Category: firearms

gun in home 12 times more likely to shoot family / visitor than intruder

On By Rick McIn ethics, firearms, government, health & fitnessLeave a comment

An American study published in the Southern Medical Journal (2010) …

Based on a review of the available scientific data, Dr. Lippmann and co-authors conclude that the dangers of having a gun at home far outweigh the safety benefits.

Research shows that access to guns greatly increases the risk of death and firearm-related violence. A gun in the home is twelve times more likely to result in the death of a household member or visitor than an intruder.

The most common cause of deaths occurring at homes where guns are present, by far, is suicide. Many of these self-inflicted gunshot wounds appear to be impulsive acts by people without previous evidence of mental illness.

Guns in the home are also associated with a fivefold increase in the rate of intimate partner homicide, as well as an increased risk of injuries and death to children. …

details

Whether Oscar Pistorius shot and killed girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp out of anger, or stupidity, the fact remains that one of his many “defensive” weapons killed a loved one, not an intruder.

oscar-could-wait-y_2489969b

Before the shooting Oscar would have been a Gundamentalist, denying the danger.

Oscar was just indicted on a premeditated murder charge.

The court set March 3, 2014 as the trial date for Pistorius.

The main charge laid by prosecutors carries a mandatory sentence of life imprisonment with a minimum of 25 years in prison if Pistorius is convicted.

I’m guessing Oscar is a suicide risk.

related – Political arguments of gun politics in the United States

gundamentalist propoganda

On By Rick McIn bad news, Facebook, firearms, government, product complaints, things getting worseLeave a comment

The right wing in the USA has many channels by which they push their agenda.

prop·a·gan·da

Noun

Information, esp. of a biased or misleading nature, used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.

The dissemination of such information as a political strategy.

I see this stuff every day, especially on Facebook.

For example:

Woman shoots intruder after she is raped in front of her children

Screen Shot 2013-04-05 at 1.33.33 PM

Kristy Sage, a young mother living in Lemon Grove, California survived a nightmare and wants her story to be told. Her husband was deployed in the Persian Gulf and although her mom lived with her, her mom worked nights, so Kristy was left home alone at night with her two toddler-aged boys.

Knowing that he was to be deployed, Kristy’s husband made sure that she could adequately protect herself while he was away. He bought a 9mm pistol and made sure she knew how to use it. …

What a story!

It’s perfect for the NRA. Almost as if somebody had invented it. 🙂

Jennifer Cruz did invent it. None of that happened.

But it’s posted on a gundamentalist website. And people are obliviously sharing it with friends and family.

Was Jennifer Cruz paid to write that story?

Is she part of a funded network of believers volunteering to write propoganda?

It hasn’t hit Snopes yet, by the way.

I happen to believe that gun owners have some very good arguments. People like Jennifer Cruz undermine the cause. Make them look like extremist wingnuts.

The NRA should be calling out the liars like Cruz. Debunking propagandists.  They’re not.

gun deaths in Australia

On By Rick McIn firearms, government, health & fitnessLeave a comment

The most amusing commentary I’ve seen yet on the illogic of American gundamentalists.

The Daily Show’s John Oliver makes a trip down under to interview former Australian Prime Minister John Howard.

Click PLAY or watch it on Vimeo.

http://vimeo.com/64432171

related – Gun politics in Australia

Darrell Scott’s testimony before the House Judiciary Committee’s subcommittee

On By Rick McIn ethics, Facebook, firearms, governmentLeave a comment

If you’re on Facebook you can’t avoid seeing Mr. Darrell Scott’s impassioned words after his daughter had been killed in the Columbine shooting.

darrell scott

He defends the NRA. And says:

… “We do not need more restrictive laws. Eric and Dylan would not have been stopped by metal detectors No amount of gun laws can stop someone who spends months planning this type of massacre. … “

I respect Darrell Scott’s position. And am wounded by his loss.

But the testimony has been much warped over time, having been so often spun by Gundamentalists.

Here’s one version of Snope’s clarifications:

That Darrell Scott spoke the words attributed to him is fact. However, the opening and closing comments appended to the Internet-circulated version of them are misleading and erroneous….

Darrell Scott didn’t say anything to our “national leaders,” nor is it true that his testimony was “not received well.” Scott was not delivering testimony to a crowded House chamber full of incredulous, unprepared, and shocked Congressmen; he was talking to a few sub-committee members and a stenographer. He was only one of many people who gave testimony to the Subcommittee on Crime, and it’s unlikely that most Congressmen heard what he said, or even knew that he had testified. His words certainly didn’t prompt outrage from an unreceptive audience, as implied here….

“The media” didn’t prevent anyone from hearing Mr. Scott’s speech; most news outlets simply didn’t give it much coverage because it wasn’t particularly newsworthy.

… Mr. Scott really didn’t offer much of substance, and what he did have to say had already been said earlier and louder by many others. Also as noted above, Mr. Scott was merely one of many people who gave testimony in front of the House Subcommittee on Crime in the wake of the Littleton shootings. Other parents of shooting victims spoke as well, but you won’t find that fact acknowledged here, much less any indication of what they said. Why should their words be any less important than Darrell Scott’s? (Perhaps the reason they’re not mentioned is because their opinions didn’t agree with Mr. Scott’s, and therefore didn’t agree with the opinions of whoever wrote the prologue and coda to this piece.)

… Darrell Scott’s speech was reported by the Associated Press and picked up by several big-city newspapers, hardly evidence of a hostile “media” conspiracy to suppress it and thereby prevent the world at large from hearing it.

read more on Snopes

DON’T GET YOUR FACTS FROM FACEBOOK.

It’s more crap than fact.

A Time / CNN poll mid-January found that 55% of Americans favor stricter gun control, 44% are against.

It’s a good idea to restrict assault weapons and high capacity magazines.

The argument that Americans need defend themselves against the U.S. Army is delusion.

What percentage of American soldiers would be unwilling to invade Texas? … For example.

50%? … 70%?

my gun stance

On By Rick McIn bad news, education, ethics, firearms, government, happiness2 Comments

In Yemen.

Rick gun

Guns are tools. Tools that can be used for right or wrong.

The nations with the most guns / capita:

United States 88.8
Serbia 58.2
Yemen 54.8
Switzerland
Cyprus
Saudi Arabia
Iraq
Finland

More guns = more accidents. More gun murders.

Everyone mourned the 20 children of Newton. Know that 260 school children were killed in Chicago over a 3yr span. It happens all the time.

But doesn’t hit the mainstream media each time.

Still, the U.S.A. is only 10th on the list of firearm-related deaths. Switzerland is 5th. Mexico is 9th.

It’s not an exact correlation. Guns in the U.S.A. prevent some killings.

Dana and Fred recently moved from Vegas to Regina, Canada. There’s far less chance for their son to be hurt by guns in Regina than Vegas. I really believe that.

… If I could wave a magic wand and render all the hand guns in the world ineffective, I would. There would be a net calming effect, I predict.

Perhaps I’m wrong.

In any case, there is no magic wand. We must deal with the cards on the table now.

Actually, I don’t believe the pro gun nuts and the anti gun zealots are all that far apart.

Aside from the worst extremists, the majority would agree that it should be legal for hunters to own hunting guns. That it should be legal for people to defend their families and homes.

Most would agree there’s no need for an assault weapon for hunting nor home defense.

Detroit Police Chief Ralph Godbee:

“An AK-47 is a Russian-made weapon that is made for war. An AR-15, which is an answer to the AK-47 . . . these high-capacity [guns] . . . you can shoot 50 to 60 rounds within a minute. Within a minute you can literally shoot through brick, shoot through steel.”

Speaking at a news conference with Rep. John Conyers and myself, Chief Godbee expressed dismay that there has been no action to revive the assault-weapons ban that was allowed to expire in 2004 when George W. Bush was president. …

Police chiefs are right: Ban assault weapons

That ban should be put in place. And enforced.

Penalties should be very strict.

Release the marijuana smokers from U.S. prisons to free up space for those carrying illegal weapons.

Bring the troops home. Use the money for Home Defence. Especially defending Americans from assault weapon attack.

Use the money to take better care of the mentally ill.

Use the money to improve the lives of the poorest of the poor in the U.S.A. 

Not family handouts. But improved schools.

We’ll still have mass shootings, but hopefully fewer.

Personally, I feel it’s time for the N.R.A. to moderate their positions.

Critics of the N.R.A. have some very good points.

I admire George H. W. Bush for resigning from the N.R.A. in 1996.

He was right.

In fact, looking back with 20/20 vision, George H was more often right than wrong. His son, just the opposite.