When I first saw this story in the headlines " BOY, 8, DIED FIRING UZI AT GUN SHOW" I thought - "where was this kids mother or father?" (Turns out the father was standing 10 feet behind the kid as he shot.)
Then I thought, this probably happened in some backwoods cabin in Tennessee. Nope - to my shock it happened right here in the heart of anti-gun country, the great State of Massachusetts. Holy shmoly ... Granted it did happen in what passes for a hick town here, Pelham, rural western Mass, with 1 and a half men on their police force. O.K. I figure this must've happened in somebodies barn and the cops didn't know about it. WRONG!
In today's Boston Globe, it was announced that the town police chief, Edward Fleury, was charged with involuntary manslaughter in 8 year old Christopher Bizilj's death. Turns out this sick puppy (the chief) had organized, heavily promoted and profited, financially, from a firearms exposition where children were encouraged to shoot machine guns, and where Christopher, accidently shot himself in the head. Fleury heavily advertised the event, in flyers and on line saying, "It's all legal & fun. You will be accompanied to the firing line with a Certified Instructor to guide you. But YOU are in CONTROL! -FULL AUTO ROCK & ROLL." End of quote. Police chief Fleury obviously writes his own stuff.
The "Certified Instructor" in poor young Christopher's case was a pimply faced 15 year old. Children training children. Sounds kinda like the terrorist run Madras' in Pakistan where the bin Laden supporters train their young boys. Yep - that's just what we need here in this country, mobs of stupid young boys running around with machine guns, thinking this is "legal & fun". They should lock that police chief up for life. But amazingly he has his defenders. The head of the Massachusetts Chiefs of Police Association said " No one can believe the chief intended to hurt anybody"...Duh...This man should have his gun and his badge removed for wanton and dangerous stupidity.
And graft and corruption should be thrown in to his charges for good measure. Besides being the town Police Chief and the single force behind the machine gun Expo, he ran the Expo through a side business of his, COP FIREARMS AND TRAINING, saying the $5 entry fee was waived for children under age 16 and told participants that there was "no age limit or licenses required to shoot machine guns". So here's a law enforcement officer who has no idea what the law says. It is illegal in Massachusetts to furnish a machine gun to a person under 18. Fleury also took the proceeds from the event.
Two Connecticut gun dealers, Carl Giuffre of Hartford and Domenico Spano of New Milford, who supplied the Micro Uzi that killed Christopher and other machine guns for the show, were both charged with involuntary manslaughter.
I will be watching when Chief Fleury's case comes to trial. A jury could convict him of "wanton and reckless conduct". His lawyer predicts he will be exonerated. Christophers father will only suffer in his own private hell the rest of his life for introducing his 8 year old son to the insanity of gun culture.
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Comments: 68
This man needs serious prison time.
Ain't America grand?
Yep. REAL glory. REAL fun. REAL dead. Anyone so fricken' anxious to shoot a machine gun can run down to the recruiters, Bush has so seriously screwed over our military with his madcap hi-jinx and illegal wars that they now accept non-graduates and people with criminal records. I'm almost certain they could get the opportunity then.
Incidentally....You're quite right about the level of stupidity involved here. The charges are completely accurate. They're clearly guilty of involuntary Manslaughter. My suggestion, if it isn't already the case, is that convicted felons NOT be permitted to be Peace Officers. It's SAD that I felt the need to mention it.
Keep me posted Cynthia...fascinating.
Regards,
Doyle I <~~~~~
One problem with gun control, as with other potentially damaging products such as tobacco, is that there is no money in the control side, but there is plenty money in the un-control side of the argument.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ljd_hUxCfI
"If you would like to buy one send an e-mail subject chainsaw bayonet to highrground1@earthlink.net
Live fire test of a chainsaw bayonet I made.
If your interested I can build them for about $300 depending on options. "
to quote you "15 year old NRA instructor, well, last time I checked, there are no age requirements and if he met all the other requirements, I have no problem with that." When was the last time you checked? Did you look in your diary to find the answer? Well, here in the great state of Massachusetts, there ARE laws against letting minors shoot or carry machine guns.
Hey, it just occurred to me that there was an 8 year old boy in the news who shot to death his dad and the dad's male friend. Is there a common theme there, do not treat 8 year olds as if they are gun competent?
duh
Peace love and friendship. (And feel free to call me ignorant, I'm used to it)
Full automatic weapons are legal, as they should be, heavily regulated, and expensive to buy, register and use. Only a few in our society can own them.
Please educate youself about firearms, their legal use, and, please, stop the name calling and stick to the issues.
Oh, I forgot. Normally I really enjoy your posts Cynthia, and I gave you a ten because this is an interesting post. I believe in rewarding people even if they disagree with me, it's what drives success.
The quoted text accompanies the video on u-tube. They are not my words.
Sarcasm ....... You Betcha!
We should hold car and alcohol manufacturers responsible for the consequences of their actions. I think everyone should be held responsible for the consequences of their actions.
I have written a novel about how we could bring that about.
Invisible Hand
Or visit www.nopom.info to read it without ads and see other writings on the subject.
And I suppose chief Fleury is, on top of it, a PRO-LIFE supporter!
And what exactly is the intended use of a machine gun?
Machine guns should only be used in military circumstances, I stated that earlier. This situation is a tragedy and no one should be allowed to own that kind of weapon in a civilian circumstance.
A child is dead... he is not the first and he will not be the last sacrificed to the worship of violence just for the sake of the adrenaline rush. Some people have no self esteem or confidence unless they are armed and dangerous to the rest of us.
There are only two basic emotions for all action by human beings toward other human beings: LOVE and FEAR. A doctor taking his too young son to shoot a weapon too powerful to be safe for him is not motivated by love that's for sure. Why should he not be charged with involuntary manslaughter as well? Or at least child endangerment.
As for the police chief being charged only with involuntary manslaughter, when he planned to allow children younger than 16 to shoot over-powered automatic weapons, he knew the danger and did it anyway, for money. This is a bigger crime than what was charged. As police chief even of a small force, every state requires POST training so he had to know the horrors of guns in the wrong hands.
As for certification: my SO went to concealed weapon training. The first day he was appalled by the wild pro-gun ranting of the "instructor" and did not return for the other two classes. Nevertheless, he soon received in the mail his certificate and permit to carry. Wow, I wonder how many instructors do the same to collect their pay for the class.
America's sick obsession with firearms continues to take innocent lives and keep us from collectively evolving into thinking and feeling beings. As for the gun nuts on this thread, you have lost your humanity when you can recount excitedly all the wild creatures you have blown apart.
God has nothing to do with guns, but Satan certainly does. God cares as much for a rabbit killed for no reason as He does for an 8 year old boy betrayed by a bunch of so-called adults who worship only guns and money. God will be waiting for you to explain yourself.
We are kidding ourselves here.
I don't believe anyone in this instance is blaming the manufacturers. But if the Police chief was promoting a drag racing event with "certified" instructors that were 16 year olds with permits and the kid crashed the car, he would be just as liable. And while the car manufacturer would not be liable, the car DEALERSHIP that supplied the car under these circumstances surely would be.
Of course, no car dealership would have supplied a car under these circumstances, because the car could be damaged. But since no damage came to the gun, I suppose the gun dealer is off the hook...
There are thousands of people who are alive today because they had a licenced gun to protect themselves.The safest cities in America are the ones that have a right to carry laws.
I infer that you think people should not be held responsible for the uses others make of the products they sell. You would have felt that selling guns to the indians was quite appropriate. Those who sold scrap iron to the Japanese in 1941 when war with Japan was looming were quite innocent. You think it should be all right to sell alcohol and tobacco to children.
Now I would think that the examples I gave above are certainly extreme in some cases. But it seems to me that to sell alcohol to an alcoholic or to someone whom you have every expectation that they will soon be driving a car is irresponsible in the worst sense of the term. Gun and ammunition manufacturers know that every year many people are injured and killed by irresponsible use of their products. Yet they do nothing to determine whether the persons to whom they sell their deadly products are competant or at all suitable to be trusted with such weapons.
I assume that you don't want to assume responsibility for the consequences of your actions. That is my assumption and I hope it is untrue. But you can see what happens in a society in which people are not held responsible for what they do. Regardless of your political stance whether conservative, libertarian, liberal, socialist or communist there are people whom you blame for their irresponsible actions. Without responsibility things fall apart.
Also, I imagine that if I said I liked cats, you would try to argue that I hate mice. Strange logic that...
I do snide. It's my style. However, when I say "hicks" and refer to bumpkins in barns, everyone appears to know what I mean. After all, we've got Sarah Palin as a perfect example. Talk about lipstick on a pig...
Also, if I didn't enjoy your posts, I wouldn't comment on them so freakin' much. Or rate you so well! Jetzt habe ich ein Vogel. Es tut mir Leid.
Now why would you be shocked that something like this could happen somewhere other than the south?
If you have such a negative opinion of the south, maybe you ought not to ever come down here again.
My Nephew when he was 8, shot an MP5 and had no accident. It had nothing to do with his age or the gun. It was an accident, maybe the kid did not listen and hold the gun right, or maybe someone misloaded it, I don't know, but this view is lame....
We already have that and we call them police.
Thanks for the article.
Yes Sirree Bub. You go get 'em with your guns. Guns are very important to me. Very important, indeed.
In fact, it's one of the first questions I ask of a potential mate -- the size, and type(s) of guns he owns.
It tells me a great deal about this man, before I might become too deeply and emotionally invested in him.
The bigger the guns, and the more guns he has, the tinier the penis, -- major impotence. A guy with NO GUNS??? Woooooooo BABEEEE!!! I'm liking that. That means that his "GUN", and HIS FIREPOWER is HUGE, and it's in HIS PANTS!!!
As far as that Baby: Fleury should face the Death Penalty, at the most, and at the least, be imprisoned for life, as well as obviously being stripped of that badge.
Now that we know what Timothy V. and Dan R. have got in their pants, I don't think they'll come back...hahahahah. I do confirm, from my very own personal experience, that exact same phenomena. You can measure the size of the penis, in inverse proportions, by the size of the gun they carry. As you say " A guy with NO GUNS??? Woooooooo BABEEEE!!! "
Come down there again??? Actually, I NEVER go "down south" unless I have to and it's usually to pass through the airport in Atlanta or to visit my parents in south Florida.
Occasionally, in the middle of blizzard, here in Boston in February, I get wistful for a day on the beach in Key West, but as soon as the sun comes out, that urge passes.
Its a parents responsibility to watch over their children and keep them safe but I guess that doesn't mean much when the parent is as irresponsible as the children.
http://seniorjournal.com/NEWS/Odds/2008/20081021-GovPalin.htm
To learn more about the differences between Red and Blue states, take a look at the State Of The Nation Spreadsheet.
One of the greatest of Republican myths is that Democrats are going to take away your guns. Just another lie. As you know, this writer lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and has for most of his life. Of all the places in the United States, this is where Republicans imagine that all our guns have been taken away. Yeah, that myth again. I once lived two blocks away, and for five years, from a gun store in Porter Square in North Cambridge. You can buy guns there. Well, unless you have a police record or been hospitalized for a mental illness. BUSTED! The myth is just that: a myth, a big lie. The Republican party has no ideas at this point in history. So they rely on the Democrats-will-take-away-your-guns and other myths to get enough votes. And the last eight years have certainly shown the lack of and reality-disconnectedness of Republican ideas, the guns myth being just one of many. Here is my all-time favorite Republican disconnect:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality-based_community
How about the 5 most violent cities in the U.S. ?
1. New Orleans
2. Camden, NJ
3. Detroit
4. St. Louis
5. Oakland
How many of those cities are in the South?
So if you never go down South, then just how the heck did you witness those cross burnings in Centray City and Dawson Springs, Kentucky that you posted in your last thread?
Technically it's in SOUTH Jersey, does that count?
Richard, (as you may have noticed) ALWAYS provides his sources for his statistical claims. As for you, obviously you haven't.
And I think you must be spending way too much time on Gather, you are totally confused when you said, and I quote: "So if you never go down South, then just how the heck did you witness those cross burnings in Centray City and Dawson Springs, Kentucky that you posted in your last thread?"
I never said any such thing and I have no idea what "thread" you are referring to.
The thread below.....did you actually forget that you wrote that?
http://www.gather.com/viewArticle.jsp?articleId=281474977504669&nav=Namespace
" Not only do they exist, but the Kentucky group has a 28 acre compound surrounded by gates and armed guards in militarycamouflage gear, including an open field for burning crosses. (Now there's a fun way to spend a family weekend, attend a cross burning in Kentucky.)
I noticed and read his sources and just as in the links that you provided in the discussion thread that followed the article in which you forgot that you wrote, there was no information available in either spreadsheet to back up your claims.
SICK
After several years of nearly non-stop blogging, mostly about politics, I found myself completely wasted, and after the success of the election, and the ensuing horror stories as more and more of the sickening aftermath of the bush years trickles down on all our heads, I had lost all motivation to write.
Today was the first day in weeks I began to feel the old push to put thoughts into words.