When volunteers for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America appeared before the New Hampshire state legislature, they were met by GOP lawmakers wearing prominent pearl necklaces as a symbol of casual, sexist dismissal of the women's experience with gun violence as "pearl clutching." Read the rest “NH GOP lawmakers mocked gun violence survivors by wearing clutchable pearl necklaces to gun control hearing”

More than 200 teen journalists have come together to write Since Parkland, which profiles each of the more than 1,200 children killed by guns in the USA since the Parkland shooting (not including suicides, kids killed by cops, or shooters who were themselves killed while committing shootings): "The reporting you will read in 'Since Parkland' is journalism in one of its purest forms — revealing the human stories behind the statistics — carried out on an exhaustive scale." A reminder that we do more to keep kids from getting their shots than we do to keep them from getting shot. (via Kottke) Read the rest “Teen journalists profile each of the 1,200+ US children killed by guns since Parkland”

Police in Fontana, California were searching a suspected gang member's home when they found a manhole built into the floor. Down the ladder was a small secret underground hideout containing an arsenal, shooting range, and rather modest hang-out space. According to CNN, "interlocking rubber mats lined the ground in one area, with something resembling furniture pads or moving blankets fixed to walls, and a US flag hanging in one corner. Another area had a dirt ground and a wall lined with sandbags."

"We are the champions at Hide n Seek and no manhole will help you..." the police wrote on Facebook. "We strongly recommend that you put as much effort as you did in your underground cave, into becoming a productive member of society. You will thank us later for this advice." Read the rest “California police find street gang's underground lair”

Louis CK is in disgrace in so many ways, and while comedians have often found humor in shocking and sorrowful current events, the combination of CK's lack of credibility and the extraordinary tastelessness of his jokes about the activism of the survivors of the Parkland high school shooting are a bridge too far. Read the rest “Father of Parkland victim responds to Louis CK's jokes with a "standup set" of his own”

“We have had several officers shot,” says Houston TX Police Chief Art Acevedo. “Please pray for officers on the way to the scene” Read the rest “Houston: Mass Shooting Reported, 5+ officers shot, suspect 'down'”

The video begins in medias res during the annual "Wheels Up, Guns Down" bicycle ride, with a group of teens and an older woman engaged in a heated dispute over the riders' blocking of traffic. As the woman and one boy face off, another teen rides up to them on his bicycle and she accuses him of running over her foot (apparently falsely, though perhaps it happened before the video begins). A man, who may well be the human incarnation of whatever ancient stupid god looks over Miami, barrels up waving a handgun and gets started with the racial slurs.

The woman complains about "thugs" and begins filming, but this is not her video. One of the boys tells them they're going to be "on the news". A taut self-awareness flashes over the woman's face as she finally looks into the camera. "That's fine," she says. Then she and the man quickly depart.

And now they are on the news.

A man was arrested Monday after he was caught on camera threatening a group of black teenagers with a gun in Miami's Brickell neighborhood.

Police did not identify the man late Monday. ... Keon Hardemon, a Miami commissioner, suggested the man should be charged with a hate crime.

"Assault with a deadly weapon and calling them n-----s sounds like a hate crime to me. ... He is not a hero. He will kill someone next time if he isn’t arrested," Hardemon said on Instagram.

UPDATE: Video shot by another driver shows the same pink-shirted man yelling racial slurs at the teenage bicycle protestors, apparently prior to the other confrontation. Read the rest “Florida man pulls gun, racial slurs on kids in street argument”

Cannon Harrison, 24, was on dating app Bumble when he connected with a woman in his area who quickly bragged to him that she had just shot a "bigo buck," a large deer, in the darkness. She even sent Harrison a photo posed with her prey and admitted that she had been "spotlighting," taking advantage of the real deer-in-the-headlights behavior to get an easier shot. The woman didn't know it at the time, but Harrison is a warden with Oklahoma’s Department of Wildlife Conservation. And not only is spotlighting against the law but the season for hunting deer with rifles is over. From the Washington Post:

“Honestly, the first thing I thought was that it was someone who was messing with me because they knew who I was,” he told The Washington Post. “It seemed too good to be true.”

Armed only with the woman’s first name, a photo and a rough sense of her location, Harrison searched through social media until he had figured out her identity. The next morning, game wardens showed up at her home...

The woman ultimately pleaded guilty to hunting deer out of season and possessing game that was taken illegally, Harrison said...

(She received a fine of) $2,400, according to the Tulsa World — a total that also includes the fines incurred by a man who had been out hunting with her and took home the buck’s head afterward. Because the woman has agreed to pay her share of the fines, she will not face jail time, Harrison said.

At least three people are reported dead after a gunman opened fire in a California bowling alley late Friday night.

The Torrance Police Department says in a tweet there were "reports of shots fired with multiple victims down" at Gable House Bowl.

The police department later confirmed there are 3 dead and 4 injured following the shooting which reportedly sprung from an argument in the bowling alley.

Police are urging people to "stay away from the area" near the bowling alley.

CNN has more details.

Police responded to the scene at 11:54 p.m. local time, the Torrance Police Department said.

"Upon arrival, officers discovered multiple subjects with gunshot wounds inside the location," it said. "Officers began life-saving measures which included CPR and the use of a defibrillator. The Torrance Fire Department also treated individuals at the scene."

The identities of the victims have not been released pending notification of next-of-kin. Detectives are investigating the shooting and working to identify the suspects.

While mass-shootings are the most visible and spectacular consequence of America's love affair with guns, the person most likely to shoot you is you (either accidentally or deliberately), with a loved one or a friend (again, either accidentally or deliberately) close behind. Read the rest “Gun suicides rise to highest level in 40 years”

The New York Times has published an investigation into infamous American mass shootings and found that a significant proportion of mass shooters go on credit-card fueled spending sprees prior to their acts of terror, and that these shooters worry (needlessly, as it turns out) that their unusual credit-card spending will be flagged by financial institutions, resulting in their cards being frozen. Read the rest “Credit card activity as a predictor of mass shootings”

In Helena, Montana's North Hills, a man was setting up for (legal) target practice on public land when another gentleman shot at him (and missed) several times. The man confronted the shooter who reportedly told him he was “not wearing orange and (he) thought he was Bigfoot." As if it would be ok to shoot a Sasquatch!

Curiously, the man who dodged the bullets didn't report the matter to police until the next day. According to the police, he "didn’t think it was necessary" but then decided that the shooter needed a lesson in gun safety.

From the Independent Record:

(Lewis and Clark County Sheriff Leo) Dutton noted that despite a desire not to pursue charges, the allegations are serious and could warrant a charge of attempted negligent homicide. Deputies did check the area and no vehicle matching the description was found, he said.

Blue light special in his pants.

Newsweek:

The local police department tweeted on Tuesday officers were working what appeared to be a “self-inflicted accidental shooting” inside the Watson and Yuma Walmart.

Buckeye PD later confirmed in an update: “Adult male accidentally shot himself in the groin area inside the Walmart Watson & Yuma. Being transported to hospital. No other injuries.”

The Arizona Republic newspaper reported the incident occurred at around 6:30 p.m. after a semiautomatic handgun that was being held in the man’s waistband began to slip. The gun, which was not in a holster, discharged as he attempted to reposition it, the man told cops.

The Arizona Republic reported when police officers responded to the gun shot the man was found in the meat section of the Walmart store with “survivable injuries.” Officers said they filed a report for the unlawful discharge of a firearm but it was believed to be accidental.

It was not immediately clear if the man would be charged by the local police department. The man’s identity and condition at the hospital was not made public by law enforcement.

Another story came out this week about gun owners letting their NRA memberships lapse.

My gun-owning family — admittedly more my husband than me — falls into that middle ground. He chose to drop his NRA affiliation and his favored gun range when its mandatory NRA membership tipped from practical tips into political advocacy.

Apparently, he is not alone.

The National Rifle Association of America reported $98 million in contributions in 2017, down from nearly $125 million in 2016, according to The Daily Beast, even though it has in President Donald Trump a champion it helped elect. The NRA’s more than $128 million in dues last year was a drop from the $163 million it took in the year before, the report said.

Moreover, there's growing dismay at the decadent lifestyles of NRA leaders amid belt-tightening and layoffs.

The National Rifle Association paid more than $100,000 in personal expenses for an official who is now leading an austerity campaign within the organization, new tax filings show.

The official, Josh Powell, is the NRA’s executive director for general operations. The Trace and Mother Jones reported two weeks ago that Powell, along with the NRA’s new treasurer, Craig Spray, is seeking to impose steep cuts to the gun group’s budget. The effort is so stringent that the NRA did away with free coffee and water coolers in its Fairfax headquarters, causing consternation among NRA staffers.

Even conservative gun owners are getting tired of the NRA's political bullshit and lavish expenses, all paid for on their dime. Read the rest “NRA shenanigans too much for some gun owners”

On January 1st, 2019, Washington State will be rolling out some of the toughest gun laws in the United States. If you want to buy a semi automatic rifle in Washington next year, you'll have to be 21 years of age, instead of 18. You'll have to store that puppy safely, too: According to the Seattle Times, in some circumstances, gun owners will be criminally liable if an unauthorized individual uses their boom-stick to commit a crime. It's a move that should make everyone in the state feel just a little bit safer, what with all of the gun violence of late.

Provided the cops are willing to enforce the new laws.

From The Root:

Republic, Washington, Police Chief Loren Culp, whose name makes him sound like a placeholder villain in a crime procedural, has announced that his police force, comprising all of him and his deputy, will not enforce the law when it goes into effect in January 2019.

Culp has proposed an ordinance to his city council—supposedly based on the Second Amendment—essentially saying that gun regulation laws like Initiative 1639, the one in question, infringe on citizens’ constitutional right to bear arms and through the ordinance would be “hereby declared to be invalid in the City of Republic,” per the Times.

In an interview with the Seattle Times, Culp made it clear that he thinks that having to be accountable for your firearm by reporting it stolen within five days of the theft is unreasonable bullshit. Making sure that folks under 21 years of age aren't allowed to bop around with a semi-automatic weapon? Read the rest “Washington State county sheriff refuses to enforce new gun laws”

Cindy Hyde-Smith is a Mississipi GOP Senator is going into a runoff election against her Democratic opponent, Black man named Mike Espy who might end up the first Black Mississipi Senator since 1883; she made headlines last week with a joke about attending a "public hanging." Read the rest “Google donated $5k to GOP Senator who "joked" about attending a lynching with her Black opponent”

At least 13 are dead after a gunman opened fire at a crowded bar in Thousand Oaks, California. The dead include the shooter and a Sheriff's sergeant who tried to stop him.

A man, identified by authorities as Ian David Long, 29, entered the Borderline Bar and Grill at 11.20pm, threw smoke grenades into the crowd, then fired dozens of rounds into it, eyewitnesses say. Long was reportedly dressed entirely in black and wearing a mask.

Authorities do not know what his motive was, but Ventury County Sheriff Geoff Dean told reporters that he has "no reason to beleive there was a link to terrorism" and that the only weapon recovered was a "modified" .45 Glock handgun. The sergeant killed in the attack was a 29-year veteran about to retire, according to wire reports.

Thousand Oaks is an upscale LA exurb listed as one of the safest places to live in America. The Borderline Bar & Grill is described by Google as "a lively spot with Western decor & dancing" hosting country and salsa theme nights.

Pepperdine University in nearby Malibu reports that some of its students were there attending a "student night" event.

Updated at 10 a.m. with the shooters' name and weapon. ABC News says Long was a USMC veteran. Read the rest “13 dead in California bar after gunman opens fire (Update: shooter identified)”

Chris Fitzgerald writes, "Faced with the complexity and horror of mass shootings, and the helplessness I feel to make any sort of positive change, I tried to channel that energy into an art project that explored non traditional organic materials in the construction of projectiles." Read the rest “Bullets made of muscle, fat, and bone”