Florida Man Goes Nuts After Michelle Obama Speech

Police were called in Pasco County, FL after a man apparently fired shots into the air late last night outside of his RV. According to police he was expressing some sort of displeasure with the speech given by Michelle Obama at the Democratic Convention last night. He probably is unhappy with the Obama position on health care, or maybe abortion, and certainly is not at all angered by her race.

Supremes

Child rapists cannot be executed.

Laws making handgun possession illegal are unconstitutional.

Lethal Injection is not "cruel and unusual" punishment.

Foreign detainees have a right to challenge their detention in court.

These are four recent decisions handed down by the Supreme Court. An article in today's New York Times chronicle recent decisions by the court and point out the high number of cases decided by a 5-4 vote. On many major issues one moderate justice, Justice Kennedy has been the swing vote. There are a number of Justices on the court who's age makes them candidates for imminent retirement. Two of them are usually reliable votes for the "Liberal Block" of the court. The next President will likely have the opportunity to appoint 2 Judges to the court for lifetime appointments.

Gun Violence

Santa Fe Springs, California. June 5, 1997.

Daniel S. Marsden fatally shoots 2 co- workers and wounds four others with a 9mm semi-automatic pistol after an argument. He kills himself two hours later.

Memphis, Tennessee. March 3, 2008

Six people were killed, including two children, and another three children wounded in a shooting Monday in Memphis, Tennessee, authorities said.

The first blurb is the first listed instance of gun violence compiled by the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

The second case comes straight from CNN.com story that is "breaking" tonight.

According to the Brady Campaigns list over 130 incidents of high profile (likely those not occurring in high crime poor inner city areas) mass gun violence in the last ten years. Maybe time to start thinking about that Second Amendment again?

This Will Not Help

The state of Utah is the only state in this Holy Union that allows college students to carry handguns into class. This story right here, tells the tale of a student who does just that.

Nevermind that he carries a different gun based on his outfit, a certain gun for t-shirt, a different, presumably larger piece with a jacket...

This student would probably not help if an angry, prehaps mad, perhaps mentally disturbed, person came busting into his Organic Chemistry class with a mission to shoot as many people as possible before shooting himself. That is, he probably couldn't really help much unless he got lucky or was combat trained.

Admittedly, I have never shot a gun but by the power of common sense I know that learning how to shoot a gun at a target at a shooting range is different than shooting a person who is shooting at you and wants to die and wants to kill you.

So, here is my proposal. If you want to carry a gun into your classroom you must do the following things. First, you must announce every single day, in every class, that you are in attendance and that you are carrying a loaded gun just in case sensible students want to get the f--- out of there. Second, you must present some sort of certification that indicates you are combat trained that way you can actually do some good should you be needed. You must also speak to a psychiatrist to make sure you aren't completely wacked out, lets say weekly, no, daily. Also, you need to demonstrate perfect vision or at least show that your contacts/glasses equate to perfect vision. Oh, and you need to take a drug and alcohol test every single morning.

You cannot be in a fraternity or sorority. You must have a strictly held-to curfew. You must continually practice your marksmanship and combat skills. It would also help if you could learn how to throw a pencil like a spear in case your gun jams. I would also suggest training in one of the following martial arts: Jujitsu, Tae Kwon Do, or Thai Boxing. Based on my viewing of vigilante films these are the three most effective fighting styles.

If you are going to carry a gun into a classroom you need to be a trained killing machine.

America is Packing Heat

Today's headlines:

• Six dead as gunman 'goes to war' with Missouri city
• 5 Dead After Los Angeles Gunbattle
• 3 shot dead on Louisiana Tech campus
• Man Planned to Gun Down Fans at Super Bowl

You can't tell me that our country as a whole wouldn't be better off outlawing handguns. I know many gun owners, and I have heard their arguments for why they need to keep their guns.

"If you take guns away from honest people like me, we won't be able to protect
ourselves from criminals."

It is significantly more likely that you, or someone you love, is going to be shot by that gun. You hear stories about it all the time: a child finds a gun and shoots himself by accident; a man shoots his wife after mistaking her for a prowler.

My parents' next door neighbor had an incident where their 10 year old son pointed his father's loaded handgun at his mother because he heard noises in the basement and thought she was a burglar. Thank God he did not pull the trigger. Now they keep the gun locked in a safe. But, really, they're probably better off without the damn thing.

"Guns don't kill people, people do."

True, but a gun makes it a whole lot easier. Look, I realize that there are bad people out there - and that bad people are going to do bad things, regardless of whether or not handguns are legal. But it's disgusting how easy it is for just about anyone to obtain a gun. I'm a responsible, intelligent, upstanding citizen - but the idea that I could go purchase a gun right now terrifies me.

"It's my Constitutional right to own a gun!"

This one really irritates me. The world was a completely different place when the Second Amendment was drafted. Most of the social issues that necessitated the 2nd Amendment are no longer relevant today. Plus, I love the irony of Bush supporters railing on about the importance of maintaining Constitutional rights.