It’s true. A gun sitting alone in some gun store never killed anyone (especially if it wasn’t loaded). They just get used as the best tool for the job, is all, the job being to maim or kill living beings. Let’s look at how well they were used this weekend for the purpose they are for which they are designed, shall we?
For example, if you are a teenage boy who wants to go to the mall and get the raw emotional impact that arcade shooting games just can’t duplicate, well guns are what you need to fulfill your dream:
MUSKOGEE, Okla. — Police have arrested two teenage boys in connection with a weekend shooting at an Oklahoma shopping mall that left one person dead and five others wounded.
Muskogee police Capt. Chad Farmer says the 16- and 17-year-old boys were arrested Monday after officers found them hiding in a house.
But I don’t want to pick only on Red State country like Oklahoma. Not when you can go clubbing in The Marxist Republic of San Francisco and meet the same fate:
A 26-year-old San Francisco man was killed and three others suffered life-threatening injuries in a shooting early Sunday morning just south of the city’s Financial District, police said.
Blair Henderson was shot as he and several of his friends went to retrieve their car from a parking lot near Second and Minna streets, according to accounts that Henderson’s mother, Regina Mikell, heard from witnesses.
Mikell said she believed that Henderson had planned to go to a nightclub with friends Saturday night. She did not believe that any of his friends had been shot.
And what better way is there to work out your anger management issues than a little road rage shooting spree? Not to mention how much more interesting it made the Friday morning commute for the good folks of Montgomery County Pennsylvania:
A preliminary hearing has been set for the Gilbertsville man allegedly involved in a Friday morning commute shooting on U.S. Route 422, Upper Providence Township. […]
Yannarell faces various charges, including criminal attempted homicide, aggravated assault and reckless endangerment. […]
An unidentified female victim, 31, of Pottstown, was travelling eastbound at approximately 7:15 a.m., when she noticed another driver swerving in and out of traffic behind her.
The victim moved to the right lane in order to avoid Yannarell, but the suspect passed her vehicle on the right shoulder, firing a shot into her vehicle. […][
The victim was transported to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, where she was treated for a gunshot wound.
But, let’s not let our emergency respondents miss out on the fun, shall we? After all they deserve the same chance to be shot at in the line of duty as regular Janes and Joes:
VALLEJO — As Vallejo firefighters were tending to a 19-year-old Vallejo man who was shot in the head Sunday night they heard more gun shots being fired nearby.
The man was shot after two men confronted him in front of a relative’s home about 8:40 p.m. in the 100 block of Mark Avenue, Vallejo Police Lt. Abel Tenorio said.
As Vallejo Fire Department firefighters were loading the victim onto a helicopter, they heard three more gun shots fired from no more than a block away, Tenorio said. […]
“There was a group of people in the area watching, and firefighters said they heard three shots coming from the crowd,” Tweedy said.
“It was a pretty tense situation … We haven’t really encountered something like that before,” Tweedy added.
But for its full out entertainment value, nothing beats New Orleans during Mardi Gras season:
NEW ORLEANS —
The number from Saturday night’s shooting incident has moved up to eight people injured. […]New Orleans police said the shooting happened in the 700 block of Canal Street around 9:15 p.m.
Investigators said the shooting could be the result of an argument involving a 17-year-old that happened in the same area on the last day of Mardi Gras. […]
Also among the injured were a 15-year-old girl; two 21-year-old men and a 20-year-old man, all with gunshot wounds to the leg. A 25-year-old had a gunshot wound to the foot and a 50-year-old was shot in the shoulder.
I ask you, isn’t the risk of bullets flying around (and sometimes into) your body the ultimate in Extreme Sports? And isn’t America the land of opportunity? Well, where else can the thrill seekers of today, those who dream of firing live ammunition at real people have their dream come true (unless, of course they join the US military and explore the wonders of Southwest Asia) if not in America. By God, someone from the NRA should be using this in an ad campaign to attract new, younger members.
Heck, if shooting people in the face is good enough sport for Dick Cheney …
What can I say? Spring is in the air. That and bullets.
America has become Bizarro Land where the weapons of such lamentable mayhem are constitutionally sanctioned. No where else in the world does such a frontier mentality exist. We surely are an exceptional people; just ask the victims of America’s preoccupation with guns. No wonder that sweet Sarah has become such an icon.
Gun-toting soccer mom is shot dead
If you think it’s bad now, wait until July when unemployment is still around 10%, higher in the cities and rural area, hot, sweaty, in places without air conditioning.
The political class in this country, almost without exception, has now moved from slow to negligent. The Obama administrations, Democrats, and even Republicans better wake up of there is going to be major catastrophe in this country.
Conservatives are operating under the illusion that they have guns and no one else does, so they can intimidate and assault and murder with impunity. They will discover that they are sorely mistaken.
But Steven, those are all isolated incidents! Except they’re not. It’s now an arms race in this country to stockpile guns and ammo because Obama is going to close the gun stores and take guns off the market. eyeroll And why resolve differences by talking to the people who piss you off? Why waste time learning how to cope with stress and fear? Just grab a gun and shoot that bitch who cut you off back in traffic! Hate that grouchy old man down the block? Shoot him!
I swear, people are so angry. They are frustrated, frightened, and pissed off about the big issues like unemployment, but they react to the little things like parking spaces and noisy neighbors. It’s a scary place out there. I don’t like it. I only see it escalating.
Farmington Hills Shooting May Be Road Rage
Last Update: 8:34 am
Road Rage May Have Led To Shooting
Shooting In Farmington Hills MI
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) – One person has been taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries after he was shot in the arm in Farmington Hills.
It happened at Orchard Lake Road, south of 13 Mile Road.
Police said the shooting may have started as a road rage incident.
Police told Action News a 20-year-old man from Commerce Township, who was driving a small red car, got into an altercation with a 27-year-old man from Farmington Hills, who was driving a small black car.
The 20-year-old man was apparently frustrated with the driver of the black car for riding the brakes.
Witnesses said, when the two cars reached the intersection of Orchard Lake and 13 Mile Road, the 20-year-old man got out of his car and confronted the the 27-year-old man. Investigators believe the 27-year-old man then pulled out a gun and shot the 20-year-old man.
Police said the 27-year-old man stayed at the scene and waited for police to arrive, but it is unclear whether the man called police.
The 27-year-old man is now in police custody.
The scene has been cleared.
Geographical correction.
As a former denizen of downtown SF, Minna Street isn’t “just south” of the financial district. It’s a little alley South of Market. A much rougher area than the financial district.
The US media neglects to put the US gun-violence problem in its proper context ,namely, the world wide illicit arms trade. Much of the carnage in the US is the product
of black market arms trafficking to felons and poor urban youth.
Former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan remarked: “The death toll from small arms dwarfs that of all other weapons systems.”
Small Arms Survey: http://is.gd/bqYZH
“Small Arms” refers to hand-held weapons like assault rifles, carbines, pistols, and submachine guns.
The Small Arms Survey is the principal source of public information on all aspects of small arms. It serves to monitor national and international (governmental and non-governmental) initiatives, and acts as a clearing house for the dissemination of best practices in the field.
The proliferation of small arms and light weapons represents a grave threat to human security. The unchecked spread of these weapons has exacerbated inter- and intra-state conflicts, contributed to human rights violations, undermined political and economic development, destabilized communities, and devastated the lives of millions of people. The future success of efforts to deal with small arms and light weapons depends in large part on the development of accurate information concerning the global flow of these weapons and on reliable analysis of the causes and consequences of their proliferation.
The Global Significance of Small Arms Proliferation:
GLOBAL SMALL ARMS TRADE UP 28% FROM 2000 TO 2006
US demand for guns remains key driver of trade.
The value of the authorized global trade in small arms and light weapons, including their parts, accessories, and ammunition, jumped 28 per cent from 2000 to 2006, an increase of some USD 653 million, according to UN customs data presented in the 2009 edition of the Small Arms Survey.
The United States continues to drive the global small arms trade, remaining the largest importer of pistols and revolvers, sporting shotguns, and small-calibre ammunition. Greater demand for small arms in the United States was responsible for 48 per cent of the worldwide increase in imports from 2000 to 2006.
Current data shows that the global trade in small arms and light weapons is robust and even expanding, and that handguns are driving it’, said Small Arms Survey Program Director Keith Krause. `We don’t know whether these weapons are destined for civilians, police, or military forces. But it is striking that handguns have outpaced all other small arms and light weapons over the period.
Gun control has become a political third rail. Can you imagine what the nutjobs would do if Obama brought forward a strong national gun control measure? Only a republican president could (preferably one with a military record) could do it.
If Obama simply went after illegal black market gun-trafficking with the resources they use at the DEA
that would cut the homicide rate by 1/3 . NRA (AKA gun manufacturers) can’t bitch about Feds from going after sellers to felons and teens . ATF has 1/10 the resources of
DEA