The White Elephant in the Room to Ignore

The GVP Report - November 13, 2012
In The News ► Gabby Gifford's husband Mark Kelly talked with the Today Show about being in the courtroom for Jared Loughner's sentencing hearing. "Gabby's eyes were locked on Loughner." Kelly's powerful testimony admonished "feckless" elected officials who insist on ignoring gun violence, the white elephant in the room. Click here to read Kelly's full statement.      ► 43-year-old Raulie Casteel, a stay-at-home dad from Wixom, Michigan has been arrested and charged in 24 shootings along or near I-96. Complete coverage can be found at MLive.      ► Tampa Bay Times, Florida Law Inspires Confusion Over Whether 'Straw-Buyer' of Weapon Can Be Charged. Law enforcement want to charge the straw buyer of a gun used in a double murder but are blocked by ambiguity in the state law. . ► A report from the Justice Department's Bureau of Justice Statistics reveals that about 1.4 million guns were stolen during household burglaries from 2005 through 2010.  Click here for full report.        ► KTVU reports on a California Department of Justice effort to crack down on gun owners who are forbidden to own firearms. About 19,374 people in California have lost their rights to own guns but more than 2,700 of these individuals in the Bay Area alone still own guns.      ► Reuters, Chicago's Cook County OKs Gun Tax to Defray Costs of Violence.  The county approved a $25 tax on each firearm sold to help pay healthcare costs from gun violence. Estimates are that 70 percent of the people who are shot are not insured.       ► The Atlantic, The Deer Paradox: It's never been easier to shoot a buck. So why are hunters spending billions on high-tech gear? There are more deer in the U.S. and fewer hunters. Hunters are now using technology that rivals military combat in its sophistication.   Community Support ► Flash Mob Targets California GOP Rep. McKeon for "NRAcism" The group chided McKeon for accepting NRA money while turning a blind eye to the racist and inflammatory comments of NRA board member Ted Nugent.       ► Media Matters, Media Ignores Call for Gun Violence Prevention at Loughner Sentencing Hearing. ABC. CBS and USA Today all failed to mention Mark Kelly's call for strong gun violence prevention laws at Loughner's hearing.      ► Milwaukee, Wisconsin Journal Sentinel editorial It's Time to Close Loophole in Wisconsin's Gun Laws. The paper supports requiring a background check for everyone buying a gun, including through private sales and notes "had such a law been in place, it might have kept a gun out of the hands of Radcliffe Haughton and saved the lives of three women."      ► Sarah Hoye, CNN, highlights Philadelphia's "Cradle to Grave" program aimed at curbing the city's gun violence. Headed by trauma surgeon Scott Charles the program takes local youth through the last fifteen minutes of a gun victim's life. What the Gun Lobby is Doing ►The Hill, NRA Shoots Blanks This Election, reports that the NRA spent almost $11 million for or against individual candidates in the general elections, but got less than a 1 percent return on its investment.  ► Louisiana voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to strength gun rights.  As Jarvis DeBerry of the Times-Picayune puts it, Constitutional Amendment No. 2 codifies an unholy worship of guns, making a state where nobody - and he does mean nobody - can be legally stopped from carrying a hidden gun. ► Alabama Republicans in Hoover, Alabama held an election night party at a gun range. The shooting range was available for two hours. There was also a band and an appearance by Miss Alabama.		Blogs Joan Peterson, Common GunSense, Grumpy Old White Guys With Their Guns. Josh Horwitz, Coalition to Stop Gun Violence, On Eve of Election, Pro-Gunners Suggest Building IEDs for War With U.S. Government. Baldr Odinson, Ceasefire Oregon, The Pro-Gun Extremist's Opinion on "Law Enforcement." National Gun Victims Action Council, The Alzheimer Mind of the Gun Owner. Cathie Whittenburg, OhhShoot blog, 8-Year-Old Boy Unintentionally Shot at Gun Range. Advocacy ► Philadelphia Citypaper, A Long-Shot Win for Gun Policy Activists,details CeasefirePA's successful last minute efforts to pass a bill that increases penalties for straw purchasing.     ► The Contra Costa Chapter of the Brady Campaign is seeking to ban home gun sales in Pleasant Hill, CA. The city is holding a workshop to discuss the matter.      ► Violence Policy Center released its October update on Concealed Carry Killers, detailing at least 484 people, including 14 police officers, killed in non-self defense incidents by citizens with concealed weapons permits.      ► The Commonwealth Club of California hosted The Mind, Madness and Gun Violence. Panelists included Carol Kingsley from the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence. Click here to listen to the discussion.  Worst of the Week 42-year-old Lawrence Jones wasn't "quite himself" when he showed up for work at a Fresno, CA chicken packaging plant. About three hours into his shift he pulled out a .357 derringer handgun and started methodically shooting his co-workers. According to police, "He walked around them in order to get very close to the intended targets, place the gun very close and fire a round." Jones killed 2 co-workers, ages 34 and 32, both shot in the head. Two others were injured, one shot in the throat the other in the back. Jones placed the gun to the head of a fifth worker and pulled the trigger but the gun was out of ammunition. Jones then went outside, reloaded the gun, and killed himself.