Are you sitting down? You may be amazed to learn that the two men who blew up a marathon and had an extended shootout with cops did not have licenses for guns! In fact, they were ineligible to have gun permits (one was too young; the other had a domestic abuse conviction). In fact, some of the weapons they used may have been illegal in Massachusetts!! As Thrill pointed on Twitter, their bombs probably … Read more
Tag Archive: Gun Control
Shot Down
Several major provisions of the Toomey-Manchin bill went down in flames today. This was predictable. Even if it had passed the Senate, it was unlikely to pass the House.
The media and the President, of course, are blaming the NRA, with the latter dragging out shooting victims to make his case. They’re ignoring the very serious problems with the bill that I noted in my previous post on the subject.
The vote, however, was close. … Read more
A Gun-Grabbing Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing
Congress is slowly moving toward resolution of the gun control proposal. It’s fairly watered down, with the biggest thing being an expansion of the background checks. However, that in and of itself may be a problem. As pointed out in this extensive post from Doug Mataconis, there are big problems with just saying that those with mental illness should not get guns.
Ever since Newtown, there has been discussion about expanding the database used to
Menace To Society
Thirty-eight days before the attack on the Century Aurora 16 movie theater, the psychiatrist treating suspect James Holmes told a police officer that her patient had confessed homicidal thoughts and was a danger to the public, according to newly unsealed court documents in the murder case against Holmes.
The psychiatrist, Dr. Lynne Fenton, also told the officer that Holmes had stopped seeing her and had been threatening her in text messages and
Point Gun Away From Face
I find this mildly amusing:
Rep. Diana DeGette (D-Colo.) is the chief co-sponsor, with Rep. Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.), of the High Capacity Ammunition Feeding Device Act, which would ban the sale or transfer of magazines that can hold more than 10 rounds. Upon reintroducing the bill in January, she said banning what she calls “assault magazines” would “go a long way toward making our country safe.” If DeGette seems overly optimistic about the potential impact
Clearly We Are Paranoid
The last few months, we’ve been told that the Democrats are only seeking sensible gun control. Mother Jones listed “they’re coming fer our guuuuns” as their #1 myth in their debunking. Clearly, only a paranoid Right wing loon would actually believe that … aw, crap.
Oregon has a new gun law proposal. Jazz Shaw runs down the basic:
Creates crime of unlawful possession or transfer of assault weapon or large capacity magazine.
Punishes by
The Last MJ Hack Attack
A couple of weeks ago, Mother Jones published a list of 10 pro-gun “myths”. I tackled them at my own site. It’s a good reference for when bogus stats are thrown our way in the gun debate.
Kopel on Pelosi
You really should read Dave Kopel’s (PDF) prepared testimony for yesterday’s hearing on the assault weapons ban. It’s absolutely devastating to the case for it, showing that it is nebulous, far-reaching and likely to be ineffective at best.
“Doing something” is the slogan for politicians who seek merely to exploit terrible crimes for self-serving purposes. “Doing something effective” is the approach of people who want to save lives and protect the public, especially children.
The
The Weapons Limit
Having thought about Barack Obama’s gun plan, I’m still convinced that most of it is a non-issue: the government doing what it is supposed to do with background checks and enforcing laws. The only issue that is likely to be really contentious is the assault weapons ban (and related bans on high-capacity magazines).
I oppose the ban for a number of reasons, the biggest of which is that I think it will be ineffective. There … Read more
Obama Moves On Guns
Obama is announcing his new gun policies right now. I’ll post as I get updates. There are apparently 23 executive orders. I’ve looked over them quickly and I don’t really see anything terribly objectionable. Most of it is strengthening exiting law and the background check system. Here they are, with my commentary. None would have prevented Sandy Hook. But if you’re looking to reduce gun violence overall, they do address that.
1. “Issue a presidential
Recent Comments
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OK, um what? http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2330180/Woolwich-attacks-Man-charged-making-racist-anti-religious-Facebook-comments-British-soldier-s-death.html Yeah. That's the thing to do about this. Go after assholes on facebook. - Seattle Outcast on Edumacation now!
Cripes - that Horsey cartoon originally ran in the Seattle PI about a decade ago or more. The current... - Iconoclast on IRS and AP Scandal Updates
Tedious is your middle name isn't it? He asks, while launching into another tedious, long-winded post... The piece doesn't suggest a “different”... - Hal_10000 on Hey Mr DJ: Sing-A-Long Edition
Agreed with you on the sentiment of the post: the amazing thing about the coverage is how matter-of-fact and down-to-Earth... - Thrill on Hey Mr DJ: Sing-A-Long Edition
Just for you Thrill If I could only pick one song for the post to best exemplify the spirit of this... - Xetrov on The War on the Media
anyone of us that points out this isn’t just a conflict of interest, but a total travesty of justice, will... - pfluffy on Hey Mr DJ: Sing-A-Long Edition
Great list, Santino! Don't Follow is one of my favorites on that album. - Santino on Hey Mr DJ: Sing-A-Long Edition
Santino, you have a couple of broken links. Let me know what your selections were so I can fix it... - Seattle Outcast on The War on the Media
I bet that when the shit if finally cleaned off of this one you'll find that Valerie Jarrett was the... - pfluffy on Hey Mr DJ: Sing-A-Long Edition
For Insipid: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRr2kf84V2M
