This won't require a lot of explanation. I decided to count as many incidents as I could of firearms being discharged on "Gun Appreciation Day," and what happened as a result. After hearing the news of five woundings in separate accidental shootings at three different gun shows during the day, I got curious about how many other incidents, both intentional and unintentional, might have happened during the day. I'm sure that my list is not comprehensive. All I did was search Google news. Still, I came up with a list of 91 separate incidents in 34 states and the District of Columbia, killing a total of 34 people and wounding 65 more.
Additional methodology note: For the purposes of this list, I have defined gun "incidents" as those in which there was a discharge, intentional or otherwise. There is one exception on the list: an incident in Las Vegas, NV in which an elected state representative brandished a gun and threatened to shoot the Speaker-elect of the Nevada state legislature. I thought that merited consideration, though strictly speaking, that might open the list to the inclusion of armed robberies and the like, even if no shots were fired. Though it's certainly well within reason to argue that such incidents should be included, they threaten to make the list unmanageable, and perhaps dilute its impact. But the subject is certainly open for discussion.
If it makes conservatives feel any better, the state legislator arrested is a Democrat.
Take in the full list, below the fold.
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