Monday, January 28, 2013
State law determines who has authority to carry a weapon at a school.
A Marblehead school administrator's arrest last week for carrying a loaded weapon while intoxicated had several people wondering what the law says about guns at schools. In the Marblehead case, the interim school business manager was carrying a loaded weapon but not at school, or even on a school day. We learned that a state statute, Chapter 269, Section 10, covers weapons at schools. Subsection J of that statute prohibits anyone but police officers from carrying a weapon at an elementary school, secondary school, college or university unless the person has the written authorization of the board or officer in charge of the school. (j) Whoever, not being a law enforcement officer, and notwithstanding any license obtained by him under the…
Friday, January 18, 2013
President Barack Obama's proposals for new gun control measures have everyone talking. But do you know how many of your neighbors might be armed?
In the wake of the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary, President Barack Obama has made several new proposals for increased gun control. That got us thinking. How many Swampscott residents have a gun license? The answer: 593, if you're talking about the most common type of gun license. In bureaucratic-speak, that's the "Resident Class A Large Capacity License to Carry Firearms." According to the Globe, it's the only Massachusetts license that lets individuals carry a concealed weapon and own any type of legal gun. To put that 593 person figure in context, Swampscott's population is 13,787 according to the 2010 Census. That means about 4.3 percent of Swampscott residents have the most common type of gun license. Since 2008, the number of …
Thursday, December 27, 2012
If you are licensed to own a gun, would you want your name and address publicized?
A news publication in New York is under scrutiny for publishing the names and addresses of gun owners. Less than two weeks after the tragic shooting in Newtown, Conn., the New York Journal News earlier this week published the names and addresses of local gun owners in three New York counties. A story titled, "The gun owner next door: What you don't know about the weapons in your neighborhood," highlights the names and addresses of residents who are licensed to own handguns. The Journal News got the data through Freedom of Information Law requests, according to The Huffington Post. The Journal News reportedly requested the information from New York's Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties, though the publication was only able to …
Sunday, December 23, 2012
Sometimes it is the only way to get comfortable again.
When something happens so horrifically tragic like the Sandy Hook killings, no one knows what to do, but everyone wants to do something, blame someone and solve it quickly. That’s a normal reaction, but it’s too complicated. There is nothing simple that leads to a human being feeling the need to shoot out an elementary school. There is nothing simple about preventing it from happening again or even understanding it. There is no easy way to heal. There is no way to speed up the process and no amount of grief counseling that will make it like it was before. It will be a long and winding road. But, the conversations are important. We need to really picture the whole scene, to try to understand, to the best of our ability, how such things …
Richard Yunker
10:31 pm on Monday, January 28, 2013
I believe that people that own and carry guns have a great responsibility. One is to know how and when to use that tool and to be proficient in the use of it. One should be ready not only to protect them selfs but others as well. At same time they should know enough not put them selfs that situation. more ›