Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Why Lethal Weapons Are Not a Good Idea

This is just one more example of the bad judgment of people with their firearms, of impulsive over-reaction, of abuse of lethal weapons.  Gun nuts ask us to 'trust them'.  Displays like this are why we don't.  Another example of gun 'show and tell' gone bad, despite every reason that this woman should have known the law, known the importance of telling the truth to the cops, and had a grip on proportionality rather than the trigger of a firearm.

I did find myself wondering if her concern that her gun should not be confused with a barbie doll toy might be because it was pink, a detail not provided in the story, but the woman's own words raise the question.

From aol.com news and Faux News :

Former New York prosecutor arrested for holding teen at gunpoint after doorbell prank

A New York mother and former Bronx prosecutor was reportedly so enraged with someone constantly ringing her doorbell and running away that she fired a round from her pink 9mm pistol and held a teenager at gunpoint until police arrived.
Former Bronx prosecutor Bernadette Greenwald, 37, of Rockville Centre, Long Island, told Nassau County police she felt she "had balls" after firing the gun for the first time after the game of "ding-dong ditch" caused her to snap, the New York Post reports.
Greenwald initially told cops that a neighborhood teen rang the bell twice, and on the third time threatened to rape her and kill her children. But police said the teen, who was not charged, had nothing to do with the prank and the young man’s mother insisted he was walking home from a friend’s house after watching the Giants game and drinking beer.
Greenwald, who served as an assistant district attorney in the Bronx from 1989 to 1994 before resigning, was later charged with second-degree menacing, reckless endangerment and unlawful use of a weapon after her statements to cops changed.  She was released without bail after her arraignment on Monday, the Post reports.
“It was just kid [expletive],” Greenwald said, adding that she pulled the trigger only to scare the boy.
“He thought it was a Barbie gun," Greenwald told police, referring to Nolan LeBlanc, 17, a South Side High School football star who lives across the street. "I wanted to show him that it was loaded.”

16 comments:

  1. Um, something is wrong with this story. It says the woman is 37 years old which means she was born in 1975. (And that sounds right because she looks to be about 37 years old in her mugshot.) The article also says she was an assistant district attorney from 1989 to 1994. I don't know of anyone who finished law school at the age of 14. And even if she had, there was no way that she was an assistant district attorney in the Bronx at age 14.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Capn Crunch,

    You beat me to the comment. Somethings gone agley with this.

    Dog Gone,

    If this person really is a former prosecutor, isn't she exactly the kind of person who would be given a gun license in the system that you propose? Yet again, I have good reason for believing that what you really want is to disarm all private citizens.

    By the way, it's so cute when you disparage Fox News, but use them repeatedly as a source.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Replies
    1. She looked pretty good for 47 years old in her mugshot. But I digress.

      Delete
  4. Maybe we should ban lawyers from having guns seeing how they are so unstable and reckless.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This comment:

    "Bill Mason


    I laugh in disgust, as those who cower in fear and hope the police will save them are commenting that this woman did something wrong. The only thing she did wrong was allow this kid to tell his side… 5 or 6 beers? I’m sure this punk will make such a lovely addition to our society and the punks mom explains perfectly why he is a punk…N.Y. is a wasteland of progressive Ideology and they get what they deserve…

    January 25, 2012 at 12:25 pm | Reply | Report comment"

    Is from here (http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/01/24/police-rockville-centre-woman-held-teen-at-gunpoint-after-ring-and-run-prank/)

    Her age is reported as 47 in the CBS affiliate's story.

    Gonna shoot a kid for pranking? Wottafuckin'maroon.

    It sounds like her husband has a brain in his head.

    The commenter, Bill Mason, is btw, a despicable piece of shit.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I didn't say anything about it before but it is disturbing that a 17 year old drank 5 or 6 beers at a friend's home and then decided to walk home ... and it sounded like his mom was okay with it.

      Delete
    2. Yup, Capn Crunch, drunk teenagers training themselves for a life of crime are no problem for gun grabbers. Those teens aren't the good citizens who are such a threat to public safety.

      Delete
  6. Greg Camp bleats:

    "By the way, it's so cute when you disparage Fox News, but use them repeatedly as a source."

    Well, since Fox owns "news" outlets (so called) in every major metro area they do tend to get stories quicker than others. They also tend to be wrong about a lot of shit, but that's why some people (not Fox) issue retractions and corrections.

    ReplyDelete
  7. "didn't say anything about it before but it is disturbing that a 17 year old drank 5 or 6 beers at a friend's home and then decided to walk home ... and it sounded like his mom was okay with it."

    I didn't say anything about it earlier, but anyone who owns a pink gun and pops a round off into the air and then aims it at someone and holds them, against their will until her husband, sensibly, intervenes is a complete fucking idiot.

    If she was a tax lawyer she should know something about criminal law. Since she was a prosecutor she HAD to know about the law. Then again that may explain why she left the job.

    "
    “I shot that gun yesterday for the first time. I felt like I had balls,” former Bronx prosecutor Bernadette Greenwald, 47, boasted to cops not long after the childish game of “ding-dong ditch” caused her to snap.

    Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/ding_dong_bam_bdiL1Nbwy73sZhOHEO9mZM#ixzz1kZNVItGy".

    Either she's lying (she's fired the weapon prevdious to the day of the incident) or she's a complete shithead. I wonder if she usually wears her Pink9 in a crossdraw rig?

    ReplyDelete
  8. One (more) problem with New York's retarded gun laws is that it a felony to have safety training before the state grants you a carry license.

    I know you guys gripe about the level of training that some states require in order to get a CCW but at least they have some. If you take safety training in New York before you have a carry permit, you are guilty of a felony.

    ReplyDelete
  9. "Handgun Safety Course
    Learn before you load. Arm yourself with knowledge including:

    •important information about permit requirements
    •legal responsibilities
    •and cleaning
    •safe storage and childproofing."

    from here(http://www.sunyocc.edu/index.aspx?menu=136&collside=492&id=6362)

    Seems to be a firearms safety course. I'm not certain, but I believe it's required that you attend and pass the course (the failure rate approaches 0%, I think) in order to get a handgun license.

    Perhaps I'm mistaken, but I'm going by what the guys who own and use firearms around here, including cops, tell me.

    As far as learning how to properly handle a gun, I've had several people offer to take me out to fire some weapons so's I won't be askeered of them (I'm not afraid of any gun). Thus far I've been able to resist.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Not in New York. Attending a gun safety class in New York without a New York CCW is a felony. You are not even allowed to examine a gun in a gun store unless you can produce your NY CCW first.

      Delete
    2. FWM, are you serious about that?

      You are not even allowed to examine a gun in a gun store unless you can produce your NY CCW first.

      Delete
  10. By the way democommie ... the person that instructed my handgun safety class told us about a student that he failed. The student was not serious and didn't pay attention so the instructor refused to pass the student. It does happen.

    ReplyDelete