What color are you wearing today? . . . These Celebs Are All Rocking Orange in Honor of National Gun Violence Awareness Day – “Today (June 2nd), VH1 is once again joining the fight against gun violence by supporting the Wear Orange campaign as part of Gun Violence Awareness Month in New York. You can raise your voice against gun violence by sporting your favorite orange number today, sharing a photo of yourself using the #WearOrange hashtag and encouraging your friends to do the same. Contributing your voice is a major key for the cause. We need you now more than ever!” And does anyone believe that’s a photo of Amy Schumer?
Another one that needs to be repealed . . . Releasing The Gun Industry From Obama’s Operation Choke Point – “The Obama administration perfected the use of government agencies against political enemies with Operation Choke Point. OCP was just as insidious as the IRS Tea Party targeting scandal because innocent victims couldn’t escape the ramifications of the government’s illegal actions against them. The Department of Justice utilized the banking industry to “choke off” the ability of certain “fraudulent” businesses in “high-risk” sectors to operate by cutting off their access to financial services. Businesses that were ill thought of or believed to operate as conduits for consumer exploitation were targeted as high risk.” Guess what kind of business they considered “high risk.”
Kansas lawmakers advance concealed gun bill, reject NRA plan – “Kansas legislators advanced a bill Thursday to keep concealed guns out of public hospitals and mental health centers after rejecting a narrower proposal from the National Rifle Association. The Senate approved the measure, 24-16, and the bill goes next to the House. Several senators said Republican Gov. Sam Brownback, a strong gun-rights supporter, would veto it, but the governor declined to say what language he supports.”
Special rules for special people . . . New Zealand officer who left gun in Parliament keeps job – “A New Zealand police officer assigned to protect the prime minister has managed to keep his job despite leaving his gun in a public bathroom at the nation’s Parliament and then enlisting a colleague to drive back and retrieve it. Police on Friday released the results of their yearlong investigation into the June 2016 incident. In their report, they said the officer made a genuine mistake by leaving his Glock service pistol in the bathroom, but should have dealt with it differently to minimize the risk to the public.” He could have just left the gun holstered.
That’s OK, I’m sure all the guns he sold were on California’s list of approved firearms . . . Pasadena police lieutenant may have sold dozens of guns on Calguns in last four years – “A Pasadena police lieutenant, whose Sierra Madre home was raided by federal authorities in February, may have sold dozens of guns online in the last four years, potentially violating state and federal laws barring officers from making a profit from certain firearm sales, according to dozens of posts on the message board Calguns. An account profile on the Calguns website with the name ‘vgourdik’ posted information indicating the user was a police officer in the San Gabriel Valley. The person behind that account has not logged on since the night before the Feb. 16 raid on Pasadena Police Lt. Vasken Gourdikian’s home.”
Who knew we were exporting to Brazil? . . . Fighter jet: 60 assault rifles found hidden onboard Miami-Rio flight – “Brazilian police seized 60 assault rifles hidden in a shipment of swimming pool heaters on a plane flying into Rio de Janeiro’s Galeao International Airport from Miami on Thursday. The cargo included 45 AK-47’s, 14 AR15’s and one G3 rifle – all high-caliber military grade weapons. The bust is reported to be the biggest of its kind in Brazil for a decade.”
Taking your life in your hands cycling through the Big Easy . . . Nearly 17,000 cyclists sign petition demanding protection from attacks – “(A) group called the Semi-Tough Cycling Club – of which Weiss is a member — posted an online petition that has collected nearly 17,000 signatures. It demands Mayor Mitch Landrieu, New Orleans Police Department Superintendent Michael Harrison and the City Council take increased action to better protect bicyclists and aggressively prosecute those behind the assaults. ‘In the past year, members of our club and other folks who ride bikes in New Orleans have been purposefully run off the road, shot at with paintball guns, (and) beaten with baseball bats,’ the petition states. ‘Those committing these crimes are doing so because they know that they likely won’t be investigated or caught.'”
Meanwhile, in news of the blindingly obvious . . . Study: Guns for protection more common with rural residents – “A recent Pew Research Study indicates that rural residents like Roberts are disproportionately more likely than other Americans to have a gun at home for protection. The study also revealed that rural Americans are more than twice as likely to have a gun in the home than those living in large cities. After Monday’s captive situation, firearms experts weighed in on why rural residents tend to have more guns and why Roberts’ actions were legally appropriate.”
