What prompted me to write today was this piece of dog poo I saw shared on Facebook this morning:
Ah . . . to start with there are two very old and very tired canards at work here: 1.) "Gun's don't kill people, people kill people," and 2.) "When guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns." There is some truth to #1, but it is still the gun, or rather the bullet/shot fired from it, that actually does the killing/wounding/maiming. And if you keep reading (including the full link near the end of the post), we find that the "outlaw" part is only a fraction of the overall problem. And it is a problem.
I can't believe what a crock of horsesh*t that letter is. I suggest that anyone who really thinks the letter writer has it right needs to spend some time every week reading a regular post that appears on Daily Kos called GunFAIL (the link is to the February 4 edition). Below are just a few examples from the linked post (titled "Stand Your Ground, even if it's not yours, and actually belongs to the people you shoot: GunFAIL LV"):
7. BARBOURSVILLE, WV, 1/25/14: Behind a perimeter of yellow crime tape, a morbid scene. Cabell County Sheriff's officials said Rodney Bruce Black, 63, of Barboursville, killed two men with a scoped rifle. "Mr. Black had called 9-1-1 and said that he had in fact shot two individuals," said McComas. Deputies said Black shot the men from his home on Old Crow Drive. "He did not know the victims, he had no interactions with the victims prior to the shooting," said Cabell County Sheriff, Tom McComas. Investigators said he told dispatchers the two men were breaking into his shed, but sheriff's officials said the shed wasn't his. "These two men had every legal right to be where they were," said McComas. Rodney Bruce Black now faces two first degree murder charges. UPDATE: The Cabell County Sheriff's office has released the names of two men killed in a shooting, Saturday afternoon. Sheriff Tom McComas says Garrick Hopkins, 60, from Milton and his brother Carl Hopkins Jr., 61, from Oak Hill both died when they were shot on Lane Drive in Barboursville. Rodney Bruce Black has been charged with two counts of 1st degree murder. Deputies say he admitted to shooting the two men because he thought they were trespassing on his property. Sheriff McComas says the land actually belonged to Garrick Hopson. He had just purchased it and was showing his brother where he and his family were planning to build their new home in the coming weeks.
2. PARK RIDGE, IL, 1/06/14: A man who allegedly gave his teenage son a handgun for Christmas is facing criminal charges after police said the boy shot himself with the gun inside his Park Ridge home. Park Ridge Police Cmdr. Jason Leavitt said the 14-year-old boy accidentally shot himself in the leg on Jan. 6 inside his home on the 2700 block of Mayfield Drive. The teen’s injuries were not life-threatening, Leavitt said. Four days later, police charged the boy’s father, Joseph Streff, 52, of the 7300 block of West Addison Street, Chicago, with reckless conduct for providing his son with the gun, police said. Leavitt said the gun was a Christmas present. Police did not release information on Streff’s arrest until Jan. 27, 17 days after it occurred. Streff’s bond was set at $1,000. He is scheduled to appear in court on Feb. 27.
5. GREGG CO., TX, 1/25/14: The Gregg County Sheriff's Office is investigating a shooting death in the 11 hundred block of Highway 31. Officials have one home tapped off with crime scene tape. Family members at the home say a 13-year-old boy accidentally shot an adult male with a deer rifle. A Gregg County Justice of the Peace is headed to the scene.
12. GRANTS, NM, 1/25/14: Devin Ellis, 31, of Grants was killed from a gunshot wound to the head early Saturday morning, according to Grants Police Department (GPD) reports. Officers responded to 724 Austin St. in Grants at approximately 1:10 a.m. because someone had been shot. Corey White, a GPD officer, said when he arrived at the home that David Gonzales met him outside and said, “I messed up,” because he had shot his friend, Ellis. Ellis was once an officer for the Village of Milan, 2009-10. He was originally hired as a dispatcher, said Village of Milan Police Chief Jerry Stephens, and was later moved to an officer. However, Ellis failed the State Law Enforcement Academy and was dismissed from his duties. According to Officer White, Gonzales appeared to be intoxicated and had a strong odor of alcohol coming from his body when White approached him outside the home. Gonzales said he and Ellis were playing with a small caliber handgun when the gun went off. “I did not realize the gun was loaded,” said Gonzales. GPD officers said the victim was the owner of the small pistol that killed him.
15. CRANE HILL, AL, 1/26/14: A Cullman County man was shot and killed Sunday during a hunting trip with friends and family near Smith Lake in the Crane Hill area. Tommy “T.J.” Tucker, 37, of the Crane Hill community was pronounced dead at approximately 3:05 p.m. after being fatally shot when another hunter mistook him for a deer, near County Road 202 across from the Smith Lake RV Resort. Cullman County Sheriff’s deputies, paramedics and the Crane Hill Volunteer Fire Department responded to the incident, and were transported by boat to the scene, which was in a heavily wooded area. Authorities are currently treating the case as an accidental shooting. “The victim was out with friends and relatives deer hunting together, and a member of the group saw a deer and shot at it,” Cullman County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Max Bartlett said “The deer was killed, but they realized shortly after that Mr. Tucker had been shot, as well. It appears the deer may have been shot, and the shooter heard rustling in the area and fired another shot. We believe the victim was hit at that time.” Bartlett said paramedics attempted CPR, though Tucker was reportedly dead upon their arrival. Tucker was shot with a 12-gauge shotgun loaded with projectile buckshot. Both men were reportedly wearing hunter orange at the time of the shooting. “This is just a tragic accident, and the young man who did the shooting, who was related to Tucker by marriage, was devastated,” Bartlett said. “It’s just a sad situation. Our hearts and prayers go out to the Tucker family. We send them our deepest condolences.” Authorities have not released the name of the shooter at this time.
26. NASHVILLE, TN, 1/28/14: A 17-year-old McGavock High School student has been charged in connection to the fatal shooting of another student. Kaemon Robinson has been charged with criminal homicide following the shooting Tuesday night in at an apartment in Hermitage. Police say 15-year-old Kevin Barbee, who police say was a friend of Kaemon's, was shot inside an apartment on Burning Tree Drive. Four McGavock High School students were inside the apartment at the time of the shooting. Witnesses told police Kaemon was playing with a pistol when it discharged and hit Kevin in the face. Kevin was taken to Summit Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead.
28. GREENE CO., NC, 1/29/14: A father is facing charges for possession of a firearm by a felon after his baby was accidentally shot and killed. Greene County Sheriff Lemmie Smith tells WITN the baby girl was shot Wednesday night around 9 p.m. in a home on Letchworth Drive in Greene County, off of Fort Run Rd. Smith says the father was holding the rifle on the couch when it accidentally went off, shooting the baby in the chest. The gunshot killed her. The baby's name has not been released. Allen Ormond, 28, is a convicted felon and is not legally allowed to own a gun. Records show he was convicted in the 2007 of possession of stolen goods in Greene County. Sheriff Smith said Ormond had just bought the rifle earlier Wednesday, hours before the fatal shooting of his baby girl. Ormond is also charged with possession of a stolen firearm. The sheriff says the rifle that killed the girl was stolen.
Now, first I want to point out that of all I posted here, only the last one was an outlaw with a gun. Teenagers (and younger) playing with guns, suicides, hunting accidents, accidental discharge while cleaning, and so many more. There are THIRTY-EIGHT entries on that edition GunFAIL for a ONE WEEK PERIOD. It was actually a relatively quiet week, too.
There's more data, from 2010, that can be found (all referenced) at the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence website. Among several interesting stats on this site is one that really makes me cringe:
A federal government study of unintentional shootings found that 8% of such shooting deaths resulted from shots fired by children under the age of six.Granted he report is old (1991), but based upon what I've read over the past few months at GunFAIL, if I were to speculate, I would not be surprised to find the stat in 2013 may have actually been higher.
The person who wrote that "letter to the editor" is wrong on so many levels. The people who perpetuate that kind of crap are also wrong on so many levels. The only way things like that make the rounds on Facebook is because of people who really don't understand the reality of the situation when it comes to guns. All state laws about gun ownership need to be struck down; full and VERY strict federal laws need to be put in place that include extremely thorough background checks and, just like an automobile, annual re-registration (including testing) for the owner. Severe penalties for those who do not comply must also be part of any new gun law. If a child dies because someone was careless with a gun, the owner should be charged and face prison time, as well as being forbidden from ever owning another gun once released.
It's way past time for a complete re-think of gun laws as they stand today in the U.S.
Amen!
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