Day: April 15, 2013

Horror Hits Boston

I have been getting weary of the crap going on around the gun violence debare and I have said daily that we need to move on because it is a dead issue…..but when I wanted something else to wqrite about this was NOT what I had in mind……

(Newser) – Two powerful explosions detonated in quick succession near the finish line at the Boston Marathon today, sending the marathon headquarters at the Copley Plaza hotel into lockdown mode, the AP and Boston Globe report. At least two people are dead and as many as 68 people are injured, including some who lost limbs, WCVB 5 reports. The wounded were hustled into the medical tent that had been set up to care for fatigued runners. The race has been halted, with straggling runners re-routed. The Boston Marathon is confirming that bombs were behind the explosions, and police have found three more suspicious devices, ABC News reports. One has already been destroyed, and the others are being dismantled. Police are also testing materials at the scene for chemical substances. The FAA has issued a temporary flight restriction over the area.

“Somebody’s leg flew by my head,” one spectator told the Boston Herald. “I gave my belt to stop the blood.” A Globe sports producer on the scene says the explosion hit “right in the middle of the spectator crowds. There was blood everywhere, there were victims being carried out on stretchers.” A runner told WCVB that he “literally saw the garbage barrel explode,” and that people “started throwing down the barricade and running over one another.” President Obama has been notified of the explosion, and has directed the administration to provide whatever assistance it can. The New York Times has posted a map indicating where the explosions hit.

Now we get all the speculation on why would do such a dastardly act…..who would benefit from this act of terror?

For now it is too early to tell…..all we have is speculation……

Optimism Runs Rampant

I fully intended to move on from this absurd issue….but…….

Oh goody…..two senators, one from each party, have come to an amazing point in the gun debate…..Manchin of West Virginia and Toomey of PA have stepped up and thrown their weight behind the idea of background checks…….the media is all bound up with joy about this amazing piece of bi-partisan BS.  I mean listen to the media and these guys sound like they have discovered a cure of the Eboli virus……this new found optimism is refreshing but a bit naive….at best.

Realistically….it is two guys with a proposal…..a proposal!  It will have to be debated and altered by the various senators……and then….

The Senate’s firearms bill would subject nearly all gun buyers to background checks, add muscle to federal laws barring illicit firearm sales and provide slightly more money for school safety measures.

Excluded and facing near-certain defeat in upcoming votes were proposals to ban military-style weapons and high-capacity ammunition magazines _ factors in the Newtown killings some other recent mass shootings. But keeping those provisions out of the current legislation did not mollify critics.

Opponents said the remaining proposals were unwarranted intrusions on the Second Amendment right to bear arms, would be ignored by criminals and would do little to prevent future Newtowns. Obama’s plans have received scant support from Republicans and many moderate Democrats, with many saying they prefer improvements in dealing with the mentally ill and stronger enforcement of existing laws.

Gun-control groups have embraced the Manchin-Toomey compromise with varying degrees of enthusiasm, and they continued to applaud it on Thursday  while also expressing concerns about some provisions.

Besides the exemption for private sales, gun control advocates expressed displeasure with language letting gun dealers sell handguns to out-of-state customers, exempting some holders of permits for concealed weapons from background checks and shielding individuals who sell guns from some negligence lawsuits.

And then there is the part where once the background check had been performed it would be a felony to keep a record of it……here something to think about……ATF form 4473 Part B questions 21-23 are a background check and the form once completed must be kept on file…..so how will they handle this?  When the dealer files the form he will be committing a felony according to these people…..

Ler us be optimistic……say the Senate does something unheard of and passes this bill and it goes to the House…….does anyone really for a moment believe it will make it through the House?

This whole debate/issue is a dead bill….but just suppose it makes it out of the House (pause here for raucous laughter)………it will be something the NRA wants and if that is the case it will be a toothless, impotent bill……just a reflection of the Congress we elect.

With an outside chance that I am mistaken I will post a complete apology here in this blog…….but I am not holding my breath…..