Gun Legislation

[Wneglia]

I wonder if the housekeeper who freed herself and called 911 will get the $1M. Nice tip.

I hope she gets the reward.

I think it would be a tremendous PR blunder to try to avoid the reward on a technicality, especially since there will likely be criticism for the LEO's acting as judge, jury and executioner.

[Wneglia]

South Africa's Pistorius shoots girlfriend dead

He doesn'thave a leg to stand on.

[O Really]

South Africa's Pistorius shoots girlfriend dead

He doesn'thave a leg to stand on.

Yeah, his defense might come up a couple of feet short, too.

[Wneglia]

Criminals for Gun Control

[Wneglia]

South Africa's Pistorius shoots girlfriend dead

He doesn'thave a leg to stand on.

Yeah, his defense might come up a couple of feet short, too.

At least the prosecution won't be stumped.

[O Really]

They've got him pegged, I'm sure.

[Crock Hunter]

It's disgusting how far out on a limb some folks will go for a pun... ..

[O Really]

What about teens though? Lets think about young adults, more than capable of discerning right from wrong and making cognizant decisions. Should a parent be held responsible for the actions of the teen? Lets say the guns are not in a safe but rather a locked glass front case (VERY popular BTW) and the ammo in another locked drawer yet the teen still breaks the glass, jimmies the lock, steals, loads the gun, and kills. Is that the fault of the parent?

My earlier guess might have been wrong. North Carolina Code N.C.G.S. § 14-315.1 requires storage of firearms where minors reside (under 18) as follows:

7. Storage of Firearms
Any individual who resides with a minor, who owns or possesses a firearm, and stores
or leaves that firearm in a condition that the firearm can be discharged, and in a manner that
the individual knew, or should have known, that an unsupervised minor would be able to
gain access to the firearm, is guilty of a misdemeanor if such minor gains access to the
firearm without the lawful permission of the minor's parents or a person having charge of the
minor, and the minor in tum possesses that weapon unlawfully on any campus or
educational property in North Carolina; exhibits the weapon in a public place in a careless,
angry, or threatening manner; causes personal injury or death with the weapon not in self
defense; or uses the weapon in the commission of a crime. A minor is defined in this law as
anyone under the age of 18 who is not emancipated.

So one might argue over "condition that the firearm can be discharged" as to whether that means "loaded" or simply "working." But I'm pretty sure a glass-front case wouldn't likely be seen as preventing access. But still, it's just a misdemeanor, even if the minor actually shoots somebody. Not much of an incentive to do a better job protecting it, is it?

[O Really]

It's disgusting how far out on a limb some folks will go for a pun... ..

At least nobody said Pistorious tried to run from the cops but was cut off before he could escape.

But, unlike some careless gun owners, he didn't shoot himself in the foot.

[O Really]

Well-researched and scholarly paper here on civil liability for negligent gun storage...
http://www.saf.org/journal/14/lock,stockandbarrel.pdf

[quote from article] "My goal here this morning is to prove to you that the failure to securely store firearms is negligent conduct under American tort law. I‘m going to prove it using documented facts and figures and fundamental principles of negligence law. Because unsafe gun storage is negligent, gun owners and sellers who fail to safely store their guns should be civilly liable for the foreseeable harms that naturally flow from that conduct."

And another on-point article, with a precedent-setting decision out of gun-friendly Kansas (and it'snot even recent)... http://www.mmmpalaw.com/CM/Articles/articles18.asp

Here's the elements necessary to prove criminal negligence in Connecticut. State specific, of course, but demonstrates the type of steps that would be in place if there were a national law. (as if there ever would be)
http://www.jud.ct.gov/ji/criminal/part8/8.2-23.htm

Anther charged for negligent storage in New Hampshire, but note that despite the death of the nine-year old, it's still a misdemeanor... http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/967 ... cured.html

Here's a firearms professional supporting my argument for negligence in handling firearms... http://www.thetruthaboutguns.com/2013/0 ... ifference/

[Crock Hunter]

It's disgusting how far out on a limb some folks will go for a pun... ..

At least nobody said Pistorious tried to run from the cops but was cut off before he could escape.

Well.. in truth we knew Pistorius's story was lame when he told the police that he kept his gun in his sock drawer. ..



What? Too far?

[O Really]

My earlier guess might have been wrong. North Carolina Code N.C.G.S. § 14-315.1 requires storage of firearms where minors reside (under 18) as follows:...

Plus that still leaves open the question of theft by adults or non-resident minors where the owner was irresponsible, like leaving your guns in the rig in a motel parking lot.

I think there's some real promise here. It doesn't require new legislation, just use of existing state tort law. A couple of big wins and it would put a chilling effect on casual gun ownership and certainly the degree of worry a person would have leaving one lying around unprotected. If I were in personal injury law and a few years younger, I'd definitely give it a go.

[O Really]

I'd be fine with some criminal law for owners stolen from by adults and non-resident minors, too, though I'm not sure how severe I'd make it depending on the real world tort law consequences.

There is "criminal negligence" but the threshold is pretty high. In my little fantasy I have going, I'd apply initial strict accountability to the owner for any harm done by a firearm, which could be defended by showing that the loss of the firearm could not reasonably have been prevented or predicted by the owner. So if somebody backed their truck into Mad's house and stole his safe and subsequently used his guns in a crime, he wouldn't be responsible. But if his neighbor had a glass-front cabinet visible from the door or window and those guns got stolen, he would be responsible. That approach would require legislation and the NRA-owned Congress and Legislatures aren't going to do that in several lifetimes.

[O Really]

Yeah, that wasn't a smart move on his part. He's obviously a couple feet shy of a yard.

[Wneglia]

They've charged the arch villain with murder, looks like the accident story was a fibula. If he's put in prison, how will they ever make him toe the line?

He can't toe the line. He's lack toes intolerant.

[O Really]

Mistakes ultimately halted suspected killer's rampage

...Karen and Jim Reynolds said they came face to face with Dorner on the day of his downfall. The couple said that they found him in their cabin-style condominium just a stone's throw from the sheriff's command post, and believe he had been holing up there periodically since Friday. The couple said Dorner bound them, put pillow cases over their heads and fled in their purple Nissan, but was able to get to Karen Reynolds' cellphone and dial 911. The Reynolds told their story at a news conference Wednesday night, they said, to clear up recent reports that it was two female housekeepers who had found Dorner and been tied up.

Their account could not immediately be confirmed by law enforcement officials, but it matched earlier reports saying it was a married couple, and property records showed them as the owners...

It's not quite as cool if condo owners rather than housekeepers get the reward, but I still think they should get it.

More on the reward... http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505263_162- ... picks=true

[O Really]

I'm sure LaPierre has some equally looney lawyers review his writing so that he stays just on the legal side of the line, but I'm hoping he won't be able to avoid crossing into threats and advocating violent overthrow, thus getting a visit from Homeland Security or somebody. Of course, he'd love nothing more than to be a martyr so as to "validate" his paranoia and wolf crying.

[O Really]

Here's a thoughtful discussion about "real" gun owners (i.e., non-NRA believers)
http://www.csmonitor.com/content/view/f ... picks=true

[O Really]

Statistics don't lie - but statisticians do. And there aren't really more killings with baseball bats than with guns...
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_ ... picks=true

[O Really]

Another example of a person being "law abiding" up until today, another person being careless with his shotgun, and no prior criminal record for the shooter. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/20/us/sh ... .html?_r=0

I support background checks, but that will only go so far. Us "law-abiding citizens" are going to have to start helping and not just pointing fingers at others.