The Gun Report , NY Times blog by Joe Nocera
mickeyrat
Posts: 38,594
Since I last copied this blog to post here there have been approx. 500+ deaths from guns. How many does it take?
http://nocera.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07 ... ly-3-2013/
So Gabby Giffords shot a gun yesterday.
She still speaks with enormous difficulty, as I witnessed this week at the Aspen Ideas Festival, where she and her husband Mark Kelly spoke briefly. She walks with difficulty, too. She has not fully recovered from being the victim of one of the worst mass shootings in recent history. Yet, as I heard in Aspen, both she and her husband went out of their way to insist that they supported the Second Amendment, and they were simply trying to push for a country that was more responsible in the way it handles guns. Her decision on Monday to go to a shooting range was clearly aimed at making the same point.
I understand that she is still, at heart, a politician (as is her former astronaut husband, at least judging by his remarks in Aspen). I understand she lives in gun country. Still, to be shot in the head and still come out in favor of guns says something. To me, it says just how much the Second Amendment absolutists control the debate. James and Sarah Brady did not come out in favor of guns after he was shot 32 years ago. But that was a very long time ago—a time when it was still O.K. to be against guns. It’s not anymore.
Here is today’s report. The Gun Report will return July 8 with a holiday weekend report.
—Joe Nocera
A 15-year-old boy was hospitalized after he stuck a gun in his mouth, certain it was unloaded, and it discharged in a mobile home park in Logan County, Okla., early Tuesday. The boy was able to speak to officers and let them know he was not trying to kill himself. He is in critical condition.
—KFOR.com
A man and a 15-year-old girl were injured when someone opened fire outside a home in Fort Wayne, Ind., Tuesday evening. The victims were standing in the front yard when the suspect fired several shots before running into an alley. No arrests have been made and police have no suspects.
—Wane.com
A drive-by shooting in Ensley, Ala., Monday night wounded two teenage girls, one of them seriously. The shooting happened at a house party that had been going on for much of the day. Two teens, ages 18 and 19, are in custody.
—AL.com
Two 16-year-old boys are in critical condition after a shooting in Jefferson Parish, La., Monday night. Deputies said the victims, who were found just south of Interstate 10 in Metairie, had argued over drugs. The feud continued into Tuesday morning, when Dondrell Cage Jr., 16, shot Bobby Bruer, also 16. Bruer’s cousin then grabbed the gun and fired at Cage.
—WWLTV.com
A firefighter was shot by a patient inside an ambulance en route to a hospital in Omaha, Neb., Monday afternoon. Justine Dubois, 24, who had reportedly suffered a seizure, had a gun and shot the victim in the stomach. He was treated and released.
—KETV.com
A woman was shot and killed at a cafe in Columbia, S.C., early Monday. Surveillance video shows unidentified men barging into the entrance, their faces covered with hooded sweatshirts, and brandishing what appear to be weapons. The first man is seen pointing a gun toward the victim, a mother of five. Police are soliciting tips.
—WLTX.com
A man was found with a gunshot wound in a car in Marinette County, Wis., Monday night. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died. Officers found another man with a gun inside a vehicle nearby, and when he pointed his gun at police, they fired on him.
—TMJ4
Shari Donnel, 49, was shot during a home invasion in Butler, Pa., early Sunday. The victim was in bed sleeping when a single shotgun blast hit her abdomen and lower chest. She underwent surgery and is expected to survive. Police are investigating.
—CBS Pittsburgh
A man was shot to death and four people were wounded in separate attacks on the South Side of Chicago, Ill., Monday. Two women were shot and wounded, one of them critically, in the Fernwood neighborhood a little before 1:45 p.m. They ran into a nearby supermarket looking for help. At about 8 p.m., Stephon Wright, 18, was shot multiple times and killed in the Washington Heights neighborhood. At about 9:30 p.m., a 22-year-old man suffered graze wounds to his back and calf in the Washington Park neighborhood. At about 10:40 p.m., a 15-year-old boy was shot in the leg and wounded in the West Englewood neighborhood.
—Chicago Tribune
Two vendors at San Francisco’s Gay Pride Parade were shot as the celebration wound down Sunday evening. Police said two suspects, described as men in their late teens or early 20s, approached a group of people and one of them opened fire. The victims, two men ages 23 and 42, were both shot in the leg and expected to survive.
—KTVU.com
A 23-year-old man who was shot outside the Greektown Casino in Detroit, Mich., early Sunday has died. The victim was in an argument with a man, who pulled out a gun and shot him. No arrests have been made. The victim was one of at least 10 people shot in Detroit on Sunday.
—MLive
Rolando Ponce, 40, was killed in a targeted drive-by shooting outside his home on the east side of San Antonio, Tex., Tuesday morning. Police said Ponce was waiting for contractors to arrive at around 7:30 a.m. when he was shot multiple times in the chest.
—KENS5.com
A 29-year-old man was shot and wounded by two masked men in front of a home in the Villa Park section of Trenton, N.J., Monday. The victim was attended to by a neighbor, who placed a towel over his bleeding wound. The shooting came a day after Garious Denard Burton, who had been on life support after he was shot in the forehead early Saturday, died of his injuries.
—NJ.com
Elsewhere in Trenton, a man was found inside a home suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg Tuesday afternoon. Officers at the scene located at least three shell casings in front of the home.
—NJ.com
Police say a second person has died from a domestic shooting at a Muscatine, Iowa, home Saturday. 39-year-old Lance Stormm shot 43-year-old Teresa Rowan before shooting himself in the head. Rowan died at the scene; Stormm was taken to a hospital in Iowa City, where he died Sunday.
—KCRG.com
A homeless woman was sent to the hospital after she was grazed by a bullet during an shooting behind a Walgreens in northwest Harris County, Tex., early Tuesday. The victim was hospitalized.
—KHOU.com
A 30-year-old man died Tuesday following a shooting late Monday in Davenport, Iowa. The victim was in the front yard of a home at about 11:48 p.m. when a vehicle drove by and one of the occupants shot him. Police are not releasing the man’s name pending the notification of his family.
—Quad-City Times
A man was killed outside a Circle K convenient store in Phoenix, Ariz., early Tuesday. Police said the man was shot after a fight. No arrests have been made.
—MyFoxPhoenix.com
An 18-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound in a drive-by shooting in Pomona, Calif., Monday night. The victim and an 18-year-old woman were walking to a liquor store at 9:16 p.m. when a gunman drove by and fired five or six gunshots. The bullets didn’t strike the woman. Suspects are being sought.
—Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Anthony Smith Jr., 21, was the victim of a fatal shooting in Jersey City, N.J., early Tuesday. Smith was attending a party just after midnight when he was approached by a man who shot him multiple times. The shooter then chased Smith down the street and continued to fire at him before he collapsed. Police are soliciting tips.
—NJ.com
Skilar Rhodes, 21, was shot in the back and wounded after a dispute in Napoleonville, La., Monday night. Deputies booked Daron Holloway, 21, who initially fled the scene.
—The Advocate
Police say a man shot his friend after a bar fight in Tulsa, Okla., early Tuesday. Investigators believe both men had been drinking when an argument about a woman turned physical at the Four Aces Tavern. Jeremy Burnes, 24, was booked on complaints of reckless handling of a firearm and carrying a firearm while intoxicated.
—KJRH.com
A 40-year-old man was shot in an apparent car-to-car shooting on the 110 Freeway in south Los Angeles, Calif., Tuesday afternoon. The victim was driving when a Nissan Sentra pulled up and someone opened fire. Police are searching for the Sentra. The man’s condition is not known.
—The Los Angeles Times
A man was shot and seriously wounded in the Park Heights area of northwest Baltimore, Md., Tuesday afternoon. The victim was found collapsed in the front yard of a home. A woman who had known him since he was young said, “I love him, but I know he was living reckless.” Earlier Tuesday, a man was shot and wounded in Franklin Square.
—Baltimore Sun
Two men, ages 23 and 29, were shot while getting into a car in east Akron, Ohio, Tuesday afternoon. One victim was found hiding inside a home two blocks away, and the other was found sitting on a front porch of a Good Samaritan’s home. “He just said he didn’t want to die,” said Judy Davidson, who offered the bleeding man a chair.
—Ohio.com
According to Slate’s gun-death tracker, an estimated 5,681 people have died as a result of gun violence in America since the Newtown massacre on December 14, 2012.
http://nocera.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/07 ... ly-3-2013/
So Gabby Giffords shot a gun yesterday.
She still speaks with enormous difficulty, as I witnessed this week at the Aspen Ideas Festival, where she and her husband Mark Kelly spoke briefly. She walks with difficulty, too. She has not fully recovered from being the victim of one of the worst mass shootings in recent history. Yet, as I heard in Aspen, both she and her husband went out of their way to insist that they supported the Second Amendment, and they were simply trying to push for a country that was more responsible in the way it handles guns. Her decision on Monday to go to a shooting range was clearly aimed at making the same point.
I understand that she is still, at heart, a politician (as is her former astronaut husband, at least judging by his remarks in Aspen). I understand she lives in gun country. Still, to be shot in the head and still come out in favor of guns says something. To me, it says just how much the Second Amendment absolutists control the debate. James and Sarah Brady did not come out in favor of guns after he was shot 32 years ago. But that was a very long time ago—a time when it was still O.K. to be against guns. It’s not anymore.
Here is today’s report. The Gun Report will return July 8 with a holiday weekend report.
—Joe Nocera
A 15-year-old boy was hospitalized after he stuck a gun in his mouth, certain it was unloaded, and it discharged in a mobile home park in Logan County, Okla., early Tuesday. The boy was able to speak to officers and let them know he was not trying to kill himself. He is in critical condition.
—KFOR.com
A man and a 15-year-old girl were injured when someone opened fire outside a home in Fort Wayne, Ind., Tuesday evening. The victims were standing in the front yard when the suspect fired several shots before running into an alley. No arrests have been made and police have no suspects.
—Wane.com
A drive-by shooting in Ensley, Ala., Monday night wounded two teenage girls, one of them seriously. The shooting happened at a house party that had been going on for much of the day. Two teens, ages 18 and 19, are in custody.
—AL.com
Two 16-year-old boys are in critical condition after a shooting in Jefferson Parish, La., Monday night. Deputies said the victims, who were found just south of Interstate 10 in Metairie, had argued over drugs. The feud continued into Tuesday morning, when Dondrell Cage Jr., 16, shot Bobby Bruer, also 16. Bruer’s cousin then grabbed the gun and fired at Cage.
—WWLTV.com
A firefighter was shot by a patient inside an ambulance en route to a hospital in Omaha, Neb., Monday afternoon. Justine Dubois, 24, who had reportedly suffered a seizure, had a gun and shot the victim in the stomach. He was treated and released.
—KETV.com
A woman was shot and killed at a cafe in Columbia, S.C., early Monday. Surveillance video shows unidentified men barging into the entrance, their faces covered with hooded sweatshirts, and brandishing what appear to be weapons. The first man is seen pointing a gun toward the victim, a mother of five. Police are soliciting tips.
—WLTX.com
A man was found with a gunshot wound in a car in Marinette County, Wis., Monday night. He was taken to a hospital, where he later died. Officers found another man with a gun inside a vehicle nearby, and when he pointed his gun at police, they fired on him.
—TMJ4
Shari Donnel, 49, was shot during a home invasion in Butler, Pa., early Sunday. The victim was in bed sleeping when a single shotgun blast hit her abdomen and lower chest. She underwent surgery and is expected to survive. Police are investigating.
—CBS Pittsburgh
A man was shot to death and four people were wounded in separate attacks on the South Side of Chicago, Ill., Monday. Two women were shot and wounded, one of them critically, in the Fernwood neighborhood a little before 1:45 p.m. They ran into a nearby supermarket looking for help. At about 8 p.m., Stephon Wright, 18, was shot multiple times and killed in the Washington Heights neighborhood. At about 9:30 p.m., a 22-year-old man suffered graze wounds to his back and calf in the Washington Park neighborhood. At about 10:40 p.m., a 15-year-old boy was shot in the leg and wounded in the West Englewood neighborhood.
—Chicago Tribune
Two vendors at San Francisco’s Gay Pride Parade were shot as the celebration wound down Sunday evening. Police said two suspects, described as men in their late teens or early 20s, approached a group of people and one of them opened fire. The victims, two men ages 23 and 42, were both shot in the leg and expected to survive.
—KTVU.com
A 23-year-old man who was shot outside the Greektown Casino in Detroit, Mich., early Sunday has died. The victim was in an argument with a man, who pulled out a gun and shot him. No arrests have been made. The victim was one of at least 10 people shot in Detroit on Sunday.
—MLive
Rolando Ponce, 40, was killed in a targeted drive-by shooting outside his home on the east side of San Antonio, Tex., Tuesday morning. Police said Ponce was waiting for contractors to arrive at around 7:30 a.m. when he was shot multiple times in the chest.
—KENS5.com
A 29-year-old man was shot and wounded by two masked men in front of a home in the Villa Park section of Trenton, N.J., Monday. The victim was attended to by a neighbor, who placed a towel over his bleeding wound. The shooting came a day after Garious Denard Burton, who had been on life support after he was shot in the forehead early Saturday, died of his injuries.
—NJ.com
Elsewhere in Trenton, a man was found inside a home suffering from a gunshot wound to the leg Tuesday afternoon. Officers at the scene located at least three shell casings in front of the home.
—NJ.com
Police say a second person has died from a domestic shooting at a Muscatine, Iowa, home Saturday. 39-year-old Lance Stormm shot 43-year-old Teresa Rowan before shooting himself in the head. Rowan died at the scene; Stormm was taken to a hospital in Iowa City, where he died Sunday.
—KCRG.com
A homeless woman was sent to the hospital after she was grazed by a bullet during an shooting behind a Walgreens in northwest Harris County, Tex., early Tuesday. The victim was hospitalized.
—KHOU.com
A 30-year-old man died Tuesday following a shooting late Monday in Davenport, Iowa. The victim was in the front yard of a home at about 11:48 p.m. when a vehicle drove by and one of the occupants shot him. Police are not releasing the man’s name pending the notification of his family.
—Quad-City Times
A man was killed outside a Circle K convenient store in Phoenix, Ariz., early Tuesday. Police said the man was shot after a fight. No arrests have been made.
—MyFoxPhoenix.com
An 18-year-old man sustained a gunshot wound in a drive-by shooting in Pomona, Calif., Monday night. The victim and an 18-year-old woman were walking to a liquor store at 9:16 p.m. when a gunman drove by and fired five or six gunshots. The bullets didn’t strike the woman. Suspects are being sought.
—Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
Anthony Smith Jr., 21, was the victim of a fatal shooting in Jersey City, N.J., early Tuesday. Smith was attending a party just after midnight when he was approached by a man who shot him multiple times. The shooter then chased Smith down the street and continued to fire at him before he collapsed. Police are soliciting tips.
—NJ.com
Skilar Rhodes, 21, was shot in the back and wounded after a dispute in Napoleonville, La., Monday night. Deputies booked Daron Holloway, 21, who initially fled the scene.
—The Advocate
Police say a man shot his friend after a bar fight in Tulsa, Okla., early Tuesday. Investigators believe both men had been drinking when an argument about a woman turned physical at the Four Aces Tavern. Jeremy Burnes, 24, was booked on complaints of reckless handling of a firearm and carrying a firearm while intoxicated.
—KJRH.com
A 40-year-old man was shot in an apparent car-to-car shooting on the 110 Freeway in south Los Angeles, Calif., Tuesday afternoon. The victim was driving when a Nissan Sentra pulled up and someone opened fire. Police are searching for the Sentra. The man’s condition is not known.
—The Los Angeles Times
A man was shot and seriously wounded in the Park Heights area of northwest Baltimore, Md., Tuesday afternoon. The victim was found collapsed in the front yard of a home. A woman who had known him since he was young said, “I love him, but I know he was living reckless.” Earlier Tuesday, a man was shot and wounded in Franklin Square.
—Baltimore Sun
Two men, ages 23 and 29, were shot while getting into a car in east Akron, Ohio, Tuesday afternoon. One victim was found hiding inside a home two blocks away, and the other was found sitting on a front porch of a Good Samaritan’s home. “He just said he didn’t want to die,” said Judy Davidson, who offered the bleeding man a chair.
—Ohio.com
According to Slate’s gun-death tracker, an estimated 5,681 people have died as a result of gun violence in America since the Newtown massacre on December 14, 2012.
_____________________________________SIGNATURE________________________________________________
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Post edited by Unknown User on
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Comments
Seems like a reasonable idea to me.
Stay tuned......
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Yes, it is a death toll counter. The billboard has changed 3-4 times since it first went up a few years ago. This current iteration is in response to Newtown and I believe the counter is gun deaths since then.
The last line reads "We need a Federal Assault Weapons Ban Now".
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
http://www.stophandgunviolence.org/
Stop Handgun Violence is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization founded in 1995 by a group of businesspeople moved by the increasing number of gun deaths and injuries in America. SHV works effectively to prevent firearm violence through public awareness and sensible legislation - without banning guns. In Massachusetts, we’re making a real difference. Since 1994, we have passed the most comprehensive gun laws in the nation and have reduced gun injuries by 50%, gun homicide by 56% and gun accidents by 58%. Our gun violence prevention efforts are a model for the nation.
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Gay marriage too! Been legal here for 9+ years now.
"...I changed by not changing at all..."
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
so do you want to get rid of guns completely ?
Godfather.
NEW YORK – Joey Chestnut downed 69 franks and devoured his own record in the men's Fourth of July hot dog eating contest while Sonya Thomas defended her title in the women's competition.
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2013/07/04/jo ... z2YCpkk2yJ
Godfather.
Godfather.
What I do want however is to have practical enforceable laws in place to help stem the tide of all this killing. Declining though it may be. I posted something in the santa monica thread about ohio and how lax our laws are here and how guns were traced to purchase used in crimes across the country. Part of that article was about a fucking cop selling guns out of his god damned trunk. Stupid shit like that needs to stop. Guns shows, the nondealers are not required to do a background check. Theres a gun show every three months in my city. Concealed carry reciprocity should end.
How it is ok in the 90's for the NRA to fully back universal checks as THEE way and in 2013 they wont do a damned thing?
I post this blog to show how fucking common this senseless shit is!!!!
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Mickey, You need to work on your 'Bait Spotting' skills. Because this:
"so do you want to get rid of guns completely ?"... is basically a nightcrawler coated with cheese whiz and covered with ant eggs.
Hail, Hail!!!
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Oh, I know... and I agree with you, 100%.
I just get tired of the typical gun-nut over-reaction that being in favor of a reasonable gun ownership law is tossed back as a frenzied, spastic regurgatation of NRA rhetoric. More like a Pavlovian reflex than a cognitive thought.
And... it is a baiting question.
Hail, Hail!!!
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
you guys keep saying we need better laws but what do you want to change ?
Godfather.
Did you know that you can buy a gun at a Gun Show from a 'Private Person' and not have to pass any requirements other than having the correct amount of cash on you? you can walk away with that gun the minute the transaction is completed.
How about tightening up that loop hole for a starter?
Hail, Hail!!!
YOU tell me where I might think things need changed. I'm Serious in that request.
Re: Multiple People dead in Santa Monica Shooting
Postby mickeyrat » Fri Jun 21, 2013 3:07 pm
So very fucking proud to be an Ohioan ......
http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories ... -guns.html
Federal data released this week show once again that Ohio is a top source for guns involved in crimes in other states. And the state remains among the weakest when it comes to gun laws.
Criminals know that, law-enforcement officials say, so it’s no surprise to them that Ohio guns show up in so many criminal acts in other states.
“People know they can come to Ohio, get a gun, and take it someplace where there are tougher restrictions,” said Columbus Deputy Police Chief Jeffrey Blackwell. “It happens at gun shows in the sticks and through underground schemes on city streets.”
Sometimes, it’s a lot of guns, such as the 183 that ended up involved in New York crimes, or just one, such as the Ohio gun linked to a crime in Vermont.
In all, 1,601 guns were first legally purchased in Ohio last year and then linked to crimes such as robbery and homicide in 36 other states. An additional 5,375 guns stayed in Ohio and were linked to crimes in 2012, according to a Dispatch analysis of data from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
In 2011, the number of guns traced back to Ohio from other states was closer to 1,700, with 5,225 staying in the state. Ohio was a top contributor of guns used in crimes in 38 states.
Though not all those guns are linked to trafficking operations, Laura Cutilletta, senior staff attorney for the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, says that the trace data illustrate how easy it is to get guns in Ohio. She said the state has too many loopholes for gun ownership that serve as a “beacon” for a gun-trafficking market.
By law, background checks are not required for all gun sales — including some online and gun-show sellers. The state doesn’t keep track of who buys guns. Violent misdemeanors, such as domestic violence, don’t disqualify someone from making a firearm purchase.
But gun lobbies argue that there will always be criminals who break the law, no matter how tight the law is.
Now that those lobbies have seemingly halted Congress’ push for tighter gun restrictions, some argue that lawmakers in states across the country could have some effect on gun trafficking in America. But others argue that any more restrictions on gun ownership will affect a constitutional right to bear arms.
Movement of guns
It’s hard to end gun trafficking because it’s tough to track the movement of guns. There’s no national register the federal government can use to show who owns a firearm at any given time. The ATF each year uses information supplied voluntarily by local law-enforcement agencies around the country to trace guns used in crimes back to a legal purchase. From there, they can discover whether someone illegally bought guns for other people.
First, the agency traces guns involved in crimes to the manufacturer. From there, they find the shop that first sold it, and the first buyer. Then comes the tricky part: ATF agents have to ask around to figure out how a gun moved from hand to hand.
The data that comes from those investigations is compiled in state-by-state annual reports known as “trace data” that show everything from which types of guns were used in crimes to where they came from.
While there are several limitations to the trace information, it’s the only information of its kind, said Dave Coulson, the Columbus ATF spokesman, adding that it’s “a powerful tool” that provides the bureau with information.
What are the loopholes?
Ohio lawmakers have taken few steps to expand state law further than required by federal law when it comes to guns — a move many other states have taken over the years, according to information from the Denver-based National Conference of State Legislatures, a bipartisan research group.
The Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a nonprofit advocacy group founded by attorneys who deem themselves experts on America’s gun laws, gives Ohio’s current law a “D” grade.
“In a lot of states, there are a few violent misdemeanors that would prevent someone from getting a gun,” Cutilletta said. “In Ohio, being disqualified for a previously committed crime relies on what the federal government already has. ... You’d essentially have to be a felon to be disqualified from owning a gun.”
Other examples of requirements not found in Ohio law:
• Licenses for gun-owners who want to sell their guns.
• Regulation of the number of guns someone can buy in a given timeframe.
• Restrictions on buying a gun in one day’s time. At least two states prohibit same-day purchases.
• Tracking of firearm sales. Gun shops are required to report sales only to the federal government.
• Background checks for all sales.
“When you make it easy to get a gun in a state, I mean, it’s just common sense that people will go there to get a gun, especially in frequent and large amounts,” Cutilletta said.
The law center used trace data to show that Ohio has been the top “interstate supplier” in the past of guns used in crimes in Michigan, where the laws are ranked better than Ohio’s with a “C” grade by the law center.
Home-grown trafficker
Former Columbus police officer Mark Andrew Nelson made thousands of dollars by illegally selling 500 guns at gun shows and from the trunk of his car in 2005.
One gun from his operation was linked to a triple homicide in Baltimore.
A student put another gun linked to Nelson to a student’s head at a high school in Maryland. A third was found next to a dead body in the backseat of a car in New Jersey.
Nelson was, by definition, a gun trafficker. He ran an operation that provided guns to people who otherwise wouldn’t be able to get them because they might not pass a background check.
Nelson will likely walk out of prison a free man before 2017, and many of the guns he illegally sold will still be on the streets when he does.
Could state laws have stopped Nelson and his affiliates?
“If Ohio had regulations on how many guns someone can buy in a year and kept track of firearm sales, gun traffickers who don’t have misdemeanors might get caught a bit earlier,” Cutilleta said, adding that if the state kept track of firearm sales, it might be able to step in before the federal government got around to it.
No law to address problem
Nelson didn’t go to prison for “gun trafficking.” He pleaded guilty to one count of lying on a government document about his intent for purchasing a firearm and was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a $2,000 fine.
The government uses that part of federal law to put away people involved in gun trafficking because there is no federal statute — or Ohio law — that makes it a crime to participate in gun-trafficking schemes.
“Right now, it’s more about the falsification of forms,” said Coulson, the ATF Columbus spokesman. “If you had knowledge that a gun was going to a felon, that charge could be tacked on, too.”
Some gun-control advocates argue that since law-enforcement officers have a working definition for gun trafficking, there should be a law making it a crime.
“A direct statute would give the federal government some powerful prosecuting tools,” said Cutilletta, the attorney for the law center. “At the state level ... if law enforcement knew they had a possible charge against someone that they could use to have someone be prosecuted, they could have more incentive to investigate. If the focus on an investigation has to be whether someone broke a procedural rule, it might be a harder time. It’s nicer to have a direct violation that they can look for.”
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine declined to comment on gun trafficking and the state’s gun laws. A spokesman for Gov. John Kasich said the governor’s office was looking at the new ATF report.
Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye State Firearms Association, said he’s against a statute directly outlining gun trafficking or straw purchasing as a crime, suggesting that the government could piece together existing statutes to put a trafficker or straw buyer away — as was done in Nelson’s case.
“If you’ve got A, B, C and D, I don’t think there’s a need for a thing that covers all of them,” Irvine said.
But regardless of what the gun-rights and gun-control lobbies say, the trace data show a trend with regard to Ohio gun ownership, Coulson said.
“Statistics are statistics. These are the down and dirty facts,” he said. “There are other people that need to take them to the next step.”
Joshua Jamerson is a fellow in Ohio University’s Statehouse News Bureau.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
While they are simultaneously violating the 1st amend which guarantees freedom of the press (google James Rosen)
and you want me to lay down and give them my 2nd Amendment rights too. :nono:
Sheep
This is exactly what the Bolsheviks did in Russia in the 1920's.
nah, on second thought how about you exercise your 5th amendment right.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Question: Didn't the Chief Justice Roberts Supreme Court determine that the phone data records belong to the phone companies, not the individual customers, back in 2006? I hope you were as angry then, as you are now. Otherwise, it makes you sound sort of like you are a part of the partisan divide in this country.
"An expert in this aspect of the law said Wednesday night that the order appears to be a routine renewal of a similar order first issued by the same court in 2006. The expert, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive issues, said that the order is reissued routinely every 90 days and that it is not related to any particular investigation by the FBI or any other agency.
The expert referred to such orders as “rubber stamps” sought by the telephone companies to protect themselves after the disclosure in 2005 that widespread warrantless wiretaps could leave them liable for damages.
The order falls under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, which authorizes the government to make broad demands on telephone carriers for information about calls. In this case, the order requires Verizon to provide “ongoing, daily” information about “all call detail records . . . created by Verizon for communications between the United States and abroad; or wholly within the United States, including local telephone calls.” "
Question: How is this... a violation of the First Amendment?
"Court documents revealed in May that the Justice Department secured a search warrant for Rosen’s phone and email records while investigating a State Department leak about North Korea’s nuclear threats. The Justice Department obtained the search warrant by asserting that Rosen was a possible “aider, abettor and/or co-conspirator” in the alleged leak."
Question: Do you really believe that the Tzars in Russia... had a Bill of Rights prior to 1920?
Hail, Hail!!!
Not me, I'm an old goat.
SHEEP will be sheep
NEVER ME :nono:
the two members I assume you are talking to don't give a rats ass about our right to own guns they would rather scream like school girls about the death toll and masterbation :? and with simple minded reasoning have desided that taking guns away will make the world better and all the while their puppet of false phropet (obama) is supporting muslim terrorist's with guns and who knows what else,some people are just too simlpe minded to see the big picture...and they worrie about gun laws here.
Godfather.
sounds like you should toss off a few to release a little of that stress and tention
Godfather.