From The No Shit Sherlock Research Files

Ken AshfordGun ControlLeave a Comment

I know that having lots of guns around means that we’re all safer. So obviously, there is something wrong with a new study out that says that states with more guns and lax gun laws have more gun deaths than states with fewer guns and stricter gun laws: The five states with the highest per capita gun death rates in 2013 … Read More

Breaking: Today’s School Shooting

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Education, Gun ControlLeave a Comment

Marysville-Pilchuck High School in the State of Washington: 3 shot, not including the dead shooter (a student).  It’s happening now, but it’ll happen somewhere else soon. UPDATE:  2 dead, including the shooter.   Looking at the shooter’s Twitter account, it looks like he was distraught over a relationship: It won’t last…. It’ll never last…. — Jaylen Fryberg (@frybergj) October 23, 2014

Patriots

Ken AshfordGun Control, Rightwing Extremism/ViolenceLeave a Comment

So that Nevada couple who shot the police, a random bystander and then themselves declaring that "the revolution" had begun had been at the Bundy Ranch? What a surprise. It turns out they were right wing radicals.  Who'd a thiunk it?

Today’s Shooting Proves NRA Is, Well, Wrong

Ken AshfordGun ControlLeave a Comment

Wayne LaPierre, the NRA honcho, likes to spout this lame aphorism every chance he gets: "The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun" Au contraire, Monsieur LaPierre: Meis, who was working at the time as a monitor who sits at a desk in the lobby, near the Hall’s front door, … Read More

Gun Nuts Go Too Far For The NRA

Ken AshfordGun ControlLeave a Comment

They created a monster.  But how to get the toothpaste back in the tube? In a remarkably frank statement issued on Friday, the National Rifle Association said that gun activists in Texas had "crossed the line from enthusiasm to downright foolishness" with their demonstrations at fast food restaurants. Activists, most notably those with a group called Open Carry Texas, have drawn … Read More

California Shooting Rampage

Ken AshfordGun ControlLeave a Comment

A horrific mass shooting at UCSB over the weekend.  A lunatic armed with a semi-automatic handgun allegedly posted a misogynistic tirade on YouTube before hunting down and shooting women on campus. Seven dead (including the gunman) and seven more injured. Nothing to see here. Move along, right? The deaths this weekend were disgusting, but not as disgusting as "Joe The Plumber", who … Read More

To Arms!

Ken AshfordGun ControlLeave a Comment

Once again, a gun nut has been censored for speaking out on the subject of guns.  You would think that the Tea Party patriots would be going ballistic, crying "HOW DARE THEY STIFLE HIS FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS JUST BECAUSE HE GAVE HIS OPINION ABOUT GUNS?!?!?!" But that's not happening.  Why not?  Because this guy spoke in favor of reasonable gun legislation. … Read More

Our Gun Culture

Ken AshfordGun ControlLeave a Comment

What would you do if a confused man rang your doorbell and jiggled your front door handle at 4 AM? Would you conclude that, like Avon ladies, ruthless home invaders always warn potential victims by ringing the doorbell? If you’re Joe Hendrix of Chickamauga, Georgia, you’d go outside to confront the menace and plug the old codger in the chest with your … Read More

Common Sense Needs To Enter The Gun Debate

Ken AshfordGun ControlLeave a Comment

People need to start asking some serious questions here: The shooting Monday at Washington’s Navy Yard that killed at least a dozen people occurred not only at a secure military installation but in a very secure building. Metropolitan Police Chief Cathy Lanier said the shooting took place in Building 197, the headquarters of the Naval Sea Systems Command, a workplace … Read More

Shooters in Washington Navy Yard

Ken AshfordBreaking News, Gun ControlLeave a Comment

Terrible unfolding of events. First it was a lone gunman, and nobody wounded. WaPo is now saying it is three gunman and several are dead….   #BREAKINGNEWS: Police say 1 shooter down, 2 shooters remain in building http://t.co/jmWBtL7CmV #NavyYardShooting — Washington Post (@washingtonpost) September 16, 2013 Hmmm… sounds like bad info.  Nobody else is saying more than one shooter. And … Read More

Science Again Confirms What We Already Know: Gun Edition

Ken AshfordGun ControlLeave a Comment

The largest study of gun violence in the United States, released Thursday afternoon, confirms a point that should be obvious: widespread American gun ownership is fueling America’s gun violence epidemic. The study, by Professor Michael Siegel at Boston University and two coauthors, has been peer-reviewed and is forthcoming in the American Journal of Public Health. Siegel and his colleagues compiled data on … Read More

Too Discouraged To Blog

Ken AshfordBlogging, Class Warfare, Election 2014, Gun ControlLeave a Comment

There's this… which is totally true.    The headlines this week, buried in the back of your favorite newsite, said: Income Disparity Between Richest 1% And Rest Of US Biggest Since ’20s WASHINGTON (AP) — The gulf between the richest 1 percent and the rest of America is the widest it’s been since the Roaring ’20s. The very wealthiest Americans earned … Read More

How’s That “More Guns In Schools” Thing Going?

Ken AshfordEducation, Gun ControlLeave a Comment

Insane: Arkansas state Sen. Jeremy Hutchinson (R), who is leading an effort to give guns to school personnel, accidentally shot a teacher during an “active shooter” drill earlier this year, theArkansas Democrat-Gazette reports. “The experience gave Hutchinson some pause, but he still supports giving schools the authority to decide how best to secure their campuses.” So, the lawmaker thinks it’s still … Read More