Christopher Vaughn, Husband, Father, Gun Owner

[mikeb302000]

http://plainfield.patch.com/articles/vaughn-at-plainfield-shooting-range-night-before-his-wife-kids-were-slain">The Plainfield Patch reports

The Oswego man accused of staging the deaths of his wife and children to look like a murder-suicide spent an hour at a Plainfield shooting range the night before the murders, Will County court records show.

Newly released documents show Christopher Vaughn spent a half-hour at Mega Sports, a gun store and shooting range on U.S. 30 near Renwick Road, according to story published by the Sun-Times Media. The gun he allegedly used to shoot targets at the range was the same one found beneath his wife's feet on the day of the shooting, June 14, 2007, the story said.

A commenter named Grandpa Mike had this observation.

Am I the only one that sees an uncalled for inference to Mega Sports as somehow abetting his behavior the day after using their facilities ? How does mentioning Mega Sports in the story in any way relevant to his actions ? Just asking ...

Here's http://www.stltoday.com/suburban-journals/stcharles/news/stevepokin/article_de302ad6-d79c-59bc-a28d-02f87a0f5279.html">a fairly recent article on the trial.

What's your opinion? I think the fact that he went to the shooting range the night before helps describe what kind of guy he was. He was a cold-blooded normal-looking gun owner. Definitely a member of the illustrious and http://mikeb302000.blogspot.com/2009/06/famous-10.html">Famous 10%, wouldn't you say?

Please leave a comment

[hlthe2b]

1. That this man would not only murder his wife & children, but make it look

as though the wife committed murder/suicide is so horrendous, so (if you will), purely EVIL, has me gasping. That some are focusing, not on the deed, but that a specific shooting range where the man spent time before staging the act with the same gun, is mentioned, is truly hard to fathom.
Heavens...:shrug:

[GreenStormCloud]

2. If guilty I fully support the death sentence. N/T

[jeepnstein]

4. I don't.

The death penalty is just a blood sport for politicians and lawyers.

[DWC]

8. Ditto n/t

[jeepnstein]

3. Either a nut or a stone killer.

My first reaction is that he went target shooting so that he could come up with an excuse for gunpowder residue on his hands. They check for that in cases like this.

His rambling thoughts on becoming a "mountain man" of sorts are just out of touch. If he wanted out all he had to do was find the door. He belongs in prison and that's where he'll reside.

[mikeb302000]

11. I think you're right

about his motivation for going to the range. The point is gun owners who have not yet been caught breaking any serious laws are not the ultra-responsible rarely-do-wrong group they often try to portray themselves as. They are just like every other group, they have problems and some of them are dangerous. http://mikeb302000.blogspot.com/2009/06/famous-10.html">I figured it was about 10%, but I need to revamp those numbers. I'm sure it's a lot higher now.

[pipoman]

13. Your bogus and completely

silly methodology is laughable if it wasn't so sad. Do you actually believe this nonsense? Or are you simply posting here to get hits on your blog?

[mikeb302000]

16. fair enough, my silly methodology is laughable,

but what's your point, that gun owners are somehow immune to the ills that afflict so many? Do you think all the stories we see in the news about murder/suicides and the other up-till-that-moment legitimate gun owners who go off the deep end are all made up by the gun-grabbing liberals? Or do you think although we read about them in the news they amount to such a small percentage that we just have to accept them as the price we pay for freedom?

[X_Digger]

17. I'll just leave this here..

http://www.cardozolawreview.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=138:kates201086&catid=20:firearmsinc&Itemid=24

eta:

"all the stories we see in the news" -- if you think that's a sound basis for setting public policy, you must also think that the Casey Anthony affair was the trial of the century.

[gejohnston]

20. who says all gun grabbers are liberals?

or that all conservatives are not? This being Democratic Underground, I would guess that most if not all of us are liberal for the most part (however you wish to define it.) Maybe a few conservative Dems.

I don't know it works in Italy, which has laxer gun laws than the most crime ridden pits in the United States. In the US it has less to do with left/right as it is a combination of class and urban/rural. In Canada, it is almost exclusively urban/rural. That is why Canada's 1995 law was passed by a Liberal (kind of center left) and Bloc Quebecque majority but opposed by Conservatives, New Democratic Party (the true progressive party, party of Tommy Douglas) and Greens.

Historically in the US, there has been a racist and anti-labor element too. The laws being repealed today, that many liberals defend, were anti-labor and Jim Crow in origin. Some like Eldridge Cleaver view Gun Control Act of 1968 as a more modern extention of that.

William R. Tonso, professor of sociology at the University of Evansville, wrote:

Today's gun-control battle, like those of days gone by, largely breaks down along class lines. Though there are exceptions to the rule, the most dedicated and vociferous proponents of strict gun controls are urban, upper-middle-class or aspiring upper-middle-class, pro-big-government liberals, many of whom are part of the New Class (establishment intellectuals and the media), and most of whom know nothing about guns and the wide range of legitimate uses to which they are regularly put to use. Many of these elitists make no secret of their disdain for gun-owners. For instance, Gov. Mario Cuomo of New York recently dismissed those who are opposed to the Empire State's mandatory seat-belt law as "NRA hunters who drink beer, don't vote, and lie to their wives about where they were all weekend."

On the other hand, the most dedicated opponents of gun control are often rural- or small-town-oriented, working- or middle-class men and women, few of whom possess the means to publicize their views, but many of whom know a great deal about the safe and lawful uses of guns. To these Americans, guns mean freedom, security, and wholesome recreation. The battle over gun controls, therefore, has come about as affluent America has attempted to impose its anti-gun prejudices on a working-class America that is comfortable with guns (including handguns), seldom misuses them (most gun crime is urban), and sees them as protection against criminal threats and government oppression.

His conclusions are obvious when one reads the vile anti rural and working class bigoty expressed in "progressive" fourms whenever the gun issue comes up.

[DanTex]

23. Impervious to facts...

If you look at polling data, instead of just speculation, you find that the liberal-conservative split on guns is far greater than urban/rural. Here are some numbers from a generic pro-RKBA/pro-gun-control poll question.

Urban 38-57
Rural 63-33

Conservative 75-21
Liberal 25-74

http://pewresearch.org/assets/pdf/gun-control-2011.pdf

His conclusions are obvious when one reads the vile anti rural and working class bigoty expressed in "progressive" forums whenever the gun issue comes up.

Funny I haven't seen much of this. Of course, I have found some in this debate like to toss around the accusation of "bigotry" to describe people who hold mainstream liberal opinions on gun control, and I think we can all agree that those accusations are not really warranted. And, in general, I've found unpleasant anti-urban stereotypes to be more common than anti-rural.

[gejohnston]

27. and what facts are those?

Those are pretty vague questions. Since all of us, including me, support current federal laws dating back to the 1930s could easily be placed in the "pro control" group, but also could be as easily in the "pro ownership" at the same time. The two are hardly mutually exclusive. I still like to see one that is more detailed that asks specific questions and informs what current laws are.

What exactly is a "liberal" vs a "conservative"? What are the defining views that makes one or the other? I define it in the more classic Edmund Burke vs Thomas Paine and John Locke sense. By that definition, your views on guns and castle doctrine are the conservative views.

When things go full circle, at what point is something reactionary or progressive? For example, if the Army started allowing members to grow beards, what that be progressive, or would it be reactionary to the 19th century?
The "liberal label" is important to you. Cool. I gave up on both labels. I found that most people are "liberal" on some things and "conservative" on others. Or they will have mostly "liberal" views but call themselves "conservative". I vote Dem. that is enough.

And, in general, I've found unpleasant anti-urban stereotypes to be more common than anti-rural.

I was referring specifically to forums like C&L and Think Progress. I have never seen any anti-urban stereotypes there. In all probability those do exist at right wing ones.

Holding the views on gun control is not bigotry, and I have never said that. Using bigoted language for the rational for supporting gun control is quite common. I agree they are not warranted, but does not change the fact that any objective reading of posts at those sites do indicate that.

You over use liberal, although "liberal" can be used different ways. To say someone is a liberal or conservative is relative. I don't take the right left continuum that seriously anyway. I would not describe Obama as a liberal. I would describe him as right of center. Political Compass describes him as a moderate conservative. In the normal use of the word, Wyoming and Vermont have "liberal" gun laws, while California has restrictive gun laws. I make no reference to people who hold mainstream views on gun control, although I would like to know what that mainstream is. I am not entirely sure what yours is. I know what yours is not. You assume you know mine, but I doubt you really do. Care to guess?

This is really more accurate:
http://www.politicalcompass.org/ In case you are wondering, I scored closer to the Dalai Lama and Ralph Nader.

[SteveW]

21. It certainly is...

You have merely pointed out that everyone is flawed. wow.

"Do you think all the stories we see in the news about murder/suicides and the other up-till-that-moment legitimate gun owners who go off the deep end are all made up by the gun-grabbing liberals?"

No. That appears to be your straw man.

"Or do you think although we read about them in the news they amount to such a small percentage that we just have to accept them as the price we pay for freedom?"

Who is saying you have to "accept them" at any price? Again, another straw man.

[Name removed]

22. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[pipoman]

25. My point is that your figures are trash

and your statistics are false. Why would anyone publish such a completely sophomoric attempt to establish a number, then expect to be taken seriously on any other point? :freak:

[jeepnstein]

14. I'm no statistician...

but even this stupid gun-owning hillbilly can see that your methodology is absolute trash. I would be embarrassed to even attempt to push that "theory" off as anything other than a wild, agenda driven, guess.

[ileus]

5. hey....I'm a husband, father, gun owner.

[eqfan592]

6. Then I think mike may be implying...

...that you are a lunatic on the verge of killing your family. Can't be certain though... ;)

[ileus]

12. I knew it! There was always something about me that I couldn't put my finger on.

[slackmaster]

7. I'd go ahead and put you on Ignore now if not for your hilarious zombie thread

:hi:

[rrneck]

9. Thanks for the link to your blog post.

It was quite entertaining to watch you get your ass handed to you there too.
:rofl:

[eqfan592]

15. lol, yeah, I hadn't checked that before.

He does get pretty well tore up. But do you think it would actually lead him to reconsider anything? We shall see I guess....

[rrneck]

19. You'd think someone who

lives in Rome would garner at least a little perspective on the depth and breadth of the human condition. Somewhere between the Pantheon, the Coliseum, and Mamertine prison most people would get a clue.

[benEzra]

10. benEzra, husband, father, gun owner...

...took his 10yo daughter and 12yo special-needs son sailing this weekend.



That's my son and my little Alcort Sunfish project boat, that I've been slowly patching and caulking into a seaworthy state. Yes, that's mylar tape sealing the deck seam; I didn't have time to do a proper sealing job topside (would have overshot the weekend) and I don't have the funds to replace the rub rail (or the hull).

But you know what? We had a blast.

(And I'll keep my guns, too, thanks.)

[ileus]

18. Oh crap and your son had his PFD on...

I thought all gunowners were wreckless and uncaring about the safety of others.

[burrfoot]

24. Glad you and the minions are doing well, benEzra

Looks like a great day :)

:toast:

[eqfan592]

26. I keep kicking around the idea of getting a boat...

..but just not sure yet.

But still, great pictures! Looks like you guys had an awesome day! :D

:toast:

[Tuesday Afternoon]

28. how do you get from this:

the fact that he went to the shooting range the night before


to this:
helps describe what kind of guy he was. He was a cold-blooded normal-looking gun owner.

:shrug:


that is some twisted pretzel logic.


you got any mustard to go with it?

[Union Scribe]

29. Trying to drum up some blog traffic?