Accused killer couldn’t own gun; police say she had one, the usatoday.com headline proclaims. As far as I’m concerned, that’s all I need to know. How Jody Herring got ahold of a .270 Remington rifle, with which she shot a social worker and three family members, is not a big deal. Unless Son of Sam handed her the gun and told her to shoot a bunch of people. (Note: Son of Sam was a labrador retriever, who denied any involvement in David Berkowitz’ killing spree.) I mean, we’re talking Vermont. Remington hunting rifles are more common than socialists. And that’s saying something. While . . .
I extend my condolences to the victims of Herring’s homicidal fury, the Burlington Free Press – for it is they who originally penned the piece – missed the boat. They should treat the source of her gun as a footnote to the more important story: why did she do it? What could have been done to prevent it? Gun control? Obviously not.
Absent from a lengthy affidavit prosecutors filed before Jody Herring’s arraignment Monday on a murder charge were details about how the authorities believe Herring obtained the .270-caliber Remington rifle used in the killing. Court papers said she was disqualified from possessing a gun or ammunition under the Brady Handgun Violence Prevention Act, a 1993 federal gun-control law.
People are disqualified from owning, possessing or purchasing a gun if they have a felony conviction, a domestic assault conviction or a domestic assault charge that includes an element of violence, such as simple assault, according to the Vermont Crime Information Center.
Herring was arrested on a misdemeanor count of domestic assault in 2005. She later resolved the case to a disorderly conduct conviction and received a suspended 60-day jail sentence and probation, court records show.
So the “domestic assault loophole” wasn’t looping. And yet what are the chances that the antis will simply chalk this one up to something, anything other than a sick, morally bankrupt individual acting out her rage? None.
Meanwhile, Vermont’s gift to the Democratic race for president’s peeps are silently cursing the killer for not using an “assault rifle,” which Mr. Sanders wishes to ban. Tough luck guys. No luck next time.