Since passing its "shoot first, ask questions later" law last year, the state of Florida has been derided by the international press, become the subject of an ad campaign that warns visitors not to "shout or make threatening gestures" at the natives, and provided fodder for amused bloggers, pundits and late-night comics. (What's the Sunshine State's new motto? "Florida: Don't make us come up there.'')Translation: British and French journalists' opinions should be a deciding factor in which rights the government allows you to enjoy. A handful of mentally ill loons passing out propaganda leaflets at Orlando airport should be a deciding factor in which rights the government allows you to enjoy. And Hollywood and other media elites making snotty comments to the amusement of their worshippers should be a deciding factor in which rights the government allows you to enjoy.
Sounds reasonable.
If it's good enough for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it's good enough for me! I mean, we all know the media only wants what's best for us. Right?
Tags: gun control, media bias
Oh, our wonderful open-minded AJC. I have written to them before about a previous editorial that praised Weyerhauser for firing employees with firearms found in their cars and encouraging ConocoPhillips to fight the NRA (8/5/05). Looks like I need to write again.
ReplyDeleteJust one comment on their editorial where it reads:
"Georgia already has a high rate of gun ownership. Under the NRA's theory that more guns equal safer streets, our state ought to be among the most crime-free in the nation. Yet we rank 11th in the rate of firearm-related deaths and ninth in firearm-related homicides, according to federal statistics."
If we put on our thinking caps for one moment and look at the where the concentration of firearm-related deaths are in GA (hint: the poorest and most dangerous areas of Atlanta) and overlap this with the highest levels of gun ownership for law-abiding GA citizens (hint: not in Atlanta!), one might, just might, be able see that there is very little overlap!
Very few residents of Atlanta (and neighboring Decatur) own or carry a firearm either because they're too poor to buy one or because they're a liberal gun-grabber (who swears they would never own a gun but they'll definitely have a top-notch house alarm system). Guys like me driving around Atlanta with an NRA sticker on the back are few and far between.
Our police chief last year called Atlanta one of the most dangerous cities in America (and he came from New Orleans!). I promise you, AJC, if everyone on my street near downtown Atlanta owned a firearm, crime in our neighborhood would be non-existent.
I also like how the paper insists that the Florida-style law is simply bound to increase violence.
ReplyDeleteYet, they don't even attempt to show that the law has already done so in Florida, because IT HASN'T.
Don't confuse us with the facts! We're journalists...
Just more crapola from the Atlana Journal Constipation!
ReplyDeleteHeh...
ReplyDeleteI would be proud to live somewhere that their motto was "Don't make us come up there."