Uppity Wisconsin

Memo to Milwaukeeans who may be feeling powerless to stop Badger Guns from continuing the sales practices that put more handguns into the hands of criminals than any other gun store in the nation. From the Philadelphia Inquirer: 

This column goes out to anyone who has been feeling powerless. You may no longer have a job, a house, or retirement savings, but you still have a voice. Speak out, loud and long, and you can be heard.

Just ask the activists with Heeding God's Call about the power of prayerful protest. Twice a week for nine months, members of the antiviolence group have demonstrated at 10th and Spring Garden Streets in front of Colosimo's Gun Center.

In January, I watched a minister, a rabbi, and two professional peacemakers get arrested after confronting owner James Colosimo about his nasty record of selling guns that wind up in the hands of criminals.

In a recent post on FolkBum, bloggers were discussing the merit of including similar regulations for guns as automobiles. I think this is an interesting idea. Similarly, Folkbum provided me with the reference info for an article related to early gun restrictions in the New England colonies.

David,

I am not arguing whether or not YOU, or possibly others like yourself are not seriously CAREFUL with your guns.  And as I said, I'm sure that your intent was not meant as some evil gun-totin' half crazed half wit. On the other hand David, have you actually given MY point reasonable consideration?  I don't feel you have.

Consider my point.  I don't say that you meant ill-intent.  And I think you "glossed over" my point in this regard.  Can I envision that someone might just have a spontaneous thought and act on it?  Of course I can, but that doesn't necessarily qualify it as a "good idea" for Joe Public. 

I agree that there is much misinformation concerning gun owners.  In this regard, for the most part the NRA has added to this.  Instead of educating the public of what type of people MOST gun owners are they've embellished and painted a picture that only invites hysteria.  Are there bad gun "owners", sure.  You know it as well as I. 

Hey, little miss!

Looking for a gun that doesn't look macho and have "lethal weapon" written all over it?

Jim's Gun Supply in Baraboo, Wisconsin has just the thing: A hot pink "Hello Kitty" AR-15, pictured above, also available in AK-47 and other models to accessorize any outfit.

It'll be the talk of the cafeteria, and you can be the first in your school to have one.

Looking for something a little less bulky, to fit in your purse? Try this model.

The "Hello Kitty" model seems to be missing from the shop's website today, perhaps because of this news report:

 

Of course a gun didn't kill people at an Omaha mall, pro-gun groups will tell us.  A crazy person with a gun did it.

And that's true, to a degree.  Jim Rowen, who once covered the firearms issue for the Milwaukee Journal, doubts that a steak knife would have had the same impact.

The weapon in question, Rowen says, was

The SKS is a military weapon that is often called an assault rifle, though because it's not manufactured to fire selectively in single or automatic bursts, it's just a plain old vicious, terribly deadly, non-assault rifle.

A carbine. To the general public, it's an assault rifle because it's military and devastating, and to the dead Nebraskans, it's of no consequence.

Anyway...

There are many SKS variants, having metastasized from the Soviet Union to China and throughout other former Eastern bloc countries, as a cheap, durable deadly, mass-produced and exportable military weapon - - a staple of the world arms trade.

Not with the ugly cachet of the true assault rifle, like an AK-47, but available from Africa to Asia...to southeastern Wisconsin, aina!

Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, who said a concealed weapons law would "jeapordize ths safety of my deputies and the citizens they represent," today said people of Milwaukee should be able to carry concealed handguns.

Clarke's complete reversal came, as his pronouncements frequently do, in a hysterical email to rabid rightwing radio talker Charlie Sykes, a major Clarke sycophant and publicist.

At the end of a long rant against Gov. Jim Doyle, Mayor Tom Barrett, and Milwaukee aldermen, Clarke says:

If the police are no longer able to guarantee the personal safety of citizens, then reconsider your opposition to allowing law-abiding people the means with which to protect themselves. Yes, Governor, that means carrying concealed handguns.

Here's a Journal Sentinel story from Nov. 4, 2003:

Clarke calls for veto of concealed weapons bill

Sheriff tells Doyle in letter that change would put deputies in danger

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. on Monday called on Gov. Jim Doyle to veto a bill that would make it easier for Wisconsin residents to carry concealed weapons.

In a letter to Doyle, Clarke says the change called for in the bill would jeopardize the "safety of my deputies and the citizens they represent" and says "there are better ways to fight crime than to flood the streets of Milwaukee with dangerous weapons."

Today, Clarke says the best way to fight crime is to flood the streets of Milwaukee with dangerous weapons.

In 1939, the US Supreme Court heard the last case for individual gun ownership rights. Today, the District of Columbia is fighting another claim. Initially the case was from 6 people who wanted to take guns outside. DC bans all guns outside the home, and required permits for any gun.

Wanna bet on how soon this gets canceled?

GOP Fundraiser Features Machine Gun Shoot

New Hampshire Republicans "will be packing some serious firepower at their next party fundraiser," the New Hampshire Union Leader reports.

"Tired of the usual chicken dinners, the Manchester Republican Committee is planning to arm supporters next month with Uzis, M-16 rifles and other automatic weapons for a day of target practice at a Pelham firing range."

Said the committee chairman: "The thought just struck me one day: a machine gun shoot. What the heck?"

Hat tip: Political Wire.