Frightening Video of Just How Easy it is to Buy Guns in Arizona

Last month I covered how better gun control, as it exists in other states and other countries, could have been easily prevented the Gabrielle Giffords massacre from occurring as it did.

In case you needed more proof that Arizona is, like many other "Red states", wildly backward with respect to gun control (or vigorous and aggressive in its protections of the 2nd Amendment, if you're Sarah Palin), this video shows how horrifyingly easy it really is to walk into a gun show and buy guns no questions asked.

New York's mayor, Michael Bloomberg, hired a team of private investigators to pose as gun buyers at a series of gun shows in Arizona immediately after the shooting. What they uncovered is truly shocking. Not only are background checks not required at any private gun shows (not just in Arizona but in most states), even individuals who obviously flout the law can walk away loaded. That there is no paper trail, no taxes, and no record of the transaction exacerbates the situation that much more.

The investigator in this video makes it clear repeatedly that he couldn't pass a background test, which in most cases would mean the individual has a serious criminal record (either a felony or a drug-related offense). And the seller only asks for a driver's license? Are you f*cking kidding me??? So Arizona makes it illegal to study Cesar Chavez in the classroom and illegal to drive un-accosted while being non-white, but it's still quite alright to buy guns under the table if you're here illegally? Good lord.

Have a look at this video - under current law in Arizona, sellers at private gun shows can't sell to people they suspect would fail the background test. Kind of like a cop there can arrest you on the suspicion of being an illegal immigrant. Hmmm....how's about we stop trusting our collective Tea Party instinct and start making our laws a little more clear-cut and less susceptible to how Joe-gun-seller is feeling about the size of his wallet?

This is Not Covered by the Second Amendment

Here's an interesting story I found from GOOD magazine about the rules in place in other countries (hell, states other than fucking Arizona!) that would have made Jared Loughner's horrific shooting spree this past weekend impossible. If anything should come out of the Giffords tragedy, it should be either stronger gun-control laws nationwide (good luck, Obama!) or the annexation of Arizona by Mexico. Take your pick!

First Arizona essentially makes it a crime to be of non-white descent, by requiring police to arrest anyone they have a "reasonable suspicion" of being illegal immigrants and send them to jail if they fail to produce a passport or Social Security card. A.K.A. anyone who is a brunette and has a tan, and has the gumption to not carry around priceless government documents on their person at all times. Everyone from pop stars to major cities have boycotted the state in response, as so they should have.

Second, Arizona officially bans "ethnic studies" in all forms in its public schools and universities. Even more heinous than its borderline-fascist anti-immigration measure, this law specifically criminalizes certain types of knowledge and political ideologies - any historical/cultural source that expresses an explicitly non-white frame of reference is out the window. Goodbye Malcolm X, Cesar Chavez, Saul Williams, many writings of Martin Luther King, James Baldwin, Sandra Cisneros, and many other key figures to our history. According to the state of Arizona, unless you either are white, or were assisting or placating a white man, you cannot be discussed in a classroom. Sweet Jesus, isn't shit like this what we have the CONSTITUTION for?

On November 30, 2010, in Tucson, Arizona, suspected gunman Jared Loughner was able to buy a Glock 19 semiautomatic handgun, which he then outfitted with a special extended magazine that afforded him 18 more bullets than a standard magazine would have.
Here is a list of places in the world where the legal system does not enshrine into law the types of ethnic and political hatred that ended in the Giffords tragedy:

Brazil: You have to be 25 years old to buy a gun in Brazil, and it’s illegal for civilians to carry guns outside their homes.

China: China has a blanket ban on all gun ownership by private citizens—perfect for suppressing an uprising, but also perfecting for suppressing mad gunmen.

India: People who apply for a gun license in India have to prove a “grave and imminent threat” to their lives in order to be approved. Most cannot.

Germany: To buy a gun in Germany, anyone under the age of 25 has to pass a psychological exam (which Loughner would probably have failed). You also have to answer a 4,000-question licensing exam.

Finland: Handgun license applicants in Finland, which has some of Europe’s slackest gun laws, are only allowed to purchase firearms if they can prove they are active members of regulated shooting clubs. What’s more, applicants have to provide two references, both of whom are interviewed before they can get a gun.

Italy: Again, Italy’s requirement that gun owners be screened by mental health professionals would surely have weeded out Loughner.

United Kingdom: Handguns are illegal in the United Kingdom, with most citizens agreeing police shouldn’t even carry them routinely.

Japan: Japan also outlaws handguns, allowing licensed citizens who have passed a mental exam to purchase only shotguns for hunting. Unlicensed citizens aren’t even allowed to touch a gun.

South Africa: Though guns are legal in South Africa, it’s nearly impossible for private citizens to get one. Wannabe gun owners must first offer up three references for police interview, and guns are denied automatically to known drug abusers (Loughner’s drug use kept him out of the military).

Luxembourg: All guns are banned in Luxembourg.

France: Firearms applicants in France must have no criminal record and a clean bill of health from a mental health professional. Once again, Loughner would have failed on both accounts.

Spain: Not only would Loughner have failed Spain’s medical exam, following a shooting spree in December that killed four people, new gun sanctions on the table would restrict anyone from owning a semiautomatic weapon that holds three or more bullets.

California, Hawaii, Maryland, New York, Massachusetts, and Chicago: All of these places prohibit the kind of extended magazine that gave Loughner 33 shots instead of 15.

Via: GOOD

A Guest Post from Chutzpah and Karma

I have to admit that I'm not the best at covering current events - I'd much rather be geeking out about something that isn't a situation blaring across the CNN news ticker 24/7. The tragic attempted assassination of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords (along with 12 wounded and 6 killed) is something so shocking that I wouldn't even know where to begin touching the subject with a blog like this.

Lately I've been spending some quality time with a good friend of mine. She goes by many names - Jewbaby, Slice, @jewthedew, and my personal favorite - her blog persona, Chutzpah & Karma.
Rachael is one smart cookie - a 2009 graduate of the University of Oregon, she is set to take the non-profit world by storm. We are watching the BCS Bowl game tonight, which will probably be the one and ONLY time ever I root for the Oregon Ducks - quack, quack, quack! Ughhh, my inner Husky is dying inside... Her blog is a wonderful mix of politics, music, nightlife, and more. Her take on the Giffords tragedy is so dead-on I am dedicating today's post to Chutzpah & Karma. See her full post below:

I’m just going to go out there and say it, I abhor guns. To be honest, it makes me feel uneasy of the thought of a gun in general. I do support people who want to have it as protection, as that is their right.


In light of the recent events of U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords from Arizona who is also a Democrat, got shot at point blank range, wounding her and 12 others as well as killing six people yesterday at a grocery store in Tucson, AZ; I felt that the issue of gun control needed to be addressed.

Every time I hear something “new” in Arizona, it makes me cringe. Nowwww what, AZ? What did you do NOW?

Congressman Giffords was making a speech at the store when the perpetrator fired off shots, seriously injuring several and putting Giffords in critical care. She may not recovery at all from this, although it is expected that she should.

I can’t help but think, but what the hell is going on down there? Maybe it’s something in that nasty, brown desert water that possesses people to shoot U.S. representatives and almost leave them for dead. Or it’s the legacy of the Sunbelt politics.

Political analyst and author Kevin Phillips coined the term “Sunbelt” back in the 1970s. The Sunbelt compromises of the Southern Area of the United States ranging from Arizona to Florida. This is not to be confused with the Bible Belt, which is comprised of some of the similar states, but what one would deem classically South, also known as the Southeastern part of the country.

The Sunbelt is an incredibly interesting and puzzling place for me. Some people would argue that California is part of the Sunbelt, but I would have to respectfully disagree, as I believe that California is part of what I would regard as West Coast Politics, including Oregon and Washington as well. Progressive, and all about sustainability.

The Sunbelt has become a driving force of today’s politics, thanks to the influx of people moving into that area. The influx of people are elderly folks looking to retire and immigrants (illegal or otherwise). Both demographics tend to vote (if not illegal) classically conservative/Republican, as it is a more blue-collar area because of the industries of aerospace, defense and oil.

I have absolutely no problem with the Sunbelt as a whole, or conservatives/Republicans whatsoever. What I have a problem with is the lax gun control laws in Arizona and the Sunbelt, and how easy it is to shoot innocent people.

In the State of Arizona, a law abiding person over the age of 18 does NOT need a state permit to possess a shotgun, rifle, or handgun. Nor is there is registration or licensing either. The only permit in Arizona required for gun control is handguns.
Ridiculous doesn’t cover for me, but I’ll refrain.

That really means that any Tom, Dick or Harry can go and get a gun anytime in Arizona. I’m all for constitutional rights and liberties, specifically the Bill of Rights, but Congresswoman’s Gifford’s shooting has brought up a frenzy of gun control conversations in Arizona. Everyone should have the right to the Second Amendment, for the right to bear arms, but action needs to be taken, as innocent lives were at stake.

For me, I’m a flaming liberal/Democrat but I’d like to think of myself as pragmatic and practical. People are taking sides, and people are forming alliances with this issue of what they believe to be right. Despite what political party you align with, it’s not about democrats and republicans, it’s about protecting our fellow person from showers of bullets. The suspect they believe shot Rep. Gifford is mentally disturbed. Precisely the reason of at a minimum putting harsher regulations on buying and owning a gun not just in Arizona, but in the Sunbelt in general.
Time for a New Era of Political Correctness, off The Swampland Blog on Time Magazine Online, said it perfectly, “There is certainly less harm being overly sensitive than overly violent.” I couldn’t have said it better myself. I’d rather be overly politically correct and proactive about this issue than overly violent. Violence is never the answer, especially with guns.

Here’s to a speedy and safe recovery for Representative Gifford and the other wounded people affected by the shooting. My thoughts and sympathy goes to those families affected by the shooting as well as the families who lost a loved one because of the awful turn of events.
That’s right, Arizona, you in some deep shit now (not that you weren’t before). And yes, your shit does literally reek of racism (whole different can of worms) and retro-activity. There’s still hope for you, make it a comeback. Here’s hoping for a more progressive, accepting and responsible tomorrow.

Carpe Diem.