billeisele

I wonder if the media will hold President Biden to the same standards as they held President Trump. Crazy thought?

If I remember correctly a lot of them were first time drug offenses where the sentencing guidelines changed. These folks were non-violent offenders, had been good prisoners, taken education courses and done other things to demonstrate the willingness to change their lives and to make good use of a second chance.

We'll see how this plays out in the next couple of days. The historical stats are interesting:

Here is your family, enjoy.

Joe - good morning. I hear you. This situation is much more complicated than some low-pull fool. No doubt that what occurred is bad. My point is that there has been plenty of illegal activity spurred on by politicians on both sides. One side can't simply decide that all of a sudden "this can't stand, it must be punished", without taking equal responsibility for the other things that have happened. I'm middle of the road on politics. No question Trump has caused problems. Nancy, Chuck, Maxine and others have done bad things and made equally inflammatory statements. If folks want to whine about Trump they need to look at all sides and have equal disdain. During the riots of the previous months there were many deaths, burning, looting, property destruction and not a peep from the left. Anyone that wasn't outraged about that has no credibility now. Bottom line is the country is in turmoil. It's divided almost in half. There is no way "peace" can be made if Nancy keeps pushing her slash, burn and destroy campaign. The 45+/-% that feel cheated will become more outraged and the divide just worsens. I'm ready to move on but the political posturing needs to stop.

And your opinion on the months of rioting where many citizens and police officers were killed, businesses looted and burned? You can't decide that one illegal action is punishable while the other is OK. The party of hypocrisy. YOU are the problem and having you pontificate about moral authority is an absolute joke.

So much for the, "let's come together" language. Slash and burn will only make a bad situation worse. The guy is gone in 8 days.

I'll rephrase what Wendy P said. You tell it like you see it. That you see it that way doesn't make it true. Columbia SC and Richland County are not country hick areas. No more than Oregon is full of the same idiots running Portland that have allowed a bunch of lawbreakers to take over part of the city. Let's just say that we'll work on our problems so you can focus on yours. None of us have it all figured out.

I'll tell him but I bet he'll just laugh. "Well tell Joe to come on over and tell us how to do it. No doubt his life/couch experience is more suited to know what to do than my whole career in law enforcement and the advice of the citizens committees." I've heard him give that talk before. They use it for parades, it's a novelty. The thing sits at the compound 360+ days a year. Relax, Leon has it under control, at least 71% of the citizens thinks that he does. I used to live in that county and now live in an adjacent, more rural, county. Both of the sheriffs work together and things are good.

Wendy - Good morning. Agree, like he sees it. Since he lives it every day and most others only catch the news and sound bites, I'll rely on his expertise rather than what the media wants us to know. He's quite outspoken and I talk with him frequently during the year. What he says publicly is the same thing he conveys in conversation. The community supports what he's doing. He received 71% of the votes in the last election against two opponents.

Yep, that's Leon. Pull the TV interviews and you'll see him talking about self defense and about not leaving guns in cars. There is a whole interview on the car break ins. I talk with him a few times a year. He's quite knowledgeable about gangs, the source of the crimes, the judicial system and how these issues are addressed. He's tried all kinds of things to adapt to the constantly changing issues. Folks give him a lot of credit for what he has accomplished. The gun violence problem in certain downtown areas is real. Probably similar to just about any other similar area. There is a large area of subsidized housing, and other low income areas. Some of the problem shows up in the busy retail areas where the college kids go but most of it is in the poorer areas. His department and the City have done a great job in getting the community involved. Many crimes are solved with reports from the public. Research further and you'll learn about the armored transports, how they were obtained and how they are used. Parades and stuff makes great press.

That's a good one. We don't have much serious crime. Too many citizens are armed. And around here people still say please and thank you, and open the door for each other.

Joe - This is SC, there are plenty of guns around. Sheriff Leon Lott has been in office for many years and is a top notch guy. He's held many positions in law enforcement, been the sheriff for 14 years, is 67 years old and looks like he's 55. He's a Democrat that easily gets reelected in a mostly Republican area. Bottom line is he has a complete resume, provides great service, his officers are all kinds of folks, and he holds them all to a high standard. He's got a large County to protect that covers everything from the capital city, the seat of state government, poor areas, affluent areas, subsidized housing developments, and all the way out to rural areas with farmland. Basically all kinds of people and situations. When the recent "peaceful" protests started he teamed with the City and State law enforcement agencies, and put that problem to rest. They allowed and protected peaceful protests but arrested anyone involved in rioting or looting. They used video and help from the public to track down dozens of people. They have a good record of keeping confidential information confidential so the public isn't scared to help. Amen to Team Blue. Leon just tells it like it is. "There is crime everywhere and we can't be everywhere. If someone is threatening your life it will be too late when we arrive even if we are there in 5 minutes. If you own a gun, be responsible with it and get training. And don't leave it in your car."

Doubt those punishments would be deemed fair and reasonable. There are plenty of worse offenses that don't carry those sentences. Straw purchases and transfers to disqualified people should be treated more harshly. I think the challenge is actually proving it was a straw purchase. In SC one can buy a gun then a couple weeks later decide to sell it. That's legal. It seems that the more "enforceable" path would be to require that private sales or transfers require a background check or ownership of a CWP. That can easily be done through a licensed gun dealer. Something similar is done regularly for mail order or out of state purchases. Personally I won't sell a gun to anyone that I don't know or if they don't have a current CWP, and I keep a record of any sale. Not sure of the value of mandatory reporting for lost or stolen. One of the big problems we have in SC is theft from cars. There are plenty of incidences where neighborhoods are "raided" and every car is checked for unlocked doors. They are looking for quick cash from electronics, guns and other high value items. That's evidenced by the large number of catalytic converters being stolen. Dang druggies. Our sheriff has said two things: 1) every citizen should have two guns, one in the car and one in the house, and, 2) lock your cars. If you have a gun in your car, take it inside at night.

Bill - plenty of common ground. I agree with all of these. I'd modify #3 to allow an ownership transfer to a family member. That person would be held liable if the original owner obtained possession of the firearm. Of course the specific details would have to be resolved for each of these but the intent is valid.

I've suggested changes. What changes do you suggest that are feasible and wouldn't unreasonably infringe on the rights of legal gun owners?

Police in Denton, Texas, announced early Saturday morning they had responded to reports of gunshots and that "it is believed the gun was accidentally discharged by the victim" upon conducting a preliminary investigation. Phil - such ignorance. I'm not an NRA fan but what they would actually say, and have been saying for years is: - It's unfortunate that people continue to mishandle guns and shoot themselves. - Some are just careless, and others simply don't have the proper training. - It's no different than anything else that is dangerous, be it a car, bleach, or a kitchen knife, don't mess with it without proper knowledge. - Don't blame the object, blame the user. - Two simple rules: Treat every gun as if it's loaded. Don't point a gun at anything that you don't intend to shoot.

Ran across something today that I wasn't aware of. Was at the range and had a chance to fire a nice AR build shooting .223 with an optical. Great feel, balance, etc., designed for in-the-house protection, i.e. close attack. The owner is on a SWAT team and he's accustomed to these type firearms. The owner installed a binary trigger. Never heard of that. When the selector switch on the firearm is set to "auto" the trigger fires when pulled (just like any other trigger) but then it fires when the trigger is released. That's not full auto but I ran thru a 30-rd mag in just a few seconds. For an AR platform they cost $400+ so aren't cheap. For a .22 they are in the $300 range. That will help keep it out of the hands of some people but...... Like bump stocks, this is something that I don't think should be available without additional permitting. Scary stuff. Franklin Armory® BFSIII™ Binary Triggers - YouTube

Yes. And have a skydiver friend that was a victim of armed robbery by three known felons. In every other incident they killed the victim. He was armed, trained and prepared, and defended himself. One dead, one permanently crippled, one never found. He was shot twice but fully recovered.

You asked for clarification on what was said, and it was provided. Your response was a silly reply about grocery shopping. I guess that if all one does in life is grocery shopping they should be OK. Some folks live a broader life than that which exposes them to more risk. I'm glad you've been lucky enough to never have had the need for self protection or the protection of your family. Also hope that your luck continues. My experience has been different than yours and prefer to be prepared rather than rely on luck.

Just to be clear, and as Joe clearly stated my views earlier. I believe in concealed carry but believe that the requirements for a permit should be more rigorous. I don't see the need for open carry. Open carry, I believe, does deter some crime but it certainly scares enough folks that maybe it should stop. A huge concern is self-protection at home or in public. If restrictive gun laws were passed the criminals will ignore them. That leaves everyone fully exposed when in public. The stats on the impact of concealed carry are all over the place. It's almost comical trying to research this. Groups with known bias have published conflicting data. This is one such article with a bias. Concealed Carry Facts and Fiction | Gun Facts and Fiction | USCCA (usconcealedcarry.com) Wading thru the mess, the best I can find is that concealed carry holders stop somewhere in the range of 3 - 16% of crimes. The studies aren't done the same way, the stats are not complete (leaving out the weapon - gun, knife, bat, pepper spray, etc.) and then there is the inherent bias of some writers.

There is always common ground. Suppressors - aren't they Class three items? They require the $200 fee, fingerprints, a "passport" type photo and background check. FBI stats say they are rarely used in crimes. That seems reasonable. Scary black military looking guns - I'm OK with this. Remove the scary black stuff and the lethal nature isn't changed. A PS90 isn't one of the typical scary ones yet a 50-round mag is standard. The 5.7 has a 21-round mag and there is an after market mag that holds 31, yet it looks like a standard handgun. Heck, the common Ruger 10-22 has mags available that hold 50. There are aftermarket products that mount two of them to make it into a "gatling" gun type thing with a rotary wheel operating the triggers. That product is also available for AR's. There are quite a few standard semi-auto hunting rifles that are just as lethal as the scary looking ones. A 12-guage with 00 will do the job equally well but from a closer range. Some of this stuff probably should be restricted or eliminated. The challenge on this is where the line drawn. Open carry is a unique problem. Not sure that the problem it solves is more valuable than the problem it creates. I'd say no. Concealed carry with robust training is reasonable. What I disagree with is similar to a drivers license. Once you have the training the permit is valid as long as you pay the renewal fee on time. I'd support recertification at certain time periods, or ages or something. One issue I have with the certification classes it that one can show up with no prior gun knowledge or even touched a gun. After 6 or so hours one will be certified to carry. Simply pass a written test and qualify on the range. I was shocked to see the range requirements. I don't see how anyone could fail. They can do the range work with a .22 then carry a .45. To me that's scary. It's impossible to have any degree of sufficient competency in that short period of time. As a comparison, to get a basic inland boat captain license, typically called a six-pack license, one must have 360 days of experience on the water with 90 in the last three years. That allows one to provide sight seeing or fishing charters of up to 6 people. It's intended to increase safety. Seems that something similar could be done for concealed carry.

To clear the air, and repeat what I said earlier. Dead children or dead anyone is terrible. It would be nice if things like that never happened. I am not minimizing those deaths at all. It would be equally nice if texting and driving didn't kill children every day. Or that drunk driving didn't kill innocent people. Or that all other forms of vehicle deaths didn't happen. I lost a good friend last week in a vehicle "accident." In 2018 there were 36,560 vehicle related deaths. Yet no one is screaming about banning cars or requiring mandatory speed control devices. Same issue - address the cause not the inanimate object that only does what the human makes it do.

I'm not in the no-gun control crowd or the cut benefits group. But I do believe that law-abiding responsible citizens should have access to firearms. Yes there should be changes. One suggested earlier is mandatory firearms training before a firearm can be purchased. In South Carolina if you hunt and were born after June 30, 1979 you are required to take a Hunter Education Course. It takes a few hours and is not easy. No reason not to require something similar for pistols and other guns. Not sure about nation-wide but in SC funding for mental health assistance dropped significantly 30+ years ago and the mental hospital was closed. I don't remember why but there was some change in the law that shifted that responsibility but it was never properly addressed. It's a much needed service.

Seems that you are the "stupid, improper, unsafe, accident, murder with a gun use" reporter. No problem. There are plenty of opportunities. According to FBI stats about 15,000 a year, 41 a day. Not sure but doubt there are any specific stats kept on the millions possibly 10s of millions of safe gun use incidents annually. That happens 10s of thousands times daily with hunting, recreation, concealed carry, etc. as compared to the 41 daily misuses. Not to minimize the 41, they are all unacceptable. The point made earlier is it's unreasonable to restrict law-abiding citizens the right to self-protection, recreation, hunting and other legal types of firearm use because a tiny percent of gun owners are criminals or idiots. Address the problem not the weapon.