What a mensch. I’d let him take a stab at the Presidency. Can we do a Kickstarter for the chocolate bullets?
MILWAUKEE — A Wisconsin boy wrote Vice President Joe Biden with an unusual suggestion for making the nation safer: Create guns that shoot chocolate bullets.
On Monday, he got an unusual response: A handwritten note from Biden on vice presidential stationery.
(snip)
The student, Myles, wrote to Biden, President Barack Obama and U.S. Rep. Gwen Moore several months ago. It was after the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., and gun violence was in the news. Myles had been having lunch with the school’s reading specialist, Barbara Rankin, when he told her he had an idea.
“He said if we have chocolate bullets, nobody would get hurt and nobody would be sad,” Rankin said. “I’m going to start crying again because he was so insightful.”
(snip)
Then an envelope from Biden’s office arrived Monday at the school office. It went to Flynn since Myles had signed his letter with his first name but no last name and the school’s address. The school did not release Myles’ last name Monday, and his mother did not immediately respond to an email from The Associated Press.
Flynn rushed the letter up to Myles’ class where she shared it with him and his classmates.
“Dear Myles,” the letter said. “I’m sorry it took me so very long to respond to your letter. I really like your idea. If we had guns that shot chocolate, not only would our country be safer, it would be happier. People love chocolate. You are a good boy, Joe Biden.”
The bad news: There was yet another mass shooting, one of the victims being a 10-year-old girl who was grazed and thankfully is in good condition. The good news: There were no deaths.
Happy Mother’s day:
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Gunmen opened fire on dozens of people marching in a Mother’s Day neighborhood parade in New Orleans on Sunday, wounding at least 17 people, police said.
Three suspects were seen running from the scene. Raw video at the link.
Sadly, yesterday, there was another shooting of one small child by another. Via TPM:
A five-year-old boy in Denton, Texas was left in critical condition after he was shot in the head by his eight-year-old friend Saturday morning. According to the Denton Record-Chronicle, the police said the two boys were alone in the bedroom when the older child found a .22 caliber rifle, pointed it at the other boy, and shot him.
We’re long overdue for our quarterly fundraiser, mainly because we are so reluctant to have our hands out, but, as Nickelodeon used to say, “A kid’s gotta do what a kid’s gotta do.”
So if you are able, if you are so inclined, please donate. Paddy, Lucian, and I have expenses up to our collective chins and can’t do this without your help.
Thank you ahead of time for your consistent kindness and generosity. Without you, there would be no us.
MOMS, CHILDREN TO HOLD MOTHER’S DAY EVENTS IN EIGHT STATES TO RAISE GUN VIOLENCE AWARENESS ON FRIDAY AND SATURDAY
Gun Violence Survivors Will Deliver Mother’s Day Cards to Senators Who Voted Against Background Checks on Friday, Rally Against Gun Violence on Saturday
Roxanna Green, Daughter Killed in Tucson Mass Shooting, Releases Video Message
Mothers, children, and others who have been affected by gun violence will gather in eight states for Mother’s Day events this Friday and Saturday to raise gun violence awareness. This week those affected by gun violence gathered to create Mother’s Day cards for their U.S. Senators, urging them to stand with moms across the country to prevent gun violence. They will deliver those cards to their U.S. Senators at Friday events and rally to end gun violence at events on Saturday. Recent independent polls that have found that more than 90 percent of Americans support background checks for all buyers.
Americans can sign a Mother’s Day card urging their Senator to take action on gun violence here.
In addition, to mark Mother’s Day and the nationwide events, Roxanna Green, whose nine-year-old daughter Christina-Taylor Green was killed in the 2011 Tucson mass shooting, released a video message. Link to the video here.
The events and rallies will be held in states of Senators who voted against bipartisan legislation proposed by NRA A-rated Senators Joe Manchin and Pat Toomey that would have closed the loopholes that make it easy for criminals and other dangerous people to get guns, including: Senators Kelly Ayotte (NH), Richard Burr (NC), Saxby Chambliss (GA), Dan Coats (IN), Jeff Flake (AZ), Dean Heller (NV), Johnny Isakson (GA) and Rob Portman (OH).
Event details are below (all times local.)
ARIZONA
Tucson
What: Mother’s Day Card Signing Rally – Mothers will then deliver cards to Senator Flake’s Tucson office
Who: Jocelyn Strauss, Chapter Leader of Moms Demand Action; Mayors Against Illegal Guns, concerned citizens Where: Fort Lowell Park:2900 North Craycroft Rd, Tucson
When: Saturday, May 11, 10 AM
GEORGIA
Atlanta
What: Moms Demand Action Mother’s Day Walk and Rally Against Gun Violence
Who: Co-chapter head of Moms Demand Action of Georgia Piyali Cole, Co-chapter head of Moms Demand Action of Georgia Melinda Ennis, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and concerned Georgians
Where: Piedmont Park, 400 Park Dr. NE, Atlanta
When: Saturday, May 11, 11:00 AM
INDIANA
Indianapolis
What: Mothers deliver Mother’s Day cards to Senator Coats’ Indianapolis office
Who: Moms Demand Action Chapter Lead Nicky McNally; Joantyonette (Tony) Grundy, whose husband and son were both shot and killed in Indianapolis; Mayors Against Illegal Guns and concerned Hoosiers
Where: Senator Coats’ Office: 10 West Market St, Indianapolis
When: Friday, May 10, 11:00 AM
NORTH CAROLINA
Charlotte
What: Mother’s Day Rally against Gun Violence
Who: Susanne Rallis of Moms Demand Action, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and concerned North Carolinians
Where: Freedom Park, 1500 Princeton Avenue, Charlotte
When: Friday, May 10, 3:15 PM
Winston Salem
What: Mother’s Day Rally against Gun Violence and Petition Delivery
Who: Brandon Dandy, who lost his brother to gun violence; Mayors Against Illegal Guns and concerned North Carolinians
Where: Senator Burr’s Winston Salem Office: 2000 West First Street, Winston Salem, NC
When: Friday, May 11, 2 PM
Durham
What: Mother’s Day Rally Against Gun Violence
Who: Kaaren Haldeman of Moms Demand Action; Joslin Simms, who lost her son Rayburn eight years ago to gun violence; Yolanda Bagley, who lost her son Jelani four months ago to gun violence; Brenda James, who lost her son Randolph five years ago to gun violence
Where: Sister Cities Grove at Durham Central Park, next to the Durham Farmer’s Market at 501 Foster St, Durham, NC
When: Saturday, May 11, 11:30 AM
NEVADA
Las Vegas
What: Mothers and children deliver Mother’s Day Cards to Senator Heller
Who: Local activist and concerned mother of four Leisa Moseley, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and concerned citizens
Where: Lloyd D. George Federal Building, 333 Las Vegas Boulevard, Las Vegas
When: Friday, May 10 at 4 PM
NEW HAMPSHIRE
Nashua
What: Mothers and children deliver Mother’s Day cards to Senator Ayotte’s Nashua office
Who: Mayors Against Illegal Guns, Granite State Progress and concerned Granite Staters
Where: Senator Ayotte’s Nashua Office: 1444 Main Street, Nashua
When: Friday, May 10 at 12:00 PM
OHIO
Cleveland
What: Moms Demand Action Mother’s Day Walk and Rally Against Gun Violence
Who: Cleveland lead for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America Jane Burgett; Pastor Kristine Eggert, Disciples Christian Church; Christina Antenucci, MD, Doctors for Healthcare Solutions; Mayors Against Illegal Guns and concerned citizens
When: Friday, May 10 – 11:00AM
Where: Public Square, Corner of Ontario St. and West Superior Ave, Cleveland
Columbus
What: Mother’s Day Rally Against Gun Violence
Who: Mother of gun violence victim Felicia Saunders, Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America, Mayors Against Illegal Guns and concerned citizens
When: Friday, May 10 at 4:30 PM
Where: Worthington Village Green: corners of SR 161 and High St, Columbus
PENNSYLVANIA
Pittsburgh
What: Mother’s Day Rally Against Gun Violence
Who: Marsha Grayson, mother of Honor Student Jeron Grayson who murdered while home on Spring Break; Ms. Sharon Fields of Healing Wounds Family Support Group; Reggie Roberts of Ceasefire-PA, State Rep. Ed Gainey and Mayors Against Illegal Guns
When: Saturday, May 11, 11:00 AM
Where: Rodman Street Baptist Church, 6111 Rodman Street, Pittsburgh
A ThinkProgress review of the NRA children’s magazine, InSights, found another piece of disturbing advice: kids should build target ranges inside their homes. The article, “BB, It’s Cold Outside,” ran in the January 2013 edition of InSights.
It sure did:
Okay, that’s not disturbing at all.
Who can resist a sweet little cherub with a rifle? Don’tcha just wanna pinch his cheeks? Well, yes, actually I do, he is adorable. But I’d rather pinch his parents’ and the NRA’s judgment… really, really hard:
While the article does tell kids to follow standard firing range safety rules and ask adult permission before setting up the indoor range, here are some other tips it offers:
– “Eliminate ricochet with a proper backstop. You have no idea how bouncy a tiny metal ball can be until you hear one whizzing by your head.”
– “There are plenty of indoor range setups you can find on the internet.”
– “You don’t want people opening a door or looking in a window to see a BB gun pointing at them.”
– “While you’re thinking of cool stuff to use as targets, also keep in mind how you’re going to set them up in your range. Hanging targets work great, by the way.”
– “When you’re trying to improve accuracy, BB guns are the best.If you have a habit of flinching when pulling the trigger, BB guns will help you work that out.”
Because, see, BB guns aren’t really guns, they’re just funsy practice playthings that shoot little bouncy balls. Bouncy balls that can maim or kill.
[The article] is addressed to children who are “shooting a real gun now” but can’t wait to practice until it’s warm enough outside to make firing one fun…
How many little ones would you trust to remember every safety tip, adhere to them, and shoot accurately? I have really good kids, but when they were very young, they simply couldn’t be counted on to act as mini-adults. Not even my perfectly perfect twins.
No child is 100% responsible. Nor are 100% of adults, for that matter, as all these articles document. And little ones can’t be expected to have the coordination and maturity to know which is more lethal, a BB gun or a real one.
Yet companies like Crickett and organizations like the NRA are more interested in sales than they are in saving lives.
As our pal Anomaly asked me, why is a 16 year-old able to access a weapon? To which I add, why was a 16-year-old suffering from a bipolar disorder allowed to access a weapon?
Relatives say a 16-year-old boy who was shot and killed by police after he fired at pedestrians and then at pursuing officers suffered from a bipolar disorder.
“He was bipolar, depressed,” said Jutuan Brown, the mother of Tywon Jones. “He took medication for it. He was sad sometimes, too sad, sometimes too happy.“
Police say Jones was shot by Ogden District tactical officers around 4:10 p.m. Sunday as he rode a bicycle and fired a handgun [...]
“This kid was shooting into a crowd and the officers were actually following him,” [Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy] said. “He was on a bike … and when the kid became aware that the officers were following him, he turned the firearm on the car and fired at my officers a couple of times. They returned fire and unfortunately the kid expired.“
And then he suggested the boy had a criminal history, even though he was not at liberty to discuss such a history because the dead child was, well, a juvenile.
And that juvenile, the one who “was sad sometimes, too sad, sometimes too happy,” somehow got his hands on a gun. How did that happen?
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