Some Milwaukee Guns Show NO Self-Control

Damn those ILLEGAL guns!

That must be what Mayor Tom Barrett is thinking. No doubt, he's outraged.

Actually, I don't know if the guns that caused all the trouble over the weekend in Milwaukee are ILLEGAL. I'm jumping to a conclusion that's unsubstantiated.

Let me rephrase my original statement:

Damn those guns!

I think Barrett would be on board with that.

Those awful guns carried out FIVE shootings within FIVE hours in Milwaukee.

I don't think Stephen Hargarten, chairman of the department of emergency medicine at the Medical College of Wisconsin, could blame the guns' designs and lack of safety features in these cases. Federal legislation demanding standardized safety grips probably wouldn't have helped.

The details are so sketchy that it's impossible to tell, but I doubt that any of the guns in these shootings managed to get into the hands of 3-year-olds. A lack of mandatory safety features aren't the issue here.

From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

There were five shootings in five hours on Milwaukee streets between 7:50 p.m. Saturday and 12:45 a.m. Sunday, police said.

All the victims were treated for injuries and released from hospitals, and all the suspects in the shootings remain at large.

Here are the case details, according to police Capt. Timothy Burkee:

• A 35-year-old man was shot in the leg at 7:50 p.m. Saturday in the 9300 block of W. Sheridan Road.

According to police, the man was walking when he was approached by two men in a white, four-door Pontiac Grand Prix. One of the men shot the victim, and then the car drove away.

• A 63-year-old man, an employee of Asharaf Food Market, received gunshot wounds in the wrist and stomach at 8:45 p.m. Saturday.

The victim was outside the store, 3627 W. Lisbon Ave., while a 42 year-old female employee inside the store was robbed by a man and woman. The victim walked into the store after the robbery and confronted the couple, and the male robber pulled out a gun and fired a shot. Police believe the bullet fragmented, causing the double injury.

• A 25-year-old woman was shot while sitting on her front porch in the 3200 block of N. Third St. at 8:50 p.m. Saturday.

• A 39-year-old man was wounded in the cheek after he heard gunshots while he was outside in the 600 block of W. Burleigh St. at 11 p.m. Saturday.

• A 22-year-old woman was shot in the arm while outside in the 3300 block of W. Auer Ave., police said.

FIVE SHOOTINGS IN FIVE HOURS.

That's not good.

The Neighborhood Safety Initiative may be a smashing success, but there's still a lot of shooting going on.

It's unacceptable that this is happening.

These guns have NO self-control.

When will the guns learn to curb the violence?

Will the guns ever stop shooting people?

It's time for these guns to stop acting like sociopaths and start acting like civilized members of society, NOW.

The time is long overdue.