Category: Guns

Nebraska is considering a whole host of bills, according to this article that contains a number of inaccurate statements.

Action Three News has obtained a “get tough on guns” plan that was in the works even before last week’s shooting. The plan, that will be fought out in the legislature next month, aims to keep guns out of the hands of minors.

But it stops short of banning assault weapons, the kind of weapon that left 8 innocent people dead. According to investigators the rapid fire inside the Von Maur department store, came from a weapon that was bought legally and did not have to be registered in the State of Nebraska.

Police Chief Thomas Warren says the suspect, Robert Hawkins, stole the weapon, an AK-47 military style assault rifle, from his stepfather.

It was purchased legally, but he stole the weapon. I’m having a difficult time parsing that.

State Senator Brad Ashford tells Action Three News he is now pursuing a new law that would force gun owners to store their weapons securily away from minors, and to report a lost or stolen gun to police within 48 hours of detecting that the weapon is missing. However, Ashford’s new legislation falls far short of a ban on assault weapons.

OK, Hawkins wasn’t a minor, so that wouldn’t have helped anything here. We don’t know the father knew Hawkins had the gun. If he did know, he already committed a felony by allowing a felon possession of his firearm, so again, I fail to see how this would help. You’d almost think they were using a tragedy to push a political agenda that pre-existed.

In 1994 former Nebraska Senator Bob Kerrey took on the National Rifle Association, defending his vote to ban assault weapons. In a political ad back then Kerrey said, “During the War in Vietnam, people hunted me. They needed a good weapon like this AK-47, but you don’t need one to hunt birds.”

He’s right about this. Birds are hunted with shotguns, not rifles. Duh. Of course, deer can be hunted with rifles.

The ban ended in 2004, and since that time there have been 118 similar shootings. 88 innocent people have been wounded, 111 murdered.

The gun the killer use wasn’t covered by the federal ban, or under several of the state bans, so I don’t see how that’s relevant.

Finally, since the federal ban on assault weapons ended seven states have enacted thier own bans. But according to Ashford, who sees absolutely no need for an AK-47, trying to ban them in Nebraska even after the Westroads massacre, is a political fight he can’t win.

No states have enacted assault weapons ban since the federal ban expired. Is a little research too much to ask for? All those states had bans that either were in effect before the federal ban, or were passed shortly after the federal ban.

The reporter has an e-mail address at the bottom. Someone might want to try to educate him on what he got wrong.

UPDATE: Mad Rocket Scientist asks whether this reporter drives a lot more car than he might ‘need’ 

It’s good to see things haven’t changed much in Delaware County since I left. The Delco Times is still a rag, and spewing nonsense:

Cho was once pronounced an imminent danger to himself at a psychiatric hospital. Virginia Tech professors pleaded with him to get counseling, especially after he was evicted from one English class for the violent nature of his writing.

Seegrist had been hospitalized 12 times for schizophrenia in the 10 years before she committed the mall murders and was known to local law enforcement authorities for her violent behavior.

And yet, both shooters were easily able to purchase assault weapons, in part, because there was no waiting period for background checks and because the federal assault weapons ban was no longer in effect.

I haven’t heard the name Sylvia Seegrist for a while, but she was prohibited by federal law from purchasing a firearm. Cho waited to get two handguns because of Virginia’s one-gun-a-month law, and neither of his firearms were assault weapons. Sylvia Seegrist’s firearm?

The ban had not yet been enacted when, for $104 at Best Products in Marple, Seegrist purchased the Ruger .22-caliber semi-automatic rifle she used to mow down her victims at Springfield Mall. If the 1994 federal assault weapons ban had not been allowed by Congress to expire in 2004, the Virginia Tech tragedy, the largest shooting rampage in modern U.S. history, may have been averted.

A 10/22 is now an assault rifle? At least they are being clear: any gun they don’t like is one in their view.  Neither of Cho’s gun were covered by the ban, and to say that he would have not carried out his little rampage if he couldn’t get a hold of fifteen round magazines is laughable.

Read the whole sad thing. More ignorance from journalists who can’t be bothered to do research.