Word: Man down!
Word
State Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine got some unwanted media attention last week when it was revealed that his 13-year-old son had shot a man in the leg during a hunting excursion the previous weekend. The Oxendine boys were on a private quail plantation at the invitation of the same Alabama insurance mogul whose companies funneled $120,000 in improper contributions to Oxendine’s campaign for governor. Oxendine returned the money after it was reported in the media and the case is under investigation. Oxendine has admitted that his sons have not had gun safety training.
“Hunting in North Georgia with my boys today and tomorrow. Hoping the weather improves, but a great time of being together.”
— An Oxendine Tweet at 6:04 p.m., Sunday, Jan. 17, less than two hours after his son shot a man in the leg
“This was not a Dick Cheney situation.”
— David Crim, spokesman for “Team Ox,” explaining to the AJC on Jan. 19 that Oxendine wasn’t the shooter
“I still believe in hunting and I still believe in guns.”
— Oxendine, as quoted in the AJC on Jan. 20, after a state report indicated his son was the triggerboy
“Accidents happen. Just because you have a car accident doesn’t mean you don’t drive anymore.”
— Oxendine, as quoted by the AP on Jan. 21