This is the kind of ignorance we, as gun owners, are up against. This is why we must seek to educate the fence sitters and repudiate the anti-gunners.
What troubles me most is that one of the people involved in the making of this video owns a handgun. Who ever owns that Beretta is so uncaring that they allow the pistol to be used in a video in a manner that is not only extremely unsafe, but also one that depicts gun owners as caricature crazy people.
The Associated Press Wednesday Feb 18, 2009 9:56:45 EST
Milwaukee — A Wisconsin sailor told police in Virginia he didn’t realize his gun was loaded when he pointed it at his girlfriend’s head and pulled the trigger, killing the woman. Darren Mackie is charged with second-degree murder in the death of fellow Navy sailor, 20-year-old Caitlin Trask.
A report in the Newport News Daily Press says the 22-year-old Mackie, from Chippewa Falls, told investigators he was playing with his gun at his Navy apartment in Newport News, Va. Thursday, walked up behind Trask, pointed the weapon at her head and pulled the trigger. A criminal complaint says Mackie then called 911.
Mackie is stationed aboard the amphibious assault ship Kearsarge. Trask, of North Andover, Mass., was stationed on the Norfolk-based aircraft carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Darren W. Mackie is charged with second degree murder in the death of his once live-in girlfriend, Caitlin E. Trask. "Mr. Mackie advised that he was playing with his firearm and walked up behind the victim and pointed the weapon at her head and pulled the trigger," Police Detective J.T. Williams wrote in a criminal complaint on file in Juvenile and Domestic Relations District Court. "He further stated that he did not know the gun was loaded." The complaint went on to say that Mackie then called 911. IT3 Trask was found shot once in the head. She was deceased. Newport News police have charged Airman Darren Mackie with murder and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. Darren Mackie is being held without bond.
"It was just a terrible accident and she was only 20 years old," said Mary Trask of Haverhill, the mother of Caitlin Trask.
No. It was not an accident, It was stupidity. Caitlin Trask died because her boyfriend was an idiot. Don't point a gun at something you do not wish to destroy.
If you think a gun is unloaded, you don't know it's unloaded. OPEN THE CHAMBER and verify it. If you don't know how to open the chamber, then put the damned gun down and step away.
If the gun is truly unloaded, then STILL don't point it at your girlfriend and pull the trigger. If you do, you are an idiot, and you should not be allowed to breed. Instead you should be behind bars where you cannot infect the human race with your own special brand of chronic cerebal vaccuum.
The young couple had a blast shooting skeet with their family that Saturday. Afterwards they had lunch and visited through the afternoon. Joshua and Alaina Beasley had been married for three months, and were very much in love.
When the newlyweds got back home, they decided to engage in a little house clearing practice, in case their home was ever invaded. They had done this before. Joshua Beasley had completed a gun safety course, and felt as though he knew how to handle firearms safely. As he entered the kitchen where Alaina stood by the sink, she pointed her finger at him, pretending to have a gun. Joshua Beasley shouldered his shotgun and pulled the trigger.
The resounding blast was deafening and horrific. Alaina was shot in the right shoulder. She crumpled to the floor and cried for her husband to call 911 as he struggled to locate his cell phone. As she slipped into unconciousness, Alaina's last words to her husband were "I love you." Josh pleaded with the dispatcher as he pressed a towel to his wife's hemorrhaging wound. Paramedics rushed Alaina Beasley to BryanLGH Medical Center West. Joshua Beasley was taken into police custody for questioning.
Initial news reports alluded to the old "I was cleaning my gun" excuse. Later, Josh claimed something was wrong with his shotgun, that he loaded it and put it away. When he took it out again for his house clearing drill, he forgot it was loaded. Court papers assert Joshua Beasley loaded the shotgun with three rounds Saturday night and walked around the couple's apartment "pretending to clear the house for an intruder as he and his wife had practiced in the past."
Once he had answered the police questions and had been released from custody, Joshua Beasley went to the hospital. He discovered that the errant blast had lacerated Alaina's aorta. Surgeons had to remove part of her right lung. As doctors struggled to stabilize her afterwards, Alaina died.
"The deceased wife had posted pictures of herself, her husband, and other family members on MyWedding.com showing all of them handling firearms in extremely unsafe ways. Her page is still up, but has been password-protected for family privacy.
I saw the photos and read the accompanying narrative before the site was secured, and as a firearm-safety fanatic found it horrifying. Here we obviously had people with the best of intentions operating at the level of unconscious incompetence. They honestly did not know how much they did not know."
I agree, and the photographs do not surprise me. The photo above was captioned "Watch out! (Uncle Doug was the brave one to take this picture! We triple checked to make sure ALL of the guns were unloaded! lol!)"
From her blog, Alaina wrote:
"GUNS! Yes, since we've been married we (I say "we" but I mean "Josh" lol!) have bought two guns- Glock 19 9mm and a 12 gage[sic] pump action shotgun. I have to admit it's pretty fun to go shooting. The 12 gage[sic] wasn't as bad as I had expected it to be but the first time I shot it did kick me back a couple of steps. Now it doesn't even phase me. Josh and I practice clearing the apartment in case an intruder were to come we have a plan of action in place."
"I think its great information to have b/c you never know if you'll be in a situation where you have to deal with a gun. Plus once you understand them and have a healthy respect for guns they are a lot of fun."
It is clear that this tragedy was unintentional. To experienced gun handlers, the photographs of abhorrent gun handling speak for themselves. This family, the entire family, did not have a clue as to how little they knew. They were dangerous and had no appreciation for the lethal weapons in their hands. I can not blame them for being ashamed and making the photographs private. The photographs are a disgrace, and in light of Alaina Beasley's death, they have an ominous foreboding to them. Ironically, the photographs of gun posturing also help demonstrate the lack of intent and malice in Alaina's death because they are so blissfully ignorant of fundamental gun safety.
A couple of years back I had a feature on my blog called Idiots With Guns, in which I posted a weekly photo harvested from the net of incompetent and ignorant gun handling. Almost invariably these photos were of young people portraying themselves as Billy Badasses. Some readers understood. Others were appalled. After tiring of constantly commenting on the series, I wrote an open letter to my readers. Finally I let Idiots With Guns drift into obscurity, and later elected to bring it back. My interest in making it a regular feature had disolved in the criticism, however.
With the portent of tragedy frozen in time in Alaina Beasley's photographs, I have to wonder if that decision was right. If Josh Beasley had been a coworker of mine, and I knew he was interested in firearms, I would have persuaded him to get professional instruction. I would have used every means possible, from personal instruction to ridicule to attempt to get him to understand that the cavalier attitude he used when handling firearms could be lethal to those he loved.
That is what we, as competent and mature gun owners, should do. Educate those of us who are dangerous. Bring them into the fold. Help them develop into safe and skilled shooters.
Joshua Beasley has been charged with manslaughter in causing his wife’s death, as well he should be. Manslaughter is the unlawful killing of a human being without malice aforethought. The charge fits. In Nebraska, manslaughter is a class 3 felony. It carries between 1 to 20 years behind bars and a $25,000 fine.
A young man moved to Totowa, New Jersey to take a new job in New York City. He happens to have a concealed carry permit issued by Florida, and he owns a Glock pistol. He has a well paying job, and he hits the club scene in Manhattan as he is able.
One evening he decides to go nightclubbing, and he decides to stick his Glock pistol in his sweatpants for protection, or perhaps just from habit. He may have carried the pistol into New York City illegally before, or he may not have. The fact is, he decides to carry it this night.
While drinking at a midtown Manhattan nightclub, the loose pistol becomes disengaged from it's unholstered perch inside his waist band. He makes a quick grab for it, lest it clatters to the floor revealing his indiscretion. His finger disengages the trigger safety on the Glock, and his autonomic hand grasp compresses the trigger. A shot is fired.
No innocent people are hurt, but the young man carrying the illegal pistol in his sweatpants in a Manhattan nightclub is shot in the thigh. His friends rush him to the hospital, where he lies about his identity and the particulars of his injury to avoid prosecution. Later, he is charged with two counts of criminal possession of a weapon in the second degree. In the municipality where the negligent discharge outed his criminal activity, a minimum prison sentence of three and a half years is imposed if convicted.
If the young man were Antonio Torres or Joseph Schmoe, he would be crying out in a wilderness of ambivalence. When the young man is Plaxico Burress, the gunshot wound is not reported by hospital staff , as is required by law. The media begins picking at the juicy carcass of a "news story." Suddenly, a lot of people become upset and start wringing their hands because a star receiver for the New York Giants cooling his heels in a prison cell doesn't help the scoreboard at half time.
Bleeding and humbled after the 1:50 AM shooting, Burress was assisted into teammate Antonio Pierce's black Cadillac Escalade. The pair tried to find a hospital that would admit them without contacting the authorities. At 2:04 AM, Burress arrived at New York Presbyterian Hospital, checking in under an assumed name. Burress claimed he was shot at Applebee's. He was released at 1:00 PM. Although Burress spent nearly 11 hours at the hospital, police were never notified of the gunshot wound.
Making excuses, Burress states he carried the Glock into the Latin nightclub because he was afraid that the flashy bling he wore would get him jacked up. New York Mayor Bloomberg has stressed that laws were broken, and there will be no preferential treatment. "It's pretty hard to argue the guy didn't have a gun and that it wasn't loaded," Mayor Bloomberg said, "You've got bullet holes in and out to show that it was there." In fact, a lot of gun owners are using this as an example of how draconian the New York gun laws are. They want to apply the Heller decision to this act of "poor judgement."
The landmark Heller decision does not apply. For once Bloomberg is right. Plaxico Burress knowingly violated the law. This was not an act of civil disobedience. Plaxico Burress did not have to go to the Manhattan nightclub. If he decided to go, he did not need to carry a gun. Being a wealthy athlete, he had more options than many people. He could have hired bodyguards to protect him and his bling. Instead, he chose to play the role of the thug and carry his gat in his sags and go clubbin'. He is not a victim. He knowingly and willfully violated the law, no matter how unjust that law is. Plaxico Burress was an arrogant athlete who thought he was special, that the law did not apply to him, that he was beyond, if not above the law.
If gun owners and second amendment advocates support his cause for preferential treatment in a court of law, they are fools. Plaxico Burress is not one of us. He never was, and he never wanted to be. Lawful gun owners and concealed carriers do not seek preferential treatment. They obey the laws of the municipalities they enter. I do not like Mayor Bloomberg, and I believe the gun laws of New York City are draconian and unconstitutional. But....... Bloomberg is right. There is little reasonable, unbiased doubt regarding what occurred here. The law was violated, again and again. If we are to expect the law to be applied justly when it is to our benefit, we can not bend the law when the man who caught the winning touchdown in the 2008 Super Bowl violates it. The law is simply the law, and it applies to Plaxico Burress.
Breda doesn't know who these people are, and frankly, I don't give a damn. What I do give a damn about is the fact that Hollywood gun handling absolutely permeates the west coast elitist media. If you think fingers on the triggers is bad, watch the video that these two obscure pseudo-celebrities made. Muzzle sweeps with fingered triggers galore.
It is appalling that nobody at this gun range would take the initiative to make certain that two untrained knot heads handled firearms with the minimal amount of safety consciousness in a video they were producing. I really can not fault the imbeciles shooting the guns. I fault the idiots running the LAX Firing Range that failed to take their eyes off the Daisy Dukes and look at the idiot's trigger fingers.
Infamous New Orleans gun confiscator Mayor Ray Nagin and infamous New Orleans gun confiscator and Police Superintendent Warren Riley show off the new hardware purchased for a city severly lacking in governmental and law enforcement software.
Clyde, North Carolina - A Waynesville man accidentally fired gun rounds through his hand, his leg and a nearby trailer in Clyde on Tuesday night, according to a Canton Police report. A resident in Clyde told Canton and Clyde police officers he was awakened by a gunshot that pierced his bedroom wall between 9 p.m. and 10 p.m., the report stated. Investigators found a truck parked 30 yards north of the man’s trailer with a spent .45 shell inside and drops of blood leading from the vehicle to another trailer, according to the report.
Officers went to the home of the man who was the registered owner of the truck in Waynesville and discovered he had gunshot wounds to his hand and leg, according to the report. After medical crews took him to the hospital, the man told officers that he accidentally pulled the gun’s trigger and shot himself in the hand while trying to grab the weapon from his truck’s passenger seat, the report stated. He jumped out of the truck and attempted to put the gun in his back right pocket, causing the gun to fire again into his right leg. He then dropped the gun near a creek and went to a friend’s house nearby and he was later taken back to his home in Waynesville, according to the report.
Now I'm sure there are some who will speculate this man was intoxicated. There are others who might speculate he never received proper training. There are even those who would speculate he did not own a holster......I think that might be a bit more likely. One thing that is as certain as Saturn is inhospitable is this idiot grabbed a pistol from the passenger seat of his truck with the muzzle pointing at himself.
Hell, this story invites speculation, so I may as well speculate too..... $10 says the pistol in question was a cocked and locked 1911 that became a cocked and unlocked 1911 while bouncing around on Billy Bob's truck seat while he was roaring down the pot holed dirt road to his trailer. A bonus $5 say Billy Bob had a sticker of Calvin taking a piss on the back glass. Next, Billy Bob got out of the truck, remembered his pistol, and reached across the driver's seat to pull it towards him muzzle first. The cocked and unlocked 1911 trigger caught on the seat belt, or other assorted crap in Billy Bob's truck, causing it to be pulled back, and the pistol fired the first shot. Billy Bob was fortunate he did not buy those 44" mud tires last month, or he might not have fired the second.
The second shot can not be excused simply because Billy Bob's head was still spinning from the first. Billy Bob did not lock the thumb safety. Instead he either tried to place the pistol in his pocket with his finger on the trigger, or a corner of his wallet caught and pressed the trigger as he was shoving the pistol in the pocket. If Billy Bob had trained with his 1911 enough, the relocking of the thumb safety would have been instinctual. If he had any safety rules ingrained in his brain at all, Billy Bob would have walked around his pick-up truck and removed the weapon by the grip, not the muzzle. The first shot never would have occured.
I commend the writer of this story for not claiming the pistol "accidentally went off". Some folks say there are two types of gun owners......Those that have had negligent discharges, and those who will have negligent discharges. I'm not going to argue that. The idea is one that keeps those who subscribe to it safe, and that's OK by me. I will go farther though........There are also those gun owners who will never have, or who will never again have a negligent discharge. The accomplishment of that goal is not difficult. Remove negligence from the equation.
Update: I guess that'll teach me eh? Check the comments.....
I still might make a bit back on that Calvin sticker....
Wadesville, Ind. (AP) -- A woman who was fatally shot Thursday while trying to coax her dog from a neighbor's yard was hit by a bullet that ricocheted off the ground and under a plastic fence before striking her shoulder. The bullet from a .357 magnum pierced both the lungs and heart of Nicole Stroud, 29, Vanderburgh County Coroner Don Erk said. The Evansville woman was leaning down, trying to get her Shih Tzu dog out of a neighbor's yard and through a hole in the bottom of a fence when she was shot.
The neighbor accused of firing the gun, Melinda Lindauer, 41, was arrested on preliminary charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide. She was still being held in Posey County Jail on Saturday. Posey County Prosecutor Jodi Uebelhack said she believes Lindauer fired from a back window of her house at a dog that was loose from a neighboring house, where Stroud was visiting her grandmother. The Lindauers live directly behind Stroud's grandmother. Wadesville is about 15 miles northwest of Evansville.
The prosecutor said Lindauer might not have seen Stroud and probably didn't intend to kill her, but criminal charges still were warranted. Indiana law states that a person can only fire a gun at a dog if it is threatening an individual or livestock. "After we got all the statements, it was pretty clear this was a criminal act," Uebelhack said. "It's never an accident to pick up a gun and shoot it."
Uebelhack said a statement given to police by Lindauer's husband, Lonnie, indicated that there was an ongoing dispute between the neighbors over the dog. She said he told authorities the dog had previously dug up a cat that was buried in the Lindauer's backyard. Melinda Lindauer's attorney, Nick Hermann, said he could not comment on the specifics of the case. But he said that the Lindauers are distraught over what happened. "Their thoughts and prayers go out to the family of the lady who died in this incident," he said.
Bullshit. The bullet did not just hit Nicole Stroud's shoulder. It drilled into her torso, searing it's way through one lung, her heart, and then the other lung. It extinguished her life as surely as it destroyed the lives of those around her.
I have a hard time visualizing a 357 magnum bullet that could change direction underneath the fence so radically as to strike someone in the shoulder, laterally penetrating both lungs and the heart as it went through the chest. in the news stories.
357 magnum bullets do not ricochet off dirt, fly underneath fences, radically change direction to strike a person's shoulder and then penetrate through every vital organ in the chest cavity. Especially a person standing on the opposite side of the fence, as close as Nicole Stroud appears to have been standing. Bullets do skip and ricochet. They do change course or expend energy after impact. A .357 magnum bullet has a lot of energy to expend. The course this slug would have apparently been forced to travel to avoid the fence, strike the shoulder of a person standing 5-10 feet away, then change course again to laterally penetrate one lung, the heart, then the opposite lung, makes one wonder who the hell was investigating this shooting in Wadesville, Indiana. The Warren Commission? Bullets do not do magic tricks! There has been no official statement concerning whether or not a hole was present in the fence, but that is immaterial. Ricochet bullets you fired recklessly are as poor an excuse as not seeing the innocent bystander behind a plastic fence you shoot through. They do not diminish your culpability.
People who have just unwittingly shot someone, through ignorance, recklessness or carelessness, claim strange things. It is not uncommon for such a person to try to diminish their responsibility and liability, both emotionally and legally. Shooting a human being is an irreversible act. You can not get those bullets back. They are yours, and the damage they do belongs to you as well. The sudden realization that you have a person drowning in their own sanguine stew because of you actions often causes people to squeal "It just went off!" "I didn't know it was loaded!" "I didn't see him!" or "It must have ricocheted!" These self serving squeaks in the face of unrelenting reality do not mean that law enforcement or anyone else has to believe the excuses uttered by a person who just took a life.
I don't like little decorative dogs. It's OK if other folks want walking, yapping fashion statements in a furry bag, but they ain't my style. I like them even less when they crap on my yard. That doesn't mean I have a right to shoot the vile critter. A Shit-Sue dog isn't going to rip my trachea out and take my head off like the evil rabbit guarding the cave of Caerbannog. The animal was not a threat unless you believe Shih Tzu poop to be as lethal as land mines. A dog scratching under my fence simply means I need to block the damned hole with a cinder block or something. Just because dogs crawl under fences doesn't mean bullets do too.
When deputies arrived at the scene, they found Nicole Stroud in her grandmother's backyard, surrounded by onlookers as volunteer firefighters performed CPR. Blood gushed from her mouth and torso with every chest compression. Posey County deputies detained and questioned the suspected shooter and her husband, Lonnie Lindauer. Nicole Stroud was air lifted to Deaconess Hospital in Evansville, Indiana. Deputies said they found a .357 magnum handgun on the bed in the Lindauer's bedroom. Nicole Stroud was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital. Deputies arrested Melinda Lindauer on charges of involuntary manslaughter and reckless homicide. Neighbors who didn't want to talk to media, say Melinda Lindauer had fired her handgun in the neighborhood several times in the past. She is being held in the Posey County Jail Friday. Bond is set at $100,000. No court date had been set. Yet. Nicole Stroud is survived by her husband, her grandmother, and her eleven month old daughter.
You are responsible for every bullet that leaves the muzzle of your firearm. Ethically. Morally. Legally. Every bullet has a lawyer attached to it. Melinda Lindauer is responsible for her actions, her decisions, and her bullets. They are hers. She owns them. She pointed that gun. She pulled that trigger. It's a shame she was not mature and intelligent enough to manage that responsibility better. If she had, Nicole Stroud would still be alive.
A Teton County, Idaho family is outraged after they say a sheriff's deputy tried to murder their dog in their own front yard. The Barboza family has owned their dog Bobby for five years. A few days ago they say a Teton County Idaho Sheriff's Deputy knocked on their door demanding to see the dog. Leonel Barboza, Dog Owner: "He says, 'I'm here to put him down. I'm here to kill him.'" The officer told Leo Barboza there had been a complaint Bobby had bitten someone.
Barboza: "I said, 'Do you have any proof or anything?' He says, 'I don't need any proof.'" So Leo got the dog while the deputy pulled out a rifle from his car. They walked a few feet from the Barboza's home where Leo's wife and his three year old son were inside. Leo and the officer tied the dog to a pole when the deputy fired three shots. The dog then collapsed. Leo's son heard the gunshots and opened the front door. Meanwhile...
Barboza: "A bunch of kids just got off the bus and they were all on the street. All the kids were watching the officer shooting the dog. My heart was broken seeing an officer killing my dog." The deputy then got in his vehicle and drove away leaving the dog bleeding profusely from his head almost dead.
Barboza: "I came back inside with my wife and hid. We were hugging each other crying about our dog because we were gonna miss him. He's been with us for five years." That night Leo's father-in-law, who witnessed the whole thing, had a nervous breakdown and had to be hospitalized. When the family returned home from the hospital a few days later, they were shocked to see their dog alive.
Barboza: "My wife called me up and she's like, 'Hey, the dog's alive!' I was like, 'What are you serious?' I was happy my dog was alive." The Teton County Idaho Sheriff wouldn't say much about this case except that it's still under investigation. He also said there's been numerous complaints about the Barboza's dog. But when I checked court records, I could only find one complaint filed last year and that was dismissed.
Nate Eaton, Channel 3 Eyewitness News: "Did your dog ever bite anybody?"
Barboza: "Not to my knowledge. No."
Eaton: "And this was the first time you'd ever heard of any complaint?"
Barboza: "Yes, this is the first time. I still think about it. You know my kid thinks all the cops are bad because an officer came and shot his dog. Honestly when I think about it I get mad too and I don't trust that officer any more."
The Barboza's took Bobby to the vet. He's now on medication to get the wounds taken care of. The holes in his head will be sewn up after Thanksgiving. The family has hired attorney Josh Garner. I spoke with him this evening and he says, "If the facts are as they appear, the deputies behavior is disgusting, troublesome, and appalling. The officer needs to be held responsible." Several sources say the officer is still on duty and still working in the county.
To support the Barboza family legally or financially, email their attorney Josh Garner at garnerlawoffice@gmail.com.
Local residents are also talking about the story. Justin Frandsen says he was in the sheriff's office the night before the dog was shot and he heard deputies talking about the animal.
Justin Frandsen: "They were joking and laughing about what weapons they wanted to shoot him with and how they were gonna shoot him. At the end of the conversation, they were almost feuding over who got to shoot the dog." Shocked by what he heard, Frandsen says he spoke up to the deputies.
Frandsen: "You guys must feel like you're real big cops, real tough guys, to have to go out and basically assassinate somebody's house pet."
"This is unacceptable to treat an animal in this way, regardless of what the animal has done." Dr. Joseph Rosenthal, Idaho Humane Society stated. "This is an act of cruelty and to find out that later the dog was discovered to still be alive and suffering it’s just an example."
Not only is that an unacceptable way to treat an animal, it's a abhorrent way to treat a citizen. Deputy Joseph Guitierez compelled Leonel Barboza to take part in and witness the staking out and attempted execution of his dog. There was no reason for that. Even if the dog were dangerous, even if it had a documented history of biting people, the proper way to handle the situation would have been to capture the animal, then contain and quarantine the animal until rabies observation could be completed. Shooting a staked out animal is nothing short of cowardice. Shooting a staked out animal suspected of biting a human is nothing short of ignorant.
Further, on watching the videotape of the Kidk.com story, it is apalling to consider that an officer of the law, who was unable to effectively hit a target 15 feet away, was shooting a damned rifle in mobile home park. I have no idea what caliber of rifle was used, but a .22LR bullet will rip through both sides of most mobile homes unless it strikes something in between. Something like a person's head. To think this idiot official representative of Teton County Idaho may have been firing a .223, a .308, or even a 30.06 strikes me as not only completely reckless, but dangerous as hell in regards to the safety of the people who lived there. If the Teton County Sheriff's Office sent him, they are responsible for jeopardizing every person in that trailer park. Deputy Joseph Guitierez was on official business as a Teton County official, and those wounds on that dog may have been debrided as the result of veterinary attention, but they do not look like .22LR wound to me, and I am not unfamiliar with gunshot wounds. I seem to recall another law enforcement officer shooting at non-threatening animals and causing the death of a human being.
Deputy Joseph Guitierez has been suspended. The Tri-County Sheriff's Organization is now investigating the shooting. That is not enough. This entire sheriff's office needs to be scrutinized for their policies not only of animal control, but of protecting the public through more intelligent and informed leadership and instruction of their deputies.
Irene Brown, the Animal Services Manager for the Idaho Falls Police Department states, "We would only use a weapon against a dog if the dog came at us viciously." She goes on to speak about the need to quarantine an animal that has bitten a person for rabies observation. Sound familiar? Of course, Leonel Barboza may not live in Idaho falls, and as a result this case may not fall under their jurisdiction, but it certainly appears the resources are available close by for Teton County Sheriff Kim Cooke to take a look at.
Let Sheriff Kim Cooke know what you think. Sheriff Kim Cooke 89 N Main St Driggs, Idaho 83422 (208)354-2323 208-354-2463 kcooke@co.teton.id.us
The purpose of Idiots with Guns is not to humiliate, but to educate by promoting civil discourse about firearms safety. Every gun owner has seen people who, upon picking up a gun, just cannot resist pointing it at something they should not, with their finger on the trigger. Whether done through ignorance or absent mindedness, the results of these actions can be tragic. Many photos of guns being used dangerously are available on the internet. It is my hope that Idiots With Guns will transform these photos from dangerous examples of improper gun handling to the stimulus for discussion that promotes gun safety.
I have kind of let Idiots With Guns slide off into obscurity from my blog. This was for several reasons. It was a difficult idea to explain. With each post I stated that the purpose was not to humiliate, but educate. Apparently many readers thought I was trying to educate those who took their ill conceived photos. That was not the case. The education was there for the viewers of the photos if needed, through discussion and comments.
I was surprised to learn that at least two gun forums banned links to my blog because of Idiots With Guns. They thought the photos glorified bad gun handling and provided fodder for the Brady Bunch.
Idiots With Guns posed a management problem. If I routinely made the posts on Friday, I needed to stick with that. That is tough when you work as well as blog.
Finally, there were the incessant questions of why Jeff Cooper and others did not get depicted on IWG, even though they allowed themselves to be photographed in similar ways. I even received attachments of other bloggers pointing guns at the camera, with demands that I publish those too, as Idiots With Guns.
Well, here is the deal. Idiots With Guns is coming back. The photos and videos of Idiots With Guns are done to promote discussion about gun safety. If you want to, join in the discussion. If you disagree, definitely comment. I'll publish IWG when I want to. I will determine which photo or video gets used. I encourage your participation. Idiots With Guns is about gun safety, but it is not the last word on the subject. I am certainly no gun safety guru. I learn from discussing these concepts, just as others do. At the very least, I want to dilute the Billy Bad Ass persona the subjects of these photos try to depict themselves as, by using them as an example of what not to do with a gun. So.......With that in mind, here we go again.....
The purpose of Idiots with Guns is not to humiliate, but to educate by promoting civil discourse about firearms safety. Every gun owner has seen people who, upon picking up a gun, just cannot resist pointing it at something they should not, with their finger on the trigger. Whether done through ignorance or absent mindedness, the results of these actions can be tragic. Many photos of guns being used dangerously are available on the internet. It is my hope that Idiots With Guns will transform these photos from dangerous examples of improper gun handling to the stimulus for discussion that promotes gun safety.
Man says he mistook snorkeler for nutria By Rebecca Nolan The Register-Guard Published: Friday, February 9, 2007
REEDSPORT - A man charged with shooting a Smith River snorkeler in the head told detectives he mistook the swimmer for a nutria, the Douglas County Sheriff's Office said.
William Roderick, 60, of Reedsport was arraigned Thursday in Douglas County Circuit Court on charges including second-degree assault, being a felon in possession of a firearm, and possession of methamphetamine and marijuana. He was being held in the Douglas County Jail in Roseburg on $700,000 bail. Roderick is accused of shooting 44-year-old John W. Chessman of Marcola once in the head as he snorkeled about 2 p.m. Tuesday. Chessman remained in serious condition Thursday in the cardiac intensive care unit at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital in Portland.
Roderick told detectives he was taking care of a house on Lower Smith River Road when he saw what he believed to be a nutria swimming in the river, sheriff's spokesman Dwes Hutson said. He grabbed a .22-caliber rifle and shot at what he thought was a large, water-dwelling rodent from a deck, he told detectives. He soon realized the rodent was in fact a man and ran to the river to help pull Chessman from the water. Chessman was conscious and able to speak after the shooting, Hutson said.
Witnesses drove Chessman to the Lower Smith River scale shack near Highway 101. From there, an ambulance took him to Lower Umpqua Hospital in Reedsport. He was later transferred to OHSU. Roderick led detectives to the gun, which he had thrown into the river after the shooting, Hutson said. He was convicted of felony drug possession in 1987 and therefore should not have had a gun in his possession, according to state court records.
We need some damned laws to keep guns out of the hands of drug crazed felons!!!!!...... wait a minute.....
The purpose of Idiots with Guns is not to humiliate, but to educate. Over the years we have seen photos of people who, upon picking up a gun, just cannot resist pointing it at something they should not, with their finger on the trigger. This is usually the camera, another person, or themselves. These photos are often difficult to google up, because of the pages they are shown on. If you have archived any of these photos, feel free to send them in to bayouroversATjamDOTrrDOTcom
The Four Rules 1. All firearms are always loaded 2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy 3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot 4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it
The purpose of Idiots with Guns is not to humiliate, but to educate. Over the years we have seen photos of people who, upon picking up a gun, just cannot resist pointing it at something they should not, with their finger on the trigger. This is usually the camera, another person, or themselves. These photos are often difficult to google up, because of the pages they are shown on. If you have archived any of these photos, feel free to send them in to bayouroversATjamDOTrrDOTcom
The Four Rules 1. All firearms are always loaded 2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy 3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot 4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it
I am sometimes taken to task because I lump toy guns into the same category as real ones when it comes to the 4 safety rules.
True, toy guns will likely never kill anyone unless they disassemble them and then choke on the pieces. Even more insidious and dangerous though, are the perceptions they create among youngsters who are just learning about firearms. What we learn first is what we tend to remember, and what we eventually become. If we learn that firearms, even toy firearms, are fine to use in this manner, then we tend to not take the 4 rules as seriously. As a result, as well, we tend to view death as a temporary abstract condition, not a permanent one.
There was a time that I grew up in where almost every third grade boy got a .22 rifle for Christmas. The real question was whether it would be a Savage, Mossberg, or Marlin, not whether you would get one. Often, boys carried these rifles to school, locked them in their lockers, and then took them home afterwards with no incident. Know what? We all felt safe with boys doing this too. (Of course we still sat under our desks in case the commies dropped the A bomb...)
Back then younger boys used pellet guns and BB guns to hunt song birds. I did as well. Killing your first beautiful bird is a sobering experience. The different emotional reactions to the songbird's death showed us all the differences within ourselves, and often broke up friendships. The birds did not die in vain, however. The one inescapable fact that each bird's loss of life taught all of us, is death is permanent. Thus, when we received our "real" rifle, we knew what we held in our hands, and what it could do if used improperly.
All people took more responsibility for what they owned and for what it could do back then. People took responsiblility for their possessions, and the damaged that those possessions created, if any. Parents took responsibility for their children. Yes, boys played army, but the kind of misguided nihilistic behavior displayed in this video was rare. When it reared it's ugly head among children, they shunned it themselves. They were taught to do so by parents who understood the dangers, and not by a pop culture that glorifies violence. This is why I am opposed to toy guns being used in this manner.
Darla picked up a Hi Power from the display, turned and posed for her girlfriend to take a photo........Meanwhile Luke continued to unpack his display. This is why gunshows mandate zip ties. I recall seeing one knucklehead snatch a pistol off one vendor's table, a holster off another table, and then pose for a cellphone pic before either vendor could prevent it. Perhaps that's why many gunshows prohibit cameras as well.
The purpose of Idiots with Guns is not to humiliate, but to educate. Over the years we have seen photos of people who, upon picking up a gun, just cannot resist pointing it at something they should not, with their finger on the trigger. This is usually the camera, another person, or themselves. These photos are often difficult to google up, because of the pages they are shown on. If you have archived any of these photos, feel free to send them in to bayouroversATjamDOTrrDOTcom
The Four Rules 1. All firearms are always loaded 2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy 3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot 4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it
The purpose of Idiots with Guns is not to humiliate, but to educate. Over the years we have seen photos of people who, upon picking up a gun, just cannot resist pointing it at something they should not, with their finger on the trigger. This is usually the camera, another person, or themselves. These photos are often difficult to google up, because of the pages they are shown on. If you have archived any of these photos, feel free to send them in to bayouroversATjamDOTrrDOTcom
The Four Rules 1. All firearms are always loaded 2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy 3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot 4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it
Spread the love.......Shoot your hand before you shoot the camera......
The purpose of Idiots with Guns is not to humiliate, but to educate. Over the years we have seen photos of people who, upon picking up a gun, just cannot resist pointing it at something they should not, with their finger on the trigger. This is usually the camera, another person, or themselves. These photos are often difficult to google up, because of the pages they are shown on. If you have archived any of these photos, feel free to send them in to bayouroversATjamDOTrrDOTcom
The Four Rules 1. All firearms are always loaded 2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy 3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot 4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it
Brain surgeons..... The purpose of Idiots with Guns is not to humiliate, but to educate. Over the years we have seen photos of people who, upon picking up a gun, just cannot resist pointing it at something they should not, with their finger on the trigger. This is usually the camera, another person, or themselves. These photos are often difficult to google up, because of the pages they are shown on. If you have archived any of these photos, feel free to send them in to bayouroversATjamDOTrrDOTcom
The Four Rules 1. All firearms are always loaded 2. Never let the muzzle of a firearm point at anything you are not willing to destroy 3. Keep your finger off the trigger until you are ready to shoot 4. Be sure of your target and what is behind it
Xavier is a Registered Nurse who specialized in complex wound care. He has practiced for over fourteen years in his community. He often provided nursing service in areas where law enforcement refused to enter without back-up. Xavier now works in surgery.
Xavier has been an avid shooter for over 30 years. He strongly supports the 2nd Amendment, opposes gun control of any sort, and carries a weapon 24 hours a day.
Xavier is known on various internet gun forums as XavierBreath. He is married with three children, and is moderated by an apathetic one eyed cat, a goofy Golden Retriever, and a stalwart German Shepherd Dog. One day, he hopes to be deserving of them all.
Domari Nolo
Xavier can still be emailed at
treatmewithbenignneglect@gmail.com
He might read your email.
He might delete it on sight.
He might publish it and comment on it.
The Five Rules of Concealed Carry
1. Your concealed handgun is for protection of life only.
2. Know exactly when you can use your gun.
3. If you can run away -- RUN!
4. Display your gun, be prepared to go to jail.
5. Don't let your emotions get the best of you.
