NRA Policies Support The Arizona Freeway Shooter

Source: JO1 BRIAN BRANNON, USN via en.wikipwedia.org
Source: JO1 BRIAN BRANNON, USN via en.wikipwedia.org


Someone is shooting at cars, trucks, and vans in Arizona. Eleven vehicles have been shot on Phoenix-area freeways since Aug. 29. Eight vehicles were struck by bullets, and three were hit projectiles such as BBs and pellets. Bart Graves, a DPS spokesman said,

“We have a number of officers … both uniformed, non-uniformed, plainclothes, undercover vehicles, marked vehicles on the road patrolling, looking for the suspect, looking for leads.”

The shootings haven’t fit any obvious pattern. Most happened on Interstate 10, a main route through Phoenix. Bullets have been fired at various times of the day, striking a seemingly random assortment of vehicles, from an empty bus to tractor-trailers to pickup trucks, cars, and SUVs.

The Arizona Department of Public Safety has enlisted the help of the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, local police, and undercover law enforcement officers. Because the NRA blocks any and all efforts to improve gun control and registration, there is no way to trace the bullets back to a specific gun. This could only be done if the gun has been involved in a previous crime. Each gun barrel leaves a unique imprint on the bullets it shoots. These patterns are almost as unique to guns as fingerprints are to people. A more effective gun registration process would include the barrel patterns.

Opponents of any kind of gun restrictions or increased registration requirements say such controls are meaningless. They say, since criminals don’t follow the law, such restrictions are useless. The flaw in their argument is that gun violence is not “only” committed by classic criminals.

It is unlikely the Phoenix shooter purchased his weapons illegally. There would be no need to. Under the current system there is almost no record keeping of who owns what guns. In a number of instances the purchase of a gun will be recorded by a gun dealer, but there is no barrel pattern data base, except for the guns already used in a crime. There is no system for preventing gun violence, or tracking the guns back to their owners.

Government-funded research contradicting NRA claims on gun safety is consistently defunded and blocked, and the researchers are not allowed to publish their findings. When a news reporter tried to learn which of the gun shops repeatedly sold weapons to violent criminals, the NRA lobbied to have gun-trace data exempted from the Freedom of Information Act. In spite of the NRA’s efforts to protect criminals from prosecution, the investigations into Arizona’s freeway shootings continue.

The police and FBI are appealing for help through the social media, news conferences, television interviews, and freeway billboards. The messages have evolved from “report suspicious activity” to “shooting tips” to the more ominous “I-10 shooter tip line.” Thousands of tips have been phoned in, but most have proven to be false leads. Drivers have reported the possible shootings of two cars, an armored truck, and two tractor-trailers. A commercial truck driver found a bullet hole in his cargo area several hours after leaving the freeway, making it impossible to know exactly where, or when, it happened.

As the shootings continue, many drivers have decide to take alternate routes. Ron Freeman works at a truck stop near Interstate 10. He said he called his wife and family, telling them to stay off the freeway until the shooter is found, or stops shooting. Freeman said,

“It’s kind of spooky, man, when people can’t drive up and down the interstate unless they’re getting shot at.

Keith is also a freelance writer. He has written an alternative physics book titled the Ultra-Space Field Theory, and 2 sci-fi novels. Keith has been following politics, and political promises, for the last forty years. He gave up his car, preferring to bicycle and use public transport. Keith enjoys yoga, mini adventures, spirituality, and chocolate ice cream.