Connecticut
Tens of thousands of residents have failed to register their guns with state police, according to CBS Local News. The gun owners are in violation of a gun law that requires citizens to have registered their weapons by Dec. 31 of last year. The Hartford Courant learned that about 20,000 people are in violation of the law, according to the CBS article.
While some believe people are refusing to comply with the law, others believe the cause could also be ignorance. Mike Lawler, Connecticut’s top criminal justice official, said letters will likely be sent to the residents addressing the matter, according to the article.
Florida
A Florida jury has convicted Michael Dunn of three counts of attempted murder and one count of shooting into an occupied vehicle, according to Reuters. In Nov. 2012, Dunn fired 10 rounds at a group of four teenage boys in their cars after a dispute over the teenagers’ loud rap music. One of the boys, Jordan Davis, was killed during the incident.
Dunn said he believed he was endangered by Davis because he thought he saw the barrel of a shotgun, according to the article. No weapon was found in the vehicle.
The case has drawn comparison to that of teenager Trayvon Martin because Davis was African-American. A juror revealed that the jury voted 9 to 3 in favor of convicting Dunn of first-degree murder in a television interview. That juror, “Valerie,” said she realized early on that the jury would not be able to reach a unanimous consensus on the conviction. She said she believed Dunn had gotten away with murder. Dunn faces up to 60 years in prison, according to the article.
Kansas
A bill that would have allowed individuals to refuse service to same-sex couples because of religious beliefs failed last week in the state senate, according to the New York Times.
The bill passed through the state house of representatives on Feb. 12 with a vote of 72 to 49. It was believed the bill would have easily passed through the Senate, but conservative Republicans raised opposition to the bill.
One of those was Susan Wagle, president of the Kansas Senate, who said her members didn’t condone discrimination, according to the article. Senator Jeff King, another opponent of the bill, said the Legislature should instead look at the broader topic of religious freedom and if those protections needed re-enforcement.
Wisconsin
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Specialist Terry Harrison of the Wisconsin National Guard was suspended from funeral honor guard duties on Tuesday after posting photos about military burials on the Internet, according to the New York Daily News.
The first photo was an Instragram selfie of Harrison in a car with an American flag in the background and a caption that said, “It’s so damn cold out….. WHY have a funeral outside!? Somebody’s getting a jacked up flag.” The second photo was of a group of soldiers making joking faces around an empty casket.
According to the article, the photos caused people to aim death threats at Harrison. Harrison was not kicked out of the service, and the Guard has promised to safeguard her.
