"We can't have law enforcement second guessing who should be able to carry a gun..."

Funny, especially in the light of all the stories about people who go around with CCW permits who probably should never have been issued with them in the first place...

Case in point:

Robert Taylor, one of two men who died Wednesday in a shootout after a driving altercation, had his concealed pistol license revoked for three years because of a drunken driving conviction.
Ionia County Prosecutor Ron Schafer today confirmed that Taylor lost his license in November 2006 after a drunken-driving conviction. He registered 0.18 on a portable breathalyzer.
But he obtained a new license in November 2010 after four years.

And we know what happened here...

Brilliant idea--don't let the cops deny permits to people who really shouldn't have them in the first place.

Forget pictures telling a story--here's the 911 tape...

This 911 call that was released on Friday that captures the panic and hysteria of Teri Pullum, the wife of one of two men who died after shooting each other at an Ionia car wash Wednesday evening following an alleged road rage incident.

Lawful California Gun Owner Shoots Through the Door During his Eviction - One Wounded

SF Gate

A 42-year-old man being evicted by Contra Costa County sheriff's deputies shot through the front door of a foreclosed home in an upscale gated community just outside San Ramon on Wednesday, hitting the property manager in the leg, before surrendering after a standoff, authorities said.

The incident began shortly before 2 p.m. at 3497 Ashbourne Circle in the Norris Canyon Estates development west of San Ramon, authorities said.

Sheriff's deputies, the property manager and a locksmith arrived at the home to evict the resident, but no one responded when the deputies repeatedly knocked on the door, said Jimmy Lee, a spokesman for the Contra Costa County sheriff's office, which patrols the unincorporated area.

As the locksmith began drilling out the lock, Lee said, someone fired shots through the closed front door of the five-bedroom, $1.6 million home, hitting the property manager in the leg.

More Sinister School-book Conspiracies Uncovered - This One in South Carolina

WBTV 3 News, Weather, Sports, and Traffic for Charlotte, NC

The Scourge of Online Gun Sales

Bloomberg

It’s not difficult to grasp how a man with a history of gun arrests and mental instability obtained the necessary firepower to commit a massacre at the Washington Navy Yard earlier this week. Buying a gun, or even an arsenal, is exceptionally easy in the U.S.

Even so, there are some people who both fail to meet the minimal requirements for purchasing a gun from a licensed dealer and whose relevant personal details are known to the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Since 1998, the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System has stopped more than 2 million attempted gun purchases by felons, domestic abusers, drug addicts, the mentally ill and other prohibited persons.

Those blocked from making legal purchases from gun dealers, however, have an alternative marketplace -- online. As a report released this week makes painfully clear, that marketplace is growing in both size and danger.

Mayors Against Illegal Guns, cofounded by New York City Mayor and Bloomberg LP founder Michael Bloomberg, found 83,000 ads for guns on Armslist.com, a site devoted to firearm sales. The number of criminals seeking guns on the site -- federal law requires no background checks or questions of any kind for in-state, nondealer transactions -- would be astounding if it weren’t so predictable.

So when Radcliffe Haughton was prohibited from buying firearms, he naturally turned to Armslist, where he found a willing seller while avoiding a background check or any other kind of scrutiny. Haughton bought a .40-caliber semi-automatic Glock handgun. The next day, he drove to his estranged wife’s workplace and murdered her along with two co-workers. Four others were injured before Haughton turned the gun on himself.

This is the “gun-show loophole” in action. Armslist is precisely the kind of lawless marketplace that the National Rifle Association champions and that the U.S. Senate this year mobilized to protect by scuttling background-check legislation. With the growth of online markets, there’s never a need to wait for a gun show; tens of thousands of guns are on sale every hour of every day.

Texas 3-Year-old Loses Lung in Accidental Shooting - Parents to Face Charges - Maybe

Local news reports

According to a news release from Horseshoe Bay Assistant Police Chief Rocky Wardlow, officers responded to a call at 7:16 p.m. in reference to a child accidentally shooting himself. The child was transported to Dell Children’s Medical Center of Central Texas in Austin, where he was rushed into surgery.

Physicians removed the youth’s right lung. He remained in critical condition as of Sept. 20.

During the investigation, Horseshoe Bay officers accompanied the parents back to the residence, where police recovered a loaded handgun lying on the kitchen table, according to the release. The parents told officers the child picked up the gun and it went off.

When officers requested permission to search the residence, the parents refused, the release stated.

District Attorney Sonny McAfee and one of his investigators responded to the residence to assist. McAfee assisted officers in securing a search warrant.

During the course of the initial investigation, officers learned the gun found inside the residence wasn’t the one involved in the shooting, according to the release. Investigators received conflicting information regarding the weapon with one account suggesting the father hid the weapon in nearby brush and the other account suggesting the mother hid the gun along with other firearms in a neighbor’s home.

While a search of a nearby wooded area was unsuccessful, investigators located the neighbor and, upon getting permission to search the residence, they located three handguns and a lever-action rifle.

Investigators believe the shooting was accidental, but they do have concerns about why the parents attempted to hide the weapon involved in the incident, according to the release.

Once the investigation is over, Horseshoe Bay police will forward the information to the district attorney’s office for consultation on what charges could be filed.

"Gun deaths and injuries" is not equivalent to "crime"

Andrew Goddard (Colin's Dad)  Says:

OK folks, lets try to break one really bad habit: "gun deaths and injuries" is not equivalent to "crime". While many gun deaths and injuries are a result of crime or criminal acts, not all crimes are gun deaths and injuries. Crime rates, even violent crime rates, cannot be substituted in arguments for gun death or injury rates. GVP folks do NOT concentrate their efforts on crime, so why use that term in our arguments. Exit soapbox!

Another gun responsibility advocate responded:

I get that from the gun guys on my blog all the time. They try to send me links to articles about crime in general to prove some point. They don't get that we are talking about deaths and injuries. Or maybe they do. They just don't want to talk about that part of it.

Because if you add the "non-criminal" gun injuries and death--then the number skyrockets. It also puts paid to the things being "safe". But gun guys can't be serious saying that guns aren't dangerous/

Of course, some of the gun guys get the difference, but they don't have credible stats to use in their favour unless they stay with the broader "crime" category. On the other hand, people who want gun control don't give a damn if owning guns reduces bicycle theft or public graffiti etc. - it's the dead and injured that rile them!

Anyway, it's all semantics with the gun guys. Technically guns are not dangerous - if you put a gun in a metal cage it will sit there till it rusts away and never hurt anyone, so guns are not dangerous! Yes. that's a facile argument, because that is not how guns are used, but the gundamentalists will stand by that semantic argument.

The problem is that no matter how you want to try and change the topic: a firearm is a weapon with its purpose being to kill or cause serious bodily injury when used correctly.  If they were not lethal 9or at least harmful) there wouldn't be the power associated with the things.