A Well Regulated Militia . . .

[ursus arctos]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

Does no one put on the safety anymore?

Natural selection isn't operating quickly enough.

[Borracho]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

Cal Alamein wrote: Idiot parents shot in Albuquerque.

All over the news in my hometown.

If only the parents had had access to more guns, they could have defended themselves.

[Tubby Isaacs]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

Renart wrote:

“You have to look at the big picture and find that balance between protecting your family and having that instant access to that firearm,” Ball said.

Mad.

Indeed. From a purely actuarial standpoint, bringing firearms into your house massively increases the chances that somebody in your family will be injured or killed. It's one of the worst possible things you can do to "protect" them.

Am I made safer by robbers thinking I might have a gun in my house because some other fools do?

[Renart]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

I suppose it's possible, but I think violent crime rates are generally higher in the heavily armed South than elsewhere, so I don't think it's likely.

[Vulgarian Visigoth]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

Geoffrey de Ste. Croix wrote: North Miami Beach Police use mug shots as shooting targets.

And all the mug shots are of Black citizens!

They're tired of black racists, or so twitted a police officer.

[Tubby Isaacs]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

Renart wrote: I suppose it's possible, but I think violent crime rates are generally higher in the heavily armed South than elsewhere, so I don't think it's likely.

But the South are much poorer, aren't they?

[ursus arctos]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

Depends.

All of this depends.

Regions and countries are not monolithic.

One thing I am comfortable saying is that the increased chance of being shot once you have a weapon in the house seriously outweighs any kind of "deterrence" of burglars.

[Tubby Isaacs]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

I'm not saying that. I'm saying I don't want one in the house, but burglars think I might.

[ursus arctos]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

You don't understand burglar culture.

[Renart]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

Yeah, I don't know if it's ever been studied legitimately, but I highly doubt there's less burglarly or home invasion in places with looser gun laws. I bet the only thing that changes, maybe, is that the burglars are more likely to pack heat, too.

[Incandenza]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

On The Media had a good segment this past week about the bunk statistic that 2.5 million Americans use their guns to defend themselves from criminal acts each year, and how that gets repeated by gun advocates.

[matt j]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/year-alaska-boy-shot-moms-gun-falls-holster-29141876

[WOM]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

9 dead in Missouri.

http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2015/02/27/mass-shooting-in-missouri.html

[ursus arctos]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

That link goes to the Star's front page, which might be fine as some kind of guerilla counter-marketing, but this link works.

A gunman killed seven people in a door-to-door shooting spree across the rural Missouri community of Tyrone before turning his weapon on himself, police said Friday. A ninth person at a home searched during the investigation was also found dead, but apparently of natural causes, said Missouri State Highway Patrol Sgt. Jeff Kinder.

The suspect, believed to be a 36-year-old male, died of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. His body was located inside of a car in a neighboring county — one of six active crime scenes, police said.

[WOM]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

The natural causes woman is the real twist in that tale.

[ursus arctos]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

Dunno.

If one was frail and just saw someone close to you blown away by a shotgun, the "cause" is a bit less than "natural" in my book.

[caja-dglh]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

WOM's observation reminds me of this article on how difficult it is to be murdered in Chicago

[Eggchaser]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

I wonder how many deaths have been reported on this thread alone.

[ursus arctos]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

Third child THIS WEEK shoots self in Houston.

[ursus arctos]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

Active shooting in Mesa, Arizona (near Phoenix)

Six people shot at various locations so far, one of whom has died.

Suspect reportedly a "40 year old white man with a neck tatoo".

[ursus arctos]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

So, Waco, then.

The police charged about 170 people on Monday in the shootout among rival motorcycle gangs at a busy shopping plaza in this Central Texas city on Sunday that left at least nine bikers dead and 18 others wounded.

What we've got here is hundreds of bikers from multiple gangs (all of which are engaged in drug trafficking and mayhem) "meeting" at a "breastaurant" in the parking lot of a mall outside Waco.

Needless to say, literally no one in Texas is suggesting that the widespread availability of firearms may have played a role in the carnage.

[Renart]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

Yeah, I mean, didn't it go exactly the way these things are supposed to go according to the NRA? A "bad guy" drew a gun and then a bunch of other people did, too, and they shot at each other.

I'm not even sure why the cops got involved!

[Guy Profumo]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

Waco, Waco, Waco.

Now where have I heard that name before...

[caja-dglh]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

[ursus arctos]

A Well Regulated Militia . . .

Texas being Texas

As it happens, the gun fight coincides with the likely passage of a legislative initiative to loosen gun laws in Texas.

On Monday, deliberations over a bill that would allow for the open carrying of handguns in Texas went on as scheduled in the state’s Senate. Lawmakers offered support for the measure, which has already passed Texas House. “This bill does not have anything to do with what went on yesterday," a state senator remarked. This sentiment was echoed by others, including Texas Governor Greg Abbott, who told the AP on Monday: "The shootout occurred when we don't have open carry, so obviously the current laws didn't stop anything like that.”