This ain't Hell, but you can see it from here

Category: Guns

  • The Oregon shooting thing

    The Oregon shooting thing

    Oregon shooter2

    This doofus took two handguns and a rifle to Umpqua Community College yesterday and if any of the news reports are to be believed, he killed about ten people and wounded a score. According to Yahoo News, he lined up his victims and asked them their religious preference and then shot all of the Christians. But, according to his online profile, he didn’t adhere to any religion;

    […]’s disdain for organized religion was evident in his social media posts and profiles. He also used the screen name “IronCross45” and had a dating profile at the site spiritualprofiles.com where he listed his interests as the “internet, killing zombies, movies, music, reading.”

    “Not Religious, Not Religious, but Spiritual,” he answered about himself on the site. As for a partner, he said “Pagan, Wiccan, Not Religious, but Spiritual” were qualities he desired.

    Oregon shooter

    He did express some admiration for […] who shot up the TV news crew in Virginia a few weeks ago. According to the LA Times a relative told them that this fellow had “joined the Army at one point”. I doubt that, given his young age, he was very successful in any military training. What you don’t hear very often, though is that there was an actual Army veteran, Chris Mintz, who was shot seven times when he charged this scrawny shit. Mintz is recovering in the hospital, I guess he had an angel on his shoulder.

    The President, of course, took to the airways to politicize the event, blaming all gun owners for the act of one person, before there were many details about the shooting.

    Obama reiterated his frustration at the failure of the Republican-controlled Congress to back new gun control measures, and threw down the gauntlet to lawmakers.

    “Prayers are not enough,” he said. “We can actually do something about it, but we’re going to have to change our laws.”

    “This is a political choice we make,” Obama said. “This is not something I can do myself. I have to have a Congress and state legislatures and governors who are willing to work with me on this.”

    “Something”. Be specific, Mr. President, if you want to have a discussion about gun control.

    In fact, Oregon just recently passed laws that Congress didn’t – requiring background checks for every purchase of firearms in the state. So the president is barking at the moon – Oregon had his laws in place and it didn’t prevent the shooting.

    The Oregon gunman had nothing in his past that would have prevented him from passing a background check, if authorities are to be believed at this point. So, I guess the only thing the President really wants now is banning firearms from all Americans. Since he wasn’t specific in his little speech, I can only assume that’s what he meant.

    By the way, Umpqua Community College, is not a “gun-free zone”. They allow concealed weapons in accordance with Oregon State Law – they are a “shall issue” state, but they have no reciprocity agreements with any other state. In other words, in order for an out-of-stater to carry concealed, you have to apply for a CCW license from the local sheriff. In that regard, they are a “may issue” state. Oregon doesn’t require a permit to buy a gun nor do they require gun registration – neither of which affect the commission of crimes with a firearm, anyway.

    I’m hearing some reports that are rumors at this point, that there were armed students who were ordered to “shelter in place” when they tried to respond to the gunfire. But, like I said, that’s a rumor and I don’t think anyone could order me to shelter while people were dying and I had the means to to stop the killing.

  • UT Supreme Court: self-defense trumps company policy

    According to Salt Lakes’ Fox 13 back in 2011, a group of Walmart employees were fired when they wrested control of a firearm from a disenchanted shopper. Apparently Walmart policy dictated that they should have disengaged, withdrew and alert authorities instead.

    Well, the Utah Supreme Court sided with those employees against Walmart and ruled that “Utah law reflects a policy favoring the right of self-defense, and that policy is of sufficient magnitude to qualify as a substantial public policy exception to the at-will employment doctrine, but only under the narrow circumstances where an employee cannot withdraw and faces imminent serious bodily injury.”

    Here’s the whole decision if you’re interested in that kind of thing;

    Ray, Et Al. v. Wal-Mart by Ben Winslow

  • 19-year-old shoots himself while taking selfie

    19-year-old shoots himself while taking selfie

    Bobo sends us a link from Houston, Texas where 19-year-old father of two Deleon Alonso Smith shot himself in the throat with a handgun that he and his cousin “found” earlier in the day. Smith was taking a “selfie” at the time of his negligent discharge, and he thought the gun wasn’t loaded.

    In the article and in the video, the reporter says that he shot himself accidentally and keeps talking about the gun like it has a mind of it’s own. But, folks with any experience with firearms call it a negligent discharge, because young Smith didn’t have enough training with firearms to have the proper respect for it. Apparently he didn’t know that the trigger is not a good place to rest your finger when you’re not intending to shoot something.

    I guess we’ll need a new law making it illegal for a 19-year-old to possess a firearm…oh, wait. Maybe it would be a better idea to have a training program to teach youngsters respect for firearms and what to do when they “find” a gun. You know, like the NRA offers.

    video platformvideo managementvideo solutionsvideo player

  • Man protects “Muslim-free” gun range from himself

    Hondo sends us a link from Fox News in regards to one of those great protectors of our way of life who was guarding a gun range in Oklahoma (they claim they received death threats) which the owners had declared “Muslim-free”. The fellow accidentally (negligently) shot himself when the firearm was dropped;

    “The way they were holding their weapons, with the fingers on the triggers, you can tell a couple of these gentlemen have no idea about weapons safety. It’s like the Clampetts have come to town,” Muskogee County Sheriff Charles Pearson told the online news outlet muskogeenow.com, comparing the armed men to the family in the TV series “The Beverly Hillbillies.”

    An operator of the store’s Facebook page directed reporters to a statement posted late Tuesday that called the shooting “an unfortunate accident.” The statement claimed the man who shot himself came over to the shop to help fix a door in the office “and, as he bent over, his weapon fell from a malfunctioning chest holster and went off when it hit the floor.”

    I don’t know, but that sounds a little far-fetched as accidents go. I’m pretty sure that most modern handguns have safeties to prevent a weapon from firing without pulling the trigger. But, paying for a gun is only part of the responsibility of gun ownership.

  • Dallas Morning News and gun show guns

    Dallas Morning News and gun show guns

    Dallas Headline

    That headline comes from the Dallas Morning News story about Nii Armah Obeney, Dambayi Edmund Awufiba and Henry Kofi Plange, three Ghanians living in Texas who bought some guns and shipped them to Ghana. You would think from the headline that they just went around and bought guns at area gun shows to ship overseas so they could escape detection from federal authorities. Well, that’s not totally true;

    Obeney, Awufiba and Plange falsely stated in federal forms that the guns they bought were intended for their use, according to the indictment. It did not say how many guns the men bought and shipped.

    Obeney and Awufiba also lied on federal forms by saying they were U.S. citizens, the indictment said.

    It’s generally illegal to buy a gun for someone else unless it’s a gift. Straw buyers, as they’re known, are commonly used in arms smuggling schemes. People without criminal histories are chosen as buyers in order to pass the instant background checks that are required when purchasing from licensed dealers at gun shows or in gun stores.

    […]

    The men bought the guns two and three at a time at gun shows in Irving, Fort Worth and elsewhere, the indictment said.

    So, yeah, they bought a few guns at gun shows, but the majority of the guns were bought from dealers – and the criminals lied on the federal forms, you know like criminals are expected to be truthful, or something. It’s also been my experience that even if you buy guns at a gunshow, you still need a back ground check and you have to fill out the forms if you’re buying a gun from a dealer at a gun show.

    The article doesn’t specify if the crooks bought from a private owner or a dealer at the gun show. That would ruin the pcture they’re trying to paint here – that criminals all buy their guns at gun shows. Cue scary music; gun show loop holes. Actually , the FBI says that less than 1% of criminals in prison have bought the firearms they used in their crimes at gun shows according to interviews. I have three guns that I’ve bought at gun shows and I went through background checks every time. But, then, I’m an American citizen and not a criminal.

  • Gunnery sergeant arrested with gun on Capitol Hill

    The Associated Press reports that Gunnery Sergeant Peter Boby, a Congressional fellow from the Marine Corps’ Office of Legislative Affairs and detailed to the office of Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter was arrested by Capitol Police when a loaded .45 caliber weapon was found in his car at a security checkpoint.

    Hunter issued a statement Tuesday evening calling Boby “a top-notch performer.”

    “He’s a hero who’s seen combat, who’s been wounded and who’s been in good standing with the Marine Corps throughout,” Hunter said. “We are still getting the facts but this was most likely an accident. There’s no reason to suggest it was intentional.”

    From Rollcall;

    According to the database Legistorm, Boby has been working as the U.S. Marine Corps congressional fellow in California GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter’s office since January 2015. Boby is one of 10 Marine Corps fellows working in the House.

    I don’t know about the rest of you, but this seems ridiculous to me. Not that he was arrested for breaking the laws, but rather that the law doesn’t allow a combat veteran still on active duty in the halls of Congress to carry a weapon, even on his way to work, when an unarmed service member is most vulnerable to violence, you know, where there are no Capitol Police to protect him.

  • John Cornyn introduces gun control bill

    John Cornyn introduces gun control bill

    John Cornyn

    According to the Associated Press, the Senate’s number two Republican, John Cornyn, is introducing legislation similar to the bill we discussed the other day presented by Chuck Schumer;

    Backed by the National Rifle Association, the Senate’s No. 2 Republican leader is introducing legislation that would reward states for sending more information about residents with serious mental problems to the federal background check system for firearms purchasers.

    […]

    “Gaps in existing law or inadequate resources prevent our communities from taking proactive steps to prevent them from becoming violent,” Cornyn, R-Texas, said in a written statement.

    Jennifer Baker, spokeswoman for NRA legislative affairs, said the bill took “meaningful steps toward fixing the system and making our communities safer.”

    AP calls the bill “far more modest” than the bill that failed in the Senate more than two years ago, but, in fact it addresses the symptoms of the New Town school shooting better than the bill that failed. According to the article, Cornyn’s bill offers to bribe the states to do what they’re supposed to be doing in the first place – to get at least 90% of folks who shouldn’t own guns because of mental problems. I don’t know how they’re going to verify that 90% or why they’re not going for 100%, but it’s a start.

  • Schumer and Common sense gun control legislation

    Schumer and Common sense gun control legislation

    Schumers

    Yeah, I’m as surprised as you are that I’m here praising Chuck Schumer for gun control legislation. According to Mashable, he is introducing legislation to pay states that submit all of their NICS reports in a timely manner and punishing states that don’t.

    The pair [Chuck and his cousin actress Amy] then called on the Department of Justice to write a report “comparing all states’ standards for involuntary mental health commitment,” and urged it to give “federal recommendations” for best practices.

    Finally, the duo called on Congress to fund mental health and substance abuse programs that provide treatment to those who need it most. They also urged increased funding for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

    If that’s the bill that goes to a vote, I don’t see any reason that anyone would oppose it. It’s what I’ve been advocating for years. Except that I disagree that states should be rewarded for doing what they already get paid to do. But if that’s what it takes to strengthen background checks, I’m all for it.

    For some reason, the pair think that the NRA will oppose it, according to Deadline Hollywood;

    Citing the NRA, Sen. Schumer also noted “we are up against a very powerful lobby.” Added the actress: “I’m expecting a backlash and I’ll handle it,” while revealing she has received death threats in the past.

    Like I said, if that’s the bill that goes to a vote in Congress, I don’t see a reason that the NRA would oppose it. The real problem for them is protecting a clean bill from the gun grabbers who will see it as an opportunity to sneak registration into the bill.