“We saw a parade of hypotheticals by those who opposed this … What’s important is the message it sends, and that’s, ‘Don’t attack me.’” – NRA Florida lobbyist Marion Hammer, March 12, 2005 With the entire nation outraged about the February 26, 2012 murder of 17 year-old Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Florida by concealed handgun …
Continue reading "“There is absolutely nothing wrong with the law.”"
On February 26th, 17-year-old Trayvon Martin was an invited guest staying with his stepmother in a gated community in Sanford, Florida. During halftime of the NBA all-star game that evening, Martin walked to a local convenience store to get some snacks. Little did he know he was being followed by George Zimmerman, 28, the self-appointed …
Continue reading "These a**holes… They always get away. "
On February 10, National Rifle Association (NRA) CEO Wayne LaPierre spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in Washington, D.C. and declared, Throughout history, one simple truth rings as loud and clear as a bell-the presence of a gun in the hand of a good person makes us all safer. But a recent …
Continue reading "How do you shoot someone eight times in self-defense? "
On July 14, U.S. Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA)-the Chair of the Subcommittee on Crime, Terrorism, and Homeland Security-co-hosted a Congressional Forum with Reps. Mike Castle (R-DE), Carolyn McCarthy (D-NY) and Mike Quigley (D-IL).
The United States, with its weak gun laws, remains an exceptionally dangerous place for children. Approximately nine children and teenagers die every day from gun violence in America. In any given year, the U.S. loses more than 3,000 children and teens to gun violence; a number greater than the number of Americans that were killed …
Continue reading "Children in the Line of Fire"
It has been widely reported that President Barack Obama has been receiving an enormous number of threats during his 15 months in office-a 400% increase over the number received by President George W. Bush. Commentators have also decried the death threats received by Members of Congress who voted for health care reform in March. Less …
Continue reading "Cutthroat Politics"
On March 5, at 9:50 a.m., a woman traveling south on U.S. 1 in Florida saw 25-year-old John T. Colucci race by her on a motorcycle, pull up next to a white pickup truck at a stoplight, and begin threatening the driver of the vehicle. I m a [expletive] cop, you could have laid me …
Continue reading "The Fake Cop"
News this past weekend of a school shooting in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, served to remind me of a couple of misconceptions about the nature of gun violence in our nation s school systems. As I travel around the country, I often hear people say that our nation s schools are inherently dangerous because of gun …
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On September 19, Gerald Deaguiar risked his own life as well as the lives of other motorists as he raced his 2007 silver Jaguar at speeds of up to 90 mph against a motorcyclist. To make matters worse, Deaguiar was drunk and carrying two handguns, one on each hip. A Florida Highway Patrol trooper arrested …
On August 5 in Pembroke Pines, Florida, a quiet morning erupted in tragedy when Special Agent Donald Pettit was shot and killed in the parking lot of a post office by James Patrick Wonder. Pettit, who was employed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, was traveling along a Florida highway with his 12-year-old daughter when …