Gun control discussion

[lizbud]

That guy should have his licence revoked & be required to get rid of all firearms. If this goes to trial & the man convicted of murder or manslaughter,
wouldn't he be ineligble to own a gun? He clearly shows he is not responsible enough to own or carry a gun.

The guy in this story (below) deserves much more punishment that he'll ever get around here. It just makes me sick to think how much this
animal suffered before he was put down by Officers the next day. Damn shame.

http://www.indystar.com/article/2012...t|IndyStar.com

[cassiesmom]

There have been two separate incidents of young teens being shot in Chicago over the past couple of days. One was a girl who was at a slumber party. She was shot several times and died at the hospital. They're saying it might have been gang-related and a case of mistaken identity. The girl was an honor student attending a charter school, and she had no known gang affiliations. Neither did the girl who was hosting the sleepover. The other was a boy who was shot on the street and was also thought to be gang-related. Both of these stories were in the newspapers and on the TV news. It is just sad. There is no easy answer to the problem of gangs and guns in Chicago. The situation doesn't improve because the gangs have a lot of power. Very sad and not likely to end any time soon. The mayor and chief of police have both said they want to do all they can to stop the violence but it needs to be approached from a lot of directions- education, jobs, housing, poverty, support for parents and families, and on and on. Very tough problem.

[Edwina's Secretary]

A 7-year-old boy was fatally shot by his father outside a gun shop in western Pennsylvania, according to a Pennsylvania State Police report.

Joseph Loughrey, the father, had gone in to Twig’s Reloading Den in East Lackawannock Township some time before 11 a.m. to try to sell a 9 mm Taurus handgun and a scope rifle, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Store managers weren't interested.

Loughrey, 44, and his son, Craig Loughrey, returned to the truck, where Loughrey secured his son in a booster seat on the passenger side. He then placed the long gun in the bed of the truck.

As he got into the truck, he reached to place the handgun into a glove box storage unit, police told the Tribune-Review. That's when it fired.

Authorities were called at 10:53 a.m. local time and found the boy lying next to the truck after a failed attempt at resuscitation. They stayed on scene until after 1 p.m., dispatchers said.

"All evidence at this point would suggest that this incident is accidental," the Pennsylvania State Police report stated.

According to the Tribune-Review, Loughrey didn't realize that a round remained in the gun's chamber.

“This happens all too often where people think the gun was empty,” State Police Lt. Eric Hermick.

Twig’s Reloading Den is an outdoor supply store about 70 miles from Pittsburgh.

Imy Howard, owner of Howard & Son Meat Packing store next door, told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that her son heard a shot this morning. She said that Twig’s Reloading Den hosted target shooting in the back parking lot last week but not this week.

A Twig’s employee told the Post-Gazette that the incident was “just an unfortunate accident.”

[Edwina's Secretary]

In a tragic accident, Michael Bayless, a father from Indiana has died after his 3-year-old son shot him with a handgun.

33-year-old Michael Bayless was watching television when the toddler got hold of a .45 caliber weapon and fired. Bayless was pronounced dead on the scene.

“We think that this is purely a tragic accident that happened,” an officer explained.

Police are investigating how the toddler had access to the weapon.

[Edwina's Secretary]

Indeed. Nothing says "Merry Christmas!" or "Happy Holidays!" if you prefer, quite like a shopping mall shooting!

[cassiesmom]

An appeals court ruled that the Illinois ban on carrying a concealed weapon in public is unconstitutional. We'll see what happens now. There is so much gun violence in Chicago but I don't know how the two are related, if at all. Do individual buildings in other states (I'm thinking here of schools, churches and museums) have the individual ability to make themselves "no guns allowed in this building"? That is, no concealed weapons in this particular public place.

[Edwina's Secretary]

A 5-year-old Philadelphia girl shot herself while playing with a gun Tuesday night, according to police.

The girl was home in the Kensington neighborhood with her two siblings and her father when the gun went off -- hitting her in the big toe, police said.

The girl's father rushed her to St. Christopher's Hospital with what police called minor injuries.

It's unclear how the girl got a hold of her father's gun and if her siblings were also playing with it.

The investigation would continue into Wednesday. Police said the girl's father owns the gun because he works in private security.

Yes Cassiesmom - some states have laws about where you cannot take guns. But of course the NRA fights them tooth and nail. There was one nut who fought the prohibition on carrying in an airport.