The Last Gun (39 page)

April 24, 2012—Pompano Beach, Florida. Kenneth Konias Jr., a fugitive, was arrested and surrendered to federal agents the Glock pistol with which he allegedly shot to death his fellow armored-car guard in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, on February 28, 2012. Konias had absconded with $2.3 million from the truck.
⁴¹

April 25, 2012—Largo, Florida. James Wolski, thirty-five,
shot to death his forty-year-old wife, Stacie, with a 40 caliber Glock Model 27 in the parking lot of a Walgreens pharmacy, then committed suicide with the gun. The couple left a four-year-old daughter.
⁴²

April 25, 2012—Milford, New Hampshire. Nathan O'Brien, twenty-three, was arrested and charged with several firearms-related offenses after he allegedly fired a Glock 9mm Model 19 pistol during an altercation with another man, who was not injured.
⁴³

April 27, 2012—Atlantic City, New Jersey. After police observed nineteen-year-old Khalil Blackwell smoking pot on the steps of a home, they investigated and found two other teenagers and three handguns in the premises, including a 45 caliber Glock pistol. Blackwell was cited for marijuana possession, and the two other teens were charged with illegal gun possession.
⁴⁴

1
. David B. Muhlhausen, PhD, and Jena Baker McNeill,
Terror Trends: 40 Years' Data on International and Domestic Terrorism
(Washington, DC: Heritage Foundation, 2011), 1, 9, chart 7. The report states, “The data used in this descriptive analysis by The Heritage Foundation stem from the RAND Database of World-wide Terrorism Incidents (RDWTI). The version of the RDWTI used in this analysis contains information on nearly 38,700 terrorist incidents from across the globe between February 1968 and January 2010” (2).

2
. Only one or two terrorist incident databases go back as far as the RAND database, much less back to earlier dates. It is clear from the few that do go back farther, however, that there were relatively few terrorist attacks aimed at the United States before 1969, and the number of Americans killed in those terrorist attacks was a comparative handful. The total would not significantly alter these proportions. See, e.g., Centre for Defence and International Security Studies, “The CDISS Database: Terrorist Incidents 1945 to 2004,”
www.timripley.co.uk/terrorism
; and
Infoplease.com
, “Terrorist Attacks in the U.S. or Against Americans,”
www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0001454.html
.

3
. U.S. Department of State, “Terrorism Deaths, Injuries, Kidnappings of Private U.S. Citizens, 2010,” in
Country Reports on Terrorism 2010
(Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State, 2011), 252.

4
. U.S. Department of Justice, Federal Bureau of Investigation, “Law Enforcement Officers Feloniously Killed: Type of Weapon, 2001–2010,” Table 27 in
Law Enforcement Officers Killed and Assaulted 2010
,
www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/leoka/leoka-2010/tables/table27-leok-feloniously-type-of-weapon-01-10.xls
.

5
. Amy Belasco,
The Cost of Iraq, Afghanistan, and Other Global War on Terror Operations Since 9/11
(Washington, DC: Congressional Research Service, 2011), Summary.

6
. John Mueller and Mark G. Stewart, “Does the United States Spend Too Much on Homeland Security?”
Slate
, Sept. 7, 2011,
www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2011/09/does_the_united_states_spend_too_much_on_homeland_security.single.html
.

7
. John Mueller and Mark G. Stewart,
Terror, Security and Money: Balancing the Risks, Benefits, and Costs of Homeland Security
(New York: Oxford University Press, 2011), p. 172.

8
. Lisa Riordan Seville, “How Much Is Security Worth?,”
Crime Report
, Jan. 23, 2012,
www.thecrimereport.org/news/inside-crimirial-justice/2012-01-homelarid-security-qa
.

9
. “Perpetual Security State: Post-9/11 Special Powers, Budgets, Agencies Seen Needed Far into Future,”
Washington Times
, Sept. 9, 2011 (“When asked last month if the U.S. government could relinquish some of the extraordinary powers or shrink some of the budgets and bureaucracies created to protect Americans since 9/11, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano gave a one-word response: ‘No.' ”).

10
. U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Secretary Napolitano Announces Fiscal Year 2013 Budget Request,” news release, Feb. 13, 2012; U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Overview, Fiscal Year 2010 Budget Request (undated);
The Homeland Security Department's Budget Submission for Fiscal Year 2011, Hearing Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Government Affairs
, 111th Cong. 39ff (2010) (Hon. Janet Napolitano, Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, “Statement for the Record”).

11
. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, “Budget Request Overviews” for FY2012 and FY2013, undated.

12
. For a summary of issues the so-called “war on terrorism” has raised, see “The Full Cost of 9/11,”
Congressional Quarterly Weekly
, Sept. 3, 2011.

13
. Adam Liptak, “Civil Liberties Today,”
New York Times
, Sept. 7, 2011.

14
. “Remarks by U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft to the Council on Foreign Relations,” Federal News Service, Feb. 10, 2003.

15
. The narrative of Airman Santos's actions on November 21 is based on these sources, unless otherwise noted: 50th Space Wing Public Affairs Office, “Officials ID Barricaded Member,” news release, Nov. 22, 2011,
www.schriever.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123280946
; “Airman in Schriever Standoff Pleaded Guilty to Sex Crime,”
Colorado Springs Gazette
, Nov. 22, 2011; “Air Force Investigates Gun After Standoff on Base,” Associated Press Online, Nov. 22, 2011; “Gunman at Colorado Air Base Surrenders,” Associated Press Online, Nov. 22, 2011.

16
. U.S. Air Force, “50th Space Wing,” fact sheet,
www.schriever.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=3909
(accessed Mar. 8, 2012).

17
. U.S. Air Force, “50th Security Forces Squadron,” fact sheet,
www.schriever.af.mil/library/factsheets/factsheet.asp?id=3926
(accessed Nov. 24, 2011).

18
. “Airman in Schriever Standoff Pleaded Guilty to Sex Crime.” For the particulars of Santos's offense, see “Warrantless Arrest Affidavit” for defendant Nico Cruz Santos, Gilpen County (CO) Sheriff's Office, Case No. 10CR668, Dec. 8, 2010.

19
. “Rampage Was the ‘Worst Horror Movie,' ”
Dallas Morning News
, Nov. 14, 2010. Eleven additional personnel were “injured” in the resulting turmoil, as opposed to having been “wounded” by gunshot. See: U.S. Department of Defense,
Protecting the Force: Lessons from Fort Hood
, Report of the DoD Independent Review (Washington, DC: 2010), 1.

20
. U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Armed Services,
Legislative Text and Joint Explanatory Statement, Public Law 111—383
, Dec. 2010.

21
. “Pentagon vs. NRA: Will Gun-Rights Law Raise Risk of Soldier Suicides?”
Christian Science Monitor
, Nov. 4, 2011.

22
. Joseph I. Lieberman and Susan M. Collins,
A Ticking Time Bomb: Counterterrorism Lessons from the U. S. Government's Failure to Prevent the Fort Hood Attack: A Special Report
(Washington, DC: U.S. Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs, 2011), 7.

23
. For media examples of these concerns, see “Senate Committee Subpoenas Fort Hood Documents,” Associated Press, Apr. 19, 2010; and “Pentagon Report on Fort Hood Details Failures,”
New York Times
, Jan. 16, 2010.

24
. Although Major Hasan also carried a revolver that day, investigators found that he did not fire it. “Police Recall a Torrent of Bullets,”
Austin American-Statesman
, Oct. 21, 2010.

25
. Lieberman and Collins,
Ticking Time Bomb
, 15.

26
. Ibid., 7.

27
. Chairman Joseph I. Lieberman, “Opening Statement,” Hearing of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, “Terrorists and Guns: The Nature of the Threat and Proposed Reforms,” May 5, 2010.

28
. Unless otherwise noted, the details of Major Hasan's purchase and use of his personal handgun are based on the following sources: “Rampage Was ‘the Worst Horror Movie' “; “Witness: Man Asked About Gun Capacities,”
Austin American-Statesman
, Oct. 22, 2010; “Ft. Hood Suspect Sought Best Gun, Salesman Says,”
Los Angeles Times
, Oct. 22, 2010; “Witness: Killer Sought ‘High-Tech' Handgun,”
Dallas Morning News
, Oct. 22, 2010; “Police Recall a Torrent of Bullets”; “Nurses Recall Carnage at Post,”
San Antonio Express-News
, Oct. 20, 2010; “Soldiers Describe Deadly Day,”
Dallas Morning News
, Oct. 16, 2010; “Lawyer: Fort Hood Suspect Is Paralyzed,”
Virginian-Pilot
, Nov. 23, 2009.

29
. “Witness: Man Asked About Gun Capacities.”

30
. “Ft. Hood Suspect Sought Best Gun, Salesman Says.”

31
. FN Herstal, “Five-seveN®,”
www.fnherstal.com/index.php?id=269&backPID=263&productID=66&pid_product=295&pidList=263&categorySelector=5&detail
.

32
. Ibid.

33
. “Ft. Hood Suspect Sought Best Gun, Salesman Says.”

34
. FN Herstal, “Five-seveN®.”

35
. “Nurses Recall Carnage at Post.”

36
. “Soldiers Describe Deadly Day.”

37
. For a more complete list and greater detail, see Violence Policy Center, “Mass Shootings in the United States Involving High-Capacity Ammunition Magazines,” fact sheet, Jan. 2011,
www.vpc.org/fact_sht/VPCshootinglist.pdf

38
. U.S. Department of Defense,
Protecting the Force
.

39
. Ibid., appendix C, “Summary of Findings and Recommendations,” Finding 3.8 and Recommendation 3.8, p. C-7.

40
. Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense (Public Affairs), U.S. Department of Defense, “Interim Fort Hood Recommendations Approved,” news release, Apr. 15, 2010.

41
. U.S. Secretary of Defense, “Interim Recommendations of the Ft. Hood Follow-on Review,” memorandum, Apr. 12, 2010, attachment.

42
. “In Defense Spending Bill, a Map Around Congressional Gridlock,”
Washington Post
, Jan. 4, 2011.

43
. U.S. Secretary of Defense, “Interim Recommendations of the Ft. Hood Follow-on Review.”

44
. For an exposition of the relationship between the gun industry and the NRA, see Violence Policy Center,
Blood Money: How the Gun Industry Bankrolls the NRA
(Washington, DC: Violence Policy Center, 2011),
www.vpc.org/studies/bloodmoney.pdf
.

45
. For the bill's text, see
www.opencongress.org/bill/111-s3388/text
.

46
. Office of Senator James M. Inhofe, “Inhofe Introduces Gun Bill to Protect Second Amendment Rights of Soldiers, Employees of Department of Defense,” news release, May 20, 2010.

47
. U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on Armed Services,
Legislative Text and Joint Explanatory Statement, Public Law 111—383
, Dec. 2010, 476.

48
. Chris W. Cox, NRA-ILA Executive Director, “Political Report,” undated,
www.nrapublications.org/index.php/8685/political-report-2
.

49
. For a detailed discussion of the history and consequence of this trend, see Violence Policy Center,
The Militarization of the U.S. Civilian Firearms Market
(Washington, DC: Violence Policy Center, 2011),
www.vpc.org/studies/militarization.pdf

50
. Allan M. Brandt,
The Cigarette Century: The Rise, Fall, and Deadly Persistence of the Product That Defined America
(New York: Basic Books, 2007), 11.

51
. Richard Kluger,
Ashes to Ashes: America's Hundred-Year Cigarette War, the Public Health, and the Unabashed Triumph of Philip Morris
(New York: Vintage Books, 1997), 657–58.

52
. Brandt,
Cigarette Century
, 440.

53
. 15 U.S.C. Sections 7901–3.

54
. For a more detailed discussion of the Tiahrt amendments, see Violence Policy Center,
Indicted: Types of Firearms and Methods of Gun Trafficking from the United States to Mexico as Revealed in U.S. Court Documents
(Washington, DC: Violence Policy Center, 2009), 4,
www.vpc.org/studies/indicted.pdf
.

55
.
Terrorists and Guns: The Nature of the Threat and Proposed Reforms, Before the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs
, 111th Cong. (May 5, 2010) (statement of Senator Susan M. Collins).

56
. Brian Friel, “A New Third Rail,”
National Journal
, May 29, 2010.