Save Some Outrage for Gun Violence

If chain wants to be 'cowardly bartender,' this columnist is out

(NEWSER) - Is Starbucks trying to become the NRA's favorite company, or has the coffee titan just lost its nerve? For a company that's nearly conquered the world, Starbucks put up no resistance to "open-carry" advocates who want to treat their Virginia, California, and Washington stores like Wild West saloons, writes Derrick Z. Jackson. The company is hiding behind states' rights and a pretense of employee safety: It says it doesn't want to put baristas in the position of asking gun-toting and "law-abiding" customers to leave. More»

Poll shows even NRA members back sensible gun laws

(NEWSER) - Congress should stop cowering in the face of the NRA and start passing some sensible gun laws—without fear of retribution, writes EJ Dionne. Lawmakers worry that the NRA will unleash hordes of single-issue voters on them if they call for any restraint whatsoever on firearms, but a new poll shows that NRA members are actually a lot more reasonable than the group's leaders and lobbyists, Dionne writes in the Washington Post. More»

It's just not a safe way to use a firearm

(NEWSER) - If the National Rifle Association is really, to quote its website “dedicated to the lawful, effective, responsible, and above all safe use of firearms,” then it should loudly discourage people from carrying those firearms to political rallies, writes Stephen Stromberg of the Washington Post. Politics aside, it’s just bad gun safety. "I'm an Eagle Scout trained in firearm use, and I can’t count the number of possible accidents that could result from lugging a heavy semi-automatic into a large crowd." More»

(NEWSER) - The gunman in this week's Pittsburgh shooting hated women, but the nation seems not to care much about the rising number of such cases fueled by misogyny, Bob Herbert writes in the New York Times. He recalls the similarly motivated 2006 slayings in an Amish schoolhouse: “There would have been thunderous outrage if someone had separated potential victims by race or religion,” he writes. “But if you shoot only the girls or only the women—not so much of an uproar.” More»

(NEWSER) - Suspected Pittsburgh shooter George Sodini left behind an unsettling video diary which includes a tour of his home and a discussion of his romantic plans, the New York Post reports. In one of two videos posted to the web, Sodini points out his furniture: “Couch and chair—they match. A woman would really be impressed.” And of his bedroom: “It looks pretty clean. I'm sure she'll be impressed.” More»