Archive for March, 2014
Recently USA TODAY put out a disturbing article based on their investigation titled ‘Fugitives Next Door, a License to Commit Crimes’ This investigation brought up some pretty scary findings about the legal system and how it regularly drops the ball while dealing with violent criminals/felons, and how we become victims because of it.
Before I summerize the story let me just say this about USA TODAY, this paper has never been pro gun rights, and I do not believe they intended to be pro gun in this article. Even so, USA TODAY inadvertently makes a very compelling case for legal gun ownership/personal protection in this article.
The story is based on facts surrounding the ability of fugitives to go from state to state, with no one chasing them, to rape, kidnap, rob and murder again and again, with the knowledge that law enforcement is unwilling/unable to chase them.
Bullet Points from investigation:
*Tens of thousands of accused felons get away easily, because police and prosecutors across much of the U.S. will not pursue them beyond their state boarders.
*With no one in pursuit, wanted fugitives went on to rape, kidnap, rob banks, and murder, often as close as the state next door.
*One victim, Frederick Tucker was brutally murdered by 3 fugitives the police had allowed to go free previously, these three men were wanted in other states with a long list of serious crimes. You ask how can this happen? The next point explains.
*Many times, because prosecutors do not approve extridition if a criminal is found in another state, the fugitives name will not be entered into the FBI data base, because of this, another state where the fugitive commits a crime does not know he is wanted somewhere else!
*Officials in Penn. have chosen not to pursue more than 20,000 people once they cross the state boarder.
*There are over 186,873 felony suspects whom police nationwide say will not be pursued into other states.
*There is a history of violence committed by wanted felony suspects, often after police, not knowing they were wanted in another state, let them go!
*In Tennessee, police charged that a fugitive from Florida, fatally shot four people on a quiet country road after Florida prosecutors had turned down 4 chances to come get him due to other charges…………four people murdered needlessly.
*Felon Lemont Pride was set free in N.Y. because North Carolina would not come to get him for shooting a man in N.C. One month later Pride murdered a NYC police officer during a drug robbery………..”It becomes, to some degree a cost decision. We just cant bring everybody back”, said Howard Neumann, a district attorney in N.C.
*One in six homicide suspects arrested in D.C. were already wanted elsewhere!
These grim and startling statistics go on and on, with these findings, USA TODAY has done law abiding gun owners a service, I think we should cling to our guns and Bible a little tighter now. And at the same time tell anti-gun, anti-Second Amendment politicians to back off from their misguided attacks on law abiding citizens and start talking about crime control instead, or be booted from office!
In my opinion, gun owners who vote for any candidate(s) that are in favor of ’gun control’, amounts to the same thing as turkeys voting in favor of Thanksgiving………
Mark Shean
Posted in 
Submitted by Mark Shean, author of GUN SENSE, now on Amazon.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:
SECTION 1. Section 121 of chapter 140 of the General Laws, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the figure “(30)”, in line 11, the following words:- as appearing in such section on September 13, 1994.
SECTION 2. Said section 121 of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the figure “922”, in line 21, the following words:- as appearing in such appendix on September 13, 1994.
SECTION 3. Said section 121 of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the figure “(31)”, in line 58, the following words:- as appearing in such section on September 13, 1994.
SECTION 4. Section 129B of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “board”, in line 148, the following words:- in a size and shape equivalent to that of a license to operate motor vehicles issued by the registry of motor vehicles pursuant to section 8 of chapter 90.
SECTION 5. The first sentence of clause (9) of said section 129B of said chapter 140, as most recently amended by section 34 of chapter 140 of the acts of 2003, is hereby amended by striking out the figure “4” and inserting in place thereof the following figure:- 6.
SECTION 6. Said first sentence of said clause (9) of said section 129B of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “issue” the following words:- , except that if the cardholder applied for renewal before the card expired, the card shall remain valid for a period of 90 days after the stated expiration date on the card, unless the application for renewal is denied.
SECTION 7. Clause (12) of said section 129B of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “expired”, in line 201 the following words:- , meaning after 90 days beyond the stated expiration date on the card.
SECTION 8. Said clause (12) of said section 129B of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by striking out, in line 215, the words “expired on” and inserting in place thereof the following words:- expired, meaning after 90 days beyond the stated expiration date on the card, or.
SECTION 9. Said chapter 140 is hereby further amended by inserting after section 130 the following section:-
Section 130B. (a) There shall be a firearm licensing review board, established within the criminal history systems board, in this section called the board, comprised of 7 members, 1 of whom shall be a member of the criminal history systems board appointed by the executive director and who shall be the chair, 1 of whom shall be the secretary of public safety or his designee, 1 of whom shall be the colonel of state police or his designee, 1 of whom shall be appointed by the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association, 1 of whom shall be the attorney general or his designee, 1 whom shall be an attorney with litigation experience in firearm licensing cases and appointed by the governor from a list of qualified persons submitted to the governor by the Massachusetts Bar Association, and 1 of whom shall be a retired member of the judiciary and appointed by the governor.
(b) An applicant for a firearm identification card or license to carry who has been convicted of or adjudicated a delinquent child or youthful offender by reason of an offense or offenses punishable by 2 1/2 years imprisonment or less when committed under the laws of the commonwealth which was not: (a) an assault or battery on a family member or household member, as defined by section 1 of chapter 209A, except that the determination to be made under clause (e) of said section 1 of said chapter 209A shall be made by the review board, may, after the passage of 5 years from conviction, adjudication as a youthful offender or a delinquent child or release from confinement, commitment, probation or parole supervision for such conviction or adjudication, whichever is last occurring, file a petition for review of eligibility with the firearm licensing review board.
(c) The petitioner shall provide to the board a copy of a completed firearm identification card or license to carry application, which application shall have previously been submitted to the licensing authority or be submitted to the licensing authority contemporaneously with the petition filed with the board. The petitioner shall have the burden to prove his suitability to receive a firearm identification card or a license to carry by clear and convincing evidence. The board shall set a reasonable filing fee to file the petition.
(d) If the board determines, by 2/3rds vote, that: (i) the sole disqualifier for the petitioner is any conviction or adjudication as a youthful offender or a delinquent child for an offense or offenses punishable by 2 1/2 years imprisonment or less when committed under the laws of the commonwealth, arising out of a single incident and which does not otherwise disqualify the petitioner under subclauses (a), (d) or (e) of clause (i) or clauses (ii) to (ix), inclusive, of paragraph (1) of section 129B or subclauses (a), (d) or (e) of clause (i) or clauses (ii) to (vii), inclusive, of paragraph (d) of section 131, and which was not an assault or battery on a family member or household members, as defined by section 1 of chapter 209A, except that the determination to be made under clause (e) of said section 1 of said chapter 209A shall be made by the board; (ii) 5 years has passed since such conviction or adjudication or release from confinement, commitment, probation or parole supervision for such conviction or adjudication, whichever is last occurring; and (iii) by clear and convincing evidence, that the petitioner is a suitable person to be a firearm identification card or license to carry holder, the board shall determine that the petitioner’s right or ability to possess a firearm is fully restored in the commonwealth with respect to such conviction or adjudication and that such conviction or adjudication shall not prohibit such petitioner from applying to a licensing authority for a firearm identification card or license to carry. The board shall make a determination on a petition within 60 days after receipt of the petition.
(e) The board shall hold hearings at such times and places as in its discretion it reasonably determines to be required, but not less than once every 90 days, and shall give reasonable notice of the time and place of the hearing to the petitioner. The board shall have the power to compel attendance of witnesses at hearings.
(f) All hearings shall be conducted in an informal manner, but otherwise according to the rules of evidence, and all witnesses shall be sworn by the chair. If requested by the petitioner and payment for stenographic services, as determined by the board, accompanies such request, the board shall cause a verbatim transcript of the hearing to be made. The board’s decisions and findings of facts therefore shall be communicated in writing to the petitioner and to the licensing authority to whom the petitioner has applied or intends to apply within 20 days of rendering a decision.
(g) Members of the board shall serve without compensation, but shall be entitled to reasonable subsistence and travel allowances in the performance of their duties.
SECTION 10. Section 131 of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “board”, in line 210, the following words:- in a size and shape equivalent to that of a license to operate motor vehicles issued by the registry of motor vehicles pursuant to section 8 of chapter 90.
SECTION 11. The first paragraph of subsection (i) of said section 131 of said chapter 140, as most recently amended by section 103 of chapter 46 of the acts of 2003, is hereby further amended by striking out the first 2 sentences and inserting in place thereof the following 2 sentences:- A license to carry or possess firearms shall be valid, unless revoked or suspended, for a period of not more than 6 years from the date of issue and shall expire on the anniversary of the licensee’s date of birth occurring not less than 5 years but not more than 6 years from the date of issue, except that if the licensee applied for renewal before the license expired, the license shall remain valid for a period of 90 days beyond the stated expiration date on the license, unless the application for renewal is denied. Any renewal thereof shall expire on the anniversary of the licensee’s date of birth occurring not less than 5 years but not more than 6 years from the effective date of such license.
SECTION 12. The fifth sentence of subsection (i) of said section 131 of said chapter 140, inserted by section 429 of chapter 26 of the acts of 2003, is hereby amended by inserting after the word “commonwealth” the following words:- and not less than $50,000 of the funds deposited into the General Fund shall be allocated to the Firearm Licensing Review Board, established in section 130B, for its operations and that any funds not expended by said board for its operations shall revert back to the General Fund.
SECTION 13. Said first paragraph of said subsection (i) of said section 131 of said chapter 140, as most recently amended by section 103 of chapter 46 of the acts of 2003, is hereby further amended by adding the following sentence:- For the purposes of section 10 of chapter 269, an expired license to carry firearms shall be deemed to be valid for a period not to exceed 90 days beyond the stated date of expiration, unless such license to carry firearms has been revoked.
SECTION 14. Said section 131 of said chapter 140, as appearing in the 2002 Official Edition, is hereby amended by inserting after the figure “70”, in line 243, the following words:- and any law enforcement officer applying for a license to carry firearms through his employing agency.
SECTION 15. Said section 131 of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word “expired”, in lines 280 and 293, the following words:- , meaning after 90 days beyond the stated expiration date on the license.
SECTION 16. Subsection (m) of said section 131 of said chapter 140, as so appearing, is hereby amended by inserting after the second sentence the following sentence:- The officer shall, at the time of confiscation, provide to the person whose firearm, rifle or shotgun has been confiscated, a written inventory and receipt for all firearms, rifles or shotguns confiscated and the officer and his employer shall exercise due care in the handling, holding and storage of these items.
SECTION 17. Section 18C of chapter 265 of the General Laws, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the second, third, fourth and fifth sentences.
Approved July 1, 2004.
Gun Law Newsletter #1
Author: Mark Shean
Mark Shean Sr. author of GUN SENSE on Amazon
To anyone who has taken my class, you know that I am watching the politics of our gun rights and those who would wantonly infringe upon them. Please consider forwarding to others you know who may be legal gun owners in Ma.
If you received this twice I apologize for any inconvenience.
Recently I picked up on an article from Boston.com. [In wake of Newtown massacre, Mass. ‘panel’ recommends that state gun laws be tightened]
Excerpt from this article:
“More than a year after the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., a panel of ‘academic experts’ today released a long-awaited report recommending that Massachusetts tighten its gun laws, which are already considered among the toughest in the country.”{The panel made 44 recommendations.}
These 44 recommendations were not listed in the article for the public to see……………Mark’s note.
This panel of so-called ‘academic experts’ who obviously are not elected to represent us and are not accountable to us, are going to dictate how our gun rights/freedoms should mirror those passed in Ct. recently. They like the draconian new ‘laws’, including ‘gun registration’ that the politicians in Connecticut recently just imposed/forced on the people of that state in typical kneejerk fashion due to the actions of one well documented mentally ill person.
In essence, Ct. politicians made felons of all legal gun owners who did not register their guns by 1-1-2014, over 300,000 thousand have refused to register their guns in Ct. making the politicians there VERY nervous about retaining their phony jobs in Nov. as well they should be, for forgetting their oath to office when they swore too uphold the Constitution.
Excerpt From these ‘experts’:
“Overall, Massachusetts continues to be a leader nationally in efforts to reduce gun violence. The committee believes that even more can be done,” the report said. “The committee recognizes that changes such as those proposed in this report may be challenging, but if adopted, provide a pathway to further reduce gun violence in the Commonwealth.”
Mark’s Translation: Replace “reduce gun violence” from the above statement and insert (‘remove more gun rights from legal gun owners’!)
This group of ‘intellectuals’ have NOT allowed any discussion from gun rights advocates in this so-called ‘process’. Why would these mental giants be afraid to allow legal gun owners a chance to discuss/participate? Simple, they have a set anti gun agenda, they do not want to ‘muddy’ the waters with real facts, that would only impede this anti gun agenda, an agenda that they wish to impose on us before the Ma. House of Representative’s in June. That’s not very far away folks.
Why do they have more of a voice than the constituents who actually elect those in the House?? Why indeed…….
Our freedoms are only as strong as the current generation is in protecting them, you need to protect your rights under the Constitution if you expect them to be there for your posterity, they were protected in the past for you to now enjoy. Term limits initiated at the voting booth, we have that power!
What you need/should do is call your Representative’s on Beacon Hill at 617-722-2000, or the link to a directory of representatives, if your not sure who represents you, (since no one seems too) is, https://malegislature.gov/people/house just copy and paste to discover who your rep may be.
Let them know that they can not hide behind a group of unaccountable left wing ‘academics’ who want nothing better than to take our freedoms, that we will remember in November if they do not stop this assault on our gun rights in the pretext of stopping crime! Please, take a moment from your day to contact them…..
A free and lawful citizenry should never have to conform to every act of the criminal/mentally ill element, as these so-called ‘academics‘ want, instead the criminal element had better conform to society as a whole or pay the price with hard jail time/death!
REMEMBER:
“An unconstitutional act is not a law; it confers no rights; it imposes no duties; it affords no protection; it creates no office; it is in legal contemplation, as inoperative as though it had never been passed.”
Norton v. Shelby County, 118 US 425 (1885)
Sincerely,
Mark Shean & Son
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