Now is not the time to talk about gun control (3 Viewers)

3 dead, 10 shot in a rural part of Arkansas. The shooter was white, and it seems like most of the victims were probably black.

No idea if it was race related, but if it's not, they should hurry up and come out with the motivation. If the shooter was from Fordyce, then they probably all knew each other and it could have just been a personal dispute and other people were just collateral damage.

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek H. Murthy declared gun violence a public health crisis Tuesday and called on the nation to address it with the same vigor used to reduce deaths and injuries fromtobacco and motor vehicle crashes.

The surgeon general’s advisory marked the first time the nation’s leading voice on public health — the same office that in the 1960s highlighted the lethal consequences of cigarette smoking — had issued an urgent pronouncement on deaths related to firearms. The 39-page advisory underscores the significant physical and mental toll of gun violence on communities nationwide.

Overall, deaths caused by guns rose to a three-decade high in 2021, driven by increases in homicides and suicides, the advisory says. In 2022, more than half of all gun deaths were from suicide, while 40 percent of firearms deaths were homicides.……

Hopefully the children who are still hospitalized will fully recover from this.

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A company has installed computerized vending machines to sell ammunition in grocery stores in Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas, allowing patrons to pick up bullets along with a gallon of milk.

American Rounds said their machines use an identification scanner and facial recognition software to verify the purchaser’s age and are as “quick and easy” to use as a computer tablet. But advocates worry that selling bullets out of vending machines will lead to more shootings in the U.S., where gun violence killed at least 33 people on Independence Day alone.

The company maintains the age-verification technology means that the transactions are as secure, or more secure, than online sales, which may not require the purchaser to submit proof of age, or at retail stores, where there is a risk of shoplifting.

“I’m very thankful for those who are taking the time to get to know us and not just making assumptions about what we’re about,” CEO Grant Magers said. “We are very pro-Second Amendment, but we are for responsible gun ownership, and we hope we’re improving the environment for the community.”…….

Optimus Prime said:

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — A company has installed computerized vending machines to sell ammunition in grocery stores in Alabama, Oklahoma and Texas, allowing patrons to pick up bullets along with a gallon of milk.

American Rounds said their machines use an identification scanner and facial recognition software to verify the purchaser’s age and are as “quick and easy” to use as a computer tablet. But advocates worry that selling bullets out of vending machines will lead to more shootings in the U.S., where gun violence killed at least 33 people on Independence Day alone.

The company maintains the age-verification technology means that the transactions are as secure, or more secure, than online sales, which may not require the purchaser to submit proof of age, or at retail stores, where there is a risk of shoplifting.

“I’m very thankful for those who are taking the time to get to know us and not just making assumptions about what we’re about,” CEO Grant Magers said. “We are very pro-Second Amendment, but we are for responsible gun ownership, and we hope we’re improving the environment for the community.”…….

Milk, eggs and now bullets for sale in handful of US grocery stores with ammo vending machines

A company has installed vending machines that sell ammunition in grocery stores in Alabama, Oklahoma, and Texas, raising concerns among gun control advocates.

apnews.com

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In Rwanda it was machetes. Here in the US it's guns & ammo, and I ain't talking about the magazine.

A federal appeals court ruled on Tuesday that Minnesota’s ban preventing residents ages 18 to 20 from carrying handguns in public is unconstitutional, upholding a district-court decision that said the Second Amendment right to bear arms should apply to all adults in the state.

The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit could soon allow Minnesota residents to apply to carry handguns in public once they turn 18, removing an age restriction the state imposed in 2003.

In its arguments, the three-judge panel referred to a Supreme Court decision from June 2022 saying law-abiding Americans have a right to carry a handgun outside their home for self-defense.

“Minnesota has not met its burden to proffer sufficient evidence to rebut the presumption that 18 to 20-year-olds seeking to carry handguns in public for self-defense are protected by the right to keep and bear arms,” the judges wrote Tuesday.

Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison (D) said in a statement to The Washington Post that he was “extremely disappointed” in the ruling. The state is deciding how to proceed, his statement said, but residents under 21 won’t be allowed to apply for handguns until the appeals process has concluded.……….

"Dammit! I want guns at that fair!"
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Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton threatened to take legal action against the city of Dallas if the State Fair does not rescind its recent policy change to ban firearms at the upcoming event.

“Dallas has fifteen days to fix the issue. Otherwise, I will see them in court,” Paxton said in a statement.

In his letter to the city, Paxton said he could seek civil penalties of between $1,000 and $1,500 per day.

A state fair official told The Texas Tribune they were waiting for guidance from the city.

“We have not spoken with the City yet but stand ready to cooperate with them, as needed,” said spokesperson Karissa Condoianis in an email. City officials did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Fair officials and law enforcement announced the policy change last week, roughly a year after a gunman opened fire at the fair, injuring three people. The fair also announced it will have cameras at entrances for the security process and will not provide lockers or bag checks for larger bags.

Dallas owns Fair Park, where the annual event takes place, but State Fair of Texas, a nonprofit organization, takes over operations of the park and various city buildings and walkways within the property during the 24 days of the annual event, per a 25-year agreement between the two..............

Optimus Prime said:

"Dammit! I want guns at that fair!"
=======================

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton threatened to take legal action against the city of Dallas if the State Fair does not rescind its recent policy change to ban firearms at the upcoming event.

“Dallas has fifteen days to fix the issue. Otherwise, I will see them in court,” Paxton said in a statement.

In his letter to the city, Paxton said he could seek civil penalties of between $1,000 and $1,500 per day.

A state fair official told The Texas Tribune they were waiting for guidance from the city.

“We have not spoken with the City yet but stand ready to cooperate with them, as needed,” said spokesperson Karissa Condoianis in an email. City officials did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Fair officials and law enforcement announced the policy change last week, roughly a year after a gunman opened fire at the fair, injuring three people. The fair also announced it will have cameras at entrances for the security process and will not provide lockers or bag checks for larger bags.

Dallas owns Fair Park, where the annual event takes place, but State Fair of Texas, a nonprofit organization, takes over operations of the park and various city buildings and walkways within the property during the 24 days of the annual event, per a 25-year agreement between the two..............

Attorney General Ken Paxton threatens to sue Dallas over State Fair gun ban

A state fair spokesperson said they would cooperate with the city of Dallas’s guidance on the matter.

www.texastribune.org

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Literally there was a shooting there last year and that slimeball Paxton wants to allow them to be permitted this year. That dude is such a crook.

Nebaghead said:

Literally there was a shooting there last year and that slimeball Paxton wants to allow them to be permitted this year. That dude is such a crook.

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He is by far the worse AG in the country. And they have some dossies out there in Republican states.

Guess this can go here
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A Kansas mother whose two-year-old son fatally shot his four-year-old sister has been sentenced to life in prison.

Mariann Belair, 24, will not be eligible for parole until she has served 25 years under the sentence imposed on Tuesday in Shawnee county district court, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. Jurors found her guilty in May of aggravated child endangerment and first-degree murder in the commission of a felony.

Belair testified at her trial that she removed a loaded 9mm handgun from a diaper bag and placed it on the couch next to her in October while she was home with her four-year-old daughter, Lawrencia Perez-Belair, and her two-year-old son and one-year-old daughter.


She said she had planned to go get food with her family and was making sure she had everything she needed in her bag. She said Lawrencia then distracted her by asking her to shoot a cellphone photo of them together.

Lauren Amrein, deputy district attorney, told jurors that the gun sat on the couch for at least 12 minutes before Belair’s son, who was about to turn three, picked it up and shot his sister. She said no reasonable person would have let the gun sit there so long with small children present.……

Optimus Prime said:

Lauren Amrein, deputy district attorney, told jurors that the gun sat on the couch for at least 12 minutes before Belair’s son, who was about to turn three, picked it up and shot his sister. She said no reasonable person would have let the gun sit there so long with small children present.……

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hard to believe anyone got charged for this. It is always just an accident.

Optimus Prime said:

Guess this can go here
=================

A Kansas mother whose two-year-old son fatally shot his four-year-old sister has been sentenced to life in prison.

Mariann Belair, 24, will not be eligible for parole until she has served 25 years under the sentence imposed on Tuesday in Shawnee county district court, the Topeka Capital-Journal reported. Jurors found her guilty in May of aggravated child endangerment and first-degree murder in the commission of a felony.

Belair testified at her trial that she removed a loaded 9mm handgun from a diaper bag and placed it on the couch next to her in October while she was home with her four-year-old daughter, Lawrencia Perez-Belair, and her two-year-old son and one-year-old daughter.


She said she had planned to go get food with her family and was making sure she had everything she needed in her bag. She said Lawrencia then distracted her by asking her to shoot a cellphone photo of them together.

Lauren Amrein, deputy district attorney, told jurors that the gun sat on the couch for at least 12 minutes before Belair’s son, who was about to turn three, picked it up and shot his sister. She said no reasonable person would have let the gun sit there so long with small children present.……

Kansas woman gets life in prison after two-year-old son fatally shoots his sister

Mariann Belair, 24, found guilty of first-degree murder after son picked up gun on couch and killed four-year-old sister

www.theguardian.com

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A whole family unit destroyed in a matter of minutes because of a gun in the home. I wonder how "protected" she feels now.

coldseat said:

A whole family unit destroyed in a matter of minutes because of a gun in the home. I wonder how "protected" she feels now.

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This is big reason why I never had a gun in my house until all my kids were fully grown. I just couldn't live with myself if something happened to them.

BOSTON (AP) — No sooner had Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey signed a sweeping new firearms bill into law last month than gun rights activists filed a lawsuit challenging it, calling the measure an “historic attack on our civil rights.”

Activists are also hoping to place a question on the 2026 ballot to repeal the law, which expands the state’s already tough gun restrictions. It was enacted in part as a response to the Supreme Court’s 2022 Bruen decision declaring citizens have a right to carry firearms in public for self-defense.

The Massachusetts measure cracks down on privately made, unserialized “ghost guns,” criminalizes possessing bump stocks and trigger cranks, requires applicants for a gun license to complete live-fire training, updates the state's tests for what makes a firearm an assault-style weapon and requires an advisory board to provide a ongoing list of prohibited weapons.

The measure also expands the state’s “red flag” law to let police as well as health care and school officials alert the courts if they believe someone with access to guns is a danger and should have their firearms taken away, at least temporarily.

People looking to suspend the law from taking effect until a potential 2026 referendum on it will need to file at least 49,716 signatures from registered voters, which will also help guarantee the question is placed on the ballot. Healey could block any temporary suspension of the law by pushing for an “emergency preamble" putting it into effect immediately...........

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Tennessee’s top Republican leaders on Monday threatened to withhold tens of millions of dollars in state funding from left-leaning Memphis should leaders continue with plans to place three local gun control initiatives on the November ballot.

Earlier this year, Memphis’ city council approved asking voters in November if they wanted to tweak the city charter to require permits to carry a handgun, ban the possession of AR-15 style rifles and implement a so-called “red flag” ordinance, which allows law enforcement officials to remove firearms from those found to be an imminent danger to themselves or others.

The city council had been discussing the ballot measures for more than a year, acknowledging at times that they were potentially risking the ire of the Republican-dominant Legislature since the measures likely conflict with Tennessee’s lax gun laws.

Regardless, city council members representing the state’s most populous and Black-majority region said they were willing to “roll the dice.”

“This is an opportunity for citizens in Memphis to speak,” Councilman Chase Carlisle said during a committee meeting in 2023 when the measures were first being considered. “Whether it’s enforceable by the constitution or not, I think, is moot. I think it’s an opportunity for the General Assembly, whether they choose to listen or not, to understand where we are as a municipality. And to give voice to the people.”............

no clue if it was even the right kid

Just Wanted to Scare Them’: Milwaukee Woman Charged with Homicide After Tracking Down 14-Year-Old Boy Who Attempted to Break Into Her Sister’s Car and Shooting Him In Broad Daylight​

A federal judge recognized a 22-year-old Kansan’s Second Amendment right to own machine guns last week.
U.S. District Judge John Broomes’ ruling is the latest in a series of contradictory interpretations of gun rights stemming from the Supreme Court’s sweeping reinterpretation of the Second Amendment in the 2022 case of New York State Rifle and Pistol Association v. Bruen.
That decision, penned by Justice Clarence Thomas, said laws restricting gun rights are only constitutional if they stem from a tradition of regulation dating from some time between the signing of the Bill of Rights in 1791 and the end of the Civil War.
The defendant in the Broomes case, Tamori Morgan, was charged by a federal grand jury last year with possession of a .30-caliber, fully automatic rifle, along with a Glock pistol affixed with a conversion device that allowed it to shoot automatically.