The New York Times Lies – Again: In his New York Times column "Obama's
Gun Play," Charles M. Blow lays out a familiar but inaccurate talking
point: we need increased gun control laws because the United States is
the murder capital of the planet. Mr. Blow writes: "[T]he U.S. is in
a league of its own, and not in a good way. We have nearly 9 guns for
every 10 people, and about 9 out of every 10 of our homicides are
committed with one of those guns. No other country even comes close."
A column is accompanied by a large graphic which illustrates American
gun violence as an enormous ball by itself way up at the top, while a
dozen other tiny spheres representing OECD countries are clustered at
the bottom. New York Times readers, however, ought to hesitate before
scurrying to speed-dial their Congress reptiles and demand an end to
this preventable epidemic of gun ownership. To begin with, that
repeated phrase "9 out of 10" has a euphonious ring, but Blow's data
is simply inaccurate. I was unable to find any U.S. homicide
statistics in the source cited, the United Nations Small Arms Survey,
which for the most part discusses the proliferation of guns in places
like Timor and Yemen. According to the Department of Justice, the
percentage of homicides for guns in the U.S since 1977 has risen
slightly from 62% to 68% -- less than seven out of ten, not nine out
of ten…
http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/01/cooking_the_gun_homicide_numbe.html
The Column: President Obama is under renewed pressure from his base to
demonstrate that he is, indeed, a principled man of unwavering
conviction rather than a pliant political reed willingly bent and
bowed by ever-shifting winds. This time the issue is gun control.
Pre-presidency, Obama had been a strong supporter of gun-control
initiatives. Since then, however, he has remained curiously quiet on
the issue in general and following the Tucson shooting in particular.
The question now is: which Obama will show up at the State of the
Union? … (The Brady Bunch recently e-mailed its supporters, begging
them to urge Big Brother to pressure Congress to pass the McCarthy
bill to limit magazine capacity.)
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/22/opinion/22blow.html?_r=2&ref=opinion
--
Then There's Bloomberg…: [NYC] Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg on Monday
used a parade of relatives and friends of victims of several
high-profile shootings, including the recent killings in Tucson, to
urge Washington to strengthen existing federal gun control laws to
prevent guns from falling into the hands of buyers with a history of
violence or mental illness. Mr. Bloomberg, who has sought to make
stricter gun control a national issue, said a law passed in 1968 after
the assassination of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. intended to
prevent certain people from having guns has never lived up to its full
potential. The law was supposed to apply to convicted felons, drug
abusers and the mentally ill, among others. The Brady Bill, which was
adopted in 1993, was intended to enforce the earlier law by creating a
national background check system. But the system, Mr. Bloomberg and
others who joined him said at a news conference at City Hall, is
flawed because it does not have records on millions of people who
should be disqualified from buying or possessing guns. Ten states have
not submitted any mental health records to the background check
system, and 18 states have provided fewer than 100 mental health
records, according to Mayors Against Illegal Guns, a group that Mr.
Bloomberg helped found…
http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/25/nyregion/25bloomberg.html?ref=nyregion
--
Curious Timing: A gunman opened fire inside a Detroit police precinct
Sunday, wounding four officers including a commander before police
shot and killed him, authorities said. Police Chief Ralph Godbee said
along with the commander, two sergeants and an officer were wounded,
but none appeared to have life threatening injuries. Sgt. Todd Eby
told the Detroit Free Press newspaper that he was sitting at his desk
at the precinct when the gunman walked in around 4:20 p.m. local time
with a pistol grip shotgun and opened fire. He said officers shot back
at the gunman, killing him… (In light of an anticipated administrative
ruling by F Troop listing several shotguns, including the 28-gauge
Taurus Judge, as destructive devices, this may go down as one more of
those mysterious cases of a nut crawling out of the woodwork at a very
convenient time. Longer-term list members may recall cautions that F
Troop, at different times, has issued administrative rulings that
could be interpreted jointly so that any shotgun with a bore larger
than 0.5 inches and without a buttstock could be considered a
destructive device, subject to NFA registration. The speculation has
included claims that this ruling is being timed to divert attention
from Project Gunwalker.)
Speaking of Timing…: Nothing spurs talk of gun-control legislation
quite like a highly publicized crime committed with the aid of a
handgun. Such was the case 100 years ago this month, when a brazen
murder committed near Gramercy Park led to the enactment a few months
later of New York State's landmark Sullivan Law, which required
police-issued licenses for those wishing to possess concealable
firearms and made carrying an unlicensed concealed weapon a felony
(pdf). The Sullivan Law, still on the books as section 400.00 of the
New York Penal Law, became a model for gun-control legislation enacted
throughout the country. On Jan. 23, 1911, a novelist, David Graham
Phillips, was shot by Fitzhugh Coyle Goldsborough in a brazen early
afternoon attack on East 21st Street (or, as it is known today,
Gramercy Park North). After firing six shots, Goldsborough put the gun
to his temple, killing himself. Phillips survived until the next
evening… (While Sullivan may have used this shooting to push his bill
over the line, I have always been under the impression that the true
motive for the bill was to keep NYC's non-English-speaking immigrants
from arming themselves against strong-arm extortion by Sullivan's
buddies in the established Irish gangs.)
Speaking of Project Gunwalker…: One of the concerns my colleagues and
I have been mindful of in the unfolding "Project Gunwalker" story is
the concern that attempts will be made to discredit ATF insider
sources speaking to Senate staffers. I received an email yesterday
from an attorney with notable Second Amendment credentials who offered
some advice, including being able to produce hard, targeted data to
compel both politicians and the media to do their jobs. He also made
this key observation: "Agencies are experienced in dealing with agents
and others who criticize them, and legislators know that. A few leaks
to the Washington Post about how this guy was unreliable, from sources
who declined to be named, make sure there are derogatory memos about
him in his file that can be leaked, that sort of thing." Ad hominem
ploys are to be expected. Readers following this story will recall its
genesis in posts on CleanUpATF.org, a website where street agents have
been leveling allegations of bureau incompetence and corruption, and
we should assume serious conflicts first manifested themselves on the
job, and then assume management has made note of them. I would also
expect those of us advancing this story to be dismissed if our part in
doing so is even acknowledged…
What Have I Been Telling You?: U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) today
announced that next week she will introduce the Common-Sense Concealed
Firearms Act of 2011, which would require all states that allow
residents to carry concealed weapons in public to have minimum
standards for granting permits. Senator Boxer said, "The tragic events
in Tucson earlier this month are a reminder of why we need
common-sense gun laws. This measure will establish reasonable
permitting standards for Americans who wish to carry concealed
firearms. According to a recent poll, more than 60 percent of
respondents believe there should be a reasonable permitting process
for those who wish to carry concealed firearms." Senator Boxer's
legislation would require all states that allow residents to carry
concealed weapons to establish permitting processes that would include
meaningful consultation with local law enforcement authorities to
determine whether the permit applicant is worthy of the public trust
and has shown good cause to carry a concealed firearm… (This is
precisely why I have not supported federal legislation to mandate
nationwide recognition of carry permits. Once in place, it can be
easily amended to impose federal standards for issuance. A
free-standing bill to do the same will be much harder to pass.)
http://yubanet.com/usa/Boxer-to-Introduce-Common-Sense-Concealed-Firearms-Act-of-2011.php
--
Maryland May Go Reciprocal with Bordering States: …Delegate Mike
Smigiel's carry permit reciprocity bill will be heard by the House
Judiciary Committee in Room 101 of the House Office Building. If
passed, this bill will cause Maryland to recognize concealed carry
permits issued by Virginia and Pennsylvania. This is the first step
toward having full reciprocity which will make Maryland concealed
carry permits valid in these states. Click here to read or download
HB9 (Note: West Virginia was omitted by Legislative Services and will
be added to the scope of the bill by way of amendment when Delegate
Smigiel introduces his bill before the Committee.) Your support is
needed to advance this bill. Last session, this same legislation
failed in a 10-10 tie vote. Please focus your efforts on the following
members of the committee (remember to keep your communications polite
and respectful)…
New York Likely to Ban More Guns: That rifle you use for hunting maybe
labeled an assault rifle if a New York bill is passed. Assembly Bill
1479, introduced by Democrat Linda Rosenthal, changes the state's
definition of "assault weapon." The new definition would classify
firearms commonly used for hunting, such as semi-automatic shotguns
that have a thumbhole stock or a pistol grip, as assault weapons.
Currently, possession of assault weapons in the state is generally
prohibited. Even more dangerous to sportsmen and gun owners, the bill
gives the Superintendent of State Police the authority to regulate and
classify additional firearms as "assault weapons" simply by finding
that a firearm feature or modification is "particularly suitable for
military and not sporting purposes." The Superintendent also can
designate specific firearms by make and model to be considered assault
weapons. Ultimately, the bill gives the Superintendent vast powers to
determine which firearms citizens can and cannot own… (The first
thumbhole stocks I every saw, back in the late 60's, were intended for
scoped, bolt-action hunting rifles.)
And Your Point Is?: …But as with much of the Wild West, myth has
replaced history. The 1881 shootout took place in a narrow alley, not
at the corral. Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday weren't seen as heroic
until later; they were initially charged with murder. And one fact is
usually ignored: Back then, Tombstone had far stricter gun control
than it does today. In fact, the American West's most infamous gun
battle erupted when the marshal tried to enforce a local ordinance
that barred carrying firearms in public. A judge had fined one of the
victims $25 earlier that day for packing a pistol… Arizona's love of
guns is rooted in its rugged rural history and enshrined in the
state's constitution, drafted in 1910. "The right of the individual
citizen to bear arms in defense of himself or the state shall not be
impaired," it reads. The state celebrates its independent spirit and a
culture of individual rights and distrust of government. Given its
lurid past, Tombstone may not be a typical community. But it provides
vivid evidence of what state law allows in practice… (In fact,
Tombstone continued to ban the carry of firearms for several decades,
in clear violation if the state constitution, until someone finally
sued. And speaking of myth versus history, even the most cantankerous
Western towns were safer than many large cities today.)
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-tombstone-20110123,0,7161951.story
--
Rule Four Reminder: Sheriff's deputies found themselves dealing with a
man whose curiosity got the best of him after watching the television
show MythBusters. According to Wayne County [OH] officials, the man
shot his neighbor's home on Ruble Drive three times while testing the
ballistic stopping power of telephone books. He is accused of setting
phone books on his fireplace mantle and firing at them with a 9mm
pistol. Only one round hit the phone book. All three rounds penetrated
the wall and continued into the neighbor's home. The suspect in this
case faces felony charges of discharging a firearm into an inhabited
dwelling. (Rule Four: Always be sure of your target and what's beyond
it.)
http://www.fox8.com/news/wjw-man-shoots-neighbors-home-mythbusters-txt,0,6326531.story
