Killing the Messenger

Football game broadcasts are filled with beer and car advertisements. Not to mention, the parking lots next to the stadium filled with drunk tailgaters driving home after the game.

Perhaps we should ban all advertising for any product that could be used in a reckless or illegal manner to injure, maim, or kill.

mAss Backwards shows us antis don't just want to ban guns--they want to ban the thought of guns.

Oh, and the chief whiner is John Rosenthal, you know, the foundation president for the American Hunters and Shooters Association. That's the group that provides a "middle ground" for gun owners--or so foolish "outdoors writers" like Bill Schneider tell their readers...

[Via Gun Law News, via Bitch Girls]

Menino Proves It's Good to be King

Boston Mayor Tom Menino gets a firsthand look at the gun violence plaguing his city's streets.

Menino was on a walking tour in Dorchester Monday night when a man went running by the mayor with a loaded gun in his hand.

Nineteen-year-old Adelino Monteiro was taken into custody after a brief foot chase by Boston police.

Wow, instant subject-funded police protection! Sweet!

And if your Praetorian Guard hadn't been there, Tom?

Why, then you'd have been in the same boat as your tax cows.

The Wrong Hands

The Kent County Sheriff's Department is announcing a gun buy-back program to keep weapons out of the wrong hands...

"It's basically designed for those guns that are unregistered or unlicensed. If it's a gun that was involved in a shooting or crime, then the amnesty is not going to cover that area," Hess said.

So, then, it's not going to "keep weapons out of the wrong hands," is it?

I love the way these people contradict themselves, and the "authorized journalists" are either too dumb or complicit to make that connection.

The Correct Question is "Do I Feel Lucky?"

The number of gun-related crimes in Toronto this summer is down considerably from a year ago. Do you feel safer?

Well, do ya punk?

A Wrong Assumption

A former Utica Common Council member yesterday said he meant to scare a colleague when he put his hand on a gun on his desk...

[Roger] Palek said William Schrader wrongly assumed he was in danger.

You're lucky he didn't wrongly assume you into the morgue, Rog.

We're the Only Ones Domestic Enough

Two studies have found that at least 40% of police officer families experience domestic violence, in contrast to 10% of families in the general population. A third study of older and more experienced officers found a rate of 24%, indicating that domestic violence is 2-4 times more common among police families than American families in general...

[M]ost departments across the country typically handle cases of police family violence informally, often without an official report, investigation, or even check of the victim's safety

Well, ye-ah! If they were treated the way the rest of us would be, including a federally-mandated lifetime prohibition on gun ownership, well, they wouldn't be "The Only Ones", would they?

[Via E. David Quammen]

"My Primary Responsibility"

Lincoln, NE Mayor Coleen Seng responds to a letter from JT McAdams:

August 18, 2006

JT McAdams

Dear Mr. McAdams:

Thank you for your comments on my proposed ordinance on concealed weapons. As you may already know, the City Council voted to remove the proposal from their agenda.

As Mayor, my primary responsibility is the safety and well-being of our citizens. I depend upon our Police Department and it's officers as the experts in dealing with crime and safety issues. Police Chief Casady and at least 85% of the officers believe that the concealed carry law is a bad idea for Lincoln. They are concerned about encountering more guns in their work, guns being taken away or stolen from permit holders, and the increased risk of mishaps such as accidental shootings.

The State’s concealed carry law has several loopholes that pose serious problems for Lincoln, particularly those concerned about domestic violence. The crimes of impersonating a police officer, stalking, and violating a protection order do not disqualify a person from receiving a concealed weapon permit.

The research on the impacts of concealed weapon laws on crime rates is mixed. Most of the conclusions reached depend upon the point of view of the researcher. However, one study validated what our police officers are saying. In the first five and one-half years of the concealed weapons law in Texas, concealed weapon permit holders were arrested over 5,300 times, or nearly three times a day. While some arrests were for very serious, pre-meditated crimes, others were the result of good people having guns at their worst moments. Simply encouraging more weapons does not necessarily produce a safe community.

Thanks again for your comments.

Sincerely,

Coleen J. Seng
Mayor of Lincoln