Drunk Man Upset with his Lawn Boy Mower: Shoots it, and now faces Long Prison Term

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LanceOregon

Moderator
A heavily intoxicated man in Milwaukee shot his Lawn Boy mower after it failed to start for him. However, he used an illegal sawed off shotgun to kill his mower.

Neighbors were alarmed by the gunfire, and called police. Now the man is facing Federal gun charges for possessing a sawed off shotgun, and is looking at serving several years in prison. The man feels that he did nothing wrong, and it was his right to shoot his own lawn mower on his own property.

Here is his booking photo:

art.mower.ap.jpg



Is this not yet more evidence that the consumption of alcohol needs to be banned in our country???

Here is a news story about this incident:

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/07/25/mower.madness.ap/index.html

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Is this not yet more evidence that the consumption of alcohol needs to be banned in our country???
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It was tried once before, it was a dismal failure. Trying to legislate morality always is.
 
Is this not yet more evidence that the consumption of alcohol needs to be banned in our country???
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I dont know about you, but I think whatever some one decides to put inside of their on body is their business.
 
Is this not yet more evidence that the consumption of alcohol needs to be banned in our country???
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It was tried once before, it was a dismal failure. Trying to legislate morality always is.
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That guy is kind of moron for doing that. But i agree with nate45. You can not legislate morality, compassion, or behavior. Not only is it wrong, it never works.
 
Is this not yet more evidence that the consumption of alcohol needs to be banned in our country???
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From the anti-perspective, Lance, it is just more evidence that guns need to be banned.

From the lawnmower perspective, evidence that people need to be banned.

From the grass' perspective, it was a good day.
 
Double>> Now THAT was good! :D

I'm not sure which was more dangerous---operating a shotgun while wasted, or trying to operate a lawnmower while wasted. Neither one seems like a healthy choice.
 
The OP asked:
Is this not yet more evidence that the consumption of alcohol needs to be banned in our country???
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This is taken to be a rhetorical question, to show that anti's can spin incidents such as this to advance their agendas. Anti-gun, anti-alcohol, anti-tecumseh lawnmower engines? :eek:

This man should be prosecuted for negligent discharge while drunk, whatever misdemeanor that translates into. Judges routinely order sobriety classes for such offenses.

The federal felony for the short shotgun exemplifies the terrible waste of judicial resources, that has become BATFU's stock and trade in recent years. From a legal/political standpoint, this aspect of the story far outweighs the other tabloid journalism elements that have garnered comment so far, IMO.

Federal felonies for things like sbrs, suppressors (which should be promoted, not restricted, from a health standpoint); are inherently wrong. Filling up prisons with folks who commit these infractions is at best a waste of tax dollars. Forever branding them as felons serves no useful purpose, and is a good example of vindictiveness on the part of federal law enforcement; arbitrary and capricious.

For the record, we should condemn this abuse.
 
A Tecumseh engine on a Lawn Boy? Before Toro took it over and introduced some Briggs engines on them, all Lawn Boys had engines of their own manufacture. The 2-cycle was a pain if you were way off on your mixture ratios but otherwise it was a great motor.

I've seen it suggested on other sites that the mower was simply out of gas.

To me, the larger issue is someone chemically impaired immediately resorting to a firearm to exact revenge for some perceived slight or insult. The man gives "stupid" a bad name, no question about that. More disturbing, by association he also give firearms owners a bad name and gives the "antis" more anectodal evidence to support their benighted views.

On the other hand, I'm sure we've all been tempted to "blow away" some piece of machinery or other inanimate object that has given offense to our senses of dignity and good order. When such happens, I hope we have sense enough to take it to a safe place for delivering the coup de grace. He didn't, the neighbors took exception and now the consequences must be faced. In the meantime, the rest us have a portrait to paste next to the word "stupid" in our dictionaries.
 
Drunk with a sawed off shotgun....Not Good!

There is no mention of local charges this guy may face, such as discharge within city limits, drunk in public, drunk with a gun, etc.

What they are focusing on (and what he faces years in jail for) is posession of the sawed off shotgun. He would face the same Federal charges if he had been caught sober and hadn't shot his lawnmower.

The Feds really don't like people to have sawed off shotguns (without licenses). Remember it was a "sawed off" shotgun that was the basis for the Feds case against Randy Weaver, and look what came out of their handling that at Ruby Ridge.

And remember that there is an overall length requirement as well as a barrel length rule. You can have a gun with legal length barrels and still have an illegal "sawed off" shotgun if the stock is even 1/4" too short!
 
There is no mention of local charges this guy may face, such as discharge within city limits, drunk in public, drunk with a gun, etc.
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Actually, he was also charged with disorderly conduct. If he had only used a legal shotgun, he would not be in any serious trouble. For that is only a misdemeanor, and he would have even been able to keep his gun collection.

Apparently it is not unheard of for people to go ballistic towards their lawn mower.

See these videos:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5R4V0T_2aZI

http://youtube.com/watch?v=TX3EmYbLmpk

http://youtube.com/watch?v=5sq7yL2Ey8I

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Apparently it is not unheard of for people to go ballistic towards their lawn mower.
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Okay, unlike the original story, there is no indication that the shooters in the videos were upset with the mowers and there is no indication that the mowers were actually owned by the shooters.

Otherwise, people will shoot just about anything. This thread could have been about mowers, cars, Barbie dolls, coins, toilets, etc. People shoot just about anything and everything.
 
Even if we never again attempt to ban alcohol, you have your own choice to make, just like your choice to vote or to carry a gun. Every single alcohol user out there could end up just like this guy or worse.
 
I've had lawnmowers like that.

I figured out to use premium gasoline every spring and it helps quite a bit, then I switch back to regular when that first can of gas runs out. But even so, this year... Let's just say it's a good thing for that mower that I don't have an illegal sawed-off shotgun. :cool:
 
Is this not yet more evidence that the consumption of alcohol needs to be banned in our country???

Why do you think NFA34 was able to be passed? Directly attributable to the crime wave directly linked to prohibition.
 
The problem here is communication. The shooter obviously did not respect the lawnmower's beliefs and values. That's why we see so many instances of lawnmowers eating the hands and feet off of people not much smarter, if at all, than the shooter here. They are trapped in a situation with no other alternative than turning to violence to make themselves heard. Or, not starting.

Kum-ba-ya, lawnmower. Kum-ba-ya.
 
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