The GVP Report - July 16, 2013 |
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► CNN, George Zimmerman was found not guilty in Trayvon Martin's death. The jury had three choices: to find Zimmerman guilty of second-degree murder; to find him guilty of a lesser charge of manslaughter; or to find him not guilty. ► Media Matters, Stand Your Ground Law and the Zimmerman Defense. The jury instructions specifically said if Zimmerman was not engaged in an unlawful activity and was attacked in anyplace where he had a right to be, he had no duty to retreat and had the right to stand his ground and use deadly force. ► The Department of Justice released a statement saying that federal prosecutors plan to continue to investigate the death of Trayvon Martin. Prosecutors will determine whether there was a violation of federal criminal civil rights statutes.
►Andrew Cohen, The Atlantic,Law and Justice and George Zimmerman. The exoneration of Trayvon Martin's killer is a stark reminder of the limitations of our judicial systems and the choices we make about the laws under which we live. ► Melissa Harris-Perry "Last night, I thought, I live in a country that makes me wish my sons away, wish that they don't exist, because it's not safe." Watch this powerful video with Harris-Perry and panelist Jelani Cobb, Joy-Ann Reid, Michael Skolnik and Salamishah Tillet.
► Center for Disease Control and Prevention report, Homicide Rates Among Persons Aged 10-24 Years. Homicide disproportionately affects persons aged 10-24 years in the U.S. and consistently ranks in the top three leading causes of death in this age group. 80% of homicides were firearm homicides. ► ► NPR, Youths At Risk of Violence Say They Need Guns For Protection, looks at a new study that shows gun possession is common among young people who have been injured in an assault. Read the full study, Firearm Possession Among Adolescents Presenting to an Urban Emergency Department for Assault in Pediatrics. ► Denver Post, Denver Residents Rarely Use Guns for Protection in Home Invasions. Investigative report finds that while firm data on guns are difficult to obtain, records show it's much more likely that a gun will be used in a suicide or homicide than for self-protection. ► ► Chicago Tribune, Concealed Carry Permits Likely Won't Be Issued Until Next Year. Illinois lawmakers overrode Gov. Quinn's veto of concealed carry legislation making Illinois the last state to adopt a concealed carry law.
► Heidi Y ► Matt Bennett, The Brookings Essay, The Promise: the Families of Sandy Hook and the Long Road to Gun Safety. Never before had the families of the victims of a gun massacre come together with such a focused commitment to bring about legislative and social change. ► Terry Smith, Athens Ohio News,Killing Someone For Burglary Seems A Bit Excessive. Do you really want to live in a country where burglary or trespassing is a death-penalty offense that requires no due process or proof of guilt? ► Jim Schutze, Dallas Texas Observer, How Will Guns in Classrooms Work? We May Need to Shoot a Few Teachers to Find Out. Only very well-trained and experienced law enforcement professionals know how to handle these things. The emotional response of arming teachers is like saying your sister needs brain surgery so you're just going to boil some knives and do it yourself. ► David Waldman, Daily Kos, GunFAIL XXV, this week's list of shootings includes 14 child victims, celebratory gunfire incidents, and gun owners who unintentionally shot others. ► Courtney Weaver, The Hidden Cost of Surviving Gun Violence. Not much is more degrading than having to scrub my own dried blood off my kitchen floor 3 weeks after the shooting. 13 reconstructive surgeries have left me with a debt totaling $440,605. ►
► Washington Post, Adam Kokesh, Gun-Rights Activist, Charged After Raid. After posting a video of himself illegally carrying a loaded weapon in public in D.C. Kokesh was arrested and charged with possession of hallucinogenic mushrooms while possessing a firearm. ► CBS Miami, NRA Giving Free Memberships to Military & Law Enforcement. The one-year membership includes discounts on NRA merchandise, life insurance and a free subscription to the NRA America's 1st Freedom magazine. ► Media Matters, NRA Board Member calls Trayvon Martin a "Dope Smoking, Racist Gangsta Wannabe." And also adds that the decision to prosecute Zimmerman was wrongfully influenced by "the race-baiting industry [that] saw an opportunity to further the racist careers of Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson and the Black Panthers." |
► Brady Campaign - There is sharp disagreement over the verdict, but there can be no disagreement over the reason why Trayvon Martin is dead. George Zimmerman had a gun that night and the state of Florida allowed him to carry it virtually anywhere despite a violent history. ► Coalition to Stop Gun Violence - There can be no doubt after the Not Guilty verdict that murder has now been legalized in half of the 50 states. ► Nina Vinik, Joyce Foundation Gun Violence Prevention Program - What if George Zimmerman didn't have a gun? If Zimmerman wasn't armed, we can imagine that the encounter might have gone differently. Or there might not have been an encounter at all. ► New Yorkers Against Gun Violence - The shooting was a direct result of the Florida Stand Your Ground/Shoot First law that legalizes vigilante homicide and enables and encourages America's culture of violence. ► Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence - The laws in this country support the 'good guys' having a gun, allowing those guns to be carried - loaded and concealed in public, and giving permission to those 'good guys' to shoot those guns - if they 'feel' they are in danger - without a duty to retreat. ► Protect Minnesota - The most basic of human rights is the right to life. Shoot First laws are a disaster for American society. They increase homicide, escalate racial tensions, and exacerbate inequity in our justice system. They must be repealed. ► Violence Policy Center - No jury can ever reverse the tragic shooting of a 17-year-old boy. It's doubly tragic that Trayvon Martin would still be alive if Zimmerman had not brought a concealed handgun into a volatile situation. There are no winners in this case.
► Toby Hoover, Ohio Coalition Against Gun Violence, talks with 13ABC News about concealed weapons. "They have to consider and think long and hard about why they're carrying and are they really ready to take someone else's life?" ► Sabine Brown, Rex Berry talk to Tulsa Kids, Taking on the Big Guns, about Moms Demand Action and being a gun violence prevention activist in Oklahoma. ► Mayors Against Illegal Guns is planning a remembrance on the one year anniversary of the mass shooting in Aurora, Colorado.
38-year-old Hood County Sheriff Sgt. Lance McLean was shot in the head and killed by 57-year-old Ricky McCommas of Granburg, Texas. McCommas wounded two other officers before being killed. McCommas was a gun enthusiast and gun delaer. Deputies seized more than two dozen guns and about 20 cases of ammunition from his home. McCommas had been charged with sexual assault of a child in July 2012 and a dispute with the victim prompted the call to the deputies. Sgt. McLean leaves behind a wife and two special needs children. |
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
Not Guilty
Not Guilty
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Gun Bullies
Gun Bullies
The GVP Report - July 2, 2013 |
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► ► After being overwhelmed with insults and vituperation from pro-gun advocates, Ms. Magazine decided to not publish the next two installments of a blog about guns. ► Get the latest news from the George Zimmerman trial. ► Reuters, The Untold Story of Gun Violence: Life-Altering Injuries, looks at people who survive being shot but now must live with costly and often permanently debilitating injuries. ► NBC News,A Year After Unsolved Shooting, Lesbian Texas Teen Makes Heroic Recovery. Kristene had to relearn how to sit, walk, and even smile after being shot in the head. ► Center for American Progress,Lost and Stolen Guns From Gun Dealers. Reports on the tens of thousands of guns discovered missing from gun dealers every year and the risks to public safety. ► President Obama reports on progress being made by Executive Actions to Reduce Gun Violence, detailing significant progress on 21 of his 23 Executive Actions but notes that we still need Congress to act. ► Greenberg Quinlan Rosner Research new polling from Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, New Hampshire and North Dakota shows Support for Background Checks Continues in States Where Senators Voted "No" ► USA Today, Should gun owners have to show they know how to use a gun safely before being granted a permit to carry a loaded, hidden gun in public? States split on on-line gun training for permits.
► ► Sarah Dunn, Policymic, Why Gun Control is a Feminist Issue. Gender issues are inherent to the debate because of the strong link between guns, domestic violence, and domestic violence fatalities. ► Bryan Brinkley, Ahwatukee Foothills News, Phoenix, Arizona, Do Loose Gun Laws Make Economic Sense? Gun violence in our country may collectively cost up to nearly $200 billion each year. Loosely controlled access to guns is poor public safety policy and does not make economic sense. ► Gary Denton, It Can Happen Here, Why Responsible Gun Owners Support Magazine Capacity Limits. With recent improvements in magazine construction technology the number of fatalities in a single shooting could rise dramatically over the next few years. ► Lucinda Finley & John Culhane, New York Times, Make Gun Companies Pay Blood Money. Gun manufacturers have gone to great lengths to avoid any moral responsibility or legal accountability. But there is a simple way to make them accountable for the harm their products cause. ► Bill Nemitz, Portland Press Herald, Maine,Conscience Guides an NRA Stalwart. A state senator changes his vote and a background bill passes. A case of a lawmaker who toes the NRA line year after year until one day, his conscience tells him he no longer can. ►
► Magpul Industries donated 20,000 high-capacity magazines to a Colorado group, Free Colorado for a weekend event marking new gun laws that ban magazines holding more than 10 rounds. The group planned to give away the first 1,500 and sell the remaining for $10 each. ► Sahil Kapur, Talking Points Memo, The NRA's Orwellian Games on Guns and the Mentally Ill, looks at the NRA's new ad campaign calling for reform to "our broken mental health system to prevent mass shootings" while also pushing for a bill to make it easier for people with a history of severe mental illness to buy firearms. ► Zombie Industries, a company that sells "life-sized tactical mannequins" for target practice is offering a new shooting target - the Bleeding Gun Control Lobbyist. ► Katie Lorenze, PRWatch, What do guns have to do with immigration? looks at efforts by the Gun Owners Of America to defeat the immigration bill before Congress. They warn that if the bill passes "you can say buh bye to your guns." |
► Baldr Odinson, Ceasefire Oregon, took part in a panel discussion on gun violence at the Eugene City Club. ► Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly, Americans for Responsible Solutions, began a seven state tour calling for stronger gun laws.
► Carole Stiller, Million Mom March, op-ed, ASK Day reminds parents to question 'Is there a gun where my child plays?' ► Read updates from Mayors Against Illegal Guns No More Names tour, 25 states in 100 days. ► Miranda Viscoli, New Mexicans for Gun Safety, presented a petition in support of limiting ammunition magazine capacity at a Santa Fe city council meeting.
23-year-old Lakim Faust, of Greenville, North Carolina, shot four people near a Greenville Wal-Mart. Police say it appears Faust planned the shooting but picked his victims at random. The victims range in age from 50 to 70. Their injuries are serious, but they are all expected to survive. Faust was wounded in a shoot-out with police. He is charged with four counts of attempted first-degree murder. Faust was armed with a pump shotgun and a satchel full of ammunition. Police say information gathered indicate his intent was "to inflict mass casualties on innocent people." The sheriff's office said it rejected Faust's application for a permit to purchase a handgun last August because of his criminal history. Police did not indicate where Faust bought the gun he used in the shooting. |
