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    Updated - Just when you thought it was safe ...


    Yesterday, local news reported that a 13 year old NE Baltimore girl was missing. She had gone off to a skating barn, but hadn't come back. Her family turned out to search the neighborhood, and her older brother found her body under some trash in an alley. That sounded fishy, and I wondered to myself if he knew where to look, but today the case took another turn.

    The headline Police: Girl Found Dead Was Playing With Gun makes it sound like she shot herself, but her family said she was afraid of guns:

    A 13-year-old girl reported missing in northeast Baltimore over the weekend was playing with a gun with a friend when it fired, killing her, police said Monday afternoon.

    Family members identified the victim as Monae Turnage. Police said the teenager was accidentally shot by a .22-caliber rifle that she and her friends were playing with.

    Two boys, ages 12 and 13, were charged with involuntary manslaughter. ...

    The family said the juveniles pretended to be upset over Monae's disappearance, joining in the search for her and eventually guiding her 16-year-old brother to her body, which was found under some plastic trash bags on Sunday in the 1600 block of Cliftview Avenue.

    In Baltimore it is next to impossible to legally own a firearm, so po-lice are trying to find out where the boys got the rifle. If they can find the owner, he'll be in serious trouble.

    Update: Suspected weapon in child shooting found in city officer's vehicle

    A Baltimore police officer has been suspended after the suspected weapon used in the shooting of a 13-year-old girl was found in his vehicle, according to sources. The victim's mother and aunt say they are outraged by the new allegations, calling for the officer to be fired.

    Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said the officer has been suspended for his "conduct" in the aftermath of the shooting but declined to provide more details.

    According to law enforcement sources, investigators believe the off-duty officer, whose name could not be immediately confirmed, was in a relationship with a relative of one of the juvenile suspects charged Monday with involuntary manslaughter. Investigators are trying to determine whether he advised the juveniles after the shooting occurred.

    It may be easier for kids to run across legal rifles and handguns soon because another big story this morning was Md. Gun Law Found Unconstitutional

    States can channel the way their residents exercise their Second Amendment right to bear arms, but because Maryland’s goal was to minimize the number of firearms carried outside homes by limiting the privilege to those who could demonstrate “good reason,” it had turned into a rationing system, infringing upon residents’ rights, U.S. District Judge Benson Everett Legg wrote.

    “A citizen may not be required to offer a `good and substantial reason’ why he should be permitted to exercise his rights,” he wrote. “The right’s existence is all the reason he needs.”

    There's a lot worth reading about Shall-Issue, May-Issue and No-Issue but essentially it's relatively straightforward to get a firearm permit in a rural or light suburban area with a lot of white residents, and very difficult, or impossible in a dense city with a lot of ethnic minorities. I wouldn't even bother to try getting through the paperwork, and application process towards a firearm permit in Baltimore, but I could walk into a gun dealer in central PA tomorrow, show my driver's license, sign a few papers and walk out with a firearm, as long as I brought it directly to my home there. Concealed carry in PA involves paperwork and a waiting period, but I know ordinary people in PA that legally carry guns under their shirts.

    Gun rights advocates were certain that President Obama would take away their rights to buy guns, so there was a big run just before he took office. After the Tucson shootings, the President did ask AG Eric Holder to look into common sense measures that did not violate the Second Amendment, but otherwise the anticipated presidential assault on gun rights did not materialize. As his reelection looks more and more likely, there seems to be another run on firearms and ammunition.  

    In Some say [which really means, our editors say] re-election fear is driving gun sales in Fort Worth, elsewhere, the Star-Telegram lists both speculation and disclaimers:

    "We're at the top of the roller coaster and we're about to plummet down the side," said DeWayne Irwin, owner of the Cheaper Than Dirt gun store in north Fort Worth, which set a sales record for the month of February. "It's fixing to happen again. I don't know if it will be to the same extent it was before, but I see it coming.

    "Look who the Republicans are trying to put against Obama," he said. "It's the Keystone Kops and people are getting scared. People are terrified he's going to get re-elected and then he won't care about getting votes next time. He'll just pass whatever legislation he wants."

    Some say [there it is again] the uptick in sales at gun stores could also be linked to anything from the arrival of tax refunds to a spending spree by fans of the National Geographic Channel's Doomsday Preppers show, which chronicles people preparing for the end of the world.

    February was a big month for car purchases, too, so I was thinking that maybe people finally have money to buy guns. But The Star-Telegram notes that sales haven't really slowed down:

    January was the 20th straight month of increases in firearm background checks. States such as Utah saw a 161 percent increase in the number of concealed-weapon permits from March 2008 to March 2011. And Glock sales in the U.S. grew 71 percent in the first quarter of fiscal 2010, according to the ad.

    In Texas, the number of concealed-handgun permits has gone up every year, nearly doubling since 2006.

    Some say More Guns, Less Crime, and some say More Guns, More Crime, but more guns also means more suicides and more accidental shootings of little girls like Monae.

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    Comments

    Pennsylvania does NOT require a waiting period for handgun purchases or concealed carry permits. Permits are obtained at the courthouse instantly as this is how a free state works. And of course ordinary people can carry guns under their shirts, and we do!


    Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association

    The actual application process itself is very simple and consists of acquiring an application, and a passport-sized photo, filling it out, paying the fee (which can vary from county to county) and submitting it. In some counties (such as Philadelphia) the application must be submitted in person and they may do a quick and basic interview. Once the application is received the entity responsible for handling it will do a background check on you and generally verify who you are. They may contact the references you have provided on the application although many times it will not be necessary. Pennsylvania is a "shall-issue" state in regards to LTCF's, meaning the entity processing your application is required to approve it unless they can prove you are disqualified based on the law. This is very important to prevent localities from simply denying people based on political, or prejudicial biases. Additionally by state law the application must be approved or denied in 45 days (although some offices will use "business days"). Again, this is done to prevent localities from claiming they issue permits, but never actually processing them for political or prejudicial reasons.

    At the gun dealer they said a carry permit would take a few days to be processed.


    This is a true American tragedy.

    However a 22 was involved.

    There is no way to prevent this.

    A twelve year old did not purchase this weapon.

    A twelve year old found Daddy's gun and wanted to play or ruin or kill; who knows?

    Daddy or the neighbor or whomever is partially responsible for this.

    There is no way we could ever stop the distribution of 22's in my humble opinion.


    True, luckily here in york county it is pretty much instant.Other areas can take a few days.


    There is no gun law that cannot be easily circumvented in this country. 25-30 thousands die by the gun each year, half or more accidents or suicides. It might have to reach half a million a year before Americans care enough to do something about it.


    Heard an interesting discussion about the Second Amendment:

    In effect the discussion spoke about 'the era' when it was implemented.  'It was a different time then, we were a new country and the people had some cause to initiate this action.  But now, hey people, the government got nukes, bombs and high tech weapons; so, ya really think your arsenal of small handguns, rifles and even those AK47's are going to tip the balance if 'the government attacks' you and yours?

    'Truth is, not so much.  And another truth is that under the phony cover of this amendment, it is the guns of the populace that are killing our children, fathers, mothers,sisters, brothers and friends.  Everyday.  Hell, I'd trust the government before the gang bangers, racist based militia members and any drunk and/or loaded idiot that has a gun today. 

    'Any with a modicum of common sense knows these automatic machine like weapons serve no good purpose.  You cannot use them for any purpose but to 'hunt and kill' human beings.

    'Guns don't kill people, people kill people?  Okay, but without the guns, we all know that people wouldn't kill anywhere near the same amount.   Studies show that just taking the automatic weapons out of the equation; doing away with the ability to sell guns at flea markets, gun shows and other like venues would reduce the death toll. 

    'In every other way, our country has acclimated itself to the changes of current societal means from those of the times of this amendment.  Yet, in this way only, we grasp the past which denies so many a future.' 


    I'm reminded of an incident that happened with two of my mom's second grade students at a birthday party. One of the students found his uncle's gun, started playing with it, and ended up shooting the other. I wonder if something similar didn't happen here, and those who witnessed it covered it up so that only one person's life would be destroyed.


    At the worst, the boys might have gone to juvenile for a while, but it's looking like the cover-up will destroy the policeman's career.


    IIRC, the 2nd grader doing the shooting in my Mom's class didn't have many legal repercussions, but his uncle did (as well he should have).


    Boy, 4, dies in shooting

    Charges are pending and investigators are working to determine where the gun came from that left a 4-year-old child dead and his mother wounded Monday night.

    While the investigation is in preliminary stages, Maryland State police spokesman Greg Shipley sais one bullet fired from a .44-caliber revolver not only killed Jamal A. Woolford Jr. but left his mother with gunshot wounds to her hand, arm and shoulder.

    "We think preliminarily the mother was lying in bed asleep and the child was either in bed beside her or standing next to the bed," Shipley said. "It appears to have been an unsecured and loaded weapon."

    Police believe the gun was kept in the bedroom and said it was not registered to Woolford's mother or father.

    "It was not reported stolen, but investigators are working on a trace of the weapon," Shipley said.

    Police also said they don't believe this was the first time [the boy] has handled the gun because a witness told police they had seen [the boy] playing with the gun in the past.

    I take issue with the line "In Baltimore it is next to impossible to legally own a firearm, so po-lice are trying to find out where the boys got the rifle."

    ​You're making a baseless assumption.
    I am friends with and work with folk who own numerous firearms (handguns, rifles, and shotguns) and do so legally within city limits. Anyone can go out to Bass Pro and pick up a Ruger 10/22 (for example) without issue.

    In MD, you can purchase rifles and shotguns so long as you're 18 and older. To purchase a handgun, you must be at least 21 and complete a basic (and I mean basic) safety lecture. You can do this either by sitting through a video or going to the MD State Police website and clicking through a web "course". You finish the course and then sign 2 copies of your Certificate of Completion -- one for yourself and one for the MSP. All of this is free.  

    It's not difficult.
    ---
    To say this rifle owner was negligent is a vast understatement. IMO, if you have children in a house where guns are, they should have been taught better than to do anything with them when their parents aren't around. They shouldn't be able to access the firearm alone either. The owner did not respect his weapons and unfortunately a life was lost because of that lack.


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