Assault Rifles Good; Sudafed Bad – That’s America

In a drive-by shooting last night in DC, ten people were shot, four have died.  It is believed that the shooter used an AK-47 assault rifle.

http://www.wjla.com/news/stories/0310/720941.html?hpt=T2

Of course, the NRA’s position would be, “don’t blame the assault rifle!  It didn’t do the shooting!”  This is the same stupid rhetoric along the lines of “guns don’t kill people.”  But if guns don’t kill people, then neither do drugs.

Pulling a trigger is a voluntary act – so is taking a drug.  So if assault rifles and handguns are available to responsible citizens, why aren’t prescription drugs over the counter?  Most people are responsible citizens who do not abuse drugs.  Why are their rights being denied?  A person can walk into Bubba’s Bait, Tires, and Guns and purchase all the weapons he wants, but at the drugstore he is limited to one box of Sudafed.

Stupid.

In January an 80-year-old woman was shot dead in the parking lot of her church.  In online comments to the news story many gun advocates said she should have been carrying a gun.  Great.  So we live in a country where an 80-year-old woman has to carry a sidearm just to safely attend church.  A big fat thank you to the NRA and all the gun rights advocates.

And I suppose we owe them a thank you for last night’s drive-by.  God knows we wouldn’t want to limit anyone’s desire to own an assault rifle just because people will die.

But don’t worry.  We’re safe from taking too much Sudafed.

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11-Year-Old Fatally Shot By Brother

An 11-year-old boy was fatally shot by his 14-year-old brother as they played with a handgun today.

“A gun in the home is twelve times more likely to result in the death of a household member or visitor than an intruder.”  –Southern Medical Journal.

The story is here:

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100329/NEWS01/3290347/Child+fatally+shot+by+brother+on+Shady+Villa+Drive

UPDATE:

The owner of the gun in the accidental shooting death of a 12-year-old boy (the above age is incorrect) admits that the gun was never locked up or secured in any way.  The story of his admission, his feelings of guilt, and his grief is here:

http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20100405/NEWS01/4050335/Gun+owner+expresses+remorse+after+boy+s+fatal+shooting

If you own guns, please secure them and any ammunition.  A large percentage of the deaths reported on this blog are family members pulling the trigger.  Not criminals.  The whole idea that criminals are the major cause of gun homicides is pure conjecture.  A tremendous number of shooters aren’t criminals until they pull the trigger.

And then it’s too late.

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“Non-Violent Type” Shoots Ex-Wife Dead Inside Church

Charles Parsons, 42, is considered a “teddy bear” by the people who know him.  However, on Friday he flew into a fit of rage and shot his ex-wife several times during a counseling session.

So many gun owners are law abiding citizens until they lose their cool, and then it’s too late.  Carol Parsons, 38, died later at the hospital.  She lost her life, and sadly, Charles will probably lose his in prison. Two lives lost through one moment of rage mixed with the ease of pulling a trigger.  It happens with inexcusable frequency in this country.  Had he never owned a handgun, had he not been allowed to own a handgun, this would not have happened.

My heart goes out to all of those involved.

The story is here:

http://www2.seattlepi.com/articles/417415.html

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Starbucks Toting, Gun Drinking Fools

So Starbucks didn’t allow guns to be carried into its recent shareholders meeting.  In addition, Starbucks’ employees are not allowed to carry guns to work either.  Customers?  Now they can carry guns into Starbucks.  I guess Starbucks thinks its I -got-to-have-a-gun customers are more emotionally stable than their owners and employees.  Maybe convenience stores should try this trend.

The truth however is altogether different.  Let’s face it.  Any man who thinks he needs to carry a gun is just a sad man trying to feel important.  We all know that carrying a gun doesn’t make anyone any safer.  Look at inner city gangs.  Hell, they’re armed to the teeth.  So much so that they enjoy an arms race with the police!  But they shoot each other in prodigious numbers.  So much for “armed resistance.”

And Ronald Reagan…he was shot, right?  He was surrounded by highly trained, on-the-lookout Secret Service agents carrying Uzi’s and Mac 10’s, and yet John Hinckley still shot Reagan and two or three others.

Thank God that Reagan wasn’t outside a gun-totin’ Starbucks.  All those jumpy, itchy-trigger Starbucks customers who just can’t wait to use their guns would have been sending lead in every conceivable direction.

And after the body count of soccer moms, retirees, Secret Service agents, and gun-toters, gun activists would still be saying, “See?  Ya dummy.  Guns keep us all safe!”

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Four Year Old Shot in the Head

It happened around the first of March, during what appears to be a murder-suicide stemming from a domestic dispute.  Somehow, miraculously, the small child survived.

The story is here:

http://www.wthr.com/Global/story.asp?S=12063059

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The Names – March 2010

This is a list of gun homicide victims for March 2010 which can be found in a Google search.  On average, over 800 gun homicides take place every month in the United States.  Consequently, this list is only a fraction of the gun homicides which will take place this March.

1. Anthony Brown, 49

http://articles.sfgate.com/2010-03-11/bay-area/18384713_1_porch-jimmy-lee-rodeo

2. Stephen Erving, 21

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100316police_investigating_stoughton_slaying/srvc=home&position=4

3. Anicia Yankton, 34

http://www.theledger.com/article/20100303/NEWS/100309918/1410?Title=Publix-Clerk-Reported-Shot-Killed-in-Orlando

4. Herbert Hicks, 33

http://www.wsoctv.com/news/22847488/detail.html

5. Mark Barry, 55

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_671827.html

6. John “Tarzan” Maldonado, 21

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100314/NEWS/3140348/-1/SITEMAP

7. Timothy Ratchford

http://www.springfieldnewssun.com/news/crime/man-shot-to-death-wednesday-identified-591830.html?imw=Y

8. Ernest Gilbert Byer Jr., 19

http://www.newswest9.com/Global/story.asp?S=12141796

9. Eugene Hopsons Jr., 23

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/03/man-dies-after-being-shot-on-far-south-side.html

10. Yong Glenn, 56

http://www.gazette.com/articles/autopsy-95366-completed-woman.html

11. De Carrio Couley, 25

http://www.mansfieldnewsjournal.com/article/20100310/UPDATES01/303100005

12. Kelly Burton, 34

http://www.wpbf.com/news/22843431/detail.html

13. Charles Pringle, 38

http://www.timesanddemocrat.com/articles/2010/03/14/news/doc4b9c5c273fbfb763512635.txt

14. James Kerstetter, 43

http://www.policeone.com/officer-shootings/articles/2020381-Ohio-cop-killed-responding-to-disturbance/

15. Antonio Phifer, 28

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/031610dnmetocshooting.1b366a5a8.html

16. Eric Winkelman, 33

http://www.kyma.com/slp.php?idN=3343&cat=Local%20News

17. Lelton C. Kemp, 22

http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/03/13/986392/falls-police-investigate-shooting.html

18. Caitlin Wopinek, 19

http://www.fox28.com/Global/story.asp?S=12139481

19. Zaidan “Steve” Asid, 51

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/carroll/bal-hampstead-shootings0316,0,7301340.story

20. Danny Perez, 35

http://blogs.miaminewtimes.com/riptide/2010/03/bicyclist_danny_perez_shot_dea.php

21. Larry Adams, 52

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/16/BAL21CG4F8.DTL

22. Pedro Tirado, 32

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/03/12/2010-03-12_barber_slain_in_brooklyn.html

23. Sean Cook, 21

http://www.fox10tv.com/dpp/news/crime/21-year-old-shot-and-killed-in-prichard

24. Daniel C. Dixon, 25

http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/crime/blog/2010/03/hopkins_security_officer_air_f.html

25. Donatello Fenner, 22

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/maryland/crime/bal-md.crimebriefs160mar16,0,3950844.story

26. Ladarius Frazer, 17

http://cbs4.com/local/crime.crimewatch.miami.2.1559846.html

27. Sherry Smith, 48

http://www.wsaz.com/news/headlines/87643117.html

29. George Rueda, 38

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-pacoima-shooting,0,6079018.story

30. Courtney Shaffett, 33,

31.  Reese Shaffett, 5

http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20100312/APN/1003122650?Title=3-dead-at-home-in-Livingston-Parish-La-

32. Victor Johns, 29

33. John Jones, 56

http://www.kcbs.com/pages/6511833.php?

34. Mohamed Diop, 31

http://www.insidebayarea.com/news/ci_14519335

35. Randy Kwasniewski

http://www.gamblingonlinemagazine.com/gambling-news-detail.php?articleID=2082

36. Mario C. Charles, 29

http://www.rrstar.com/news/x1526468660/Rockford-man-shot-killed-at-hotel-police-say

37. James Bonneau, 26

http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gRgR2PKIHP7iu54PbSa0YW3rGvBAD9EB5SAG0

38.  Cary Dupree, 31

http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2010/03/west-side-man-shot-dead-near-home.html

39.  Sean Murphy, 40

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_669046.html

40. Anthony Brown, 49

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14646687

41. David Arruda

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2010/03/02/brothers_dead_after_shooting_in_fall_river/

42. Daniel Cresci, 29

http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2010/03/monmouth_authorities_identify.html

43. Jorge Rueda

http://www.mercurynews.com/breaking-news/ci_14691660

44. Reginald Marshall, 40

45. Darryl Blow, 41

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/breaking/88127477.html

46. Derrick Ates

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/fl-miami-gardens-murder-20100317,0,5748641.story

47. David Adams, 35

http://www.freep.com/article/20100317/NEWS01/100317046/1318/Gunfire-kills-man-saving-family

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Our Armed Society – March 2010

A man in Miami shot his 10 year old son dead and then himself.  The story is here:

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local-beat/Father-sought-in-shooting-death-of-10-year-old-Aventura-boy-87424717.html

Other stories of gun homicides this month:

2. Family of three gunned down at home:

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/03/02/national/main6260648.shtml

3. Florida boy accidentally shoots 10 year old brother dead:

http://cbs4.com/local/shooting.deadly.deerfield.2.1525765.html

4. Murder-Suicide at daycare:

http://voices.washingtonpost.com/crime-scene/pr-william/prince-william-police-investig.html

5. Michigan man shoots dead pro-life activist:

http://www.charismamag.com/index.php/news/26496-michigan-man-convicted-of-murder-of-pro-life-activist-businessman

6. Police officer shot dead:

http://www.wwj.com/Jackson-Police-Officer-Shot-To-Death/6530848

7. Brooklyn barber shot dead:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2010/03/12/2010-03-12_barber_slain_in_brooklyn.html

8. Brother shoots brother:

http://blogs.citypages.com/blotter/2010/03/brian_scott_orl.php

9. Las Vegas mogul shot dead at home:

http://www.gamblingonlinemagazine.com/gambling-news-detail.php?articleID=2082

10.  One City, Two days, Four dead:

http://www.mercurynews.com/bay-area-news/ci_14630075

11.  3 Year Old Accidentally Shoots Herself Dead:

http://www.wsmv.com/news/22770717/detail.html

12.  One Shot Dead at Ohio State University:

http://www.sevensidedcube.net/general/2010/ohio-state-university-shooting-one-dead-two-injured/

13.  15 Year Old Shot Dead While Riding Bike:

http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-pacoima-teen-killed,0,2421684.story

14.  Elderly Wife Shot Dead at Alzheimer’s Care Center:

http://www.jdnews.com/news/shooting-73712-hospitalized-alzheimer.html

15.  Man Shoots Wife Then Self:

http://www.journalgazette.net/article/20100309/LOCAL07/100309482/1043/LOCAL07

16. One Dead, Toddler Injured, Drive By Shooting with AK-47:

http://www.clickondetroit.com/news/22817417/detail.html

17.  Dante Frazier 17:  Shot Over a Game of Dice

http://cbs4.com/local/crime.crimewatch.miami.2.1559846.html

18.  Three Shot Dead in Love Triangle:

http://www.kcra.com/news/22835566/detail.html

19.  Girl, 16, Shot Dead in Drive By:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/031410dnmetdriveby.1a6801c8d.html

20.  Didn’t Like His Music, So He Shot Him Dead:

http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/737419

21.  Boyfriend Shoots Her Dad Dead:

http://www.wreg.com/news/sns-ap-ms–lincolncountyshooting,0,7939471.story

22. Maricela Alvarez, 13, Killed in Drive By:

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-oakcliff_15met.ART.State.Edition1.4ba70a3.html

23. Police Officer, James Kerstetter, Shot and Killed:

http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-elyriapoliceofficershot,0,5819158.story

24.  Fireman, Mark Barry, Shot Dead While Walking His Dog:

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/news/pittsburgh/s_671827.html

25.  Wife Shoots Husband Dead, Then Self:

http://www.abc-7.com/Global/story.asp?S=12147524

26.  Man in Bed Shot Dead Through Window:

http://www.bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/20100316police_investigating_stoughton_slaying/srvc=home&position=4

27.  Man Shoots Wife and Five Year Old Son to Death:

http://www.dailycomet.com/article/20100312/APN/1003122650?Title=3-dead-at-home-in-Livingston-Parish-La-

28.  17-Year-Old Girl Shot Dead Walking Home with Friends:

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/03/pomona-girl-killed.html

29.  One Night, Four Shot Dead:

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?section=news/crime&id=7334808

30.  Man Tries To Save Boy, And Dies In A Hail of AK-47 Bullets:

http://www.freep.com/article/20100317/NEWS01/100317046/1318/Gunfire-kills-man-saving-family

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