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Gun Report
« on: May 21, 2013, 10:00:22 AM »
May 20, 2013, 10:29 am 82 Comments
Weekend Gun Report: May 17-19, 2013

Benton, Ill. Greenwich Village, N.Y. Prattville, Ala. Statesville, N.C. Houston, Tex. Beech Island, S.C. Saginaw, Mich. Phoenix, Ariz. North Philadelphia, Pa. Rochester, N.Y. West Palm Beach, Fla. New Haven, Conn. Banning, Calif. Albuquerque, N.M.

These are some of the cities where gun violence took place from Friday to Sunday. This weekend’s shootings, which spanned the country, show that it is not accurate to describe gun violence as an urban problem, or a small-town problem, or a problem related to poverty. It is an American problem. And although some states, like Maryland and Connecticut, have passed tough gun laws, it will ultimately require a national consensus and a national response.

You read a report like today’s blood-soaked Gun Report and you wonder why it is so hard to get there. The enormous toll guns are taking on society is right before our eyes.

—Joe Nocera

Friday:

Mark Carson, 32, was confronted by a man screaming antigay slurs who then stalked him before pulling out a silver revolver and fatally shooting him in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan, N.Y., late Friday night. A 13-year-old accidentally shot an 11-year-old in the stomach with a .22 revolver Friday afternoon in Bossier City, La. Andrea Rebello, a student at Hofstra University, was accidentally shot by police after a masked man entered her off-campus home on Long Island, N.Y., early Friday. Brandon Brown, 26, and Shanae Q. Howard, 24, were found shot to death near a bench in front of a playground in Montclair, N.J., Thursday night. Kevin P. Ratcliffe, 53, was found shot and killed less than a mile from Neuqua Valley High School in south Naperville, Ill., Friday afternoon.

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May 17, 2013, 11:27 am 135 Comments
The Gun Report: May 17, 2013

Yesterday, Maryland’s governor, Martin O’Malley, signed a bill that made the state’s gun laws among the strictest in the nation. Under the new legislation, anyone buying a handgun will have to submit fingerprints to obtain a license. The bill also bans 45 types of assault weapons; gun magazines will be limited to 10 bullets; gun ownership by people who have been involuntarily committed to a mental health facility will be banned; and police will be able to suspend the licenses of gun dealers who fail to comply with record-keeping obligations.

It’s a far cry from the town of Nelson, Ga., which recently passed a law requiring gun ownership. The April 1 ordinance requires every head of household in the town of 1,300 to have a gun and ammunition, but there are exceptions: the law exempts anyone who opposes gun ownership or has certain disabilities.

The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence filed a federal lawsuit against the town, which is 50 miles north of Atlanta, claiming the law is unconstitutional. City leaders have said the law was mostly symbolic and isn’t being enforced. According to the Associated Press, the law’s supporters said they wanted to make a statement about gun rights at a time when the president was seeking restrictions in the wake of the Newtown massacre.

Meanwhile, the National Rifle Association has vowed to sue the state of Maryland to get its eminently sensible law declared unconstitutional. Not exactly a surprise. Here is today’s report.

—Jennifer Mascia

Bonnita Todd, 64, who neighbors and friends called “Granny,” was shot to death while she slept as more than a dozen bullets ripped through her apartment in Richmond, Calif., Wednesday night. Investigators said the shooting was not random, that the home was targeted, but Todd was not who the shooter was after. “Granny was our joy,” neighbor Cymande Russell said. “Granny was like the mother of this building.”


May 16, 2013, 10:49 am 172 Comments
The Gun Report: May 16, 2013

Yesterday, on the Senate floor, Richard Durbin, the Illinois Democrat, gave a nine-minute speech about the continuing gun violence in the months since Newtown, and the Senate’s inability to pass a universal background check bill. To illustrate the ongoing carnage—more than 4,000 Americans have been killed by a gun since Newtown, he pointed out—he read excerpts from last weekend’s Gun Report. You can watch his remarks here.

Here is today’s report.

—Joe Nocera

At least seven people were shot and wounded in Chicago, Ill., Wednesday afternoon and evening. A man, 34, was shot in a building on South Walden Parkway; a 30-year-old man was shot in both legs near 24th Street and Homan Avenue; a 19-year-old man was shot in the hip on South Lawndale Avenue; a 19-year-old was shot three times on South Merrill Avenue; a 30-year-old man was shot in the back on South Wood Street; and two 19-year-old men were shot on South Stony Island Avenue in the city’s Woodlawn neighborhood.

—Chicago Tribune

Five people were shot in Detroit Wednesday night after a 24-year-old man opened fire following a verbal altercation on the street between two families. A 60-year-old woman was killed and a 15-year-old girl, two women and a man are in serious condition. Police say they know who the suspect is but he is not in custody yet.

—WXYZ.com

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May 15, 2013, 12:36 pm 143 Comments
The Gun Report: May 15, 2013

Did you know that the gun lobby doesn’t want you discussing handgun safety with your doctor? In June 2011, Florida governor Rick Scott signed a bill that made it the first state in the nation to prohibit doctors from asking patients if they own guns. Oklahoma, Tennessee and West Virginia all introduced “physician gag law” bills that would restrict physician firearm counseling. Shortly thereafter, the American Academy of Pediatrics reaffirmed its commitment to advocating for the strongest possible firearm regulations, arguing that fewer guns means safer homes for children.

A U.S. district judge later blocked the Florida law, but that hasn’t stopped the war of words between physicians and gun advocates. Last month, Dr. Judith Palfrey, former president of the American Academy of Pediatrics, wrote an opinion piece for CNN arguing that “gun violence is a public health threat to our children.” She advocated for trigger locks and storing guns separately from ammunition – rather nonpartisan suggestions.

So naturally the gun lobby vilified her. Timothy Wheeler, M.D., director of Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership – which was founded by the pro-gun-ownership Second Amendment Foundation – called her advice “dangerous” and expressed outrage that Dr. Palfrey would extend her definition of “kids” to include “seasoned gangbangers whose firearm injuries are generally inflicted not accidentally, but intentionally.” (Dr. Wheeler obviously doesn’t read the Gun Report.) He dismissed safety precautions such as trigger locks by saying, “People have caused accidental (in this case negligent) discharges by putting a trigger lock on a gun. Blindly trusting mechanical devices to take the place of a proper safety mindset is a hallmark of ignorance. And ignorance in handling guns gets people killed.”

Doctors for Responsible Gun Ownership was formed specifically to discredit the American Academy of Pediatrics. But the American Academy of Pediatrics is fighting back, sending more than 100 pediatricians to Capitol Hill earlier this month to try to get Congress to pass gun control measures.

—Jennifer Mascia

An 11-year-old boy accidentally shot by a 4-year-old died Tuesday afternoon from his injuries. Jarvin Jackson was shot Sunday morning at the Cedar Park Apartments complex in Lake City, Fla. A witness found a group of children covered in blood and heard a man in the apartment saying, “I’m going to prison, my life is over, my life is over.” Authorities are investigating how the 4-year-old got access to the gun, and whether there was adequate supervision for all the children.

—ActionNewsJax.com

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May 14, 2013, 11:45 am 91 Comments
The Gun Report: May 14, 2013

Last month, Brandon Holt, 6, was shot and killed by a 4-year-old boy in Toms River, N.J., kicking off a bloody month in which several toddlers accidentally shot other toddlers. The 4-year-old got a hold of his father’s .22 caliber rifle and brought it into the yard, where it went off, hitting Holt in the head. Yesterday it was announced that Anthony Senatore, 33, the father of the “gunman,” was arrested for having multiple unsecured weapons accessible to children.

In addition to the loaded .22 caliber rifle used to kill Holt, a Stevens 12-gauge shotgun, two Harrington & Richardson shotguns and a Remington 12-gauge shotgun were all found unsecured, in close proximity to ammunition and accessible to Senatore’s children, ages 12, 8, and 4.

What has been surprising, since we’ve begun compiling this report, is realizing that in the vast majority of such cases, there are no arrests. Prosecutors take the view that the negligent adults have already suffered enormously, and prosecuting the owner of the gun would be a form of “piling on.” We have come to the view, however, that only until prosecutors begin routinely holding adults accountable for keeping loaded guns within reach of children will this particular scourge abate.

Speaking of which, in today’s report, a 13-month-old was accidentally shot and her father arrested, and two police chiefs warn about the danger of guns. Progress, of a sad sort.

—Jennifer Mascia and Joe Nocera

A 13-month-old child remains hospitalized and her father is behind bars after the girl was shot in the chest at an apartment complex in Tullahoma, Tenn., Sunday evening. The child’s father, 26-year-old Kevin Sayre, was taking apart a handgun when a 9mm round was discharged, striking the victim in the chest. The child is in critical condition. Sayre was charged with aggravated assault. Tullahoma Police Chief Paul Blackwell said police see this type of incident far too often, adding that people need to be very careful when cleaning or handling their guns.

—NewsChannel5.com

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May 13, 2013, 10:04 am 167 Comments
Weekend Gun Report: May 10-12, 2013

Here is today’s Gun Report.

—Joe Nocera

Friday:

A 12-year-old boy was accidentally shot in the face by his 11-year-old friend Friday morning in Camden, N.J. In Chicago, Ill., Vance Smith, 42, was accused of shooting his 24-year-old wife 10 times after years of alleged abuse. Two men were killed in a Friday night shooting on the east side of Indianapolis, Ind. Three people were shot to death and a fourth wounded in a dispute that may have been over drugs at an apartment complex in the Harbor Gateway area of Los Angeles, Calif., early Friday. Avery Williams, 22, and Jamario Troutman, 24, died and a third man is in serious condition after a Friday afternoon shooting in West Palm Beach, Fla.

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May 10, 2013, 12:24 pm 258 Comments
The Gun Report: May 10, 2013

Did you know that some sex offenders in Iowa can openly carry guns? An astute reader pointed us to this recent exclusive in The Des Moines Register, which revealed that 50 sex offenders in Iowa are currently carrying a gun in public. It’s news that has surprised some state lawmakers and alarmed a few Iowa and national law enforcement officers, Jason Clayworth reported.

“It does seem to go contrary to what the whole point or the whole purpose” of the sex offender registry is, said Steve Conlon, an F.B.I. official and former assistant director of the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation who previously oversaw the state’s sex offender registry.

So how did this happen?

Two years ago, the law was changed to allow people convicted of misdemeanor sex crimes to walk the streets legally armed (though The Register found two men convicted of felonies who’d been issued permits). Also, state law enforcement officials do not check to see if sex offenders who previously used weapons to commit their crimes now have carry permits because it’s not one of the checks they are required to make under Iowa law. Sheriffs are also reluctant to deny permits because appeals can cost a county government and taxpayers hundreds of dollars.

There is no national data on how many weapons permits are being issued to convicted sex offenders. Nebraska, Missouri and Wisconsin also do not specifically exclude sex offenders from obtaining such permits.

“My concern of a sex offender having a gun is they try to typically rule in a bullish way to influence people,” said Washington County Sheriff Jerry Dunbar, who is president of the Iowa State Sheriffs’ and Deputies’ Association. “Just the presence of a gun on a hip could be a threat to get people to cooperate. They intimidate to get what they want.”

Here is today’s report.

—Jennifer Mascia

A 3-year-old girl was shot in S.E. Washington, D.C., Thursday evening. The child, who was shot while on a balcony, was breathing when she was taken to the hospital. Police believe she was hit by a stray bullet. They have a description of the suspect.

—WUSA9

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May 9, 2013, 10:51 am 374 Comments
The Gun Report: May 9, 2013

Two of today’s shootings involve men who allegedly gunned down their wives and other family members. In fact, many shootings covered in our daily report are domestic. This sad fact has apparently not gone unnoticed by Zombie Industries, an N.R.A. convention vendor famous for marketing a target that resembles President Obama. The company is under fire this week for marketing a mannequin shooting target in the likeness of a bleeding woman. Dubbed “The Ex,” the blond mannequin is clad in a tight white shirt and violet bra and actually bleeds fakes blood when shot. After an outcry, Amazon just yesterday stopped selling it.

Demand Action to End Gun Violence, a campaign of Mayors Against Illegal Guns, recently released an infographic revealing the intersection of guns and domestic violence. It included some startling statistics: women are more likely to be murdered by guns in America than they are in any other developed nation; the presence of a gun in domestic violence situations increases the risk of homicide by 500 percent; a majority of mass shootings involve incidents of domestic violence; in states that require a background check for a handgun sale, 38 percent fewer women are shot to death by intimate partners.

It seems this would be a perfect time for women’s groups and anti-domestic violence campaigns to join forces with the Brady Campaign and Mayors Against Illegal Guns and tie gun regulation to the protection of women and children—especially since the N.R.A. is increasingly linking the right to bear arms and women’s self-defense. Here is today’s report.

—Jennifer Mascia

A 3-year-old boy died Wednesday night after a self-inflicted shooting in Corsicana, Tex. Kinzler Allen Davis found a handgun inside a bedroom in his home and then discharged it, striking himself in the head. The boy’s father was in another room at the time. There were no immediate plans to charge the parents.

—CBS DFW

Authorities are searching for a 45-year-old man they say fatally shot his wife and two young daughters in their rural Northern California home. Shasta County Sheriff’s deputies received a call from the residence of Shane Franklin Miller Tuesday evening and found the bodies of Miller’s wife, Sandy, 34, and two daughters, Shelby, 8, and Shasta, 4. All three had been shot multiple times. Police found several weapons in the house. Miller is considered to be armed and extremely dangerous.

—Washington Post

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May 8, 2013, 11:24 am 212 Comments
The Gun Report: May 8, 2013

This just in: two and a half months after California’s state pension funds voted to sell off their gun stocks, New York has followed suit. This morning, Comptroller John Liu announced that the New York City Employees’ Retirement System has sold $16.3 million worth of gun stocks. In his press release, Liu noted that another New York retirement fund, the Teachers’ Retirement System, had also dumped its gun stocks.

This is worth applauding because the gun industry is going to start caring about gun safety if there is a consequence to their bottom lines. By the way, it was a little stunning to see how many public-traded gun companies the Retirement System held: Olin, Sturm Ruger, Smith and Wesson, and Forjas Taurus. Would have been nice if Liu had been willing to do this before Newtown. Better late than never.

Here is today’s report.

—Joe Nocera

A 3-year-old boy who found a gun in his uncle’s backpack shot himself and died Tuesday night. Jadarrius Speights was with his mother, father and uncle in their Tampa, Fla., apartment when he rifled through a backpack and found a 9mm gun belonging to Jeffrey D. Walker, 29, with whom he shared a bedroom. Walker was arrested late Tuesday and faces a culpable negligence charge.

—Tampa Bay Times

A 7-year-old boy was shot in his northeast Houston, Tex., home on Tuesday by his younger brother. The boys were in the bathtub at 9 p.m. when their mother stepped away for a moment. Police say the 5-year-old then got out of the tub, found a .22 rifle and shot his older brother. The bullet went straight through the boy’s back but he is expected to recover. So far, no charges have been filed.

—Houston Chronicle

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May 7, 2013, 12:12 pm 166 Comments
The Gun Report: May 7, 2013

We’ve written several times about an anti-gun violence organization called Evolve, which aims to change the culture around gun violence by reframing it as a public safety issue. A big part of these efforts is enlisting responsible gun owners in the movement to reduce gun deaths.

One of these “gun guys” is Mike Weisser, who owns a gun shop that has sold, by his count, more than 15,000 firearms. Weisser is a Life Member of the N.R.A. and watched its annual conference in Houston this past weekend with interest. He found himself outraged by Wayne LaPierre’s speech, which called for the defense of the Second Amendment by force. He also stretched the good-guys-with-guns argument to include the Boston marathon bombing, asking the audience, “How many Bostonians wish they had a gun two weeks ago?”

Weisser, who penned an open letter to LaPierre in response to the remarks, appeared on The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell last night to explain them.

“For all your talk about defending liberty Wayne,” Weisser wrote, “I’ll give you something more important to defend: the young children whose lives always seem to take a back seat to how many guns you can get Americans to buy.”

Here is today’s report.

—Jennifer Mascia

A 17-year-old boy was shot to death in a Milwaukee, Wis., park Monday afternoon. Police believe the suspect and the victim knew each other. The suspect fled after the shooting and is still at large.

—Associated Press

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Joe Nocera has been an Op-Ed columnist for The Times since April 2011. He has been chronicling the world of business for more than three decades, at magazines like Fortune a clarinet, dominant in jazz’s early years, faded into obscurity as the saxophone became the reed of choice. But in the hands of Anat Cohen, the clarinet is cool again.
2 Killings and 2 Guns, Unattended
BY JOE NOCERA
Why is it that a reckless driver can be prosecuted but not an irresponsible gun owner?
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BSB

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sirs

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Re: Gun Report
« Reply #2 on: May 21, 2013, 11:13:05 AM »
While the FACTS demonstrate that gun crime continues to fall across this country, and has been for years now, and the locations with the highest gun crime and violence are those locations with the strictest gun control laws, if not outright bans.

Just some more of those inconvenient facts and details you so frequently try to ignore

"The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal." -- Aristotle

sirs

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Re: Gun Report
« Reply #3 on: May 21, 2013, 12:19:00 PM »
"The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal." -- Aristotle

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Re: Gun Report
« Reply #4 on: May 21, 2013, 08:49:02 PM »
Quote
Andrea Rebello, a student at Hofstra University, was accidentally shot by police after a masked man entered her off-campus home on Long Island, N.Y., early Friday.

Yep.

This counts, and it defenately would not have happened if the police were not allowed to carry guns.

Why do we allow the police to carry guns? It seems as if the police are especially responsible persons and should be therby easily disarmed.