Ohio Shooting: Three Teens Now Dead. A Few Facts On Guns.
Yesterday’s tragic shooting at a Chardon, Ohio high school left one teen dead at the scene. Now, reports have come that a second and a third teen are dead, including one who was pronounced brain dead earlier today.
The students who have now passed away are Daniel Parmertor, Demetrius Hewlin, and Russell King Jr., the student who earlier was pronounced brain dead.
Reports state that the accused shooter, T.J. Lane, 17, came from a “violent” home. This examination, while irresponsible in the conclusions and assumptions it draws, provides more information about the relationships of the students.
This may not be the time to pass judgment or to politicize this event, as we do not yet know the condition of the two remaining teens who were injured by a fellow classmate. One classmate who knew the shooter and the victims had said yesterday the victims were targeted. Hopefully we’ll be able to learn more soon and learn from this.
Then again, I cannot imagine that the parents of those children would be upset that people were trying to ensure this never happens again.
The one lesson that does not nor ever will come from this is what the right has been saying all along: If there were more guns in schools, this couldn’t have happened.
That, in fact, is a lie.
In America, 100,000 people are shot with a gun every year. And sadly, many are children. And, sadly, like these three teens, in a high school cafeteria, early one winter’s morning, a great many die.
More guns are not the answer. More guns are the problem.
So are trying to put guns in kindergarten classes.
A few fact courtesy of the Brady Campaign:
DID YOU KNOW? In one year on average, almost 100,000 people in America are shot or killed with a gun.
- In one year, 31,593 people died from gun violence and 66,769 people survived gun injuries(National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC)). That includes:
- Over a million people have been killed with guns in the United States since 1968, when Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and Robert F. Kennedy were assassinated (Childrens’ Defense Fund, p. 20).
- U.S. homicide rates are 6.9 times higher than rates in 22 other populous high-income countries combined, despite similar non-lethal crime and violence rates. The firearm homicide rate in the U.S. is 19.5 times higher (Richardson, p.1).
- Among 23 populous, high-income countries, 80% of all firearm deaths occurred in the United States (Richardson, p. 1).
- Gun violence impacts society in countless ways: medical costs, costs of the criminal justice system, security precautions such as metal detectors, and reductions in quality of life because of fear of gun violence. These impacts are estimated to cost U.S. citizens $100 billion annually (Cook, 2000).
DID YOU KNOW? Where there are more guns, there are more gun deaths.
- An estimated 41% of gun-related homicides and 94% of gun-related suicides would not occur under the same circumstances had no guns been present (Wiebe, p. 780).
- Higher household gun ownership correlates with higher rates of homicides, suicides, and unintentional shootings (Harvard Injury Control Center).
- Keeping a firearm in the home increases the risk of suicide by a factor of 3 to 5 and increases the risk of suicide with a firearm by a factor of 17 (Kellermann, 1992, p. 467; Wiebe, p. 771).
- Keeping a firearm in the home increases the risk of homicide by a factor of 3 (Kellermann, 1993, p. 1084).
DID YOU KNOW? On the whole, guns are more likely to raise the risk of injury than to confer protection.
- A gun in the home is 22 times more likely to be used in a completed or attempted suicide(11x), criminal assault or homicide (7x), or unintentional shooting death or injury (4x) than to be used in a self-defense shooting. (Kellermann, 1998, p. 263).
- Guns are used to intimidate and threaten 4 to 6 times more often than they are used to thwart crime (Hemenway, p. 269).
- Every year there are only about 200 legally justified self-defense homicides by private citizens (FBI, Expanded Homicide Data, Table 15) compared with over 30,000 gun deaths (NCIPC).
- A 2009 study found that people in possession of a gun are 4.5 times more likely to be shot in an assault (Branas).
See also this list of attacks related to secondary schools.
And then there is this list, via Wikipedia:
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News
‘I Feel a Little Bit Dumber for What You Say’: The Nine Worst Moments of the GOP Presidential Debate
The second Republican presidential debate was mired in in-fighting and personal attacks by the candidates, a vow to wage physical war against Mexico, hate against LGBTQ people, an insistence the U.S. Constitution doesn’t actually mean what the words on the page say, and a fight over curtains.
Here are nine of the worst moments from Wednesday night’s debate.
The debate itself got off to a rough start right from the beginning.
Fox Business debate moderator Stuart Varney glitches while introducing his colleague from Univision at the second Republican presidential debate. pic.twitter.com/WJ4622ZlVD
— The Recount (@therecount) September 28, 2023
Multiple times candidate cross-talk made it impossible for anyone to make a point, like this moment when nearly half the candidates talked over each other during a nearly two minute segment as the moderators struggled to take control.
Republican presidential candidates Tim Scott and Vivek Ramaswamy talk over each other for almost two whole minutes.
A telling accidental line by Ramaswamy: “Thank you for speaking while I’m interrupting.” pic.twitter.com/AJ42OMWtwo
— The Recount (@therecount) September 28, 2023
Vivek Ramasway got into a heated argument with Nikki Haley, leading the former Trump UN Ambassador to tell him, “Honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber for what you say.”
Nikki Haley to Vivek Ramaswamy: “Honestly, every time I hear you, I feel a little bit dumber…” pic.twitter.com/NX3eDJl76O
— The Recount (@therecount) September 28, 2023
Ramaswamy launched an attack on transgender children.
Vivek Ramaswamy goes on an anti-trans rant in the second GOP debate, calling “transgenderism” a “mental health disorder,” and vows to “ban genital mutilation or chemical castration under the age of 18” if elected president. pic.twitter.com/jrSQ8SKYUd
— The Recount (@therecount) September 28, 2023
Moments after Ramaswamy attacked transgender children, so did Mike Pence, calling supporting transgender children’s rights “crazy.”
He promised “a federal ban on transgender chemical or surgical surgery anywhere in the country,” and said: “We’ve got to protect our kids from this radical gender ideology agenda.”
Mike Pence promises “a federal ban on trans gender chemical or surgical surgery anywhere in the country. We’ve got to protect our kids from this radical gender ideology agenda.” pic.twitter.com/N5mW0fxMWr
— Ari Drennen (@AriDrennen) September 28, 2023
Former New Jersey Governor Cris Christie described the First Lady of the United States, Dr. Jill Biden, who has dedicated her life to teaching, as the person President Biden is “sleeping with.”
Former NJ Gov. Chris Christie blasts teachers unions’ impact on education, noting First Lady Jill Biden’s membership:
“When you have the president of the United States sleeping with a member of the teachers union, there is no chance that you could take the stranglehold away.” pic.twitter.com/lDVFLmADsY
— The Recount (@therecount) September 28, 2023
South Carolina Senator Tim Scott and former South Carolina Governor Nikki Haley, as CNN’s Manu Raju noted were “one-time allies,” after “Haley appointed Scott to his Senate seat,” until they started “going at it at [the] debate.”
“Talk about someone who has never seen a federal dollar she doesn’t like,” Scott charged. “Bring it, Tim,” Haley replied before they got into a fight about curtains.
Tim Scott and Nikki Haley argue about curtains at the second GOP presidential debate. pic.twitter.com/fZoLea9xWx
— The Recount (@therecount) September 28, 2023
Senator Scott declared, “Black families survived slavery, we survived poll taxes and literacy tests, we survived discrimination being woven into the laws of our country. What was hard to survive was [President] Johnson’s Great Society, where they decided to take the Black father out of the household to get a check in the mail.”
Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) reiterates his criticism of Florida’s educational standards, but says LBJ’s domestic programs were harder to survive than slavery for Black families. pic.twitter.com/u4gvREUi6R
— The Recount (@therecount) September 28, 2023
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, currently leading over everyone on stage, said practically nothing for the first 15 minutes. He may have said the least of all the candidates on stage Wednesday night. But he denounced Donald Trump for being “missing in action.”
Ron DeSantis: “Where’s Joe Biden? He’s completely missing in action. And you know who else is missing in action? Donald Trump is missing in action. He should be on this stage tonight. He owes it to you to defend his record.” pic.twitter.com/cqI6dAPkxa
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 28, 2023
Watch all the videos above or at this link.
News
‘I Don’t Think So’: As GOP Debate Kicks Off Trump Teases Out the Chances of Any Candidate Becoming His Running Mate
Donald Trump, again refusing to participate in a GOP debate, teased out the fate of every candidate on stage Wednesday night: he will choose none of them as his vice presidential running mate.
The ex-president who is facing 91 felony charges in four criminal cases across three jurisdictions and is now also facing the dissolution of his business empire, brought up the running mate question around the same time the debate on Fox News was kicking off.
“It’s all over television, this speech,” Trump falsely claimed, referring to his live remarks at a non-union shop one day after President Joe Biden stood on the picket line with UAW workers.
“You know, we’re competing with the job candidates,” Trump said, mocking his fellow Republican presidential candidates after he scheduled an event opposite the debate he refused to attend.
“They’re all running for a job,” he continued, as the audience began to boo.
“They want to be in the, they’ll do anything,” he continued. “Secretary of something.”
“They even say VP, I don’t know,” Trump said. “Does anybody see any VP in the group? I don’t think so.”
Watch below or at this link.
Trump: “We are competing with the job candidates. They’re all going for a job. No, they’re all job candidates — they wanna, they’ll do anything. Secretary of something, they even say VP. Does anyone see a VP in the group? I don’t think so.”
Crowd starts chanting something. pic.twitter.com/9V9RzChfDG
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) September 28, 2023
News
‘Apparently You’ll Never Believe Us’: House Republican Melts Down After Reporter Questions His ‘Evidence’ Against Biden
Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (R-MO) became defensive and accusatory after repeatedly being unable to answer a reporter’s questions in a press conference Wednesday, held to announce what House Republicans claim is “evidence” against President Joe Biden.
A shortened version of the video posted by the news organization Heartland Signal went viral, garnering nearly one million views in under three hours on the social media platform X.
“Mr. Chairman, question about the timing of all of this,” began an NBC News reporter identified by Mediaite as Ryan Nobles. “You’re talking about a two-tiered system of justice. If I’m not mistaken, on August 7, 2020 Bill Barr was the attorney general and Donald Trump was the president, so explain to me where the two-tiered system of justice comes into play. And then the WhatsApp message you have, I believe, is dated June 6, 2017. Joe Biden is not vice president or even a candidate for president at that time. So where is the direct connection to some sort of criminal malfeasance within these two pieces of evidence?”
Chairman Smith could not only not answer any part of those questions, he appeared to forget a portion of them.
“Well, I think the facts speak for themselves,” Smith replied. “There’s over 700 pages of examples of, where people should be very concerned, when you’re talking about um, ah, – what was your first question?”
Smith went on to say, “It doesn’t matter who’s in the White House,” after being reminded them President at that time was Donald Trump. “We need to make sure that the Department of Justice works for all people and doesn’t treat those who are politically connected or wealthy much differently. And unfortunately, we have several examples that came forward by the two IRS whistleblowers, that proves that people are treated differently because they’re politically connected.”
“Are you suggesting that Joe Biden being the president now, is unfairly treating Donald Trump in his indictment?” Nobles asked.
Again, Smith did not answer the question.
“What I’m talking about is the 700 pages that we have before us, which is all the information that came from the IRS whistleblowers, and that’s what we’re releasing right now,” Smith replied, again not answering Nobles’ question. “And I’ll tell you, I would encourage everyone in this room to look at those 700 pages. If you think it’s okay, with what’s in it, then we live on two different planets.”
“Can you explain the timing of the August 6 WhatsApp message? Why is that evidence of some wrongdoing?” Nobles continued..
“I’m not an expert on the timeline,” Smith admitted, before pivoting to say, “I would love to have President Biden and his family to tell us about all the timelines, because it’s really, really unfortunate that we see so many meetings and so many phone calls that involved around official activity that the Vice President has been participating in, and then big sums of money follows later –”
“But he’s not the president or the vice president at that time. Where, where’s the wrongdoing? He wasn’t even a candidate for president,” Nobles pointed out.
“He was a candidate – ” Smith claimed.
“On August 6 –” Nobles began before Smith interrupted him.
“So apparently apparent – what source are you with?” Chairman Smith asked Noble.
“I’m with NBC,” the reporter replied.
“So apparently, you’ll never believe us,” Smith charged.
“I’m asking you a very direct question,” Nobles explained. “You presented a piece of evidence that you say came on August 6, 2017, that demonstrates that Joe Biden was using political influence to help his son. He wasn’t a political figure at that time. The first WhatsApp message you put up, where yo talk about the brand,” Nobles explained. “I’m completely open minded about this. I’m asking you specifically, how does that demonstrate that there was some sort of political influence being put over him, if at that time, he is not a political – he’s not an elected official?”
“I’m definitely not going to pinpoint one item,” Chairman Smith said defensively.
READ MORE: ‘Jaw Dropping’: Democratic Senator Slams Tuberville’s ‘Open’ Talk About ‘White Supremacy’
“You presented it!” Nobles acclaimed. “It was the first thing that you brought up.”
“So apparently, you don’t agree with that. So report that you disagree with it. I’ll take the next question. Yes?” Smith said, refusing to answer any of Nobles’ questions.
Watch below or at this link.
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‘Fire Sale Prices’: Biographer Predicts Trump ‘May Soon Be Personally Bankrupt’ and Could See His Assets ‘Liquidated’
‘Jaw Dropping’: Democratic Senator Slams Tuberville’s ‘Open’ Talk About ‘White Supremacy’
‘Apparently You’ll Never Believe Us’: House Republican Melts Down After Reporter Questions His ‘Evidence’ Against Biden
‘I Feel a Little Bit Dumber for What You Say’: The Nine Worst Moments of the GOP Presidential Debate
‘I Don’t Think So’: As GOP Debate Kicks Off Trump Teases Out the Chances of Any Candidate Becoming His Running Mate
‘Apparently You’ll Never Believe Us’: House Republican Melts Down After Reporter Questions His ‘Evidence’ Against Biden
‘Jaw Dropping’: Democratic Senator Slams Tuberville’s ‘Open’ Talk About ‘White Supremacy’
McCarthy Blocks Bipartisan Bill Approved by 77 Senators to Avoid Shutdown as He Moves to Pin the Blame on Democrats
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