Guns in the US

On December 14, 2011 ABC News reported that billions of dollars of weapons are sold online, many without paperwork (background checks) and taxes. Investigators shopped at 10 websites where buyers could choose out of 25,000 listings and 62% of the time guns were sold to people who said they probably couldn’t pass the background check. New York’s Mayor Bloomberg is leading the crackdown; he wants the federal government to change the laws as he agreed with ABC’s correspondent that buying a gun online is like buying a toaster. Online purchases are probably part of the reason for 68% of the guns seized in Mexico since 2006 came from the US (reported on April 27, 2012). I know the US Constitution says we have the right to bear arms but the intent was for protection; not for us to go around killing one another for no good reason. There is a place and a purpose for guns; I own a shot gun for killing rattlesnakes. Outside Oklahoma City, Oklahoma on New Year’s Eve, 2 intruders (one had been stalking her, one had a 12 inch hunting knife) broke into the home of an 18 year old mom protecting her 3 month old son; she shot and killed one intruder while on the phone with 911, the other turned himself in; she was home alone because her husband died of cancer on Christmas day. It was reported that 30 states have what they call a Castle doctrine or Stand Your Ground law where you’re allowed to shoot/kill an intruder or use deadly force if you feel threatened; the other states say you’re supposed to try and retreat (get away) before using force. Here are some of the stories that have been in the news the past few months:

At a San Francisco 49ers game 2 people were shot in the parking lot; there were shootings at Texas (TX) and central Florida (FL) birthday parties as well as a low rider car show in suburban Seattle; a California (CA) man killed his business partner to avoid paying a million dollar debt; at an IHOP in Carson City, Nevada a man with a rifle injured 5 people and killed 5 (three national guards attending a breakfast meeting and another person before killing himself); a FL man killed his wife and shot 2 pastors in the back while they were praying; October 6, 2011 a disgruntled cement company employee in Cupertino, CA killed 3 co-workers and wounded 7 others because he was moved to the night shift; October 13 a custody dispute resulted in an ex-husband with a bullet proof vest killing at least 8 and wounding one in a Seal Beach, CA hair salon; October 25 a North Carolina teen was shot by 2 teens (15 & 18); November 25 the University of Illinois’ Medical Center was shut down when a man shot his ex-girlfriend in the parking lot; December 12 in Broward County, FL a grandmother shot her son-in-law when he tried to pick up his son; December 13-2 teens playing basketball at a middle school were shot in a rural area near Brownsville, TX; December 15 a wealthy couple was gunned down in their Andover, Massachusetts mansion; December 17 in a CA office 3 dead, 2 wounded; 5 were killed in an Illinois small town; December 20 an Ohio (OH) Amish teen driving a horse and buggy and was shot and killed; a Marine who returned from the wars was shot during a robbery right before XMAS; December 25, after surviving a bombing in Afghanistan, a CA soldier was shot and left paralyzed at this homecoming party; December 26 a murder-suicide took the lives of a family of 7 in a Fort Worth, TX suburb; December 28 at least 2 were killed in a shooting at a Chicago fast-food restaurant; January 11 at an affluent gated community in Tampa, FL a doctor and his wife were found dead; January 28-8 sea lions protected by law were found shot to death along the Washington State coast; February 9 police said a FaceBook fight was the motive in the murder of a Tennessee couple; there was a murder-suicide at a health spa in Norcoss, Georgia that killed 5, the shooter was arguing with one of the victims before he opened fire. February 23 an 8 year old Bremerton, Washington boy brought a gun to school in his backpack and a girl is accidentally shot; an employee shoots 2 supervisors at a Connecticut hospital; February 27 in Chardon, OH 3 students were killed and 2 wounded when a boy opens fire inside the high school cafeteria; March 2 an Arizona man fired a rifle during a high school baseball game, 1 was injured; March 7 a fired Jacksonville, FL teacher gunned down the school administrator; April 13-3 people were killed at a Cracker Barrel restaurant in OH; and April 23 a pastor’s mother and another person were shot dead outside a Colorado church.

These are not all of what I heard. Every day we hear of some killing like that of FL’s unarmed Trayvon Martin by neighborhood watch Zimmerman. We can’t fix this situation when Virginia (February 29) repealed the law that limited hand gun purchases to one a month or a Colorado court (March 6) allows students to carry guns on campus. Good people do not kill one another for greed, misplaced anger or sport.