By spocko, on June 22nd, 2017  Congressman Chris Collins (R) New York wrote an opinion piece titled:
I’m a member of Congress and I’m going to start carrying a gun
Today U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks (R) Alabama introduced HR 2940 a bill that would permit congressional lawmakers to carry a concealed weapon anywhere in the country except the U.S. Capitol or in the presence of the president or vice president.
Okay Reps. I hear you, you are scared. I get it, decades of the NRA passing laws making more guns available to more people with less training and fewer restrictions on where they can bring them makes the world a scarier place. Thanks Obama!
Congresspeople could do the logical thing and buy and wear body armor, which could actually protect them. As the old saying goes, “Guns don’t protect you, body armor does.”
But it’s not really about protecting yourself is it? Stopping bullets with a vest doesn’t sound bad ass enough. Too passive. You want people to think, “He’ll shoot anyone who looks at him funny.” Why let actual self-protection get in the way of the image of a gunslinger?
Before our congress members start wearing guns everywhere I have a few questions I think the public has a right to know, especially those who are physically in the same place as our representatives and their guns. Feel free to call your congressperson supporting Brooks’ bill and see if they will answer these.
These questions are directed to Congressman Collins, but I doubt he will answer them, since he wouldn’t say whether or not he was wearing a gun during a chamber of commerce event at Micheal’s Catering & Banquet in Blasdell NY. *Possible reasons why he didn’t answer are below.)
The Personal Questions
Congressman, you have stated you will be carrying a gun everywhere in your district,
- Do you have liability insurance in case you have an accident with the gun and injure someone?
- What does your policy cover? What is exempt?
- What are the limits of your insurance coverage?
- If you have gun insurance, how much does it cost every year?
- How does gun insurance costs compare to your auto insurance? Homeowners Insurance? Your umbrella liability policy?
- Who pays for your insurance? You or taxpayers?
To put liability limits in terms of your state-required auto insurance, for example:
New York auto insurance minimums are $25,000 – $50,000 limits for bodily injury for each person accidently injured in a car accident. Gun injuries can cost much more. For gunshot survivors, the cost is much more than a single bullet. (Link)
“It’s not uncommon for us to have a patient who has a total hospital bill for their acute inpatient hospitalization of over a million dollars,” Doherty said. “And in that situation, that patient has no insurance. Essentially, that’s free charity care provided by the (Advocate Christ) hospital.” American Aljazeera, 2015 by Sarah Hoye
How Big Is Your Gun Insurance Coverage?
- Is there a lifetime cap on the medical bills it will pay?
- What if you injure someone with your gun and your insurance policy tops out? Do you have additional coverage such as an umbrella policy on your homeowners insurance?
- Would your homeowners’ insurance cover this? Some policies won’t cover you if you are breaking the law when your gun accident happens.(BTW, my gun-carrying friends remind me that “negligent discharge of the firearm” is the phrase to use rather than “gun accident”.)
Example: Let’s say you hold one of your fundraisers in a gun-free zone. (I was going to say a Town Hall, but you haven’t had one since you were elected in 2012!)
You decide to break that law and carry your gun concealed into the gun-free zone then BANG! You didn’t intend to have an accident, but you did intend to break the law by bringing your gun into a place it was prohibited. Violating that law could mean you are not covered by insurance.
* Micheal’s Catering & Banquet probably has a policy banning guns except those carried by licensed security guards and police. That might be why Collin didn’t answer when asked if he was carrying a gun. Property owners can ban guns on their property, they have that right.
Micheal’s also has a financial reason to ban guns at their events. They hold weddings and events where alcohol is served and people get rowdy (see photo). For insurance reasons they might ban guns on their property.
If they do not allow guns on their property and Collins defied them, their insurance carrier should be informed. Yes it’s after the fact, but insurance carriers either raise rates or cancel policies if they find out management allows people who have unknown levels of training and blood alcohol carrying guns onto their property.
The Big Questions
- Who pays for the medical costs of a person injured by a congress person’s negligent discharge of a gun?
- What if the injured person needs long-term medical care?
- What happens if the injured person has a pre-existing condition because of the gun shot?
- Congressman Collins voted yes on HR1628, the Trump/Ryan Bill on American Medical Care.
That bill blocked people with pre-existing conditions from getting coverage if they were without coverage for over 30 days. (For example they lose their job during the weeks it takes to recover from a gunshot wound. That job loss also means losing their employee health care. )
If someone who is injured with the congressman’s gun now has a pre-existing condition, they would be denied medical insurance in the future.
Gun owners are not required to be financially responsible for the gun accident injuries they cause while legally carrying guns in public.
Is Collins and others be financially responsible for the consequences of their decision to carry a gun everywhere? If not, why not?
Who should pick up the medical bill for gun injuries if the gun owners who caused them won’t?
If the congress people start carrying everywhere the public should know:
- How well-trained are they?
- Where and when are they carrying? People should be able to choose not to be in the same room with them.
- Are they following the law when they are carrying?
- Are they drinking alcohol while carrying? Many states prohibited that.
The public needs to know:
If the Congressperson causes an accident while carrying, the medical bills of the injured will be paid. The injured will have guaranteed health care if they have a pre-existing condition that arises from being accidentally shot by a congressperson.
Cross posted at Crooks and Liars
By spocko, on June 20th, 2017 Congressman Chris Collins spoke of protecting himself and constiuents following an appearance in Hamburg on Monday.CREDIT MICHAEL MROZIAK, WBFO
Congressman Chris Collins (R) New York wrote an opinion piece titled:
I’m a member of Congress and I’m going to start carrying a gun
Okay Rep. Collins. I hear you, now I have a few questions I think the public has a right to know, especially those who are physically in the same place as you and your gun. (Not that I expect he will answer them, he wouldn’t say whether or not he was wearing a gun today while a chamber of commerce event at Micheal’s Catering & Banquet in Blasdell NY. I have more on possible reasons why he didn’t answer below*.)
Congressman, you have stated you will be carrying a gun everywhere in your district.
Do you have liability insurance in case you have an accident with the gun and injure someone? What does your policy cover? What is exempt? What are the limits of your insurance coverage?
To put liability limits in terms of your state-required auto insurance, for example:
New York auto insurance minimums are $25,000, $50,000 limits for bodily injury for each person . . . → Read More: Does Rep. Collins have insurance for a gun accident?
By spocko, on June 4th, 2017
My friend Will Bunch wrote a book about Reagan “Tear Down This Myth: The Right-Wing Distortion of the Reagan Legacy ” in which he recounted how profoundly the movie The Day After affected Reagan. It led to him pushing to reducing the nuclear arsenal. Reagan needed to see “the darkest timeline” play out on TV. That is how he absorbed information, via a visual story with characters he could imagine caring about pulling him in and keeping him engaged for two hours and 7 minutes.
As an actor Reagan understood the role appearance has in people’s perceptions. He must have had people telling him the US needed to appear strong to the Russians. He must also had others telling him about the danger of a brinkmanship and a nuclear accident we could not recover from. What was it about that movie that reached him? The images of destruction of the country? Did he relate to the characters who were like his family and friends? Or did he put himself in the picture? Was he thinking about how he personally would be seen before a conflict and then after a nuclear exchange?
DJT takes situations and turns them into personal win or lose situations. He surrounds himself with his idea of . . . → Read More: Wanted: Role Model Of Strength & Restraint For Fox TV Appearance
By spocko, on May 30th, 2017 Great piece by Rebecca Solnit. The Loneliness of Donald Trump. On the corrosive privilege of the most mocked man in the world
I have often run across men (and rarely, but not never, women) who have become so powerful in their lives that there is no one to tell them when they are cruel, wrong, foolish, absurd, repugnant.
Solnit talks about not just Trump, but the people like him who live in a world without honest mirrors.
I’ve worked with and trained smart people who have become some of the richest, most powerful people in the world –Brin, Page, Musk, Sandburg, Mayer and many others. One of the reasons they got to where they are is the people around them (usually women, professional communicators) knew these people needed to see how they were coming across to others. Obliviousness could end up hurting them professionally (and often personally) unless they dealt with it. These women brought me and my training partners in to hold up a mirror to these people and say, ‘This is how you come across to the media, to investors, to employees. Is that really what you want?”
Dave, one of my training partners, used to quote . . . → Read More: What to Read While Waiting for Trump’s Comeuppance
By spocko, on May 28th, 2017 May 25, 2017 –Jackson Mississippi
Woman drops her gun in hospital waiting room, shoots another patient in the leg
The patient was hospitalised but said to have suffered “non life-threatening” injuries.
The question I’d like journalists to ask every time this happens:
Who will pay for the injured person’s health care?
In this story in Politico about insurance they talk about the difference between the insurance that the states want to require gun owners to have, and the insurance the NRA is selling.
“Government-mandated firearms insurance shouldn’t be confused with the NRA’s insurance product—the former protects gun victims from bearing the costs of their wounds; the latter protects gun bearers from carrying the costs of their wounded.” – Matt Valentine, Politico
Gun owners are not required to have any liability insurance, but some have it; what does it pay for? Full medical care? Rehabilitation? Loss of time at work? Long term disability? Pain and suffering?
What if the injured person ends up having a pre-existing condition now because of the injury? “Non-life threatening” doesn’t mean it’s not life changing.
Journalists don’t ask question of who is going to pay for medical care, but given our current President and the hostility toward providing . . . → Read More: Who protects gun victims from bearing the costs of their wounds?
By spocko, on May 24th, 2017
Just spotted your most recent shooting. This alert is for if you do a follow-up on last week’s shooting of Gage Meche at Moss Bluff Elementary.
1) Gage had to go back to surgery yesterday (5/23/17) (Info from his Facebook recovery page)
2) There is a now a GoFundMe page for him.
I wrote a piece about this shooting focusing on the costs of care and lack of financial responsibility laws for gun owners
During my research I found some things that might be interesting to you: State Rep. Stephen Dwight’s wife Jessica Dwight works as a librarian at the school Gage attended Dwight grew up in Moss Bluff and worked as General Counsel in the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff’s Department (In my piece I highlighted the DA’s and sheriff’s activist pro-gun views after the shooting.) Michael L. Dugas, the gun owner, was released on a $5,000 bond because the negligent injuring and improper supervision of a minor are only misdemeanors (link) Michael Dugas was arrested for a DUI that resulted in a death in 2015 Michael Dugas said he gave Jake Dugas a gun based on a robbery a few month ago. I couldn’t determine which robbery it was because Jake’s name wasn’t mentioned in the news stories, but you might since you apparently . . . → Read More: For KPLC TV reporters on your last shooting, before your next
By spocko, on May 22nd, 2017 Last Monday, May 15th, 7-year old Gage Meche was accidentally shot at Moss Bluff Elementary School in Louisiana. A 7-year old student had brought a handgun to school that morning. It fell out of his backpack and a second elementary student picked up the gun and fired it, hitting Meche in the stomach. After undergoing several hours of surgery at Lafayette General Hospital, the 7-year old is in stable condition.
Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso said that neither the student who brought the gun, nor the student who accidentally fired the gun will be held responsible for the accident due to their age.
On Thursday, May 18th, Michael Lane Dugas, 50, and Jake Abram Dugas, 17, both of Moss Bluff, were charged with negligent injuring. Michael Dugas is also charged with improper supervision of a minor
“Unfortunately they are misdemeanors,” Mancuso said. “But it is what we can charge them with.”
Reading that quote it appears that Mancuso wishes he could charge them with something more. I’m curious if he ever pushed for tougher sentencing in the past, but here is what he said right after the shooting.
“I’m a pro-gun advocate, and I believe in the Second Amendment that allows us to possess and carry firearms. . . . → Read More: Kid Shot In Gut. Pro-gun Sheriff Charges Gun Owner With Misdemeanor
By spocko, on May 21st, 2017 Last Monday, May 15th, 7-year old Gage Meche was accidentally shot at Moss Bluff Elementary School in Louisiana. A 7-year old student had brought a handgun to school that morning. It fell out of his backpack and a second elementary student picked up the gun and fired it, hitting Meche in the stomach. After undergoing several hours of surgery at Lafayette General Hospital, the 7-year old is in stable condition.
Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso said that neither the student who brought the gun, nor the student who accidentally fired the gun will be held responsible for the accident due to their age.
On Thursday, May 18th, Michael Lane Dugas, 50, and Jake Abram Dugas, 17, both of Moss Bluff, were charged with negligent injuring. Michael Dugas is also charged with improper supervision of a minor
“Unfortunately they are misdemeanors,” Mancuso said. “But it is what we can charge them with.”
Reading that quote it appears that Mancuso wishes he could charge them with something more. I’m curious if he ever pushed for tougher sentencing in the past, but here is what he said right after the shooting, emphasis mine.
“I’m a pro-gun advocate, and I believe in the Second Amendment that allows us to possess and carry . . . → Read More: Kid shot in the gut. Gun owner charged with misdemeanor
By spocko, on April 19th, 2017 Bill O’Reilly is out at Fox News. This is excellent.
I’m going to brag about WHY he is out at Fox News. Not that he is out, but why. Because there is a significant point I want to make.
O’Reilly didn’t get pushed out because he is a serial sexual harasser, or because he called for the killing of Dr. Tiller. He wasn’t pushed out because he cost Fox News millions in lawsuits (he generated more in revenue than the lawsuits.)
He was pushed out because he didn’t generate *enough* revenue — this quarter. That, combined with advertisers not wanting to link their brand with his, is what got him pushed out.
Also, new management, the Gretchen Carlson lawsuit and additional pending lawsuits, all had an impact.
When I wrote this last week I ended with the line “What to do next about O’Reilly.” Hint- Institutional investors
As we can see the answer was: Get rid of Bill O’Reilly.
The ratings for a show can be huge, but if they aren’t making money, something needs to change. I looked at what the interested third parties (institutional investors) wanted, and what they didn’t want, and I appealed to them. . . . → Read More: Why Bill O’Reilly is out at Fox News
By spocko, on April 14th, 2017 . Great cartoon. Is this really how the conversations go? I don’t think so. Most folks on the left don’t get a kick out of baiting the right and rubbing their noses in their electoral choices.
Why is that?
I could seek out Trump voters and rub their faces in his failures. Why don’t I?
The right does. It’s fun for them.
“I don’t want or need government help! Repeal Obamacare! I don’t need it. I pulled myself up from my own bootstraps!” (They pull themselves up from their bootstraps so hard I’m surprised they don’t fly around the room!)
I could go into “rubbing it in mode,” by pointing out all the government help they get. I could “win” the conversation.
If I wanted to, I could even do it in front of others. I could humiliate them, crush them. I could make them angry and sputtery.
“But, but, Benghazi… Hillary, Benghazi! …”
But why stop at making them sputter? Why not keep crushing them?
When Trump’s actions hurt them or their family, I could bring it up. Force them to acknowledge it.
I’m not going to convert them, so why not mock them? If THEY were in my . . . → Read More: Why I don’t rub Trump voters’ noses in his failures
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Congressman Chris Collins (R) New York wrote an opinion piece titled:
