An Inconvenient Truth

Pennsylvania has more guns & more carry licensees per capita than any other state. Yet – if Philadelphia is subtracted from the equation— our state’s homicide rate is as low as Western Europe’s and our violent crime rate is lower than England’s.

--Preston K. Covey, Ph.D., presented to: The Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on Urban Violence, August 10, 2006, Pittsburgh, PA

[Via Dan Gifford, via Don B. Kates, Jr.]

Anti-Gunner's Principles Not So Solid?

SO Solid Crew leader Megaman ordered the execution of a rival for humiliating one of his band members, the Old Bailey heard yesterday.

But...but...but I don't understand.

He's a gun control advocate:

During the trial, Mr Vincent said Megaman was a "character" he had created, adding that he had worked with anti-gun charities.

Lies, Damned Lies and Ceasefire Claims

"I have no problem with people selling normal guns, but I see no need for assault weapons," Ceasefire president Lisa Delity tells WJZ's Peggy Lee.

"They kill many people, especially police officers and FBI agents, but they kill them very fast."

The study states more than 700 assault rifles were traced to crimes in the state from 1998 to 2001.

Pray you never do, Lisa. Because the people who have seen a need will tell you it's not an experience they're eager to repeat, but they're glad they had them when they needed them.

How many "police and FBI agents," Lisa? I notice the "authorized journalists" left that one untouched.

Oh, and Lisa--that "study" you're relying on: it recorded traces when precisely what you're calling for--a ban--was in effect.

Not that we'd expect the watchdogs of liberty to point that inconvenient truth out, either.

There's Something About Harry

Harry F. Hambrick Jr. writes:

In my 55 years I've read a lot of newspapers and watched a lot of news on TV, and I just have not seen many reports of incidents where private citizens packing handguns have defended themselves or prevented crimes. I'm sure those incidents do occur, but I'm equally sure they don't occur in meaningful numbers.

You haven't been looking very hard, Harry.

Not too long ago the gun people argued that this was a failure in reporting by the "liberal media," but today, when conservatives have clearly captured a large part of the media, I still don't see reports of crime-preventative gun use by private citizens.

Unfortunately, that's a true statement which I addressed in my November 2005 Guns Magazine piece: "Even so-called "conservative talk radio" only occasionally mentions the Second Amendment focusing most of its energies on politics, world affairs, and the cultural divide."

I feel better knowing that my daughter, a college student, does not have a gun and does not need a gun largely because her college, like Virginia Tech, prohibits them on college grounds.

I have to let you go, Harry. You just revealed yourself to be contemptible, and I don't have the stomach to spend any more time on you.

This Day in History: September 7

On this day in 1776, during the Revolutionary War, the American submersible craft Turtle attempts to attach a time bomb to the hull of British Admiral Richard Howe's flagship Eagle in New York Harbor. It was the first use of a submarine in warfare.