Fun With Guns!
Okay, so the Republican dominated Missouri legislature has decided that everyone needs a gun without the hassle of a background check or training because, you know, they don’t need no stinkin’ training.
Missouri lawmakers pushed through bills on Wednesday eliminating the need for permits to carry concealed weapons and requiring voters to show a photo identification before casting a ballot, overriding Democratic Governor Jay Nixon’s vetoes of the bills.
Both votes by the Republican-controlled state House and Senate reached the two-thirds majority required to enact legislation over the governor’s veto.
The weapons bill abolished a state law requiring a permit, training and background checks for people who want to carry a concealed weapon in the state.
So, you have to have a photo ID to vote but if you want to make this county great again, just buy a gun.
Meanwhile, in Pennsylvania, a pistol-packing elementary school teacher at a Christian school had to go to the bathroom.
A teacher at a Christian school accidently left her loaded pistol in a bathroom, where elementary school children found it, state police said Tuesday.
Beth Jean Dixon, 63, put her holstered pistol on a toilet tank when she used the unisex, one-toilet bathroom Aug. 25 at Cumberland Christian School, in Chambersburg, police said. They said she forgot about it and left.
And in New Orleans a nine year old boy shot himself while handling a gun. His 10 year old cousin called police. The boy is expected to recover.
And after Tennessee became the #1 state in accidental gun deaths, Jonathan Metzl, research director with the Safe Tennessee Project and director of the Center for Medicine, Health and Society at Vanderbilt University found himself in the Catch 22:
“Metzl said he’d like to prevent such killings, but says a congressional ban on gun violence research is a hindrance.
“‘There are studies that we could be doing,’ he said. “Would trigger locks help? Would gun safeties help? Would smart guns that only fire when the user is handling the gun — would that help?’”
Metzl is legally prohibited from researching ways to lower accidental gun deaths. He literally cannot look at this problem and try to fix it.”
See, we don’t need no stinkin’ permits or training.
Thanks to Charles, Tina, and John for the heads up.
The Nashville article is not quite correct. The TN researcher is not in fact prohibited from studying gun deaths, but his principal source of information, the CDC, and the NIH, are prohibited from funding or carrying out research on firearm violence that might in any conceivable way contribute to any conceivable impediment to everyone, everywhere, having every possible sort of firearm. So far the NRA has not succeeded in prohibiting the existence of such research at all, nor in prohibiting states or foundations from funding research.
A great example in this regard is described here: https://www.propublica.org/article/meet-the-doctor-who-gave-1-million-to-keep-his-gun-research-going (disclosure: Garen is a colleague, and both my husband and I have worked with him on his research.) The state of California just appropriated $5 million to establish a center for research on gun violence in the state. Unsurprisingly, Garen was chosen to direct the new center. Courage and commitment and integrity can bring about change sometimes.
1PS, here’s an article about the new center – other states could follow suit and set up partnerships with ours – feel free to lobby for this!
2http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/06/california-fund-first-public-research-center-gun-violence-united-states
Missouri has demonstrated mind-blowing ignorance and stupidity by abolishing any gun regulation whatsoever. Look for gun related deaths and injuries to skyrocket in that state and people with common sense to avoid going there like the plague.
3As for teachers who even bring guns to school, that should be a career ending choice.
Yeah, you gotta marvel at the effectiveness of the ERA’s ad campaign “I’m the NRA”. When in fact everything it does is dictated by the gun and ammo industries. Any mention of even discussing common sense regulations is seen as “OH MY SWEET JESUS THE GUVMNT WANTS TO TAKE MY GUNS”. But it’s like I pointed out to a conservative buddy at work, when the framers were coming up with the second amendment, I don’t really think they had squad automatic weapons and Uzis in mind.
4Somebody stole my CLINTON/KAINE yard sign last night.
5I’m going to replace it with one that says:
STEALING SIGNS IS DEPLORABLE!
Well, I guess I moved out of Missouri just in time. Unfortunately, I moved to Florida.
Oops.
Ever since the 1970’s, I’ve been active in the ZPG [Zero Population Growth] movement — for all the good that has done. Still, this wasn’t the method I had in mind.
And as to the other bill the Missouri legislature overrode Nixon’s veto on — which will, of course, impact Democrats far more than Republicans [or why do it?] I guess the word hasn’t trickled down from DC to Missouri that Republicans are ABSOLUTELY FREAKING OUT at the prospect of a Trump presidency? Way to shoot yourselves in the foot, Republicans. He is on target to destroy your party but hey, keeping Democrats from voting is worth the price, I guess.
6So in Missoouri they allow any psychotic ass or known criminal to carry a gun! Great! that should lower gun death & violence by large factor!
7OH! And if if anyone is shot I do hope it is the rePUKEian politicians!!!!
8Here are “7 uncovered quotes that reveal just how crazy the NRA’s become”
The organization once supported reasonable gun control laws. Now it’s a lobby group for paranoid extremists.
http://www.salon.com/2013/01/23/7_uncovered_quotes_that_reveal_just_how_crazy_the_nras_become/
9I second L.Long. I hope that every Missouri politician who voted for these dangerous overrides gets shot by some moron carrying a gun. I’ll be generous and say they should only be winged, except for anybody pushing hard who should get a probably non-lethal body shot. But somehow they should pay for what they’re doing.
And they should also get voted out by people whom they still couldn’t stop from voting, though they’re trying hard.
10The good news is that I’ve never, ever, ever wanted to go to Missouri anyway.
11I live in Missouri. There were police departments who implored legislators to NOT override the concealed carry law veto. But, these guys who claim to LOVE law enforcement chose to ignore them. My take? They love the money from NRA far more than they care about the welfare of the people they supposedly serve. As for voting? Be great if folks who don’t have a photo ID could be helped to get one…dems in our state might want to act on this.
12Yes Rhea! They should NOT be killed. I want them to suffer everyday!! A good shot to the knees would then remind them of their horrendous stoopidity every time they had to walk!!!!
13Cmac: You raise an important issue. Missouri “lawmakers” say any yahoo nutbag can carry and conceal and you people in blue? Well… you go out there and risk your life protecting us from those nutbags! That’s what we pay you for, right?
I hate Republicans! There… I said it. I hate them all.
14I must agree that repukelicans are on my lower that worm s–t list and I do agree that many if not most should have none lethal bullet wounds. A dum dum in every major joint sounds about right.
15I have cousins, and aunt and an uncle in Missouri. They find that kind of crapola abhorrent. Best of luck with keeping safe kinfolk. Tell you what – move to Minnesota, or any other state where Stupid is not rewarded.
16The pistol packing teacher at the Christian school should get checked for Alzheimers. The gun, holster and belt weigh a lot. The total weight on the body is what makes them so clear in the brain. Hers needs checking.
As for that NRA crap on research into guns etc., and the ban on funding from taxpayer dollars . . . why not outsource the whole thing to Canada? They don’t have the obsession with guns this country does. It helps them to see clearly.
17A) Why is a teacher in a Christian school packing heat? The Bible does NOT say “Blessed are they who carry a gun; they shall be known as peacemakers.”
B) How the heck could she “forget” that she didn’t have her piece on? And why wasn’t she carrying (if she had to carry) in a shoulder holster (slightly harder for kids to grab, no need to take if off to potty.) Or wear a skirt; lift and go. Just mentioning that the time to consider how you’re going to use facilities while packing heat is BEFORE you need to. Plan ahead.
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