MetaFilter posts tagged with guns and secondamendment

No end in sight

baphomet — Sun, 05 Apr 2009 09:24:54 -0800

It's shocking enough that 90 people have been killed in mass shootings in the US in the past 2 years. But it's even more shocking that 44 of those deaths have occurred within the month since March 10, 2009, when Michael McClendon touched off a firestorm of violence that ended with the deaths of 10 people in rural Alabama. This has been a month of grave infamy in the United States. Since the McClendon incident: Lovell Mixton kills 4 Oakland police officers during a traffic stop on March 21 (this event is not without its controversies). Mixton was killed by a SWAT team. Eight days later in Santa Clara, CA, on March 29, Yahoo! engineer Devan Kalathat opened fire on his two children and three other family members before turning the gun on himself. His wife survived with injuries. The same day, across the country in Carthage, NC, embittered husband Robert Stewart created a bloodbath at his estranged wife's place of business, a nursing home, slaying 8 people before being fatally shot by a police officer. Surely everyone has heard of the April 3 tragedy in Binghamton, NY, in which 13 people were brutally murdered by gunfire after suspect Jiverly Wong blocked the back door of the American Civic Association with a car, then entered the building with guns blazing. The suspect is believed to be among the dead, the victim of an apparent suicide. Just a day later, 23-year old Richard Poplawski ambushed 3 Pittsburgh, PA police officers who were responding to a domestic disturbance call to his home, killing them all. Two other officers were wounded during the firefight, in which over 100 rounds were exchanged. The suspect, who was worried about an impending "Obama gun ban", was captured by SWAT teams and remains in custody, the only shooter on the timeline to have survived the horrific tragedies they created. --- As a vicious wave of horrific gun violence sweeps the nation, a shocked populace wonders if this explosion of violence is the result of the global economic malaise-- but why, then, is this a uniquely American phenomenon? Perhaps it's because we have 5% of the world's population, but 35-50% of its citizen-owned firearms.

Heller v. D.C. Decided

Navelgazer — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 07:46:50 -0800

Heller v. District of Columbia, the U.S. Supreme Court's first actual interpretation of the Second Amendment, has just come down. In a 5-4 decision, the Justices ruled D.C.'s comprehensive handgun ban to be unconstitutional. Antonin Scalia writes for the majority.

I'm sure the NRA will have something to say about this

TedW — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 07:51:45 -0800

As the Supreme Court ponders the Second Amendment, The New England Journal of Medicine weighs in once, twice, three times.

Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot

phrontist — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 15:29:55 -0800

Knob Creek Gun Range , a former military-munitions test range situated near Fort Knox is home to the "World's Largest Machine Gun Shoot and Military Gun Show". Run by private citizens excercising their second amendment rights (Kentucky has no state-level gun laws) the focus is on Class III firearms - things like assault weapons and anti-tank rifles, but also the occasional high-caliber sniper rifle and cannon. Hold my bourbon and w a t ch this! (more)

Shooting Down the Privacy of VA Gun Owners

Dreama — Tue, 13 Mar 2007 00:36:33 -0800

So Much for Privacy (Part II) In another Sunshine Week "exposé" columnist Christian Trebjal of the Roanoke (Va.) Times decided that everyone needed to know the full names and addresses of every Concealed Handgun Permit holder in Virginia. So he got a list from the VA state police and had the newspaper put it in a handy searchable database. In the ensuing blog post regarding the column and database comments quickly got heated and comments were closed for several hours for unknown and unstated reasons (though perhaps due to the publication of Trebjal's home address). Of course, Virginian CHP holders were completely and wholly unamused. Following the outcry, the newspaper has removed the database, with a self-serving statement about concern for public safety but there was no concern for public safety guiding their actions before the objections. Overall, a question is raised: if Sunshine Week is supposed to be about open government why are newspapers aggregating and publishing information about private citizens at all?

Don't take your guns to town, son

mr_crash_davis — Fri, 10 Mar 2006 08:49:49 -0800

When Gregg Revell packed his bags for a trip to Pennsylvania last April, he had no idea how far he'd be traveling. Before the week was out, the 57-year-old suburban real estate agent and grandfather would be arrested, thrown into one of the country's most notorious jails, strip searched and inoculated against his will. The soft-spoken Utah native would be on his way to becoming a poster child for the National Rifle Association in a $3 million lawsuit.

boltman — Wed, 08 May 2002 00:29:05 -0800

In a major policy reversal, the Justice Department has officially endorsed an individual right to bear arms. In doing so, the Justice Department has abandoned its long-held position that the second amendment is limited in scope to protecting militia activities. Does this mean the Justice Department will stop enforcing federal laws that it sees as violating the 2nd amendemnt? Should it? If there is a individual right to bear arms, how far should it extend?

tippiedog — Wed, 17 Oct 2001 15:03:40 -0800

'Invastion' [sic] of Army recruiters unnerves jittery Austinites I guess we're just lucky that none of our fellow residents who (legally or illegally) carry concealed handguns took matters into their own hands!

davidmsc — Wed, 25 Apr 2001 16:43:42 -0800

Feeling chest pains? Maybe it's that gun in your pocket! Physicians For Social Responsibility want all doctors to screen patients for gun ownership, ostensibly so that they can warn them about the physical hazards said ownership can cause. Hmmm...doctors don't do that for toasters, trampolines, hammers, paper, and other things that can harm you. I'm no gun lover - don't own one, never will, but this smacks of political agenda.

baylink — Wed, 31 May 2000 15:22:08 -0800

Hmmm... perhaps I've been wrong. It would appear that the federal courts *have* been being strict about the 'militia' interpretation of the Second Amendment. That may change, however, thanks to a Federal Appeals Court judge from, no surprise, Texas.