Cops: Mom Pulled Gun at Conn. Chuck E. Cheese's

[spanone]

A Connecticut mother has posted bail after being charged with pulling a gun and threatening another woman at a Chuck E. Cheese's restaurant.

Police say 30-year-old Tawana Bourne brandished a .380-caliber handgun and chambered a round during an argument at the children's game and pizza restaurant in Newington on Monday night. Police say both women were at the restaurant with their children.

Restaurant workers called police, who charged Bourne with reckless endangerment, risk of injury to children, threatening and breach of peace. She was freed after posting $50,000 bail and was ordered to appear in New Britain Superior Court on Feb. 19.

Bourne declined to comment.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2013/02/06/us/ap-us-mom-with-gun.html?hp&_r=0&pagewanted=print

[southernyankeebelle]

1. So this is Mrs Trotter's telling women need to protect their babies? Hmm interesting.

This is the second time a woman pulled a gun on someone.

[Hoyt]

2. Not surprising, "responsible" public gun carriers are a myth.

[ProdigalJunkMail]

3. horseshit...

this example means there are no responsible gun owners/carriers? right... complete bollocks.

sP

[Hoyt]

9. The fact one feels need to carry in public is proof enough.

[baldguy]

16. If you're too freighted by life to feel the need go out in public with a gun

That's a good enough reason to not be allowed to have one.

[Mnemosyne]

23. +100000000000000000000000000000000 This^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ nt

[proud2BlibKansan]

24. +1

[LuckyLib]

50. +1,000

[Hoyt]

52. Exactly. Anyone that paranoid is only a loud bang --

backfire, popped bag/baloon, etc. -- or a misinterpreted situation from pulling their gun.

[Animal Chin]

5. Because one lady pulled a gun?

How many people carried a gun yesterday and didn't brandish it illegally? None?

Come on.

[blueamy66]

19. When it's your loved one that gets shot and/or killed

by that ONE person brandishing a gun, I bet you'll sing a different tune.

[Animal Chin]

26. The only tune I'm singing

is that you can't use this single episode to say that the "responsible public gun carriers are a myth."

[blueamy66]

40. It sure is starting to sound like a myth.

nt

[Hoyt]

53. So how about the NRA President's son who was convicted of shooting someone in road rage incident?

[HappyMe]

25. She was at a Chuck E Cheese, ffs.

She wasn't walking home late at night and was accosted by another woman threatening her in some way.
Chuck E. Cheese is full of families trying to have some fun. There isn't a single good reason on earth for this woman to have a gun on her person at this location.
It is people like this woman that make having a gun for personal protection a hard thing to swallow.

[Animal Chin]

30. Agree

Not knowing this woman's personal situation, I can't comment on whether there exists a reason for her to carry a gun to Chuck E Cheese (I can imagine some hypothetical situations), however, I agree with everything else you said.

My comment was only in response to the statement that the responsible public gun carrier is a myth. I don't think this example (clearly not a responsible gun owner) supports that statement.

There is a lot of hyperbole flying around both sides of the gun control argument. Sweeping statements like this about gun owners fall into the same category as Piers Morgan saying that an AR-15 fires 6 rounds a second. Not accurate and not helpful.

[Common Sense Party]

8. Right.

And it just burns you up that millions of us disprove you every day.

Yet you jump for joy anytime you read about anyone who acts like a moron with a gun.

[Hoyt]

10. Don't have to look hard to find someone who acts like a "moron with a gun."

Just strapping the thing on before one can venture out into public is a good example.

[2pooped2pop]

15. We can't tell which of you are morans til the guns are drawn

That's our problem. You and many others may very well be responsible gun owners. But we can't tell you apart. Not until the shooting starts. We think that is too late.

I think that if someone is too frightened to go to Check E Cheese without a gun, that it is they who should stay home, rather than the rest of us who feel we can take down the big cheese without the weapon if need be.

I know some people have legit need for a gun. But really everywhere you go? All it takes is one moran to kill one of us. It's too risky. Especially in today's hopeless and angry society where people are so much more likely to make a stupid move.

Keep the guns at home. In a safe if possible. The wild west is over.

It is too easy to pull a gun in anger. If one has to go home to retrieve their precious, they have time to cool down.

I believe you are probably a responsible gun owner who poses no threat. But I won't know that when I see you at JC Pennys.

[derby378]

18. You want to know my secret?

I just assume that everyone I come in contact with is armed. Including you.

Could be a knife, tear gas, brass knucles, snub-nose .38, Bushmaster, anything.

Then I realize I have nothing to worry about.

And I still interact with people on a daily basis as though none of us were armed with anything other than fisticuffs and spit.

The only thing we have to fear is fear itself. FDR was right all along.

[Robb]

20. Seriously?

You're making me feel genuinely sorry for you.

[derby378]

31. You shouldn't...

...because 99.999 times out of 100, whenever I come into contact with anybody, I don't have a darn thing anywhere near me other than fisticuffs and spit.

[kestrel91316]

33. And YOU are the one living in fear - you are afraid that anyone around you

could go nuts and start killing at any time, so you arm yourself to kill. Because killing is the correct response to all of life's problems.

[derby378]

38. Oh, please...

You apparently didn't read my post close enough.

I've rid myself of fear, and I'm waiting for the rest of you to catch up.

[2pooped2pop]

43. No, I have to disagree on "the only thing we have to fear is fear

itself" I really think we have to fear idiots carrying guns, yahoo's carrying guns, drunks carrying guns, right wing asswipes carrying guns, and even a well meaning "responsible" gun owners who just might happen to fuck up on the day I come in contact with them and I get to be that one in a million, negligent discharge casualty.

If I have to assume that everyone I meet is armed to the teeth, I will need a metal suit of armor for protection. No thanks. For me a "free" country is one that I can move around in without constant fear of well meaning, misfire.

I am going to assume that you are a responsible and perhaps even trained gun owner, but there's just too many of the other variety around now. Did you see that vid here on DU of the asswipes guns going off, nearly killing themselves? It makes you realize that even though you may be ok, these other people are NOT ok to carry a gun. How do we separate you? It's not "us" that wants to take your guns away, it's the asshats with guns who are making it impossible not to do something.

[apnu]

46. I agree with that. The need for possession of a gun is about fear.

I don't want a gun.

I go about in one of the largest cities in America and I go through some neighborhoods where anything can happen. This summer a man assaulted a women with a knife across the street from my house which is in a relatively "safe" neighborhood of the city. I, and two of my neighbors, responded to the sounds of the struggle and scared the attacker off and kept the victim company until the police arrived. None of us were armed with anything more threatening than a cell phone. I didn't even have my house keys on me.

I also have a 6 year old child no different than the children killed in Newtwon CT.

I have no fear of guns, and I feel no need to own one even though I probably could come up with a hundred excuses. I am not afraid to walk the streets unarmed while knowing other people are armed and knowing I can't tell who is armed and who is not. I have no fear of the police nor the weapons they carry.

I have no interest in guns. I am neutral about them. They hold no more fascination for me than a hammer or a bit of string or money. They are all just tools to accomplish a task. Granted, guns have but one task, but still they are tools. I've fired several kinds of guns in my life time. Handguns, rifles, shotguns and muzzle loaders. I've also shot bows and thrown axes (which is kinda fun, like darts but bigger). And I don't get excited thinking about guns or feel any kind of anxiety that makes me want to possess a gun.

So, like you, I have my body and my wits to protect me and my family. Now, I will use whatever I have on hand to defend myself and my family. I believe I have the right to do so, regardless of what the law says where ever I am.

I am not afraid of the world, that's all I need to get by in it. I see no reason to be afraid of the world. I see no reason to borrow trouble either. Since I don't borrow trouble, I have little to be anxious about.

[derby378]

48. Sounds like a healthy mindset you have

And kudos for helping out your neighbor. You probably saved a life that day, and for that, I salute you.

[Shadowflash]

29. Amen!

[Common Sense Party]

34. You won't know if I'm carrying when you see me at Penney's.

I usually am not.

But I can, if I choose to.

It's too easy to pull a gun in anger. Yes, but it's also too easy to strike someone in anger, say something hurtful or offensive in anger...The choice is always there: breathe deeply and let it go, or wig out and say or do something stupid. Everyone has that choice. Between stimulus and response, we own that decision point.

If one has anger control issues, I definitely don't think he or she (as in the OP story) should own a gun, much less carry one.

But just because some hothead brandishes at a Chuck E Cheese, that's no reason to penalize tens of millions of responsible gun owners who know how to keep their shit together.

[2pooped2pop]

45. It's not just Chuck E Cheese

You know that. I did not want to land on the side of gun control. but there are just too many stupid fucks out there. They cannot be allowed to make everyone else's lives miserable. It was been allowed to go on and on, and has gotten worse and worse. Yet, the gun advocates did nothing to stop the gun idiots from being gun idiots. The incidents of negligent discharge are increasing. The incidents of people pulling guns is increasing. Pulling a gun is going to result in firing a gun and death some of the time.

This shit has been increasing since fox news and all have been allowed to promote hate, lies and violence.. It will continue to increase. Something will have to be done. You tell us how we can filter out the yahoos, asswipes, and right wing asshats from the responsible people?

If I lose my cool and hit someone with my fist as you suggest, it would most likely not cause tragedy in two families as pulling a gun and shooting someone would. It's not an equal threat.

[Deep13]

51. Well that was dishonest and opportunistic.

Nearly all CCW people will never have such an altercation. The problem, of course, is averages. If one out of 1000 commits a gun crime, that's still tens of thousands of gun crimes.

[krispos42]

61. Flamebait n/t

[HappyMe]

4. What the hell?

Because you just know Chuck E. Cheese is chock a block with horrific threats to your safety.

What a stupid woman.

[mikeytherat]

11. That "Whack a Mole" game was mocking me. Openly. It had it coming.

mikey_the_rat

[lunasun]

27. Have you ever stood in that ticket redemption line???

She could of lost it there
and those moles do mock!

[mikeytherat]

42. No, but I've been kicked out of one!

A friend's dad got the bright idea to have her Sweet 16 party at Chuck E Cheese. Seriously. Being 18 at the time, I discovered they sell beer, by the pitcher, at Chuck E Cheese! I wasn't obnoxious, but I did end up in the ball pit, and I was asked to leave. I complied without incident.

mikey_the_rat

[2pooped2pop]

44. they do say those germs in the ball pits are

really bad. lol

[libtodeath]

6. Just another reminder that the easiest method of killing someone is also the hardest

for some to admit it is.

[Common Sense Party]

7. The Bourne Stupidity

Coming soon to a Chuck E. Cheese near you.

[99Forever]

12. Another responsible, lawful...

... Delicate Flower provides undeniable proof of the need of the *My Precious* to protect oneself from all of life-threatening dangers we all encounter in our day to day lives.

Yeah, Mo' Gunz!

[get the red out]

13. Impulse control

There are too many people who have zero impulse control these days. Too many of the happened to be armed also.

[LiberalFighter]

28. Too many want to use the most extreme means to accomplish their purpose.

I'm more likely to trust someone 100% that is not carrying a firearm than someone that is carrying. If I carry a firearm that means that I can't trust others. So why should others trust me?

[malaise]

14. One more responsible gun owner

The wild West is back

[d_r]

17. I can't help but post this link

http://www.ctparentpower.org/about-us/our-leaders/37-tawana-bourne

[Common Sense Party]

35. Oh, good. She's studying Criminal Justice.

She'll know from experience, now.

[bunnies]

22. She's what the NRA would call...

Mother of the Year! Excellent parenting Ms. Bourne. Bravo.

[hack89]

37. I thought the NRA was a racist organization?

it is so hard to keep track of anti-gun memes.

[LanternWaste]

49. Simply a right-wing political action committee which will use anything or anyone to its advantage...

Simply a right-wing political action committee which will use anything or anyone to its advantage, regardless of how craven; much like every other right-wing political action committee...

But you may certainly keep thinking whatever better validates your concern...

[bunnies]

58. I really have no idea what youre talking about.

<----- I'm just sure they'd be proud that this wonderful mother was exercising her 2nd amendment right. I mean... they're all for guns in schools, why not guns in chuck-e-cheese?

[Remmah2]

56. A regular Life Member of the NRA CCW holder.

In a gun free zone.

[bunnies]

59. Gun free zone?

Doesnt feel like such a thing exists anymore. sigh.

[Remmah2]

60. NO GUNS ALLOWED = Gun Free Zone

Often stringently obeyed exclusively by criminals.

[SayWut]

32. Chuck E. Cheese? I'd feel safer bringing my kid to a biker bar.

Seven Charged In Matteson Chuck E. Cheese’s Brawl

Chuck E. Cheese: Where Family Feuds at Birthday Parties Turn into Violent Brawls

Cops: Brick-Wielding Woman Sparks Fight at Chuck E. Cheese's

POLICE REPORTS: Arrest follows Chuck E. Cheese’s fight

Apparently Chuck E. Cheese Has A Problem With Adults Getting Into Violent Brawls

Calling All Cars: Trouble at Chuck E. Cheese's, Again

Police breakup fight at Chuck E Cheese in Chicago with pepper spray, arrest 7

Parents Throwing Chairs at Each Other at Chuck E. Cheese’s Get Pepper Sprayed and Arrested


http://www.google.com/search?as_q=fight&as_epq=chuck+e+cheese&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_nlo=&as_nhi=&lr=&cr=&as_qdr=all&as_sitesearch=&as_occt=any&safe=images&tbs=&as_filetype=&as_rights=

Video links.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=chuck+e+cheese+fight&oq=chuck+e+cheese+fight&gs_l=youtube.12..0j0i5.1714.10016.0.13147.20.14.0.6.6.0.123.1172.13j1.14.0...0.0...1ac.1.34vjwW-zBz4

[mokawanis]

36. Glad they charged her with risk of injury to children

Anyone who brandishes a weapon in public without due cause, especially when there's children present, should lose their right to own a gun. They should also get heavy fines and jail time.

[jmg257]

39. Well THAT will look good on her 'CT Parent Power' bio...

http://www.ctparentpower.org/about-us/our-leaders/37-tawana-bourne

risk of injury to children, reckless endangerment, breach of peace?

Can't make this shit up - just more examples of more morans with guns.

Dumbass.

[Auntie Bush]

41. What an idiotic dumb fool.

This is the type of person that owns guns. Well...not everyone...but too many of them. Isn't there some way to weed out people like that. Someone or a neighbor must have known she was this type of angry person.

[Taverner]

47. CPS should be notified. nt

[Initech]

54. MARK IT ZERO!!!! Is this woman channeling her inner Walter Sobchak?

[lunasun]

63. Bowling and Whack a Mole are equally serious issues!!! There are rules!!!

[Initech]

64. This isn't 'Nam this is bowling!!

[riqster]

55. The only thing that stops a bad mom with a gun...

Is a good mouse with a gun!

[GreenStormCloud]

57. She appears not to have had a CCW.

Therefore she was already breaking the law by having the gun on her.

[farminator3000]

62. Sandy Hook, Gun Control and the right answer - by a Canadian dude - interesting

http://www.oyetimes.com/views/columns/34513-sandy-hook-gun-control-and-the-right-answer
Guns: As American as Apple Pie
Back in September 2012, I wrote a posting about the story of a man who went to Walmart to buy milk. In the checkout line, when he reached for his wallet in his back pocket, he accidentally discharged his handgun. It ended up that this guy did have a permit to carry a concealed weapon so him having a gun wasn't illegal; this was just an accident. Nevertheless, I asked an important question. Is Walmart so dangerous, do I need to be armed if not necessarily to shoot somebody to at least display to anybody I am capable of lethal firepower?

-skip-

So why did I "perceive" parachuting as more dangerous? This is what I found out.

* Skydiving accidents are so infrequent, they usually hit the headlines. In contrast, car accidents are so frequent, they are either not reported or we just tend to ignore them.

* Familiarity: we are familiar with cars; we drive them; nothing bad happens; we think it's safe. It's only when we check out the stats we may clue in to just how dangerous cars really are.

So it turns out I only "perceive" parachuting as more dangerous when in reality driving my car is more dangerous. I am worried about parachuting when in reality I should be sacred about driving. Am I worried about the right things?