Via Sebastian, this lovely tidbit of semi-local news graces my presence
Manatee market for illegal guns booming
Dugong jokes aside, this is a pretty emotionally written article with a few tidbits of information thrown in
MANATEE — Illegal gun sales in Manatee are booming, and the weapons are falling into young and dangerous hands, law enforcement officials warn in the wake of a second teenager gunned down in a month.
Young and dangerous hands! Oh my!
Well, at least they have one thing right, it's the hand they fall in, not the objects themselves. A harmless scrap of rebar becomes a deadly weapon in dangerous hands.
Guns are for sale on the same corners where drugs and violence plague neighborhoods in Manatee County, and the market for guns is just as lucrative and prevalent as the selling of drugs, Manatee Sheriff Brad Steube said Tuesday.
Luckily, the mandatory three day waiting period allows gangsters plenty of time to 'cool off' after purchasing their guns and that has greatly reduced the number of angry drive by shootings.
Here's a shocker!
Most illegal guns are obtained through burglaries or robberies, and the weapons are rarely sold where there might be a trace.
STOP THE BUS!!! Are you saying criminals aren't filling out 4473s when they purchase their guns? Next you'll be telling me they're not doing the prerequisite Brady background check either.
Instead, street sales make criminals big money — to the tune of thousands. More than $68,000 worth of guns were stolen in burglaries alone in the first six months of this year, and $105,000 in guns during the same time frame in 2008, sheriff’s statistics show.
I wonder why they bother with dangerous burglaries. From what I hear, it's easier to just use the gun show loophole and stock up on crates of firearms (and delicious elk jerky) without any sort of background check whatsoever.
They couldn't be lying about that loophole, could they? Nahhhh…
In Galloway’s case, detectives recovered the gun but have not been able to trace it. Detectives are running it through state and federal databases to find any leads as to how the teen got the gun, Bristow said. “They are very hard to trace, so that doesn’t usually get us very far,” he said.
In Galloway’s case, detectives recovered the gun but have not been able to trace it. Detectives are running it through state and federal databases to find any leads as to how the teen got the gun, Bristow said.
“They are very hard to trace, so that doesn’t usually get us very far,” he said.
And what do we do when something isn't working, kiddies? That's right! We try harder! Maybe we should make it against the law to murder people. There's an idea so crazy it just might work.
What I don't get is the sheer amount of wasted effort in trying to locate who happened to have the gun last, legally. Even the cops admit it was stolen, and finding the guy who it was stolen from isn't going to bring the murder victim any relief.
“I’m tired of our children killing other children,” said state Rep. Darryl Rouson. D-St. Petersburg. “A gun does not make a boy a man.” Commissioner Brown also pushed for parents to get involved in their children’s lives, a step that may save a life as the homicide rate in Manatee County has reached an all-time high. “Our children are carrying guns like it is a fad,” said Brown. “Parents need to be searching rooms, looking under beds, in drawers and in bookbags.”
“I’m tired of our children killing other children,” said state Rep. Darryl Rouson. D-St. Petersburg. “A gun does not make a boy a man.”
Commissioner Brown also pushed for parents to get involved in their children’s lives, a step that may save a life as the homicide rate in Manatee County has reached an all-time high.
“Our children are carrying guns like it is a fad,” said Brown. “Parents need to be searching rooms, looking under beds, in drawers and in bookbags.”
BINGO! It's up to the parents.
Sad stuff, to see kids murdered like this. I hate that there are pockets of society that promote the 'thug' life. Poverty, poor family structures, schools that fail to educate, and so many more things that add up to tragedy. No simple solutions are available. No magic pills to cure all societies ills. And the worst thing you can do is attempt to punish the law abiding in a vain attempt to send a warning to those who don't listen to the laws as it is.
Gun shows are only for the mentally unstable.