In the last six months, three NYPD officers have been killed using handguns obtained from Georgia. Why Georgia? Because while New York may have restrictive gun laws, Georgia doesn't. And that's been good news
for criminals nationwide.
This lucrative black market connecting the South and the North has become known as the Iron Pipeline, in which Georgia is a major point of origin.
In 2013, nearly 3,100 guns from crime scenes in other states were traced back to Georgia, according to the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. And between 2006 and 2009, Georgia was the leading source of firearms used for crimes in other states, according to a report from Mayors Against Illegal Guns. [...]
The state has no penalty for "straw purchasers," people who buy guns legally in one state and then sell them to gun traffickers who cross state lines. When the weapons end up at a crime scene in another state, straw purchasers can claim that the guns were lost or stolen. That’s because gun owners in Georgia aren’t required, as they are in many other states, to contact the police when their guns go missing.
A single Georgia gun dealer, the Arrowhead Gun and Pawn Shop, was as of 2010 the "fifth-largest source of guns used in crimes across the country."
Blast from the Past. At Daily Kos on the days after this date in 2003—Bush's $1 million 'political stunt':
Rep. Henry Waxman, one of those rare congressional Democrats with a pulse (along with Sen. Byrd), is demanding the administration account for the costs of Bush's stunt landing on the USS Abraham Lincoln.
The costs reportedly top $1 million, but for me, the biggest cost of the stunt was this:
The Democrats issued a news release headed 'shameless' in large red type that cited the 'nerve required to delay the return of 4,000 sailors to their families after 10 months at sea in order to stage (a) photo-op.' |
That's right —our troops, eager to see their families after a 10-month assignment, were required to spend an extra day at sea in order to accommodate Bush's campaign appearance.
The Navy's excuse? The ship made good time on its return trip and the sailors still got into port as previously scheduled, but I'm sure the sailors and their families would've loved to have seen each other a day sooner.
Too bad their needs were subjugated for Bush's reelection campaign needs.
Tweet of the Day
13% of Americans are black, but they make up nearly 40% of the people arrested for drug offenses.
http://t.co/... @amifieldsmeyer
— @TPM
On
today's Kagro in the Morning show, another awful GunFAIL story leads off.
Greg Dworkin's top stories: Hillary on immigration & Jeb's IA disaster. Gop's reliance on older voters can't last. Christie still toast. TX freakout continues. Decline of pseudo-science, and backlash against Chipotle's GMO stance. Skelos family seems smart. Surprise!
Hobby Lobby has stupid consequences. More money in politics, less oversight than ever. NSA's phone call searching technology. How the Sanders campaign can have an impact.
Joan McCarter discusses these issues, plus Patriot Act maneuverings, Republicans scramble for a new ACA attack, how
kos wrecks an old one, and the emerging rural hospital crisis.
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