Paralyzed for Life

		The GVP Report - September 18, 2012
Blogs Josh Horwitz, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Oh Ye of Little Faith: The Pro-Gun Movement's Total Disregard for Our Constitution, examines the pro-gun total lack of faith in our system of government and the U.S. Constitution. Daniel Gross, Brady Campaign, U.S. Open a Reminder of One of America's Biggest Problems (and why it doesn't exist in the rest of the civilized world), looks at how tennis stars Serena Williams and Andy Murray were touched by gun violence and how their two different nations responded. Joan Peterson, Common GunSense, Don't Fence Me In; I Have a Gun, Every day, senseless shootings shatter the lives of innocent people. Often enough, it is over something trivial. Baldr Odinson, Ceasefire Oregon, A Timeline of Wacko Pro-Gun Conspiracy Theories, offers a living post that looks at ridiculous assertions and crazy conspiracy theories from pro-gun extremists. Cathie Whittenburg, OhhShoot Blog, Concealed weapons permit holder shoots neighbor's dog, shrapnel injures a woman standing nearby. Advocacy ► Arizonans for Gun Safety and the I AM campaign partners announced the winners of the "Stop Gun Violence" contest. ► Heeding God's Call held a prayer vigil in honor of shooting victim Valdez Cockren in Harrisburg, PA.  "Come be with us in solidarity as we pray for the victim of shootings and say it's time to stop the violence." ► Jonathan Lowy, attorney with the Brady Center, will argue first-in-nation case against gun sellers who supplied trafficking ring with hundreds of guns. The case will decide if the Shield Law immunizes gun companies who supply traffickers. ► Ceasefire New Jersey called for a number of  "common sense" steps to reduce gun violence after the shooting at an Old Bridge supermarket that killed three.  Worst of the Week New Jersey police released the 911 calls from the August 31st shooting at the Pathmark in Old Bridge, New Jersey. They paint a scene of chaos and fear - a woman whispering and breathing heavily, others in the store afraid the gunman might sneak up on them. "I don't want to die, please," a woman hiding in a back room softly told a 911 dispatcher. 23-year-old Terence Tyler, an employee of the store and a former Marine, shot two co-workers, killing them both, and then killed himself. Cristina LoBrutto,18 and Bryan Breen, 24, each died of a single gunshot wound.		In The News ► In D.C., another measure of gun violence: Men in Wheelchairs, story & video of a support group for young, black men left paralyzed by gun injuries. In Nebraska an Omaha man is living proof of gun violence, left paralyzed when a bullet shattered his vertebra. Gunfire is the third-leading cause of spinal cord injuries in the United States. ► Garen Wintemute, University of California Davis, has published a new study, Characteristics of Federally Licensed Firearms Retailers and Retail Establishments, in the Journal of Urban Health. The first of its kind survey of FFLs found that 96.3% of respondents agreed that "private ownership of guns is essential for a free society" and just over half, 54.9% believed that "it is too easy for criminals to get guns in this country." ► Houston Chronicle, Stolen Guns Nurture Deadly Violence. Analysis shows that about 4,000 guns are stolen every year in the Houston area, from homes, cars, pawn shops, even gun dealers, with only 7% ever recovered. ► iMediaEthics PollCheck survey, designed to check the validity of media polling, Highlights Problem with General Questions in Gun Control Polls. ► Cops, Guns & Death  "We got a war going on out there, because let's face it: there's a proliferation of illegal guns in the hands of people willing to use them," said John Firman of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. In the last four weeks seven police officers have been shot to death and ten more wounded by gunfire.  Community Support ► What's Wrong With this Picture: The Gabby Giffords DNC Appearance and Gun Violence.  How could this striking cameo occur without any heed to the political issue underlying Giffords' maiming? ► Tuck Langland, South Bend, Indiana Tribune, Let Us Begin to Curb the Unlimited Accessibility of Guns. When we realize that adding more guns to reduce killings is like adding more mosquitoes to reduce malaria. Someday this age of unlimited gun accessibility will appear in our history books as an age of madness. ► Amanda Keenan, Junior at the University of Nebraska, Conceal and Carry Policies on Campus Would Spur Fear, Distraction. How comfortable would you feel if you asked the person next to you in class to borrow a pen and a gun feel out of their backpack? ► BOOK REVIEWS, David Cole, New York Review of Books, Our Romance With Guns, looks at  Gunfight by Adam Winkler, The City That Became Safe by Franklin Zimring and Don't Shoot by David Kennedy.  Patrick Heery, Unbound, question and answer with James Atwood author of America and Its Guns. ► Matt Nagin, PolicyMic, James Holmes Demonstrates Why We Must Reinstate the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. When the public is in mortal danger, gun control becomes an urgent necessity. Gun violence poses an imminent threat to the very fabric of American society. ► Mark Holmberg, WTVR, Richmond, Virginia, Online Concealed-Carry Classes Just Too Easy. It took Holmberg 20 minutes to skim the very basic instruction about handguns. Most of the 20 true-false questions were ridiculously easy and he got all the answers right, which is pretty much guaranteed by the folks who run these sites. What the Gun Lobby is Doing ► Chuck Norris, U.N. Gun-Control Treaty: Bad for Gun Owners.  "The proposed treaty is a mechanism for Iran and other tyrannical powers to have a say in your gun ownership." ► The Raw Story, Firearms Magazine 'Truly Sorry' for Saying 'Pocket Sized Machine Gun' Not for Civilians. Recoil magazine is backing down from its statement that civilians shouldn't be allowed to buy the MP7A1 - a concealable submachine gun designed to penetrate body armor - because the gun had no "sporting applications." ► NRA's Chris Cox Goes One on One with Governor Mitt Romney. "For gun owners this year's election is going to define the future of our freedom, perhaps more than any other in our history."

Republican & Democratic Platforms on Guns

		The GVP Report - September 4, 2012
Blogs Dennis Henigan, Brady Campaign, Republican Platform of Guns: What Would Regan Say?  During the Reagan Era, Republicans prided themselves on being the "law and order" party. Now the party follows the NRA in openly opposing measures demanded by law enforcement to protect the safety of officers and the citizens they are sworn to protect. Joan Peterson, Common GunSense, The Latest in Shooting News and Other NRA Fairy Tales. Law abiding gun permit holders continue to make terrible mistakes with their guns. The school year started out with a bang with one high school and one college campus shooting. John Rosenthal, Stop Handgun Violence. Gun Laws Work, So Why Don't We Have More of Them? There are several examples of successful legislative efforts to reduce gun violence and real results that show the connection between restricted access to guns and reduced gun violence. Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, Things Pro-Gun Activists Say, The Worst Kept Secret in the World: Why Pro-Gun Activists REALLY Want Assault Weapons. One thing is certain about these folks. They have a profound lack of faith in the system of government established by our Founders. Cathie Whittenburg, OhhShoot Blog, Nevada man shoots gun in air to try and stop people from fighting, bullet hits and kills innocent bystander. Advocacy ► Ceasefire Oregon had a car in the annual Peace Train celebration in Eugene. Thousands of people lined the route to cheer and clap. The Million Mom March also had a car. ► New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, Guns in Public Spaces are Dangerous As Shooting Near Empire State Building Highlights. Reminds us that gun laws work and states with the toughest laws have far fewer deaths and injuries. ► TAKE ACTION - Sign the petition from the Brady Campaign to urge Jim Lehrer, the moderator of the first presidential debate, to ask the candidates about gun violence. ► Women Against Gun Violence - Los Angeles, had an offer on Groupon to help fund advocacy training for three gun violence survivors.  The deal is on! ► Heeding God's Call held a vigil and march in the East Mt. Airy Philadelphia neighborhood in response to three recent murders.Neighbors expressed words of gratitude. ► A new report from Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Fatal Gaps: Can Dangerous People Buy Guns in Your State?, finds states still aren't submitting all the required mental health records to the NICS background check system. Worst of the Week When Brazos County, Texas Constable Brian Bachmann went to serve an eviction notice to 35-year-old Thomas Caffall of College Station, TX, Caffall opened fire shooting and killing Bachmann. Caffall fired more than 65 rounds in the twenty minute standoff with police that followed. In addition to wounding three other officers, bullets fired by Caffall wounded a 51-year-old woman who was in College Station to help her daughter move into a house before starting the fall semester at Texas A & M and killed a 43-year-old man who had been checking a rental home he owned about a block away. Caffall was killed in the shootout. According to his stepfather, "He was crazy as hell. At one point, we were afraid that he was going to come up here and do something to his mother and me." "He's been very deeply troubled," said his mother. "But if you're going to commit suicide, why take all these other people with you?"		In The News ► Last week in Florida, the Republicans adopted what the NRA touted as the most pro-Second Amendment position ever included in a major party platform. This week in Charlotte, the Democrats will pass a platform that urges "an honest and open conversation about firearms." Mark Glaze, Mayors Against Illegal Guns, said, "At least they [Republicans] take a stand. The Democrats mumble some gauzy generalities." ► Four soldiers based at Fort Stewart, Georgia have been arrested and charged with plotting a variety of domestic terrorist, anti-government attacks and the murder of a former associate and his girlfriend. Reports indicate that the group spent $87,000 on assault rifles, other guns and bomb components. ► A new study shows that 19% of the guns recovered in crimes in Chicago come from a single gun shop in neighboring Riverdale. A gang member tells the Chicago Sun-Times he knows men whose full-time job is to buy guns from suburban stores and sell them to criminals. He calls them "gun guys", police call them "straw purchasers." ► On-line Classes Make It Easy for Non-Virginians to Get A Concealed Weapons Permit. A change in Virginia law allows out-of-state applicants to get a ccw permit from VA that is valid in their state, but without having to meet tougher requirements their home states may impose, such as firing a gun with an instructor. ► This summer a hobbyist used a thermoplastic, 3D printing machine to fashion parts for a homemade .22-caliber rifle. Asked one writer, "How do you control a digital pattern that people can use to print guns in their living rooms?" ► The University of Colorado will allow students with concealed weapons permits to keep guns in some off-campus student housing but students cannot have them in dormitories. Students with ccw permits will also be allowed to carry guns on campus. ► A new poll finds 76 percent of respondents said concealed weapons should not be allowed in houses of worship. ► IHOP Shooting One Year Later: 85 Seconds that Changed Carson City. It took Eduardo Sencion only 85 seconds to leave his car, shoot a 30-round clip from an assault weapon in the air, walk into an IHOP while reloading, empty another clip - injuring 14 people and killing 4 - walk outside and fire off another 30 rounds, injuring a motorcyclist. Community Support ► Bruce Reyes-Chow, Why This Christian Will Never Own A Gun. "Guns in our culture are beginning to manifest themselves in ways that are tearing apart the social and cultural understandings that have brought this country together for a very long time." ► Gail Collins, Arms and the Duck. After police wound nine bystanders in New York City Collins notes, "And these are people trained for this kind of crisis.  The moral is that if a lunatic starts shooting, you will not be made safer if your fellow average citizens are carrying concealed weapons." ► Mike Papantonio, Ring of Fire, talks with Paul Waldman, editor for the American Prospect, and Cliff Schecter about why the NRA isn't as big and bad as they want us to think. ► Oregon Police Chief Leads Lonely Charge for Stricter Gun Buyer Background Checks. Chief Doug Petit works with National Law Enforcement Partnership to Prevent Gun Violence to convince federal lawmakers to mandate background checks on all gun sales. ► Kevin Krajewski, In Wake of Recent Gun Tragedies, NRA Plows Forward to Arm America. "My wrath was and remains aimed squarely at the senior leadership of the NRA, men like Wayne Lapierre. For more than a decade, he has led an effort to systemically oppose any discussion, let alone passage, of even the most moderate of gun control measures." ► Blake Zeff, What the Gun Control Movement Can Learn from Gay Rights. "There's a reason that nothing's happening to improve gun safety in America despite the mass shootings that now occur so regularly: No one in power is scared ot the gun control movement." ► Eric Boehlert, Media Matters, More Missing Media Context After Another Gun Rampage. During a CNN discussion about gun control ATF Special Agent Bernard Zapor pointed out, "This is a major social issue for this country." So why isn't it covered that way by the news media? ► Waymon Hudson, Seeing Gun Violence Through International Eyes. "I was struck by the tone of all the international reporting - every news story ended with incredulity that the shooter had gotten his two handguns, shotgun, assault-style rifle, and high-capacity clips legally." What the Gun Lobby is Doing ► Gun rights advocates protested across the street from a gun buyback being offered by Detroit police. The protestors tried to compete with police, offering a better price to those in line for the police program. Few accepted the offer. ► Gun Owners of America issued their Mid Year Report on Gun Rights. "In the fog of war, it might appear like we are always on the defensive." "So as Congress gets ready to come back into session soon, get ready for the fight of your life - especially, the battle to kill gun control legislation and to get pro-gun candidates elected." ► The Daily Beast looks at the Big Guns Inside the NRA Leadership, at the executives and directors, their salaries (not including benefits) and takes a look at the NRA's 2010 990 tax form.