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With the Senate just voting down the Manchin-Toomey amendment to the gun safety bill, while the media continues to focus on the Boston bombing attacks, MSNBC's Chris Hayes discussed the difference between the way crimes are handled once they're "put in the terrorism bucket" as compared to the "gun bucket" and the differences between what Americans are willing to accept in each instance.

Violence and terror: What’s the difference?:

On Wednesday night, host Chris Hayes asks the question: What happens when someone is apprehended? Will the identity of the bomber(s) impact the way we describe and govern the incident?

Incidents like the Boston Marathon bombings, that appear to be driven by unfettered hatred, shake us to our collective core. They make us think twice about entering public spaces: going out for a meal, taking public transportation, taking a dog for a walk. There is no doubt that the intended consequence of an act like the bombings at the Boston Marathon is to scare. But how should we characterize and define that fear? And what does this fear drive us to do? Does it drive us to suspend rule of law?

What exactly is the distinction between an ordinary crime and what we call terrorism?

After showing some of President Obama's speech following the filibuster, Hayes wrapped things up with this:

HAYES: And so, as we follow the developments out of Boston, as we leave no stone unturned attempting to find the perpetrator, another eighty eight or so people will lose their life to a bullet tomorrow, and the day after that and the day after that. And meanwhile, all worry that if the suspect who blew up the finish line isn't caught, we can't be sure that we're safe.

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A 4-year-old boy in Houston died early Sunday morning after finding his father's handgun and shooting himself in the stomach.

Houston Police Sgt. Harris told KTRK that 4-year-old Jaiden Pratt's weekend with his father, 23-year-old Marquez Pratt, ended in tragedy. The father and son had gone to sleep on the couch. After waking up, Jaiden picked up the gun and accidentally fired a round into his own stomach.

Paramedics tried to revive child, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.

"This is not a case of a responsible homeowner having a weapon for protection," Harris said.

According to the Houston Chronicle, the serial number of the handgun was listed as stolen. Marquez Pratt was expected to face charges resulting from drugs and several weapons found in the home.

Harris said that the father had been cooperative with police.

"He kept saying, 'I messed up. I messed up,'" Harris explained. "He's in mourning. He's in pain and feels a lot of self guilt... Despite the choices he made and the lifestyle he was leading, it doesn't take away the love a father has for a son."

At one point, police had to restrain a grieving family member who later arrived at scene and began yelling.

"I'm gonna kill him! I'm gonna kill him!" the woman shouted as she crossed the yellow crime-scene tape.

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Jon Stewart had a field day with the clown show that was the Senate's hearing on gun violence this week. Whether it was NRA head Wayne LaPierre opining that background checks won't work because criminals won't submit to them, the fact that he's done a complete 180 on his stance in 1999 -- or Lindsey Graham and his fearmongering that people are going to be running wild in the streets, looting and raping.

He also gave the IWF's Gayle Trotter the treatment she deserves for her ridiculous fairy tale about mothers needing to fend off hoards of intruders with AR-15's and then telling Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse she couldn't remember what type of gun the woman in the real life case she was citing as an example actually used.

Here's more from Raw Story on Stewart's take down of LaPierre: Jon Stewart mocks NRA chief: Lets only pass laws that criminals will follow:

At a Senate hearing on gun violence, LaPierre explained that citizens of the United States needed high-power firearms to both defend themselves from an overbearing government and protect themselves from being abandoned by the government.

“I’m lost,” Stewart remarked.

LaPierre also argued that requiring universal background checks for gun purchases was a flawed policy because criminals didn’t follow the law. The argument is one often used by gun advocates.

“Good point,” Stewart mockingly retorted. “Let's pass laws that only criminals will obey. Let's do that. Hey, what’s this ‘thou shalt not kill,’ you know, murders are just going to bypass that. They’ll find a way around it.”

Lawrence O'Donnell pretty well eviscerated the "Independent" Women's Forum's Gayle Trotter, and her appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee yesterday, where she testified that assault weapons should not be outlawed because they were the "weapon of choice" for young mothers who need a "scary-looking gun."

I was glad to see O'Donnell call out her organization for being anything but "independent" because they're not. And apparently attorney Trotter, who also opposes the Violence Against Women Act (go read why), isn't too fond of being called a right-winger. O'Donnell's back-and-forth with her starts about nine minutes into the clip above.

Here's more from O'Donnell's blog at MSNBC: ‘Guns make women safer,’ says Gayle Trotter. Study says, not so:

The use of assault weapons among women emerged as standout topic at Wednesday’s Senate hearing on gun control legislation. Gayle Trotter, a lawyer and senior fellow at the conservative Independent Women’s Forum, said women need that type of firearm to level the playing field when confronted by physically stronger male attackers.

The guns rights advocate told lawmakers on the Senate Judiciary Committee that “guns make women safer.” To her, AR-15s are the “weapon of choice” because “they have good handling, they’re light, they’re easy for women to hold.” And the appearance of such a “scary-looking gun” deters violent male criminals during home invasions.

But a recent study conducted by the Harvard Injury Control Research Center disputed those assertions. The study found that women living in states with more accessibility to guns are at a greater risk for violent death. This includes “unintentional gun deaths, suicides and homicide, particularly firearm suicides and firearm homicides.”

During an interview on The Last Word Wednesday night, MSNBC’s Lawrence O’Donnell challenged Trotter for not being able to provide one real life example of a case when an assault weapon specifically saved one woman’s life in that kind of a situation. “You don’t go to the Senate to imagine things!” O’Donnell said.

While speaking in front of the senators, Trotter described a hypothetical scene of a “young woman defending her babies in her home” when faced with “three, four, five violent attackers, intruders in her home with her children screaming in the background” as a reason to own an assault rifle.

“The peace of mind that she has, knowing that she has a scary-looking gun, gives her more courage when she’s fighting hardened, violent criminals,” said Trotter, who was the only woman on the five-person panel.

“If we ban these types of assault weapons, you are putting these types of women at a great disadvantage–more so than men because they don’t have the same type of physical strength and opportunity to defend themselves in a hand-to-hand struggle.”

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse pointed out that the woman she referred to in her statement, a young Oklahoma mother who shot an intruder, used a gun that wouldn't be banned by the law.

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A 15-year-old girl was killed on the South Side of Chicago on Tuesday, just a week after she performed at President Barack Obama's inauguration.

Hadiya Pendleton was hanging out at Vivian Gordon Harsh Park near her high school at around 2:30 p.m., "when someone jumped a fence, ran up to them, and opened fire," according to WBBM-TV.

Pendleton was taken to University of Chicago Comer Children’s Hospital where she died an hour later from a gunshot wound to her back. A 16-year-old boy was also wounded in the attack.

Chicago police said that many of those in the park were gang members, but Pendleton had no known gang affiliations.

The girl was majorette and a volleyball player, friends told The Chicago Tribune. She had performed at inaugural events in Washington, D.C. last week with the King College Prep band and drill team.

As of Tuesday evening, police had no suspects in the shooting. The 4400 or 4500 blocks of South Oakenwald Avenue, where the shooting occurred, was considered to be a low-crime area. No serious crimes had been reported there between Dec. 19 and Jan. 20.

"It’s a great neighborhood," Roxanne Hubbard resident Roxanne Hubbard explained to the Tribune. "Nothing like this has happened since I’ve been here."

Bonita O’Bannion told WBBM-TV that she was shaken after hearing at least six gun shots during the Tuesday shooting.

"There has to be an end to it," O’Bannion said. "It’s just too much. The children cannot go to school. They’re in fear."

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Better get used to the idea of the coming anarchy people. According to Sen. Lindsey Graham, all of us need to arm ourselves to the hilt, because if he has his way with the upcoming budget cuts, we won't be able to count on the police for help: Graham: We Need Guns Because Of Budget Cuts, Fewer Cops:

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) argued on Wednesday that Congress should think twice about passing new gun control regulations because future budget cuts in cities will constrain the size and quality of police forces across the country, thwarting effective response to violence.

Lindsey Graham: GOP-Forced Budget Cuts Will Mean Fewer Cops, So People Need To Arm Themselves:

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC), who has been among the Senate’s most vocal backers of draconian budget cuts and has opposed increasing funds to put more police officers on the streets, said Wednesday that he will oppose gun violence prevention legislation because budget cuts will mean inadequate police forces to protect the public.

Graham told Baltimore Chief of Police James Johnson and former naval Captain Mark Kelly (husband of former Rep. Gabby Giffords) that he planned to oppose the gun violence measures because people will need high-capacity magazines to compensate for the police response times these austerity measures will force:

GRAHAM: The point is, we have different perspectives on this. The reason I will oppose the legislation, Chief Johnston, is because i respect what your do as a lot — what you do as a law-enforcement officer. Has your budget been cut?

JOHNSON: Yes.

GRAHAM: Do you think it be cut in the future?

JOHNSON: I am optimistic that it is not.

GRAHAM: Well I hope your right, but I can tell people throughout this land, because of the fiscal state of affairs we have, there will be less [SIC] police officers, not more, over the next decade. Response time are gonna be less, not more. So, Captain Kelly, I really do want to get guns out of the hands of the wrong people. I honest to god believe that if we arbitrarily “say nobody in this country can own a 10-round magazine in the future, the people who own them are the kind of people we’re trying to combat to begin with.” There can be a situation where a mother runs out of bullets because of something we do here.

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You gotta love it. These wingnuts can't even wait to see what executive orders end up being issued on gun control before they start with the impeachment threats. I'm not quite sure what else remains on the list that Congressional Republicans can do to make themselves less popular than they are right now, but I'm pretty sure impeachment hearings would work out about as well for them as they did back in Clinton's days, which is not well at all.

GOP Rep. Threatens Impeachment If Obama Uses Executive Order On Guns:

The conservative discord in the wake of the Newtown, Conn. massacre went up another octave on Monday when Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) threatened to file articles of impeachment if President Obama uses an executive order to try to reduce gun violence.

“The White House’s recent announcement they will use executive orders and executive actions to infringe on our constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms is an unconstitutional and unconscionable attack on the very founding principles of this republic,” Stockman said in a statement. “I will seek to thwart this action by any means necessary, including but not limited to eliminating funding for implementation, defunding the White House, and even filing articles of impeachment.”

Stockman showed up on Greta Van Susteren's show on Fox Tuesday night and reiterated his statement about impeachment being an option on the table and he threw this stink-bomb out there: Republican freshman to Fox News host: Obama reminds me of Saddam Hussein:

Republican Rep. Steve Stockman of Texas unfavorably compared President Barack Obama to Abraham Lincoln and Saddam Hussein on Tuesday night.

The Republican freshman appeared on Fox News’ On The Record with Greta Van Susteren to discuss how he would try impeach Obama if the President attempted to use an executive order to enact new gun control laws.

“He is saying he is going to issue 19 executive orders,” Stockman explained to Greta Van Susteren. “If it breaches his authority into legislation which impedes on the Constitution, we have the right to take different steps to counter that. A lot of people are frustrated with Republicans not fighting back, and I was too when I was on the sidelines. I got involved with Congress, I said enough is enough, and we need to stand up and fight. I said these kinds of tools are available to us, and we’re going to use every tool possible to fight an administration which wants to abrogate the Constitution.” [...]

At the end of the interview, Stockman awkwardly interjected that Obama was “even using children.”

“Reminds me of Saddam Hussein, when he used kids,” he said with a laugh.

“Well, I think that is just a little bit of a stretch,” Van Susteren replied.

I think this turd just figured out how to make sure he gets himself lots of airtime on Fox. Every time we get rid of one of these flamethrowers, another one comes along and takes their place.

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Stephen Colbert had a field day with every one of these gun nuts that have come out of the woodwork now that it looks like there could finally be some movement on gun control and with Vice President Biden meeting with his task force after the latest mass shooting.

No one was spared from Alex Jones screaming at Piers Morgan on CNN, to Larry Ward and his remarks about "Gun Appreciation Day" and Martin Luther King, to James Yeager and his threats to start killing people if there are any new gun control laws passed.

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I'm not sure why 'Gun Appreciation Day' organizer Larry Ward decided it was a good idea to come on and spar with the Rev. Al Sharpton over the legacy of MLK and whether he would have approved of his upcoming event, which is scheduled just before the holiday honoring Dr. King, but all I can say is, it wasn't pretty.

Ward appeared on CNN last week and made the ridiculous statement that "slavery would not have happened if slaves were armed" and pretended that his event "honors the legacy of Dr. King." Sharpton took apart that and the rest of his arguments quite nicely during this interview.

WATCH: Gun Appreciation Day organizer insists he’s honoring MLK’s legacy, Sharpton responds:

Ward joined Rev. Al Sharpton on PoliticsNation to defend his controversial comments about King, and Sharpton argued vigorously about King’s legacy, pointing out that the civil rights leader preached non-violence and was killed by a gun. [...]

Ward justified his argument by pointing out that King once applied for and was denied a gun permit, but Sharpton added that King later said he was glad he had been turned down for the permit and that he would never carry a gun again.

Ward continued to push the issue as a civil right. “Dr.King fought for equal opportunity, and we look at cities like Chicago and New York that have a majority of minorities in it right now and those cities themselves do not grant the same access the same equal opportunity that somebody in Texas would have to defend themselves.”

Sharpton and Ward discussed Ward’s claim that slavery wouldn’t have happened if slaves could own guns. When Sharpton pointed out that armed slave rebellions of the early 19th century failed to liberate any slaves, Ward continued his argument that gun ownership is a civil right and that citizens have the right to use whatever weapons the government uses against them.

Ward also tried to distance Gun Appreciation Day from the Newtown shooting. ”This Gun Appreciation Day, just so we’re clear, is not in reaction to the shooting in Newtown,” Ward said. “It’s in reaction to the reaction.”

When asked if Gun Appreciation Day included appreciating high capacity ammunition and automatic weapons, Ward said, “Absolutely,” adding that he believes that “any ban on a semi-automatic weapon would not have changed the outcome of what happened in Newtown.”

According to ABC News, "Ward represents conservative clients through his firm, Political Media; Revolution PAC, the libertarian group launched by Ron Paul supporters, is one of his biggest." Color me not shocked given Ron Paul's history. Looks like he's doing his best to make sure he raises his profile by getting some face time in the corporate media with this stunt.

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While discussing the White House commission on gun violence meeting this week, which the NRA has been invited to attend, along with Vice President Joe Biden's remarks that an executive order is on the table as part of a solution to curb the gun violence in the United States, Howard Fineman did his best to pin down MSNBC's The Cycle co-host S.E. Cupp and get an answer as to why any civilian out there needs an assault weapon or a high capacity magazine. To on one's surprise, she couldn't give him an answer.

Rather than answering his question, she started playing games with semantics on what the definition of an assault rifle, or high capacity, or rapid fire was and claimed that there were reasons someone would want them outside of the military or specialized police forces. When Fineman asked her to give one example, she punted and said she didn't want to take up the time allotted to the other hosts.

I still don't know why MSNBC hired Cupp. She's as thick as a brick and takes great pride in just being as annoying as humanly possible rather than bringing a bit of intellectual honesty to single debate. This is just the latest example of what she does on a daily basis to make sure this stinker of a show stays exactly that.