Strollerderby : guns

Morning News - Rush Angers His Own People

Brett Singer — Mon, 04 May 2009 13:00:00 GMT

Rush Limbaugh angers a lot of people, but usually hunters are not in that group. But not anymore. The Washington Times reports that Rush has several groups of "sportsmen", specifically hunters (isn't "sportsmen" too generic a term?) all fired up because he's been working with the Humane Society. Why? Well, because gun owners hate puppies! OK, OK, I'm being silly. The real reason is because the Humane Society "is in fact an organization that opposes hunting, fishing, and trapping." So by hanging with them, Rush is now in the dog house with groups like Ducks Unlimited. (Better hope they're unlimited since you keep shooting at them! Get it? G'night, ladies and germs.)

We hear a lot about taxes. Ever wonder which companies pay the most -- or the least? Business Week has a surprising list. Some companies pay next to nothing. Yes -- almost NOTHING. Here's the list of those who pay the least, and the poor schnooks who pay the most.

Speaking of Republicans, Jeb Bush (remember him?) and of his fellow Republicans think that it's "time to leave Reagan behind." That would be interesting, since Reagan has kind of been the patron saint of all things Conservative and Republican since, like, forever. Or at least the last twenty or thirty years. Maybe the next guru of the past will be Nixon?

And speaking of Republicans and taxes, Jack Kemp died. I always thought Kemp got kind of a raw deal when he ran for Vice-President with Bob Dole. I guess it wasn't that bad, but that race was against Bill Clinton at the height of his popularity, and whoever ran on the Republican ticket was probably destined for failure. His legacy appears to be not as a Vice-Presidential loser but as an early champion of "supply-side" economics and Republican tax cuts. (I'm over-simplifying both for space and because I don't really understand economics. So if anyone wants to fill in the gaps, feel free to do so. You even have my permission to call me a dummy. It's OK. My kids do it all the time.) Kemp was 73 and died of cancer. Sad.

This isn't that new a story, but its pretty funny. Two people were caught, um, doing it, on the lawn in front of Windsor Castle. Yep -- that's the Queen's lawn. This sentence is as clasically British and Shakespeare: "Ignoring signs asking visitors to Please Keep Off The Grass, the man and woman, said to be in their early 30, selected a spot near the castle's Garter Tower and stripped off in full view of hotels, pubs and shops." Yes, because the real problem is that they were on the grass.

Oh, and let's not forget swine flu. Apparently there have been more cases reported, but it's not exactly Bubonic Plague. Yet. Here are some stats to scare ya into sanitizing your hands and those of your children. In the U.S. of A., 30 states are reporting swine flu cases. 19 countries. 800 people total, mostly in North America, with Colombia being the first in South America. (What an honor.) In Europe, Spain has the most cases, with 44. 30 people have been hospitalized. Yeah, it's a real party in the world these days.

If you'll excuse me, I have to go wash my hands. Again. See you tomorrow.

Image: s0rethumbs

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Boy Accidentally Shoots Self With Forgotten Gun

Brett Singer — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:00:00 GMT

Before I say anything else, let me point out the most important thing, which is that the boy is in stable condition, according to CNN.

Here's what the CNN story says:

12-year-old Jacob Larsen found a ".25-caliber European semi-automatic handgun" in the closet. The gun had been stored there by Jacob's parents when they moved a few years ago, and they had forgotten about it. The mother, Tracy Newman, told police that the gun was a gift from a "former employer." Jacob found the gun and accidentally shot himself in the head. He was discovered by his stepfather, who called 911.

Again, the most important detail is that the boy is, for now, alive. Hopefully he will recover. But it's worth pointing out something that is often skipped over in debates about gun control.

Guns are dangerous.

Why do people keep guns at home? For protection. Or maybe because they hunt. That assumes some active involvement in the ownership of a gun, which is a dangerous weapon. Whenever "the right to bear arms" is discussed, we hear about "responsible gun owners." And I'm sure there are many.

But then you have a situation like this. Local police told CNN that when she received the gun "The mother never checked it, never fired it." How do you not know that you have a loaded firearm in your house? If someone gave me a gun as a gift, the first thing I would do is check if it was loaded. Wouldn't you? And I know next to nothing about guns. (OK, I know what I see in movies and on TV, and I do read 'The Punisher.' The occasional Ludlum novel. But that's not real life.)

Interestingly, the CNN story focuses on the legality of the incident. Apparently "Florida law prohibits a person from leaving a loaded firearm where a minor might have access to it. Prosecutors do have some discretion, and depending on what happens with the gun, charges ranging from a misdemeanor to a felony can be filed in the event of death or serious injury." Chief Assistant State Attorney Bruce Bartlett is quoted as saying that "Sometimes, the injury of a child is more severe from a punishment standpoint than any kind of criminal charge…those parents will blame themselves from here out, and you have to look at things real close to see if it warrants any enforcement from our end."

Fair enough. And I can't say enough that I sincerely hope the boy comes out of this safely. But how can anyone defend unrestricted gun ownership when something like this occurs?

Source: CNN

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Stroller As Gun Rack

Brett Singer — Wed, 18 Mar 2009 21:00:00 GMT

I'm not a hunter, so I'd never heard of a "shooting cart" before. At first glance, my reaction to this was similar to that of Internet entrepreneur Jason Calcanis, who seems amazed by its very existence. Or one of his commenters, who says, "ha, ha...you know you're a redneck when...."

Looking more closely, though, it seems that this is not an uncommon item. From another commenter: "I actually know several people that have these. They are used for 3 gun competitions because it is very hard to safely carry 3 guns around a shooting range. They are built from the ground up as a shooting cart. This is not a stroller it just looks like one." Greg at DaddyTypes also points out that this is a normal looking item – if you hunt.

Despite the fact that it's not really a stroller, I do think it would be fun if our favorite soldier mom who gave birth in her barracks used this to transport her budle of joy. I mean, come on. We all need a good chuckle these days.

Initial commie-pinko-liberal reaction aside ("OMG HOW CAN YOU PUT A BABY IN THAT THING THATS SO WRONG LOL"), I have to admit that as my younger son rapidly outgrows his stroller, I'd been wondering what to do with it. Maybe I can start hunting, or just look like I am. Rolling this down Second Avenue would definitely get me attention in Manhattan.

Source: Jason Calcanis via DaddyTypes

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Elementary School Essay Lands Dad in Jail

JeanneSager — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 13:20:00 GMT

I'm not sure which part is more depressing: that a father would shoot his son with a BB gun or that the boy would think it normal to write about in a school essay.

A Wisconsin nine-year-old related the day his father shot him in the buttocks for not moving out from in front of the TV screen in an essay for his teacher; and the teacher called in police to investigate the boy's father.

The dad, David J. Peschl, was subsequently arrested on a felony count of child abuse. He admits to the incident, but says it wasn't malicious or even a form of discipline. It was "horseplay," he says, and he regretted it immediately after it happened. Regretted it, maybe, because he realized he'd end up in jail?

The little boy apparently wrote in the essay that the moment was the "most painful thing I ever felt in my life," and says his mother could hear him screaming from the road. His father says the wording of the essay doesn't sound like his son, inferring that the boy had "help" from a teacher in crafting the piece. Although I agree kids embellish, it's not hard to imagine a nine-year-old saying the time his father shot him in the behind with a BB gun was the worst moment of his life. He was shot . . . with a BB gun . . . by his father.

That's not horseplay. Horseplay is wrestling a child to the ground and giving them a noogie. Horseplay is tickling them until they move out from in front of the TV. Horseplay is throwing a blanket over their head and yelling "now you can't see the TV either" or something equally silly. Shooting them in the hind end with a BB gun? That's simply cruel - and I dare say abusive (hey, police agree - look at the charge).

It's sad that a father would do this to his child, but a small part of me is even sadder that the child thought this was normal. That of all the moments in his life, he thought of this one to write about for a school essay - as if it were just another moment like any other.

Or do you think this was a simple cry for help? That the nine-year-old was too afraid to speak about this in words to his teacher, so he wrote through the pain to share his tale?

Image: Kids.Indianeducation (not the boy in the story)

Michigan Hunter Shoots Into Daycare Center, Wounds Two Kids

Kate Tuttle — Fri, 30 Jan 2009 15:04:00 GMT

Along with fishing, hunting is big in Northern Michigan, both as a hobby and lifestyle and, increasingly in bad economic times, as a way to provide meat for one's family. Up in Cheboygan County, where my family has a summer cabin, gun shops and taxidermy studios are as common as rare-book stores and coffee shops are near my year-round home. It's just part of the culture. So when hunter Crystal Sherwood accidentally shot up a daycare center last November, inflicting minor wounds on two young children, the local reaction was, "accidents happen!"

According to the Cheboygan Daily Tribune, the Benton Township resident was firing at a deer when her bullets pierced the daycare. Sherwood now faces charges for discharging a firearm in or at a building, two counts of careless discharge of a firearm and felony firearm. Free on bail, she has already surrendered her hunting rifle. If convicted, she could face up to six years' jail time.

Reading, online, the newspaper we all consume over coffee on chilly summer mornings up at the lake, it occurred to me how very different things are from here. I live outside Boston, where guns and hunting are seen as pretty low-rent and even bizarre, certainly as dangerous and even immoral. And obviously it's a horrible thing that children were injured, just as it's horrible when children in the city are injured in firearm violence or accidents. Yet the comments on the Tribune site point to a different, and maybe more reasonable, reaction from the citizens Up North. Repeatedly, they stress that this was an accident, that Sherwood has given up her gun, that her guilt over the incident is undoubtedly worse than any judicial punishment. Then they speak as taxpayers, wishing to avoid paying for someone they regard as "not a criminal" to spend time in jail at taxpayer expense. Then they speak as fellow hunters, suggesting she should take up fishing instead, or take a safety class, or be mandated to speak about the incident at local schools or sporting clubs.

Look, if one of my kids were hit by a stray bullet from any source whatsoever, I'd be thinking of murdering someone. But I'm fascinated at the responses of the northwoods crowd -- fair, measured, critical, sympathetic -- and it makes me wish sometimes that my tony Massachusetts suburb had a little more of what they have up there (including the venison).

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Child Matador's Killing Bulls, Kicking Up Controversy

JeanneSager — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 22:02:00 GMT

Remember Michelito Lagravere, the child matador who had people up in arms over his sixty kills last summer?

He's back, and he's upped his numbers. Little Michelito killed six young bulls in a ring in Southeastern Mexico last weekend, a feat his parents have sent on for possible inclusion in the Guinness Book of World Records.

That killing bulls would anger animal rights advocates is obvious - some of Lagravere's fights in his father's native France have been canceled because the boy is bloodthirsty. "He fights in corridas [bullfights] aiming to kill," they say.

But the Lagraveres are getting equal attention from outraged parents for putting their pint-sized son in a dangerous ring with angry bulls. Saturday's fight was initially suspended by Mexican officials based on the pressure of child protection officials and the animal advocates. A judge finally gave the go-ahead based on documentation provided by Michelito's father Michel, a former French bullfighting champion. Michel said his son has been in the ring since he was six years old, and he's never had a serious accident.

I have always found bullfighting to be as abhorrent as dog fighting (I am, after all, a vegetarian), and I'm sickened by the bloodlust exhibited by a child - or an adult for that matter. Still, I can't summon the appropriate outrage over a child being put into a bullfighting ring. Yes, it's dangerous. So is skateboarding. And hockey.

There's also a distinct cultural difference between America and France or Mexico. In the Madeline books, the Spanish ambassador's son, Pepito (the bad hat), showed off his toreador skills to impress the little French girl. My colleague, Cole Gamble, likened child matadors to children armed with a gun and sent into the woods to kill a deer here in America. That too is highly cultural. As appalled as an urban dweller may be at the thought, kids here in the sticks are put through intensive gun safety training courses. They spend countless hours watching an adult prepare for hunting, they do it under the watchful eyes of an adult, and in the end they bring home a deer that the family may well eat off of for a month. Disgusting? Perhaps, but people have to eat.

Which puts this back into the animal rights portion of the argument. Is it necessary for this little boy to be killing his prey? Are these young bulls slaughtered for nothing more than sport? No, and yes.

I don't have a real problem seeing Michelito Lagravere follow in his father's footsteps into a sport that takes cunning and skill - his age be darned. I do, however, have a problem with an eleven-year-old with a bloodlust that is encouraged for nothing more than glory.

Images: Sky News, AP

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Explaining Plaxico Burress To A Seven Year Old

Brett Singer — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 16:45:00 GMT

This past week, my son, who is not a big football fan, asked me the following question:

"Dad, did Plaxico Burress shoot himself in the thigh?"

Yes, I said.

"Why did the New York Post call him a Giant Idiot?"

Well, said I, he plays for the Giants. ("I know that, dad.") And he did something really stupid.

"What did he do, dad?"

At this point I had a decision to make. Where do I go with this? I could have avoided the issue I guess, but that seemed pointless since he clearly had heard about the incident at school. Just to make sure, I asked. And yes, kids at school were talking about Quick Draw Burress, the Giant Idiot.

So what did I say? I told him that Plaxico was carrying a gun, which wasn't a great idea but that wasn't the main problem. The main problem was that he was carrying a gun and it went off. Luckily it only hit him, but it could have hit someone else. And the best way to avoid that would be to not have a gun at all.

"Why did he have a gun, dad?"

I don't know, kiddo. Some people think it makes them safer. That if something happened, they would be protected. The thing is, in this case, if Plaxico couldn't even take the gun out of his pocket without it going off accidentally, what makes him think he would be able to use it to defend himself? Plus, if he's afraid that something will happen to him when he goes out, maybe he should stay home. I think I threw in something about how Burress is a good football player, but probably not a very smart guy, since its hard to play football after you shoot yourself in the thigh. If memory serves, that got a laugh.

This isn't exactly what I said, but I think it's pretty close. What I didn't say to my son, but I will say here, is that I think it's really dumb to have guns around children. Plaxico has a 2 year old child at home. This isn't a case of someone trying to protect their home. This is a handgun. It's also an unlicensed handgun, which is a crime. I think I said something about the fact that Plaxico had a gun that he "wasn't supposed to have", without getting into mandatory sentencing laws or other legalities.

I understand that a lot of sports figures feel like targets. But everyone, no matter what they do for a living, have to be responsible. Someone could have gotten hurt. I know it's easy to say that, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." But if there's no gun, the likelihood of someone getting hit with a bullet decreases exponentially.

When I was a kid, I don't think I ever asked my mother these kinds of questions. Reggie Jackson may have been an egomaniac and a womanizer, but as far as I know, he never shot anyone. Or himself.

Image: ebay

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Cop, Gun Dealers Indicted in Boy's Uzi Death

Kate Tuttle — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:57:00 GMT

Who was to blame when 8-year-old Christopher Bizilj accidentally shot himself in the head while firing a mini Uzi at a Massachusetts gun show? Was it the gun club owner, a small-town police chief? Was it the gun dealers who brought a lightweight automatic weapon, not made for hunting but instead manufactured for use by the Israeli army? Was it the 15-year-old who was supervising the boy's shoot? Was it his father, who brought him to the show and allowed him to pick up a gun even professionals say is notoriously hard to handle?

Prosecutors have won indictments for the gun club owner, Pelham (MA) Police Chief Edward Fleury, and the two Connecticut-based gun dealers, Carl Guiffre and Domenico Spano, who brought the Uzi. They are not charging the teenager or the boy's father, whose punishment, we can only imagine, will be lifelong and far worse than anything the courts could hand down.

Knee-jerk anti-gun folks sometimes make me mad; I come from a family that has included fishing and occasionally hunting among its pursuits, and I have a lot of respect for hunters. I grew up taking riflery courses at my summer camp, and loved testing my skills on the rifle range (and I have the NRA-sponsored medals and patches to prove it). But knee-jerk pro-gun folks make me even madder: this was no hunting rifle, no gun that anybody had any business shooting for fun, particularly not a child. With any luck, those indicted this week will serve some jail time -- the penalties for each charge of involuntary manslaughter can range from probation to twenty years imprisonment, plus fines -- but more important, gun shows such as the one that killed Christopher Bizilj will be regulated for improved safety or shut down altogether. Because then at least this hideous, unbearably sad death won't be totally pointless.

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Photo: AP Photo/The Republican, Christopher Evans

Hunter Shoots Through Trailer Wall, Kills Toddler

JeanneSager — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 15:01:00 GMT

She was sitting in her grandparents' house, doing what toddlers do. The next second, a bullet tore through the wall in an otherwise quiet rural neighborhood. Charly Skala was gone.The hunter whose high-powered hunting rifle claimed the sixteen-month-old's life is sitting in jail.

Despite my politics and my strictly vegetarian diet, a childhood spent in rural America has made me fairly tolerant of guns. I grew up with people who hunted to survive. End of story. But the story I shared with readers of my local newspaper has been hitting the news across the globe, and the reaction has only highlighted the vast difference between the right to bear arms afforded the average American and the need to tote a high-powered weapon.

It's not fear-mongering to say this could have happened to any family in America. Skala's family was sitting inside their trailer when the bullet burst through the wall. They were gathered to watch a football game. It hardly gets more all American.This hunter - according to officials - was just four hundred feet from the home and pointing straight at it. The .300 magnum could easily shoot more than a mile if nothing got in the way. According to the upstate New York assistant district attorney, hunter Edward Taibi of Queens, brought an "elephant gun" to go deer hunting.

Now a little girl is dead, and a hunter (who police said is extremely remorseful) is awaiting a trial on manslaughter charges. Is this merely a case of a horrible accident to get past? Or is this evidence that some guns just don't belong in the hands of the general public?

Image: Sullivan County Democrat

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Eight-Year-Old Charged with Murdering His Father

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 18:59:00 GMT

An eight-year-old Arizona boy is facing two counts of premeditated murder for the deaths of his father and his father’s friend. Police are investigating whether abuse played a role in the murders, even as they continue with plans to prosecute the child.

Soon after 29-year-old Vincent Romero and 39-year-old Timothy Romans, who was renting a room at the Romero house (pictured), were fatally shot, the boy went to a neighbor’s house and said that he believed his father was dead. Police immediately arrived on the scene, and claim to have gotten a confession from the child. But the boy’s lawyer is charging that officers questioned him too severely without the benefit of a parent or representative at his side. (The boy’s father had full custody, with the mother visiting from out-of-state on the weekends.)

"They became very accusing early on in the interview," attorney Benjamin Brewer said. "Two officers with guns at their side, it's very scary for anybody, for sure an 8-year-old kid."

Although the boy’s home was unknown to Child Protective Services, police had responded to domestic violence calls there in the past. The judge has ordered a psychological evaluation.

Under Arizona law, children as young as eight can be charged with crimes. Even though the town’s police chief understands that an eight-year-old does not “just decide that he’s going to shoot his father and shoot his father’s friend for no reason,” police are pushing to have the boy tried as an adult.

To me, the fact that the boy immediately alerted neighbors of the deaths indicates that he lacked the moral reasoning necessary to understand the emotional complexity and consequences of his acts. No one, no matter how young, should be excused for committing murder, but I will be heartbroken if this boy, well before his mental capacities are fully formed, faces murder charges as an adult.

As a defense attorney uninvolved in the case commented, “[S]ociety has to make a decision as to whether they want to start using the criminal justice system to deal with 8-year-olds. That doesn't mean you don't have a troubled kid."

Photo: AP

Mom Buys Guns for Bullied Teenage Boy

Mike Adamick (Cry It Out!) — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:23:00 GMT

So what do you do if your 14-year-old is being bullied? If you're Michele Cossey of Moron, Pennsylvania, you buy him guns of course!

Cossey pleaded guilty to child endangerment for buying her son a rifle and gun powder in a misguided attempt to build up his self-esteem. The boy was arrested last year after his plot to take out his former school in a Columbine-like attack was foiled by a friend. Well now it turns out the boy's mom helped buy some weapons and gunpowder for grenades.

Authorities say they aren't sure whether the mom knew of her son's plans to wage an attack. But I have to wonder -- why else would she buy him so much ammunition? Child endangement seems like too light a sentence for too crazy a person.

(AP photo)

Toddler Dies Playing with Loaded Handgun

Hannah Tennant-Moore — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 19:40:00 GMT

According to Jason R. Matteau’s MySpace page, his main interest is “shooting rifle and pistol” and his greatest fear in life is “losing his son.” It’s impossible to imagine the hell he must be going through, now that his greatest fear has come to pass as a direct result of his interest in guns.

While at home with both of his parents and his baby sister, Matteau’s two-year-old son, Wyatt, founded a loaded handgun. He picked it up and the gun went off, shooting a bullet through Wyatt’s head.

Detectives have ruled the death accidental, which seems clear judging even from a quick peak at the parents’ MySpace pages, both of which are covered in photos of their two children and messages such as “I have the best children in the world.” However, the investigation continues into possible wrongdoing on the part of the Matteaus, since Connecticut state law prohibits storing loaded handguns in a place where anyone under 16 might be able to find them.

The Doll Island of Dr. Moreau

Brett Singer — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 19:00:00 GMT

I know that this is an innocent service to those with dolls that are ~~injured~~ broken. But this photo is just plain creepy. It brings up too many memories of Chuckie movies. To paraphrase the great Bart Simpson -- can't sleep... doll will eat me...

I mean, look at this picture. The loose appendages, with wires sticking out... the shadow eerily cast by the completed doll, whose hair seems bizarrely long... thank goodness I have boys. They just like to play with guns and swords. Nothing as creepy as DOLLS.

Diane (as in Dolls By Diane) -- nothing personal. I'm sure you do excellent work. Please don't send your evil army of plastic nasties to kill me in ways too horrible to imagine.

image: dollsbydiane.com

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Are We Shortchanging Boys?

Adrienne Martini — Wed, 28 May 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Until I had my youngest kid, who just happens to be a boy, I would have sworn that there is no biological difference between girls and boys. It's mostly nurture, I'd argue, not nature. I offer this as further proof that I should just keep my yap shut most of the time.

Once the Boy arrived, however, I was singing a different tune. In addition to just being a different being entirely from his older sister, he also does "boy" things. He's fascinated by things with wheels and dinosaurs. He likes to smash stuff and build stuff, mostly so that he can then smash it. His sister can happily play with dolls or dress-up for hours. Her brother - not so much.

So, like Risa Green at MommyTrack'd, I wonder if we're not keeping the boys down by denying them the gendered play - that they have an affinity for. Redsy has pondered the same thing, as have other moms. After all, we don't wag our fingers at all of the Princess dresses and tea sets.

Rapper Remy Ma(ma) going to jail

Brett Singer — Thu, 15 May 2008 14:30:00 GMT

Rapper Remy Ma (née Reminisce Smith, Remy Martin) was sentenced to 8 years in jail on Wednesday for shooting Makeda Barnes Joseph in "a dispute over money." The judge in the case, Rena Uviller, told Remy that she was, "a young woman whose anger is out of control."

Her fiancée, Papoose (I thought that was a girl's name -- dude, I'm just kidding, don't kick my ass) gallantly offered to take her place, screaming, "Lock me up! Lock me up!" before being removed from the courthouse. (He also shouted, "All you want is money!" at the victim; that part wasn't all that gallant.) Apparently Papoose also showed up to see Remy the other day and brought a handcuff key with him, which caused correction officials to cancel their planned wedding at Riker's Island this weekend. If nothing else, nobody can accuse them of being dull.

Why mention this here? Because when the case was over, Remy pleaded for a lighter sentence, citing her difficult childhood -- and her 7-year-old son.

The maximum sentence was 25 years; she got 8. The judge didn't really take her mom-ness into account. However, if what television has taught me about the legal system is correct, she could be out in 3 years with good behavior.

So the question is: should being a mom factor into the length of a jail term? I mean, we're talking about a shooting. (I'm assuming that the verdict is accurate; I wasn't actually there.) Some of Remy's fans seem to believe that race played a factor in the case, but, like, she shot someone. Did I mention that?

Anyway, should the fact that someone has a child matter be considered with regard to their sentencing if they commit a crime?

image: amny.com

OK! The dog didn't eat my homework! Don't shoot!

Brett Singer — Sun, 06 Apr 2008 18:00:00 GMT

Third grade teacher Jayne DeArmond has been de-armed (get it?). One of her students was looking for something in a drawer and found – wait for it – a handgun. It wasn't loaded, but there was ammo. The teacher was arrested and is now free on bail. School didn't stop for the day; the kids in her class were moved to a different room and parents were told at the end of the day.
"Hi honey, what happened at school today?"
"Nothing much. Oh wait. Someone found a handgun. Can we stop at McDonald's?"

For the gun nut perspective, read this piece in the Colorado Springs Gazette. The paper feels that the "nutty" parts of this story are the fact that the students were moved to another classroom (um, maybe it was worthwhile to search the rest of the room? Maybe there was a crossbow in the glue cabinet), not to mention this affront: school officials had the nerve to offer – offer, not require – counseling if anyone wanted it. "Instead of counseling, the school should give gun lessons. It should hold classes that tell children guns are abundant in society, they're dangerous, but mostly they do good." Oh sure, that makes perfect sense. Why didn't I think of that?

The original story mentions that police believe the gun to be DeArmond's but they aren't certain. So we'll have to wait and see. For a video report from CNN.com, click here.

image: GorillaPostle

Pass the Butter or I'll Shoot!

Brett Singer — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A tipster pointed out Christopher Noxon's article on Reuters about boys who will go to any length to find a gun to play with -- including making one out of toast.

The funny thing is, I did the same thing -- although I didn't wait for the bread to be toasted, I just mushed it up and started shooting. It was the same basic situation described in the article -- mom doesn't want to buy me a toy gun, so I'll make one myself. She quickly gave up and procured my fake firearm.

One major difference between then and now is a four-letter word -- caps. Although you can still buy them, you won't find caps in every corner store you wander into, at least not in my neighborhood. Back in the day, I could easily refill my pistol at the same place I bought gum and comic books.

Noxon theorizes that the desire to shoot is genetic, and maybe he's right. But boys see characters shooting at each other on TV, in the movies they see, the video games they play -- not to mention what they hear from OPK (Other People's Kids). And in the interest of fairness, some girls like to play with guns too -- at least, Rosie O'Donnell's kids do (although apparently her daughter was mimicking her brothers when she did it.)

I'm not saying toy guns are a bad thing. Ultimately it's up to parents to decide what they want to their kids to play with. Although if you really want to stop your house from turning into a shooting range, you might have to ban bread as well.

image: Daily Mail

Update On Girl Who Took Bullet For Her Mom

Kelly Mills — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 15:38:00 GMT

I'm sorry, but this story just got to me when it came out, so I'm glad to give the update. Some of you might remember that Alexis Goggins threw herself in front of bullets intended for her mother. When the gunman was about to open fire on Seliethia Parker, Alexis cried "Don't hurt my mother!" and ended up with six gunshot wounds, putting her in critical condition and blinding her in one eye.

So what's the word on Alexis now? After six surgeries and two months in the hospital, she's doing well. She has several scars and attends physical therapy twice a week, and she will be fitted for an artificial eye soon. Her mother says she rarely speaks about the shooting, and only remembers pieces of it. But Alexis also received over 200 letters of support from folks who heard her story, and a fund set up to help her through school has collected $30,000. Her mother says, "I'm thanking God every day that me and my baby are still here. It has taught me to...appreciate the smaller things in life." Sniff. Time to go hug my daughter now.

Photo: Associated Press

Keep Kids From Shooting By Giving Them Guns?

Karen Murphy — Tue, 05 Feb 2008 17:33:00 GMT

Kids don't kill kids, right? Guns kill kids. If they have guns, that is. So why is England's Lord Tebbit advocating giving guns to kids? Simple. To make them more conscious of what guns do.

In other words, kids will learn not to point guns at each other later in life when they get all hormonal and angry if they've had some experience blowing the heads off small furry animals. Makes sense, right? Sort of?

But I'm guessing that the average kid is going to react one of three ways to going along "on shoots" (aka hunting parties):

1. AAAGH! Bambiiiii! Guns are bad! Take me home, Mommy!

2. Cool. Can we do it again tomorrow?

3. Boring. What's for lunch?

I agree that kids should be aware of what guns do, but I'm not sure that shooting at animals is the best way to do this. What about you? Were you raised in a gun-friendly culture, and do you plan to also expose your kids? Surely knowing all the requisite safety aspects about guns would be a good thing, but I'm not sure I can stomach this: "Once you see what a gun can do to a small animal you are less likely to use it on a human being." I mean, really? Or don't you simply become desensitized?

Or are you as a parent completely put off by guns, let alone the thought of your kid touching one?

Or can there be a double standard—guns are okay for adults but not for kids? Where do you fall on this?

Photo: www.radionetherlands.nl

Mother May I Dance With Danger?

Adrienne Martini — Fri, 04 Jan 2008 16:30:00 GMT

Recently, my five year old had a playdate with a friend of hers who lives on a farm. Yes, we live near farms, rather than in the heart of a dense urban jungle. These things happen, even to the most devoted city lover.

Anyway, when I dropped her off at the farm, where the Diva was going to cavort among puppies and ponies, I noticed that the friend's dad was walking around with a gun on his hip. To a bed-wetting liberal like me, this was terrifying. My firstborn would be near a gun? Right out in the open like that? Like a bad afterschool special?

Once I had a minute to breathe into a paper bag and remember that not every gun owner leaves his piece out loaded on the coffee table, all was well. But not every parenting challenge is so easy to diffuse. Unless you work at Real Simple magazine, in which case the solutions to everything from drunk parents to nosy neighbors is, um, real simple.

Hide-And-Seek Turns Deadly

Madeline Holler — Thu, 03 Jan 2008 18:32:00 GMT

I may lean a little more toward gun-control laws and a little away from the NRA, but mostly I'm into common sense when it comes to using guns. Shouldn't it go without saying that you don't just fire your automatic weapon into furniture ever, ever, ever?

An 11-year-old boy in Florida was killed during a game of hide-and-seek after his neighbor unwittingly fired his semiautomatic weapon into the abandoned sofa the boy was hiding behind. He was shot several times including once in the head. The gunman fled when he realized what had happened, but has since turned himself in.

You know, no wonder kids never play outside and their parents don't let them. What a waste.

Packin' Heat In Yellowstone

Amy S.F. Lutz — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:03:00 GMT

Hunting isn't allowed in most national parks, so for the past twenty years it's been prohibited to openly carry firearms. You know, some kind of crazy concern about the accidental shooting of campers, protected species, rangers. Now, 47 senators - under the stalwart leadership of Senator Crapo (which pretty much says it all, doesn't it?) - have asked the Interior Department to allow loaded weapons in the parks.

Why would you need to carry a gun someplace you're not actually allowed to use it? That's immaterial to the NRA - who, unsurprisingly, has been working for the last five years to overturn this rule. They want gun policy in the parks to reflect those of the states that border them - Wyoming, Montana and Idaho - which have virtually no gun control.

But there is no Second Amendment issue here. Under current regulations, visitors are allowed to transport guns through the parks, as long as the weapons aren't loaded and kept in the car at all times. What the new policy would do is introduce loaded weapons into an understaffed system already crowded with families. It's hard to imagine that injuries to park visitors and animal residents - both intentional and unintentional - won't increase if this change is made.

You'll Shoot Yer Eye Out, Kid!

Karen Murphy — Tue, 25 Dec 2007 16:03:00 GMT

Ugh, if there's one thing that irks me (many things irk me, who am I kidding?), it's the excessive number of safety warnings that our stuff comes with.

"Do not eat!" (printed on obviously-inedible things). "Do not put baby in bag!" (for those pouches that hang from strollers).

Which makes this warning article about the dangers of Christmas toys and eye injuries slightly overkill, in my opinion.

I mean, people do know about this stuff, don't they? They know not to point BB guns at their eyes? And hello, parents do supervise their kids, at least a little, don't they? You hear all this about helicopter parents; aren't they hovering over their kids, just waiting for them to commit some potentially unsafe act so they can swoop in like Mighty Mouse and save the day?

Toys didn't come with safety warnings when I was a kid or when you were one. Either you had common sense or people referred to you as Lefty because you'd blown off your right hand in a freak firecracker accident; it was that simple. So why all the attention to what might happen now? Sure, if it happens to you it's life-altering, but let's give people a little credit for having some common sense and quit worrying about what might happen as opposed to enjoying what is actually happening.

Of course, I reserve the right to mock you if you are one of those people giving guns to little kids.

But don't let the threat of my mockery stop you and yours from having a safe holiday.

Photo: ew.com

English Teacher Told to Keep Her Gun at Home

Karen Murphy — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 12:27:00 GMT

An Oregon high school English teacher lost her bid to carry a gun to school in a state circuit court decision last week. Shirley Katz was prohibited to carry the gun, for which she has a concealed-weapons permit, by the school district despite her assertion that she needs the gun to potentially defend against her ex-husband.

Uh, I'm all for people being able to do more or less as they please without there being a ton of rules and laws and all, but guns in schools? Where there are kids? No. Just no.

And yes, I sympathize about the ex-husband. I know something about abuse and if that's the situation Shirley Katz faces, it's horrible. It sucks. And for Shirley, it's probably terribly frightening and disempowering. But no. No guns in school.

And what about the thought of being able to defend against potential school shootists? Well, unless Shirley Katz can be everywhere at once, one gun in the hands of a scared ex-wife probably won't be of much help in the very low odds that her school would be one targeted. So, no. No guns. No guns in school.

No? But what about the recent school shootings in Finland, of all places (I love Finland), or that almost took place in Pennsylvania not far from where I live, or that did take place last spring at Virginia Tech, or Columbine, or, or, or? No. No guns in school. One gun will not protect against such an incident.

So, yeah, this pretty much outs me as someone who is uncomfortable with guns. Guns in schools, that is. The whole idea just seems very very wrong to me.

Get Your Girl Into Hunting With a Pink Gun.

Kelly Mills — Wed, 26 Sep 2007 12:30:00 GMT

In a bid to make shooting more appealing to the girls and ladies, some gun stores are now packing pink guns. They call it, "blaze pink" and the color tickled the pre-teen girls in this article. I'm still looking for a gun that doesn't make me look fat, but pink is okay. Because I've wanted to get into shooting, but you know, the guns are so dull and drab and butch. A splash of color seems just the thing to brighten the cold hunting palette. Why, it's the perfect accessory! Check out the details, dahlings: "The .22-caliber Crickett rifle ($169.99) has a bright pink stock, and the Remington Express Jr. .20 gauge shotgun ($379.99) has a laminated pink-and-black stock emblazoned with the slogan 'Shoot like a girl if you can!'" Aw yeah. And as Mike reminded me, "Pink guns don't kill people, girls do."

Okay, all mocking aside for just a second, I do understand the appeal of pink guns, and it has less to do with what gun store owner describes by saying, "Females want to shoot guns, but they want them to look pretty, too." I don't think it's the beauty factor that is so appealing. See, while I'm not exactly stocking an arsenal, I do desperately want pink boxing gloves. Why? Because I love boxing, it's a traditionally masculine thing, and the idea of someone catching my hot pink right hook seems cheeky. Sort of, "Yeah, I'm female. Now don't drop those hands." I'm getting my kid pink gloves too, the minute she starts whacking people in earnest. I suppose if I was into firearms, I'd get a pink one. Especially after reading about the horrified gun store owners who scoff at them. But if you hate firearms, there's always this hairdryer with the same appeal. Shoot me if my hair doesn't look good.