The Deadly Lunatic Fringe

by Pa Rock
Citizen Journalist

There is an awful story out of Arizona that has made its way into the national news. A forty-one-year-old barfly named Shawna Forde and two male accomplices dressed up as federal agents a couple of weeks ago and forced their way into the home of an immigrant family whom they suspected were involved in illegal drug trafficking. They weren't out to to make a citizen's arrest and clean up the drug trade, rather, they were looking for the male resident's purported stash of drug money to help Ms. Forde fund her vigilante group, the Minutemen American Defense. When the male resident (father) questioned why one of the "federal agent's" gun had tape on the handle, he was shot and killed. Before the smoke cleared, the man's nine-year-old daughter was also dead, her mother seriously wounded, and one of Forde's gang wounded.

Shawna Forde, a recent transplant to Arizona from the state of Washington, had been a member of the better known (and larger) Minuteman Civil Defense Corps, but that organization had booted her because of her bizarre behavior. She then formed her own group, and appears to have been funding it through robberies. Forde liked to proclaim that groups like hers were necessary because the government wasn't doing its job of protecting our border with Mexico.

A nine-year-old girl and her father were killed so that Shawna Forde and her drinking buddies could go out and help the government enforce the law.

Granted, every state in the union has some lunatics, many of whom have a strong racist of nativist bent, but poor, parched Arizona seems to get far more than its share. That phenomenon is due in part to the long border that Arizona shares with Mexico, and most certainly is also a product of the state's obsession with firearms.

A bill quickly making its way through the Arizona legislature would do away with the need for permits to carry a concealed weapon. That would also kill the need for special firearms training that had been required before a person could get a permit. One state senator referred to the "God-given right" to carry weapons without having to get any type of special permission from the government. Not only will this bill result in more unstable people being armed, it will also impact the state's spiraling budget crisis because training fees and permit fees for carrying concealed weapons will be lost. The bill is a loser on every level - and it is certain to pass with ease.

There is a second bill in the legislature that also seems destined for passage. The one will prevent property owners, tenants, employers, and businesses from prohibiting the storage or transport of lawfully possessed firearms in locked and privately-owned vehicles parked in a parking lot, parking garage, or other designated parking area. The concept of private property be damned - the "God-given: right to be armed trumps everything! (Actually, this bill may help to conserve energy. Now when a disgruntled employee wants to get even with the boss or his co-workers, he won't have to drive all the way home to get his guns!)

In fact, the primary purpose of the current Arizona legislature is to craft bills eliminating all manner of restrictions and controls on gun ownership. Arizona is well on its way to becoming a haven for every Shawna Forde in America.

There was a poll at CNN.com this morning on the question: Should people on US terrorist watch list be allowed to buy guns? Unbelievably, 11% of respondents (36,004) stated that they should!

Is America nuts, or is it just me?