Tennessee Gun Report

Seems like it’s been a while since I’ve done one of these:

 May 14, 2013:

• Kids today:

KNOXVILLE — A Bearden Middle School student arrested Monday for having an unloaded .357 magnum gun at school got the weapon from a family member, a police spokesman said.

“It’s a family member’s gun,” Knoxville Police Department spokesman Darrell DeBusk said Tuesday. He declined to say that meant the boy brought the weapon from home.

DeBusk said the student brought the gun to school “just to show it to friends.” The seventh-grade student showed the handgun to friends before authorities found the pistol.

• Kids today 2.0:

An East Tennessee State University student was arrested Sunday after campus police responded to a call about possible drug use and found a loaded handgun, according to court and school records.

Jahmar D. Adams, 19, 260 Riverview Road, Johnson City, is charged with carrying weapons on school property.

ETSU Public Safety Officer Waymond Babb responded to the 6th floor of Centennial Hall and was directed to the east side stairwell, according to university records on the incident.

According to Babb’s report, he smelled a strong odor of marijuana and then a “blunt” fell from above him. A blunt is a hollowed-out cigar with the tobacco replaced with marijuana.

This is how grandma and grandpa learn what a “blunt” is.

• And closer to home … Hey look! Watch this! Erm ….

Police said the Tullahoma man accused of shooting his 1-year-old son in the chest while field stripping two handguns was acting recklessly.

Witnesses said Kevin Sayre, 26, was showing how parts of one gun were interchangeable with the other one when he fired, according to Lieutenant Jason Ferrell. Sayre was charged with aggravated assault.

“You’ve got to ask yourself if a reasonable person would consider those actions reckless,” Ferrell said. “It’s our contention that it was reckless that he was even performing those steps with the child present.”

May 12, 2013:

• Call It Nutbush City Limits:

(Memphis) – A man is dead and another is on the run after an argument leads to a shooting in the Nutbush Community.

Police say they have a good idea of who the shooter is because this all started over a family argument, but people in the neighborhood are saddened that a man lost his life on Mother’s Day.

Family Members were overwhelmed with grief Sunday evening after finding out their loved one was shot to death.

Nutbush sure has changed since Tina Turner wrote a song about the West Tennessee town.

May 11, 2013:

• Don’t get drunk and try to load your Springfield XD .45 at 4 a.m.:

BRISTOL — A bullet traveled through several walls of an apartment complex on Volunteer Parkway without injuring anyone early Saturday morning.

Jarred B. Horton, 25, 1270 Volunteer Parkway, was loading his Springfield XD .45-caliber handgun while intoxicated when it accidentally discharged at about 4 a.m., according to Bristol police.

[...]

Horton was charged with reckless endangerment because he was inebriated, his wife was also in the apartment and residents were in the apartment the bullet traveled through, police said.

• Just as the Founders intended, no doubt:

Police are looking for an individual who discharged a gun next to another man’s head early Saturday morning during an apparent argument, injuring the man’s ear.

[...]

“He put the gun up next to his head and fired off to the side of him, more or less to scare him, I think,” McGill said. “And it was the gas or recoil or something which caught his ear and cut his ear.”

May 7, 2013:

• In my fantasy moonbat world, unhinged crazies don’t have guns:

According to an incident report, officers met with the victim at a Moreland Drive business. She allegedly said her estranged husband had left several threatening voicemail messages on her phone — including one that sounded as if there was a gunshot, followed by Blevins boasting that one of her dog’s was, “suffering.”

Being afraid to go to the South Creek Court residence to retrieve the animals alone, police accompanied the woman to the home. An arrest report states Blevins met police in the driveway, with deputies “immediately” noticing that he emitted a strong odor of alcohol.

When asked where the victim’s large poodles were located Blevins allegedly stated, “running around the house somewhere.” Police say he then became belligerent and unruly, ignoring officers’ commands and attempting to walk away.

When his estranged wife began making her way towards the residence, Blevins allegedly attempted to “take off after” her. He was then taken into custody and charged with disorderly conduct and public intoxication.

When the victim and an officer opened the home’s door one dog was spotted walking around, but trailing blood and suffering a gunshot wound to the neck. The woman’s second poodle was reportedly located dead on the floor of a bedroom, a bullet hole in its back.

Police say a pair of loaded handguns were found on a kitchen table, along with two bullet holes in a kitchen wall. Furniture was also allegedly flipped upside down throughout the home.

May 6, 2013:

• Hey, it’s not all bad news:

Shelby County Commissioners voted down a resolution Monday, May 6, that would have backed the idea of state legislators and county sheriffs across the state “nullifying” federal gun control laws they consider unconstitutional.

The debate about Commissioner Terry Roland’s “Second Amendment Preservation Resolution” dominated a short commission agenda that also included a resolution honoring Commissioner Steve Mulroy for donating a kidney last week to the Methodist Healthcare transplant program.

Roland said he sponsored the Second Amendment resolution because his constituents wanted it. And he insisted the resolution was simply to state the commission’s general support of the right to bear arms.

“I’m not going to change any minds here,” Roland added as the debate continued.

Mulroy, a law professor at The University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law, questioned why the commission would want to do that. He also questioned the wording in the resolution which called on the Tennessee Legislature to “reject and nullify the enforcement of any federal acts, laws, executive orders, rules or regulations in violation of the Second Amendment of the Constitution of the United States and of the Constitution of the State of Tennessee.”

He termed the resolution “an extreme right-wing position.”

Gee, ya think?

May 2, 2013:

• Always amazes me that all of these responsible gun owners are constantly forgetting about their guns. Seems like the first sign of a responsible gun owner is knowing where your guns are at all times:

(Memphis) A passenger at Memphis International Airport was stopped at a TSA security checkpoint Thursday morning after a .38 revolver was found in a carry-on bag.

TSA Federal Security Director Kevin McCarthy said this is the 9th gun found in a carry-on at Memphis International in 2013.

Nine guns total were found in all of 2012.

“People are not aware of what they have in their bags. The most common excuse we hear is I forgot about it or I didn’t pack my bag, but that’s not good enough,” said McCarthy.

Thursday’s passenger received a misdemeanor citation.

May 1, 2013:

• Coffee County Commissioner doesn’t think this is intolerant at all:

A Coffee County commissioner’s Facebook post suggesting Muslims are best greeted from behind a rifle barrel is prompting demands for an apology.

Commissioner Barry West’s post follows a string of anti-Muslim acts throughout Middle Tennessee in recent years, including at least four incidents of mosque vandalism. Opposition to a new mosque in Rutherford County was so strong it took federal Justice Department intervention to open it last year.

West played no active role in any of those incidents. He just put an image on his Facebook page, which shows a man aiming a shotgun under the phrase “How to wink at a Muslim.” But even that put a chill through Muslims in Middle Tennessee.

Dumbass.

April 28, 2013: 

• Art that makes a statement about gun culture comes to Chattanooga:

[...] visitors to the Main Gallery at the Association for Visual Arts weave their way through a sea of 1,000 black pingpong balls he installed and then see what awaits them on the other side — an assault rifle.

“Guns are fetishized in the U.S.,” says Murphy, an artist and assistant professor of art and technology at Georgia College. “Many, many Americans love guns. I’m creating a giant gun. Gun enthusiasts should love the piece.

“I just want people to keep talking about guns [and] why we should have guns,” he says. “Communication is necessary because I don’t see any sort of solution being proposed.”

Stay safe, y’all.

We Are Tired Of Your Shit, Real America

Apparently the residents of Burkesville, Ky., where a little boy is experiencing the thrills of My First Accidental Shooting™, want those of us who have recoiled in horror at this tragic incident to mind our own beeswax:

“I think it’s nobody else’s business but our town’s,” said a woman leaving a store, who like many people here declined to be interviewed. A woman who answered the phone at the office of John A. Phelps Jr., the chief executive of Cumberland County, whose seat is Burkesville, said, “No, I’m sorry — no more statements,” and hung up.

After the funeral service, two men advanced across North Main Street toward a single television crew present, from the German network RTL, and punched the cameraman, bloodying his face and knocking him down.

Two other men told a newspaper reporter, “If you had any sense, you’d get out of here. You’re next, buddy.”

Lovely.

Esquire’s Charles Pierce has the perfect rebuttal:

If your “way of life” involves handing deadly weapons to five-year olds, your way of life is completely screwed up and you should change it immediately because it is stupid and wrong. (And, again, also, too: goddammit, “learning to use and respect a gun” means at least knowing that the fking thing is loaded when it’s sitting in the corner of the parlor like it’s a damn umbrella stand or something, and we should talk about that part, too.) It is not in any way “normal” to hand a kindergartner a firearm. If a mother from the inner-city of, say, Philadelphia did that, and the kid subsequently shot his sister to death, Fox News never would stop yelling about the crisis in African American communities and the Culture Of Death, and rap music, too. If your culture is telling you that children who have only recently emerged from toddlerhood should have their own guns, then your culture is deadly and dangerous and that should concern you, too. If your culture demands that, in the face of a general national outrage over the killing of other children, your politics work to loosen the gun laws you have, as they apparently did in Kentucky, then your culture is making your politics stupid and wrong and you should change them, too. I do not have to understand these people any more, and it is way too early in the day to be drinking this much.

Yes, and amen, a fucking thousand times. I’m sorry Rural America is tired of being told by the culture that they are wrong about everything, but their not liking it doesn’t make it any less true.

The “Routine Maintenance” Bad PR Dodge

[UPDATE]:

Via the Political Carnival is this ad from Crickett for “My First Rifle.” So much for that “safety promoting design”; this is one tradition I’ll take a pass on, thanks.

——————————————-

Interesting. If you Google “Crickett youth guns,” makers of the “My First Rifle” weapon used in this week’s tragic shooting in Kentucky, you get this:

But if you click on the link, you get this:

Cowards.

“Just One Of Those Crazy Accidents”

Seriously?

For at least the third time this month, a young child has shot and killed someone. On Tuesday afternoon, a five-year-old boy fatally shot his two-year-old sister in Cumberland County, Kentucky with .22 rifle the five-year-old was given as a gift.

“It’s a Crickett,” Cumberland County Coroner Gary White told the Lexington Herald-Leader. “It’s a little rifle for a kid.”

The rifle, which was usually stored in one of the home’s corners, was inadvertently left loaded, according to White. The boy’s mother was home at the time of the shooting.

“The little boy’s used to shooting the little gun,” White said, before saying the shooting will be ruled accidental. “Just one of those crazy accidents.”

Give me a fucking break. What the hell is wrong with people? “Inadvertently left loaded!” “Just one of those crazy accidents!” Totally unavoidable! Nope, no negligence here! Move along …

You give a 5-year-old a gun — even a little gun, for a little kid — and you get predictable results. I’d say these parents should be locked up, except some idiot at the NRA decided it was a great idea to manufacture guns for kids because FREEDOM.

Sorry, but right now I can’t find any sympathy for these people.

Tin-Foil Hate In Ur Congress, Making Ur Laws

Hey everyone, gun control ain’t dead! There’s actually a bill in Congress that would ban ammunition purchases for six months! And, unbelievably, this bill has the support of far-right GOPers like Sen. Jim Inhofe Of Oklahoma.

What’s that, you say?

Yep, meet the AMMO Act (“Ammunition Management for More Obtainability,” cute, huh? Republicans love those clever acronyms). Will it stop suspected terrorists from buying ammunition? Crazy people? Convicted felons, domestic abusers, etc.? Nope. It’s directed at federal agencies:

The legislation would require the Government Accountability Office to conduct a report on the purchasing of ammunition by federal agencies, except the Department of Defense, and its effect on the supply of ammunition available to the public. The AMMO Act would restrict agencies from obtaining additional ammunition for a six-month period if current agency stockpiles are higher than its monthly averages prior to the Obama Administration.

This bill stems from some long-debunked conspiracy theories circulating around the internet about the Obama Administration stockpiling ammo to disarm the American populace and prepare for civil unrest (oddly, the bill exempts the Defense Department; seems some folks don’t really understand the meaning of the term “martial law”).

Anti-government “tin-foil haters” like Alex Jones and Pat Dollard are cheering the bill. Of course they are, they’re the very folks who have been flogging this nonsense in the first place. The fact that there is actual legislation in the U.S. House and Senate addressing one of their crackpot conspiracy theories is a huge win for them. It shows how far their influence has reached inside the Republican Party.

And make no mistake, this is unique to the Republican Party. Yes, during the Bush years some lefties pondered the government’s role in 9/11; some folks believed a false national security event would occur so the Bush Administration could declare martial law and cancel the 2004 elections. But these were commenters on blogs, maybe a far-left radio host or two. Not people actually elected to the United States Senate or a state legislature. Not people holding office and in a position to influence public policy.

Not people like Tennessee Republican Rick Womick, or the crazy lady in New Hampshire’s state house who bought Alex Jones’ “false flag” nonsense about the Boston bombings. The fact that the Republican Party is increasingly associated with these fringe conspiracy nutters shows just how far off the rails America’s conservative political party has gone. Wake up, folks. Michele Bachmann has plenty of company in that crazy train.

I call them “tin-foil haters” because hate is exactly what these people are selling. It’s distrust of the government with a heaping pile of amygdala-tweaking fear thrown in, topped with a shining hero archetype. It’s the idea that only you, young Wolverine, have the exclusive truth and can save the world — or at least your corner of it. Only you can be the hero of this movie. And yes, I do blame Hollywood for a lot of this stuff. I can’t tell you how tired I am of seeing the White House or a national landmark blown up on the big screen (and hunky Channing Tatum alone can save us!). Hollywood, get a new storyline. This one’s played out.

By the way: if you think our government is too incompetent to regulate healthcare but is clever enough to pull off any of the convoluted conspiracy theories you’ve dreamed up, I’ve got a bridge to sell you.

Most Responsible Ever, etc.

Saw this buried in a local news story out of Oklahoma, but this shit happens ALL THE DANG TIME, everywhere, including here, here, here, here… well, you get the picture:

Thefts From Unlocked Trucks In Durant Neighborhood

DURANT, OK — Vehicle burglaries in one neighborhood have residents there on alert tonight, after they say thousands of dollars in valuables were stolen.

Police say these thefts were all reported early Monday in the same area. It is a place where many people have felt secure enough to leave their cars unlocked, until now.

[...]

Other neighbors lost a pistol, a laptop, a purse, and tools. Nothing was taken from Smith’s car, but whoever was breaking in may have left something. “Went through the glove box and scattered all the insurance forms there and that sort of thing, actually left their flashlight in the front seat of the pickup, so we found that the next day and called the authorities and let them know what was going on,” says Smith.

A pistol? It’s bad enough that people are dumb enough to leave laptops, cameras, purses, cash, etc. in an unlocked vehicle. But hey, when that stuff gets stolen, the owner is the only one who suffers the consequences. But when you leave a damn gun in your unlocked truck and it gets stolen? That’s negligence that can cause some real harm to someone else down the road.

Meanwhile:

According to a police report, an officer checked with two pawn shops, but none of the items turned up there.

Where’s this person’s pistol? Who knows. Will this person have to pay any fine or suffer any consequences for being so negligent with their weapon? Something to perhaps deter them from behaving so irresponsibly in the future? Hell, no! How about an increase in their liability insurance rates? Oh wait, we don’t require gun owners to carry liability insurance the same way we do with cars, boats, and motorcycles. That would be wrong!

If there are no penalties for irresponsible behavior, then how can we encourage responsible behavior? This used to be a concept conservatives understood. Hell, wasn’t that the premise behind Stacey Campfield’s “starve the children” bill? Because Campfield and the rest of the meanies in the GOP equate poverty with being irresponsible? Indeed, that’s a core belief of modern conservatism: if you’re poor and need assistance, you’re lazy and irresponsible. Those of us who don’t lack that crucial empathy gene which makes human society possible know better, of course. That doesn’t mean we don’t understand the concept of encouraging responsible behavior, however. It just means we know that concept needs to be applied in its proper context. Poverty is not that context. Gun negligence is.

Conservatives seem to think true irresponsible behavior of the kind that endangers public safety has to be protected because FREEDOM and SHUT UP. I just don’t get it.

Tennessee Gun Report

Did you know that Tennessee has the sixth-highest rate of accidental shooting deaths in the country? I read that statistic buried deep in this story about parents and gun safety. You’d think a statistic like that might have been mentioned sooner amid all of the gun loonery foisted on us by the state legislature and their puppetmasters at the Tennessee Firearms Assn. Then again, maybe it was discussed and I just missed it.

With that in mind, I need to ask Greeneville, TN: WTF? This week’s gun report has two separate accidents from Greeneville, and some gun loonery that thankfully didn’t result in injury. Must be something in the water there.

Also, should we be worried that a TVA security officer patrolling outside Watts Bar Nuclear Plant was fired upon by an unknown person wearing a dark hoodie? The FBI is apparently investigating.

Meanwhile, our teen edition reports two Soddy Daisy (yes, that’s a real place) teenagers have been charged with felonies after firing on a group of people in a residential neighborhood, then embarking on a high-speed chase.

And here in Nashville at the upper-crust private school Christ Presbyterian Academy, a student was charged with bringing an AR-15 and ammo to school.

Without further ado, a run-down of recent gun accidents in Tennessee:

• April 9, 2013:

Man Accidentally Shoots Hand While Cleaning His .22 Rifle

A man accidentally shot himself through the right hand Monday afternoon while cleaning a .22 caliber rifle after target shooting, sheriff’s Deputy David Love said in a report.

Cameron Bolyard, 25, of 307 Horse Creek Road, said he was cleaning the rifle when it went off.

“He was on his back porch cleaning his .22 rifle. He said he was holding the rifle in an upright position with the butt resting on the floor and was holding the barrel end with his right hand palmed over the end,” the report said.

• April 15, 2013:

Man Shoots Self In Abdomen Attempting ‘Cross-Draw’ Move

An Oakmont Drive man required hospital treatment after accidentally shooting himself in the abdomen about 6:15 a.m. Sunday, sheriff’s Deputy Michael MacDonald said in a report.

Deputies responded to Takoma Regional Hospital on a report of an accidental gunshot wound.

They spoke with Timothy Gray, 44, who said “he was attempting to attach his gun and holster to his left hip in a cross-draw fashion, when he accidentally discharged the firearm,” the report said. Gray shot himself with a .410 double-barrel Derringer.

• April 16, 2013:

Supervisors probing after National Guard sergeant fires weapon in local hotel
No charges filed by city police

MURFREESBORO — No one was injured Friday at the Clarion Hotel on Old Fort Parkway when a Tennessee Army National Guard sergeant “accidentally discharged” a handgun owned by a fellow Guardsman inside a room, according to Murfreesboro Police.

The incident involving Sgt. Ryan Mitchell and Sgt. Matthew Wilson is being formally investigated by the Tennessee Army National Guard, according to Maj. Darrin Haas, deputy director of public affairs for the Guard.

Mitchell was “checking out” a gun owned by Wilson at the Clarion when it “accidentally” went off in Mitchell’s room, according to a Murfreesboro Police incident report filed by Officer Charles Owens.

The bullet from the unidentified handgun ricocheted off the wall, went through a sliding glass window and lodged in the tail light of a vehicle in the parking lot, Owens reported.

Be safe, people!

Arkansas State Rep. Nate Bell: Asshole of the Day

Nate Bell, Republican from Arkansas:

Can’t imagine why people think Republicans are mean-spirited, can you?

Bell has been summarily spanked on Twitter for this douchey Tweet, prompting him to Tweet about praying for families and re-Tweeting a “love your enemies” Bible verse. That’s right, hide behind religion when your fat yap opens and the stupid falls out, you sanctimonious shit.

(h/t, ThinkProgress)

We’ve Only Just Begun

[UPDATE] 2:

Reid has tabled the gun bill. It will be back, you can count on it.

———————————————-
[UPDATE]:

Heh. Here’s an interesting spin on the gun bill from none other than the Marine Corps. Times:

The Senate failed Wednesday to pass legislation preventing veterans from losing gun ownership rights simply for being incapable of handling their financial affairs.

[...]

The amendment sought allow the VA to only report to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System if a judge, magistrate or other judicial authority determines a veteran is a danger to himself or others.

Wednesday’s vote came on an amendment to S 649, the Safe Communities, Safe Schools Act, after the Senate also defeated attempts to expand background checks for gun purchases and to ban the sale of military-style assault weapons

Sen. Richard Burr, R-N.C., who sponsored the Senate amendment, said current policy has led 129,000 veterans to be “deprived of their Second Amendment Rights to own firearms” without due process because they were declared financially “incompetent,” the term used by the VA for those appointed a fiduciary to handle their financial affairs.

Why does Mitch McConnell hate the troops?

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Mitch McConnell has tipped his hand with his ridiculous happy dance over the gun bill’s defeat. Because this tells me he’s clearly remembering his own biggest failure as minority leader: his vow to make Obama a one-term president at all costs. How’d that work for you, Mitch? Not so good.

As Buzzfeed reminds us, after the Columbine shooting a similar piece of legislation was put forth. And it had the support of eight Republicans still serving in the Senate today, including …. wait for it … Mitch McConnell. This would be the same piece of legislation which gave us that infamous video of Wayne LaPierre saying,

“We think it’s reasonable to provide mandatory instant criminal background checks for every sale at every gun show. No loopholes anywhere for anyone,” he said. “That means closing the Hinckley loophole so the records of those adjudicated mentally ill are in the system. This isn’t new, or a change of position, or a concession. I’ve been on record on this point consistently, from our national meeting in Denver, to paid national ads and position papers, to news interviews and press appearances.”

That effort went down in defeat in the Republican-controlled House, unfortunately. Still, it’s helpful to remember that Wayne LaPierre, Mitch McConnell and five other Republicans were for universal background checks before they were against them. What changed? Just the burning desire to punch a hippie, give President Obama the middle finger, and obstruct anything that a person with a “D” after their name supports.

It’s not surprising. Because while McConnell might enjoy spiking the football over this piece of legislation, we’ve got our eyes on the big picture. We know that when Republicans and four Republican-lite Democrats say no to something supported by 90% of the American people, they are the picture of irrelevancy. Remember, Lisa Murkowski, that time you voted for the Blunt Amendment and then immediately regretted it? You said,

“I have never had a vote I’ve taken where I have felt that I let down more people that believed in me,” she said.

Yeah, this is what happens when you base your votes on special interests. And I think a lot of Senators will be getting a taste of that in coming weeks. Because it’s not over. It’s over when we say it’s over, and as long as shootings and gun accidents and gun violence remain at epidemic proportions in this country, we aren’t stopping.

Gabrielle Giffords has an op-ed in today’s New York Times, which is a must-read. She writes:

Speaking is physically difficult for me. But my feelings are clear: I’m furious. I will not rest until we have righted the wrong these senators have done, and until we have changed our laws so we can look parents in the face and say: We are trying to keep your children safe. We cannot allow the status quo — desperately protected by the gun lobby so that they can make more money by spreading fear and misinformation — to go on.

I am asking every reasonable American to help me tell the truth about the cowardice these senators demonstrated. I am asking for mothers to stop these lawmakers at the grocery store and tell them: You’ve lost my vote. I am asking activists to unsubscribe from these senators’ e-mail lists and to stop giving them money. I’m asking citizens to go to their offices and say: You’ve disappointed me, and there will be consequences.

Yes, yes, and more yes. Also: four Democrats voted against universal background checks: Mark Pryor of Arkansas, Max Baucus of Montana, Mark Begich of Alaska and Heidi Heitkamp of North Dakota. Their votes wouldn’t have mattered — we’d still have been two votes shy of the 60 required — but I’ll remember their names anyway. I’ll need them when I refuse those DSCC fundraising calls and letters I always get.

Tennessee Gun Report

It’s been a busy week for gun accidents in Tennessee. The most responsible gun owners ever have left a bloody trail over the past seven days, primarily in Middle Tennessee. They’ve left guns where children could access them, shot themselves while trying to intimidate a spouse, shot their family and friends while handling guns. They just can’t seem to control these things, can they? Some people have died, others have nearly died, and others were patched up at the hospital and sent home. Near as I can tell, no charges have been filed in any of these cases charges have been filed in just one incident.

And I’m sure we all feel safer knowing Tennessee gun loon James Yeager, who lost his carry permit after threatening on YouTube to “start killing people” if new gun control measures were passed, has his gun permit back.

A recap of the past week’s accidental shootings across Tennessee since last Monday:

• April 8, 2013:

4-year old grabs gun, accidentally kills wife of Tenn. deputy

LEBANON, TENN. — A 4-year-old who picked up a gun at a family cookout killed the wife of a Wilson County sheriff’s deputy, authorities said Monday.

Josephine G. Fanning, 48, died Saturday at her home about 7 miles south of Lebanon, according to the Wilson County Sheriff’s Office.

The shooting occurred while her husband, Wilson County Deputy Daniel Fanning, 51, was with another relative looking at guns in a bedroom of their home, according to the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation.

The 4-year-old and Josephine Fanning walked into the bedroom where a loaded weapon was on top of the bed, TBI spokeswoman Kristin Helm said. The boy, a relative of the couple, picked up the gun and fired one round that struck Josephine Fanning.

• April 8, 2013:

Woman Reportedly Shot by her 2-Year-Old

CARROLL COUNTY, Tenn.- Carroll County Sheriff Deputies are investigating after a new mother was hospitalized for a gunshot wound to her stomach, Sunday.

Carroll County Sheriff Andy Dickson told WBBJ 7 Eyewitness News that the mother Rekia Kid, 22, was shot in the stomach by her 2-year-old son at her Lavinia home, Sunday. Investigators said the mother was sleeping with her three-week-old baby and toddler at the time of the shooting. Dickson said they believe the toddler accidentally shot his mother after finding a Glock 9 mm stored underneath Kid’s pillow.

• April 9, 2013:

Report: Man shot self in knee amid domestic dispute

A Columbia man accidentally shot himself in the knee while drawing a gun during a domestic dispute with his wife and was jailed four days later after being treated for the injury, according to an incident report.

Randall Floyd Lovett, 60, 694 Mt. Olivet Road, was arrested Monday and charged with aggravated assault after things “went crazy” — his own words to deputies — while arguing with his wife shortly before midnight April 4.

[...]

“Mrs. Lovett says that Mr. Lovett reached across his body with his right hand and stuck it down into an armrest on his left side,” the report continued. “As he was pulling his hand out of the armrest, Mrs. Lovett saw the gun and it immediately discharged into his left knee.”

• April 11, 2013:

Woman Seriously Injured In Accidental Shooting At Home

NASHVILLE, Tenn. – A woman was seriously injured after police said her future son-in-law accidentally shot her in the stomach.

Police said the 42-year-old woman was brought to Skyline Medical Center in a private vehicle around 10:15 p.m. Wednesday. She had suffered a gunshot wound to the abdomen, and was taken to Vanderbilt University Medical Center due to the life-threatening nature of the injury.

Can’t imagine why we’d want to stop any of this! And then we have an even longer list of people just being stupid with their guns, like this father-son duo who pulled a gun on a drive-thru window cashier because she accidentally left off an order of chicken wings. Or this woman who pistol-whipped another woman with a loaded gun over a downtown Memphis parking space. Or the Knoxville man who pulled a gun on police officers arresting his son for a road rage incident. That last one lost his life.

Freedom!