Hero Without a Gun ~ Antoinette Tuff

Decatur, Georgia, School Bookkeeper Antoinette Tuff is the personification of "courage under fire," only she didn't have to shoot back when an armed gunman ran into the school where she worked last week. Instead, this heroic lady used a combination of psychology, compassion and gentle persuasion to convince a mentally ill young man armed with 500 rounds of ammo to lay down his weapons and give himself up. Not a single child or teacher was injured. If only every scenario could end this way ~ Newtown ~ the Zimmerman Case. People like Anoinette Tuff are all too rare in this world! We need leaders like this to refute the NRA and show us a better approach.

Sign the MoveOn.Org Petition: Antoinette Tuff for The Presidential Medal of Freedom



Excerpts from the 911 Tapes, via NBC News

Tuff even mustered up the courage to talk Hill into surrendering — a one-on-one negotiation captured on the tape.

"Don't feel bad, baby," she can be heard telling the young man. "My husband just left me after 33 years. ... I've got a son that's multiple disabled."

Later, she can be heard reassuring him that "it's all going to be well."

After about 20 minutes, she won him over.

Tuff: "OK, he said that they can come in now. He needs to go to the hospital."

Operator: "OK, and he doesn't have any weapons on him or anything like that?"

Tuff: "He's laying on the floor. He's got everything out of his pockets. There isn't anything. The only thing he has is his belt. Everything is out of his pockets. Everything is sitting here on the counter, so all we need to do is they can just come in, and I'll buzz them in."

Only after the ordeal was over did Tuff reveal just how scared she'd been the whole time:

"I'm going to tell you something baby — I've never been so scared in all the days in my life," she told the unidentified operator. Then, she started crying and exclaimed, "Oh, Jesus! Oh, God!"

To which the operator told the courageous bookkeeper: "You did great. Hold on. Hold on"

Snark in Pictures ~ George Zimmerman Found Not Guilty

Adam Lanza Warrants for Newtown Killings Released

Today shocking details were released about the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut, including specifics about the warrants for the Lanza home.


From Gawker

Adam Lanza spent only five minutes at Sandy Hook Elementary School on the morning of December 14—from the moment he "shot his way into the school" to the minute he took his own life. But police found 154 spent casings from his Bushmaster rifle—and over a thousand rounds more at his home, authorities announced today.

According to search warrants newly made public, Lanza, who killed 20 children and seven adults before turning the gun on himself, had over 1,000 rounds of ammunition at his home, in addition to an arsenal of firearms and other weapons, including knives and a samurai sword. Also at the home and confiscated by police were journals, video games and computers, photographs of an unknown dead person "covered in plastic and blood"—and a holiday card made out to Lanza from his mother, including a check for "the purchase of a C183 (firearm)."

Warren and Feinstein on Fire Against Guns

We may never get the comprehensive gun reform that Progressives want in this country, but it's not due to lack of trying on the part of Senators Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, and Dianne Feinstein, D-California.

Warren gave a speech to the Consumer Federation of America in which she slammed the NRA for not allowing basic research on Gun violence so we can study just how far-reaching an epidemic it is.

Via Alternet:

“If as many people were dying of a mysterious disease as innocent bystanders are dying from firearms, a cure would be our top priority,” Warren said. “But we don’t even have good data on gun violence. Why? Because the NRA and the gun industry lobby made it their goal to prevent any serious effort to document the violence."

Feinstein had it out with Texas Tea Partier and NRA proponent Ted Cruz this week when he began lecturing her about the Second Amendment of the Constitution.

SEN. TED CRUZ (R-TX) The question that I would pose to the senior Senator from California is would she deem it consistent with the Bill of Rights for Congress to engage in the same endeavor that we are contemplating doing with the Second Amendment in the context of the First or Fourth Amendment, namely, would she consider it constitutional for Congress to specify that the First Amendment shall apply only to the following books and shall not apply to the books that Congress has deemed outside the protection of the Bill of Rights?

Likewise, would she think that the Fourth Amendment's protection against searches and seizures could properly apply only to the following specified individuals and not to the individuals that Congress has deemed outside the protection of the Bill of Rights?

SEN. DIANNE FEINSTEIN (D-CA): Let me just make a couple of points in response. One, I'm not a sixth grader. Senator, I've been on this committee for 20 years. I was a mayor for nine years. I walked in, I saw people shot. I've looked at bodies that have been shot with these weapons. I've seen the bullets that implode. In Sandy Hook, youngsters were dismembered.

Look, there are other weapons. I'm not a lawyer, but after 20 years I've been up close and personal to the Constitution. I have great respect for it. This doesn't mean that weapons of war and the Heller decision clearly points out three exceptions, two of which are pertinent here.

You know, it's fine you want to lecture me on the Constitution. I appreciate it. Just know I've been here for a long time. I've passed on a number of bills. I've studied the Constitution myself. I am reasonably well educated, and I thank you for the lecture.

Incidentally, this does not prohibit — you use the word prohibit — it exempts 2,271 weapons. Isn’t that enough for the people in the United States? Do they need a bazooka?

Do they need other high-powered weapons that military people use to kill in close combat? I don’t think so. So I come from a different place then you do. I respect your views. I ask you to respect my views

Dianne Feinstein to CNN's Wolf Blitzer

FEINSTEIN: I just felt patronized. I felt he was somewhat arrogant about it. And, you know, when you've come from where I've come from and what you've seen, and when you found a dead body and you put your finger in bullet holes, you really realize the impact of weapons. And then as you go up the technical ladder with these weapons, and they become more sophisticated, and more the product of a battlefield, and you've got these huge clips or drums of 100 bullets out there that people can buy.

When you see these weapons becoming attractive to grievance killers, people who take them into schools, into theaters, into malls, you wonder, does America really need these weapons? My answer to that is no. And so it's based on my experience. And I think -- well, the bottom line is, we passed the bill out of committee by a vote of 10-8. The president has issued a very strong statement in support of it.

. . . BLITZER: Did you have a chance to speak to Senator Cruz after that public exchange?

FEINSTEIN: No, I needed to cool down.

BLITZER: Have you cooled down yet?

FEINSTEIN: I've cooled down.

BLITZER: So when you see him the next time, what will you say?

FEINSTEIN: Yes. Yes. Well, I did say, look, I'm sorry. But, you know, this is one thing that I feel very passionately about. And I appreciate the lecture, but -- that's all I'm going to say.

People of Newtown Speak Out ~ "Should Teachers Carry Guns? I Would Quit Tomorrow"

Newtown Parents, Teachers and First Responders Speak Out:



From Mother Jones:

Testimonials, in order of appearance in the compilation:
Nicole and Ian Hockley, parents of Sandy Hook victim Dylan Hockley
David Wheeler, father of Sandy Hook victim Benjamin Wheeler
Peter Paradis, stepfather of Sandy Hook teacher's aide and victim Rachel D'Avino
Neil Heslin, father of Sandy Hook victim Jesse Lewis
Scarlett Lewis, mother of Sandy Hook victim Jesse Lewis
Susan Ehrens, mother of Sandy Hook survivor Emma Ehrens
Dan O'Donnell, Sandy Hook parent
Laurie Veillette, volunteer EMT for Newtown Volunteer Ambulance Corps
Douglas Fuchs, police chief of Redding, Connecticut
Mary Ann Jacob, library clerk at Sandy Hook
Dr. William Begg, emergency room physician at Danbury Hospital and Newtown resident
Tom Swetts, teacher at Newtown High School
Darren Wagner, former police officer and father of a Newtown High School student

In the following video, Piers Morgan tries out various assault weapons described as "Spray and Pray" because the shooter points the gun, pulls the trigger, and prays he hits the target - which even the inexperienced Morgan can do because of the repeater effect of the rifles. The shooting range guy mentions he is afraid of the UN and the Military coming to grab his guns. He justifies assault weapons for killing wild hogs in Texas, missing the irony that the children of Newtown were shot down like animals. The stupidity and ignorance is really getting me down. It's shocking. We have to fight this.

Obama's Historic Plan for Gun Control

On Monday, Joe Biden promised us 19 Executive Orders on Guns.

Today President Obama surprised us by signing 23 of them on stage after his press conference surrounded by children who had written letters to him after the Newtown/Sandy Hook Massacre. He said the actions will take place immediately, plus told Congress he expects them to work on several more pieces of legislation such as an all-out ban on assault rifles.

He stressed responsibility, but also the fact that the children and parents of Newtown, Aurora, and other communities have a Constitutional Right not to live in fear of future attacks. So the 2nd Amendment rights of NRA members do not come before the safety of children. Obama stood up for Newtown, and for all of us, against a group that would rather see him dead and he knows it.

This is ground-breaking and earth shaking, and GOP heads are exploding right now.

I am so proud of my President and Vice President! Bravo!

Transcript Here on Washington Post

Details of Gun Control Proposals from the White House

1. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal agencies to make relevant data available to the federal background check system.

2. Address unnecessary legal barriers, particularly relating to the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, that may prevent states from making information available to the background check system.

3. Improve incentives for states to share information with the background check system.

4. Direct the Attorney General to review categories of individuals prohibited from having a gun to make sure dangerous people are not slipping through the cracks.

5. Propose rulemaking to give law enforcement the ability to run a full background check on an individual before returning a seized gun.

6. Publish a letter from ATF to federally licensed gun dealers providing guidance on how to run background checks for private sellers.

7. Launch a national safe and responsible gun ownership campaign.

8. Review safety standards for gun locks and gun safes (Consumer Product Safety Commission).

9. Issue a Presidential Memorandum to require federal law enforcement to trace guns recovered in criminal investigations.

10. Release a DOJ report analyzing information on lost and stolen guns and make it widely available to law enforcement.

11. Nominate an ATF director.

12. Provide law enforcement, first responders, and school officials with proper training for active shooter situations.

13. Maximize enforcement efforts to prevent gun violence and prosecute gun crime.

14. Issue a Presidential Memorandum directing the Centers for Disease Control to research the causes and prevention of gun violence.

15. Direct the Attorney General to issue a report on the availability and most effective use of new gun safety technologies and challenge the private sector to develop innovative technologies.

16. Clarify that the Affordable Care Act does not prohibit doctors asking their patients about guns in their homes.

17. Release a letter to health care providers clarifying that no federal law prohibits them from reporting threats of violence to law enforcement authorities.

18. Provide incentives for schools to hire school resource officers.

19. Develop model emergency response plans for schools, houses of worship and institutions of higher education.

20. Release a letter to state health officials clarifying the scope of mental health services that Medicaid plans must cover.

21. Finalize regulations clarifying essential health benefits and parity requirements within ACA exchanges.

22. Commit to finalizing mental health parity regulations.

23. Launch a national dialogue led by Secretaries Sebelius and Duncan on mental health.

Joe Biden Says Obama Will Use Executive Action on Gun Control

 Gun industry–aka The #NRA–declares war on civilization. ~ @BillMoyers

Joe Biden gave many victims of mass shootings hope today when he said that the President is willing to use Executive Privilege to change gun regulations in light of the Newtown Massacre. In other words, they aren't going to "drop it" or "forget it" as many Washington Insiders believe, and that's what many of us want to hear. But to the gun-totin' NRA members, them's fightin' words.

I want to make it clear that we are not going to get caught up in the notion (that) unless we can do everything we're going to do nothing. It's critically important (that) we act.
. . . The President is going to act, there are executive orders, executive action that can be taken. We haven't decided what that is yet. But we're compiling it all with the help of the Attorney General and all the rest of the cabinet members as well as legislative action, we believe is required.

This has been a crazy week for the pro-NRA, anti-Gun Control folks. And when I say crazy, I mean literally.

Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, survivor of the Tuscon shooting, visited Newtown, Connecticut with her husband. That's symbolic and meaningful, unless you are an NRA gun nut.

Connecticut House Member Tells Giffords to Stay Out

Connecticut State Rep. DebraLee Hovey had a rather insensitive message for former Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, who visited Newtown after the horrific Sandy Hook Elementary School shootings: “Stay out of my towns!!”

The six-term Republican took to Facebook to make the rant, arguing the visit “was political.”

“The Lt. Gov was there, [Sen. Richard] Blumenthall was there and ALL political types KNOW it is courteous to let sitting Reps known when another political is in their District. So……There was pure political motives,” she wrote Friday.

Giffords and her husband are not going to let nonsense like that stop them. They are gun owners but are starting a PAC called Americans for Responsible Solutions.


Then there was scary tinfoil-hat enthusiast Alex Jones threatening CNN's Piers Morgan with another American Revolution.
Snark Amendment: Gun Nut Alex Jones Goes Bonkers on Piers Morgan
Snark Amendment: Alex Jones Day Two: Paranoia in the Big City





Then today when Joe Biden said that Obama might use his Executive Powers to strengthen Gun Controls, the far side when completely Godwin, comparing Obama to Hitler, Stalin, and George III. And not just the bloggers, but Fox News Nation.
Snark Amendment: Right Wing Goes Godwin on Guns



I think it's all good because from these extreme reactions on the Right, every sane person in America can see what the problem is - the rabble rousers who crave power on the right are determined to paint Obama as a tyrant or a dictator, and it plays right into the paranoia of guys like Alex Jones who have thousands if not millions of followers. They have hated Obama before they even knew anything about him just based on the color of his skin, and his second election has left them drooling and confused. They were just sure he would be a one-term President - Karl Rove promised them. So where can they go now? When all you have left is a bunch of guns, every situation seems like High Noon at the OK Corral, so the rhetoric gets ramped up higher and higher.

To me it is exactly like cuckoo Cling Eastwood arguing with an empty chair - they are projecting themselves onto Obama and creating him in their own image, which is batsh*t crazy and always aching for a fight.

That's why gun nuts believe Obama wants to be an oppressive dictator. Recall that President George W. Bush said wistfully several times that being a dictator would be so much easier, and we all know that Dick Cheney believed that - he basically declared war on several countries all by himself.

And the Tea Party seems to want a new Civil War over their right be dictate humiliation on anyone who is not a rich white man. They want to oppress the poor, the elderly, the immigrants, minorities, and women. They want the uppity folk back in their places, circa 1776 or 1862 or 1950 or whatever historical fantasy is popular at the moment.


People who ask "Why do you need guns with 300 rounds of ammunition?" get no answer because it's a power trip, pure and simple. Guns are like porn to these people, and websites like Breitbart, Drudge, and Fox News feed the addiction. Happiness is a warm gun with lots of ammo. It's not about hunting or even protection. They want chaos and anarchy so they can go around blasting the creeping marauders like Ralphy in the Christmas Story.

People like Donald Trump and John Sununu made it clear during the election that Obama was the "Other" - their Moriarty, their Nemesis, what John Stewart called their "Invisible Hitler." We've got a nation of George Zimmermans assuming that everyone who isn't them is up to no good, and that they have a right to swagger around like Marshall Dillon on the wild streets of Dodge City, aiming their weapons at any imaginary threat.

Aurora, Colorado ~ The "Legal" Arsenal of Killer James Holmes

The Preliminary Hearing for the Aurora "Batman Movie" shooting last year is going on in Centennial, Colorado, and disturbing details are emerging.

According to the Denver Post, here's the list of incredibly dangerous items that James Holmes, the mentally ill shooter, bought in the months before the massacre:

• four guns;
• 6,295 rounds of rifle, shotgun, and handgun ammo
• dozens of gun magazines
• ballistic gear
• weapon slings
• two laser sights
• two tear-gas canisters
• hundreds of practice targets
• explosive chemicals
• fireworks supplies
• handcuffs
• a military first-aid dressing

ATF agent Steven Beggs said the purchases — all from online retailers or the Gander Mountain and Bass Pro Shops sporting goods stores in the metro area — began May 10 and ended July 14. There were five purchases in the first week of July alone.

Did you catch that ~ almost 7,000 rounds of ammunition, and no one even blinked when he bought it. Tear Gas? No problem. Explosive Chemicals? Just some good clean fun for a young white man in Colorado.

Defense attorneys made it clear that all of that stuff was acquired legally under Colorado Law, and that there is no screening process for mental illness no matter how dangerous the purchase:

After prosecutors finished questioning Beggs, defense attorney Tamara Brady asked him whether it was illegal, for instance, to buy body armor or tear gas.
Beggs said it wasn't in Colorado.
"Is there any process in place in Colorado," Brady persisted, "to screen out whether a severely mentally ill person is purchasing these items?"
Beggs said no.

Also, police didn't test Holmes for drugs or alcohol, even though he was acting strangely and his pupils were dilated:

In afternoon testimony, Aurora homicide Detective Craig Appel testified that police did not request a blood sample from Holmes after he was arrested. He said Holmes' pupils were wide, but that "I saw no indication that he was under the influence of anything."
But under defense questioning, he said Holmes' behavior was at times odd while he was under observation. Paper bags had been placed over his hands to preserve evidence and Holmes played with them as though they were puppets, Appel said. He also tried to place a staple into an electrical socket, he said.

Obviously by then the police were as in shock as everyone else from the horrific shooting, and maybe they figured he was crazy so why bother with a drug test? The Defense is trying to protect their client from as many charges as possible, and the age old way to do that is to prove that the police and the state laws are somehow lacking or negligent. All well and good for Holmes, but what the testimony really does is damn him for playing the flawed system so well.

He knew that no matter how many weapons or scary substances he bought, alarm bells wouldn't go off in the stores where he bought supplies. No one could legally ask about his mental history even if his eyes were rolling around in his head and he showed schizophrenic tendencies. He knew the state laws allowed him to buy as much ammunition as his heart desired in order to carry out his vicious plot.

And on top of that, Holmes booby-trapped his apartment in a diabolical way that he hoped would cause a fire at the same time as the shooting, drawing away police resources so he could shoot up the movie theater. This is really over the top. If police hadn't realized the apartment was rigged, how many more lives would have been lost?



From NBC News:

There was a trip-wire leading from the door to a thermos filled with glycerine that was perched over a frying pan filled with potassium permanganate, Gumbinner said.
. . . On top of the fridge was a remote-controlled “pyrotechnic” box filled with 6-inch fireworks shells. Holmes left the remote for it outside, in a trash bag with a toy car and a boom box on a timer, the agent said.
His fantasy was that someone on the street would hear the music, open the bag, decide to play with the car, fiddle with the remote and detonate the explosives, Gumbinner said.
. . . "He said he rigged his apartment to explode or catch fire in order to divert police resources to his apartment,” Gumbinner said, recounting an interview with Holmes.
No one played with the toy car or banged on the door, though. And when Holmes was arrested outside the Century 16 multiplex – after allegedly killing a dozen people and wounding 58 – he quickly told police about his traps.

We may never know why Holmes wanted to hurt so many people in such a flamboyent and destructive way, and maybe there just is no answer. But something good can come of this if states like Colorado will begin to stand up to the NRA and create more hurdles. If government can't do it, then gun shops and sporting goods stores should realize they may be held accountable in the future if they don't support a screening process. Hey, if bartenders can be arrested for serving drinks that lead to deaths, then gun runners certainly can.

The NRA Remains Tone Deaf

*Sigh* Christmas is over ~ back to reporting on the NRA.

GOP pollster Frank Luntz says the NRA just doesn't get it, and reiterated that Americans aren't thrilled with armed guards in schools. Luntz has done his own Poll of Gun Owners which showed broad support for reasonable gun restrictions, even among members of the NRA.



From Huffington Post today:

“The public wants guns out of the schools, not in the schools, and they're not asking for a security official or someone else," Luntz said on CBS’s “This Morning,” responding to a proposal first floated by top NRA lobbyist Wayne LaPierre during a press conference last week.
"I don’t think the NRA is listening. I don’t think that they understand," Luntz continued. "Most Americans would protect the Second Amendment rights and yet agree with the idea that not every human being should own a gun, not every gun should be available at anytime, anywhere, for anyone. That at gun shows, you should not be able to buy something there and then without any kind of check whatsoever. What they're looking for is a common-sense approach that says that those who are law-abiding should continue to have the right to own a weapon, but that you don’t believe the right should be extended to everyone at every time for every type of weapon.”

On Sunday, NRA spokesman Wayne LaPierre was on NBC's Meet the Press, and while he just waffled and insisted that armed guards are the only answer, the interview caused more trouble for show moderator David Gregory, who is now being "investigated" for waving around a clip of live Ammo on the air.

Happy Sunday Morning to you too, Sir.

Snark Amendment: Quotes about David Gregory's Gun Show

From Jonathan Turley's Law Blog

Meet the Police: NBC’s David Gregory Under Investigation For Weapons Violation On Show
. . . This may have been a case where a picture — or consultation with counsel — might have been in order. There is no exception for the media in such possession cases.
On the show with the National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre, Gregory showed him the clip and said “Here’s a magazine for ammunition that carries 30 bullets. Now, isn’t it possible that if we got rid of these . . . if we replaced them and said, ‘Well, you can only have a magazine that carries five bullets, or 10 bullets,’ isn’t it just possible that we could reduce the carnage in a situation like Newtown?”

The predictable response from LaPierre was “I don’t believe that’s going to make one difference.” The less predictable response came from gun owners and gun control advocates who noted that the possession of such a clip is a crime. The D.C. law states “No person in the District shall possess, sell, or transfer any large capacity ammunition feeding device.” This does not require that the clip be attached to a weapon and does not appear to require that it have rounds in the clip.
The reported investigation could also ensnare those NBC employees who obtained and transported the clip.

LaPierre on the Crazy Train

source: Matt Bors
OK, Mr. LaPierre - I call you Crazy!

From Meet the Press, Sunday December 23, 2012

DAVID GREGORY: This is a matter of logic, Mr. LaPierre, because anybody watching this is going to say ‘hey wait a minute. I just heard Mr. LaPierre say that the standard is we should try anything that might reduce the violence. And you’re telling me that it’s not a matter of common sense that if you don’t have an ability to shoot off 30 rounds without reloading, that just possibly you could reduce the loss of life? Would Adam Lanza have been able to shoot as many kids if he didn’t have as much ammunition?’

WAYNE LAPIERRE: I don’t buy your argument for a minute.

From NBC News

“If it’s crazy to call for putting police in and securing our schools to protect our children, then call me crazy,” LaPierre told NBC’s David Gregory. “I think the American people think it’s crazy not to do it. It’s the one thing that would keep people safe and the NRA is going try to do that.”

. . . President Barack Obama has tasked Vice President Joe Biden with the job of consulting with members of the Cabinet and outside organizations to come up with legislative proposals by next month.

When asked about this initiative, LaPierre said, “if it’s a panel that’s just going to be made up of a bunch of people that for the past 20 years has been trying to destroy the Second Amendment, I’m not interested in sitting on that panel…. The NRA is not going to let people lose the Second Amendment in this country.”

Following LaPierre on Meet the Press, Sen. Charles Schumer, D- N.Y., said that the NRA leader is “so extreme and so tone deaf that he actually helps the cause of us passing sensible gun legislation in the Congress…. He is so doctrinaire and so adamant that I believe gun owners turn against him as well.”

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Changing the Gun Culture

President Obama spoke today about creating a task force headed by Joe Biden to figure out ways to stop gun violence.


Of course the President has the best of intentions, but with Congress out of session for the holidays, and the President's Inauguration early next year, the timeline for working out a plan will take until at least the end of January. Many are worried that it will take too long to get legislation going, or that the will of the people will dry up at the grassroots level, allowing the NRA to usurp the message after their press conference on Friday of this week.

But I don't think so - not this time. Things are happening all over the country that are fundamentally different in a way we've never seen before and people are taking action - Check it out:


New Jersey Has Record-Setting Gun Buyback

"A lot of people said they don't want the guns around the house now," said state Attorney General Jeffrey Chiesa as he announced the result of the program held Friday and Saturday at two Camden churches. The state brought in 1,137 guns, surpassing the previous record of 700 weapons from a 2009 Essex County event. Among them were scores of rifles, shotguns and pistols, sawed-off shotguns, a century-old antique weapon, a rifle used for hunting elephants and five fully automatic weapons. Some 90 percent were in working condition. Many were illegal weapons under state laws; some were so-called community guns stashed around neighborhood. Nearly all are to be destroyed.
. . . The state had $110,000 in cash to give to those who turned in guns, along with $6,000 in gift cards left over from a previous program.
"At 2 o'clock," he said, "we were out of money."

From Gawker:

Stephen Barton, one of the 58 movie-goers injured during the mass shooting in Aurora that claimed the lives of 12 people, appears in a new non-partisan PSA asking voters to demand a plan from both President Obama and his GOP rival Mitt Romney to curb gun violence.
"I was lucky," Barton, who was struck by 25 shotgun pellets, says as he sits inside an empty movie theater. "In the next four years, 48,000 Americans won't be so lucky because they'll be murdered with guns in the next president's term — enough to fill over 200 theaters."
The push for a "plan" is backed by Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a coalition of 725 mayors called who have set up an online petition that has received over 250,000 signatures to date.

Danbury, CT, Gun Show Cancelled

The Danbury Gun & Knife Show scheduled for Jan. 5-6 has been canceled. The show’s promoter, Big Al’s Silver Bullet Productions, announced the cancellation on its website, as did Mayor Mark Boughton on Twitter.
The show was to include ”Premium Knives, Firearms, Gun Accessories, Ammo, Tactical Clothing, Hard-to-Find Items, Tactical Gear and more!”
A call to Big Al’s was picked up Tuesday afternoon by a person who responded, “No comment,” when asked why the gun show was canceled.

Florida Pawn Shop Owner Stops Selling Guns

“Dropped her (his daughter) off yesterday, saw the children, came to work prepared to display our firearms, and the first one I display is a Bushmaster AR-15," James said. "I said to myself, 'that’s it; I just can’t hang this on my wall.' ”
James said he is still a firm believer in the Second Amamendment. He’ll continue to carry a firearm, and he will have them in his home, but he can no longer fathom the possibility of a gun he sells end up in the wrong hands.
“It would have been devastating," he said. "I think of that scenario every day."
James and his daughter have tacked up green and white ribbons in place of the guns to honor the victims of the Connecticut shooting.
James said he’s not sure what he’s going to do with all of the guns, and since gun sales were such a large part of his business, he will have to make some changes in order to keep the store open.

Private Equity Firm Cerberus Sells Bushmaster Gun Stake

Calling the deadly assault "tragic and devastating," private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management said Tuesday that it will sell its 95% stake in Freedom Group Inc., which makes the Bushmaster AR-15 rifle that police said was used in the attack.
The massacre was a "watershed event that has raised the national debate on gun control to an unprecedented level," Cerberus said.
. . . The California State Teachers' Retirement System said Monday that it would review its holdings in Cerberus in early January because of its link with Bushmaster. Through its investment in Cerberus, CalSTRS owns 2.4% of Freedom Group.

Dick's Sporting Goods Pulls Guns from Shelves

Dick’s Sporting Goods Inc., the largest U.S. sporting-goods chain, suspended sales of modern sporting rifles nationwide in the wake of the shooting in Newtown, Connecticut, as the massacre’s victims are mourned.
Sales of all guns have been stopped at its store closest to the shooting, the Coraopolis, Pennsylvania-based company said today in an e-mailed statement.
. . . “We are extremely saddened by the unspeakable tragedy that occurred last week,” the company said in the statement. Dick’s is removing the guns “out of respect for the victims and their families.”

Coach Pat Kelsey Demands Action on Guns

The last thing I want to say is I'm really, really lucky, because I'm going to get on an eight-hour bus ride, and I'm going to arrive in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and I'm going to walk into my house, and I'm going to walk upstairs, and I'm going to walk into two pink rooms with a 5-year-old and a 4-year-old laying in that pink room, with a bunch of teddy bears laying in that room," he said, concluding his remarks in the wake of a 65-55 loss at No. 7 Ohio State.
"And I'm going to give them the biggest hug and the biggest kiss I've ever given them. And there's 20 families in Newtown, Conn., that are walking into a pink room with a bunch of teddy bears with nobody laying in those beds. And it's tragic."


. . . "I know this microphone's powerful right now, because we're playing the (seventh)-best team in the country," he said. "I'm not going to have a microphone like this the rest of the year, maybe the rest of my life."
"I don't know what needs to be done. I'm not smart enough to know what needs to be done, OK?" he said. "I know this country's got issues. Is it a gun issue? Is it a mental illness issue? Or is it a society that has lost the fact, the understanding, that decent human values are important?"
Kelsey called on political leaders to get past petty differences and accomplish something.
"I didn't vote for President Obama. But you know what? He's my president now. He's my leader. I need him to step up," he said. "Mr. (John) Boehner, the Speaker of the House ... OK, he needs to step up."
"Parents, teachers, rabbis, priests, coaches — everybody needs to step up. This has to be a time for change," he said. "And I'm going to be an agent of change with the 13 young men I get to coach every day and the two little girls that I get to raise. But hopefully things start changing, because it's really, really disappointing."
His voice rising, and with his eyes welling, he finished by saying, "I'm proud to grow up American. I'm proud to say I'm part of the greatest country ever. And that's got to stay that way. And it'll stay that way if we change.
"But we've got to change."

Discovery Channel Cancels Two Gun Shows ~ Including Ted Nugent!!!

Discovery Channel has cancelled "Ted Nugent's Gun Country," as well as a show called "American Guns." This is good news at least. I think it's poetic justice (or merely dang good justice) that Ted Nugent is one of the first gun nuts to be affected by the shooting at Sandy Hook, especially after some of the things he said about Obama during the election (see Here, Here, as well as what he said about Bob Costas just a few weeks ago ).

Here is Nugent's latest tweet about the Newtown Massacre and gun control - seriously, being cancelled couldn't happen to a nicer guy. With any luck he'll start threatening people again and this time perhaps the FBI or CIA will take him to jail.

300million American guns were not misused again this week-leave us the hell alone
— Ted Nugent (@TedNugent) December 18, 2012

Breitbart touted Nugent's show in October with some colorful language - you could call it "gun porn" - that seems even more crass and inappropriate now. They aren't ashamed, of course, but they should be.

Breitbart: All Guns All the Time

Ted Nugent's Gun Country premieres on October 10 on Discovery Channel. Coupled with the recent release of a full line of Ted Nugent Ammunition, it puts Uncle Ted right where he likes to be -- with guns in his hands and targets down range.

His Discovery Channel show is literally going to be a celebration of life with guns. His wife and children will all be featured with various firearms, reflecting what Nugent says is a "very serious, very sincere relationship all of them share with firearms." His show will cover hunting and shooting for recreation, and will also shine the spotlight on new firearms and firearm products.

The message Nugent wants to get out is that these aren't things he and his family are doing just because the cameras are rolling. Rather, these represent "the natural, every day activities the Nugent family undertakes with guns."

But that's all over now. Buh-Bye, Crazy Uncle Ted....



Fox News Reports:

“American Guns," came under intense scrutiny in the wake of Friday’s mass shooting at a Connecticut grade school, with people flooding the show’s Facebook page calling for its cancelation.
“I know you all have to make money but would Discovery Channel PLEASE consider ceasing to broadcast the show in the U.K.? Sadly your program makes buying/owning guns seem fun, glamorous, even normal,” wrote one. Another tweeted, “Dear Discovery Channel: it’s not appropriate showing the program American Guns now!” Another weighed in: “With Discovery shows like 'Sons of Guns', 'American Guns', 'Ted Nugent's Gun Country' etc it's not surprising how guns r seen as acceptable.”
It seems the critics may have been heard.

From E-Online

American Guns is no more.
Discovery Channel confirmed today that the reality show about a Colorado family in the gun business will not be back for a third season. The show's second-season finale had aired Sept. 5.
"American Guns concluded earlier this year," the network said in a statement. "Discovery Channel chose not to renew the series and has no plans to air repeats of the show."

From Media Matters:

. . .While Discovery has described Ted Nugent's Gun Country as a "one-hour special," Nugent claimed that Discovery "want[s] to do it as a regular feature." Nugent has also said the show would help him advance his view in the "culture war."
The episode of Ted Nugent's Gun Country that aired in October showed Nugent shooting a scimitar-horned oryx, an animal extinct in the wild, and using a .50-caliber Browning armor-piercing machine gun to blow holes in a steel door used by a team of "preppers" to protect their armory.

From Raw Story

The Discovery Channel confirmed to Raw Story on Tuesday that firearms enthusiast Ted Nugent will also not be returning to the channel in any form or fashion.
Speaking to Raw Story in remarks specified as “not for attribution,” a spokesperson admitted that “Ted Nugent’s Gun Country” didn’t do very well when it aired in October, even with fellow firearms fashionistas. Nielsen Ratings placed the viewership at about 864,000 people in all. But the network’s decision is not just about the numbers.
After Friday’s devastating massacre at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, the spokesperson said that Nugent would definitely not be returning to the Discovery Channel.