CLT VIEWS: Gun Violence In My Life

At a time when we should of been celebrating, we were grieving. Instead of bringing in a new year filled with joy and laughter, we were crying. At a time when we should of been welcoming things anew, we were saying goodbye to an angel.

On December 29th, 2013, Aleya Thompson Criswell was riding in a van with six other occupants in an urban neighborhood when gunshots rang out. Approximately 3 to 5 bullets struck the rear of the van penetrating the van's paneling. One struck Aleya in her lower back and as her eyes began to roll up in her head, she said that she had been shot.

The driver of the van, the mother of one of the occupants, immediately sped to the emergency entrance of the nearest hospital, approximately 5 minutes away, but by the time Aleya was removed from the vehicle, it was too late. Her body was lifeless and growing cold.

One of the billets had struck her in her lower back, and exited through her heart. Emergency physicians and technicians did everything in their power to save her, but they could not close the large hole the bullet left in her heart.

Aleya was just one month away from her twenty-second birthday. A beautiful woman aspiring to be a model and/or singer. She was not the gunman's target, just an innocent bystander at the wrong place, at the wrong time. I could recite to you all of the rumors that were tingling in about why the gunman, a 23 year-old Afro-American, felt that he should fire his weapon at the van she was riding in, but that does not matter or make a difference. Aleya Thompson Criswell was deceased at the young age of 21.

This happened in the wake of one of the worst tragedies the United States have had to suffer the last two decades. Twenty-two people were killed at an Elementary School in New Town, Connecticut by a lone gunman's who began his killing spree by shooting his mother in the face.

Since that tragic date, more than 1000 incidence of gun violence have taken place in the United States. Parents have lost children as young as 3 years of age; sibling has shot sibling; friend has shot friend; and innocents have been killed by criminals. More than 100 death in approximately 2 months. God has to be watching.

Is this what the future holds for our nation? Our young being killed by our young? Most importantly, is there anything that our government or we as Americans can do to stop or curb this senseless violence? Will it take a violation of our Fourth Amendment rights to bear arms to protect our future?

Personally, I do not believe that there is a remedy at the government level of our society that will rectify gun violence. The problem of illegal gun trafficking has been a part of the United States dark history ever since the invention of the gun. Most prominent, perhaps, is during the days of the cowboy when guns were trafficked to the Indians.

Organized crime has never had a shortage of instruments of death, and gangs always seem to obtain weapons that are considered military (automatic) or weapons of war to thrive on the ills of society. Where do they get these weapons from? How can we take these weapons out of their hands and make our society safer and secure a future for our children? How can we determine who should or shouldn't be able to own a gun?

Guns have been a part of my life ever since the age of 17 when I joined the United States Army Infantry. The Army trained me on many different weapons ranging from handguns to a cannon; however, it was emphasized that our training was defensive, and only offensive when there is no other way to protect our nation's interest.

Is this the type of training that needs to be necessitated in order to protect the citizens, especially the children, of this nation? Would it be constitutional? What about licensed concealed weapon owners? Legal gun owners? Gun shows? Will psyche evaluations actually help to deter crimes like the one in New Town, or the ones against people like Aleya Thompson Criswell?

A strong question is: how do we get the guns out of the hands of felons? How many crimes are actually committed by felons illegally possessing guns? How many guns have been purchased for felons by a person legally able to buy a gun? Or unknowingly sold to a felon?

This is an age-old problem that has faced authorities for years, and it seems that it will continue to perplex them as they seek a solution. I hope that this blog is coherent enough for you to understand my concerns. If not, hopefully it presented you with some of the problems our leaders face when they try to decide how to protect the people of this nation without violating or destroying our constitutional rights.

If you can perceive this Aleya, my beautiful niece, may you rest in peace knowing that your death was not in vain. Lord knows that we would rather have you here with us, loving you, but maybe your story will help to save someone's life. We miss you.

Uncle Chuck.

Note: Gun violence is occurring too often in our lives. In the mid-1990s, my wife lost her 15 year-old nephew when he was shot with a 22 caliber by his best friend. They were playing with the gun. No one knows where they obtained it. His friend was arrested and served time.

In February 2003, my best friend that was more than a brother to me, shot and killed his estranged wife, and her male friend before turning it on himself. Just as I am, he was an Army veteran, someone that I had put my life into his hands many times. I never saw this coming.

In 1995, while delivering pizzas, I was robbed at gunpoint and pepper sprayed by 2 males. They were never caught.

In 1998, my wife's cousin boyfriend busted in our front door approximately 4 o'clock in the morning, high on drugs and maybe alcohol. He departed and returned with a handgun which he put in my wife's face. I was down the street on the phone with 9-1-1 when he returned. He had his toddler in the vehicle with him. The police arrived and placed him under arrest.

December 29, 2012, my niece was shot and killed. She was not the alleged gunman's target, just an innocent bystander. The alleged gunman is in jail. His accomplice has not been charged as of date, and we are awaiting trial.

Even with the above tragedies, I still believe in private gun ownership, but with weapons legally obtained, safely stored, and with the proper training. It is the gun owners' responsibility to insure that their guns stay safely out of children's reach, safely stored and accounted for at all times (from thieves).

Arkansas County's K2 Ban Lands First Arrest

Article first published as Arkansas To Conduct Study On K2 Effects on Blogcritics.

Across the nation, city, county and state officials are taking action to deter the use of K2, which is referred to as a synthetic marijuana, and produces a marijuana-like high to those who consume it.

Arkansas cities (Alpena, Greenwood, Ozark, Paris and Springdale) along with Benton, Crawford and Sebastian counties have joined the ranks of Kansas, Missouri and a number of nations which have banned the substance. K2 presently is not classified as an illegal drug, making it legal to purchase, possess and use in most areas internationally, and thus leaving the lower level governments to take protective measures for their citizens. Most are doing this by adding an emergency clause to the proposed ordinance banning K2, allowing it to take effective immediately once the ban is passed.

Spice, aka K2, has been made illegal to possess, purchase or use in the following nations: Austria, Chile, Finland, France, Ireland, Latvia, Poland, Romania, Russia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland and United Kingdom. This shows the need to control K2 in the world marketplace.

Manufactured in Asia and sold online or in local stores, K2 and similar substances are marketed as herbal incense. A disclaimer on a K2-selling web site reads: "K2 Herbal products are novelty incenses and are not for consumption."

Unlike most drugs, there is no way to detect its use in a person, making concerns over its dangers even greater, with effects that appear to be much stronger than marijuana, three to five times more potent, making it a major a threat to communities. In the United States, hospitalization cases have been reported in Florida, Maine and Arkansas, in addition to St. Louis, Springfield and Kansas City.

The psychoactive drug can cause users to experience rapidly increased heart rates, loss of consciousness, paranoia and, occasionally, psychotic episodes. One hospitalized user claimed that he could see his heart beating out of his chest. Individuals react differently to the drug.

Since the ban has been in place, one K2-related arrest has been made in the Arkansas county of Crawford. It seems that the police were notified of a possible drug transaction in the parking lot of one of the city's malls. As one vehicle was departing, one of the arriving officers noticed a traffic violation, giving cause to conduct a traffic stop.

The officers found an unopened package of K2 in the driver's glove compartment. There was no indication that the driver or his juvenile passenger had used the substance. They each now face a fine of up to $1000 and/or confinement for up to a year.

Sold in various flavors in 3-gram bags, the product consists of herbs that are sprayed with synthetic substances that mimic THC, the high-causing natural chemical found in marijuana. Laboratories have found that K2/Spice contains large amounts of synthetic tocopherol, which is not listed as one of its active ingredients.

Until the U.S. Drug Administration places the ingredient, JW-018, on its scheduling, K2 or Spice will continue to be sold legally by public retailers and on the internet.

Un-Concealed Weapon - Daze Of The Gunslinger Returning?

Concealment, that is what a concealed weapon license requires of its holder. In order to receive a concealed license you must have training on the type of gun you are registering. I.e., a revolver or a semi-automatic. You can not be a felon, that is a big no-no. What is the problem?

There are states that are trying to pass legislation to allow weapons to be worn publicly, and not concealed. They think that this will be a deterent to crime, and make it safer for their citizens. How will they control who is carrying a weapon legally, and who is not? Will law enforcement have itchy trigger fingers because they will not be able to tell the criminal from the victim or potential victim?

When I read this in the newspaper about the Oklahoma Governor vetoe-ing such passage allowing citizens to carry weapons publicly, I was filled with concern. They have around 95,000 people with a concealed license, and estimate that only about ten per cent actually carry one on them. State representatives (both houses) are planning to try to override the governor's veto.

If such a law was passed, I believe that more people would began carrying their guns. Both registered and non-registered. It'll be like returning to the old west where you could not tell who were criminal until they committed a crime. People, especially the young and inexperienced, may see this as an opportunity to flex a little muscle, or a place to hide in the open before and after they commit a crime. Others not registered, having not gone through any type of training, might feel that they will need to start carrying because they feel threaten seeing all of the people wearing guns.

I am a licensed concealed weapons holder, and if such a law was in effect in Arkansas, it would make me nervous. Being an Army veteran, I have had more weapons training, and trained more people with weapons usage than most people I meet. I have also been robbed by two young black males. One with what looked like a shotgun in the dark. The front door of my home was smashed by a "friend" strung out on crack cocaine. He threatened me and put a gun in my wife's face. Fortunately for him, I was not near any of the weapons in my house. His pistol was a pellet gun, but point blank range it is still capable of killing.

So, returning to the days of the gunslinger is an option I do not want to see.

Arkansas Group Challenges The New Health Care Law

As reported in the Times Record, article "Group Fighting Mandate by John Lyon, a reporter for the Arkansas News Bureau, Wednesday April 28, 2010, front page."

A group called Secure Arkansas filed a lawsuit Tuesday in the U.S. District Court in Little Rock challenging the constitutionally of the federal health care legislation. Two oficers from the conservative grass-roots group alleges that the provision of the law requiring nearly all Americans to buy insurance exceeds Congress' power as difined in Article I of the U.S. Constitution.

The lawsuit was filed by the group's chairman Jeannie Burlsworth and it's state coordinator, Todd Sharp. They are also attempting to have it certified as a class-action lawsuit so that others wishing to, can piggy-back on their lawsuit. Secure Arkansas maintains that the provision also violates Article IV and the 10th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution which covers citizens sovereignty and taking on powers reserved to the states that are not delegated to the federal government.

The lawsuit names as defendants: U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the Treasury Department, Secretary of the Treasury Timothy Geithner, the Labor Department and Labor Secretary Hilda Solis.

Presently, the State of Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel has declined to join in the lawsuit saying that he believes that suit would not succeed and would be politically motivated. The Arkansas Governor's spokesman, Matt DeCample, said that the governor agrees with McDaniel.

This is the first challenge to the lawsuit initiated by a nonprofit organization, but other nonprofit organizations have expressed interested in piggy-backing onto their suit . Declaring that the law subjects criminal penalty or fines against Arkansans that do not buy insurance.

Republicans state lawmakers, Reps. Frank Glidewell, Fort Smith, and Dan Greenberg, Little Rock, have proposed an interim study on state laws to "thwart the federal law." Chris Stewart, an attorney from Little Rock, will be representing the plaintiffs of the suit. Legal action will be funded by donations.

The Last Partner has no personal opinion of the law at this point. Where do you stand?

As stated above, this information from taken from an article in today's local newspaper.

Politics - 2010 Primaries - Good For Who

Looking over the information in the newspapers, the internet and television, the TEA Party Movement has got me wondering what is in store for this country. Most of the lower income voters do not really know what is going on. There just might be a shift of power in Congress when the primaries are over.

In Arkansas all eyes are on the senate race. Particularly, the race for the incumbent Democrat's job. The Republican candidates all seem to be clones of each other. One party, one idea. While the democratic candidates are "slinging mud" at each other to try to get an edge on the other. Back to the point.

Congress has been under democratic control for this administration thus far, but this election might just turn the tide. Our Democratic Senator heads some of the commissions in Washington, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, and serving in the Finance Committee as Chairman of the Subcommittee on Social Security, Pensions, and Family Policy for the 111th Congress.

In these positions there is a lot she can accomplish to help her state and this nation. But if a Republican wins her seat there is no telling where we are headed. See, Arkansas is just one of the seats they have placed a high value on obtaining this primary. If they can win enough seats, Republicans will be the majority of Congress.

From the Last Partner's point of view, this is going to make things harder for our President than what it has been. I predicted that he would have a hard time, not because he was a Democrat, but because of his race and Congress has historically favored skin of the "lighter" persuasion since its inception. His winning scared a lot of people in this country, especially the rich. Which is why the race card was played. Everyone was so afraid that he was going to favor the blacks or afro-Americans. I think they still are, afraid, but are just hiding it in the issues at the fore-front of the American people. The war, healthcare, the bailout, his choices for Supreme Court Justices, and whatever else he favors.

These same issues are being used to decide the current primaries. Which incumbent candidate voted for or against which issue. Will this person go in working with the president or against. I am not here to persuade you one way or the other, but to tell you that there is more riding on these primaries than you are being led to believe.

Take this election as seriously as you do the Presidential election. Check into the candidates before you vote, and think about what kind of impact that will make in Congress. And get out there and vote.