The absorption of nitrogen and oxygen by the cellulose results in nitrocellulose. Modern smokeless gunpowder is manufactured by combining cellulose with nitric and sulfuric acid in a controlled environment with optimized temperature, pressure, and concentration level. However, the fundamental aspects of gunpowder, the manufacturing process, and the design of gunpowder do warrant discussion. Gunpowder has a long history, but for the purpose of this book, the focus will be on modern smokeless gunpowder. Gunpowders may be designed to be fast burning, slow burning, or controlled burning based on the chemical composition, shape, and coating. There are a variety of gunpowder types that differ depending upon the intended purpose of the firearm and the ammunition. Gunpowder is the propellant used to drive projectiles down the barrel of a firearm. In those cases where the investigator suspects someone else may have been involved, the analysis of samples from other individuals present at the scene may prove helpful.Ĭhris Monturo, in Forensic Firearm Examination, 2019 Gunpowder In a suspected suicide by gunshot, the presence of residue on the victim’s hands has little probative value. The presence of gunshot residue on the hands of an individual indicates that the person recently discharged a firearm, handled a firearm or an object with gunshot residue on its surface, or was in close proximity to a firearm when it was discharged. This is because nearly all ammunition, regardless of type of manufacture, contains the same basic materials. Particles from the primer and gunpowder are most forensically significant.Ĭurrent technology does not allow gunshot residue to be linked with a particular firearm or ammunition. The residue can include particles from the primer, the gunpowder, the projectile, and the cartridge case. Gunshot residue is material deposited on any part of the body, most particularly the hands, face, and clothing of the shooter, as a result of the discharge of a firearm. Fay, David Patterson, in Contemporary Security Management (Fourth Edition), 2018 Gunshot Residue Examinations The desperation that informs calls to make these gruesome photos public is understandable, but there would be horrible unintended consequences.John J. They’d be be used and manipulated, including by the same people who have spent years harassing the Sandy Hook parents with claims that the mass shooting was a false flag operation or that their children didn’t actually die. But do we really want to ask them to make such a momentous decision at a moment of unimaginable emotional distress? These pictures would live on the internet forever. Looking at pictures of dead children isn’t going to help.Īs for the families of the victims, it’s hard to imagine any parent giving permission to release such photos. But they need to take care of themselves, too. They should cajole, demand and get angry at their leaders for doing nothing. Americans can and should advocate for stronger gun control measures. It’s not healthy, and allowing people to see pictures of slain children will only compound the hurt. It affects how parents look at their own children. When we’re talking about something as truly ghastly as the shooting of schoolchildren, the emotional wounds run deep. They’d be be used and manipulated, including by the same people who have spent years harassing the Sandy Hook parents. These pictures would live on the internet forever. What about the other side: the overwhelming majority of Americans who support more restrictive gun control measures? How would seeing pictures of dead children make us more adamant in our views? Their more likely response would be to accuse their opponents of grotesquely using dead children to make a political argument. It’s hard to imagine they would even willingly look at the pictures. If politicians are so cynical and morally bereft that they are willing to accept the needless deaths of schoolchildren because it’s in their political interest, do we really expect them to sober up when shown a picture of a murdered child? They’ve already compartmentalized their complicity.
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To consider the central role of firearms in gun violence would, in effect, give up the game. It’s why Republican politicians try to make gun violence about everything other than guns and hold dear to the child-like notion that the only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun.