‘Responsible’ Minnesota Gun Owner Shoots Teen Girl For Asking Him Not to Ride Mower in Her Yard

A former Northwestern Minnesota Juvenile Center corrections officer is behind bars after Standing His Ground™ against…being told not to ride his lawnmower in someone else’s yard. This responsible, legal gun owner became angry with a 17-year old girl after she told him not to ride his lawnmower through her yard.

Chad Pickering of Bemidji shot the teen three times as she stood on the deck of her home Monday night, according to a criminal complaint, striking her in the right thigh, left ankle, and chest when the girl stepped out to tie up her barking dogs. She says she noticed the shadow of someone crouching in her yard, then heard gunfire and felt the freedom bullets piercing her body. She was unable to walk, but pulled herself into the house to call 911.

Investigators found three .45-calibre shell casings in the grass near the deck where it appeared someone had been lying in the grass under a pine tree. The girl told investigators that a man who lived nearby had been riding his mower through her yard, and that he regularly carried a pistol in a holster. She said that she had spoken to him about trespassing, and that he denied her allegation.

Officers searched Pickering’s home and found a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol with a holster hidden in the air vent. Pickering, however, claimed that he had not seen the gun in a week or so. He attempted to explain away the fresh grass stains on his jeans he said he might have gotten the stain kneeling to hook a trailer to his mower.

When investigators pointed out some inconsistencies in his story, Pickering said he had taken his children for a ride with the mower. After he returned home, the girl came to his front door to confront him about riding the mower through her yard. Pickering admitted that he went to her house, knelt by a pine tree, and shot her after she came out the door. He then said he hid the gun and holster in the vent.

Pickering is being held on $300,000 bail and has been charged with felony attempted first-degree murder.

Watch a report on the shooting, below:

'Moms With Guns' founder calls for Obama’s assassination

The founder of an open carry gun rights group in Texas is attempting to do damage control after making a Facebook request for someone to assassinate President Barack Obama.

Kathy Perkins, founder of "Moms With Guns Demand Action," is an open carry activist, and a confirmed Obama hater. Recently, after sharing a photo on her Facebook page of President Obama’s recent visit to Texas, Perkins commented on the photo, stating:

“Where is an assasin (sic) when you need one?”

The photo originally came from the Fox and Friends First Facebook page, and showed President Obama eating BBQ in Texas alongside a photo of Governor Rick Perry riding on a border patrol boat. Perkins has since deleted the post and her offensive comment. However, Alan Colmes’ website Liberaland was able to get a screengrab of it before she took it down.

The group Moms with Guns Demand Action, claims to be an organization that seeks to promote: “Safe, Responsible, Gun Ownership and Open Carrying of Firearms to create a Safer Society for all.”

Since the story began to gain media attention Perkins has closed her Facebook page and her Twitter account. However, at the time of publication for this story, the website for "Moms With Guns Demand Action" was still up.

Perkins represents a right wing extremist movement that exploded when President Obama was elected, going from some 150 groups in 2008 to more than 1,000 last year, according to the SPLC.

Perkins and antigovernment extremists like her continue to push “rabid conspiracy theories about a nefarious New World Order, a socialist, gun-grabbing federal government and the evils of federal law enforcement.”

Threatening the President of the United States is a class D felony under United States Code Title 18, Section 871. It consists of knowingly and willfully mailing or otherwise making "any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States". The United States Secret Service investigates suspected violations of this law and monitors those who have a history of threatening the President:

18 U.S. Code 871 

Whoever knowingly and willfully deposits for conveyance in the mail or for a delivery from any post office or by any letter carrier any letter, paper, writing, print, missive, or document containing any threat to take the life of, to kidnap, or to inflict bodily harm upon the President of the United States, the President-elect, the Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President of the United States, or the Vice President-elect, or knowingly and willfully otherwise makes any such threat against the President, President-elect, Vice President or other officer next in the order of succession to the office of President, or Vice President-elect, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than five years, or both.

No doubt Perkins will be receiving a visit from the Secret Service very soon.

That Time When a Punk Army Poser Got Called Out by Two Military Veterans

It would be assumed that impersonating a military official would be illegal due to the lack of respect for those who actually have fought for this country in war. That, surprisingly, is not the case.

The imposter, whose identity has not been revealed, wasn’t even questioned by police as to why he was dressed in military clothing on the San Joaquin Delta College campus this week. What’s worse is that the man who did serve and questioned the imposter was the one arrested.

A video of the confrontation, including Army Veteran Kristopher Vieira and an Army Ranger, was posted on YouTube Wednesday. The two veterans called out the unnamed man who was wearing Ranger, E.O.D. and 101st Airborne tabs.

The veteran got arrested, and the punk army poseur did not.

Vieira was arrested and charged with disturbing the peace. The imposter got off scotch-free, due to his “freedom of expression.” Vieira stated that he felt disrespected as a veteran for someone who has never served nor gone through boot camp to falsely represent the military.

“It strikes a nerve when someone goes around faking that uniform. It’s very disrespectful.”

Delta authorities said that it is not illegal to wear a military uniform as long as the imposter is not using the uniform to obtain benefits. The peace wouldn’t have been disturbed had the imposter not disrespectfully misrepresented the military, but once again the victim is to blame and arrested.

Afghanistan Vet to Open Carry Freaks: ‘Defend Liberty Where it Counts — in a Combat Zone’

Tom Young, an Air National Guard veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, had a few choice words for the Open Carry ammosexuals in a recent Huffington Post opinion piece he wrote Wednesday.

Young begins the piece by explaining the number of gun activist plans to celebrate American freedom by a show of weapons: three events planned in Texas, another in Salida, Colorado, and a Citizens for Liberty gun march in Pennsylvania are all on the menu. This is to say nothing of all the causal displays of arms that Open Carry is noted for. And while Young says that he can think of many ways to celebrate liberty, “intimidating my neighbors with guns isn’t one of them.”

He states that Open Carry makes us look more like a Third World country than “the world’s leading democracy,” and relays his experiences at Bagram Air Base. He explains that because of the threat of a “green-on-blue” attack — Afghan soldiers or police turning their weapons on Americans — nearly every U.S. service member on base was required to have a loaded weapon on their persons at all time.

Then he dives into the main thrust of the piece and promptly rips Open Carry, the NRA, and the hatriot movement a new one:

It felt surreal to see soldiers and airmen off duty, kicking back and watching a movie, with M4 carbines on their shoulders or M9 pistols at their sides. Though they faced far more danger than anyone back home in the U.S., not one of them seemed as angry as some in the armed “patriot” movement. 

Which begs a question for the folks toting assault rifles into the local coffee shop or Home Depot parking lot: Why are you defending liberty in a stateside coffee shop instead of where it counts, in a combat zone? 

Some of these right-wing activists use words like “tyranny” and “oppression.” But ever since 9/11, there’s been plenty of call for people willing to fight true tyranny. During my two decades in the military, I visited countries where people had lived under such tyranny. They knew they’d been oppressed; they didn’t need talk radio blowhards to tell them so. When you see real tyranny, it’s unmistakable, and it looks nothing like the United States, the most free and prosperous nation on the planet.

There are those in the open carry movement who have spent time in the military, and I thank them for their service. But there are others who need to realize that bringing a Glock into Starbucks doesn’t make you a freedom fighter. 

So, if you want to carry a weapon and wear tactical clothing, here’s an idea: Go see a recruiter. The weapons and cool clothes are free. 

Of course, he adds that they might find it a bit challenging, saying that “‘it’ll take more commitment than shooting a few holes in a paper target whenever you feel like it. It’ll take more time than slapping a ‘Don’t Tread on Me’ sticker on your windshield.”

He closes with a powerful finish, smashing their “freedom fighter” delusions: “You’ll take an oath to follow lawful orders and defend the Constitution. All of it, not just the parts you like.”