Month: August 2003

Next Time, Stick it in His EAR

Via MadOgre comes this story of a man in North Carolina who came to the defense of a woman being robbed at an ATM. His weapon? A North American Arms .22 magnum mini-revolver.

The report:

Bystander shoots suspect during robbery at ATM

William “Don” Strickland takes his small-caliber handgun wherever he goes, just in case any criminals cross his path.

On Thursday, the former iron worker on permanent disability used it — when he saw a young woman being robbed at an ATM and the robber trying to get away.

First Strickland shot the tires of the getaway car; then he shot the man inside once in the right leg.

The robber escaped, but soon Clayton police arrested Morris Levi Stith of Clayton after Stith checked into Johnston Memorial Hospital with a gunshot wound to the right leg. Stith was charged with robbery and assault with a deadly weapon, Clayton police said. Strickland probably will not be charged.

Stith complained about being shot as he hobbled into the magistrate’s office in downtown Clayton with a police escort Thursday afternoon. “It’s wrong, man,” he said.

Oh, the irony.

The incident occurred a few minutes before 9 a.m. in front of the Bank of America branch at Clayton Corners Shopping Center in the western part of town.

Rebecca Lynn Newton, 20, of Barber Mill Road in Clayton said she was about to insert an envelope containing $400 from her paycheck into the ATM slot when a man shoved her from behind and said, “I’ll take that.”

Newton spun and grabbed the unarmed man by the shirt, causing him to fall, and she started screaming.

Strickland, 35, of Four Oaks was in his car waiting for the bank to open. He said in an interview that he heard a woman scream — “Help, help, help, he’s robbing me!” — and sprang into action.

He said he “don’t get around too good” because of an injury several years ago that required four titanium rods to be inserted in his back. Still, Strickland ran to a white Chevrolet Cavalier that was backed into a parking spot.

The robber had jumped into the car, and Newton was struggling with him by the car door.

The car started moving, and Strickland hollered at the robber to stop, his North American Arms .22-caliber Magnum revolver in his hand. Then he fired twice at a rear tire.

You can tell this is not a “big-city” paper. The word “hollered” would never be seen in the New York Times unless it was a quotation.

“He still wouldn’t stop,” Strickland said. “I was standing beside the car, and he tried to run me over.

“I had my hand in the car” with the gun in it, Strickland said, “and I asked him to stop again, and he wouldn’t do it, so I shot him in the leg.“

Just a bit of advice, but if you stuck the barrel in his ear he might hear you better.

When police arrived, Strickland told them he was sure he had shot the man in the right leg, and police notified area hospitals to be on the lookout for a patient with such a wound, said Lt. Bill Newsome of the Clayton Police Department.

Officers found $360 in cash on Stith, Newsome said.

Newsome said Strickland is unlikely to be charged because he is listed as the victim of the assault. Tom Lock, the Johnston County district attorney, said a person has a right to use deadly force to resist deadly force.

And this is the South, where people aren’t punished for doing right.

“If the suspect in this case was attempting to run over a person, then that person could use deadly force to resist the assault,” Lock said.

He added that intervening in a robbery involves some risk. “No one wants to encourage vigilante justice, but I certainly can understand that a person might feel compelled to intervene when he saw a crime being committed. I might do the same thing under similar circumstances.”

Just have to get that “vigilante” word in there, don’tcha?

Strickland, who does not have a permit to carry a concealed weapon, said the gun had been lying on the dash of his car.

“I don’t go to the grocery store without something today, because of things like that,” he said.

Newton, a gas station clerk who took the day off after the robbery, said Strickland is her hero.

Her fianc e,(sic) David Little, 40, said he, too, was grateful.

“I’m going to call him over the weekend and ask him what kind of steak he likes,” said Little, who moved to Clayton with his fiance e this summer from Atlanta. “I’m going to have him and his wife and kids over for dinner.”

Yup, that’s the South. I do miss it sometimes.

Just Fvcking Marvelous

Looks like we’ve got another random serial killer.

Excerpt 1:

Serial sniper suspected in convenience store killings in W.Va.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Bullets that killed three victims this week outside Kanawha County convenience stores were fired from the same caliber and class of weapon, police said Friday night, but they stopped short of saying they were fired from the same gun.

“All three balls had the same characteristics,” Kanawha County Sheriff Dave Tucker said after getting ballistics results from a State Police crime lab. “But we can’t say for sure it’s the same gun.”

Excerpt 2:

Sniper suspect is large white man

Shooter might be serial killer, sheriff says.

Police speculated Friday that a large, white male driving a black pickup with an extended cab may be responsible for Thursday night’s killings outside two Kanawha County convenience stores, and possibly others.

Kanawha Sheriff Dave Tucker said at a Friday afternoon media conference that the killer “could be a possible serial-type murderer.”

Both victims of Thursday night’s convenience store shootings, Jeanie Patton, 31, and Okey Meadows, 26, were shot in the head area in a manner similar to the shooting of Gary Carrier Jr., 44, who was shot outside a Charleston convenience store Sunday night.

Please, let some armed citizen whack this nutcase.

Frank J. Continues his Firearms Tutorial

Money quote:

500 S&W Magnum: After caving in the anti-gun nuts, Smith & Wesson had to win back the heart of their consumers. They did this by making a freaking huge handgun caliber. If someone is robbing the house four houses down from you, you can shoot through all the houses and hit him with this.

If all of these calibers are too weak for you, those crazy Israelis at Magnum Research can make revolvers for you chambered in rifle rounds like the venerable .30-.30. The only purpose of these is to freak out people at a gun range, and it takes a lot to freak out people at a gun range.

Go read the rest here.

Hurry. Frank has declared WAR!! on Glenn Reynolds.

His site could become a smoking radioactive crater at any time.

THIS is TOO Weird!

Try it!

(Nod to Feces Flinging Monkey for the link)

Another Friday Five

1. How much time do you spend online each day?

Way, way too much.

2. What is your browser homepage set to?

I have a version of John C. Dvorak’s Personal Portal installed on my harddrives both at home and at work. I like it.

3. Do you use any instant messaging programs? If so, which one(s)?

No. I use the IM feature over at AR15.com occasionally (when the site is up – the servers are in NY and are still down.)

4. Where was your first webpage located?

You’re lookin’ at it!

5. How long have you had your current website?

Let’s see…Since Wednesday, May 14, 2003 at about 1:00 PM. (First post was 1:39, but I managed to wipe my first contribution without posting it. Newbies, sheesh.)

More on the Gun Industry Bankrupting Lawsuits

From that font of information, Jointogether.org, comes this update on the D.C. sniper lawsuit against Bushmaster:

Denied Again: Judge Refuses Bushmaster’s Plea In Sniper Lawsuit

Tacoma, WA – Bushmaster, a gun distributor and manufacturer that is charged with supplying the DC-area sniper suspects with their assault weapon, was denied its second plea for a dismissal in the sniper lawsuit. The decision was announced in a ruling by Judge Frank E. Cuthbertson of the Pierce County Superior Court in Tacoma, Washington, on August 11, 2003. The court refused to overturn its prior ruling where it held that based on plaintiffs’ allegations, Bushmaster knew or should have known that Bull’s Eye was a reckless and incompetent dealer. The case is presently set to go to trial next July.

Really? “Charged with supplying…?” Bushmaster isn’t charged with anything. That implies that there is a criminal “charge” layed. Bushmaster is defendant in a lawsuit where it is accused of negligence.

Bushmaster supplied the gun? It was my understanding that Malvo admitted to stealing it. And if Bushmaster “knew or should have known that Bull’s Eye was a reckless and incompetent dealer” then why isn’t the BATF being sued for not pulling their Federal Firearms License? Bull’s Eye, if you weren’t aware, was connected to Buford Furrow in 1997 when one of the guns he possessed was traced back to that shop. Bull’s Eye had been investigated by the BATF for some time prior to Malvo’s five-finger discount, according to this story. In fact, Bull’s Eye could not account for 160 firearms two years prior to the theft of the Bushmaster rifle. So, who really is responsible? Sure as hell not Bushmaster, but they’ll pay through the nose to defend themselves from this ridiculous lawsuit.

Question: Does the BATF tell gun manufacturers that licensed dealers are “reckless and incompetent?” If not, how else would they know?

Question 2: If the BATF can prove a licensed dealer is “reckless and incompetent,” why don’t they pull the license?

The DC-area sniper suspects, who were prohibited purchasers, obtained their assault rifle through the negligence of Bull’s Eye Shooter Supply of Tacoma, Washington, one of Bushmaster’s handpicked gun dealers. The gun lobby is attempting to override the judge’s decision in this case and other gun related lawsuits with federal legislation immunizing the gun industry from liability in virtually all civil suits brought by gun violence victims.

So, according to the Brady Center (source for this “release”) theft = negligence. If someone steals from you, you were obviously negligent and it’s all your fault. All actions involving the stolen property are also your responsibility. Therefore, by this logic, if someone steals my truck and uses it in a drive-by shooting, I am liable and can be sued by the victims and their families because I was negligent and allowed the vehicle to be stolen, and both the dealership and Ford are liable because they knew they were selling a vehicle into a high-theft area.

Makes sense to me. (Not!)

Daniel Vice, an attorney for nine families of victims of the DC-area snipers said, “Any Senator who honestly reviews this case of negligent and reckless behavior by these gun sellers would immediately work to defeat the special interest legislation that seeks to strip away the rights of gun violence victims. The gun lobby’s mission to protect bad apple gun sellers and take away victims’ rights is absolutely detrimental to America’s public safety.” Mr. Vice is a Staff Attorney for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

That fisks itself. I can’t do it justice.

The suit was filed on January 16, 2003 against Bushmaster Firearms, Inc., the distributor and manufacturer of the Bushmaster XM-15 E2S .223 caliber semi-automatic assault rifle used by the snipers and against Bull’s Eye Shooter Supply, the gun dealer from which the Bushmaster mysteriously “disappeared,” ending up in the hands of the snipers. A total of 238 guns have “disappeared” from Bull’s Eye’s store in three years – an average of more than one gun per week. Bull’s Eye’s guns have been traced to more than fifty crimes. The suit also names as defendants the two individual owners of Bull’s Eye, Brian Borgelt and Charles N. Carr, as well as sniper suspects John Muhammad and Lee Malvo.

If they could prove that Bull’s Eye sold the gun “under the table” to Muhammed or Malvo, then they have a case – against the shop. If an employee of Bull’s Eye ripped it off and sold it, they’d have a case against that employee. But in no way could it be the responsibility of Bushmaster. Again, if Bull’s Eye was known to be “reckless or incompetent” to the BATF, then they should have yanked the license (which they finally did.) Why isn’t the BATF being sued? Oh, right – in order to sue the government, you have to get its permission. Not bleeding likely.

The suit charges Bull’s Eye with operating its gun shop in such a grossly negligent manner that scores of guns, including the high-powered Bushmaster, inexplicably “disappeared” from the store. The suit asserts that Bull’s Eye took the gun into its inventory in July 2002, that both sniper suspects visited the store after that date and that Muhammad practiced his sharpshooting in the store’s shooting range. Because both sniper suspects were legally prohibited from buying guns, they could not have obtained the gun without the gun shop’s negligence. Bushmaster Firearms is charged with negligence in continuing to sell high-firepower assault rifles through Bull’s Eye even though government audits of the store had revealed hundreds of “missing” guns.

Government audits from before the theft of the gun. Again, since when is “theft” equal to “negligence?” And why is it BUSHMASTER’s fault? (Because they are eeeeeeevil and have the deepest pockets – conditions which to liberals are often one and the same. But we are talking a gun manufacturer here. They’re especially eeeeeevil.)

Legislation to grant the gun industry unprecedented immunity from legal claims passed the House of Representatives on April 9 of this year. It is currently pending in the Senate with 54 cosponsors. Several Senators have vowed a filibuster against the bill should it move to the Senate floor. The National Rifle Association has declared that the immunity legislation is its top legislative priority in Congress.

And this case is a perfect example of why.

The NRA Gets Off its Ass and On the Silveira Bandwagon

After opposing the Silveira case in the California court system, the NRA files an amicus brief in favor of the case being heard by the Supreme Court. It’s a good one, too. Go read.

My favorite part? They hammer on the “incorporation” question right off the bat. That one’s been my particular hobby-horse since I started studying gun “control.”

Here’s hoping.

And This is a Bad Thing…Why?

Artist is John Sherffius, St. Louis Post Dispatch.

I don’t think that’s supposed to be my reaction to the cartoon, but it is. It’s also my reaction to this one, also by Mr. Sheriffus:

Apparently I just don’t get it.

Good for me.

Things That Make You Go “Hmm….”

On the way in to work this morning, I was behind a car that had a standard 8.5×11″ piece of paper taped up in the hatchback window. Printed on it was a quotation, apparently printed on an ink-jet or laser printer in a bold, legible font:

“Nothing Enduring is Built on Violence” – Gandhi

Well, isn’t that profound. But what was the point?

Of course, my first thought was “This person is a Bushwar protester” – as in “The use of violence to oust Saddam will result in nothing good.” But then I thought about it a bit more. Saddam came to power violently, and maintained his rule violently. And he did not endure.

But it took violence to oust him.

What we’re trying to do in Iraq now is non-violent – the reconstruction of a nation and the establishment of representative government.

Gandhi said some other things, too, one of which was:

“Among the many misdeeds of the British rule in India, history will look upon the Act depriving a whole nation of arms, as the blackest.”

Gandhi had a lot to say about the use of violence, but what it seems to boil down to is that initiating violence is evil, responding to it is not. The difference between those who oppose and those who support the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq is the understanding that those invasions were a response to, not an initiation of violence.

This is why I find the liberal desire for the U.S. to intervene militarily in Liberia so hypocritical. They expect us to go in there and bang heads in order to stabilize the country, but they object to our military actions in Afghanistan and Iraq. It’s use of violence in all three cases. The only difference is that Liberia has essentially zero U.S. national security implications. The same cannot be said about Iraq nor Afghanistan.

The funny thing is, the use of non-violent protest in the mode of Gandhi would probably be effective in Liberia – assuming you could get the international press to pay much attention. The use of non-violent protest in Iraq and Afghanistan would only have resulted in a lot more mass graves.

Often non-violence doesn’t work.

Ask the victims of Tiananmen Square.