Guns (Yawn)

[brainpanhandler]

bump

[brainpanhandler]

Some history I was only vaguely familiar with:

http://georgetownlawjournal.org/files/2012/06/Riley.pdf

[DrEvil]

Girl, 9, Accidentally Kills Instructor While Firing an Uzi

http://abcnews.go.com/US/girl-accidenta ... d=25139216

Side note: About 100 children die every year in the US from shooting accidents.
To paraphrase the NRA: "Guns don't kill people. Guns kill children".

Edit: Beaten to it in the other thread by 8bitagent.
viewtopic.php?f=8&t=38367&start=30

[Iamwhomiam]

Gun store liable for two hurt cops
$6M award after teen shooter pays man to buy weapon

Associated Press
Published 8:57 pm, Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Milwaukee

Jurors ordered a Wisconsin gun store to pay nearly $6 million on Tuesday to two Milwaukee police officers who were shot and seriously wounded by a gun purchased at the store.

The ruling came in a negligence lawsuit filed against the store, Badger Guns, by the two officers. The lawsuit alleges the shop allowed an illegal sale despite several warning signs that the gun was being sold to a "straw buyer," or someone who was buying the gun for someone who couldn't legally do so. Jurors sided with the officers, ruling that the store was negligent in selling the gun.

Defense attorneys declined to comment after Tuesday's verdict. An attorney for the officers said he expected years of appeals.

Officer Bryan Norberg and retired Officer Graham Kunisch were both shot after they stopped Julius Burton for riding his bike on the sidewalk in the summer of 2009. Surveillance video shows the officers scuffled with Burton and slammed him into a wall before he shot them both in the face.

Investigators said Burton, 18, got the weapon a month before the confrontation, after giving $40 to Jacob Collins to make the purchase from Badger Guns in West Milwaukee, a Milwaukee suburb.

One bullet shattered eight of Norberg's teeth, blew through his cheek and lodged into his shoulder. He remains on the force but said his wounds have made his work difficult. Kunisch was shot several times, resulting in him losing an eye and part of the frontal lobe of his brain. He said the wounds forced him to retire.

Jurors ordered the store to pay Norberg $1.5 million and Kunisch $3.6 million, in addition to $730,000 in punitive damages.

The gun shop's defense lawyers denied wrongdoing and said the owner, Adam Allan, couldn't be held financially responsible for crimes connected to a weapon sold at his shop.

Burton is serving an 80-year term in the shootings. Collins got two years.

http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Gun-store-liable-for-two-hurt-cops-6569438.php

[Iamwhomiam]

In case you missed this,

Boy, 11, charged with killing 8-year-old girl after argument about puppies

By Elahe Izadi October 6

An argument between two children over puppies turned tragic Saturday when an 11-year-old boy allegedly killed his 8-year-old neighbor with a shotgun, according to authorities in Jefferson County, Tenn.

The 11-year-old has been charged with first-degree murder in the girl’s death, Jefferson County Sheriff Bud McCoig told The Washington Post. Authorities aren’t releasing the names of either child, but Latasha Dyer told ABC affiliate WATE that her daughter, MaKayla, was killed.

“She was a precious little girl,” Dyer said through tears in an on-air interview with WATE. “She was a mommy’s girl. No matter how bad of a mood you were in, she could always make you smile.”

Each of the children had a puppy, the sheriff said. The 11-year-old “wanted to see the 8-year-old’s, and she said no, and then he went and retrieved a gun,” McCoig said.

The boy fired the 12-gauge shotgun from inside his house, striking the girl as she stood in her yard, the sheriff said. The gun, which was stored in a closet without locks, belongs to the boy’s father, McCoig said.

When first responders and police arrived at the scene Saturday night, they found the girl “lying on the ground with a gunshot to the chest,” McCoig said. She was taken to an area hospital, where she died from her wounds.

[Young people are far more likely to die by guns than in cars]

On Monday, a judge ordered the boy to be held in a juvenile facility pending his next court hearing Oct. 28; the case could later be transferred to adult court, McCoig said.

MaKayla will be interred Thursday at the Haun Cemetery in Luttrell, Tenn. Her family will be receiving guests at 5 p.m. Wednesday at the Cooke-Campbell Mortuary in Maynardville, and her funeral will be held at 7 p.m.

The family has requested that, in lieu of flowers, donations be made toward funeral expenses.

“Our precious daughter went to her Heavenly home Saturday, October 3, 2015,” reads her obituary. MaKayla leaves behind a brother, three sisters, her parents, numerous grandparents and great-grandparents.

Saturday’s killing, which came just two days after a mass school shooting in rural Oregon, has rocked the small community of White Pine, Tenn. Both children attended White Pine School, which teaches students from kindergarten through eighth grade, Principal Bill Walker said.

“We remember her smile and her beautiful face,” Walker told reporters Monday. “Our normal has changed.”

[Where in America do gun owners live?]

Chasity Arwood, manager of the White Pine mobile home park, where the shooting took place, told the Knoxville News Sentinel that MaKayla and another girl were by the boy’s window and the trio were “laughing and giggling.”

“He asked the little girl to see her puppies,” Arwood told WBIR. “She said no and laughed and then turned around, looked at her friend and said, ‘Let’s go get the –‘ and never got ‘puppies’ out.”

Arwood told the Sentinel that the boy threw the shotgun out of the window after firing it.

Dyer said she had previously approached the school principal about the 11-year-old bullying her daughter, Knoxville’s WATE TV reported.

“When we first moved to White Pine, the little boy was bullying MaKayla. He was making fun of her, calling her names, just being mean to her,” Dyer said Sunday. “I had to go to the principal about him, and then he quit for a while. And then all of a sudden yesterday, he shot her.”

Walker declined to confirm to reporters Monday that Dyer talked to him about bullying, citing the ongoing investigation.

[How often do children in the U.S. unintentionally shoot and kill people? We don’t know.]

Counselors were at the school to support students and staff in the aftermath of the shooting.

“Our thoughts and prayers are with those involved from both families,” Walker said, according to WATE. “It’s not just the school that’s hurting; it’s the whole community.”

McCoig said the killing has taken a toll on his investigators. “We only get through it by the grace of God,” he said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/10/05/11-year-old-charged-with-murdering-8-year-old-after-arguing-about-puppies/

[This article, originally published Oct. 5, has been updated.]

[elfismiles]

Panic strikes school after student says ‘gum’
October 14, 2015



KYLE, Texas – Emotions are on a hair trigger in schools these days.

So much so, just hearing the word “gum” can cause a school-wide freak-out, as evidenced by an episode Wednesday.

A student at Lehman High School student reportedly asked for some chewing gum, but another student thought the student said “gun,” KCEN reports.

http://haysfreepress.com/content/misund ... ehman-high

No gun was found and Hays County, Texas school district spokesman Tim Savoy insists the school was never in “lock down,” though school administrators did “hold students in their extended class periods to investigate the concern with little to no disruption to their schedule.”

Principal Michelle Chae sent a letter home to parents after the incident, according to the Hays Free Press, writing:

Dear Lobo Parents,

This morning we received a report from a student that there was allegedly a weapon on campus. After investigating the concern, it was determined that a student thought he heard the word “gun,” but in fact it was another student asking for some “gum.”

The safety of our students is always foremost on our list of priorities, so we take these concerns seriously. We continue to encourage students to report anything they see or hear that causes them concern. Fortunately, in this case, it was a misunderstanding and there was no threat to our school or need to conduct a lockdown.

Because we are conducting the PSAT, we were able to hold students in their extended class periods to investigate the concern with little to no disruption to their schedule.

Sincerely,

Michelle Chae
Principal, LHS

No gun was ever found. No word on if the student ever got the requested gum.

http://eagnews.org/panic-strikes-school ... -says-gum/

[Iamwhomiam]

Gunrunning case detailed
Officials: Wiretaps used in undercover probe; 8 arrested

Associated Press
Published 5:38 pm, Wednesday, October 14, 2015


Photo: Tom Hays

Weapons rest on a table during a news conference at the Brooklyn District Attorney’s office, Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2015, in New York. Prosecutors announced the arrest of several people in a gun-running scheme ...

New York

A gunrunner who smuggled more than 100 weapons from Atlanta and Pittsburgh into New York City on cheap interstate passenger buses bragged about it in a cellphone call to his ex-girlfriend while carrying a cache in a duffel bag on the streets of Manhattan, prosecutors said Wednesday.

"I've got MAC-10s on me, an SK assault rifle and four handguns and I'm walking through New York," Michael Bassier said in the intercepted phone call in March, according to authorities.

The conversation — evidence in a yearlong undercover probe of a gun-trafficking ring — demonstrates the persistent threat of guns that are bought in states with lax gun-control laws, resold to criminals in New York and used in shootings, authorities said a news conference announcing the arrests.

Bassier, 31, was among eight reputed members of the gun ring facing conspiracy and other charges. He was being held without bail following an arraignment on Tuesday; there was no immediate response to a message left on Wednesday with his attorney.

The takedown follows a series of similar investigations over the past several years, including recent ones targeting guns smuggled from the South in private cars and commercial airliners. While New York City has some of the strictest gun-control laws, the cases show the need for federal legislation to help address the problem, said Brooklyn District Attorney Kenneth Thompson.

"So we had guns in a car, guns on a plane and now guns on a bus," Thompson said. "How many different ways to we have to try to get to these guns before we wake up as a country and realize that we have to stop the bloodshed?"

An undercover New York Police Department officer using the alias "Zoey" infiltrated the ring last year and persuaded Bassier to make him his exclusive customer, authorities said. During the course of the investigation, the suspect made 12 trips by Chinatown-based buses to Atlanta and six trips by car to Pittsburgh to purchase semi-automatic pistols and assault weapons, they said.

Bassier recruited straw purchasers to pay between $150 to $300 per gun at gun stores and pawn shops and on websites in their home states, then resold them for $800 to $1,200, authorities said. In all, he provided 112 weapons to the undercover agents in transactions that often took places in a Walgreens parking lot in Brooklyn, authorities said.

The wiretap evidence shows Bassier knew exactly what he was doing, prosecutors said.

"I'm selling them the right way and the wrong way," he told his ex. "When I'm out of state, like Atlanta and Georgia and all that, it's all legal ... but in New York, it's completely illegal."

The woman expressed dismay, telling Bassier, "I thought you said you've changed."

His response: "I have."

http://www.timesunion.com/news/article/Gunrunning-case-detailed-6571117.php

[PufPuf93]

Somewhat striking to see how this gun running case in Brooklyn was treated as compared to the Jeffery Alan Lash case in LA.

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=39086&p=575057#p575057

[Luther Blissett]

I think they are definitely vastly different cases. I lean more towards Lash having some sort of "official" approval.

[PufPuf93]

I think they are definitely vastly different cases. I lean more towards Lash having some sort of "official" approval.

I agree.

[Iamwhomiam]

Its now 18 pages shied me away from reading about Lash, who remains unknown to me. I'll dive in.

[Iamwhomiam]

West Virginia Overrides Governor’s Veto To Pass Radical NRA-Backed Gun Law

by Samantha Page Mar 6, 2016 12:14 pm


West Virginia Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin speaks during an event Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2015.

Gun owners in West Virginia will no longer need to get a permit to have a concealed weapon, putting it among the most far-reaching states for gun rights. The House voted on the measure Friday and officially overrode a gubernatorial veto on Saturday.

The law, which does away with the permit and training program for people 21 and older who want to carry a concealed weapon, was supported by the National Rifle Association, but opposed by law enforcement across the state.

“West Virginia’s law enforcement officers have dedicated their lives to keeping us safe and helping us in times of need, and it’s disheartening that the members of the Legislature have chosen not to stand with these brave men and women – putting their safety and the safety of West Virginians at risk,” Democratic Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin said in a statement Saturday.

Allowing just anyone to carry a concealed weapon means that law enforcement officers have no way of knowing whether someone might be armed. It also means there’s no way to know how much training or expertise a gun carrier has with the weapon. The permitting process also included a background check and a gun safety class, both meant to reduce gun violence.

But gun-rights advocates were quick to applaud the legislature’s move, which can be seen as part of a broader trend across the country towards allowing concealed carry.

“Self-defense is a fundamental right that must be respected,” said Chris W. Cox, executive director of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action. “Law-abiding West Virginians are now free to choose the method of self-defense that best suits their needs. The NRA and our five million members are pleased that the legislature voted in support of West Virginians’ Second Amendment freedoms.”

A 2013 study from Center for American Progress found a significant correlation between the strength of a state’s gun laws and gun violence in the state. In fact, the 10 states with the weakest gun laws collectively have a level of gun violence that was more than twice as high than the 10 states with the strongest gun laws.

West Virginia’s rate of gun deaths is currently 12th highest in the nation.

But West Virginia Attorney General Patrick Morrissey said the new law would not put law enforcement at risk or increase gun deaths.

“As the chief legal officer of the state and the person in charge of criminal matters for the state at the WV Supreme Court and in federal courts, I know that this legislation will not impact public safety,” he said after the veto. “If this bill is enacted, we will not only expand freedom, but we will keep our citizens protected.”

Tomblin vetoed a similar bill last year, but the legislature didn’t have time to vote on overriding it before the session ended.

When the law kicks in on May 26, West Virginia will become one of eight states that allow concealed carry without a permit. Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Kansas, Maine, Vermont, and Wyoming are so-called constitutional carry states. In Wyoming, the law applies to residents only.

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2016/03/06/3757032/wv-permit-concealed-carry/?ref=yfp

[Wombaticus Rex]

Seeing a lot of FB chatter about a great new idea: force gun owners to purchase liability insurance. That way, per meme logic, "THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY WILL DESTROY THE GUN INDUSTRY."

Of course, it's not a new idea, nor a particularly great one. It upsets me that I know enough about the details of the insurance industry to recognize this was a bad idea, but I'll let better informed folks make the case:

Via: http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/na ... 287849.htm

...

The industry is warning lawmakers against requiring gun owners to carry an insurance coverage that they may not be able to easily purchase.

...

One gun insurance bill has been filed in the House. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, D-N.Y., has filed the Firearms Risk Protection Act of 2013 (HR 1369), which would require gun owners to purchase liability coverage and to show proof of that coverage when they purchase a firearm.

Maloney says her bill would introduce a market-based solution to holding gun owners liable for the weapons they own.

“As with car insurance premiums, higher risk gun owners will face higher premiums. Actuarial determinations will be made by insurance companies, as those experts are in the best position to make those determinations based on sound data analysis,” she says.

Maloney says her bill does not establish a federal insurance program. Instead, it imposes no specific requirements on insurance companies, but instead imposes a fine of $10,000 if during the sale of a weapon the seller does not confirm coverage or the buyer has not purchased it.

Several states including California, Connecticut, Massachusetts and Illinois have considered but not passed gun insurance legislation similar to Maloney’s.

Wherever these proposals surface, insurers have been telling lawmakers that such approaches would not only violate basic insurance principles but also be unworkable.

“Though well intentioned, such proposals misunderstand a fundamental principle of insurance—that it is designed to cover fortuitous, or accidental events; not intentional conduct. Property/casualty insurance does not and cannot cover intentional behavior such as criminal acts,” said Willem O. Rijksen, vice president of public affairs for the American Insurance Association.

According to Jimi Grande, senior vice president of federal and political affairs for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies, gun liability insurance measures would neither deter violence nor help victims.

“Liability coverage is designed to protect against accidental damages, most of which involving guns would be covered under a homeowner’s insurance policy. While some policies may provide coverage for liability stemming from the intentional use of a firearm for defensive purposes, no liability insurance product covers intentional acts of malicious violence, whether committed with a gun, a car, or any other instrument that is used as a weapon to deliberately harm people,” said Grande. “It is inconceivable that any insurer would offer such coverage, either as part of a homeowners or renters policy or on a stand-alone basis.”

Just a passing detail, though, no worries -- I'm sure today's sit-in at the House will change everything.

[stefano]

Just a passing detail, though, no worries -- I'm sure today's sit-in at the House will change everything.

Look - if there's one place where you should expect a mass murder tragedy to prompt a re-examination of gun laws, it's Florida.

Supercilious prickery aside, I understand that there have been some gun control moves in New York and Connecticut - more exactly, earlier gun control aggression has been allowed to stand, man - so there's that.

[Iamwhomiam]

I wondered if anyone would post something about the SCOTUS decision to deny a hearing of grievances questioning the constitutionality of post Sandy Hook gun laws passed by Connecticut and NY. Both states have strict laws and both have banned the ownership of AR-15 styled weapons and limited the number of rounds of a magazine or clip could carry. (I use both terms, as many might not understand the difference, regardless their stance on gun control. The thing that holds the bullets.) NYS required registration of all assault weapons already legally owned within one year of its passage in January, 2013.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_New_York

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_laws_in_Connecticut

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/06/21/us/politics/supreme-court-gun-control-semiautomatic-connecticut.html

Tom King, an NRA board member and President of the NYS Rifle and Pistol Association, back in October was "happy" to be heading to the Supreme Court; now he's "ecstatic" they declined to hear the case, due to Scalia's interim departure.

http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Supreme-Court-decision-pleases-opposing-gun-views-8314323.php