Deviations from the Norm
It happens, by my oh-so-scientific calculations, about once or twice a year - a licensed (civilian) gun owner in Massachusetts commits an act of violence, using a lawfully-owned firearm.
In December 2004, there was this jackass who put a couple rounds into some guy's car during a dispute over the "hogging of gas pumps" at a Dorchester gas station. Police say the suspect was licensed to carry a firearm - a claim I still find to be questionable, to say the least, given how "generous" the BPD is when it comes to issuing unrestricted firearms licenses.
Then, in August of 2005, we met Walter Bishop and William F. Green, two scumbags who shot their victims in murderous fits of road rage.
Bishop claimed self-defense after having rammed some guy's car and opened fire as the guy was lifting his daughter out of her car seat. Green shot a woman and her son following a verbal argument during which her son spat on his car.
John S. Donoghue from South Boston made our list for the staggering display of idiocy he put on back in December of 2005, when he pointed an unloaded muzzleloader at a man with whom he had been involved in a road rage incident earlier, and pulled the trigger.
Then, in December 2006, Scott Medeiros decided to take his AR-15 to the Foxy Lady in New Bedford and shoot the place up, killing two people in the process.
And, this week, down in Abington, Massachusetts, John Tassinari, a licensed gun owner and self-proclaimed firearms safety instructor, was arrested on charges of shooting his wife to death in his backyard.
Though, for what it's worth, FOX 25 News is reporting that the suspect was held at gun point by his brother-in-law until police arrived.
Here's what I wrote on this subject back in December 2006 shortly after the Foxy Lady shooting in New Bedford.
It's important to keep things in perspective, a foreign concept to those who would use incidents such as the ones mentioned above as rationalization for their quest to outlaw the private possession of small arms.
As has been repeatedly pointed out by others, when that psychotic little piece of shit killed those folks down at Virginia Tech, the media went onto 24-7 coverage mode, focusing on this brutal act committed by one guy with two guns. No mention of the other 79,999,998 gun owners and their 199,999,998 guns.
In December 2004, there was this jackass who put a couple rounds into some guy's car during a dispute over the "hogging of gas pumps" at a Dorchester gas station. Police say the suspect was licensed to carry a firearm - a claim I still find to be questionable, to say the least, given how "generous" the BPD is when it comes to issuing unrestricted firearms licenses.
Then, in August of 2005, we met Walter Bishop and William F. Green, two scumbags who shot their victims in murderous fits of road rage.
Bishop claimed self-defense after having rammed some guy's car and opened fire as the guy was lifting his daughter out of her car seat. Green shot a woman and her son following a verbal argument during which her son spat on his car.
John S. Donoghue from South Boston made our list for the staggering display of idiocy he put on back in December of 2005, when he pointed an unloaded muzzleloader at a man with whom he had been involved in a road rage incident earlier, and pulled the trigger.
Then, in December 2006, Scott Medeiros decided to take his AR-15 to the Foxy Lady in New Bedford and shoot the place up, killing two people in the process.
And, this week, down in Abington, Massachusetts, John Tassinari, a licensed gun owner and self-proclaimed firearms safety instructor, was arrested on charges of shooting his wife to death in his backyard.
Though, for what it's worth, FOX 25 News is reporting that the suspect was held at gun point by his brother-in-law until police arrived.
Here's what I wrote on this subject back in December 2006 shortly after the Foxy Lady shooting in New Bedford.
Over the last 33 months, I've blogged about many a story here at mAss Backwards involving the illegal use of firearms, and the ineffectiveness of our gun laws to curtail the violent crime rate in our urban areas.
And, yes, some of those stories involved individuals licensed by the state to own firearms. I've written about each and every one of those stories to come to my attention, and believe me, I'm looking for 'em.
By my count, there have been maybe ten or so such stories to hit the news wires, where a licensed gun owner used his or her firearm in a reckless or illegal manner. If anyone can come up with a more accurate summary, I'll be happy to update this post.
Not counting incidents involving police officers (no amount of gun control will prevent them from misusing their sidearms), or incidents where the person was subsequently not charged with any wrongdoing or acquitted of the charges brought against them, we're down to maybe three or four, including the Foxy Lady nutjob.
Anyone care to provide me with the number of gun-related crimes in that same time period, perpetrated by individuals prohibited by state or federal laws from possessing firearms?
Take a guess.
500?
1,000?
Yet, Massachusetts has a whole bunch of new gun control laws looming on the horizon, which, as usual, are inspired by the illegal actions of a miniscule percentage (n) of the population, and will be obeyed by only the remaining (100-n)% of us.
It's important to keep things in perspective, a foreign concept to those who would use incidents such as the ones mentioned above as rationalization for their quest to outlaw the private possession of small arms.
As has been repeatedly pointed out by others, when that psychotic little piece of shit killed those folks down at Virginia Tech, the media went onto 24-7 coverage mode, focusing on this brutal act committed by one guy with two guns. No mention of the other 79,999,998 gun owners and their 199,999,998 guns.
