“When Darion Marcus Aguilar of College Park fatally shot two store employees at The Mall in Columbia and then killed himself, authorities said he did so with a Mossberg 500, a Connecticut-made pump-action shotgun that has been on the U.S. market since 1961,” baltimoresun.com reports, factually enough. “A 19-year-old with no criminal record, Aguilar bought the weapon in a legal December transaction from a Montgomery County gun store. The incident has caused some to take second look at the effectiveness of the high-profile gun control measures the state passed last year.” As Ronald Reagan used to say, “there you go again” . . .
The Sun is shocked – shocked! – that a teenager with a clean record could buy a shotgun and walk out of the gun store! Truth be told, their reporters are the “some” who are taking a second look at gun control – and not in a good way. Check out their barely concealed outrage . . .
Maryland’s new restrictions centered on the kinds of arms that enable multiple shots to be fired in quick succession, barring the sale of assault-type weapons (semiautomatic rifles with certain features) and high-capacity magazines. It did nothing to regulate shotguns, which the state categorizes as hunting arms. Aguilar completed the transaction within 30 minutes.
Heads-up guys! Aside from some single-shot shotguns and old-timey black powder guns, any gun is capable of firing multiple shots in quick succession. What up with the terms “assault-type weapons” and “high-capacity” magazines? Any weapon can be used to assault someone and the magazines in question are standard capacity.
I know: you can’t expect mainstream media reporters to use accurate firearms terminology. That would call into question the whole basis of Maryland’s unconstitutional gun laws, and who needs to open that can of worms when you’re trying to explain how a killer – a killer! – could buy a shotgun in 30 minutes.
Did the state’s new laws prevent him from claiming even more victims? Not likely. Even when assault-type weapons were legal, Marylanders had to be 21 to buy them. For Aguilar, such a purchase would have been unlawful.
Let me see if I’ve got this straight. It was unlawful for the teen killer to buy an “assault-type weapon” before the new laws, as it is now. So he couldn’t have lawfully purchased one. Which means . . . he wouldn’t have! Not then and not now. (Setting aside any other possible method of obtaining one.) And because “assault-type” weapons are more lethal than shotguns (or not) the gun laws didn’t matter!
Well that sucks. For gun control advocates. Just as the laws really suck for lawful gun owners who’ve never committed a crime – a fact which doesn’t get a look in. Instead . . .
Still, the circumstances have led some to wonder: How unusual is it for a 19-year-old — even one with a clean background — to be able to enter a gun shop and leave with a shotgun that day?
There you go again. Who are these “some” you mention? Your editor perhaps? Anyway, you asked the question. Now answer it.
Gun laws vary from state to state, but Sam Hoover, an attorney with the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence, said it’s not unusual at all.
With few exceptions, Hoover said, it is unlawful for individuals under 18 to acquire a “long gun” (a shotgun or rifle) in the United States. (Maryland and a few other states allow a parent or guardian to give consent, but federally licensed firearms dealers are barred from transferring such guns to minors.)
Above the age of 18, there are few age-related restrictions. Only Illinois, Hawaii and the District of Columbia explicitly require a buyer to be 21 to acquire a long gun.
Six states — California, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey and New York — and the District of Columbia ban assault-type weapons. Several of those jurisdictions define certain types of shotguns as assault-type weapons, which means they are banned for buyers of any age.
“No state generally bans the sale or possession of standard rifles and shotguns,” Hoover said in an email.
A lawyer wrote that? How long did it take the reporters to email Mr. Hoover to ask which rifles and shotguns he considers “standard”? A long time. Like, forever.
In 48 states, individuals 18 and over without criminal backgrounds can generally get their hands on a Mossberg 500 or similar shotgun within the law.
Can they do so within a day, as Aguilar did? In most cases, yes. Only California, Hawaii, Illinois, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia have waiting periods of more than 24 hours for long-gun transfers. (Hawaii’s is the longest, at 14 days.)
Such a delay, though, probably would have had little effect on what happened in Columbia. Aguilar killed his victims and himself 46 days after his purchase. His motive remains unclear.
Which is more than you can say for the Baltimore Sun’s decision to publish such a silly, misinformed article about gun control. Again. Still.
Obviously what we need here is a mandatory 47-day waiting period for all gun purchases. It’s for the CHILDREN!
Ah, baloney!
What they SHOULD have done is make it illegal to kill someone. Then he NEVER would have done it!
What they SHOULD do is enact a nation wide death penalty and USE IT. No “death rows”. Instead of making the tax payers pay for thier free ride in prison. REAL penalties.
That sounds “IDIOTIC”………….I bought 5 weapons for myself {long guns} before age 21…………with a old 5 day waiting period in Pennsylvania, not it is instant check which is better, Thank you Brady Campaign for making a Firearms Purchase ‘EASIER”…….!
Um I was 18 when I bought a Mosin. A lot more deadly at long range than some Mossberg. I also had a misdemeanor on my record.
Nothing happened… Must’ve been a fluke?
If you add the bayonet it becomes super scary and 10 feet long!
.. and great for picking up litter
Now that would make for a fantastic open carry event. Bayonet litter cleanup. Ha!
Give it time. Eventually the gun will work its evil magic on you. Like the One Ring.
Although some people (hobbits, for instance) are naturally resistant to its lure, so it may take longer. Hmmm… Are you very short, by any chance? How hairy are your feet? Does your house have a little round door? There has to be some explanation for this.
Moderately short, somewhat hairy feet, and I do like round doors.
Aren’t the dwarves the most resistant to evil? They just get more greedy. Beard time!
I bought a bolt action Mauser K98k w/ high capacity 5 round clip per second when I turned 18. I even have a bayonet for it. Going on ten years and haven’t committed a crime with it.
Thousands of planes take off every hour of everyday and none get second of news focus; but when one crashes it’s top story, front page, all you hear for weeks. It’s just something for them to bleat about until something more absurd comes along…
They wouldn’t report plane crashes if they were common events. How often do you see a car wreck make national headlines?
when i was 19 i bought a shotgun and…. nothing happened. wow amazing
OMG you too?!?!?! What has the world come to?
The first gun I bought was at age 21, a Swedish Lahti 9mm pistol. Had the collecting bug for military firearms ever since.
Got a mosin at 19.. Just a mile or two from school!….and……nothing happend. We are still alive! Must be because it’s not an evil black rifle!
Must have kept the original wood stock. Had you sporterized it a black synthetic Monte Carlo stock and had you bent the bolt-nother story.
The anti’s would rather assume that everyone is guilty until proven innocent and deny us all our rights, scumbags.
Holy crap, I own a mossberg 500. Thank allah for this article, I am now aware of how dangerous my shotgun is to myself and others.
my mossberg 500 is defective. It has not gone postal and killed anyone. yet. but still. maybe it is because I inherited it from Daddy Dirk. Oh wait. It didnt work for him either.
You better keep that thing locked up. Just the other day I heard my guns whispering in the safe about how they were going to get the keys, unlock themselves, and go wreak havoc on the town.
Hmm.. thats odd, there seems to be some people at my door, hold on I’ll be right —
Andrew, they have meds to make the voices stop. I hear risperdol works well, if you don’t mind having man boobs. Of course it probably really is the guns talking. I wish I could get the Mossy in my closet to shut the hell up when I’m busy. It keeps making derisive comments about barrel lengths.
You think yours is defective? I own a Mossberg 590 with all sorts of evil “assault” features that hasn’t been used for a massacre…and I’m a postal worker to boot!
Its only a matter of time. Or so they lead us to believe.
Being part of the Green Lantern Postal Corps I’m sure you are probably immune to it’s aura of corruption…duh.
Because the 500 is so dangerous I bought a 930 instead!
I’ve got one as well but I dont need to worry cause mine has a full standard buttstock, not one of those super scary pistol grips. They should make those illegal BTW.
Obviously guns should only be sold to and legal to own for men age 65+ that are Caucasian and overweight, thereby they can be correct in the stereotype that only old, fat, white guys own guns. It’s for the children. /s
The existence of potential power isn’t the problem, it’s the existence of a large gap in power between two groups. Crazy people exist and will continue to come off the rails. We can’t tell who, when, or where, but we know it will happen again. We’ve had examples with years of obvious signs and some with no warning signs, so it’s obvious there is no preemptive solution. The only answer is immediate response with equal or greater force.
When guns are outlawed, only OWFG’s will have guns 🙂
Your comment cracks me up, thanks 🙂
Wasn’t the retired cop in the movie theater shooting 70 something? Better make it 80 and up also upon death all firearms are forfeited to the state just to make sure no one accidentally inherits one of those baby killers.
I bought a sold a shotgun.
I was given. GIVEN a shotgun a few years ago. I’m certain it passed its fll check, in the 70s, when it was purchased.
You will be shocked. SHOCKED to know that OMG! It says Sears on it OMG! How can sears sell assault shotguns?!?!?
Hyperbole off:
Yeah, the laws aren’t working. Let’s put more of them on, that’ll help.
“Yeah, putting out the fire by smothering it in gasoline isn’t helping. Let’s add more.”
Your analogy, it is good. Because eventually it’s going to blow up in their face…
mine says Montgomery Ward . . .
My Grandpa has one that says Abercrombie & Fitch.
I call BS on that one. Everfloppie and Bitch wouldn’t know a shotgun from a 30-magazine clip.
🙂
I found one of their cases with a catalog in it at a thrift shop a few years back. I let them keep the catalog, and sold the case for some pretty good change.
Yep, A&F used to be actual outfitters.
My dad’s Colt 1911 was from Belk’s
mine says Montgomery Ward . . .
Mine says BOOM.
“Yeah, the laws aren’t working. Let’s put more of them on, that’ll help.”
The scary thing is, You meant this sarcastically. The authors of this article actually believe this! WORD FOR WORD. If there were just enough laws everything would be harmony.
What is that definition of “insanity” again?
Something about doing the same thing repeatedly, and expecting a different result?
Funny, the only 12ga. I own is a “J.C.Higgins” pump that was built by High Standard, it’s old enough that it has never had a serial number and looks to be maybe a well used 3 year old gun. Imagine that, older than I am, OMFG no Serial Number and still patiently waiting for it’s first chance to go crazy in a mall.
Again, gun laws don’t prevent anything from happening. Words on paper will not stop a determined individual from evil acts. It is hard for the media to comprehend this simple fact.
Well, if they did the media would be out of business.
Was the mossberg in question actually the pistol grip version? It’s a wonder he was able to hit anything if it was.
I have that model. I put the included full stock on it. I think it makes it easier to ship with the pistol grip on.
I’ve never fired it with the pistol grip on, though.
Don’t do it. It sucks.
All these compassionate journalists looking out for the rest of us….how about asking the question about the teen? Someone…SOMEONE had to know this kid was hurting, angry or disgruntled. Where was family, friends when this young adult needed them? Where was the community support? Was he on drugs, depressed? Exactly….
Someone knew this kid was pissed, angry, and maybe even knew he was capable of this. I place the blame on the murderer and anyone who knew ahead of time this was going to happen – not on the process by where he obtained the firearm. Uh…journalists…how many chances did this guy have to make a different choice other than to murder.
He had at least 46 days of choices.
And I seem to recall the discovery of a diary chock full of obvious clues…
Side question: How many of us here bought one of those stupid cruiser style pistol grips?
Aaaand how many of us still have them on the gun?
Yeah. Mine 590 got the Magpul treatment, and I never looked back.
You say that black powder is one shot, but you clearly forgot about the colt navy assault pistol, capable of spraying six bullets in rapid succession.
And the powderhorn is akin to one of those .30 Assault clips.
Somewhere in Afghanistan right now there is an 18 year old humping a M240 up and down mountains to defend the Baltimore Sun’s right to publish stupidity like this.
He also probably had to bury his friends because the rules of engagement wouldn’t let them chase the assholes who shot at them into a Mosque.
Ain’t democracy grand?
This is it. This is how the slide down the disarmament slope begins, and has no end. The Antis always said, “No one wants to ban all guns just ‘Assault Rifles’.” All 2013 long they all said just give them “common sense” ‘assault rifle’ bans and everything will be peace and harmony… For the ‘children’! (All of course except DIanne Feinstine. If she could she would ban all guns instantly and make everyone turn them in. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzDO86iSKWU)
So they get their unlawful bans in certain places, and guess what? People still commit crimes with guns.
What will be their inevitable new conclusion? BAN THOSE TOO!
They will never stop. As long as people commit crimes the Antis will come looking to ban SOMETHING, anything they can. It can’t be the people, it must be the tools. They don’t care about facts, they don’t care about freedom, they ARE scared, and they ARE coming. Coming across the nation for every single trigger and barrel and firing pin.
Yesterday it was “assault rifles”.
Today it’s pump shotguns…. PUMP SHOTGUNS.
Tomorrow they will come for the bolt action rifles.
The next day handguns.
And then knives and swords and box cutters and machetes.
They will never stop. The day we have to get background checked for shovels and hand saws they will be writing articles expounding on how unbelievable it is that there is no waiting period to buy wood chisels at the hardware store or steak knives at Walmart.
Not. One. More. Inch.
Not one more ban. The line must be drawn. Let it be drawn here. This far. No further.
Take a deep breath hold it for a second then exhale I’ll give you a second to do that again… now doesn’t that feel better? We dont want you to have a heart attack. While I do agree with you that enough is enough it doesn’t look good when we all start getting that worked up. Especially knowing the anti’s like to troll this site and use our comments to make us look crazy, sexist or racist.
I’m sorry if my text sounds scary, that wasn’t my intent. Im sick of the impassioned speeches being the Antis’ and Im sick of being told over and over, “No no no, just let us have X or Y and everything will be fine, no one wants to disarm America.” Yes they do and they are coming for all the free states right now. It’s an election year. The democrats are all ready setting up their campaigns. Already fundraising like mad. We have to get out and vote, get friends out to vote, support friendly lobbying groups and write our representatives.
That’s what I meant. I don’t see how it could be taken any other way.
Maybe its just the way I read it. It came across a little high strung but you sir are correct its just more incrementalism. Its like back in the day I would beg my dad for a sip of his beer, then one more and another next thing he knew I was the little bastard that drank his whole beer and left him with the warm backwash in the bottom of the can. All while he thought he would give in a little to shut me up. Mmmm beer and blue claws.
You cannot ban evil intent. When Cain slew Abel there were no firearms available, yet a murder still happened.
Huh. I didn’t really get the “need moar gun control!” message from this news story. Instead I got the distinct feeling that it was basically pointing out how useless recent gun control had been.
“Did the state’s new laws prevent him from claiming even more victims? Not likely.”
“Such a delay, though, probably would have had little effect on what happened in Columbia.”
If it wasn’t a call for more gun control laws, then the Baltimore Sun staff was kidnapped en masse and replaced with aliens.
the 500 is getting so much flak.. I bought the rem 870 instead
I know of a lot of 19 year old people buying heroic, cocaine, methamphetamine and marijuana outside of Washington and Colorado. There’s laws against buying those; they’re working out well huh?
A 30-minute wait for an FBI background check? Must’ve been a busy day. Two weeks ago I was in and out of my local gun shop in ten minutes with my first handgun. Which I then gave to my wife as a GIFT for her birthday. OMG!!!!!!!!!
Don’t admit that in print. They will sting you up as for being a straw purchaser! How could you buy a gun for some woman you barely know!
In Merryland the State Police do the NICS checks.
What state are you in?
In WI, handguns require a 48 hour wait. I thought that was country wide.
Not so with Long guns. Except for me, There must be a bad guy with similar data because I get delayed 100% of the time for about 72hours.
I’m not sure how many, but there are at least quite a few states that allow immediate transfer of all guns after the BC. Most of the southern ones for sure.
In the free state of Mississippi one of the only advantages to having a Permit to carry a concealed pistol is that I can walk in, pick the one I want, do the paperwork, pay and walk out with my new handgun or rifle or shotgun. Other than the choosing part, filling out the paperwork is the most time consuming part of the whole process. Must suck to live somewhere that the politicians don’t trust the people who elected them.
So watch out, the gun grabbers will take these lemons and try to make lemonade. That is, they will argue that this is proof that more gun bans are needed. They will argue that the “good first step” did not go far enough, that shotguns need the same restrictions as Heintz-57’s and such. Watch out.
Yeah, how’s that thing in Connecticut working for the grabbers, anyway?
“His motive remains unclear.”
If white people murder black people, the motive is automatically race-related and it’s a hate crime.
If black people murder white people, the “motive remains unclear.”
so damn true, we are racist all the time. But one question must crime is done by what race???? Not my fault.
My Marlin 60, which has shot nothing put paper targets, was purchased when I was at the tender age of 18. Almost 20 years later I’m about to get a 10/22, and I am chilled to the bone that maybe this time, this gun will be one of those evil, corrupting guns. I don’t even want to put it in the safe next to the Mossberg 500, lest it corrupt the shotgun.
It’s quite possible, the 10/22 has an evil assault clip that sprays 5000 bullets in half a second. Be very afraid.
I have to look at it a different way,,,, You can join any military branch at the age of 18 and fight and die for your country, allowed to hunt at the age of 16 yrs old in most states, so why not buy a rifle/shotgun at 18 , isn’t it the legal age? Once again it’s not the rifle/shotgun/knife/hammer or car but the person using it!!!!! Taking away firearms , making it impossible to get ammo, OR making totally insane laws like here in NY isn’t changing a damn thing. If people have indent to do harm to others they will by what ever means necessary and all these laws affect only the LEGAL GUN OWNERS…. FACT all school shootings have been done by a person with some sort of mental illness. But society has allowed jack asses to make laws on nothing they know nothing about and shove them down our throats, lets go back to old school. Less crime and you could spank your kid without CPS knocking on your door. What happened to America?
Pajama boy happened.
http://youngcons.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/2.png
The best thing about The Sun is Page 3.
I celebrated my 18th birthday by buying a brand new Winchester 94 .30-30. 99 bucks it cost me. I then took it to the base I was homestationed at and turned it in to the armory. When I was on duty I checked an m16 out of that same armory. Sometimes a sidearm. I wish I still had that 94. It would be worth a lot more than 99 bucks.
At 1 point I had 3 guns that I storedin that armory, a pistol and 2 rifles. I was 19 at that point.
Those Mossbergs are highly dangerous and unpredictable. That’s why I own a Beretta.
When did you quit beating your wife?
If my daughter was smoking crack I’d pull her out of school.
I am currently 19. since my 18th birthday I have bought 2 rifles and 1 shotgun and have committed zero crimes against humanity. I guess better parenting is not part of the medias vocabulary
Then they are given their meds, and they turn to wondering why they sculpt their mashed potatoes into a replica of Devil’s Butte.
By the time they have restricted firearms enough to prevent events like this there will be an extra titans people murdered each year, ten thousand raped, countless home invasions and instead of mass shootings there will be fires with does chained closed and bombings.
Evil finds a way when you restrict good.
Long ago but not so very far away, I was given a Stevens 311 20g SBS double when I was 14.
Scored a 100 on my Hunter Safety and was good to go. My buddies and I would roam the woods, sorta looking for squirrels but mostly to shoot stuff. (who wanted to clean ’em ) One guy had the old .22 .410 combo, another with a break action 16g. We were super safety conscious but we looked pretty dangerous. We were just the annecdote not a retrievable statistic.
So why don’t they pass a law that says you can’t buy a gun if you are going to murder someone. Lets block it right there at the gun store. That way we wont need the circle-pistol-slash signs anymore at the mall that proved to be very ineffective, unlike my proposal would be.
Hey, kids, you do know that you used to be able to order shotguns, rifles and such from Sears and Monkey Wards, right? They had them right there in the catalogs. You called up the local store on the phone (which used to hang on the wall in the kitchen – it didn’t fit into your pocket, and it needed wires in the wall to work), you gave them the catalog numbers and they ordered it.
The order would come into your local Sears or Wards’ mail-order store. They didn’t have a FFL, BTW, because this was before 1968. The local store would call you, and you’d go down and pick up your order. You typically paid with a check, or these little pieces of paper with pictures of dead white males on them that were known as “cash.” Credit cards weren’t accepted in most businesses back then.
Anyway, it was a done deal, and we didn’t have widespread chaos in the streets until the later 60’s.
They even sold M1 Carbines and Garands through the catalogs. If I had any idea how much those M1 Carbines would go up in price, I would have purchased a truckload of them back when they cost under $100 each.
Those m1 carbines and rifles could be sent right to your door by way of the US mail. No ffl’s needed.
I actually lucked out and found one of those mail order Sears and Roebuck guns, a Ranger bolt action, at my LGS this summer. $100 and the straightest shooting .22 I’ve ever shot. Strangely though it along with my massive stockpile of a dozen(OMG) other guns has not turned me into a crazed lunatic even though I’m not even 21 (OMG again)
Dear Truth,
There are many versions of the Mossberg 500. You used the wrong one to illustrate this point – because the pistol grip shotgun as shown is classified as “Other” and only long guns can be transferred to persons under 21.
For reference see the instructions for Question 18 on the Form 4473.
Notice how the term “assault weapons” has morphed to “assault type weapons”. The former has been discredited enough as an incorrect description of a normal semi auto so now we have to make semi autos similar in order to demonize. This type of presentation will continue in an effort to ban more guns.
Maryland has some very onerous gun laws. Let’s face it, the state has a “rain tax” for Gods sake. What else with that socialist state seek to control?
Point of information: Since the advent of the NICS “instant” check system, waiting periods are now redundant, and not being “the least intrusive means possible”, are an unconstitutional burden.
Was he on antidepressants? Otherwise known as the drug with a side effect of mass shooter?
when i was 16 almost 17 my mother gave me a mossberg maverick 88 12 gauge for christmas. thank god it wasnt that dangerous mossberg 500 or somebody may have been hurt! wait… the maverick 88 is a clone of the 500… OH NO I NEED TO HIDE FROM MY EVIL SHOTGUN! do i need to hide from the other 12 guns i bought legally between the ages of 17 and 20 or am i safe from those?
well surprise surprise, at 18 you can buy any long gun ( rifle/shotgun)
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