Man kills wife (and cop) with gun he got back after losing his gun rights.

[RealityInSeattle]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2010/01/13/national/a110504S63.DTL

You can't make this stuff up.

"This week wasn't the first time Michael Smith threatened to kill his wife or the first time that her employer, A. Crivelli Chevrolet in nearby Sugarcreek Township, was made aware of her husband's violent ways, according to 13-year-old court records.

On March 28, 1997, Smith went to the dealership looking for his wife with the same rifle and threatened himself and several officers before being arrested.

Prosecutors later dropped all charges, except a stalking count to which Smith pleaded guilty. He was sentenced to three years' probation and surrendered his weapons, but successfully petitioned to have them returned in 2000 once his probation was over."

[atreides1]

1. You're a little late

Thank you for playing.

[rfranklin]

3. Late for what?...the article is dated January 14

This bozo shouldn't have had access to guns. He had a history of threatening to shoot people. And he shot a cop.

[armueller2001]

9. Agree, he shouldn't have had access

to guns given his past history. So, better enforcement of existing laws may have prevented this tragedy.

[saigon68]

2. `

[rfranklin]

4. The snip referred to his priors...the killing was January 14, 2010

Pa. trooper's killer had sniper's perch in home
By JOE MANDAK, Associated Press Writer

Thursday, January 14, 2010

(01-14) 15:22 PST Franklin, Pa. (AP) --

A suicidal man made an improvised sniper's "perch" in an upstairs bedroom so he could fatally shoot a state trooper who volunteered to investigate a domestic-abuse report because he had previous contact with the gunman, the state police commissioner said Thursday.

Michael J. Smith, 44, arranged folded towels and blankets on a corner table to steady a scope-equipped .30-30 hunting rifle that police believe he used to shoot Trooper Paul Richey in the neck, above his bulletproof vest, late Wednesday morning, Col. Frank Pawlowski said.

"This was a premeditated event. This was an ambush," Pawlowski said. Smith positioned himself so he could fire his weapon from a vantage point some distance back from an open window that let him see the approaching troopers without them seeing him, Pawlowski said.

[saigon68]

5. Looks like a hit and run flame War to me

[MannyGoldstein]

6. You're A little Late... To Save These People's Lives With Rational Gun Laws

Here in Mass we have the most stringent gun control laws in the country, and a very-low rate of gun-related deaths. But I pass at least two gun shops on my way to work each day, so they're plenty available for those who simply must have one.

And welcome to DU! :hi:

[pipoman]

7. Yea

and Vermont has some of the loosest gun laws yet MA is ranked 20th for violent crime and Vermont is ranked 48th.

http://www.census.gov/statab/ranks/rank21.html

Oh, wait, you said "gun related deaths",..MA gun homicide rate is 1.53 per/100k, VT gun homicide rate is...ready for this?.. .48 per/100k..imagine that, in a state which allows ANYONE who is legally allowed to own a gun and is 21 years old, to carry that gun concealed without even a permit the gun homicide rate is 1/3 the rate in your panacea of gun control..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States_by_state

How is this possible? Hint, crime rates have not one thing, nor a single correlation to gun laws, but has everything to do with poverty, joblessness, and poor education, all of which can actually be correlated back to crime rates. Nice try....fail..

[MannyGoldstein]

12. Here's A Fuller Analysis

http://blueworksbetter.com/Murder

Mass has a slightly lower murder rate than Vermont, which is particularly good considering the difference in population density (which seems to be a strong determinant of the murder rate.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

13. Murder rate includes murder with all forms of weapons.

So in spite of the fact MA has a lower overall murder rate, the firearm homicied is much higher than other states with more relaxed gun regulation. I wonder what leads to this conclusion. I would say stringent firearm laws MA has ni place are not having the desired effect.

[MannyGoldstein]

15. Something's Off With Your Numbers

According to your chart, only 1 of 5 homicides in Vermont is with a gun, vs. 3 of 5 in MA. Seems weird.

In any case, the number that's of actual interest here is number of deaths caused by guns, because it's unambiguous - nobody has to decide if it's homicide or murder, etc, whose definitions can vary by state. On this measure MA is the second-lowest in the country, only one-third gun death the rate in VT:

http://www.statemaster.com/graph/cri_mur_wit_fir-death-rate-per-100-000

[friendly_iconoclast]

16. Actually, *your* numbers are off- VT had FOUR homicides last year:

None with guns, BTW

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:H3Z18tkJDuIJ:www.reformer.com/localnews/ci_14169350%3Fsource%3Drss+vermont+%22homicide+rate%22&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

While Mass had a slew of them.

So much for life saving "rational gun laws"!

[friendly_iconoclast]

17. Allow me to further debunk your claims about "Rational Gun Laws":

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=118x282376

"In Vermont, how could this be?"

http://www.timesargus.com/article/20100101/NEWS02/1010340/0/NEWS02

Vermont's murder rate hits lowpoint in 2009


By Thatcher Moats Times Argus Staff - Published: January 1, 2010


BARRE – Vermont is on pace to have fewer murders in 2009 than any other year in the last two decades.

Murder, as defined by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is the "willful (non-negligent) killing of one human being by another."

In the Green Mountain State there have been just four such crimes in 2009, down from 17 in 2008. Since 1988, five is the fewest murders there have been in one calendar year, according to Max Schlueter, the director of the Vermont Crime Information Center, which tracks crime statistics in the state.

Schlueter, who noted the current tally is still unofficial, called 2009 "a good year."...

(NOTE: Two additional deaths were still under investigation at the time of writing, one of which was a shooting.
The rest of the homicides were not firearms related)

So tell me, how does this jibe with what you said about 'rational gun laws'?

[russ1943]

18. Gun death comparisons

To try and provide actual reputable information is a hopeless task in the gungeon, but I’ll take a stab at it.
This OP posts an article from a California newspaper about a killing in Pennsylvania which evokes a comment from someone in Massachusetts who comments “Here in Mass we have the most stringent gun control laws in the country, and a very-low rate of gun-related deaths.”

Here it gets interesting.

pipoman twists the Mass posters comments, first by referencing violent crime comparisons between Mass and Vermont, then, after correctly noting the Mass poster was discussing "gun related deaths", he goes on to compare gun homicide rates. Now the Mass poster didn’t reference violent crime, violent crime rates or gun homicide numbers nor gun homicide rates. Even pipoman acknowledged the Mass poster was commenting about “gun related death”.
MannyGoldstein, the Mass poster, is exactly correct!
Mass has “a very-low rate of gun-related deaths”. The rate of firearms deaths/ gun-related deaths in Mass in 2006 is the second lowest of US states at a rate of 3.3 per 100,000 (Hawaii was lowest, at 2.6), which he correctly notes downthread.
See Table 29 Page 105 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_14.pdf
A statement that can be supported by reputable sources is that for the latest statistics available 2006; Vermont with its fewer gun restrictions experienced 263% higher firearm deaths rate than the more firearms restrictive Massachusetts.
FYI;
The links to secondary sources in this and other threads are troublesome also, for example;
A poster links to statemaster and on statemaster’s site they reference statehealthfacts which references CDC’S National Vital Statistics Reports, Vol. 57, No. 14, April 17, 2009 all for the same statistic which is US injury deaths by firearm aka. gundeaths and gun related deaths. The CDC Vital Statistic Deaths: Final Data for 2006 site is by far the most appropriate one and the primary source for this particular statistic.
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr57/nvsr57_14.pdf See Table 29 Page 105

[MannyGoldstein]

20. Thank You!

The facts is the facts.

And, welcome to DU!

[SteveM]

10. Aren't you close to Vermont? With very liberal gun laws & Low death rate? nt

[cabluedem]

8. Once a persons gun ownership is taken away why do they think they will stay reformed? Once a violent

person always a violent person. Keep the guns away from these kooks.

[pipoman]

11. Hey, we at least partially agree I believe...wow...

Many people loose their gun rights based on temporary orders in divorce proceedings when violence has never been an issue...many, if not most divorces filed in my state are accompanied by a "protection from abuse", even when there is no history or reason to believe there will be any violence or abuse, it is just part of the process..in these cases it would be unjust to permanently restrict the person's rights. OTOH if a person has committed violent crimes which resulted in conviction, especially if a gun was involved, I too believe the person should loose their right to own a gun for life.

[slackmaster]

14. Bullshit - He never lost his right to own a gun

Automatic Unrec for dishonest headline.

That's two so far this morning for RIS.

[proteus_lives]

19. I alerted on you.

You're a liar and you have no place on DU.