GUNS IN THE NEWS - October 2, 2003

As always, feel free to add any CURRENT stories to this thread by replying to this message. Stories should be posted to the 'Net within the past 24 hours, or a follow-up to a story that was previously posted on the J/PS board.

Maybe our friends to the North are doing something right? - Wayne

New low in gun deaths

Firearms to blame for fewest homicides since records began; gun registry gets little credit

By CP

OTTAWA -- The rate of gun deaths in Canada fell to an all-time low last year, providing fresh ammunition for gun-control advocates and drawing envy from south of the border.

The 26 per cent of homicides committed with a firearm was the lowest proportion since statistics were first collected in 1961, Statistics Canada reported yesterday.

Stabbing was the most common method of killing, accounting for 31 per cent of homicides. Beatings resulted in 21 per cent of deaths, while strangulation or suffocation came in at 11 per cent.

The lower gun-death rate was hailed by anti-gun groups.

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http://www.canoe.ca/EdmontonNews/es.es-10-02-0019.html

the overall death rate did not change much. Firearms were not used 74% of the time. 33% of the people killed were killed with no weapon (beating or strangulation/suffocation). It would appear that criminals are still killing at the same rate, just using different methods to commit the crime.

Bear that in mind.

But WHY is it lower?

Anyone from North Of The Border care to weigh in?

How cool that we are all trying to figure out the answer to the same question.

Missouri gun law adds to uncertainty

By TIM HOOVER
The Kansas City Star

JEFFERSON CITY - Missouri Highway Patrol troopers are trained to approach every vehicle they stop as if its driver has a loaded weapon.
That training will be even more important now, patrol officials say, because of a new law in Missouri allowing people to carry loaded, concealed handguns in their vehicles even if they do not have a conceal-carry permit.

"It does raise a lot of concerns because we know there's going to be a lot more weapons in vehicles," said Capt. Chris Ricks, a spokesman for the patrol.

The new law grants conceal-carry permits to anyone 23 or older who meets the qualifications and who goes through the training. But it also allows anyone 21 or older to conceal a "lawfully possessed" weapon in their vehicle regardless of whether they have a permit to carry.

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http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascitystar/6914682.htm

What a disgrace this whole farce was...especially after Missouri voters rejected it.

Guns sure make people safer.....NOT"
Posted by MrBenchley

You are silly sometimes Benchley!

Another tragedy that could be averted by proper firearm storage - Wayne

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Girl Shot By Cousin With Deputy's Gun

6-Year-Old Found Service Weapon In Dresser Drawer

FORT MYERS, Fla. -- A 6-year-old Lehigh Acres girl is recovering after being shot in the neck by her 6-year-old cousin, with a gun belonging to a Hendry County deputy.

Lee County deputies say Gabriella Rodriguez was rushed to Lee Memorial Hospital Wednesday night after she was shot by the deputy's stepson Nicholas Adame. Authorities say it appears she will be OK.

Investigators say Hendry Sheriff's Deputy David Gallegos was outside in the yard when the shooting occurred. His wife was taking a shower inside their home. Officials say the children found Gallegos' service weapon in a dresser drawer, but "had to rummage" for it.

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http://www.thewpbfchannel.com/news/2526323/detail.html

BWAAAAAAAAAAAAA!

Exeter sounds like a town with some REAL problems..... - Wayne

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Exeter teen arrested for having gun at football game

EXETER -- A 13-year-old Exeter boy threatened another teen with a gun during an altercation at an Exeter High School football game, according to police.

The boy showed the other student the gun and threatened to shoot him about 9 p.m. Friday but did not point the weapon at him, police said. The boy later discarded the weapon in the woods near the football field, where police found it.

After the 13-year-old left school property, he was robbed at knifepoint by a 16-year-old boy along Perkiomen Avenue, where the younger boy had been walking with a friend, school officials said.

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http://www.pottstownmercury.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=10255643&BRD=1674&PAG=461&dept_id=18041&rfi=6

Oh, I get it ... he needed 500 rounds for self-defense, right? - Wayne

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Gun, Ammo Discovered In Teen's Car At School

Pine Forest High Student Caught Smoking, Carrying Weapon

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. -- A Cumberland County student faces a felony gun possession charge after a deputy allegedly found a rifle and ammunition in his car on campus Tuesday.

William Earl Barfield of Pine Forest High School faces a court appearance Wednesday after being released on a unsecured bond.

The Cumberland County Sheriff's Office says there was a unloaded 22-caliber semiautomatic rifle and 500 rounds of ammunition. A sheriff's news release says there is no evidence that the student intended to harm anyone.

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http://www.nbc17.com/education/2523171/detail.html

is the standard "bulk" purchase size for .22 ammo. You can get that "brick," as it's called, from Wal-Mart. It's called a "brick" because the ammo box is roughly the same size and shape as a masonry brick.

.22 ammo is sold like that because it's cheap and you go through it quickly when target shooting. Using a .22 for plinking is two steps up from using a BB gun.

Hope that gives some context. The police said there was no evidence the kid intended to hurt anyone, but he still should know by now that students aren't allowed to have any type of firearm on school grounds (with few exceptions).

Of .22 LR costs ~$10
$10 will buy one box of 50 rnds for a hand gun
$13 will buy one box of 20 rnds for a centerfire rifle
Posession of 500 rnds of .22 LR is nothing.

by the "law abiding responsible RKBA crowd".

Tell us, how many people do you suppose he could have killed with those 500 rounds?

22's could be bought in 500 round bricks long before the likes of us were born.

How many people could you kill with 500 bullets?

I don't make it a habit of killing people.

Old psycho David could of been taken down at any time by a simple traffic stop, but noooo ATF wanted to play commando and the result was? Most of the time plain simple police tactics work much better.

Still waiting for him to arise from the grave and redeem us?

I was talking about police tactics. So you tell me what would of worked better, the commando raid or pulling over psycho David down the road from the compound?

Ask me about him when he resurrects himself.

I know Koresh is the Messiah for gun nuts, but I have no interest in rehashing Waco.

You brought him up.

because he's the gun nut's little tin God.

If you want to sniffle about how poorly he was treated by the big bad ATF before he barbecued his followers and killed himself, find somebody like Tim McVeigh....oops, too late.

...he asked how many COULD you kill. I believe the answer is "as many as 500, depending on your aim".

If it wasn't for distortion and deception, the RKBA crowd would have no response at all....

from part of the quote you posted: "A sheriff's news release says there is no evidence that the student intended to harm anyone."

So he did something stupid by bringing the Gun to school. The gun was in the trunk of his car and the ammunition stored seperately. The gun was not loaded. He did not threaten anyone or brandish the weapon. His only mistake was to take it to school.

"A sheriff's news release says there is no evidence that the student intended to harm anyone."
"No evidence" is a HELLUVA long way from "not concerned."

Ken Starr (currently aiding the corrupt gun industry before the Supreme Court) ended up issuing a report that said there was "no evidence" that Clinton committed any wrongdoing. Guess you would also say that Ken Starr was "not concerned" about Bill and Hillary....

is anti gun nuts with their irrational fear of firearms and their general distrust of the population in general that have passed this stupid law.
I went to High School in Montgomery County MD. It was quite common for the teenage hunters to bring their firearms to school behind the seat of their pick-up or in the trunk of their car so that they could spend a few hours after school hunting for deer. No one was ever shot. No one was ever threatend with a firearm.
But because of this law this student will be/is being vilified for bringing an gun onto school property in the trunk of his car. There is no evidence that he intended to harm anyone. No one was put into any danger from his actions. Yet the anti-gunners point to this as an example of why/how guns are bad.
:shrug:

"I went to High School in Montgomery County MD. It was quite common for the teenage hunters to bring their firearms to school behind the seat of their pick-up or in the trunk of their car so that they could spend a few hours after school hunting for deer."
Amazing how it's only the RKBA crowd that ever has this memory....

you would have seen it for yourself.

will leave you every bit as dead as a single .44 bullet, if they're shot into you.

20 years ago, that wouldn't be a crime. Thanks to the anti-gun crowd, an innocent teen that was going to shoot his .22 rifle after school is a criminal. Hell, I had a .22 when I was 8 years old.

"A man who returned to his girlfriend's home to try to reconcile and ended up taking her and her family hostage surrendered peacefully this afternoon.
The man, identified by neighbors as Brent Hall, shot his girlfriend's mother in the ankle, and held her, the girlfriend, and a 19 year old man in the house near Broadway and Bitters for eight hours.
The incident tied up police all day, but didn't affect two nearby schools, including Douglas MacArthur High School. "

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=3AF5B03B-4992-4650-9EE9-77EEA6DABBB1

"Police right now searching for whoever sprayed a crowd of people with gunfire, leaving four people seriously injured. Police say eight people were talking outside a home on Lombrano and 27th on the west side, when someone in a beige Tahoe SUV drove by and opened fire. That Tahoe was found hours later burned. One of the victims, shot in the neck, is in critical condition. The other three, are in serious condition. "

http://www.woai.com/news/local/story.aspx?content_id=AFA96CD7-248D-4E21-9E8D-C6D4A41FDD9D

"A woman who allegedly shot her cousin at the county government building before a hearing in an estate dispute used an antique revolver she bought at a gun show, authorities said Wednesday.
Susan Rae Berkovitz was arrested at the scene Monday and charged Wednesday with murder and attempted murder. She remains in jail in lieu of $2 million bail."

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/breaking_news/6907665.htm

"Suffolk police yesterday arrested a Flanders man in the death of his estranged wife, Tara Nash, who was found last month in the driver's seat of her car with two gunshot wounds to her head.
Daniel Nash, 29, of 81 Riverside Dr., was charged with second-degree murder, police said. He was held last night at the Riverhead Town Police Department, police said. His arraignment is scheduled for today at Riverhead Town Court.
"They're going on what other people said. They said he told another woman he was going to kill her, just like he killed Tara," the man said. Mildred Nash then hung up the telephone."

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/crime/ny-liarre013475949oct01,0,4247281.story?coll=ny-licrime-headlines

His family also threatened the reporter...charming folks....

In the tradition of Timothy McVeigh and David Koresh.......

Tim did'nt get famous for killing with a gun.

Try not to sound so disappointed...he still belonged firmly inn the RKBA camp and spent plenty of time at gun shows...where he fit right in.

Ted Nugent, Tim Emerson and Buford Furrow...

Assistant Chief Constable Peter Ditchett said: "I want information from the public about every gun and anyone connected with guns in our community to come forward. We want to put these people away, get people like this out of our lives. I am sick of it, sick to the teeth."

but if I was a legal non gun owner I sure in the hell wouldnt step forward, wouldn't want to get shot with one of those banned guns.

Believe I said legal nongun owner.

I guess I thought that in a response to what authorities were asking gun owners that you wouldn't deliberately say anything that silly...

Tell us, did you get your non-gun at a non-gun show?

http://www.freep.com/news/locoak/noak2_20031002.htm
Maybe one of them should have gone on a bullet run?

Impact of Gun Control Laws Questioned
Thu Oct 2, 8:41 PM ET

By KRISTEN WYATT, Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA - A sweeping federal review of the nation's gun control laws —including mandatory waiting periods and bans on certain weapons — found no proof such measures reduce firearm violence.

The review, released Thursday, was conducted by a task force of scientists appointed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The CDC said the report suggests more study is needed, not that gun laws don't work. But the agency said it has no plans to spend more money on firearms study.

Some conservatives have said that the CDC should limit itself to studying diseases, and some have complained in the past that the agency has used firearms-tracking data to subtly push gun control. In fact, since a 1996 fight in Congress, the CDC has been prohibited from using funds to press for gun control laws.

Since then, the task force reviewed 51 published studies about the effectiveness of eight types of gun-control laws. The laws included bans on specific firearms or ammunition, measures barring felons from buying guns, and mandatory waiting periods and firearm registration. None of the studies were done by the federal government.

In every case, a CDC task force found "insufficient evidence to determine effectiveness."

"I would not want to speculate on how different groups may interpret this report," said Dr. Sue Binder, Director of CDC's Center for Injury Prevention and Control. "It's simply a review of the literature."

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http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031003/ap_on_he_me/cdc_gun_laws_5