So Joan, like many anti-rights bloggers are mourning the loss of Jim Brady, the namesake of Handgun Control International’s name-change to The Brady Campaign.
I see Mr. Brady the same way as I see Gabby Giffords, somebody who was not seriously anti-gun, but married to an insane anti-freedom creep. Oddly enough after they suffered a debilitating brain injuries both became spokespeople for anti-freedom laws that had nothing to do with their injuries.
That’s my opinion, but I don’t begrudge people mourning their dead. I won’t miss him, but they seem to. I respect that. Jason “Baldr” Kilgore has a fairly too-the point epitaph here. I’ll leave the “Two Million NICS denials” bit alone for now. We all know how NICS works and the flaws of that statement.
Joan takes it a step further:
Today is the day I got the phone call telling me that my sister had been shot and killed by her estranged husband. The shooting happened on August 5th but my (at the time) brother-in-law sat in his house with two dead bodies apparently trying to decide what to do next. Shooting other human beings must be a terrible thing even for the shooter. How can one live with the idea that you have just brutally and inexplicably killed another person. He didn’t live too long actually. Several months after the shooting, he killed himself. Shootings like this one and so many other domestic shootings happen quickly in moments of anger, rage, jealousy, depression, misunderstandings and other “reasons”. When a gun is available to people in these states of mind, it is often used.
Of course the “Shooting Like This” didn’t happen quickly. Joan’s sister took a protective order out against her estranged, and abusive husband, and the shooting happened when she and her boyfriend went to serve him papers at his house.
My sister’s death will always be with me. I don’t want other families to feel this way. I can safely say that my sister would be proud of my efforts.
And what is she proposing?
It is not inconvenient to get a simple background check for a gun purchase. It takes mere minutes unless one is on the list of prohibited purchasers. Those folks should be inconvenienced. And, of course, the 5 day waiting period for gun purchases disappeared after 5 years of the Brady Law’s existence as a compromise in the original bill. One does need to ask what the hurry is when buying a gun. Sometimes my husband and I shop around for cars or mattresses or other furniture or desired items for days and weeks before we actually buy it. And then it may take a few days for delivery. A gun is designed to kill another human being. What’s the rush? And the public agrees with me ( from the linked article to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.)
What’s the hurry? Well Joan’s late brother-in-law already HAD guns, and was illegally keeping them after the restraining order was issued. He was friends with the local cops, so I suspect he wasn’t to worried about the shotgun he used being discovered. Still what about the woman who never thought about guns until somebody threatens their lives? What’s the hurry then? 5 (business) days waiting, for the gun, and often over a month waiting for the permit process is just “inconvenient” right?
Also nice of Joan to link a “Study” by her fellow Joyce foundation compatriots. Funny how Joyce people cite Joyce studies, Bloomberg People cite Bloomberg studies, and Brady people cite Brady studies. Most groups have multiple shell groups to make it appear like it is wide research, but it is about as accurate as when a candidate for office states an “internal poll” that cites they are way ahead in the race.
Also I love how she attacks the waiting period. It was abolished when the NICS system came into place. Before all background checks could ONLY be done by post mail. Technology rendered that archaic and obsolete. Actually the current NICS system is BETTER than the old one, but it’s also more convenient for gun owners, which is why they HATE it.
It was always about time to run the checks, never about a “Cooling Off Period” often cited. Also when somebody has DOZENS of guns, what exactly is making them wait going to do? You MIGHT argue that the FIRST gun might be a valid time for reflection, but still that puts people who have suddenly woken up about their self-defense, often in the gravest extremes, in danger. In those 5-7 days (longer if you can’t make it to the shop the day your gun is ready) is plenty of time for your stalker to beat you to death.
Sorry Joan, but even your best wishes wouldn’t have saved your sister’s life, and you certainly weren’t there to help her do the SMART think, like having a peace officer or registered mail serve the papers. Also do you think this was the FIRST Joan heard about her Brother-in-law being a dangerous and bad man? No, his face was all over the local news for his countless run-ins with the law, and those were NEWS reports. Didn’t she ever see her sister socially with her husband? Of course those things are never discussed. It’s not Joan’s personal responsibility to protect her family, it’s the GOVERNMENT’S job!!!
