OK, I’m going to admit right up front that I didn’t have to do a lot after finding this one.
Tawana Bourne, 30-year-old mother of two, pulled a .38 semiautomatic pistol on another mother at a Chuck E. Cheese in Newington, Conn.
Why? Because Bourne’s 2-year-old son had pushed the daughter of the other mother off of a ride.
Now, this isn’t going to turn into a rant about gun control – I’m sure Bourne had perfect control while leveling the pistol at the other mother – but there are some issues with Bourne’s character that I think a licensing board should have considered before granting her a weapons permit.
The Hartford Courant, in interviewing most of those present at the altercation, including Bourne, reported that, before the incident, Bourne had “rediscovered God, conquered a crack cocaine addiction and pursued her dream of working with children.”
Wait. That isn’t all.
The Courant also states that Bourne is the founder of a local non-profit organization, Healthy Home Healthy Child, Inc., which “works with parents on crisis prevention and intervention.”
(I don’t know about you all, but something about all of this isn’t meshing right in my mind.)
When police arrived on the scene, both Bourne’s handgun and permit were taken from her, and now it remains the task of a Connecticut judge to decide whether or not they will be returned to her.
Since the county in which Connecticut’s capital lies has the second-highest crime rate in the state, I’m surprised that the judges around Hartford have the time to rule on such a petty matter. After all, no one got hurt. Right?
And if anyone is worried about the children possibly being traumatized by the dispute, Bourne can use her talents as a peacemaker to soothe the kids’ subconscious at her Healthy Home Healthy Child center. ­­

Printed in the February 14, 2013 edition