Jerry Kane publicly espoused violence, had strong anti-authority feelings, had multiple run-ins with the law, and caused local law enforcement to be concerned about his future actions.  And, yet, he was still able to obtain AK-47 assault rifles in this country.

The New York Times reports on his sponsorship of violence against government officials:

In a video of one of his seminars, which was removed from YouTube over the weekend, Mr. Kane responded to reports of a zealous I.R.S. agent by twice suggesting that she be found and beaten up. [His son] said, “If you pay for the bat, I’ll take care of the problem.”

Mr. Kane also referred to a earlier problem with alcohol, saying: “I don’t want to kill anybody but if they keep messing with me, that’s what it’s going to come down to. And if I have to kill one, then I’m not going to be able to stop. I just know it, I mean, I have an addictive personality.”

(Read full article here.)

The Knoxville News-Sentinel reports that Kane had several run-ins with the law:

Ohio police records describe Kane as a burly man, 6-foot-2 and 230 pounds, who for a time wore a black beard. Since 1983, Kane was arrested or cited six times in Clark County, Ohio, on charges ranging from passing bad checks to criminal trespass, drunken driving and driving with expired tags.

Kane was charged with felonious assault in 2004 after allegedly shooting a 13-year-old boy in Springfield with a “handgun-style BB gun.”

(Read full article here.)

And the Associated Press reports that the local Sheriff believed Kane was a danger to law enforcement and issued a warning about him to fellow officers:

Sheriff Gene Kelly in Clark County, Ohio, said he issued a warning to law enforcement about Kane in July 2004, after Kane said a judge tried to “enslave” him when he was sentenced to six days of community service for driving with an expired license plate and no seat belt. Kane claimed he was a “free man” and asked for $100,000 per day in gold or silver, Kelly said.

“After listening to this man for almost 30 minutes, I feel that he is expecting and prepared for confrontations with any law enforcement officer that may come in contact with him,” Kelly wrote in his warning to officers.

(Read full article here.)

So maybe it’s not too surprising that on Thursday, Kane and his 16-year-old son opened fire with those assault rifles when they were pulled over during a traffic stop in West Memphis, Arkansas.  Both officers died, and the father and son were later killed in a shootout that left two other police officers injured.

Sometimes the chance juxtaposition of two news articles sends its own message.

 It occurred this morning as I read my morning Washington Post at the breakfast table.  I had just finished the article on Mexican President Calderon’s address to a Joint Session of Congress yesterday, in which he urged American lawmakers to “consider reinstating” the assault weapons ban that had expired in 2004.  I then turned to the next page, where my eye was caught by a brief article about two Arkansas police officers, who were fatally wounded by gunmen with AK-47s, after their van was pulled over along Interstate 40.  Ninety minutes later the gunmen died in a shootout with police at a local Wal-mart, in which two more officers were wounded, one critically. 

 If President Calderon is wondering why so many in Congress responded to his call for action on guns by sitting on their hands, the Arkansas police shooting gives him his answer.  Too many in Congress are unwilling to stand up to the gun lobby bullies to help President Calderon protect the lives of brave Mexican police officers because they don’t even have the courage to do the same to protect brave American police officers.  The trafficking of assault weapons and other guns out of American gun shops supplies the illegal market, not just in Mexico, but in our own cities and towns as well.  Drug criminals armed with assault weapons kill American police, as well as Mexican police.

 In his extraordinary speech, President Calderon told Congress that Mexico has seized 75,000 assault weapons and other guns and over 80% of those traced originated with American gun shops.  He said the escalation in Mexican drug violence “coincides with the lifting of the assault weapons ban in 2004,” powerful support for the impact of gun laws in reducing the supply of guns to violent criminals. 

Unlike many of our own political leaders, President Calderon understands that the American people have as much at stake on this issue as the Mexican people.  He told Congress:  “Today, these weapons are aimed by the criminals not only at rival gangs but also at Mexican civilians and authorities.  And with all due respect, if you do not regulate the sale of these weapons in the right way, nothing guarantees that criminals here in the United States with access to the same power of weapons will not decide to challenge the American authorities and civilians.” 

The Mexican President was being diplomatic.  Criminals with assault weapons challenging American police and civilians represent not a future prospect, but today’s continuing and tragic reality.  As Congress listened to Calderon’s words, two Arkansas police officers lay fatally wounded.  What more justification for action does Congress need?

And then there is President Obama.  He should be profoundly embarrassed that it took the President of another country to call on Congress to take action on guns, while he and his Administration cower in fear of the gun lobby.  If our President ever summons the courage to ask Congress to do the right thing on guns, he need look no further than the words of President Calderon:  “I admire the American Constitution, and I understand that the purpose of the Second Amendment is to guarantee good American citizens the ability to defend themselves and their Nation.  But believe me, many of these guns are not going to honest American hands.” 

President Calderon understands that it does no damage to the Second Amendment to protect police officers from assault weapons.  Thank you, Mr. President, for speaking for our people, as well as your own.

 Are you listening, President Obama? 

For more information, see Dennis Henigan’s Lethal Logic:  Exploding the Myths that Paralyze American Gun Policy (Potomac Books 2009).

For years, Mexican drug cartels have exploited weak U.S. gun laws to arm themselves.  They use U.S. guns against other drug gangs, the Mexican government, and innocent civilians.

Yesterday, during his visit to the U.S., Mexican President Felipe Calderon spoke to Congress about the horrible violence his country is experiencing and asked for help in reducing gun trafficking from the U.S. to Mexico.  Read more about his speech in the Washington Post, Dallas Morning News, and Politico.

The Washington Post editorialized about the speech today and called on the Obama administration to take action against illegal guns:

Mexican President Felipe Calderón has shown courage in leading his government to take on the violent drug gangs that have claimed thousands of Mexican lives. On Thursday, he displayed a different kind of fortitude: standing before a joint meeting of Congress and asking for a revival of the U.S. assault weapons ban. The Obama administration, which has been largely absent in the fight against the illegal gun trade, should have such backbone.

Mr. Calderón, who has been in Washington for a state visit, made a powerful case. Over the past three years, Mexican authorities have seized some 75,000 weapons used in crimes; more than 80 percent of those they were able to trace came from the United States. Mr. Calderón argued that the surge in violent, cartel-related crimes coincided with the 2004 repeal of the U.S. assault weapons ban…

… The White House also deserves credit for pushing forcefully to assist Mexican crime-fighting efforts. But it has been negligent in the battle against illegal guns, caving to the gun lobby on such issues as an assault weapons ban and a move to close a gun show loophole that allows some purchases without a background check.

In the matter of guns, the U.S. president should take a lesson in principle from his Mexican counterpart.

(Read full editorial here.)

It’s also extremely important to note that cracking down on gun trafficking and assault weapons would not only help Mexico, but would save lives here in the U.S. too.

In the past few weeks, we’ve gotten media inquiries from across the country about an increase in the number of shootings locally.  Today’s article, “Elevated level of gun violence unnerves city” in the Wilmington News-Journal, mirrors what we’ve been hearing from other places:

Gun violence in Wilmington has been a daily event in some neighborhoods over the past week, with shootings reported on six straight days between last Thursday and Tuesday.

Since the beginning of the month, eleven people have been shot in nine incidents — two fatally.

(Read full story here.)

From sunrise to sunset. In cities, suburbs, and rural areas. In climates both hot and cold. Every day, somewhere in America, people disagree over the littlest things. One person mistakes another person’s expression or gesture for an insult. And if one of those persons has a gun, then that littlest thing might lead to that gun being used.

This is what seems to be the case involving murder suspect, gun enthusiast, and self-appointed “Open Carry Spokesman” Jesus C. Gonzalez, of Milwaukee. For the past two years, Gonzalez, 25, had made it clear that he was

Jesus Gonzalez

ready for a fight. Gonzalez posted frequently on the site opencarry.org, suggesting that it was time to challenge Milwaukee’s ban on the open carry of firearms. “I’ve noticed that there seems to be no one in Milwaukee willing to get OC (open carry) started, but I was never one to wait for others,” he’s quoted as saying by the Milwaukee Sentinel. He filed two federal civil rights lawsuits over his disorderly conduct arrests while carrying a loaded weapon at Menards and Wal-mart stores. His suits were dismissed and he was never charged in the cases.

However during his depositions in the federal lawsuits, Gonzalez reportedly went toe-toe with the government’s lawyer, while trumpeting his in-depth knowledge of gun possession laws. And on May 9, Gonzalez took his zeal for open carry to its most lethal extreme. In what police are suggesting was a confrontation over a parking space, Gonzalez shot and killed tribal dancer and singer Danny John, as he was sitting in his car. John’s nephew, Jered Corn, was paralyzed from the chest down by a bullet blast (one of seven Gonzalez fired at both men) through his neck. Gonzalez faces a first-degree intentional homicide charge for the death of John, age 29, and an attempted first-degree intentional homicide charge for shooting Corn, age 21.

Police later confiscated additional artillery from Gonzalez’s home: three more handguns, three rifles, a shotgun and 1,300 rounds of ammunition.

Americans have for far too long settled minor disputes with lethal firepower, and it’s one of the reasons that we continue to reject the vision of America, held by gun rights extremists, as a place where anybody can carry and display any gun, anywhere, and at any time. The NRA’s push  to deprive state and local law enforcement authorities of the discretion to fully evaluate applicants for concealed carry licenses has resulted in licenses being issued to just about anyone who can pass a minimal criminal background check. And to make sure we don’t learn about the problems caused by giving away these permits so easily, the NRA bosses have taken steps in a number of states to hide this information from the public.

Many law enforcement agencies share our concern about this dangerous trend.  “ ‘It is my view, shared by the California Police Chiefs Association, that ‘open carry’ is an unnecessary threat to the safety of our officers and the public whom they serve,’ ” Ken James, a Bay Area police chief, recently wrote in an op-ed to the San Francisco Chronicle.

Whether it’s open carry for everyone, without a permit or training, or concealed carry with little oversight, the American people feel less safe with these guns being in public places. Jesus Gonzalez is the poster child for why those feelings are justified.