514 Guns Don't Testify

514 Guns Don't Testify

An eleven year old kid from a farm in Wampum, Pennsylvania is accused of using a shotgun designed for kids to pump a slug or two into his father's pregnant and sleeping fiancee, killing her, killing the eight month fetus, putting the gun back in his room and catching the bus to attend school where he's a fifth grader.

The kid's seven year old sister more or less ratted him out to the cops.  Now he's charged as an adult.  One murder, or two? Eleven years old.

Junior and Daddy used to go hunting, Daddy with his big daddy gun, junior with his pint-sized, short barreled Junior gun.  Togetherness.

Now, everyone's shocked, shocked!

The kid's not talking, of course, not any more.   Cops say he mentioned a mysterious truck on the property around the time he left for school.  They spent the day chasing that down and found... nothing.  But while the kid's no longer talking, his lawyer is.  Boy's innocent, says the lawyer.  That's what he's paid to say.  Wants to put the case into juvenile court.  That's what he's paid to do.

So, now, who's responsible?  The kid, certainly.  The father?  Maybe.  How about the gun?  

We all know "guns don't kill people, people do."  We've been hearing that from the NRA and the survivalists for decades.  Repeated often enough, some believe the lie.

But you can't convict a gun.  And there's a dead woman, and a dead fetus, old enough and large enough to have survived if born at eight months in the womb.

Now we get the friends and the neighbors who say stuff like "we saw no signs of trouble..."  or "...we had no idea he had it in for his soon-to-be stepmother."   The kid will take the stand.  He will tell the judge "I'm not a bad person."

They'll fiddle around in court and jail and mental institutions for ages.

It'll turn up the heat on the never-ending conflict between gunsels and their foes.

"A kid in the country should learn to hunt."  "The thing's one step up from a Saturday Night Special."

Meantime, we'll never hear from the real killer.  Guns don't testify.

Shrapnel:

--How is it that Santelli on CNBC in some of the radio talk show hosts use many of the same catch phrases?  Is there a supplier of right wing  slogans out there?  How does one subscribe?

--Is commentator Santelli on the level when he describes his former financial customers as losers whose bad behavior the rest of us encouraged by supply them with roofs over their heads?  Or is this a ratings ploy to make sure CNBC stays ahead of its competitors?  The guy is one notch away from frothing at the mouth and swallowing his tongue.

--And please note the addition of a new link -- to friend, colleague and fellow cranky upper middle ager John Wydra.  He has done the world an amazing disservice by remaining off the air for some years.  You will never have any doubt about where he stands.

I'm Wes Richards.  My opinions are my own, but you're welcome to them.®

©WJR 2009