TresSugar

Hello, No We Di'int!

GiggleSugar — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 04:00:00 -0800

Hello Kitty hit the market a little over 30 years ago and took the world by storm. Both young and old are charmed by the button-eyed feline. Her peeps will buy anything Kitty and are always purring for more, but when we put the Japanese sweetheart on a thong- methinks we've gone too far. Hit up this slideshow for more crazy Kitty products. Source

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Nothing Goes Together Better Than Guns and Alcohol

TresSugar — Wed, 15 Jul 2009 06:00:00 -0700

As of yesterday, patrons of alcohol serving establishments in Arizona and Tennessee can exercise their second amendment rights while downing a cold one. How . . . American.

The new laws allowing registered gun owners to carry concealed guns into bars and restaurants that serve alcohol are part of a trend of loosened gun control laws. Ironically, right after the election last November, gun shop owners reported record sales, suspecting that customers feared that a Democratic federal government could curtail the right to bear arms.

Complaints by Arizona and Tennessee's business owners that the new law would hurt business went unaddressed. (Hurt how you ask? You know, when "1 or 2% of would-be Dirty Harrys," as one restaurant owner plaintiff put it, decided to mete out vigilante justice.) As for critics who point to recent public shootings, proponents of the new laws say that the violence shows the need for private citizens to protect themselves with firearms.

500 Guns Swapped For Cash in Harlem: Are Buybacks Good?

CitizenSugar — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 09:00:42 -0700

In tough economic times, people are trying to make money any way they can - and one surprising example sneaks in community service too. In Harlem this weekend, five churches offered cash for weapons – no questions asked. Rifles, handguns, and shotguns were brought to the churches on Saturday and in return the unarmed were given a $200 bank card.

This program, sponsored by the NYPD and Manhattan DA’s office, was created over a dozen years ago in an effort to get guns off the streets and has been met with great success. So far about 5,000 have been removed from New York and over 500 of those in this last buyback. Two weeks ago Brooklyn churches purchased over 400 firearms.

Critics and proponents are at odds over the efficacy of gun buyback programs. Skeptics say, "It's like trying to drain the Pacific with a bucket. More guns are going to flow in." Though Oakland held a popular buyback this Spring where more than 1,000 guns were swapped for $170,000. Is cash an effective way to drain dangerous weapons from the streets?

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Seattle's Schizophrenic Shooter Had Valid Gun Permit

LibertySugar — Thu, 29 May 2008 06:00:19 -0700

A mentally ill man who shot three people at a music festival in the Pacific Northwest last week had obtained his weapon with a valid concealed weapon permit. A bullet from his Glock 19 handgun hit three victims last Saturday while Grainger was fighting another man. The bullet passed through a man's nose, another's wrist, finally ending up in a woman's leg.

22-year-old Clinton C. Grainger suffers from anxiety and schizophrenia and has been receiving treatment for a meth addiction since he was 18. Grainger's issues did show up as disqualifying conditions when he applied for a gun permit in January 2007. A mental illness diagnosis alone is not enough to restrict a citizen's right to bear arms under Washington state and US federal law.

To find out what federal law is regarding mental illness and gun permits, read more.

Federal law requires that an individual be involuntarily committed to a mental institution, found not guilty by insanity, or deemed by a judge as a "mental defective" and a danger to himself or others, before second amendment rights are restricted. Nevertheless, it appears that if background checks were more sophisticated, at least Grainger's narcotic addiction would have prevented him from obtaining the permit. Yet, as with the shooting tragedy at Virginia Tech, crucial disqualifying information located in different systems were not properly shared.

Are nominal and negligent background checks to blame for victims' injuries? Should we make it harder for those with a mental health diagnosis to obtain a gun? Considering that many Americans are treated for anxiety and depression, what mental illness should cause a citizen to lose the right to bear arms?

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Shot in the Dark? The Relationship Between Guns and Crime

LibertySugar — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:35 -0700

Sunday's New York Times examined the relationship between gun laws and crime. The survey of research (cited in the Supreme Court opinions regarding Washington DC's ban on handguns) pondered the question: Do guns kill people, or do gun control laws kill people?

Here are some of the findings I found to be the most interesting:

A before-and-after study found that although Baltimore did not have a similar law, its crime rate mimicked Washington’s.
Reduction in suicides and gun accidents are cited by proponents of the DC law as positive effects that go unnoticed or underestimated.

To see how the US compares to Europe, read more.

In Europe, seven nations with the most guns per capita had 1.2 murders annually for every 100,000 people. In the nine nations with the fewest guns the rate was 4.4. The US rate is 5.7.
Legal scholars have found that denying guns to people who might use them in self-defense tends to increase crime rates. Also evidence suggests that the possibility that a victim has a gun can deter criminals.
Background checks at the state level have been paired with lower homicide rates.

The mixed bag of research brought the US justices to diverging conclusions - the dissent felt it gave legislatures an opening to assess community needs with ban laws, while the majority insisted the constitution already answered the debate, and overturned DC's overreaching ban. How does the conflicting evidence regarding the usefulness of gun laws leave you feeling? Do you think gun laws are the cause or effect of crime?

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Car Salesman Offers Gas or Gun With Purchase. Your Choice?

CitizenSugar — Wed, 21 May 2008 15:45:53 -0700

With all the news of car trade-ins, it was really only a matter of time before dealerships got creative with promotions. One in Missouri is drawing customers with a choice of a free gift - $250 bucks in fuel for your new ride, or a free semiautomatic handgun. The dealer who dreamed up the incentive says it's really about protecting yourself in tough economic times. "It's a choice - protection or gas. We got high gas prices, theft, carjackings, innocent people getting hurt." So which option is winning?

"Right now we're running 80 percent toward the gun," said the salesman behind the promotion. (I wonder if the lady in this pic chose the piece over the pump too?) Apparently the firepower isn't a novelty for his customers. "I get in a vehicle to bid a trade, there are guns in the seats, guns in the back windows. Everybody has a gun - there's no backlash."

One customer said, "Love guns, we all need to have guns. Guns or gas or fuel, I'll take the gun anytime." The dealership makes it all legal by handing out a certificate for the gun - the customer has to pass the background check on his own. The local police chief is OK with the promotion - just as long as the weapons aren't handed out at the dealership.

Is this harebrained or brilliant? Is there a problem with making a semiautomatic gun a gift-with-purchase? Which would you pick?

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Front Page: People Keep Bringing Guns to Healthcare Protests

TresSugar — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 06:00:39 -0700

About a dozen protesters were carrying guns outside a convention hall where President Obama was speaking about healthcare reform yesterday. One man had a semiautomatic rifle slung over his shoulder. - AP
The US Army will require all soldiers to undergo intensive mental stress training. - New York Times
A judge in Texas is on trial for professional misconduct after refusing to let lawyers file one last death sentence appeal for a convicted murderer. - BBC News
A brief filed by the Obama administration yesterday supports the repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act. Even so, administration lawyers will defend the national gay-marriage ban in court. - Christian Science Monitor

The Democrats Are Coming! Boom in Gun Sales After Election

LibertySugar — Sat, 08 Nov 2008 10:00:01 -0800

Making sure to exercise their Second Amendment rights before it's too late, firearm fans have gone on a shopping spree. Gun shop owners report record sales since Tuesday, suspecting that customers fear a Democratic federal government could curtail the right to bear arms with new gun control laws. In fact in October, there were 15 percent more background checks issued for new purchases.

Barack Obama's stance on gun control shouldn't cause too much panic in the gun-carrying community. The president-elect has said that he "will protect the rights of hunters and other law-abiding Americans to purchase, own, transport, and use guns." He also believes the Second Amendment creates an individual right, just as the Supreme Court decided earlier this year. Even so, Obama does support national legislation against carrying concealed firearms, and he may reinstate the ban on semiautomatic assault weapons.

If you're a gun enthusiast, do you feel like your rights will come under fire from the new Democratic leadership, or are you comforted by the fact that a lot of other problems might push gun control to the bottom of the agenda?

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Lawmakers Crack Down on Guns After Shooting Rampages

CitizenSugar — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 10:30:28 -0700

Shooting rampages filled today's headlines. In Alabama, a man killed a dozen people, including the members of his own family. Over in Germany, a 17-year-old boy attacked a high school, killing at least 16 people.

When attacks occur, European countries often hurry to tighten gun laws. Following two school massacres within a year, Finland announced plans today to raise the minimum age for handgun ownership from 15 to 20. In Belgium, lawmakers passed strict gun laws in 2006 after a racially motivated shooting of a toddler and her black babysitter. In Portugal, the parliament is considering denying bail to anyone suspected of a gun crime.

American lawmakers have responded, too. After the Virginia Tech massacre, the governor signed an executive order requiring that anyone ordered by law to get mental health treatment be added to a database of people barred from buying guns.

Do you think this is the correct response to gun-related tragedies?

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Shot Through the Heart! Spy Gives Gun Control a Bad Name

LibertySugar — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 09:00:02 -0700

Get this: a gun-control activist, who sat on the board of two anti-violence groups, might have been a spy for the NRA all along! Mary Lou McFate (or Mary Lou Sapone) has worked for gun control for over a decade, but her organizations have just kicked her out so they can start checking her offices for bugs. Using her maiden name "McFare," Mary allegedly posed as a gun-control activist at the behest of the National Rifle Association. As an alleged mole for the NRA, McFate met with members of Congress, attended rallies, and participated in strategy sessions on behalf of gun control.

This isn't the first time McFate has acted as a freelance spy. During the 1980s she infiltrated an animal-rights group for US Surgical, a company accused of using dogs for research and training. She has also worked as a flight attendant and a sex therapist.

Even though McFate had access to every major legislative strategy of the gun-control lobby, some say they have nothing to hide from the NRA. In fact, a few gun-control activists feel flattered that the gun lobby sees them as a threat.

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