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Lawnmowing Is Dangerous In Burley?

From the Times-News this morning:

William Stirling Teeter, 50, of Burley, was charged with felony aggravated assault Friday night following an unusual response to a teenager's ball landing in his yard.  The alleged incident culminated in Teeter pulling a semi-automatic pistol on the 13-year-old boy.

According to the Cassia County Sheriff's Office police report, the victim was playing with the ball while Teeter was mowing his lawn when the ball rolled onto Teeter's yard.  The victim said he walked over to retrieve the ball, and then, the report reads, "William drew a pistol from his hip."

The article goes on to report that "Teeter asked if the charge would affect his concealed weapons license and federal firearms license."

This is exactly why the wisdom of recent legislation allowing national park visitors to carry loaded weapons into the park should be questioned.  Having a concealed weapons permit does not guarantee one's sanity or proper judgment in the use of that firearm.  The last thing a family trying to enjoy Old Faithful should have to worry about is whether a Mr. Teeter is going to be pulling a gun on them.

Who packs heat while they mow their lawn, anyway?  In Burley?

June 24, 2009 at 08:54 AM |

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In one of the more rural portions of Burley, too. The dude is out in the country mowing his lawn and a ball lands in his yard and he pulls a gun. And only a mile from the largest daycare in the Mini-Cassia area--Lorraine's. Insane.

Posted by: thepoliticalgame | June 24, 2009 at 09:13 AM

If the report is anywhere near accurate as to the facts, Teeter is demonstrably unqualified to carry. It'll be interesting to see how this plays out.

As a once-upon-a-time trouble-making 13-year-old boy, I'm happy that I grew up somewhere other than Mr. Teeter's neighborhood.

Posted by: fortboise | June 24, 2009 at 10:10 AM

Unfreakingreal!

Posted by: Julie in Boise | June 24, 2009 at 04:22 PM

Oh, now - yu'll STOP. He didn't mean nuthin' by it. See? Look - right here.

"Teeter said he didn't aim at the kid."

.

See? No harm, no foul. (no pun, either....)

Posted by: Wordsmith | June 25, 2009 at 08:18 AM

And in case you're interested....it was also a small gun.

Check out this ad /website.

http://www.sigsauer.com/Default.aspx

Posted by: Wordsmith | June 25, 2009 at 08:20 AM

I agree with fortboise, it doesn't sound like Mr. Teeter's concealed carry permit is long for this world...

And I do understand the concerns about the weapons carry in National Parks. I think one of the only cheezy extremist conservative slogans that I agree with is that "if guns are outlawed only outlaws will have guns"...meaning that if someone wants to do something illegal, they won't care whether they can legally take the gun there, or not. So outlawing them only removes them from persons who would be carrying them legally. The others would still bring them.

Does anyone here know what it takes to get a concealed carry permit? I haven't looked it up, I always assumed there had to be more than just a cursory glance at the stability of the individual...but I'm probably wrong about that.

Posted by: Nemesis | June 25, 2009 at 09:31 PM

Gary appears to be battling this one out in the comments over at In the Middle:
Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition

Posted by: thepoliticalgame | June 26, 2009 at 12:28 PM

Uhh...I don't know what happened to the link, probably got lost in my *all* my html skills! ;) All two of them! Here is the link: http://www.magicvalley.com/blogs/political/in_the_middle/comments.php?y=09&m=06&entry=entry090624-085317

Posted by: thepoliticalgame | June 26, 2009 at 12:30 PM

"Does anyone here know what it takes..."

I've been vaguely wondering about that, too. Quick search turned up an Idaho FAQ:

http://www2.state.id.us/ag/faq/concealedweaponspermit.htm

Posted by: Tom von Alten | June 26, 2009 at 06:09 PM

Reading that FAQ, it's rather odd. "You must demonstrate familiarity with the firearm," but you don't have to "take a test."

So... you have to have A firearm, first of all. (Do I have to demonstrate that it's mine? Legal? Registered?)

And since there's no test, the sheriff can pretty much decide on whatever criteria s/he likes whether you've "demonstrated" well enough. Fascinating.

Posted by: Tom von Alten | June 26, 2009 at 06:14 PM

Dang, that would have been an easy search, sorry I didn't go there.

I am a little concerned, I guess, that there's not more to it than that. But after thinking harder, I don't know what I would do differently, what outcome I would expect. Any emotional stability "test" would be rather subjective on the part of the person doing the scoring, I guess.

I'm on my way to see what's cooking at "In the Middle"...thanks for pointing that out, Tara.

Posted by: Nemesis | June 26, 2009 at 07:17 PM

I have a concealed carry permit.

You don't have to own a firearm.

I took two classes, one being primarily lecture and one consisting of shooting several handguns to make sure I wouldn't shoot my own foot off.

They do a background check. This costs some money.

One of the things I learned in class was never to say I shot someone because I was protecting my property. It is only legal to shoot someone if you are in fear for your life. I don't recall anything about pulling a gun on someone without the intention of shooting them.

(Why did I get a concealed carry permit? Because I wanted more familiarity with handguns and a concealed carry class seemed the most effective way to get it. Plus, it freaked out my California friends.)

Posted by: sharon fisher | June 28, 2009 at 08:05 AM

The comments to this entry are closed.

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Quotes For 2009

  • "[Some politicians] wouldn't recognize the Constitution if it fell in their laps and called them Daddy." — Rep. Lenore Hardy Barrett (R-Challis) at a tea party tax protest.
  • "Just, you know, putting beans on the table." — former Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) when asked by Nate Shelman (670 KBOI) what he's doing these days.
  • "I said yesterday we hope and pray things will get better before they get worse. It's obvious to me some of you need to do a better job of praying." — Sen. Dean Cameron (R-Rupert), Joint Finance-Appropriation Committee co-chair on the grim economic forecast facing the committee.
  • “We’ve been called a lot of things but we’ve never been called sneaks before.” — Rep. Maxine Bell (R-Jerome) in a budget dispute with the governor's staff over legislators' computer funding.
  • "I’m not wearing rose-tinted glasses. But I am a glass-half-full kind of guy." — Gov. C. L. "Butch" Otter attempting to remain optimistic while delivering tough economic news in his State of the State/Budget message.

Quotes For 2008

  • "I am not ashamed that we use a lot of energy in this country. It has made us the most prosperous Nation on the face of the planet. ... Using energy makes us prosperous." — Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) during debate on an energy bill that, among other things, invested in alternative and renewable energy sources and repealed tax subsidies for large oil companies. (H.R.6899)
  • "If [Oversight Committee Chairman] Henry Waxman was interested in doing more than just showboat, we'd be there in a heartbeat. It's political grandstanding." — spokesman Wayne Hoffman explaining why Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) was absent from congressional oversight hearings into the financial crisis where, among other things, it was learned that AIG executives indulged in a lavish retreat a week after the bailout.
  • "You know what, campaigns are fast and furious, I accept responsibility that we don't have the right citation there, but the facts I stand by - we are correct about that." — Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) reacting to a campaign commercial fact-checking report.
  • "There are people out there without health care, and we need to address that, but it's not as big of a problem as some people would make it out to be" — Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) in a Lewiston, ID debate
  • "People the world over have always been more impressed by the power of our example than by the example of our power." — President Bill Clinton in a speech at the 2008 DNC
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  • "The America that we know, that the founding fathers envisioned, will cease to exist." — Congressman Bill Sali (R-ID-01) speaking at the state GOP convention about the possibility of a Democratically controlled White House and Congress.
  • "Sometimes the problems have to get larger before you can solve them. We can still drive around the potholes, so they must not be big enough." — House Speaker Lawerence Denney (R-Midvale), explaining that lawmakers still need to be convinced about the extent of road maintenance problems before they'll agree to tax or fee increases.
  • "Those people that believe in shooting animals through the fences . . . ought to turn the rifle the other way." — Former Governor Cecil Andrus, at sportsmen's rally, decked out in full camouflage, urging opposition to "shooter bull" operations on domestic elk farms.
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  • "Idaho is ranked last in the nation in protecting the safety of children in day care centers." — Sen. Kate Kelly (D-Boise), in support of an unsuccessful move by Senate Democrats to force a daycare standards bill out of committee.
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Quotes For 2007

  • "Divorce is just terrible. It's one of Satan's best tools to kill America." — Rep. Dick Harwood (R-St. Maries) describing the work of the Idaho Legislature's Family Task Force.
  • "I am not gay; I never have been gay." Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) in a statement responding to news of his arrest and subsequent guilty plea to disorderly conduct after an incident in an airport men's room.
  • “Most of the hospitals in this country have Christian names. If you think Hindu prayer is great, where are the Hindu hospitals in this country? Go down the list. Where are the atheist hospitals in this country? They’re not equal.” — Rep. Bill Sali (R-ID-01) to the Idaho Press-Tribune editorial board in response to criticism of his views regarding Hindu prayer in the Senate.
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  • "While we are Democrats and Republicans, in our hearts we are all Idahoans." — Sen. Clint Stennett (D-Ketchum), reaching out to Republicans while outlining the Democratic agenda for the 2007 legislative session.
  • "One of the hardest things we've had to do here is taking off our party hats." — Rep. Marv Hagedorn (R-Meridian) on a proposal to restrict Idaho's primary elections.
  • "This is outrageous. The people of Idaho are entitled to have their representatives base their votes on the merits of a bill, not on who backed the loser in a speaker's contest." — Former GOP Gov. Phil Batt responding to accusations of political retribution taken by House Speaker Denney (R-Midvale) on other members.
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  • "To get a kick out of smoking industrial hemp, it would take a cigar the size of a telephone pole." — Rep. Tom Trail (R-Moscow), downplaying the relation between hemp and its cousin marijuana
  • "I guess I would just make a plea saying we need the money. You know we need the money on roads." — Rep. JoAn Wood (R-Rigby), on proposed bill to collect gas tax from sales on Indian reservations.
  • "No one wants to carry the canoe bill." — Rep. Eric Anderson (R-Priest River), agreeing with Gov. Otter that non-motorized boats should also pay registration fees, but noting any such proposal will be a tough sell.
  • "I don't think we should let the threat of a lawsuit force us to implement something that's not well thought out." — Abbie Mace, Fremont County Clerk, testifying against a "modified-closed primary" bill being pushed by GOP leaders.
  • "There's a lot of things that I pointed out in my State of the State (address) that haven't passed. Unfortunately, I can't think of one that has." — Gov. Butch Otter, addressing reporters on the legislative session so far.
  • "I say let's have a hearing and take our clothes off and go after it." — Rep. Jim Clark, R-Hayden Lake, trying to get lawmakers to print his bill.
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