The Right Priorities

Two recent stories in California shed light on how the concealed handgun permitting process in the state works—and sometimes doesn’t work.

The first story involves a local sheriff in Orange County who is garnering criticism for placing public safety too high on her priority list. Sheriff Sandra Hutchens replaced Sheriff Mike Carona in 2008 after Carona was indicted on federal corruption charges. Carona had also come under scrutiny for his practice of providing friends and business associates with concealed handgun permits. “The policy under the previous administration was to freely give them out,” Hutchens stated. “It comes down to whether you’re going to follow the law. The prior sheriff did not.”

Carona set up a program where those who donated over $1,000 to his campaign were granted concealed handgun permits and badges through a program called "Professional Service Responders." An investigation revealed that the recipients of these permits gave at least $68,000 to Carona. One of these permit holders, Carona's former martial arts instructor, was sentenced to six months in prison after drawing his gun in a dispute on a golf course. Others had prior criminal convictions before receiving a permit.

California is a “May-Issue” state, meaning that law enforcement officials have discretion in issuing concealed handgun permits. Applicants must provide a “good cause” for wanting a permit and demonstrate “good moral character.” They are interviewed and run though a computerized instant background check, and can be required to submit a medical clearance letter from a physician and/or undergo psychological or polygraph testing. Hutchens’ policy is to issue permits to “persons of good and upstanding character who possess credible, significant, and substantiated cause to fear for their safety. [Permits] will not be issued for political, social or other reasons.”

Since coming into office, Hutchens has revoked 132 permits issued by Carona (individuals targeted for revocation were given the option of having their permits expire early so they would not have a “revoked” denotation on their record). Another 168 individuals permitted by Carona did not seek renewal. Of the applications for new permits and renewals evaluated by Hutchens, 564 out of 642 have been approved (90%).

This is apparently not good enough for the National Rifle Association (NRA), gun rights activists, and certain county supervisors, who have accused Hutchens of launching a “misguided jihad.” One man who had his permit revoked by Hutchens stated, “It’s a telling sign of a public official who brings in a philosophy from Los Angeles that doesn’t belong in Orange County and imposes that philosophy against the will of the people and the board that hired her.” The two men running against Hutchens in the November elections, Bill Hunt and Craig Hunter, have also harped on the issue.

Another recent story from California, however, reinforces Hutchens’ wisdom in taking a close look at applicants for concealed handgun permits.

On February 26, law enforcement officials went to the Minkler community home of Rick Liles with a warrant for arson and firearm violations. When they attempted to arrest Liles, he responded with gunfire from an AR-15 semiautomatic assault rifle. At least 150 officers from nearly a dozen agencies arrived on the scene to lay siege to the mobile home. After firing 400 rounds of ammunition into the trailer, authorities were finally able to suppress Liles’ fire. Tragically, Fresno County Sheriff’s Deputy Joel Wahlenmaier was shot dead and Reedley Police Department Officer Javier Bejar was critically wounded (another officer sustained minor gunshot wounds). Officer Bejar was taken off life support and died on March 1.

When authorities finally entered Liles’ trailer hours later, they found him dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. His personal arsenal consisted of five handguns and five rifles.

Liles had been issued a permit to carry a concealed handgun by Fresno County in 2003. He renewed the permit on two occasions before it expired in the summer of 2009.

This was despite Liles’ personal history, which indicated a propensity toward violence and mental instability. Neighbors and local residents had accused Liles of setting fires on their property and firing bullets into nearby homes, one of which “caused minor injuries to a neighbor.” Mary Novak, owner of the Minkler Cash Store, had been one of Liles’ targets. “I don’t think it was focused towards me,” she said. “I think he was reaching out for something, maybe help.” Liles’ wife Diane “told police that [he] had been taking several medications, including Prozac.” She also indicated he was becoming increasingly paranoid with violent thoughts. Liles told Diane several times in recent months that he intended to shoot officers and then take his own life rather than go to prison.[Diane has a violent past of her own—she was convicted in 2005 of threatening to kill a co-worker with a gun.]

Incidents like the one in Minkler demonstrate the importance of thoroughly screening concealed handgun applicants to ensure their mental stability and good character. If every sheriff in California embraced comprehensive and thorough screening procedures like Sandra Hutchens, it would be extremely difficult for dangerous individuals to obtain concealed handgun permits. In a state that loses over 3,300 of its residents to gun violence each year, citizens should lend their support to a sheriff who values public safety over the personal convenience of a small group of individuals.

"His mental state was in question."

On January 19, Christopher Bryan Speight, 39, shot and killed eight people inside and around the home he shared with family members in Appomattox, Virginia. His victims were Lauralee Sipe, 38, Speight's sister; Dwayne Sipe, 38, his brother-in-law; Morgan Dobyns, 15, Speight's niece; Joshua Sipe, 4, his nephew; Emily A. Quarles, 15, Morgan's friend; Karen Quarles, 43, Emily's mother; Jonathan L. Quarles, 43, Emily's father; and Ronald "Bo" Scruggs II, 16, Emily’s boyfriend.

More than 150 law enforcement officials arrived on the scene in response to the shootings and combed the nearby woods in search of Speight. During the siege, Speight took down a Virginia State Police helicopter by piercing its fuel tank with six rounds from a high-powered rifle (Speight had participated in National Rifle Association rifle competitions, which he excelled in). Eventually, Speight surrendered to authorities. He has been charged with one count of first-degree murder, with more charges likely coming.

A search of Speight’s house uncovered 17 bombs, including seven homemade grenades, two improvised explosive devices “with chemical irritant attached,” two IED “anti-personnel mines,” two pipe bombs and four more IEDs. Authorities also found more than a dozen firearms (including at least three AR-15 assault rifles and two Chinese-made Uzis) and “large amounts” of ammunition. Night-vision equipment, body armor and a pair of homemade mortar tubes were also found inside the home.

A search of Appomattox County court records has revealed that Speight held a concealed handgun permit, which was renewed on two occasions (in 2004 and 2009) despite his “history of mental breakdowns,” which was well known to his family and their attorney. Speight also apparently legally purchased the guns used in the shootings, and bought and sold firearms through unregulated private transfers (i.e., no background checks, no paperwork).

There were six confirmed mass shootings by concealed handgun permit holders in 2009. Speight becomes the first in 2010.

Those who knew Speight say he may have become fixated on the notion that his sister wanted to oust him from the Appomattox County home passed down to them by their grandparents and mother. Speight was removed as a trustee of the property in 2007 “over concern for his stability.” When family members met with him to discuss the matter, he “talked about booby-trapping his bedroom.” Speight also told friends he heard a “zinging” in his ears following the death of his mother in 2006. As the family attorney, Henry Devening, describes it, “his mental state was in question.” Speight was apparently seeing a therapist to address these issues.

Under Virginia law, individuals are disqualified from obtaining concealed handgun permits for reason of mental health under a narrow set of criteria, including the following: a) If they have been involuntarily committed to a psychiatric institution; b) If they have been adjudicated as “mentally incompetent,” and; c) If they have been acquitted by reason of insanity. Virginia makes no provision for people who do not fall under certain specific criteria but who are nonetheless seriously mentally ill.

Additionally, no investigative authority exists to make sure these disqualifications are detected. The Virginia State Police conduct instant computer background checks to verify mental health information through databases that are missing millions of disqualifying records. This process failed to turn up any information about Speight’s mental health issues.

In his most recent application to renew his concealed handgun permit, filed on January 6 of last year, Speight described himself in court papers as a dependable person who showed pride in his ability to "find ways to get out of problems without using force or violence." The tragic irony of that statement is now apparent.

As Alice Mountjoy, the Government Relations Coordinator of the Virginia Center for Public Safety, recently commented, “When an individual with as tortured a mental health history as Christopher Speight is able to get a concealed handgun permit, it confirms what we have been saying for years ... The screening process [for concealed carry applicants in Virginia] is broken and does little to assure that permit holders are both law-abiding and mentally fit to carry handguns around our families in public.”

A Familiar Pattern

During the past decade, independent audits of concealed handgun permit holder rosters in states such as Florida, Texas and Tennessee have revealed that violent individuals can—and frequently do—obtain carry permits. Last summer, the Indianapolis Star, conducted an in-depth, independent investigation of their own in their home state, examining more than 900,000 concealed carry permit applications, court records, and police reports.

The Star uncovered “a system that breaks down in numerous ways, enabling people with troubled and often violent pasts to legally keep a loaded gun in their waistbands and on their passenger seats.” Specifically, 450 permit holders with “dubious backgrounds” were identified in Marion and Lake Counties. In many of these cases, “local police recommended disapproval but the Indiana State Police granted the permit.” Several of these individuals went on to commit additional acts of violence with the guns they had been legally permitted to carry.

Indiana is a “shall-issue” state, which means that law enforcement authorities are required to issue a concealed carry permit after an applicant passes a computerized background check (which determines if the applicant is prohibited under federal law from possessing a firearm). However, the state lays out additional requirements for applicants. They must be of “good character and reputation” and a “proper person.” The definition of “proper person” is detailed in the law—and defines additional behavior that would prohibit someone from obtaining a permit. Applicants who have “a propensity for violent or emotionally unstable conduct” are specifically prohibited. What it means to be of “good character and reputation,” however, is left up to the discretion of law enforcement.

There are approximately 300,000 active concealed handgun permits in Indiana. In 2008, State Police reviewed 77,429 applications, including renewals. Of those, only 1,278 (about 1.6%) were denied. For whatever reason, Indiana State Police have failed to deny a permit under the “good character” provision since the 1980s. Additionally, because the State Police frequently receive incomplete records from local officials, it can be difficult to confirm who is a “proper person.”

Certainly more applicants should have been denied. Among the Indiana permit holders turned up by the Star were the following:

• Tony Thomas had five misdemeanor convictions before receiving his permit in 2006. Several months later, Thomas held his wife captive in their home for four days, threatening to shoot her and their four children.
  
  
• William Gammon threatened to kill his girlfriend at gunpoint in 2008 and left “a very noticeable round circle mark” on her forehead. Gammon also had five misdemeanor convictions (one was a felony reduced to a misdemeanor) before receiving his permit in 2006.
  
  
• Brandon Kennedy had several misdemeanor convictions and two documented incidents of firing his handgun in the air in public before receiving his permit.

Miguel Roa, an Indianapolis police officer who was on duty last year when Gammon threatened his life, said, “You can have an extensive criminal history and still have a permit … At some point you should say enough is enough.”

The Star made several recommendations regarding how to address this problem:

• Create an administrative definition of “good character and reputation” to aid State Police in the application approval and denial process.
  
  
• “Reconsider alternative misdemeanor sentencing as it relates to gun permits,” to allow State Police to deny applicants with multiple misdemeanor convictions but no felony convictions (or those with felony charges that were reduced to misdemeanors charges).
  
  
• Improve the communication lines between State Police and local police. This could involve creating a centralized law enforcement information system “to provide more than just a list of charges and dispositions on an applicant.”

The Indiana state legislature, however, has decided to address the problem in a decidedly different way. After outrage was expressed by the National Rifle Association (NRA) at “the irresponsible actions of Indiana newspapers,” the Indiana House Natural Resources Committee voted 11-0 on January 14 to approve legislation that would prevent information about concealed handgun permit holders from being released to the public or the media.

The argument for the legislation involves “privacy issues,” as well as concerns that criminals will use the database to target permit holders for gun thefts. “To protect the safety of gun owners and non-gun owners, it is better to have this information available only to law enforcement,” said Rep. Mike Murphy (R). Neither the NRA nor anyone else has provided a single example of a criminal targeting an individual based on information from a permit holder database—in any state.

Dennis Ryerson, Editor of the Star, pointed out that his paper never published individual information about any legal gun owner. Furthermore, he pointed out that without access to Indiana’s concealed handgun permit holder database, “We would never have been able to show our readers how hundreds of bad guys were able to get concealed weapons permits over the objections of local police jurisdictions … We would never know how government is acting on these kinds of matters and, in the process, point to needed corrections in the system.”

Ryerson is undoubtedly aware that the NRA has drafted and pushed through laws in 27 other states that prohibit the release of permit holder information. The pattern is by now familiar: 1) An independent audit of concealed carry permit holders uncovers permit holders with violent histories; 2) The NRA reacts with indignation and demands that legislators ban such information from the public, and; 3) The legislature complies with the NRA’s demands and does nothing substantive to address the threat to public safety.

For the sake of Hoosiers, let us hope that the final chapter in their own story has a different ending.

Do as I Say, Not as I Do

Today we relate the stories of three more “ordinary people” who are not only concealed carry permit holders, but certified instructors paid to provide the safety and training classes required to obtain a permit in their states. If concealed carry permit holders are the most law-abiding citizens in our country, we would expect their trainers to be virtually infallible when it comes to respecting the rule of law. The truth, however, is somewhat less flattering…

On the evening of May 13, police responded to a call regarding a deceased person in a private home in Palestine, Texas. When they arrived, 62-year-old Ronnie Cook, a concealed handgun instructor in the state, opened fire on them from inside the house. The officers took cover and secured a perimeter. Two hours later, Cook called 911 and negotiated his surrender. He then walked out of his house in a pair of handcuffs he had placed on his own wrists. Police entered the home and discovered Cook’s wife, 62 year-old Frances Darlene Cook, dead in the bathroom from a single gunshot wound. Ronnie Cook now faces a murder charge for his wife’s slaying as well as attempted capital murder charges for firing at the police.

In August, handgun training instructor Jason Hernandez, 38, was arrested in Perrysburg Township, Ohio, on charges of selling falsified concealed carry permits. To acquire a permit in Ohio, residents are required to complete 12 hours of instruction. More than 130 individuals allegedly bought training certificates from Hernandez, however, without attending any classes or receiving instruction. Hernandez now faces charges of forgery and tampering with evidence. Wood County Detective Sergeant Scott Koch reported that applicants paid $150 to $300 for a falsified certificate despite the fact that actual training classes cost between $75 and $150. Falsified permits that were issued to individuals in Wood County have been suspended.

On September 28, parents of students attending Saint Gregory School in Tyler, Texas, received an email from Principal Kathy Shieldes Harry informing them that the father of a four-year-old student had inadvertently left a loaded handgun in his daughter’s overnight bag. A teacher discovered the gun while the girl was rummaging through her backpack in class. Her father is a certified concealed handgun instructor in Texas. The child’s mother told the Tyler Morning Telegraph that the school did not inform her of the discovery and that she only learned of the gun when she went to take her daughter home: “We were pulling out of the parking lot and I saw her father pulling in and I asked her if she knew why her dad was at the school, and she told me his gun was in her backpack.” Don Martin, the Tyler Police Department public information officer, said that it is illegal to have a gun on the school’s campus and the girl’s parents could be charged with making a handgun accessible to a minor.

These incidents suggest that certified concealed handgun instructors are vetted no more carefully than their charges in terms of assessing their potential threat to public safety. Perhaps even they are ordinary people after all...

The Gun-Toting Soccer Mom

On October 7, Meleanie Hain’s handgun failed to protect her. That evening, she was in the kitchen of her home in Lebanon, Pennsylvania, chatting on the Internet with a friend through a web camera. Her husband, Scott Hain, entered the room, picked up a 9mm handgun, and shot her several times. As the Hain’s children—ages 2, 6 and 10—fled the house in terror, Hain’s online friend heard the shots and immediately called 911. When police arrived, Meleanie Hain was found dead in the kitchen. Scott Hain, having committed suicide with a shotgun, was found dead in an upstairs bedroom.

Meleanie’s 9mm Glock 26 handgun, loaded with a full magazine and a bullet in the chamber, was in a backpack hanging from the front door. A car parked in the driveway bore an “NRA Law Enforcement” bumper sticker.

A Visible Presence
The murder-suicide drew a significant amount of media coverage because Meleanie Hain was an ardent and outspoken pro-gun activist. Known as the “gun-toting soccer mom,” she gained national attention in September of last year when she openly carried her Glock handgun to her five year-old daughter’s soccer game in Lebanon. This led to an outcry by other parents affiliated with the Central Pennsylvania Youth Soccer League who feared for the safety of their children. Unfortunately, there wasn’t much they could do. It is legal for Pennsylvania residents to openly carry handguns in public—and no permit is required.

Why did Hain bring her gun to her daughter’s soccer games? She explained that it was for self-defense and because “carrying a gun ensures that I’m taking responsibility for my children’s safety.” She added that she carried her gun openly (versus concealed) because “I don’t really need anything extra in the way of the gun if I’m going to have to pull it out and I’m holding a baby and trying to shuttle two or three other kids.” “It may sound arrogant,” Hain said, “but the Constitution has guaranteed me a right, and there is nothing more to say about it.”

Preaching the Gospel
Hain spoke frequently with the press and echoed a number of talking points that have been circulated for years by the National Rifle Association and other gun lobby groups:

• “An armed society is a polite society.”
  
  
• “When seconds count, the police are minutes away.”
  
  
• “A gun-free zone says to a criminal: ‘Easy Target.’”
  
  
• “11% of the time police officers kill an innocent person. Only 2% of the time does a private citizen shoot an innocent person.”
  
  
• “60% of criminals polled said that they would not victimize someone if they new they were armed. 40% of them said they would not victimize someone if they thought they were armed.”
  
  
• “Did anybody think they would need [guns] at Virginia Tech? Did anybody think they would need a gun at an Amish school house? Probably not.”

These comments brought plaudits from pro-gun activists (Pennsylvania Open Carry presented her with awards and one visitor at OpenCarry.org memorialized Hain by stating, “She was a true beacon for the [open carry] cause and fought the good fight”) and circumspection by Lebanon County Sheriff Michael DeLeo. On September 17, 2008, DeLeo revoked Hain’s concealed handgun permit, citing a section of Pennsylvania law that applies to individuals “whose character and reputation is such that [they] would be likely to act in a manner dangerous to public safety.”

Hain appealed the revocation and her permit was reinstated on October 14, 2008, by County Judge Robert Eby, a gun owner and concealed carry permit holder himself. Eby said that the law required him to return Hain’s permit (Pennsylvania is a “shall-issue” state that gives local law enforcement no discretion in denying permits to those who pass basic computerized background checks), but he questioned her judgment nonetheless. Eby noted that Hain had “scared the devil” out of other parents and children, and declared, “Fear doesn’t belong at a kid’s soccer game from any source.” He advised her to stop open carrying her sidearm at the games—a suggestion she immediately dismissed.

Scarlet Letter
Hain wasn’t done though. She then launched a million-dollar lawsuit against Sheriff DeLeo, claiming he had infringed on her Second Amendment rights. “Just the fact that he was wrong is evidenced by the fact that my license was restored to me,” said Hain. “I am a victim of Sheriff Michael DeLeo’s. I am a victim of those in society as a direct result of his actions as well. The way people look at me sometimes when I am out running errands, I feel as if I am wearing a scarlet letter, and really it’s a Glock 26.”

Hain’s family was also beginning to look at her differently. She noted that, outside of her mother, her family was “not well educated about firearms” and “basically anti-gun.” Additionally, several local families took their children out of the daycare center that Hain ran out of her home as a result of her open carry activism. This represented a distinct setback in OpenCarry.org’s goal to "naturalize the presence of guns, which means that guns become ordinary, omnipresent, and expected. Over time, the gun becomes a symbol of ordinary personhood."

The Devil You Know
Ironically, the greatest threat to Hain at this time was not from outside her home, but from within. Hain’s attorney, Matthew Weisberg, indicated that she had separated from her husband Scott Hain, a parole officer, in early 2009, and wanted to pursue a protective order against him. Jay Bell, a moderator at the Pennsylvania Firearm Owners Association message board (where Hain’s screen name was “shefearsnothing”), said, “She was telling me at the [Open Carry] dinner in Collegeville she was planning to discuss divorce with her husband, but was afraid he’d react violently.” What exactly transpired between Meleanie Hain and her husband in the days and hours before the shooting is unknown, but it is now clear her fears were justified.

Reacting to the Hain’s murder-suicide, Daniel Vice of the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence said, “We hear about cases like this every day. Eighty people are killed by guns each day [in the United States] … We see every day the effects of gun violence, especially against women. Having a gun in the home makes it 22 times more likely you’ll be killed by that gun instead of it being used on an intruder.” Joe Grace, Executive Director of CeaseFire Pennsylvania, added, “The myth is that you’re safer with a gun … Having a gun did not make Meleanie safer. She and her husband are now deceased … It should give policy-makers pause. It’s time to let go of extreme rhetoric in the name of sanity and common sense.”

In the end, there was one piece of Hain’s rhetoric that seemed prescient. “If children are afraid of guns, that goes back to their parents,” Hain said on November 12, 2008, on the “It’s Your Call” show with Lynn Doyle. “It goes back to what they’re being exposed to at home.” Certainly, no one has suffered worse in this tragedy then the Hain children.

A Tale of Two Terrorists

When most Americans think about gun control, they think about laws that are designed to stop street criminals from obtaining firearms. In the post-9/11 era, however, such laws are equally important in foiling the violent ambitions of terrorists. Because the gun lobby has successfully blocked federal efforts to prohibit those on the FBI’s Terrorist Watch List from buying guns, it is frequently up to individual states to provide the necessary safeguards to prevent such purchases.

Two recent arrests that made national headlines provide an interesting contrast in terms of states’ ability (or willingness) to handle this responsibility.

The first was made on September 25, when authorities apprehended 33-year-old Anes Subasic after a nine-hour search of his home in Holly Springs, North Carolina. Officials found counterterrorism literature, an empty sniper scope case, and ammunition in the house. Subasic is a Muslim who fled Bosnia during its civil war (later becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen). Along with Daniel Boyd, Zakaria Boyd, Hysen Sherifi, Dlyan Boyd, Ziyad Yaghi, and Mohammad Omar Aly Hassain; Subasic was charged with conspiring to provide material support to terrorists. The cell is accused of planning violent overseas operations and an attack on the Marine Corps base in Quantico, Virginia.

Not only was the cell able to acquire a substantial cache of firearms (Daniel Boyd was also charged with selling a Ruger mini 14 and ammunition to a convicted felon), but it has also been revealed that Subasic held a permit to carry a concealed handgun in North Carolina.

Not that there weren’t obvious red flags in his background... The Bosnian Serb Republic courts had issued four warrants for Subasic’s arrest, one of which was international. An official with the Bosnian Serb police stated that Subasic “is known to be part of a criminal gang that operated in the wider area of Bosnia and the region.” All told, Bosnian Serb police charged Subasic 11 times on 16 counts of attempted murder, extortion and robbery. A waitress in Banja Luka recalled Subasic entering a restaurant and spraying fire randomly with an automatic weapon. “Whoever knows Anes, they are not surprised [by his recent arrest],” she said.

Because North Carolina is a “shall-issue” state, authorities were required to issue Subasic a concealed carry permit after he passed a computerized background check (Subasic had only minor traffic offenses during his time in the U.S.). A simple background investigation should have turned up Subasic’s outstanding international warrants, but no such investigation is conducted either for firearm purchasers or concealed carry permit holders in North Carolina.

Another terrorist who was recently apprehended had a much harder time arming himself. On October 21, Tarek Mehanna, a 27 year-old resident of Sudbury, Massachusetts, was arrested and charged with providing material support to terrorists. Authorities say Mehanna was part of a cell that attempted to join terrorist groups in Iraq, Yemen and Pakistan. When they failed to gain admission, they began plotting attacks on U.S. soil.

Inspired by the 2002 sniper attacks in Washington, D.C., Mehanna and his co-plotters hatched a plan to commit a mass shooting in a shopping mall in Massachusetts. However, according to U.S. Attorney Michael Loucks, “Mehanna and his co-conspirators ultimately abandoned this plan, because they could not obtain the automatic weapons they thought necessary to effectively carry out such an assault.”

Massachusetts certainly does not make it easy for dangerous individuals to get assault weapons. Any resident seeking to obtain a "large capacity" weapon (including assault weapons capable of holding more than ten rounds of ammunition directly, or via a high-capacity magazine) must obtain a special Class A license. The screening requirements to obtain this license are extensive, and law enforcement is given the discretion to deny any applicant they believe is a potential threat to public safety.


Unregulated private sales of firearms are also closely regulated in Massachusetts. The state requires all private sellers to submit a written report documenting each firearm transfer to the executive director of the state’s Criminal History Systems Board. Purchasers of firearms from private sellers are also required to submit this information. Additionally, no more than four firearms may be transferred by a Massachusetts resident in this manner in a given calendar year.

The National Rifle Association loves to claim that criminals will always be able to obtain firearms, no matter what laws are passed. The case of Tarek Mehanna gives lie to this notion. Clearly, smart gun laws can deter dangerous individuals bent on arming themselves for violence. In a time when internal threats in our country are very real, state legislators should pay heed to the case of Mehanna and put public safety over the priorities of the gun lobby.

Gunning for the President

The nation, sadly, has become well acquainted with the phenomenon of individuals bringing loaded guns to town hall meetings, presidential speeches and other political events. Initially, these shows of force were headline news and covered nationally. Recently, however, two disturbing incidents occurred that barely made a blip on even the local media radar.

On the evening of September 9, President Barack Obama was at the U.S. Capitol preparing to address a joint session of Congress on the subject of health care reform. At approximately 8:00 p.m., Joshua Bowman, 28, of Falls Church, Virginia, attempted to drive his Honda Civic into a secure area near the Capitol. U.S. Capitol Police stopped him and, searching his car, found a rifle, a shotgun and 500 rounds of ammunition. Bowman was arrested on the spot and charged with two counts of possession of an unregistered firearm and one count of unlawful possession of ammunition. An Associated Press article noted that “Bowman’s intentions were unclear.”

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington has stated that they have decided against prosecuting Bowman on more serious charges. It is difficult to imagine, however, what legitimate reason there might have been for bringing that kind of firepower to the Capitol when so many important elected officials were gathered in one place.

Three days later, Josh Hendrickson of Rogers, Minnesota, traveled to a rally outside the Target Center in downtown Minneapolis, where President Obama was giving another speech on health care reform. Hendrickson, a concealed carry permit holder in Minnesota, was carrying a .40 caliber Glock 22 handgun in a holster on his hip, and a Kel Tec 380 in his pocket. “The Second Amendment isn’t suspended just because the president’s in town,” he explained. He was questioned by Minneapolis police and Secret Service agents, but no charges were pressed.

Hendrickson described himself as a “pretty laid-back guy,” a National Rifle Association member who always takes his keys, wallet and guns when he leaves the house. In reality, Hendrickson is a “Truther” with a violent criminal history. In fact, he was recently released after serving a 60-day stint in jail for pepper spraying a customer at the Cub Foods where he worked as a security guard. The woman had parked illegally, Hendrickson claims, and was being belligerent. “It didn’t cause a commotion,” though, he assured a reporter. Nonetheless, Hendrickson was fired, charged with fifth-degree assault, and convicted.

Nor was that his only contact with law enforcement. Hendrickson described two other incidents, one “a disorderly conduct charge involving a parking lot argument as his son’s school” and another “a dispute over a neighbor’s dog, in which police were called.” A search of the Minnesota Trial Court Public Access website reveals a total of 9 convictions for Joshua David Hendrickson, born in November 1976: 1 for 5^th degree assault, 1 for Disorderly Conduct—Brawling or Fighting, 3 for Disorderly Conduct, 1 for Reckless Driving, 2 for Driving While Intoxicated, and 1 for Interfering with an Emergency Call.

Sadly, Hendrickson was able to obtain a concealed handgun permit in Minnesota and hold on to it despite this extensive criminal record. Under Minnesota law, Hendrickson’s permit could have been revoked after his conviction for fifth-degree assault. And the law would have required law enforcement to revoke Hendrickson’s permit following his DWI convictions had he been armed during either one of these incidents. Although Minnesota is a “shall-issue” state, Minnesota sheriffs are also permitted to deny permits if they believe there is a “substantial likelihood that the applicant would be a danger to self or others.”

That Hendrickson was able to avoid all these hurdles and carry handguns near the president without being arrested is astonishing. “Now I’m going to be the guy with the assault record—the gun-carrying assaulter of people who’s outside the Obama rally,” Hendrickson predicted.

On that point, he was right. The natural question is now: How many other individuals carrying guns at political events (either openly or concealed) have disturbing criminal histories? And why is the media already losing interest in what should be headline news?

“You can commit mass murder then still go to heaven.”

On August 4, George Sodini , 48, walked into the LA Fitness Center in Collier, Pennsylvania, wearing black workout gear and a headband. In his pocket was a .32 semiautomatic handgun. He carried a duffel bag with three more handguns: two 9mm semiautomatic pistols with 30-round clips and a .45 caliber revolver. All told, he was carrying 150 rounds of ammunition.

Sodini entered an exercise room where an aerobics class was taking place, turned off the lights, and opened fire, emptying one of the 9mm pistols. He then drew the second 9mm pistol and continued firing. In his last act, Sodini drew the .45 revolver and shot himself in the head. When the smoke cleared, at least 36 rounds had been fired and Sodini and three women lay dead. Sodini’s victims were Heidi Overmier, 46; Elizabeth Gannon, 49; and Jody Billingsley, 37. Nine other women were wounded in the shooting.

Within minutes of the tragedy becoming national news, the internet community discovered a journal that Sodini had posted online. In it, Sodini provided his name, date of birth, and hometown—and in a series of entries dating back to November 2008 detailed his plans to commit mass murder. Sodini asked “Why do this?? To young girls?” and made it clear that it was because he was lonely, suicidal, and deeply angry at women, who he felt had spurned him his entire life. He took comfort, however, in a conversation with his pastor at Tetelestai Church in Pittsburgh, who convinced him that “you can commit mass murder then still go to heaven.” The journal even detailed a previous failed murder-suicide attempt by Sodini on January 6 of this year. “I chickened out!” he wrote. “I brought the loaded guns, everything. Hell!”

Authorities had also had previous contact with Sodini. Jack Rickard, a deacon at Tetelestai Church, reported Sodini after he harassed a woman there. A state trooper called Sodini to discuss the matter with him, but no charges were filed. Sodini was asked to leave the church, however, and he did.

A week before the shooting, Sodini came to authorities’ attention again when they received reports that a man on a public bus in Pittsburgh had pulled out what appeared to be a grenade from a computer bag. The man saw a passenger on the bus watching him and said, “It is real. Do you want to hold it?” Soon after, police questioned Sodini—who matched a description provided by the passenger. Sodini denied any involvement, and escaped charges when the passenger couldn’t confirm him as the suspect. After the shooting at LA Fitness Center, Allegheny County Police found a note in Sodini’s home that referred to the grenade incident. “Don’t worry about that; it was a fake,” it said.

Despite all this, Sodini purchased the firearms using in the shooting legally (and bought one of his high capacity-magazines and a magazine loader from Eric Thompson, the online gun dealer who also armed mass shooters Seung-Hui Cho and Steven Kazmierczak). Sodini also held a permit to carry a concealed handgun in the state of Pennsylvania.

The screening process for both purchasing firearms and obtaining a concealed carry permit in Pennsylvania involves a computerized background check. That check searches a state database and also the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS), the federal database maintained by the FBI. Because he had no significant criminal record, and because he had not been involuntarily committed to a mental institution or adjudicated as a “mental defective,” Sodini passed those checks. No background investigation is conducted in Pennsylvania to determine if there is any significant history that is missed by the computer check (this is despite the fact that the NICS database is missing millions of records that should be disqualifying purchasers). The result is that Pennsylvania authorities allowed Sodini to purchase firearms and carry a handgun in public without even looking for what it took bloggers minutes to find—a publicly-posted journal detailing his plans to slaughter women.

George Sodini is the fourth confirmed concealed carry permit holder to commit mass murder this year. Like him, the others—Frank Garcia, Michael McClendon, and Richard Poplawski—all had obvious red flags in their background that should have prevented them from obtaining their permits. It has been clear for some time in America that our weak gun laws make it easy for dangerous individuals to purchase firearms. The frequency with which they are obtaining permits to carry concealed handguns in public is a phenomenon that is even more disturbing.

Back Nine

On June 22, an argument at a golf course in Austin, Texas, nearly turned into a tragedy. That day, Matthew Nader (a former stand-out football player for Westlake High School) and two friends were playing golf at the Lions Municipal Golf Course when 73-year-old Edwin Dailey approached the group and complained about their slow play and the way they had parked their golf cart. The argument continued for four more holes. At the 13^th hole, Dailey told Nader that he was prepared to “make them both equal” by getting his gun.

After the 18^th hole, all four of the golfers ended up in the course’s parking lot together. There was another verbal exchange, and Dailey pulled out a .25-caliber Browning handgun loaded with hollow-point bullets and pointed it at Nader. Nader and his friends took cover behind their cars, and Dailey concealed the weapon and walked back to the clubhouse.

The three men were on the phone calling 911 when Dailey returned to the parking lot. “If I feel threatened, I am morally obligated to destroy you,” he told the former football star and his friends. [It is unclear if Dailey was alluding to Texas’ controversial “Shoot First Law,” which removes an individual’s duty to retreat from a potential confrontation and presumes that he/she is reasonable in using lethal force if someone enters or is attempting to enter their occupied home, car or workplace.]

Dailey then left the scene, but was pulled over soon after by an Austin city marshal and taken into custody. Police seized the Browning handgun and also found a .38-caliber Beretta pistol with two magazines in a cooler in Dailey’s car.

In an affidavit, officers stated that they didn’t believe that Dailey had been in physical danger or that his threat of deadly force was justified. Dailey has been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a second-degree felony, and was released from prison on $15,000 bail.

Law enforcement officials have reported that Dailey holds a concealed carry permit in the state of Texas. It is unclear at this time whether he has a criminal record or any past history of mental instability. Texas residents can obtain concealed carry permits by showing proof of residency in the State of Texas, filling out an online application, and taking a single 10-hour gun safety class.

A “shall-issue” state, Texas forces law enforcement to issue a permit to anyone who completes these requirements and passes a computerized background check. The federal database searched during these checks, however, is missing millions of records that would potentially disqualify an applicant.

Hopefully, law enforcement authorities in Texas will take prompt action to revoke Edwin Dailey’s concealed carry permit. Any individual who feels a “moral obligation” to shoot and kill someone for their pace of play on a golf course is clearly a threat to public safety and not fit to carry a handgun in public—or anywhere else.

Siege Mentality

On June 8 in Kittery, Maine, 60 year-old Michael Flaherty called relatives to say “goodbye” after surrounding himself with guns and ammunition and making “direct threats to kill family members and the police should they arrive.”

At 11:00 a.m. that morning police responded to a domestic disturbance call from Flaherty’s wife and forced entry into the family’s home after hearing cries for help. They found Flaherty and members of his family wrestling over a loaded .44-caliber Magnum revolver. Flaherty was wearing a bulletproof vest and had a second loaded .25-caliber handgun in his possession.

Thankfully, police were able to gain possession of the guns and subdue Flaherty before anyone got hurt. After searching the residence, police discovered “additional firearms at various entry points around the house with ammunition nearby as if they were ready for use.” All told, police seized a total of four rifles, two shotguns, two handguns, and several hundred rounds of ammunition. According to Sergeant Daniel Soule of the Kittery Police Department, it appears that Flaherty “was ready for a standoff. Everyone was fortunate in that no one was hurt. Praise goes to the officers, but also to the family members.”

Flaherty now faces charges of criminal threatening, and domestic violence-related reckless conduct, which were elevated to felonies due to the presence and use of firearms. He is currently being held at the York County jail on $20,000 bail, and is scheduled to appear in Superior Court on July 30.

Reports have revealed that Flaherty held concealed carry permits in the states of Maine and New Hampshire. Both are "shall-issue" states, meaning that local law enforcement must issue applicants a permit to carry a concealed handgun if they pass a basic computerized background check. Apparently, Flaherty did not have a criminal record that would have prevented him from passing those checks. In terms of mental health issues, only a previous involuntary commitment or adjudication by a court deeming an individual “mentally defective” would bar that person from possessing or purchasing guns under federal law. Unfortunately, the states have yet to forward 9 out of 10 of these disqualifying mental health records to the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) run by the FBI.

One thing is sure: Michael Flaherty did not just wake up one Monday morning and decide to kill himself and his family. He had prepared carefully for his siege. Laws which prohibit law enforcement from examining individuals’ backgrounds in detail when they purchase firearms or obtain permits to carry concealed weapons might further the agendas of gun lobby groups, but do little or nothing to protect the public. Thanks to the brave and rapid response of the Kittery police to this incident, no one was killed or injured. Sadly, this is frequently not the case when disturbed individuals gain easy access to firearms.