Gun Legislation

[Vrede too]

Speaking of work, just in case anyone was wondering - At the time that Mr.B outed me, my concerns were sincere. Now, I've cut back on my hours in anticipation of leaving sometime before too awful long. That's why I'm less cautious about my posting now. If being outed to my bosses got me fired, something I always said was a slim but unacceptable risk, I wouldn't really mind.

[O Really]

I don't object when there's evidence of it, I see disturbed people every day at work. We need reasonable gun control and vastly increased mental health funding, but the GOP and some Dems stand in the way of both.

I don't object when there's evidence of it, either, but my problem is that people are quick to say that aberrant behavior must be due to "mental illness" if somebody gets shot, even in cases where the particular mental issues the person had, if any, didn't typically cause violent behavior. IMNVHO, that's so that they can more easily throw up their hands and say, "we can't just lock up everybody (or take away their guns) for being weird - we have to wait for them to do something". Which is, to a large degree, true. Used to be able to do that, though. Men could get their wives committed to a looney bin for little or nothing. The looney bins, like the one in Weston, WV, http://trans-alleghenylunaticasylum.com ... story.html had a pretty high population of perfectly sane women (and some men), locked away by their families. Not saying it ought to be that easy, but it does seem like there ought to be some means of mandatory evaluation for somebody who the whole neighborhood is afraid of.

[Vrede too]

Agreed, plus it's not just screening and lockups. We may never know one way or the other with this creep but if real mental health care was easy to access a lot of bad things would be prevented. Instead, the really sick can languish in our ERs for months, literally, though days or weeks is more common and still a tragedy.

[Seth Milner]

This forum is never going to grow.
No doubt. Word of mouth is either the best or the worst of advertising.

It was an offshoot of newspaper forum whose readers were the recruits.
And there were a lot of them. "Were" is the key word here. That's not rocket surgery.

We have no mechanism for recruiting, none,
Word of mouth is either the best or the worst of advertising. There are plenty of former posters here that keep tabs on BRD; I don't see any of them beating a path back to the door to get in.

and people leave for lots of reasons.
From what I've witnessed in my short time here, there's one main reason.

Attrition has always been guaranteed, I think most of us are surprised it's lasted as long as it has.
If there was any desire for the forum to prosper, why the attrition?

When you were working and responsible to an editor, the story subjects and the public while under threat of lawsuit, you couldn't have been as sloppy as you are here.
Ever hear of the National Enquire? The Globe? The Sun? etc.? Where they published trash to sell papers, I exposed corruption; the real stuff. I could go into further detail but for my safety, I shall not divulge. You have my real name, not the pseudonym I used while working.

Stick to opinion or post credible facts and logic, defend or retract when you're wrong, don't deflect and don't run away. It's not rocket surgery.
Nothing that anyone with opinions that oppose yours are credible. "Resistance is Futile"

Then, don't forget that you made your bed by attacking first.
"Attack"..... For someone who can dish it out on a whim, you sure are one thin-skinned dude.

That's fine with me that you did so, but I sure ain't gonna be cutting you any slack in the kitchen you lit the fire in.
I made my bed, I'll lie in it in my own way.

The rest of your whining is ignored.
Points made above proven.

[Vrede too]

... why don't you address the onpoint responses to your posts ...

And not just mine. He uses whining about me as a pitiful and transparent cover to run away from your posts and rstrong's, too, and has done so for a long time.

Yep, pitifully obsessed with me with no other purpose, as I've said all along and Seth Milner wussily denied, and perfectly happy proving himself to be a liar and a coward in the process. What an infantile loser!

Points proved, whining ignored, topical flubs on pages 95-96 still run away from.

[O Really]

Number of members is not necessarily a good indication of quality of conversation, if you've tried Topix or for that matter most any comment section.

[Seth Milner]

Number of members is not necessarily a good indication of quality of conversation, if you've tried Topix or for that matter most any comment section.

That would depend on who's judging the quality of the conversation, wouldn't it?

[Seth Milner]

Points proved, whining ignored, topical flubs on pages 95-96 still run away from.

[O Really]

Number of members is not necessarily a good indication of quality of conversation, if you've tried Topix or for that matter most any comment section.

That would depend on who's judging the quality of the conversation, wouldn't it?

Sure, to some degree. Everybody has preferences. But no matter the preference the determining factor isn't number of members.

[Vrede too]

And at most they'll probably get a misdemeanor charge of allowing access to a firearm to an unsupervised minor. Ridiculous. So explain to me again how holding people responsibility for their stupidity and negligence is "taking away our guns"? Guns on the table? In a house with little kids, at least one of which isn't yours? Didn't know it was loaded? What a bunch of effin' idiots that will probably walk away with an "opps."

So I was partially wrong. "James Fuller Stepp, 31, faces a felony count of involuntary manslaughter in connection to Abagail Newman's death." But he wasn't at home when it happened, and apparently they aren't charging the woman who was there, who walked past the shotgun on the table and left it there with little kids playing around. Personally I don't have a problem with charging the owner, but I don't think he's going to get convicted. They're both going to walk away with an opps.

District Attorney Comments on Charges After Toddler's Death

One week after the shooting death of a toddler, the babysitter has been formally charged.

Two-year-old Abagail Newman was shot and killed Monday, October 26 at the home of James and Heather Stepp in Henderson County.

Heather Stepp, 28, is charged with one felony count of involuntary manslaughter along with her husband, James Stepp, 31.

News 13 learned this Monday that charges for them both were filed the Tuesday after that deadly shooting.

"After the incident was reported by Mrs. Stepp and the emergency workers and the sheriff's office arrived, she was naturally distraught and was hospitalized," Greg Newman, the district attorney, said. "Mr. Stepp of course was at work when this occurred and Mrs. Stepp was at home with the kids."

Her husband was formally charged Tuesday, October 27, but that wasn't the case for Heather Stepp.

"Because she was hospitalized, they did not go serve her with the papers," the district attorney said. "In fact, she was discharged Friday. And we were asked to hold off until today which we were glad to do."

As the district attorney, Newman says prosecuting this case is difficult for his office and investigating it is hard for the sheriff's office.

"Involuntary manslaughter is the charge because a death occurred. It is not an intentional death. That's clear," the district attorney said. "But because we have loss of life here, and because there were unsecured weapons in the home that caused the death, the charge is proper."

How this case will be resolved is what no one knows yet.

"We will consider many factors. We will consider certainly the fact that the Stepps are wonderful people and everyone says so," the district attorney said. "We wish no ill will towards Mr. and Mrs. Stepp. We know that they feel horribly about this. This is not what they wanted to happen." ...

Dang, O Really, neoplacebo had to write letters to get action.

I won't question the implication of compassion in waiting to arrest her and they did give her 3 days at home, but it's also true that if she's under arrest they have to keep a deputy with her and pay the hospital bill.

[O Really]

Well, I wouldn't try to claim the Stepps are evil but "wonderful people" just don't leave loaded shotguns on the dining table when they know little kids are in the house. People make mistakes, but that's negligent. One of them, I guess Mr. Stepp, at some point held the shotgun in his hand. He either (a) didn't check to see if it was loaded, or (b) intentionally left it loaded. I don't know what kind of shotgun it was, but I'm guessing it had a safety. He either (a) forgot to put on the safety or (b) intentionally left it off. At some other point, he lay the shotgun down on the table and left it, either (a) because he forgot it was there or (b) intentionally. Sometime or other, Mrs. Stepp apparently saw the shotgun (because she had stated she "didn't know it was loaded" but she didn't check it, nor move it from the table. Nor, apparently after seeing the shotgun, did she close off the room or take any steps (no pun intended) to prevent the kids from being in the room with the shotgun on the table. (no way of knowing, of course, if she told the kids to stay away from the shotgun on the table)

What would I do with them if I were judge and jury? Three elements must be satisfied in order for someone to be found guilty of involuntary manslaughter:
1. Someone was killed as a result of act by the defendant.
2. The act either was inherently dangerous to others or done with reckless disregard for human life.
3. The defendant knew or should have known his or her conduct was a threat to the lives of others.

I'd convict them and since it's a felony they'd lose the right to own firearms. I wouldn't send them to jail, but would require them to do significant community service on the dangers of bad safety practices with firearms.

[Vrede too]

Reading between the lines of the article I expect a deal, perhaps with terms similar to yours.

The 7 year old could have flipped the safety, can a 3 year old? Otherwise I agree.

Victim named in accidental shooting; loaded gun was on table (my Henderson County)

[O Really]

I'd bet on the deal, too. Plead to something that's a felony, give up the guns, stay out of jail, probation.

[Vrede too]

Man Left His 5-Year-Old Granddaughter Alone In the Desert With Loaded Gun: Cops

Comment:

In his defense, the Manual on Babysitting doesn't specifically recommend against leaving a kid in the desert with a loaded gun.

[O Really]

Here's another "law-abiding citizen" (until he wasn't) killing his family with a shotgun.
http://news.yahoo.com/investigation-sd- ... 51328.html

Sure he could have, but does anybody really believe he would have done it if he'd had to kill them with a knife or a baseball bat or a dose of rat poison? I'd bet not.

[Vrede too]

I don't know, I could see a bastard like that doing it by any means.

I know, I know,

Whoever you are, what did you do with Vrede and Too?

It's more methodical than Bubbs capping Shirley because she bought the wrong beer.

[Seth Milner]

Got my gun permit yesterday, then went over to the local gun shop to get a small 9mm for home protection.

When I was ready to pay by credit card for the gun and bullets, the cashier said,
"Strip down, facing me."

Making a mental note to complain to the NRA about the gun control wackos running amok,
I did as she had instructed.

When the hysterical shrieking and alarms subsided, I found out she was referring to how
I should place my credit card in the card reader.

I've been asked to shop elsewhere in the future.

They need to make their instructions to seniors a little clearer.

[O Really]

[Vrede too]

"hysterical shrieking"? What exactly do you look like?

[Seth Milner]

"hysterical shrieking"? What exactly do you look like?

It's not a pretty sight.