From the Fire Department Perspective

Over at Fire Daily there is a post about order in the fire station. I generally don't read fire blogs since I'm not a fire fighter. However, this one had the title of "Those Who Are Tardy Do Not Get Fruit Cup", which is a reference to the very funny Mel Brooks movie "High Anxiety". I'm a sucker for Mel Brooks movies, so I popped in to take a look.

The post had to do with laying down the rules for people working temporarily in a particular fire station. Someone that is not a part of the usual crew can throw sand in the lubricant, so to speak. It's not much different in EMS which often has, uh, let's say unique individuals.

It's pretty straight forward in the fire service. Every piece of apparatus has an officer, usually that includes ambulances too. Every station has a Captain that is in charge of the Administrivia that makes bureaucracies run. In EMS, it's not so clear cut. In fact it's more like this;

King Arthur: Then who is your lord?
Woman: We don't have a lord.
Dennis: I told you, we're an anarco-sydicalist commune. We take it in turns to be a sort of executive officer for the week...
King Arthur: Yes...
Dennis: ...but all the decisions of that officer have to be ratified at a special bi-weekly meeting...
King Arthur: Yes I see...
Dennis: ...by a simple majority in the case of purely internal affairs...
King Arthur: Be quiet!
Dennis: ...but by a two thirds majority in the case of...
King Arthur: Be quiet! I order you to be quiet!
Woman: Order, eh? Who does he think he is?

Or as the saying goes, like herding cats.

Often it is by consensus that things, especially internal things like who cleans the bathroom, get done. Other times, one of the senior people will suggest something. Usually that's enough because truth be known we don't want the bosses to have to step in and help. As one of our bosses, who's a good manager and a friend, has been known to say, "If you can't settle it among yourselves and I have to deal with it, I can guarantee that at least half of you won't like the result."

There was a time when it wasn't unusual for fisticuffs to be involved in settling those disputes. Always off duty, of course. Fortunately, because we have a good number of long term employees, we've mostly matured and disputes get settled in an adult like manner. Which is the way it should be.

Just another difference between the fire service and non fire service EMS systems. And another reason that EMS is often difficult for fire service managers to understand.

Let alone command.

Pelosicare

No matter how much the Democrats and the Lame Stream Media try to put a shine on this turd of an idea, it's still a turd. Over 50% of the American public thinks that this is a bad idea. All versions of the legislation proposed to date, and Pelosicare is only the latest iteration, will add expense, cut benefits, add bureaucracy, and destroy innovation in treatments and medications. Like every other government run bureaucracy it's about money, jobs, and control. There is no intent to improve health care. This bill will make health care for you and I more difficult to get and result in lower quality of care. Proof of that is that Members of Congress and their staffs are exempt from it. There are also exemptions for members of certain unions.

The vote that Speaker of the House Pelosi is trying to ram through this weekend is crucial, but is not the end of the process. This bill has to be reconciled with the Senate version in a joint committee. Then it has to go back to both houses for passage. There are plenty of "Blue Dog" Democrats who know that voting yes on this bill will likely spell the end of their political careers. They, along with almost all House Republicans are fighting to kill this bill. No matter where you live, send an email or call you Congressman to let them know how you feel about this bill.

It's a bad bill that, if passed, will be a bad and very expensive law.

Here is a chart put together by the Republicans in the House to show how complex this bill is. You'll notice how prominent a role the Internal Revenue Service has in enforcing this bill. And people thought my saying was a joke.

It's not, it's serious business.

How Many Times Have You Read This?

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the case.

Recently I've seen it a lot, it seems. While I don't like unnecessary secrecy and firmly believe in the First Amendment (how could I not, considering this blog?) there are some times when people, especially public officials, should not, and legally can not, speak about ongoing operations and investigations.

If you are not supposed to talk about something, don't. You knew the rules when you signed on. If you absolutely can't STFU, then quit your job. You are being entrusted with information that is confidential. Mostly I'd bet that there are good reasons for that. I didn't much like it when people blabbed when George W. Bush was running the show and I don't much like it when Barrack H. Obama is running the show.

Despite what you might think, you are not striking a blow for freedom, speaking truth to power, or defending the American way of life. What you are in fact doing is helping the Lame Stream Media sell soap. Or breakfast cereal. Or cars for that matter.

Next time you have information you aren't authorized to discuss, don't discuss it.

Just thought I'd mention it.

Thoughts And Prayers

For all the people who were wounded or killed at Fort Hood.

I'll reserve comment on any other aspects on the attack until the facts become more clear.

Update: Stormbringer has some related and relevant thoughts. He's former military, which I'm not, but he speaks for me.

Alphabet Soup

ACLS, ACLS-EP, PALS, BTLS, PHTLS, AMLS, NALS, EPC, ABLS, NRP, PEPP. How many of you have heard of some or all of these courses? Everyone one of them is available to paramedics, and most of them are available to EMTs as well. Many people refer to them as "merit badge" courses, since so many people collect the "successful completion" cards for these classes in the same manner other people collect stamps or Quarters for all fifty states. With about the same relevance to work for that matter.

All of these classes share one common trait. They are meant to fill "holes" in BLS and ALS education. Why, you may ask, do these holes exist?

Is it because the subject matter is so intense and intricate that it's beyond what a new EMT or paramedic student should know?

No.

Is it because they are updated more frequently than the EMT and paramedic programs?

Partially, although I contend that a well constructed refresher should to that.

Is it because both ALS and BLS training programs are too short and cover only the bare minimum of what EMS education should? Is it because compared to other English speaking nations our EMS education is too short and inadequate?

DING, DING, DING! No more phone calls, please, we have a winner.

There is a lot of discussion in the various EMS forums about "professionalizing" EMS. Some people think that trade unions are the answer, others champion degrees along the lines of what nursing has done. While both have merit, I think the real road to professional respect is to revamp the educational foundation of the field.

This would certainly raise the bar and that would certainly provoke a back lash from some.

Remember, the volunteer community insisted upon and got no real increase in the length of the basic EMT course. The 1994 revision took all of the theoretical underpinnings (aka medical knowledge) out of the basic EMT program. Many paramedic programs didn't and still don't have a lot of theory in them. They concentrate on skills and protocols, not understanding.

Lengthening both ALS and BLS classes (especially BLS) is not going to be popular in many quarters. Volunteer services have a hard enough time recruiting and retaining people now. Make it more difficult and their task will be much harder. Fire departments have a hard enough time getting new people to take EMT, let alone paramedic training. Not to mention the expense. Non fire employers, both private and public, won't like the idea because it means that they will not have an inexpensive pool of "trained" and "certified" people to pick from.

I'd guess some, if not many, instructors won't like it because longer classes are going to mean more work and expense. Not to mention income out of some people's pockets. That's the money they make offering and teaching add on courses.

The NAEMT, AHA, and other organizations that offer, and make a lot of money from, these courses also aren't likely to think much of my idea either.

Still, if there is ever any hope for this thing some of us have taken to calling EMS 2.0 to work, we have to start over from scratch.

EMT courses have to include basic Anatomy and Physiology, trauma care, better burn care education, more detailed medical care education, more pediatrics, and more educatoin and training on elderly and infant specific illnesses and treatments.

Let me be a bit more specific. These changes are not only not likely to be too popular, they are not likely to be implemented. The argument will be not only cost, but the "Most EMTs don't do emergencies so they don't need this education." line of reasoning.

Which brings us to another problem. Not all EMTs do the same work, although we all tend to be lumped in to one group. Not only by the ill informed public, but by hospital staff, doctors, employers, and everyone else. Maybe it's time to look at that part of the industry too. Maybe we need more than one level of EMT Basic and more than one level of EMT Paramedic.

Something else to think about.

They Start So Young

Mrs. TOTWTYTR relates this story. One of her high school students was absent from class today, but he had a reason. Seems that he and a friend skipped school to embark on a research project. Which entailed breaking in to someone's house while they were at work.

All went well, with one hitch. The young genius and member of the Future Felons Club dropped one of his homework papers inside the house.

With his name on it.

Ironically, the house belongs to the headmaster of one of the local private schools. Where I doubt young genius will be enrolling in the foreseeable future.

He should find another line of work, this one doesn't seem to be working out so well for him.

A couple of additional thoughts. The Mrs. was surprised that they found his name on the paper. "He's always too lazy to write his name on the work I give him."

Also, she reminded me of a case from about ten years ago when she worked in a different school system.

One of her students (an A student no less) and her nephew murdered their Grandparents because they had told the girl that she couldn't see her boyfriend any longer. They had it all planned out in advance, including the arson fire to cover up the crime. One problem. The girl had written out a step by step plan on how to commit the crime and get away with it. The last item on the note? "Burn this note." Which apparently the nephew forgot to do. The police found the note in his backpack or something. Ooops.

Folks, I can't make this stuff up. If Mrs. TOTWTYTR had a blog, you'd never read this one.

EMS 2.0, Again

Or "Ten Tools that Basic EMTs Need".



10. CPAP. No reason that BLS crews shouldn't be able to provide this treatment for CHF patients. Not as a replacement for sending ALS (which should have pumps to give IV Nitroglycerin), but as a way to get the treatment started earlier.

9. Epi Pens. Rarely used, or should be, but a life saver.

8. Narcan. In areas where Heroin is heavily used, this is a life saver.

7. Aspirin. Every ambulance should have it and every EMT should know when to give it. It's the most important early medication for cardiac patients.

6. Glucometer. The best way to tell if that patient is having a hypoglycemic event or a stroke. Not the only way, but probably the best. Stroke patients need rapid, SAFE, transport to a facility that can provided them with a CT scan and definitive treatment.

5. Albuterol nebulizers. Combivent is better yet. Most Asthma patients respond well to the medications. The ones that don't probably need ALS

4. A better airway than the OPA or NPA. Personally, I wonder if BLS crews couldn't be trained to use the Laryngeal Mask Airway. Preferably the intubating kind, so when the paramedics arrive they can intubate without removing it. Oh, and better airway and BVM skills to go with that. It's all part of that airway continuum that AD talks about.

3. Automatic External Defibrillators. Really there is no reason in the world that every BLS ambulance shouldn't have one. Speaking of which, have you asked your primary care physician if he has one in his office? I plan to next time I see him. My dentist has one in his office, my doctor should too.

2. Mad CPR skills. Most medics, most doctors, most nurses, most EMTs suck at it. Really, most of the time we do it wrong because we don't pay enough attention to it. It's that whole forest for the trees thing.

1. Better assessment skills. Which is a function of education. No matter what your provider level, you can't do squat if you don't know what to treat. That comes from knowing how to examine and interview your patients. If I could pick one area where I was allowed to change the how we educate EMTs, this would be it. Not that stupid, by rote, head to to exam we teach them. Not those stupid mnemonics that we teach them. Real, live assessment skills. Once we teach them that, we can give them the other nine tools and be confident that they will be able to provide good patient care. Without assessment skills, none of the other things matter.

Interesting Goings On

Virginia Gubernatorial Race, Republican way ahead of the Democrat in a state that went big for Obama in 2008.

New Jersey, Democrat Corzine spending millions to defeat the Republican Christie, but is in a statistical tie. The independent candidate is getting enough votes (in the poll) to throw the election either way since he's taking votes from both traditional candidates.

In a relatively obscure upstate New York race for US Congress, the Conservative Party candidate is tied with the Democrat candidate. The Conservative Party candidate took enough votes from the Republican that she withdrew from the race. And promptly endorsed the Democrat, thus embarrassing people like Newt Gingrich who had endorsed her. Oh, and Sarah Palin endorsed the Conservative. So much for HER being done in politics.

If the non Democrat wins in all three of these elections, the voters will be sending a message to the White House and the Capitol building. "Can You Hear Us Now?", they'll be saying. The message will be heard not only by the President and the Speaker of the House, but moderate to conservative Democrats, the "Blue Dogs" will be getting a message as well.

2010 is going to be a fun election year.

Why We Need To Change EMS

The following is an email I received from a friend. In it he describes his encounter with the EMS/Fire service in his community. At his request I am redacting his name, location, and the name of the service. Other than that I will make no changes or comments to his email. For background, my friend is a lawyer and paramedic educator with several years of experience in both fields. He's represented both plaintiffs and defendants in medical malpractice cases. We don't always agree on the best direction for EMS, but I never dismiss his opinion lightly.

The story you are about to read is true, only the names have been changed to protect the guilty.

This is not pretty.

Tonight I heard [My fire/ems service] dispatched to one of my neighbor's houses a block away on my street for a "fall." So, knowing who lives there, I went over to see what was going on.

Found my neighbor, an elderly (which means older than me) lady, in her garage. Her 80 year old friend is sitting on the floor next to the car, her walker beside her.

Neighbor says they had been out to dinner, returned and pulled into the garage, and she came around with the walker, and when her friend was getting out of the car she fell and landed flat on her back on the cement and hit her head. According to my neighbor it made a loud thump.

Patient says the back of her head hurts, and lo and behold, an egg-sized hematoma on the occiput, but no bleeding. So I squat down behind her and stabilize her head while I get a Hx.

She doesn't know why she fell. She didn't trip. She says she blacked out. She "woke up on the floor" so she's definitely had a LOC. She's now 100% mental capacity and can answer all the pertinent questions though.

Complains of pain to the back of her head but no neck or back pain. No pain anywhere else. Admits to having had a Martini and a glass of wine with dinner at one of the very upscale restaurants. No evidence of intoxication.

Has a good strong carotid, adequate quiet respirations. I can feel the lump on her head with my thumbs, and it's as big as a hen's egg. I palpate her neck and there's no tenderness or deformity.

That's about all I can do while holding her head.

She denies allergies, takes atenolol, a "kidney pill" and that's it. Says she has hypertension but it's controlled. Denies any heart problems, diabetes, respiratory problems, any significant medical problems. She says she is very healthy. Denies any history of headaches, seizures, fainting, other episodes of loss of consciousness or any previous falls.

I decide that she needs to go to the hospital and get checked out to (1) determine why she passed out, if possible, and (2) whether she knocked something loose in her head or not. I'm thinking possible orthostatic hypotension as a result of her BP meds + some good booze + age, but I also want to know her BGL, what her heart's doing (did she have a run of VT and pass out?) and so forth. I am thinking that other than her age there isn't anything that demands that she be collared and boarded, and actually her age points to not doing that, plus she's got a big goose egg on the back of her head, so I decide that I'd do the Maine protocol and probably not board her. OOPS. [My fire/ems service] doesn't have the Maine protocols.

By this time [My fire/ems service] is pulling up. They sent an engine with 4, an ambulance with 2, and a rescue with 2. I identify myself, and the Person In Charge says, "Thanks. We'll take over now" and gives me a hand getting up. The others are milling about without any apparent purpose, but they all have serious looks on their faces. Is that a part of their training?

Nobody takes C-spine. Nobody asks any questions other than "what happened" and "do you want to go to the hospital?" Mr. In Charge says, "Now you don't have to go to the hospital, you know. It's entirely your decision. Now, we'll take you if you like. But you don't have to go." Hint, hint, hint.

Patient is not wanting to go and one of the assembled masses moves up with the clipboard. I see refusal form at the ready.

So I get to my neighbor's friend and explain that she really needs to be sure nothing's bleeding inside the head, nothing going on with the heart, and to rule out some possible causes of the syncope. She steps in and says, "Darling, I think you need to go get checked out. Mr. Smith here thinks you should go." EXTREMELY DIRTY LOOKS FROM MR. In Charge AND THE REST OF THE ASSEMBLED MASSES.

So Patient decides to go. Now, she's still sitting on the garage floor.
So Mr. In Charge and his lackey reach down and grab her under the arms and stand her up. UP TO THIS TIME, NO [My fire/ems service] PERSON HAS ACTUALLY TOUCHED THE PATIENT nor asked any pertinent history questions. There has been NO physical exam, no SAMPLE survey, nothing other than "what happened" and "do you want to go." They are flying blind. For all they know she's got a C3-4 fracture with stepdowns. For all they know she has a hip fracture. They didn't ask me for any of my findings, so they know nothing about this woman other than what they can see and the limited questions they have asked. It seems to have gone over their heads that this 80-year-old lady passed out for an unknown reason, fell from standing and hit her head on a cement floor, has a big hematoma on the back of her head, and can't remember what happened.

Now they walk her out of the garage to the stretcher. Fine. I might have done it too, but only after as complete a physical exam as I could have done with her sitting there. I would have done all the things to assure myself that there was no reason to worry about her having broken her neck or having broken anything else. I would have actually touched her! Is that radical? Am I a complete dinosaur? I don't think she needed to be collared and boarded. I do think she needs her head looked at, her heart looked at, and a really good history taken. But I would have EXAMINED HER before standing her up.

I wouldn't have even thought of not transporting her. I would have done everything possible to persuade her to be transported. They did the opposite.

I have seen clowns in EMS, but these guys and one girl deserve to be in Ringling Bros.

And we have people on the Paramedicine list saying that paramedics are able to decide who to transport and who to put in a taxi.

I know that [My fire/ems service] was getting hammered tonight. The people who responded are three stations away from this area. But that and $4.75 will buy you a cup of coffee these days. This woman could have an epidural. She might be having a "silent MI" or any of a number of other things. Why did she faint and fall? And what did the fall cause? [My fire/ems service]doesn't seem to be aware of things like that. But hey, paramedics are capable of making transport/no transport decisions?

I'd like to think that this is not typical of either EMS in general or the service that responds in his community. Which is not the same as saying I'm sure that this is not typical of either EMS in general or the service that responds in his community. Or in any community. My belief is that most EMTs and paramedics treat their patients well and with care. I think we'd see a lot more bad press if that wasn't true. Most EMTs and paramedics, whoever they work for would condemn this sort of response and the people who provided it. They no more want people like this in the profession (or trade) than the vast majority of police officers want corrupt officers on their police forces.

Education is part of the solution, but changing expectations is probably a bigger part of it. As long as hospitals, nurses, and doctors tolerate and expect mediocre care by prehospital personnel, it will continue to be provided that way. None of which will change as long as prehospital medical care is a sideline for some and a hobby for others.

Quote Of The Day

In a discussion about someone who shot his friend "by accident" after they had been drinking much of the day. One person blamed the incident on alcohol, another said it wasn't alcohol, it was stupidity. To which another person replied,

"Alcohol is a stupidity force multiplier".

That's a lot of wisdom right there folks.

EMS 2.Oh Oh

It started over at Life Under The Lights and has caught on a bit in the EMS blogosphere. Ambulance Driver commented and posted on it, as have others. It still hasn't hit the mainstream of EMS journalism, if there is such a thing. Maybe it won't.

Ambulance Driver hints at it here,

It’s a chain. Take out any of the first three links, and the best ALS care in the world is essentially meaningless. Fact is, the only meaningful response time standard is four minutes or less. If you can’t meet that standard, then the next best bet is just as reliably derived by using the Magic Eight Ball as it is by copying the ambulance ordinance from the next town over.

AD gets to the point here, although I'm not sure he realizes the implications.

Educate the EMTs better, and train and equip the paramedics as exquisitely as you want. Use a third service, tiered response system, with the vast majority of care delivered by an extensive cadre of EMTs. Keep only a few paramedics on duty at any one time, and develop an effective medical priority dispatch system (not the current one), that assures that paramedics only get sent to paramedic level responses. In one fell swoop, gone is the paramedic shortage, and gone is the EMT glut.

Not the part about medical priority dispatch, although that will help.

The problem is that we treat EMTs like crap. "A dime a dozen" is the insulting phrase I've heard many times over the years. Despite the T shirts that say "Paramedics Save Lives, EMTs Save Paramedics" no one much thinks about EMTs. The 1994 curriculum revision is largely responsible for this because it changed EMT education into EMT training. To cater, nay, kowtow to the volunteer volunteer community, or so we were told, the course length couldn't be stretched it had to be kept pretty much the same. So, optional modules were added, only few systems teach them. I talk to friends of mine who try to run quality programs, and they tell me that they have a hard time filling classes because there are plenty of competitors that run shorter and cheaper courses that meet the bare minimum requirements for EMT training. As a result we have EMTs that don't know why they are doing what they are doing. Ask a new EMT to tell you the eight types of shock and see the befuddled look on their face. Ask them to describe the different types of fractures, and listen as they tell you that they don't know what a fracture is because that's a diagnosis and EMTs can't diagnose.

So, here is what I propose if we really want to improve EMS. Improve the education of EMTs so that they have a good understanding of the theoretical underpinnings of what they do. Make the course more difficult, not less difficult. Give EMTs more tools to treat patients. How about letting EMTs use LMAs and other alternate airways? Does that scare you a bit? It should, if they are just going to have a four hour course and be given a new pile of equipment to use. I'd spend a lot more time on basic airway skills as well. Unless you are in EMS, you'd be surprised how poorly many EMTs perform those skills. Good CPR, defibrillation, and good ventilation are the keys to cardiac arrest survival.

Since so much of what we deal with is respiratory related, EMTs should be much better educated and trained in assessing and understanding respiratory problems and breath sounds. Then they will know when to give beta agonist bronchodilators and when not to. Hell, they'll know what beta agonist bronchodilators are.

...the vast majority of care delivered by an extensive cadre of EMTs.

Because the vast majority of medical problems we encounter in the field need BLS care, not ALS care.

We'll not only have better EMTS, we'll have better paramedics because they won't be spending the majority of their time treating patients who don't need them, they'll see more patients who do and be better clinicians as a result.

This idea is going to upset many in the volunteer community, the fire community, and even the ALS community. The days of volunteers compensating for a lack of ability with an overabundance of compassion need to end. The use of EMS as a job saving strategy by the fire service needs to stop. The days of paramedics crapping on EMTs as "only basics" needs to end as well.

The insurance companies as well as the federal and state programs that pay for ambulance transport need to change how they pay as well. BLS transport needs to be compensated better because EMTs need to be paid better.

Until EMS starts to pay more attention to and improve BLS education, training, and expectations, nothing will change.

Encore Performance

All of this talk about EMS 2.0 got me to thinking and I remembered a post I put up back in April. I'm going to repost it since addresses EMS in general as well as the NAEMT.

Please post any new comments here, not at the original post.

A Rant.

I don't have much else to add to it.

Regular posting with actual new posts will commence after the weekend. I'm going out of town for a few days and I might not even have a computer with me.

Wannabe Terrorist Fail

Feds: Terror suspect is Qaeda reject

The al-Qaeda reject busted by the feds yesterday is a tinhorn terrorist who lives at home with his parents in the suburbs and talked tough about attacks on shopping malls and government officials - even though he failed to make the cut at terror school and couldn’t find any guns to carry out his big plan, prosecutors said.

Made of genuine 100% pure FAIL. About the only thing he's lacking is a blog. Lives with his parents? Are you kidding me?

Can you imagine the gales of laughter while al Qaeda and the Taliban considered his "qualifications"?

"Dear Tarek;

Thank you for your interest in joining al Qaeda. After careful consideration we have determined that we don't have any positions that match your unique skill set. Please don't become discouraged, maybe the Taliban can use you as they have adopted our former strategy of suicide bombings. One bit of advice, don't go for a test run in Mommy and Daddy's basement, it would upset the neighbors. Good luck in your efforts to kill the Infidel."

Apparently the Taliban wasn't interested either,

Federal authorities allege Tarek Mehanna was rebuffed at least three times as he sought terror training in Yemen, Iraq and Pakistan - including a rejection by the notorious Taliban, which cited his “lack of experience.”

Lack of experience? What, he failed Infidel Beheading 101 at terrorist school?

But the pair were unable to get guns, and cops busted Mehanna yesterday,

How could this be, John Rosenthal assures us that terrorists have no problems getting fully automatic weapons at gun shops and gun shows across the land. If this guy couldn't even get "fohtay" illegally, he is a complete moron.

If they were all this stupid and inept, we'd have won this war against the Islamofascists long ago. Sadly, some are much smarter or at least smart enough not to let a rank amateur, and an incompetent one at that, into their ranks.

Speaking of inept and incompetent, there's this related gem in the Herald as well.

Gun laws may haved KO’d plot

That title isn't a typo. That's how it appears in the on line version of the paper. That's quality editing right there, folks.

If in fact this moron (Tarek, not O'Ryan Johnson) tried to legally by an "assault rifle" then he's even more stupid that I thought possible. Despite the BS from Rosenthal and the Brady Bunch, criminals do not buy their guns legally. Just at drug smugglers don't buy them legally. At least not in this country.

The idea that the absurdly vague and confusing gun laws in MA might have stopped this guy from buying weapons is ridiculous. Johnson appears not to know one thing about guns or gun laws.

He [Kalil]said he is not surprised the alleged terrorist had trouble buying an assault rifle since Massachusetts kept intact the Brady Bill, which barred the sale of the firearms to all but those with the most exclusive licenses.

Wrong! Anyone with a Firearms Identification Card can buy any rifle for sale in Massachusetts, even dreaded "assault weapons". Tarek's problem is more likely that he believed the hype and didn't know what he needed to do to get a FID card.

Never has any gun control law prevented any criminal anywhere from getting a gun anytime they wanted or needed one.

The level of reporting on this story is below amateur, it's childish. It wouldn't pass Journalism 101 at a community college.

No wonder fewer people read the Lame Stream Media every day.