:

On January 10, the NRA’s wacky Wayne LaPierre said the organization will use “real Americans” to prove their point, as if the country is solidly behind his gang of gun nuts.  This is where the Atlantic article exposes an NRA that does not have the backing of the American public, not even the 146 million gun owners.  NRA membership is 4.2 million which works out to only 2.9% of gun owners.  Even when membership costs only $25.00 to join with added perks.   

As far as all Americans are concerned, according to two surveys measuring households with guns, the University of Chicago's National Opinion Research Center says there are 32%; Gallup says 47%.  Based on these figures, the NRA doesn’t even represent a majority of Americans.  But somehow in the past this radical group of gun worshippers had convinced non-gun owners to support its cause.  That support has now crumbled with the reality of gun violence.

The Vice President will have a plan to curb gun violence in the hands of the President by tomorrow, and is now encouraging Obama to consider executive order.  The President has nothing to lose in his second administration, and could go down in history as having saved the United States from a firearms disaster.  With the help of the new, and very strong, voice in gun control, Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly, Obama should have all the fire power he needs.

The one thing in this issue that the gun rights bunch is right about, although it is obvious they dwell on this subject just so it will divert attention from gun control, is strengthening the mental health system to identify anyone who shouldn’t be allowed to own a gun.  States are lax, the govs are lax, and those reporting are lax in providing and disseminating the information that could have saved the lives of 20 little children and 6 educators in Newtown, CT.

Mental health is a part of Joe Biden’s plan and the President is solidly behind fixing the problem.  Altogether, there is enough of a force with good and reasonable ideas to solve the overall problem of America’s out of control gun violence.  But it will take new and stricter gun laws to accomplish this goal and Wayne LaPierre and his NRA will just have to get used to it.

The Case for the Second Amendment

 

This is the 2nd Amendment as given to us by the Founding Fathers...

A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.

 

Now, let's look at that. Is the "well regulated militia" a state national guard or is "State" meant to represent the U.S. and "militia" the military? This makes a big difference in the interpretation of this amendment. And, the national guard or military "being necessary to the security" of either sounds like we are talking about a group rather than an individual. Of course, all of the discussions and negotiations of the 2nd Amendment were taking place before its passing, December 15,1791.

But then we have, "the right of the people to keep and bear Arms," which could be plural, referring to a group of people. What I am getting at here is that the 2nd, as it is written, is far from clear if it represents groups or whether it could include individual gun ownership. Finally, "shall not be infringed" is relatively simple and means the amendment cannot be violated. But it is still to be established whether this 200+ year old measure asserts singleness or government control.

It must be acknowledged that a law that is 200 years old, plus written at a time when there was no established law enforcement--resulting in potential instances of self protection--could need a more modern interpretation. Additionally, the United States over the last few years has shifted to a gun culture designed and implemented by the NRA's Wayne LaPierre that produces maximum profits for gun manufacturers and lines LaPierre's pockets with millions of dollars?

You should understand that all of the above incidents occur in an environment here in

this country that is rocked daily by gun violence. According to the Gun Violence Archive, there have been almost 22,000 gun violence deaths in 2021, including 315 mass shootings. There are 390 million guns on America's streets with the current U.S. population 329 million. America comes in second in firearm-related gun deaths around the world with 37,200 annually; Brazil is number 1. 

But is there a case for the 2nd Amendment? I will leave you with the above facts and figures plus a number of sites, below, relating to guns starting with the mass killings in Colorado and Georgia, in March of this year, and ideas on how to stop all this mayhem...

Opinion | 6 Bold Ideas for Gun Reform That Could Actually Happen

 

• Poll: Majority support stricter US gun laws: 57%
  
  
• I Helped Lead the Gun Control Movement. It’s Asking the Wrong Questions.
  

Explainer: More guns than people: Why tighter U.S. firearms laws are unlikely

• 'Guns apocalypse': Legal experts deliver warnings after Supreme Court decides to take up big 2A case
  
  
• The lawsuit seeking to impose the “death penalty” on the NRA, explained

Samantha Bee gun special: Second Amendment is 'useless,' 'fragile men are drawn to guns'

• Opinion: A bankruptcy trial reveals the deep rot within the NRA

• The case for requiring gun licenses

After repeated ATF warnings, gun dealers can count on the agency to back off; sometimes firearms flow to criminals

• Gun Church That Worships With AR-15s Bought a 40-Acrempound in Texas for Its ‘Patriots’
  
  
• Was the Constitutional Right to Bear Arms Designed to Protect Slavery?

213 Mass Shootings Later, What Has Biden Done on Guns?

• Gun used in Odessa shooting shows risk when chain of illegal sale starts with home-based hobbyist dealers
  
  
• Mass shootings are making news again — here are the legal loopholes that help them happen

At least 22 people shot, 2 fatally, after assailants get out of an SUV and fire assault rifles at a club, police say

• The US has a problem with guns. Here's what to know.
  
  
• America is on a gun-buying spree. Here's what is driving the surge

San Jose mayor proposes gun owners carry insurance, pay annual fee in wake of rail yard shooting

• San Jose mayor proposes gun owners carry insurance, pay annual fee in wake of rail yard shooting

• Why G.O.P.-Led States Are Banning the Police From Enforcing Federal Gun Laws

Gun deaths surge in Iowa ahead of loosened handgun restrictions

Yes, the 2nd Amendment had its place in its day, the days of 1791, but this is 2021, and that need is no longer viable. Gun violence has consumed America due to a gun culture fostered by the National Rifle Assn. and supported by a large array of gun nuts. The time has come for change.

2 more surveys…2 more reasons for more strict gun control

As the President receives recommendations today from Vice President Joe Biden on how to curb gun violence by passing new firearms laws, the NRA promises a fight to the finish predicting an assault weapons ban won’t pass.  These fruitcakes still don’t understand the difference between their right to own guns and the public’s right to stay alive.  In fact, the NRA doesn’t care about the latter and has made that clear over the years blocking all firearms legislation.

All the recent polls point to the fact that Americans want action now in stopping the carnage by guns that has swept the nation.  How these facts escape Wayne LaPierre and his gang of gun nuts is beyond me.  Maybe they aren’t bright enough to understand the emergency of the situation.  Or maybe they just don’t care as indicated earlier.  In a recent CNN/ORC poll, it was found that 52% of the U.S. public wants major restrictions on the ownership of firearms.

In a new survey from the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council, it found that unintentional injuries were quite often caused by guns, and one of the reasons people in America die young more often than in other countries.  Further, “The prevalence of firearms in the United States looms large as an explanation for higher death rates from violence, suicidal impulses, and accidental shootings.”  The availability of guns is deadly in this country.

Continuing, the survey found the U.S. has the highest rate of firearms ownership among peer countries: 89 civilian-owned firearms for every 100 Americans and the US is home to about 35 to 50 per cent of the world's civilian-owned firearms.”  Possession of unlocked firearms in the home is one behavior blamed for the “excessive lethality of the violence.”  With 6 violent deaths per 100,000 population, the United States is far above 16 other countries in the study.

 Canada, Japan, Australia and much of Western Europe didn’t come anywhere close to the U.S.  The closest country was Finland with just over 2 violent deaths per year.  Most of these countries have very strict gun regulation laws that apparently work in decreasing firearms violence.  Homicide is the second leading cause of death in ages 15-24, and 52% of all suicides involve a firearm.  It would seem this country is determined to decrease the population using guns.

But yet another report has been issued that documents states with the most and least gun control.  California is best and, who else, Arizona is worst.  The Grand Canyon state is also the second deadliest in the U.S. with 15 gun deaths per 100,000 population.  As a resident of this state I can tell you that it takes literally nothing more than a warm body to buy a gun, and carry it anywhere in the state you want to, even in bars.  Pathetic.

Everyone is waiting for Joe Biden’s recommendations to President Obama that he will deliver today.  Many have said that the media will eventually tire of the gun control issue and move on to the economy full time.  I don’t think so and bloggers like myself and organizations like the Brady Campaign, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Mayors against Illegal Guns, States United to Prevent Gun Violence and others will all do their part to keep gun control in the forefront. 

With Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly’s new group, Americans for Responsible Solutions, the momentum has finally grown to proportions that can match and beat the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) at their own game.  Say goodbye to the NRA’s leader, wacky Wayne LaPierre.

Repeal the 2nd Amendment NOW!

Twenty-two people were injured by gun violence in a shooting at a 24-hour art festival in Trenton, New Jersey, where two men are believed to be the shooters, with one of them killed by police. While there were no deaths, four people are in critical shape, one a teenager. It was an all-nighter that started at 3 PM featuring 1,500 pieces of art. There was an attempted carjacking near the festival but law enforcement hasn't been able to tie it in with the shooting. In other words, at this point there is minimum information available, but we do know it was another senseless shooting.

First, we need to know what the weapons were, how the assailants got them, and why they picked this particular event. Not that it will explain that with guns everywhere in the U.S., the fact of where the guns came from may no longer be relevant. In just 2018, there have been 26,570 incidents of gun violence, which have ended in 6,568 deaths, and with 12,359 more injuries. There have been 1,547 children killed or injured. And there have been 130 mass shootings like the one in Trenton. But the imbeciles that populate the U.S. Congress, because of the NRA, are scared to make a move.

Wayne LaPierre, the National Rifle Assn. head gun nut, has been spewing his 2nd Amendment crap for years, and apparently it has registered with congressional members, the general public, and most certainly with his gun nut membership. It is time to repeal the 2nd Amendment and start over. Gun permits should be radically limited and right to carry only for law enforcement or those with an absolute need. Former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said in March of this year in a NY Times op-ed piece, "Repeal the 2nd Amendment." It, of course, got nowhere.

Stevens says this nonsense of the people arming themselves against a tyrannical government is, "a relic of the 18th century." Basically, that puts the 2nd Amendment and everything that comes from LaPierre and his NRA in the same category. In a reaction to the demonstrations of schoolchildren after the Parkland, Fla. gun massacre, "They reveal the broad public support for legislation to minimize the risk of mass killings of schoolchildren and others in our society." This should include...

"legislation prohibiting civilian ownership of semiautomatic weapons, increasing the minimum age to buy a gun from 18 to 21 years old, and establishing more comprehensive background checks on all purchasers of firearms. But the demonstrators should seek more effective and more lasting reform. They should demand a repeal of the Second Amendment."

And Judge Stevens explores history...

"In 1939 the Supreme Court unanimously held that Congress could prohibit the possession of a sawed-off shotgun because that weapon had no reasonable relation to the preservation or efficiency of a 'well regulated militia.'” 

The militia thing is there but at least the Supreme Court had the common sense, and, apparently, the legal foundation to say a sawed-off shotgun wasn't included in the intent of the Founding Fathers to represent protection. In keeping with that Stevens is implying that assault rifles are not a necessary weapon for protection, thus, they should be outlawed. You may not know this but in the "long-settled understanding of the Second Amendment’s limited reach by ruling, in District of Columbia v. Heller, that there was an individual right to bear arms. Stevens was one of four dissenters.

Many of you may also know about Arizona's loose gun laws and an unusually high rate of gun violence. It is in the top 16 in the country. Here are the stats...

• Firearm deaths per 100,000 people: 15.2 per 100,000
• Total firearm deaths 2016: 1094 (suicides: 755, homicides: 303)
• Violent crime rate: 470.1 per 100,000 (12th highest)
• Permit required to carry handgun: No (Citizens allowed to carry a concealed handgun with or without a permit.)
• Poverty rate: 16.4% (8th highest)

The reason I bring this up is an op-ed in the local Phoenix paper titled, "Control lacking in the Second Amendment." The writer was more concerned over the way the paper, conservative, had changed his title in the piece published earlier, which does not apply here. What is important is what Leon Gildin said at the end of his recent article. He exclaimed, "Control is what is lacking and the reason therefore is, with all due respect, the Second Amendment, as it was written, is not relevant to the issue of gun ownership or gun control in today's world."

Like former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens said, the 2nd Amendment is a relic of the 18th century.

Read more: Gun Violence Archive 2018

                    

                    New Jersey art festival shooting suspect had just been released from prison, prosecutor says

                   John Paul Stevens: Repeal the Second Amendment

                   States with the most (and least) gun violence. See where your state stacks up.

                  

GOP Party Platform the height of arrogance on gun rights

When you think you have reached the epitome of gun rights demands by the gun nuts—they, along with the National Rifle Assn. (NRA), have gutted gun control laws for the last few years—here comes an election and the Republicans are demanding even broader gun rights.  I can’t imagine what is left to gain other than the possibility that we establish an open air market where anyone can go, 24/7, and purchase a gun, taking it anywhere they want to.

Romney VP, Paul Ryan "packing"

I can see it now.  On the front row of displays will be an assortment of assault weapons and magazine clips that hold 100 or more rounds.  Behind that an array of handguns designed to kill with just one shot.  All for self-defense, of course.  Gun vendors would exclaim how the NRA has finally won its battle for gun rights and from now on everyone from Paul Ryan to a James Holmes can own the weapon of his or her choice and do with it as they choose.  NRA Nirvana.

To hell with human life like the lives lost in gun carnage from Columbine to the Wisconsin Sikh Temple.  And these are just the ones that get the attention.  Look at Chicago recently; hardly a day goes by without multiple killings.  Since March I have documented shootings in the U.S. with results of 1,056 shootings leaving 432 dead; these figures are very conservative coming only from the media.  The CDC reports 31,347 gun deaths annually, 10.2 per 100,000 population.

The above alone is reason enough to re-elect Barack Obama, even though he hasn’t come out forcefully enough for gun control, while at the same time knowing we will get nothing, zero, from the Mitt Romney/Paul Ryan gang.

Gun control advocates call it an “audacious” answer to those calling for more regulation after the mass shootings.  I call it pure disdain for those killed and wounded at the mercy of loose guns, and a highly insulting slap in the face to one of their own, Gabby Giffords, former U.S. Representative from Arizona who was severely wounded in the 2011 Tucson massacre where 6 died and 13 more injured.  By guns.  It is this kind of Bizarre thinking that kills Americans daily.

NY Sen. Chuck Schumer on Democrats and gun control:

Dan Gross, Pres. Of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence laments that by pushing this gun rights platform, The GOP have, "put themselves farther out of touch with their constituents."  In a Pew Research Poll following the Aurora, Colo. movie shooting, 47% of Americans favored more gun control compared to 46% who don’t.  With those figures, and considering the firearms bloodbaths in 2012 alone, any thinking individual knows that something must be done.

Does that mean the NRA and its members and supporters don’t think?  Their ability in this area is questionable, but the real reason is they just don’t care.  These gun fanatics value their arsenals over human life and this is despicable.

On July 24, 4 days after the Aurora, Colo. shooting, The White House hinted that President Obama might address the gun control issue.  His spokesman Jay Carney even recapped Obama’s support for an assault weapons ban.  But just 2 days before this Jay Carney was reported as saying the President doesn’t believe new gun control laws are needed.  And in a later statement in August, Carney insisted the problem isn’t guns, it’s violence.

Where the hell does Carney and the President think the violence comes from?  This bullshit about guns don’t kill, people do, is just that, bullshit.  It takes a person to pull the trigger and the reason there are so many triggers to pull is the GOP conservatives, prodded with money from the NRA, repeatedly loosen gun laws.

The Democratic convention started this week and the platform does have some mention of gun control, as follows: “Guns: We believe that the right to own firearms is subject to reasonable regulation. We understand the terrible consequences of gun violence; it serves as a reminder that life is fragile, and our time here is limited and precious. We believe in an honest, open national conversation about firearms.”  See the whole platform here.

But a headline in the Charlotte Observer on Monday read, “Don’t wimp out on gun-control platform,” with a subhead of “Democrats, let’s see a platform that pushes for more limits.”  In other words, they didn’t do enough. 

The author questions why the NRA thinks the President is the “most anti-gun president in modern times,” followed by a quote from the article saying, “Obama hasn’t proposed any anti-gun legislation during his first term, and his talk about gun control has been almost non-existent these last four years.”  I think we would be elated to hear something from Obama on gun control in his address tonight.  But we all will be satisfied if he just does something about it in his 2^nd term.

Stopping illegal weapons trafficking could put big dent in gun violence

Gun trafficking is closely related to straw buyers.  The latter is defined as an illegal firearm purchase where the actual buyer of the gun, being unable to pass the required federal background check or desiring to not have his or her name associated with the transaction, uses a proxy buyer who can pass the required background check to purchase the firearm for him/her.  You can see a list of those prohibited to purchase a gun here.  It is illegal to sell to these people but in many cases it is even done through a small number of corrupt federal firearms dealers. 

According to the Brady Campaign, only 1 % of gun dealers account for almost 60 % of crime guns recovered by police.  But 94% of licensed dealers approached by undercover stings at gun shows in Ohio, Tennessee and Nevada sold to individuals who appeared to be criminals or straw purchasers.  34% of crime guns recovered in 1999 (last year data available, had been purchased from a new gun dealer within the last 3 years, indicating to the ATF that the guns had been trafficked.  40% of all U.S. gun sales are without background checks.

There is no federal law against buying a gun from a dealer today and selling it to someone else tomorrow.  The Federal Observer says, “Although the maximum federal penalty for participating in a straw purchase is a 10-year prison term, in practice sentencing guidelines call for only 2 to 2 1/2 years' imprisonment for someone caught providing as many as a dozen guns to a convicted felon. That's half the mandatory (5-year) minimum for possession of 5 grams of crack cocaine.”  Some gun control advocates favor limiting purchases to one handgun per month.

Continuing, “The so-called straw purchase of guns is ‘the most significant factor in gun trafficking, without any question,’ said Jack Killorin, director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms' Atlanta field division.  As an example, in a straw purchase, the two shotguns and a rifle used in the 1999 Columbine High School carnage were bought by Dylan Klebold’s 18-year-old girlfriend.  Klebold was too young at age 17.  According to Bureau of Justice statistics, 40% of criminals obtain firearms from friends or family.

Sen. Kristen Killibrand introduces gun trafficking law:

From the Brady Campaign’s first report of Gun Industry Watch, Without A Trace, it exposes how the gun lobby, working with the Bush Administration and its allies in Congress, had protected corrupt gun dealers by systematically blocking the release of information identifying the gun dealers responsible for selling most of the crime guns recovered in America.  The Action Council’s Fact Sheet on gun victims provides more startling answers to why the government is so constrained in efforts to curb gun violence:

Until 2002, the ATF released aggregate crime gun trace reports to local police departments, researchers, policymakers and public safety advocates.  Then Congress voted to restrict police access to crime gun trace data and cut off public access altogether. These restrictions, known as the Tiahrt Amendments (named for the Kansas Congressman who sponsored the bill), have passed in every Department of Justice budget since 2003, despite the fact that prominent law enforcement associations oppose them as a serious threat to public safety.

The ATF, the sole government agency charged with enforcing federal gun laws, has operated without a permanent director since the Bush Administration, and operates with just 1,800 agents to monitor approximately 77,000 gun dealers. Given these constraints, it would take ATF 22 years to inspect all federally licensed gun dealers. Even if the ATF had the manpower to inspect most gun dealers, federal law limits the agency to a single unannounced inspection of a dealer in any 12-month period. Congress has made it increasingly difficult for the ATF to revoke licenses of crooked gun dealers.        

It is impossible for law enforcement to know the whereabouts of millions of firearms in circulation today because Federal law explicitly bars the ATF from establishing a database of retail firearms sales, and private gun sellers are not required to keep a paper trail of transactions. Prior to 2001, federal authorities maintained criminal background check records for up to six months. Under President Bush, Attorney General John Ashcroft reversed this policy and ordered the destruction of all criminal background check records within 24 hours. Even though the General Accounting Office found that destroying these records endangers public safety, the policy remains in effect.

Thirdway.org says, “In 9 of 10 gun crimes, the gun was not used by the original purchaser.  Felons and gun runners exploit the unregulated private market—the denial rate has plummeted to 1.53% despite the fact that the background check system is far better today than 15 years ago.  And 92% of background checks are completed within minutes.”  So what’s the problem?  With the combination of universal background checks and sending people like Klebold’s girlfriend to prison for 20 years could at least put a dent in gun violence.

And now to counter this gun insanity, 2 Democrats and 2 Republicans have taken the first bipartisan step toward new gun restrictions by introducing a bill in the House of Representatives to crack down on gun trafficking to criminals.  Carolyn Maloney, New York Democrat, along with Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the other Democrat, and Republicans Patrick Meehan of Pennsylvania and Scott Rigell of Virginia.  The bill would strengthen penalties on "straw purchasers," who buy guns for those who are barred by law from buying their own weapons.

Reuters quotes Cummings re. The Gun Trafficking Prevention Act of 2012, "We have a message for our colleagues in the House.  This bill simply makes sense. Law enforcement officials have asked for it. It will make a significant difference in combating gun crime. And it will not affect the rights of a single legitimate gun owner."  I can just hear the head gun nut of the National Rifle Assn. (NRA), Wayne LaPierre, right now.  He has a message for Cummings, and promptly trots out the NRA’s clichéd, stagnant and tiring stand on an out-of-date 2^nd Amendment.  Pathetic.

China takes on U.S. gun violence as human rights violation

Tiananmen Square standoff

Here we have a country that is known for its severe human rights violations in the past, but all of a sudden China has finally decided to fight back against the United States, which has been one of its staunchest critics.  Most notable was probably the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, which ended in military suppression and a lone man challenging the tanks by standing firm in front of them.  There’s much more and Amnesty International documents it below:

“An estimated 500,000 people are currently enduring punitive detention without charge or trial, and millions are unable to access the legal system to seek redress for their grievances. Harassment, surveillance, house arrest, and imprisonment of human rights defenders are on the rise, and censorship of the Internet and other media has grown. Repression of minority groups, including Tibetans, Uighurs and Mongolians, and of Falun Gong practitioners and Christians who practice their religion outside state-sanctioned churches continues.”

So with a lineup like that, you’re going to come in with your best guns blasting away.  And what does the Chinese government decide to use as the first issue to confront the U.S. with?  Gun violence.  They could have chosen a multitude of arguments like past slavery, treatment of the poor, the anti-immigrant movement.  They picked none of these.  They chose gun violence.  This problem was already obvious to most of the world.  Now it’s official from a world power.

U.S. on China human rights video:

OK.  I can hear the gun bubbas right now question gun violence in China.  To start, China’s population is 1.3 billion; the U.S. 300.8 million.  The latest figures from 2008 show 14,811 gun homicides in China; the U.S. 9,484.  Now that’s 56 percent over the U.S. but then China’s population is 331 percent larger than the U.S.  However, the important number is that the U.S. has 2.98 gun homicides per year, per 100,000 population.  China has 1.1.

China human rights

I don’t care what you think about China; what I care about is the fact that one of the biggest human rights offenders in the world has exposed the stupid American gun culture.  The charges are in response to the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011 issued by the US State Department on May 24.  You can see a summary and link to the full report here.  China report is here.  You’ve heard all of this said before but here it is again…from a foreign nation.

This is verbatim from the China Daily site which is their answer to the report:

“The United States prioritizes the right to keep and bear arms over the protection of citizens' lives and personal security and exercises lax firearm possession control, causing rampant gun ownership, the {State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China} report said.

“The Human Rights Record of the United States in 2011 was released by the State Council Information Office of the People's Republic of China in response to the Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2011 issued by the US State Department on May 24.

“According to the online edition of the Foreign Policy on January 9, 2011, the US people hold between 35 percent and 50 percent of the world's civilian-owned guns, with every 100 people having 90 guns, the report said.

“According to a Gallup poll in October 2011, 47 percent of American adults reported that they had a gun. That was an increase of 6 percentage points from a year ago and the highest Gallup had recorded since 1993, the report indicated.

“According to the Foreign Policy report, over 30,000 Americans die every year from gun violence and another 200,000 Americans are estimated to be injured each year due to guns.

“Besides, according to statistics released by the US Department of Justice, among the 480,760 robbery cases and 188,380 rape and sexual assault cases in 2010, the rates of victimization involving firearms were 29 percent and 7 percent, respectively, the report said.

“The report pointed out that the United States has mighty strength in human, financial and material resources to exert effective control over violent crimes. However, its society is chronically suffering from violent crimes, and its citizens' lives, properties and personal security are in lack of proper protection.”



Your average NRA member

 It seems that the National Rifle Assn. (NRA) has now met one of its primary goals.  Shoving guns down the throats of so many Americans that the United States is now infamous for its gun nuts all over the world.  Nations now know us as a bunch of firearm freaks that care only about arrogantly waving our weapons around just to prove that we can; who cares about public safety.  And another disturbing fact, no U.S. answer yet to this report released by China in May.