Guns, Rights, and Deaths Galore

[Chris]

http://employmentlawpost.com/theword/2009/...-deaths-galore/

 

Guns, Rights, and Deaths Galore

March 12, 2009 at 9:18 pm by: John Phillips

 

On March 10, 28-year-old Michael McLendon was heavily armed and intent on death in rural Alabama. Having a fascination with guns, he carried two assault rifles, a shotgun, a .38-caliber handgun, a Russian semiautomatic carbine, and a military-style Bushmaster rifle. He was licensed to carry a pistol but not automatic weapons. (Click here, here, here, here, here and here for more.)

 

In less than an hour and over a 20 mile stretch, he killed 10 people, wounded six, and finally took his own life. The dead included his mother, his grandmother, his uncle, two cousins, and five random victims. The bloodbath ended at one of his former employers where he probably intended to add to his list of victims. But after continuing a shootout with police officers who’d been chasing him, he went inside and shot himself. By then, he’d fired 200 rounds of ammunition.

 

Though unclear why he had left a recent job, there were notes indicating trouble with three former employers. He identified supervisors and co-workers who had done him wrong. He and his mother had filed suit against one of the employers, and he may have been “depressed about job issues.”

 

While not a classic case of workplace violence, the Alabama shootings are relevant because state legislatures continue to pass laws giving individuals rights to carry guns in all kinds of places and restrict employers’ rights to ban guns from the workplace. Advocates of these laws argue they will reduce workplace violence, because when a disgruntled or disturbed employee brings a gun to work and tries to use it on bosses and co-workers, employees lawfully carrying weapons will intercede and prevent a catastrophe.

 

Note: McLendon was chased by several well-armed police officers, two of whom were wounded by McLendon. They didn’t kill him. He shot himself.

[Yas]

I'm sure this would have stopped him....

 

 

 

[Chris]

Hey that looks like something I can spray paint or shoot at

[abolt243]

http://employmentlawpost.com/theword/2009/...-deaths-galore/

 

Guns, Rights, and Deaths Galore

March 12, 2009 at 9:18 pm by: John Phillips

 

On March 10, 28-year-old Michael McLendon was heavily armed and intent on death in rural Alabama. Having a fascination with guns, he carried two assault rifles, a shotgun, a .38-caliber handgun, a Russian semiautomatic carbine, and a military-style Bushmaster rifle. He was licensed to carry a pistol but not automatic weapons. (Click here, here, here, here, here and here for more.)

 

In less than an hour and over a 20 mile stretch, he killed 10 people, wounded six, and finally took his own life. The dead included his mother, his grandmother, his uncle, two cousins, and five random victims. The bloodbath ended at one of his former employers where he probably intended to add to his list of victims. But after continuing a shootout with police officers who'd been chasing him, he went inside and shot himself. By then, he'd fired 200 rounds of ammunition.

 

Though unclear why he had left a recent job, there were notes indicating trouble with three former employers. He identified supervisors and co-workers who had done him wrong. He and his mother had filed suit against one of the employers, and he may have been "depressed about job issues."

 

While not a classic case of workplace violence, the Alabama shootings are relevant because state legislatures continue to pass laws giving individuals rights to carry guns in all kinds of places and restrict employers' rights to ban guns from the workplace. Advocates of these laws argue they will reduce workplace violence, because when a disgruntled or disturbed employee brings a gun to work and tries to use it on bosses and co-workers, employees lawfully carrying weapons will intercede and prevent a catastrophe.

 

Note: McLendon was chased by several well-armed police officers, two of whom were wounded by McLendon. They didn't kill him. He shot himself.

 

So......what's the point. He was not confronted by a fellow CC'er in the workplace. Had more people chosen to protect themselves, rather than rely on police, which seemed to be totally ineffective here, he might have been stopped.

 

Oh, and by the way. He wasn't licensed to carry automatic weapons. That's good, because none of the weapons he had were automatic weapons.

 

AB

[Bitter]

I posted the following comment, it is "awaiting moderation" so who knows if it will even be let in

 

"Is it then your assertion, that if carrying any weapons were illegal in Alabama, that this would have been averted? This individual went out with the intent to murder, and was carrying illegal weapons. Why would a law against carrying a revolver have stopped him when he was already intent on committing mass murder? Do you think the deterrent effect of a firearms violation is enough to dissuade those that have already decided to commit a capital offense? There is no marginal increase in potential harm to the perpetrator, so why would they care? Might as well increase the penalty for speeding and evading arrest as well, because that little bit more might have stopped him from running right? Wrong."

[Silver Guardian]

I posted the following comment, it is "awaiting moderation" so who knows if it will even be let in

 

"Is it then your assertion, that if carrying any weapons were illegal in Alabama, that this would have been averted? This individual went out with the intent to murder, and was carrying illegal weapons. Why would a law against carrying a revolver have stopped him when he was already intent on committing mass murder? Do you think the deterrent effect of a firearms violation is enough to dissuade those that have already decided to commit a capital offense? There is no marginal increase in potential harm to the perpetrator, so why would they care? Might as well increase the penalty for speeding and evading arrest as well, because that little bit more might have stopped him from running right? Wrong."

 

What illegal weapons would those be?

[HighHeeledGoddess]

What illegal weapons would those be?

 

Probably tongue depressors longer than 4 inches. Possibly a stick with a slightly pointed edge. One never can know these days.

[Bitter]

I posted the following comment, it is "awaiting moderation" so who knows if it will even be let in

 

"Is it then your assertion, that if carrying any weapons were illegal in Alabama, that this would have been averted? This individual went out with the intent to murder, and was carrying illegal weapons. Why would a law against carrying a revolver have stopped him when he was already intent on committing mass murder? Do you think the deterrent effect of a firearms violation is enough to dissuade those that have already decided to commit a capital offense? There is no marginal increase in potential harm to the perpetrator, so why would they care? Might as well increase the penalty for speeding and evading arrest as well, because that little bit more might have stopped him from running right? Wrong."

 

What illegal weapons would those be?

 

Taking some of the news reports as true, he was carrying 2 fully automatic rifles. I doubt that is true, but giving the author the benefit of the doubt.

[moparcardave]

I posted the following comment, it is "awaiting moderation" so who knows if it will even be let in

 

"Is it then your assertion, that if carrying any weapons were illegal in Alabama, that this would have been averted? This individual went out with the intent to murder, and was carrying illegal weapons. Why would a law against carrying a revolver have stopped him when he was already intent on committing mass murder? Do you think the deterrent effect of a firearms violation is enough to dissuade those that have already decided to commit a capital offense? There is no marginal increase in potential harm to the perpetrator, so why would they care? Might as well increase the penalty for speeding and evading arrest as well, because that little bit more might have stopped him from running right? Wrong."

 

What illegal weapons would those be?

 

Taking some of the news reports as true, he was carrying 2 fully automatic rifles. I doubt that is true, but giving the author the benefit of the doubt.

 

Here is some interesting reading for you. This is from the NRA, and often overlooked are citizens who do come to the aid of law enforcment officers. I was reading where the last guy killed in Alabama, took off after this guy ramming his truck into the back end of the guys truck. Sadly he was killed, but did try to do something.

http://www.nraila.org/issues/articles/read.aspx?ID=30

[lockman]

Hey that looks like something I can spray paint or shoot at

 

Not that anyone has not had that idea. Vandalism of the Orwell cameras and speed devices are epidemic in Great Briton.

I remember a web sight I came across about a year ago was a chronology of vandalized cameras.

 

Vince

[wyldejackyl]

I remember a web sight I came across about a year ago was a chronology of vandalized cameras.

 

Vince

 

http://www.speedcam.co.uk/index2.htm

 

Unfortunately for us, most of RedFlex's systems are set up so one camera watches the other, and so forth. They are also rolling and storing video 24/7/365.25, which most people don't know about. And even though our tax money pays for all of this, we don't have access to any of it - even if the camera is a witness to a traffic accident, assault, etc.

[Drylok]

I've been trying to find any examples of where CCW holders committed violent crimes, looks like I finally found one.

This is a hit in a bad way to our cause, we can no longer say what we have been.

[ewellnitz]

I've been trying to find any examples of where CCW holders committed violent crimes, looks like I finally found one.

This is a hit in a bad way to our cause, we can no longer say what we have been.

Not entirely true. There have been a handful of LTC holders in several states that get revoked due to miscellaneous offenses. Nobody really piublishes what offenses triggered the revocations but it is inevitable that some may have been violent offenses and are generally although not always felony offenses.

 

This one just happens to have received press coverage.

 

I was able to do a google search and turned up at least 3 other violent offenses by LTC holders. It is still quite rare compared to a what happens in Chicago on the weekends when it gets warm out.