Monday, November 27, 2006

The Guyanese Solution

The Guyanese-born head of the Brooklyn-based Caribbean Guyana Institute for Democracy is expressing concern over the seemingly relentless increase in shootings and gun violence in some Caribbean-American communities in New York City.

His comments come just days after the killing of Jamaica, New York groom, Sean Bell, 23, who was fatally gunned down by police outside a strip club in the borough of Queens early Saturday morning...

"We believe that the state legislature should review the current laws and enact harsher, mandatory sentences for illegal gun possession, use, trafficking, sale and other related convictions, as part of a new regime of legislative and social policy measures that are urgently needed to pull our communities out of this abyss of drug offences, gang violence, robberies and shootings," Burke stated recently. "We have also got to make the penalties for gun crimes, including unlawful possession and illegal sale, so harsh and arduous, that it will be a permanent deterrent to perpetrators of this type of crime. This would be an effective expression of society's intolerance of this unacceptable and deviant conduct."
So the answer to police gunning down unarmed citizens is further citizen disarmament?

Hmmm, sounds plausible!

And it pretty much mirrors what they're doing in Guyana!
Due to increased gun-related crimes caused by the inflows of illegal weapons, my Administration will:
- introduce tougher penalties for those convicted of illegal possession and use of firearms
- improve intelligence in this area
- expand the Guyana Revenue Authority’s ability to detect smuggled weapons at our sea ports and airports
- increase our military presence in the border areas for better interdiction
- increase international co-operation to combat trafficking in firearms

So how has this worked? Let's consult the State Department, and see:
Serious crime, including murder, home invasion, kidnapping, and carjacking continues to be a major problem. The murder rate in Guyana is three times higher than the murder rate in the United States.
Yep, the Guyanese Solution sounds like another welcome foreign import.

The Fifth Columnist

The membership of the National Rifle Association is 4 million and it is rare to hear a hunter or competitive shooter make strong statements against the organization.

That's because the NRA is viewed as the uncompromising, stalwart, shooters' rights defender.
I guess you don't get out much beyond your sporting clay and duck blind buddies, Lew Freedman, although I notice you limited your circle of potential critics to exclude "Second Amendment activists."

The "authorized journalists" universally portray the "gun lobby" as a monolith, and NRA as extremist. How much research does it take to uncover deep dissensions in the ranks?

Not surprisingly, the NRA is attuned to such challenges from competing gun rights groups, hinting that the Hunters & Shooters Association might be a fifth column on the side of gun-possession foes. Though it sounds far-fetched in this case, the NRA says beware of enemy "antis" in sheep's clothing.
It may "sound...far-fetched" Lew, but is it?

Again, the proof that AHSA is an organization established to recruit "sportsmen" into supporting "gun control" is irrefutable (and has been around for some time)--that is, if one is motivated to look for it.

Here are two instances where you have made assertions that reflect either ignorance of your subject matter approaching willful negligence, or a motive to lead them to a conclusion. You've manipulated your readers too blatantly here, Lew, for me to believe it's the former.

This Day in History: November 27

On this day in 1746, Robert R. (or R.R.) Livingston--later known as "the Chancellor"--becomes the first of nine children eventually born to Judge Robert Livingston and Margaret Beekman Livingston in their family seat, Clermont, on the Hudson River in upstate New York.