Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Lawful Missouri Gun Owner Arrested for Firing Gun in Church


Wright County Sheriff’s Office has identified the man, who reportedly fired two shots with a handgun inside the 1st Baptist Church of Norwood Sunday morning.

Sheriff Adler says 48-year old Earnest Smith of Norwood is charged with assault, discharging a firearm from a habitable Structure, unlawful use of a weapon, making a terrorist threat and armed criminal action.  Smith remains in custody in the Wright County Jail with bond set at $250,000 cash only. 

At 11:35 Sunday morning, a 911 call was made, indicating a man was inside the 1stBaptist Church with a gun. The caller said the man fired his weapon and was tackled by church members. An off-duty deputy overheard the dispatch and was at the church within minutes and took custody of Smith without incident.

He may also have a concealed carry permit, but those records are secret and no one is checking anyway.  That's how Missouri has such a good record of concealed carry permit holders committing very few crimes.

What's your opinion?  Please leave a comment.

21 comments:

  1. What's a sane person supposed to do when you make shit up? Other than call you on it, of course.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Mike,
    If he had a carry permit, he would be charged with violating the carry permit law since Missouri prohibits permit holders to carry in any church.

    Places off-limits when carrying:
    1. Any police, sheriff, or highway patrol office or station
    2. Within twenty-five feet of any polling place on any election day
    3. Any correctional facility
    4. Any courthouse or building used by a court
    5. Any government meeting including state legislature
    6. Government owned buildings except public housing
    7. Bars. (except owners)
    8. Secured parts of airports (Federal)
    9. Prohibited by federal law
    10. All Schools (including colleges)
    11. Child care facilities
    12. Casinos
    13. Amusement parks
    14. Any church
    15. Private property with 11X14 sign with one inch letters
    16. Arenas and stadiums seating over 5,000
    17. Publicly accessible hospitals

    18 Bus – Public Transportation*
    http://www.usacarry.com/missouri_concealed_carry_permit_information.html

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Unless the media happens upon that information, no one knows if guys like this have a permit to carry. We don't want to violate their privacy, after all.

      Delete
    2. Actually is would be listed among the other numerous charges that would appear in the charging record. Perhaps the progun media didnt mention it to cover up the lawless gun owners committing crime. Or, perhaps it didnt get mentioned because its fairly unimportant compared to the five felonies he's been charged with. Or perhaps because he doesnt have a permit.

      Delete
  3. Hey hey! More lying and talking out your ass!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Those facts will come out in a trial. Its no secret to law enforcement or to the judges. Its only a secret to the general public.

    Like Texas, there is a conviction record for licensed individuals. Its on the state website.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Remember when you showed him those data and he claimed that the Texas State Police are biased in favor of protecting people who have carry licenses and commit crimes? Facts don't matter to someone who cares only about his feelings on a given topic.

      Delete
    2. Yeah, I remember. All I can do is present facts. I cant undo the screwed up wiring in some peoples brains to accept facts. Feelings, opinions and wishes don't make facts. Hard data does.

      I really don't mind the feelings, opinions and wishes of others, people are unique that way. And because people are unique, I find it troubling that Mike and his followers on here want to lump all gun owners into a small lot of wrong headed law breakers.

      Like the subject of SYG. In his mind its school yard bullies. In school all the players know each other while flinging testosterone, chest thumping chimps that mark their territory while pissing all over themselves.

      Grown people grow past all that. They don't know everyone they meet and for the most part don't want to know everyone that passes by. Most all grown people just want to go about their lives peacefully, and have the right to do so. Its when that peace is broken is the problem and you have the right to protect yourself by any means possible.

      The guy in this article broke the peace and is now in the process of paying for it. And he should. If he had done that here, his payment may well have been in full right then and there. That's a brave bunch to tackle an armed guy. My hat is off to them, they are hero in my book. Things could have been so much worse, which is why I carry, my wife carries, my kids carry, almost all my extended family carries along with most of our friends.

      And Mike, if you were around any one of them, you wouldn't be able to tell that any of them are armed. We all have a quiet, peaceful, non confrontational, laid back demeanor. The few that were "hotheads" back in their younger days mellowed out as they aged (as did I) and got down right "pussyfied" so to speak when they took on the huge responsibility of carrying a gun on them.

      I know, at least a hundred conceal carriers, family and friends. None of us go chest thumping to show off our power, we have it already. We are cordial and if you feel like we wronged you somehow, we will let you have that parking spot, shopping cart, seating or what have you. We will tip our hat and say something like "sorry miss/sir, didn't realize" and go about our way. We take the high road, you won.

      Yeah, OK you won, your a big guy/girl and you can have it, with an apology even tho we know your an idiot that you just had to do your chest thumping at us. Its not worth it. Don't care.

      What I do care about is when someone wants get violent, wants to cause harm, trespass with malicious intent our body and/or property will you feel the wrath of someone who is inherently a peaceful person. Your move, you will get a warning IF you allow me to warn you. Police are called, if you allow me the time, and if we can, allow you to change your mind and leave. If you press the issue, it may be the last issue you press. I will not allow myself to be harmed, none of us will.

      Delete
    3. "I know, at least a hundred conceal carriers, family and friends. None of us go chest thumping to show off our power, we have it already. We are cordial"

      Out of those hundred people, is there not a one who drinks too much or abuses his pain pills or has a tiny problem with rage? Not a one?

      Delete
    4. Mikeb, our friends are different from your friends. Texas Colt carry has it exactly right here. We don't pop off at people who win a parking space or a traffic contest. Those aren't threats to our lives. Perhaps if you got to know our people instead of stereotyping us and villifying us, you'd learn what we've been telling you.

      Delete
    5. No Mike, not one. Remember about how intolerant I am about that sort of thing? Well almost all of them feel the same way I do about, if not all. I guess you can call it "birds of a feather" or something but every individual I know do not partake in such foolishness. The money one would spend on that kind of thing we spend on important things like homes, business's, family needs, health care, and of course GUNS! (Sorry, just had to throw that in there LOLs) Some luxuries that make life nice, you know, beyond tolerable, and given to honorable charities is where our money goes. Not up our noses, in a vein, in our lungs or down our throats.

      We were all raised that way, we raise our kids that way. We teach others the value of being straight and clean, self reliance and self responsibility. Anyone that would do stupid things are long gone, as in run the hell off, well before we get to any friendship levels. I do remember launching exactly two people around 35 or so years ago. The friends, long time friends and considered extended family, we have met thru work, gun range, hunting, business ventures, even at a restaurant.

      We all would give our shirt off of our backs to help anyone, just don't expect to take it from us.

      Mike there are plenty more around the country just like us. The reason you don't hear about them is because people don't report on good people doing good things. Media doesn't either. The bad things that bad people do that you write these posts about are minuscule minority compared to those other eight million licensed to carry, or 150 million gun owners out there. If all of us were bad, your blog would be behind for years on just one day of activity.

      Is it so hard to believe that bad guys are just that bad guys? Thugs are thugs? Stupid is as stupid does? And the rest of us are just your everyday normal people you never hear about? If its that hard to believe then you REALLY need to get out more and meet real people, and lose this harsh attitude about anyone that owns any kind of firearm.

      Delete
    6. "We don't pop off at people who win a parking space or a traffic contest." You mean none of you, not one, ever. Are you talking about the whole 65 million now, or just the onew you know personally?

      Delete
    7. Texas, that sounds hard to believe, but I'll take your word for it. I'm curious about the ones you've "run off." Presumably they fit in better somewhere else where the problems I keep talking about are abundant. Would that be about right? In other words, you and your associates, even thought there are others like you around the country, are not exactly representative of the average gun owner. Can we agree on that?

      May I as what you do? Several times you've mentioned not allowing people abound you who don't follow your rules. Are you the boss of something or the patriarch of a big family? Just curious.

      Delete
    8. Sounded to me like Texas was saying that he and his friends are the average, normal, typical gun owners, and that the ones they "ran off" were the aberrations from the rule.

      Delete
  5. I almost forgot about this subject and hadn't been checking in on it.

    Yes, I was the boss of a large organization, still am some what. I don't believe I fit the description of patriarch of a large family, but my family is fairly large. And we all turn to each other for advise and support, not just me. And with all the friends of mine and extended family and their friends and so on, I haven't found anyone that believes much different than I do. So yeah, I consider that normal thinking and actions of your average normal family, gun owners or not.

    So no, I cant agree that we are not your exception to the average gun owner as I have seen no evidence that the average gun owner is anything different than we are.

    But as to the two guys I ran off, they fit into the typical people you write about, an exception to the average gun owner. I don't even know if these two were gun owners or not, and did not care. Because of their actions, I did not want them around me or mine in any case.

    "We don't pop off at people who win a parking space or a traffic contest." You mean none of you, not one, ever. Are you talking about the whole 65 million now, or just the onew you know personally?

    Mike, it is still my contention that the actual gun owner numbers are over 100 million, now that some wont admit to owning guns to anybody skews the numbers. But meeting and talking to strangers here in Texas in the normal course of business I have kept a quite count and make it a point to talk about guns in one fashion or another to everyone. Curiosity so to speak, but talking to someone rather than answering a poll is a bit more accurate. I have a constant 7 out of 10 response of owning more than 2 guns, 8 out of 10 owning at least one, here in Texas, everywhere I have been here in Texas.

    Is Texas indicative of other states of the population of gun owners? Maybe in some of the red states, even a couple of blue ones but not all. I am just guessing about the others. But given what I have observed, plus the number of CHL in Texas and across the nation, gun owners are much more prevalent than anyone wants to let on. And like I said before, I the majority of gun owners are like the ones you post about, one days activity would keep your site buried for years.

    The people you write about, the news articles you post are the exception to the normal, average gun owner. You know, like me and my family and friends, their family and friends and so on, The ones you never hear about and never will. We all go quietly about our lives owning our guns, most carrying them every day without disturbing anyone or anything.

    And as far as popping off to anybody? No we don't, the average gun owner wont. Why? Because WE do NOT want that kind attention brought to us because WE ARE gun owners. I just a problem that's not needed or ever warranted of a typical average gun owner. You can have it, that space or what ever isn't that important to us.

    Only the atypical gun owner does that, they are the ones that get your attention, not the typical or average gun owner.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Thanks for your comprehensive answer.

    I can't really reconcile this:

    "So no, I cant agree that we are not your exception to the average gun owner as I have seen no evidence that the average gun owner is anything different than we are."

    with what I read in the news and my own personal experience with gun owners years ago. It really sounds like you're in a cocoon of sorts of better-than-average responsibility. What you think as exceptions to the rule are more common in my opinion, perhaps even more representative of the average gun owners.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Not hard to reconcile at all Mike, but I will only speak for Texans. Its all in shear numbers. I don't keep up with other states so I cant speak for them.

    Those numbers in Texas is the only thing I reconciled, the only ones I needed to reconcile. Different states may have a different mentality about them, so I don't speak about them.

    So here in Texas, what you think is representative of gun owners doesn't hold water here in Texas, may not hold water in a number of other states as well.

    Mike when you look at the world as water and dirt and only see mud, then you have a singular focus. I see water and dirt as so much more, as it has much more to do with what water and dirt can do.

    Water = people
    Dirt = guns
    Mud = criminals
    Just as an example of how you see things.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You see, this is where you're off. You're projecting outward from your own acquaintances and people you know personally and claiming to speak for all of Texas.

      Delete
  8. Not off at all, nor am I projecting. Like I said before, I have been keeping a quite count and striking up conversations about guns outside who I know. Perfect strangers if you will from day to day business dealings. Its really not that hard to do, bringing up the gun conversation because I open carry where I work now. Texas is a concealed carry state, so far. But I open carry for a few reasons and it does benefit me in the conversation. At no time have I had a negative reaction. Mostly no reaction to the very positive.

    This is where I get a more accurate count as to how many own gun as to those who do not. People are more inclined to talk to another and obvious gun owner than some random poll asking about gun ownership.

    Oh now and then I get one that is full of bull and they are easy to spot. With statements like "Yeah, I own a AR47 as well" and insist that is what they have when I question the model as there is no such thing. But the rest know exactly what they have and go into great detail about them.

    No one is shocked of an exposed handgun, out of state people simply look at it as being Texas not realizing its not allowed in public.

    I don't claim to speak "for" Texas, I speak AS a Texan. The projection comes from you, you project that all gun owners are somehow "mud". Some are, I don't dispute that fact, they are out there even in Texas. But they are not the norm as you wish to see it, they are the exception. They are the ones you write about, the two tenths of one percent.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. "you project that all gun owners are somehow "mud""

      Now, that's a bit harsh, don't you think?

      You may have a point about the advantage of talking to people about guns rather than relying on an impersonal poll, but I'm stickin' with the 65 million from now on.

      Delete
    2. I don't think its harsh, not really any more harsh than your saying that I am harsh about drug and alcohol use being zero tolerance.

      There is plenty of evidence of more than 65 million gun owners. I will stick to a number closer to 140 million with the numbers in evidence to back that up.

      But think about it Mike, even at 65 million, if the actions of the few bad actors made it in your view as a typical gun owner, your blog still couldn't keep up for years on just one day of activity of those 65 million "typical" gun owners.

      With this moderation approval thing back on, comments are going to get confusing again. It also takes too long to have a one on one conversation. I will read it but I don't have the time to bounce back and forth and comment. See ya later. Its been fun.

      Delete