2nd Amendment: You Have The Right To Be Stupid, To Traumatize A Child

Absolutely, utterly, tragic!

Shooting instructor dies after being accidentally shot by girl

An instructor who was shot by a 9-year-old girl who fired an Uzi at a northwestern Arizona shooting range died Monday night at University Medical Center in Las Vegas.

[snip]

He said the girl safely and successfully fired the 9 mm weapon several times when it was set in the “single-shot” mode.

He said the weapon was put into the “fully-automatic” mode before the girl fired again with the instructor standing off to her left. The weapon recoiled and drifted left as the girl squeezed off an undetermined number of rounds as she maintained possession but lost control of the Uzi as it raised up above her head.

“The guy just dropped,” McCabe said of shooting instructor Charles Vacca, 39, of Lake Havasu City, who suffered at least one gunshot to the head.

[snip]

The Bullets and Burgers website markets a unique shooting experience for customers.

“Our guests have the opportunity to fire a wide range of fully automatic machine guns and specialty weapons,” the website states. “At our range, you can shoot FULL auto on our machine guns.

“Let ‘em Rip!”

Well, this Bullets and Burgers place certainly lived up to it's motto - it ripped, alright.

Ripped apart the instuctor, that is.

Susie Madrak, over on Crooks and Liars, pondered;

"Maybe the kid's hands were greasy from the burgers and slipped?"

Why, good God, does a 9-year-old need to learn how to shoot an Uzi? ...Are the well-armed Miltias drafting them that young?

And, sorry about the dead instructor, but, shouldn't he have known, from his training and experience, to stand behind the person - in this case, a 9-year-old firing an Uzi for the first time - shooting? Shouldn't he have been helping her to control the weapon, holding her hands or arms, not to let the recoil spray bullets all over the place?

That error in judgement cost him his life.

And, we have to speculate, ruined the life of the 9-year-old girl, who, will likely, be tramautized by this for years to come, replaying the incident over-and-over in her head ...  Having nightmares about it, hearing a car backfire, or other loud noise, flood her again with the images of squeezing the trigger of the Uzi, feeling her losing control of it, ... Seeing the bullets hit the instructor ... Seeing him dead on the ground ... Seeing the puddles of blood ...

Even if she does get the counselling, and help, and, by some miracle, gets to live a normal, productive life (and the odds are long on that, I would suspect), she will have this memory for the rest of her life, and with it the sadness, the hurt, the guilt.

Maybe, when she is older, she will begin to question why her parents allowed her to do this. Was it a gift for doing well in school? Had she been interested in learning to shoot guns and this was the next step up, an automatic weapon, a machine gun?

Some gift, some learning curve, if that be the case.

"Children need to understand the concept of safety before they are allowed to shoot, Frichette said.

Also, they must be “physically and mentally prepared” before they are allowed to shoot a fully automatic weapon. This includes a 4-foot height requirement, he said, adding that even then, they have to master other weapons such as a semi-automatic .22-caliber rifle before they’re allowed to shoot a fully automatic.

He added that a petite-looking child would likely only be allowed to shoot a semi-automatic rifle.

The Review-Journal contacted several other gun ranges in Las Vegas. One did not return a call and officials at another two declined to comment."

Parents of this now traumatized 9-year-old, even if they are responsible gun-owners, should, perhaps, be charged with Child Endangerment.. Again, why does a 9-year-old need to learn to shoot an Uzi, a machine gun?

The standard in this country, to obtain a driver's license, is 16-years-old (some states do have it lower, age 14)

And, with that, one must first obtain a Learner's Permit, and one must have training, or practice with a licensed driver.

Afterall, an automobile can be a dangerous weapon, if one doesn't know how to operate it, to be knowledgable of the rules and regulations of driving, speed limits, when to stop, etc.

They must demonstrate, at the time of their License Test, the ability to be able to handle the automobile, safely, and with the appropriate knowledge of the rules of the road.

That would appear to be a practical standard for allowing children to shoot guns.

I don't know for sure, but I hope Bullets and Burgers aren't operating a Driving School.

Related Links

Second Amendment to the United States Constitution

Ballon Juice  - You Deserve to be Dead, You Moron

TPM - Shooting Instructor Dies After Being Accidentally Shot In The Head By Student

Gawker - 9-Year-Old Girl Kills Shooting Instructor in Machine Gun Accident

Nothing More Says American Than Being Shot

More details are coming out in the horrible shooting last week, in Binghamton, NY.

Jiverly Wong Fired 98 Shots From Two Handguns In A Minute

The man who gunned down 13 people at an upstate New York immigration center fired 98 shots from two handguns in a little more than a minute, police said Wednesday, a gunslinging feat one expert said would make him a "new Rambo."

[Snip]

Ballistics reports showed Jiverly Wong fired 87 times from a 9mm Beretta and 11 times from a .45-caliber handgun. If he bought the ammunition online, he could have paid as little as $40 for the rounds he fired.

Friends say Wong complained that he only received $200 a week in unemployment benefits.

"Chris Rock says in one of his routines _ have all the guns you want but charge like $1,000 for every bullet," said Jackie Hilly of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence. "I think if you raised the price, you would probably discourage the violence, but I don't think you would prevent it."

Police said almost all 13 victims died instantly. Four others were wounded but survived. Wong, 41, killed himself as police were rushing to the scene. He was found with a satchel containing several full ammunition clips.

Immigrants ... Unemployment ...

No doubt, there'll be a new Lou Dobbs rant, or Faux News meltdown, tying those two together, citing it as the end-of-the-country as we know it.

But the kicker came at the very end of the article;

New York senators Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand said Wednesday they will introduce legislation in Congress to grant honorary citizenship to the victims.

Gosh darn, I'm tearin' up ... Nothing says you’re an American like getting shot in a ambush, while you are at school, or work, or just passing by.

Perhaps Schumer and Gillibrand can bake them apple pies, and, maybe, throw in a couple of tickets to a ball game, as well.

Then give them another Great American experience - The Photo Op with Obsequious Politician


Bonus 2nd Amendment Riffs

Chopped Garlic ... Of Virginia Tech ... The Right To Bear Arms ... And Barry Crimmins

Heston Dead; Coroner Can't Pry Gun From Cold Dead Hands

All I Want For Christmas Is A Brand New Handgun!

As Steve Benin noted, "the NRA must be desperate";

Estimates vary, but the National Rifle Association reportedly spent about $15 million in 2008 on attacks against Barack Obama. The group is no doubt frustrated, not only with the election's outcome, but with its inability to have a serious impact on the campaign.

Or, why else would they be conducting robocalls, during the Holiday Season, and, no less, ignoring the economic meltdown, hitting people up for donations?

Well, the Second Amendment says you can have a gun, but it doesn't specifically mandate that you have a brain.

One such robocall was received Colin McEnroe, at The Hartford Courant.

And, he wrote about it.

Merry Christmas from Wayne LaPierre

So my phone rings today; and after that 1.5-second delay that tells you it''s not a beloved friend, a guy comes on the line and says his name is Chris White from the NRA. Do I want to listen to a message from Wayne LaPierre about "Obama's scheme to ban guns?" You bet I do.

[Snip]

Obama has been "stacking his administration with the most notorious gun-banners in America."

Wayne says he wants to "send a message loud and clear that the fight for our freedom is not coming. It is here and now."

As proof of the administration's deep bias, Wayne says applicants for jobs are asked if they own a gun and, if so, if it is properly registered. (A clear attempt to discriminate against Plaxico Burress.) Of course, the gun question is but one of 63 queries on the famously detailed questionnaire.

After some more of this talk, a different human being comes on the line and tells me that Obama is appointing "a cabinet full of gun haters."

"Could you please tell me the name of at least one of the gun-haters?" I ask.

Go read "Merry Christmas from Wayne LaPierre", it's very funny.

Good Post Alert: Unitarian Forgiveness

We haven't done a great many posts on the idiocy of the 2nd Amendment, and the "right to bear arms".

Most recently, we covered the tradegy at Virginia Tech, and, of course, we had to give Chuck Heston a proper send-off.

So, rather than rail against the nitwit that shot up the Unitarians last weekend, we give way to a better voice.

Over on Crooks and Liars, Nicolle Bell hosted Guest Blogger NonnyMouse, who penned "Unitarian Forgiveness".

Here's a snip of it;

What is, however, was his target - Unitarians. Members of a church renown for its pacifism, compassion and tolerance. We welcome anyone - men and women of any colour and nationality, of any religious or ethnic background, or sexuality. We even welcome conservatives.

My anger instead is concentrated on those people who callously use such vulnerable people, stirring up their bigotry and discontent, egging them to acts of violence. People like Michelle Malkin, Michael Savage, Bill O’Reilly, and Rush Limbaugh who have made lucrative careers out of liberal-bashing. People who write things like “Liberalism is a Mental Health Disorder”, “Let Freedom Ring,” and “The O’Reilly Factor,” - all literature found in Adkisson’s home after the shooting. People like Ann Coulter who advocated attacking liberals with baseball bats. The hate-filled spewage from the right-wing media mavens is and should be held accountable for inciting such acts of violence and murder, those heartless, soulless, conscienceless opportunists who have gleefully participated in encouraging the Adkissons of America to take out their anger and hatred and frustration on liberals.

And in the wake of the anger is pride. Despite my sadness that people were targeted for their choice of church, I have never before been so proud to be a Unitarian, as well as a liberal. Those liberals the rightwing continue to denigrate as weak-kneed cowards proved to be anything but. McKendry was the first to confront Adkisson, to stop him from going any further into the church, before several men rushed Adkisson after several shots had been fired, his victims already covered in blood. They have names too: A history professor, John Bohstedt, and Jamie Parkey, just ordinary people. But people who still prove the very best in America still exists. ‘Someone grabbed the gun and we just kind of dog-piled him to the floor’, Parkey said. His wife, Amy, described Adkisson - not as a villain, not as an evil man, not with hatred - but as ‘a man who was hurt in the world and feeling nothing was going his way. He turned the gun on people who were mostly likely to treat him lovingly and compassionately and be the ones to help someone in that situation.’ I wept when I read those words.

Go check out "Unitarian Forgiveness", it's a good read.

The O.K. Corral Is About To Become A Whole Lot Bigger

The O.K Corral may soon lose it place in history, being reduced to a pillow fight.

If the Supreme Court goes the direction that they all but signed, sealed and delivered yesterday, Charlton Heston won't have to worry about anyone prying anything out of his cold, dead hands.

Here's the straight news accounts;

Los Angeles Times: Supreme Court appears to favor individual gun rights; A majority signals that it thinks the 2nd Amendment is not limited to arms for 'a well-regulated militia.'

"Five of the justices, a bare majority, signaled that they thought the amendment gave individuals a right to have a gun for self-defense. It was not limited to arms for "a well-regulated militia," they said."

Washington Post: Justices Appear Skeptical Of D.C.'s Handgun Ban

"The clauses of the Second Amendment -- "A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed" -- have long vexed constitutional scholars. The Supreme Court's last major ruling on the subject, in 1939, stressed the militia-related aspects of the provision.

If you want a most entertaining account of yesterday's session, you gotta check out Dahlia Lithwicks' post "Bearing Arms … Against Bears - Justice Kennedy thinks D.C. residents need protection—from grizzlies."

"Dellinger opens by whooshing us back in time to the framers, who, he says, used the words "bear arms" to mean "rendering a military service." Chief Justice John Roberts immediately asks why the framers wrote "the right of the people" if they merely meant "the right of the militia." Justice Kennedy spoils any suspense by telling Dellinger, in the form of a question, that he has no problem "de-linking" the two clauses to read the first as "reaffirming" the right to a militia and the second as enshrining a right to bear arms. Justice Antonin Scalia does Kennedy one better and contends that the two phrases "go together beautifully." That's five votes to create a fundamental right to bear arms, only eight minutes into the argument."

Read the whole thing ... It's a hoot!


Bonus Cold Dead Hands Links

Chopped Garlic ... Of Virginia Tech ... The Right To Bear Arms ... And Barry Crimmins

Josh Sugarmann: The NRA's Post Massacre Script

Ana Marie Cox: Blaming the Victims ... Because They're Total Wusses

Chopped Garlic ... Of Virginia Tech ... The Right To Bear Arms ... And Barry Crimmins

First and foremost, The Garlic wants to extend our prayers and sympathy to the victims and families of those killed and injured in today's - and yet another - senseless outburst of gun violence.

There was an interesting merger this afternoon, as I watched the wall-to-wall cable news coverage of the horrible tragedy that took place at Virginia Tech today.

CNN's Jack Cafferty just finished rattling off a list of school shootings, going back to the 1966 and Charles Whitman and then noted that he could not cite a single instance of such carnage being reported in other countries. Cafferty declared such shootings as uniquely American and, rhetorically asked what made that so.

Well, Jack, for one right off the top of the head, is the readily and easily accessibility of handguns in this country.

With an army of politicians, corporations, organizations and good ol', flag-waving, gun-toting, red-blooded Americans, who resist any controls or bans, they keep said guns flying off the factory production lines and into the hands of anyone that wants one.

No word if the First Lady was "discouraged" by what happened today, but earlier in the day, the Chief Decider had to weigh in and assure the base, that despite the horror and mounting death toll coming out of Virginia Tech, he still stands for the American Way, and "As far as policy, the President believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed."

What a loaded line that is ... "All laws must be followed".

Then, the telephone rang and it was friend, and America's best satirist, Barry Crimmins, who was watching the same news.

Crimmins, who penned a most heart-felt letter-to-the-editor in The Boston Globe this past weekend, over the passing of Kurt Vonnegut, had written a fall-on-the-floor-laughing comedy routine back in the 1970's on gun control.

In the opening of the routine, Crimmins would announce that he was a proponent of gun control, and then, parenthetically, and remedially, explain to any NRA members in the audience, that meant he was for it.

Crimmins would go on, saying that, yes, the 2nd Amendment of the Constitution says we have the right to bear arms.

Fine. Then make it so that whoever wants to bear arms, bear arms from 200-years ago.

He would riff that it would be pretty difficult to walk into a 7-11 with a concealed musket under your coat. And, on the plus side, if you were going to commit a crime with a musket, you probably would only get off one shot before being subdued, due to the cumbersome mechanics of reloading a musket.

But Crimmins didn't just make jokes about the deadly gun violence, he also offered a sensible alternative.

Baseball Bats.

With baseball bats, he pointed out, some three-or-four-year-old, when he or she digs around in Dad's closet, pulls out a baseball bat, and, at worse, gets a lump on his or her head, rather then having a bullet blaze through it.

What a far, far better world it would be, if Crimmins' concept had been adopted.

Schools would make the national news and cable blizzards, perhaps, for the academic accomplishments of their students, not for - and yet again - setting a new standard for death by gun violence.


Links

Barry Crimmins

Barry Crimmins On The Garlic


It hasn't been your cold dead hands, Charlton, but rather thousands of innocent peoples', who've had their lives snuffed out