Sunday, March 04, 2018

LA: 40-Year-Old Attacks 70-Year-Old, is Shot

Investigators determined that 40-year-old Jackie D. Barbo,40, of Ringgold was attacking 70-year-old Robert Richardson when Richardson armed himself with a pistol and shot Barbo in the chest.

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Saturday, March 03, 2018

Mandalay Bay Revolver was a Smith & Wesson 342 Airlite Ti



In one of the leaked photographs from the Mandalay Bay shooter's suite, there is a revolver that he apparently committed suicide with.

From page 30 of the January 18, 2018,  initial report of the lvmpd.com:

Team 2 encountered Paddock lying on the floor on his back. A small frame revolver was observed on the ground above Paddock’s head. Apparent blood was located on the revolver and a pool of blood had formed around Paddocks head. The officers believed Paddock had a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The large window at Paddock’s feet was broken out and the curtain was blowing into the room. On the floor next to the Paddock’s feet was a small sledge hammer and Paddock was laying on top of a rifle. The officers also observed several more rifles, spent ammunition throughout the living area, and several loaded magazines. 
 From page 39 of 81
 Decedent Stephen Paddock

Paddock was on the floor south of the chair and side table. He was wearing black pants, a long sleeve brown shirt, black gloves, and grey shoes. Paddock was on his back with his head to the south, feet to the north, and arms at his sides. There was apparent blood surrounding his nose and mouth, and on the floor under his head. There was also apparent blood on the front of his shirt. A rifle was on the floor under his legs. A grey box cutter was on the floor between his feet. There were casings on the floor surrounding him. A silver/black colored "Smith & Wesson" revolver with apparent blood on it was on the floor south of Paddock's head.

The revolver is a Smith & Wesson 342 AirLite Ti, one of the lightest .38 Special +P rated revolvers commonly in use. It has substantial recoil because of its light weight. The grips, aluminum frame, front sight and dull gray Titanium cylinder give it a distinctive appearance.  It is very similar to the 340 SC, but the grips are different. The report cited above confirms the model of the revolver on page 42:
Smith & Wesson 342 AirLite Ti CDZ7618 .38 caliber revolver with 4 cartridges, 1 expended cartridge case.



Link to graphic photo of dead shooter. You have been warned

The report has a number if informative pictures, but none showing the shooter's body or the revolver. The report does not identify the remaining cartridges, or say if the empty case is and projectile found in the shooter's body are consistent with the unfired cartridges.

Presumably, a final report will eventually become available. Some questions for the final report to offer hypothesis on are:

What mechanism resulted in the trail of blood spots from the pool of blood under the shooters head to the revolver?

How did the revolver come to be positioned about 16 - 20 inches (as estimated from the .223 cases lying on the carpet) south of the shooter's head?

How did the shooter come to be laying flat on his back with arms straight and hands close to his sides?

How did the blood from the shooter's head seem to follow two separate paths and result in two blood pools that are connected, but seem from different temporal events, as if the body had been moved a small amount?

One Internet observer claimed that in the picture, there was a spent round lying on top if the revolver. Close examination of the picture indicates that was an optical illusion from the shape of the lower frame of the revolver. The close up shows there is no spent round on top of the revolver.

Pure speculation: the shooter was lying down on his back, with the rifle over his feet, when he fired the suicide shot with the revolver in his mouth. Recoil took his hand and the revolver to the South, then muscle convulsions brought the hand back along his side. The different blood flows occurred when the blood flow began from the left nostril, was internally blocked, then continued from the mouth.

This timeline, from the initial Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Report is interesting:

Armed security from the Mandalay Bay reached the 32nd floor about 22:12.

The firing stopped about 22:16.

The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Officers reached the 32nd floor, where the shooter was, about 22:56.

They breached the door to suite 32-135 about 23:20.

That was about an hour after the shooting stopped.

https://www.lvmpd.com/en-us/Documents/1_October_FIT_Report_01-18-2018_Footnoted.pdf



©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch



IL Followup: Federal Court Rules Frank Pobjecky's Shooting of 4 Suspects, Killing 1 was Justified

Pobjecky was off duty, and never identified himself as a police officer.

“Pobjecky reasonably assumed the three other assailants, including Michael, might be armed. As the district court correctly observed, we may not consider the fact that it turned out Michael was unarmed because Pobjecky did not know that, and had no reasonable way to know that, at the time,” U.S. Circuit Judge Daniel Manion wrote for a three-judge panel.

The 23-page opinion notes that the entire incident happened in about 40 seconds, and that judges must be careful not to second guess the actions of police officers in the heat of the moment.

“No reasonable jury could find Pobjecky’s belief that Michael might be armed was unreasonable,” Manion continued. “Michael participated in an armed robbery while wearing a sweatshirt allowing easy concealment of a gun.”

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VA: Armed Homeowner Shoots Suspect Attempting Break-in



Campbell County officials say a homeowner shot an intruder over the weekend, one who had tried to break into several homes along Ventura Drive just off Timberlake Road. The Sheriff’s office says it received numerous calls from the area early Saturday morning before a homeowner reported firing one shot and striking the intruder. Officials say Jeremy Jones was treated at Lynchburg General Hospital and faces several charges
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AR: Police Release Details of Brian Osmunson Shooting Man Attempting Break-in

On Tuesday, February 27, 2018, at 1024 hours officers responded to a burglary in progress of an occupied apartment at 420 Markham Mesa Place. While officers were enroute to the call, off duty officer Brian Osmundson advised over his police radio that a male was beating on the door to his apartment and trying to gain entry. He then advised that the suspect had broke out a window and was attempting to get inside the apartment and shots had been fired.

When on duty officers arrived on the scene they located Officer Osmundson rendering aid to a black male lying outside of the apartment. The subject was suffering from multiple gunshot wounds and kept repeating to officers that his name was “God.”

More Here

Friday, March 02, 2018

President Trump to Review Ban on Military Personnel Carrying Firearms


image from thedrive.com

One of the Second Amendment themes Candidate Donald Trump campaigned on was that military personnel should not be made into disarmed and helpless victims.

President Trump said on Friday, 23 February,  he would be reviewing the current policies about military personnel carrying personal defensive firearms. From military.com:
President Donald Trump said Friday that he would review policies that keep troops from carrying personal weapons onto military bases.

"If we can't have our military holding guns, it's pretty bad," Trump said in a wide-ranging speech to the annual Conservative Political Action Committee conference in Maryland, "and I'm going to look at that whole policy on military bases."

"So we want to protect our military. We want to make our military stronger and better than it's ever been," Trump continued in the speech, in which he also renewed his call for allowing trained teachers and military retirees to carry concealed weapons in schools.
When I joined the U.S. Army on active service, I had been competing in university pistol competitions for four years.  I knew more about pistol shooting and the civilian use of deadly force than my non-commissioned officer instructors. But, as a commissioned officer, I was not allowed to carry a personal firearm for self-defense... unless I was acting, as an additional duty, as a military game warden.

It stuck me as a ludicrous example of hypocrisy and a direct contradiction of my sworn oath to uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States, that I, as a trained military officer, was not allowed to carry a firearm for self-defense.

Military personnel voluntarily give up some rights when entering the military. They are under the command of their officers. They are subject to inspection for their health and welfare. They must, within limits, do what they are told and go where they are ordered.  They are not required to disobey illegal orders, but they put their career on the line and risk severe punishment, if, on review, the order turns out not to have been illegal. They are limited in their First Amendment rights.

President Trump is on the correct track. The military should protect its members, allow them to protect themselves, and show that military commanders support the Second Amendment in the Bill of Rights, as they are sworn to do.

Commanders in the military are responsible for their troops.  Many are under the age of 21. Commanders, in some ways, are father figures that have enormous responsibilities and power.

As Commander in Chief, President Trump can require military commanders to respect the Second Amendment, but give them guidance and goals to allow them to exercise their judgment and  enhance their authority while doing so.

He could require that programs be set up to allow for the exercise of Second Amendment rights, in concert with the requirements of military discipline.

Soldiers could be expected to earn the ability to exercise their Second Amendment rights for protection of themselves and their unarmed comrades, in peacetime.  The right to do so could be taken away for cause, just as rank can be taken away for cause.

The requirements to carry could include passing an objective written test about the use of deadly force, and a shooting test that would be no more stringent than officers are required to pass to qualify with a pistol.

Military members would know that any shots fired by them would be investigated. Carry under these circumstances could be made a part of their official duties. They would be subject to the Uniform Code of Military Justice for any infractions. Because they would be under military discipline, they could carry in any part of United States territory under that authority.

Safeguards should be put in place to  insure that Commanders do not play administrative games to avoid this duty to the Republic and the Constitution.

These circumstances would be similar to those of states with shall issue concealed carry laws. People who have taken the time and trouble to obtain a carry permit have proven to be extremely law abiding. There is little reason to believe that soldiers under military discipline would be less responsible.

Members of the military give up some of their rights in order to serve.


©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch




Church holds blessing ceremony featuring AR-15 rifles



DREHER TWP. — Proclaiming a God-given right to self-defense, several hundred members of a church in Wayne County attended a marriage blessing ceremony Wednesday featuring semi-automatic rifles symbolically as the “rod of iron” referenced in the Bible.

World Peace and Unification Sanctuary in Newfoundland, Dreher Twp., which believes the AR-15 rifle symbolizes the “rod of iron” in the biblical book of Revelation, encouraged couples to bring the weapons to the commitment ceremony.

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Why Christians Should Prepare To Defend Themselves From Mass Shooters In Church



Like many others, I suspect mass murders in churches will increase in the near future. Christ warned us the world would hate us because it hates him. As the West increasingly chooses to reject its Christian roots, it therefore cannot help but turn to persecution and murder. There is no middle ground in this conflict where Christians are simply left to go about our business.

It is therefore no wonder that, like people who work in schools and other gun-free zones, American Christians are beginning to ask themselves, “What happens when the shooter comes to my church?” How are we to handle a situation like that? Like anyone else, Christians would rather mentally and physically prepare for such an eventuality rather than being caught unawares.

I recently encountered a story about one such congregation’s deliberation on the issue. They opted to take advantage of a course on active-shooter situations offered by their local police department. Unsurprisingly, they caught a lot of flack on social media.

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Trump’s Win is the Reichstag Fire of Internet Censorship - Greenfield

Trump’s Win is the Reichstag Fire of Internet Censorship Manufacture a crisis and eliminate free speech. March 1, 2018 Daniel Greenfield
Daniel Greenfield, a Shillman Journalism Fellow at the Freedom Center, is an investigative journalist and writer focusing on the radical left and Islamic terrorism.

(snip)

Before the election, Obama had urged, "We are going to have to rebuild within this wild-wild-west-of-information flow some sort of curating function.” The talking point that the internet has become a dangerously unregulated environment is at the heart of the internet censorship campaign. The First Amendment prevented direct government action, so the regulation had to take another form.

The “curating” was managed by pressuring Facebook, Google and others to embed a middle layer of lefty non-profits, from media fact checkers to activist groups like the Southern Poverty Law Center, to determine what belonged and who didn’t belong on their services. The middle curation layer would promote “trustworthiness” and curtail “divisiveness”: Orwellian euphemisms for political censorship.

This middle layer allowed Google and Facebook to outsource censorship by curation to “trustworthy” organizations. Or at least those organizations considered trustworthy by the left. The same media echo chamber which had manufactured the speech crisis had put itself in charge of imposing the solution.

And the solution was restoring a media monopoly by turning the internet into a gated community.

Putting the left in charge of determining the “trustworthiness” of content is political censorship. And Google and Facebook’s control over huge swathes of the internet meant that the censors would gain control over the eyeballs of more people than any single government could possibly manage.

More Here

Thursday, March 01, 2018

WI: Parent Arrested for Handing Teacher, School Admin Cardboard with "Gun" Written on It



A Madison man has been arrested and banned from Shorewood Hills Elementary School after he handed a piece of cardboard with “gun” written on it to a teacher Thursday morning.


Police said there was no danger to the school and didn’t speculate on what the parent’s motive was.


Shorewood Hills Police Chief Aaron Chapin said Jonathan M. Fitzgerald, 35, activated a front door buzzer at the school, 1105 Shorewood Blvd., around 10 a.m., requesting access to the building. When he was allowed in, he walked past the school office where visitors are required to check in, Chapin said.


A staff member followed Fitzgerald as he went down the hall to the classroom his child was in, Chapin said.


“Fitzgerald made statements to the teacher in the room about being an intruder who was allowed access to the school and gave the teacher a piece of cardboard with the word ‘gun’ on it,” Chapin said.

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Losing Adult Gun Debate, Disarmament Proponents turn to Children



The advocates of disarming the American people have always used emotional arguments to pass legislation before calm and rational discussion can take place. It is used for two reasons. It has worked in the past and it subverts an honest discussion.

When there is an honest discussion on the merits, Second Amendment supporters win.

A standard ploy, so common it has become a joke is: "Its for the children". This is used for every possible policy prescription. It is the standard call, and has become meaningless, because anything and everything can be construed as "for the children".

Now the supporters or a disarmed population are trying a new tactic. Instead of having adult proponents push for childish policies, they are having children push for childish policies. The children are sincere. But they are children, ignorant of the debate, arguing from emotion, being used by political operatives. From mlive.com:
ANN ARBOR, MI - High school students have taken charge of the national conversation on gun control and school safety in the past week, and now Ann Arbor Public Schools officials are looking for ways to support local students in continuing that work.

Students at Ann Arbor's five high schools participated in a walkout the afternoon of Wednesday, Feb. 21 - joining students across the country in commemorating the one-week anniversary of the mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, which left 17 people dead.


"After the other mass shootings, we didn't have survivors of the incident come forth and take political action like we have now," said Board Vice President Susan Baskett.

Trustee Jessica Kelly said this feels like a "tipping point," and she asked for ideas on how the school district could amplify the voices of students, teachers and parents on issues related to school safety and gun control.
Susan Baskett must have missed Gabby Giffords campaign, or the Brady campaign or the efforts using Virginia Tech survivor Colin Goddard by the Brady Campaign.

The media enabled only certain survivors to come forth and take political action. Survivors that do not agree with the dominant media's talking points and agenda are not given a platform.  From dailymail.co.uk:
Haab said was planning to ask about school safety, and the possibility of using veterans as armed security guards in schools, but the questions were rejected by CNN. 
After allegedly being told he had to ask a scripted question, Haab decided not to attend the town hall.
CNN denies the assertion.

 Another father of a Stoneman Douglas High School student accused CNN of seeking out survivors who wanted to talk about gun control. From dailycaller.com:
“I actually spoke to a CNN producer on Thursday, the day after the shooting, and the producer insinuated to me that they were looking for people who were willing to espouse a certain narrative, which was taking the tragedy and turning it into a policy debate,” Klein claimed. “And I read that as being a gun control debate.”
CNN's support for restrictions on gun ownership and is apparent to anyone who watches the channel. CNN anchor Don Lemon is not shy about his views. From newsweek.com: 
“Anyone with any sense knows that this is the one common denominator that America has, the sickness that we have, is having this much access to guns. Especially this much access,” Lemon said. “Don’t tell me it’s not time to talk about it. You talk to those people down in Florida who lost their loved ones, they’ll tell you it’s time to talk about it.”

In another segment, Lemon said that the right time to talk about gun control was, in fact, “weeks, months, years or decades ago.”
Lemon consistently implies that extreme restrictions on gun ownership would solve mass murder in the United States, even though such restrictions have not done so in other countries.

CNN's gave a platform to far left commentator, Van Jones. He calls the effort a children's crusade. He writes:
Let the children come. Let them lead. Let them create the future they demand. Let us help them every step of the way. And let us live in the world they create.
The old media completely fails to mention is their part in promoting mass murder. It is called the copycat effect. It is well known, well researched, and ignored by CNN.

The United States has had semi-automatic rifles for over a hundred years. But mass murder with them rose considerably after the media decided to use the  rare events as a tool to promote their political agenda.

The United States has had voluminous conversations about severe restrictions on guns for decades. Many restrictions have been imposed. Many have been  removed. Those who want more and more restrictions have lost the argument. It is why they resort to the use of children to make childish policy proposals.

It is as if they read Orwell's dystopian novel, 1984, and are using it as a playbook.

"Ignorance is Strength".

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch






CNN Analyst Dead Wrong About Women And Concealed Carry


Another CNN analyst proved his ignorance about guns on Saturday by suggesting that women cannot carry concealed guns because they wear skirts and dresses.

CNN senior law enforcement analyst Tom Fuentes fiercely argued against President Donald Trump’s suggestion that teachers and school officials could prevent school shootings if they carried guns in the classroom.

His reasoning, however, was both unexpected and borderline misogynistic.

“A lot of these schools—Sandy Hook had an all-female faculty, from principal to teachers. For a woman, where are you going to hide that gun during the day?” Fuentes argued. “If you wear a dress, if you wear a skirt, are you going to have to wear a jacket everyday with a belt and a holster, the way a detective on duty would do? It’s not a real practical solution for a variety of reasons.”

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TX: Employee shoots, Kills Threatening Suspect



However, SAPD later said the employee has had issues with the customer involved in the past, and that the customer has previously threatened to rob the store.

Police said the employee and the customer got into some sort of argument Tuesday, and the employee told the customer to "back away multiple times." When the employee was "backed into a corner," police said he shot and killed the customer.
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Poll shock: 50% back arming teachers, NRA boycott hurts boycotting firms not gun lobby




        
     

 

Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Canada: Grizzly Broke into House, Shot Dead in 2015 with a Rifle


It was 4:30 a.m. on Sunday, 9 August, 2015, in Kimberly, British Columbia when Niki and Mark Traverse' pet dog, a 9 1/2 year old Jack Russel Terrier named Sid, started barking frantically. Niki went to investigate, and came within five feed of a grizzly bear. From ctvnews.ca:

"It was 10 feet from our son’s bedroom door," she said.

"I ran back into our bedroom to grab my husband and say,‘There’s a bear in the house, there’s a bear in the house!’"

Mark Traverse, who is a hunter, quickly grabbed his gun, loaded it, and approached the feasting grizzly.

"It took a step to me and I shot it. It took another step and I shot it again," Mark said.

The bear soon died on the kitchen floor.

The couple now credits their pet for alerting them in time.

"This is the dog that saved us," Mark said as he scratched the little dog’s chest.
Mark was able to access the rifle from a locked locker in the bedroom. It was unloaded, as is required by Canadian law. Fortunately he had time to load the rifle before the bear investigated the bedroom.

The story might have been different if he had to retrieve the rifle from a locked safe in another part of the house. I have not been able to determine the make or caliber of the rifle.

Canadian bear attack stories are often ignored in American media.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch




Oklahoma Bill Introduced for Constitutional Carry



HB 2951 has been introduced in the Oklahoma House. It is an interesting version of Constitutional Carry. The bill adds self-defense to the list of activities that are exceptions to the general prohibition on carrying weapons that exist in Oklahoma law. It includes knives as well as guns. From koco.com:
Coody said House Bill 2951 is about law-abiding citizens protecting themselves in worst-case situations. The proposed legislation says anyone 21 or older, or at least 18 years old and a veteran or enlisted military member, would be able to carry a gun or rifle without a license.
Here is the first change in the bill, which alters 21 O.S. 2011, Section 1272.
A. It shall be unlawful for any person to carry upon or about his or her person, or in a purse or other container belonging to the person, any pistol, revolver, shotgun or rifle whether loaded or unloaded or any blackjack, loaded cane, billy, hand chain, metal knuckles, or any other offensive weapon, whether such weapon be concealed or unconcealed, except this section shall not prohibit: 

1. The proper use of guns and knives for self-defense, hunting, fishing, educational or recreational purposes;
There are numerous other changes accomplished by the bill, which has the usual exceptions for convicted felons, mentally incompetent, and all the usual list of prohibited possessors.

Much of the rest of the bill makes the exceptions for concealed carry permit holders apply to people who may legally possess firearms.  There are numerous "gun free zones" in the existing legislation. For most of the zones, the penalty, if such a person is found to be violating the "gun free zone" is to be removed from the property. If they refuse to leave, the penalty is a $250 fine.

The penalty is different for people with concealed carry permits who are caught carrying firearms on the campus of institutes of higher eduction.

If they are caught in such an activity, the campus may report them to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation within 10 days. Then the Bureau shall give notice to the licensee and hold a hearing.  The licensee may then be fined $250 and have their license suspended for three months.

The institutes of higher education are not prohibited from imposing administrative penalties on students who violate the institutions administrative rules concerning weapons.

The Oklahoma legislature has super majorities of Republicans in both houses. In the House, the majority is 74 to 26. In the Senate, 38 to 10. The governor of Oklahoma, Mary Fallin, is a Republican.

The bill has a reasonable chance of passage. Vermont was the only state with Constitutional Carry for decades, but the bills have been popular in state legislatures in the third millennium.

 In 2003, Alaska passed the reform to restore the exercise of Second Amendment rights. In 2010, Arizona passed Constitutional Carry. In 2011, Wyoming, in 2013, Arkansas passed Act 746 into law. It is effectively Constitutional Carry, but is disputed by some county prosecutors. in 2015, Kansas, and Maine joined the Constitutional Carry club. In 2016, Idaho, Missouri, West Virginia, and Alabama enacted Constitutional Carry. In 2017, New Hampshire, and North Dakota were added to the list.

There are now 13 states with Constitutional Carry, as many as the original 13 states that ratified the United States Constitution.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

Gun Watch




IL: Armed Samaritan uses AR-15 to Stop Knife Attack


The witness, who spoke with WGN-TV, said he ran to grab his AR-15 after hearing the commotion and spotting a "pool of blood" in his apartment building hallway. "Blood was everywhere," said neighbor Dave Thomas, adding that he chose the AR-15 over a handgun, saying, "Bigger gun, I think a little more of an intimidation factor. Definitely played a part in him actually stopping."

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WI: Armed Victim Shoots, Kills Robbery Suspect



MILWAUKEE —

A man fought back and shot another man who was trying to rob him early Monday in the parking lot of Milwaukee MachineTool Corporation in the city's northwest side Silverswan neighborhood, police said.
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TX: Business Owner Shoots, Kills Man Attempting Break-in



HOUSTON – A man shot and killed someone trying to break into his business on northwest Houston overnight.

According to the Houston Police Department, it happened just after midnight early Monday at a business located in the 6100 block of Pinemont Drive, just east of Highway 290.
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Tuesday, February 27, 2018

Australia had no School Shootings Before Their Extreme Gun Restrictions

Top 2 lines, blue, total suicides and suicides with guns. Bottom 2 lines, purple, total homicides and homicides with guns

In the presidential listening session where students expressed their emotions to President Donald Trump, about the Parkland school mass murder, one of the students made a comment about school shootings and Australia. Sam Zeif in video from the presidential listening session, February 21, 2018:
In Australia there was a shooting at a school in 1999. 
 I am reminded of the scene from Animal House, where Bluto exclaims:
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?
and a listener replies "Forget it, he's rolling."

But Zeif has much more wrong than Bluto did about Peal Harbor.

Australia did not have any rampage school shootings before 1996, when they implemented their extreme gun ownership and use scheme. 

Zeif then claims that the Australian parliament then "stopped it", and that there have been zero students shot in Australia since their extreme restrictions on gun ownership and use were implemented.

In fact, the closest Australia has had in a rampage school shooting was in 2002, six years after the gun restrictions were put into effect. The events took place at Monash University, not a grade or high school. That shooter did not use a rifle. He used six pistols.

The Australian parliament responded by passing even more restrictions on gun ownership and use.

The next closest Australian mass murder took place in 2000, four years after the extreme restrictions on gun ownership and use were put in place. That mass murder did not involve guns. The murderer used arson to murder 15 international backpackers in Childers, Queensland, in the Childers Backpackers Hostel fire.

Emotional diatribes that have little to no fact behind them are useful to stir up support in an audience. They are terrible ways to formulate policy.

©2018 by Dean Weingarten: Permission to share is granted when this notice and link are included.

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