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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsAssociates defend man who had gun in school (SAFE Act advocate)
http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/buffalo-public-schools/associates-defend-man-who-had-gun-in-school-20140207Associates defend man who had gun in school
Say he made honest mistake in incident prompting school lockdown
By Jane Kwiatkowski | News Staff Reporter , Lou Michel | News Staff Reporter ,
Tiffany Lankes | News Staff Reporter | @TiffanyLankes
on February 7, 2014 - 8:40 PM
updated February 8, 2014 at 12:32 AM
Dwayne Ferguson spent more than a decade advocating for nonviolence and peace in the streets of Buffalo.
He was a well-known face in the movement for the SAFE Act, the state law that made carrying a gun on school property a felony. He was also a familiar presence in the hallways of the citys Harvey Austin Elementary School, where he worked in the after-school program and mentored students.
No one imagined that on Thursday he would show up at the school in possession of a gun, touching off an hours-long lockdown, search and ultimately his arrest on two felony charges.
Ferguson, 52, told WGRZ-TV that he frequently carries the gun, for which he has a permit, and did not realize he had it on him when he went to the school as part of the mentoring program...
Ferguson should practice what he preaches and plead guilty to the felony he committed.
Duckhunter935
(16,974 posts)He fought for the law he broke, no excuses.
Arkansas Granny
(31,515 posts)ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)ProudToBeBlueInRhody
(16,399 posts)That still doesn't have much to do with my comment that the gun nuts and freepers are trashing "commies and the Democrat party" as usual in the comments section.
friendly_iconoclast
(15,333 posts)The quality of commentary on the Internet tends to be in inverse proportion to
the quantity.
seveneyes
(4,631 posts)The law of unintended consequences.
tblue37
(65,336 posts)carry-on luggage, on their person, on their nightstand, on their kitchen counter, etc., is just evidence that even supposedly "responsible" gun owners are often forgetful and irresponsible enough to allow access to their loaded guns to children or others who should not have access to guns.
People are distractible and forgetful. We especially get distracted by the pace and complexity of modern life. Some people even forget their precious babies and toddlers in hot cars or lose them in crowded malls because they turn away for a moment and lose track. Those people are not always neglectful or irresponsible parents, either.
If loving, responsible parents can forget their own child, as some actually do, then we must admit that a normally responsible gun owner can forget that he has not secured his gun sufficiently because he put it down somewhere, left it in his luggage, or had it on his person and then got distracted.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)and limitations to prohibitionist laws, which are even more evident.
Lizzie Poppet
(10,164 posts)Even my smaller carry pistol is fairly heavy (to say nothing of the 1911...bit of a tank, especially for a shrimp like me). How do you not notice the weight of a loaded handgun on your person?
I'm sure it happens, that people really do just forget they're carrying...but I bet the legitimate instances thereof are usually when the weapon's in a purse or backpack, in a briefcase, etc...not when it's actually being carried on the person. When someone is doing the latter and claims to have forgotten they were, my bullshit detector goes off.
tblue37
(65,336 posts)with a purse--even a heavy one. At least I know I do, and I am small and weak.
geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)strict liability.
Adrahil
(13,340 posts)... There is no sense in them. They prevent nothing. Anyone intent on doing harm with a gun will not stop and suddenly say, "but wait! It's illegal to carry a gun there!"
oneshooter
(8,614 posts)Even if it does no good, or is already against the law.
Dr. Strange
(25,920 posts)But I lobbied hard for the law!
MicaelS
(8,747 posts)Advocates for the SAFE Act. Advocates for nonviolence and peace in the streets. And he carries a gun.
Sounds like a typical "Do as I say, not as I do."