'Meaningful contributions'

Well, looks like the National Rifle Association has finally crawled out of its hole to attempt to approximate the human emotions of sympathy and concern. And lest ye think that these swine took down their Facebook page and stopped tweeting its stupidity 140 characters at a time out of what humankind knows as shame, the NRA reminds us that it knows no shame.

"Out of respect for the families, and as a matter of common decency, we have given time for mourning, prayer and a full investigation of the facts before commenting."

Yes, that's why the group shuttered its Facebook page, out of respect and decency, not because the alleged people of the NRA have finally realized that their life's work has done nothing but facilitate evil and certainly not to avoid the flood of criticism on the page that the group so richly deserves (and that I will be contributing to as soon as I finish this post).

Yes, decency. From that beacon of decency, the National Rifle Association.

And, oh goody, the Gun Nut Club is planning a "major news conference" for Friday, when it will presumably announce what "meaningful contributions" it plans to offer to ensure the safety of humankind. The same safety that has been collateral damage in the NRA's battle to make sure every stupid fuck who wants a gun can get one as easily as possible. (Not to mention the NRA's other mission, which is to make as much money as possible off of idiots who think an extremely dangerous weapon bolsters a shaky manhood, adds inches or makes them safer, although it does none of these things.)

So if, in search of a solution to this problem, you are looking to the alleged people who have worked tirelessly and greedily to help create this problem, prepare to be underwhelmed.

UPDATE: The underwhelming.

The nation's largest gun-rights lobby is calling for armed security guards to be posted in every American school. [...]

[NRA CEO Wayne] LaPierre said his organization was willing to train and organize retired police officers, soldiers, fire fighters, medics and citizen volunteers into a corps of security guards. He called the proposed program the National School Shield Emergency Response Program.

 The NRA's "meaningful contribution" to gun violence in schools? Putting more guns in schools.

LaPierre (hmm... that sounds French. Is French bashing still fashionable?) offered no proposals regarding limits on any type of gun, access to guns or the size of magazines. Apparently, in the opinion of the NRA, none of those things -- guns, easy access to guns, or large magazines -- contributed to this tragedy in any way. So what did LaPierre say?

"The only thing that stops a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."

It sounds like a bad guy with a gun is pretty dangerous. More dangerous than a bad guy with a knife, or a club, or a pointed stick. Definitely more dangerous than a bad guy without a gun. Well, if that's the case, then shouldn't we be making it harder for bad guys to get guns? Not in Wayne's world.

"Does anybody really believe that the next Adam Lanza isn't planning his attack on a school he's already identified at this very moment?"

And does anybody really believe that he isn't planning to use a gun? Or several guns, with large magazines?

And does anybody really believe that the NRA is going to help make it even a little bit harder for him to get the guns he's planning to use?

Gun safety

From the FAQ page of the Crossroads of the West Gun Shows Web site:

Q: Can I carry a loaded gun in the gun show? I have a Concealed Carry Permit. 
A: We respectfully request that you do not bring any loaded firearm into the gun show. Safety is our Number One Priority, and a safe environment in the show can only be maintained if there are no loaded guns in the show.

If there were a follow-up question page (FUQ?) page on the site, I would post the question, "Does the 'a safe environment can only be maintained if there are no loaded guns' rule of thumb also apply in homes, schools, churches, fast food restaurants and basically everywhere there are people?"

School shooting

This time in Connecticut. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families.

What are we going to do about it? Nothing is not an option.

Douchebag of the Week

The comedian Rep. Trent Franks, R-Ariz. Gun violence is some funny shit, huh Trent? A fucking comedy gold mine.

Martin Luther King

It was 40 years ago today that Martin Luther King was killed. Under mysterious circumstances. By a “drifter.” At the height of the government’s crazed-lone-gunman craze. But not to worry. The Justice Department did a half-assed investigation in 2000 that found no evidence of a consipacy. Click here to read the King family’s thoughts on that investigation. The transcript of the conspiracy trial in which a Tennessee jury found in favor of the King family is here.

Click here to read more and to listen to King’s final speech, at the Mason Temple in Memphis. It’s still as powerful and inspiring as ever.

By the way, John McCain is in full damage-control mode today. It seems the maverick Republican senator voted against a federal holiday in honor of Dr. King in 1983. And when then Arizona Gov. Evan Meacham rescinded the state holiday in 1987, McCain supported the decision.

Tragedy

Remember, guns don’t kill people, people kill people. But it’s uncanny how often they use guns to do it.

A gunman wearing a jacket and tie wordlessly and randomly opened fire inside a Wendy's during the lunchtime rush Monday, killing a firefighter who'd gone back to fetch his child's toy and wounding five other diners. He then turned the gun on himself.

"This was not a robbery. He didn't demand anything...," said Paul Miller, a Palm Beach County sheriff's spokesman. "Looks like this was just another random shooting like we've seen around the United States."

The 42-year-old victim, a Palm Beach County Fire-Rescue lieutenant, had met his wife and child at the restaurant, Deputy Fire-Rescue Chief Steve Delai said. The family had just left, but the man returned to retrieve a toy his child had left behind and was shot in the back as he stood at the counter, Delai said.

"Our officer probably didn't even see him," Delai said, adding that the man's wife and child were still in the parking when the shooting broke out.

Three of the survivors were in critical condition, sheriff's spokeswoman Teri Barbera said. Two others had minor injuries, including one person who was injured while running away.

Motorists at the drive-thru window fled, some leaving their vehicles running. Several people were carried from the restaurant on stretchers. Authorities did not identify the shooter or the other victims.

"I just saw a lady with a little boy in her arms come running out screaming, 'Somebody's shooting!'" said Sandra Jackson, who had been getting gas across the street. The woman said her husband was still inside, said Jackson, 43, of Palm Springs.

The mayhem unfolded just after noon during the lunch hour rush at the eatery on a major suburban road lined with strip malls, car dealerships and fast food restaurants, about five miles from downtown West Palm Beach. A billboard advertising an upcoming gun show stands just behind the Wendy's.

Don’t forget, folks, the ability of any mental defective to acquire a gun is what makes this country the safest place in the world.

I really hope I don’t find out this shooter was off his medications because his insurance company canceled his coverage and that the insurance company employee who canceled his policy got a bonus for doing it. Unfortunately, that’s entirely possible.

Insane gun policies and the lack of universal healthcare is not a good combination.

Guns don't kill people

People with guns kill people.

The 911 call came from a Pasadena, Tex., resident, who alerted police to two burglary suspects on a neighbor's property. Before he hung up, two men were dead by his hand.

Joe Horn, 61, told the dispatcher what he intended to do: Walk out his front door with a shotgun.

"I've got a shotgun," Horn said, according to a tape of the 911 call. "Do you want me to stop them?"

"Nope, don't do that - ain't no property worth shooting somebody over, OK?" the dispatcher responded.

"Hurry up man, catch these guys, will you? 'Cause I'm ain't gonna let 'em go, I'm gonna be honest with you, I'm not gonna let 'em go. I'm not gonna let 'em get away with this ----."

[...]

Dispatcher: "I want you to listen to me carefully, OK?"

Horn: "Yes?"

Dispatcher: "I got ultras coming out there. I don't want you to go outside that house. And I don't want you to have that gun in your hand when those officers are poking around out there."

Horn: "I understand that, OK, but I have a right to protect myself too, sir, and you understand that. And the laws have been changed in this country since September the First and you know it and I know it."

Dispatcher: "I understand."

Horn: "I have a right to protect myself ..."

Dispatcher: "I'm ..."

Horn: "And a shotgun is a legal weapon, it's not an illegal weapon."

Dispatcher: "No, it's not, I'm not saying that, I'm just not wanting you to ..."

Horn: "OK, he's coming out the window right now, I gotta go, buddy. I'm sorry, but he's coming out the window. "

Dispatcher: "No, don't, don't go out the door, Mister Horn. Mister Horn..."

Horn: "They just stole something, I'm going out to look for 'em, I'm sorry, I ain't letting them get away with this ----. They stole something, they got a bag of stuff. I'm doing it!"

Dispatcher: "Mister, do not go outside the house."

Horn: "I'm sorry, this ain't right, buddy."

Dispatcher: "You gonna get yourself shot if you go outside that house with a gun, I don't care what you think."

Horn: "You wanna make a bet?"

Dispatcher: "Stay in the house."

Horn: "There, one of them's getting away!

Dispatcher: "That's alright, property's not something worth killing someone over. OK? Don't go out the house, don't be shooting nobody. I know you're pissed and you're frustrated but don't do it."

Horn: "They got a bag of loot."

Dispatcher: "OK. How big is the bag?" He then talks off, relaying the information.

Dispatcher: "Which way are they going?"

Horn: "I can't ... I'm going outside. I'll find out."

Dispatcher: "I don't want you going outside, Mister..."

Horn: "Well, here it goes buddy, you hear the shotgun clicking and I'm going."

Dispatcher: "Don't go outside."
On the tape of the 911 call, the shotgun can be heard being cocked and Horn can be heard going outside and confronting someone.

"Boom! You're dead!" he shouts. A loud bang is heard, then a shotgun being cocked and fired again, and then again.

Then Horn is back on the phone:
"Get the law over here quick. I've now, get, one of them's in the front yard over there, he's down, he almost run down the street. I had no choice. They came in the front yard with me, man, I had no choice! ... Get somebody over here quick, man."

Of course, they wouldn't have been in the yard with Horn if he had done what the dispatcher told him to do, which was to stay in the house.

So after five minutes of explaining to a police dispatcher his desire to use his shotgun, he had no choice but to step outside his home and do what he wanted to do. His hand was forced. By the people robbing a house other than his, who never attempted to enter his house. The panic in his voice was clear as he faced a clear and immiment threat: "Well, here it goes, buddy. You hear the shotgun clicking and I'm going. ... Boom, you're dead."

Someone who quotes to a police dispatcher the law regarding his gun and when he's entitled to shoot people, and then ignores repeated orders from the dispatcher to stay inside his home wasn't forced to do anything. This is a person who had a gun and wanted to use it. After all, what's the point of having a gun if you can't shoot it? Most people who don't want to shoot people don't own guns. And people who want to shoot people shouldn't own guns.

Two days later, Horn issued a statement through his attorney.

“The events of that day will weigh heavily on me for the rest of my life," it said. "My thoughts go out to the loved ones of the deceased.”

It's tragic that he didn't understand the gravity of the situation when he ignored the orders of a police dispatcher and went outside to play cowboy. "Well, here it goes, buddy. You hear the shotgun clicking and I'm going. ... Boom, you're dead." These are not the words of someone who understands the stakes. It's tragic that two people are dead and that their families' lives are forever altered (Horn's life isn't likely to get better either, by the way) because he didn't understand how fucking serious a responsibility gun ownership is.