Justice Department: Gun Violence Falls 63%

There are definitely some politically incorrect conclusions that could—and should—be drawn from this. We can’t fix thing unless we’re willing to accept the truth. But before jumping on the “Firearms Violence 200% Higher for Blacks Than For Whites" bandwagon, let's not lose sight of our understanding that unalienable rights are attributes of individuals, not of groups.

The most interesting comment I saw in this was also the most predictable: "The government study received minimal if any mainstream media attention."

No, duh.

Conspicuously absent from the study are two other problematic factoids for the antis:

There is no mention of defensive gun use.

There are more guns in circulation now than at the start of the study period. If guns were truly responsible for violent crime, such a reduction would be impossible.

Any thesis suggesting otherwise deserves to be ridiculed as the barbaric superstition that it is.

“If you love freedom, get this film. You will not regret it.”

“How many really, truly anti-government movies are out there? How many of them are told from the perspective of liberty, rather than a leftist dystopian fantasy? Of those that are left, how many are intended to be taken seriously?

“I'll tell you.

“There is at least one.”

TriggerFinger reviews Charles Robert Carner’s film "Vanishing Point".

Claire Wolfe also comments, calling Carner “one of the good guys. A Hollywood insider who's also pro-gun and pro-freedom.”

The Road to Damascus

I've corresponded a few times with a guy who approached me for more information after reading Microstamping for Macroinfringement. He told me he was "tracking this issue for my class at school (USC) for Policy and Management."

Some basic misconceptions on his part made it apparent he was not that steeped in gun rights issues. I generally answer politely when sincere requests are made, but then send such folks on their way with a few helpful links relevant to what they're looking for. After all, who has the time to go one-on-one with everyone who wants information?

In this case, I spent a little more time. In truth, I was expecting to find my correspondent had used our email exchanges to craft an anti-armed citizen thesis. So I was more than a little surprised to open the following email last night (note I have removed all identifying information out of deference to his privacy):

"I need to mention this to you before we go any further. I was an intern for the City of _______________. I mention this because yesterday I was fired. I was researching SB 352 where they were deciding whether to support this bill or not. My last day I made a recommendation to not support this bill. I really don't know whether they were tracking my conversation with you or not. I just came to realize that gun owners, gun store owners and the people involved in guns are people also. As for the criminal element, well that's another story.

"I lived in area called Lincoln Heights where gun shooting was a given. I grew up where drive-bys were like a trip to Disneyland on a weekend. I never used a gun, and never had an inclination to ever use one because I have always associated it to gangs, violence and yes, especially death. When I was in the sixth grade, my friend was shot point blank by his neighbor who hated Asian-Americans. Since then I was reticent to even get close to a gun. I've gone to shooting ranges where all I've done is sit there and watch others shoot. I HAVE NEVER SHOT A GUN. I know that sounds like a anomaly but I've always associated guns with that incident.

"When I was given this issue pertaining to SB 352, I knew that I was totally for this bill and that I would make sure that I would be able to substantiate whatever information there was in relation to this issue. And I thought that all NRA members are racist, KKK members. You proved that to be NOT TRUE at all. There are people just like me. With lives who are interested in being part of the American dream, regardless of what the government might think of them, or the media for that matter. This was truly an experience. I truly don't know whether the City will or will not support SB 352 but I just hope that my recommendation will remind them that there are victims involved here and its not the criminal element (gun owners and stores).

"I do hope you accept my apology for what I've said, this was not to slam you or to criticize what you have done. I just want to say thank you for everything you have done because if it wasn't because of you I would not be here."

Pretty intriguing. Am I being played here? Did he approach this with enough of an open mind to reverse his conception? Did the city he worked at can him for coming up with a politically incorrect conclusion?

I've offered to introduce him to some folks in the pro-2A community here, and to take him shooting. I'll post updates if I think they're warranted.

The World of Yesterday and Today

08/16/17 UPDATE: Since this post is over 12 years old, many of the internal links no longer work. I have replaced what I could with Internet Archive and other links which may load very slowly.

In today's earlier post, I acknowledged the danger of predicting what tomorrow will bring. Here are some prime examples:

Mayor Declares City Violence A Crisis

"PHILADELPHIA (KYW) Police and prosecutors concerned with a spate of killings in the city begged the public Monday for more help identifying murderers...Within the past eight days there have been 21 homicides in Philadelphia, including three in the late-night and early morning hours after the prosecutor made her appeal Monday."

This wasn't supposed to happen. NRA promised us a different scenario.

NRA PRESS RELEASE: HESTON DARES CRIMINALS TO "MAKE MY DAY"

"NRA joins Mayor Rendell, Senators Specter and Santorum, in launching Project Exile to fully enforce existing federal gun laws and remove armed felons from Philadelphia streets...

"'If you're a felon out on the streets of Philadelphia today, I dare you to carry a gun,' Heston warned...

"'I promise you,' Heston told Mayor Rendell, 'If you and your prosecutors stick to the simple, proven model of Richmond, the murder rate in Philadelphia will decline and your citizens will be safer."

And how has following "the simple, proven model" worked out for Richmond, the template for Philadelphia crime-fighting?

Richmond's murder rate climbs again-- national numbers decline

"In the final hours of 2004, Richmond topped its 2003 murder rate by one, securing its distinction as one of the nation's most dangerous cities.

"The city's final homicide of the year _ called in to police around 8 p.m. New Year's Eve was number 95, surpassing the previous year's 94. In 2002, there were 83 and in 2001, 69.

"Murders in the United States dropped by nearly 6 percent in the first half of 2004 after rising for four straight years, the FBI reported. Numbers from the second half of 2004 have not been compiled.

"Richmond had the country's fourth highest murder rate in 2003 and was ranked the nation's ninth most dangerous city overall in 2004 _ beating out Miami and Compton, Calif. Richmond is the sixth most dangerous when compared to other cities with populations of 100,000 to 499,999."

Note to NRA Management:

We tried to tell you that "Exile" was a bad idea. It's time to follow your own professed beliefs and admit that gun control does not reduce violent crime--even those edicts that you endorse.

I'm still waiting for someone at NRA-HQ to cite the Constitutional authority for the feds to be involved in gun control at all. It's past time for the suits at Fairfax to adopt the motto "Repeal existing gun laws," and stop calling for their enforcement.

After all, wasn't enforcing existing gun laws what precipitated Waco and Ruby Ridge?

The World of Tomorrow

Predicting near-future potentials based on current trends is always a risky business—it’s one of the reasons why “The Wrath of Khan” fails modern audiences—the original Star Trek’s core audience lived to know there was no “Eugenics War” in the 1990s, no race of genetically-engineered “supermen,” no “sleeper ship” technology, and thankfully, no preponderance of chest-baring, aging actors wearing mullets—perhaps Gene Roddenberry should have placed the origin scenario from “Space Seed” a hundred, rather than 30 years into the future.

So this flash presentation, set 9 years from now, is going out on a limb—but it does seem to posit a pretty likely scenario. On the one hand, I am drawn to the potential like a moth to a flame—which means, as attractive and compelling as I find certain generalized “predictions,” it’s dangerous to disregard that invoking the name “Winston Smith” is purposeful.

Attack from the Underworld

Pocket gophers are ruining my yard.

I’ve tried the gas bombs. I’ve tried flooding them out. Now I’m reduced to digging into tunnels and sprinkling zinc phosphide pellets.

The frustrating thing is, I can sit in my enclosed back patio and see their evil little heads pop up as they clear new holes. If I lived in a civilized community, John and Eli (aka Uday and Qusai) would be able to earn bounties with the Crossman.

Ignorance and Fear Go Hand in Hand...

TriggerFinger deconstructs [How you say in Bloggese, "fisks," yes?] an ignorant and fearful woman's anti-gun editorial, and does a great job if it.

He's much nicer than I am about these things.

Shoot to Live

"A RECENT WAVE of violent attacks with axes and cleavers raises the issue, once again, about the effectiveness of restricting, banning, or simply scaring people away from owning firearms."—Jennifer Freeman

The 3rd Annual Nigerian EMail Conference

"I present to you an urgent and confidential request: I request your attendance at The 3rd Annual Nigerian EMail Conference. This is an excellent opportunity to meet your distinguished colleagues, learn new marketing techniques, and spend your hard-earned money. Attending this conference demands the highest trust, security and confidentiality between us."

Hysterical!

Technical Difficulties

The site is slow to load and the blogroll has disappeared. The Blogrolling site page can't be accessed, so this is the same as what happened last time--I suspect there are site problems there affecting the page--as Douglas Adams said, "Don't Panic."

Your highly trained WarOnGuns technical support staff (me, who knows virtually nothing about post-Triassic technology) is working 'round the clock to restore the site to peak performance.

UPDATE:

Yep—as Bart Simpson says, “I didn't do it, no one saw me do it, there's no way you can prove anything!”

Blogrolling has been having recurring system problems they can't seem to fix.

This has been a relatively heavy day—wonder how many site visitors gave up and think this is par for the course?

Oh well, I get what I pay for.

Another Fool With an Opinion

"If she was pointing that gun at me I could take it from her in a heart beat."

On March 5, I congratulated friend Deborah Courtney for getting front page ink in The Orange County Register.

One Ian Fitz-Gibbon wrote to the OCR reporter:

After reading your article on Deborah I just had to laugh. She’s another fool with a gun. Does she walk around with a gun in her purse? LOL My guess is that if she had that gun when she was raped she would either be dead or be wondering why she bought it in the first place. A criminal won’t wait for her to reach into her purse or run out to her car to retrieve a gun. It’s also my guess that if she was pointing that gun at me I could take it from her in a heart beat. Being smart……..or not doing something stupid will do more for a person’s protection and security than carrying a gun. The most important thing in self-defense is what’s in your head, not what’s in your hand!

Regards,
Ian Fitz-Gibbon

Mr. Fitz-Gibbon apparently considers himself an authority on defensive tactics.

He’s evidently more educated on the matter than Florida State University criminologist Gary Kleck, whose surveys indicate up to 2.5 million defensive gun uses each year by Americans.

He’s obviously done more thorough research than economist John Lott [scroll down to bottom of right column to download CV], whose exhaustive analyses of statistics from all 3,054 counties in the United States from 1977 to 1994 confirm the title of his aptly named More Guns, Less Crime.

“Murder rates decline when either more women or more men carry concealed handguns, but a gun represents a much larger change in a woman's ability to defend herself than it does for a man. An additional woman carrying a concealed handgun reduces the murder rate for women by about 3 to 4 times more than an additional man carrying a concealed handgun reduces the murder rate for men,” Lott concludes.

But we must assume that Mr. Fitz-Gibbon has amassed and analyzed superior empirical evidence.

He’s clearly reported on more case studies than Robert Waters, whose The Best Defense provides chilling, real life examples of ordinary people repelling brutal criminals with firearms. And “being smart”—just like Ian Fitz-Gibbon—would no doubt assure superior outcomes for those people chronicled in KeepAndBearArms.com’s “Operation Self Defense,” each of whom was, evidently, “just another fool with a gun.”

“My guess is that if she had that gun when she was raped she would either be dead or be wondering why she bought it in the first place. A criminal won’t wait for her to reach into her purse or run out to her car to retrieve a gun,” Fitz-Gibbon smirks.

Unfortunately, your guess is wrong, Mr. Fitz-Gibbon. Without going into the details of her ordeal, her assailant trapped her. She knew he was coming for her before the actual physical assault, and would have had time to retrieve a concealed firearm if she’d had one.

“It’s also my guess that if she was pointing that gun at me I could take it from her in a heart beat,” he claims.

Really?

Do you have any idea how many shots a trained shooter can squeeze off “in a heartbeat” Mr. Fitz-Gibbon?

Here's a concession: Back when I was young and immortal, I was pretty heavily into martial arts. I used to do a demonstration, and, when I established the conditions (that is, having someone point a toy gun at me when I was standing within three feet of them, with instructions to shoot if I made a false move), I could—without fail—disable their gun hand and strike a simulated crippling blow. But it wasn’t real—there was no danger. And importantly, I controlled the situation.

What makes you think you would control the situation and be allowed to get within striking distance? I guess you must be a greater authority on such matters than Col. Jeff Cooper, so a trained shooter who has mastered the mental discipline of applying his Color Code would be no match against your awesome prowess.

Your point is not that you could surprise and ambush a targeted victim—hell, anyone could do that. You claim you can disarm someone who is trained and equipped, and who has you in their sights!

I could arrange a demonstration, if you like, Mr. Fitz-Gibbon. I’m sure I could assemble an audience that would love to see you exhibit how what’s in your head will overcome what’s in a trained shooter’s hand. I can probably even arrange for you to place bets on your ability to prevail against, say, my 10-year-old, someone who is elderly, and maybe even a disabled shooter. We’ll even videotape it, and post it on the Internet. And don't worry, we'll only use props. Care to prove your words?

How did you dismiss Deborah? Oh, yeah, "LOL!"

You should be careful about laughing at people, Mr. Fitz-Gibbon, especially when you're obviously in over your head—it makes you come across as just another fool with an opinion.

AFTERWORD FROM TJ JOHNSTON

Ian: being Deborah's trainer, I want to respond to your comments.

Deborah's rape was typical in that the assailant didn't jump out of the bushes and attack her. That media stereotype is so far from reality. Rapists set up their victims. And when they do, the potential victim has a series of options, which are greatly expanded if they have access to a firearm.

In Deborah's case, the assailant locked her in her personal office and then carefully walked around the rest of the building, closing windows and locking the front door. If she had her Glock in her office, he would have found a nasty confrontation when he returned to attack her.

You sound very courageous, in that you feel you could disarm somebody very easily. Candidly, it is possible. I teach those techniques and it requires much disciplined practice, considerable confidence, speed and precision to do it safely. With the hammer cocked, most handguns will fire with only minimal pressure on the trigger, and the movement that action requires is much less than the movement to reach out and take the gun away. If the person with the firearm maintains his/her distance, the person encroaching WILL BE SHOT.

Most importantly, as the statistics from John Lott, Gary Kleck, and a host of other criminologists show, the mere presence of a firearm deters most criminals, usually without the gun being discharged. No one wants to get shot, and criminals are not brave people. They run away.

The facts are clear and irrefutable. In her situation, if Deborah had been armed, she wouldn't have been raped.

And I would challenge you to take a loaded handgun away from her. Knowing her current attitude and aptitude, I am confident that you would have at least one more hole in you than before the attempt.

Regards,

TJ Johnston

www.allsafedefense.com

Bloggers: Have You Applied for Your Reporting License?

One of the more shopworn arguments in the civilian disarmament playbook says the Founders were talking about muskets when they penned the Second Amendment, and they could not possibly have conceived of the terrible firepower of today’s weaponry—to which our side generally replies they couldn’t have conceived of modern communications technology when establishing the First Amendment, yet no one is suggesting limits on free speech.

Right.

While bloggers have rightly bared their teeth at the recent McCain-Feingold trial balloon, there’s another looming threat that hasn’t generated much of a response on 2A sites I frequent: the state assuming it is the sole arbiter of who among us will be recognized as a “journalist.”

Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge James Kleinberg has again raised this issue, and we need to pay attention to his ruling, especially the part where he writes “Defining what is a 'journalist' has become more complicated as the variety of media has expanded."

Judge, I don’t see that being your call. You have no legitimate authority to issue de facto reporting permits. The only argument in this case should be whether the rights of another, in this case, Apple, via alleged theft and dissemination of their proprietary trade secrets, have been violated.

We all know of the many instances where the internet community covers vital liberty issues that are ignored by the lapdog Establishment press, especially in its coverage of citizens persecuted for taking the Second Amendment at its word. Case in point--don’t expect CBS or The Los Angeles Times to tell us about BATFU incompetence almost destroying a man’s life.

If we independents are muffled, the only thing you’ll hear about such cases is how an antisocial threat to society has been removed by heroic community helpers.

How very Red Chinese.

I’m a Lumberjack and I’m Okay…

Kyle Shelton, who foolishly believes he possesses both wit and insight, scribed a panty-wringing warning against guns in bars for a student rag called The Lumberjack.

“As soon as guns are allowed in bars,” he snipes, “…guns in schools can't be far behind.”

Uh, yeah.

Comments from site visitors were going swimmingly until Kumbaya-soloist “Rachel” chimed in:

"People feeling they need to carry concealed weapons is a sad testimony of the time we live in—it’s not sad because crime rates have escalated, but because people’s thinking has shifted so dramatically, from loving their neighbor to suddenly being afraid of him."

Kids.

Bravo to women who defend themselves

“Bravo. A standing ovation for Deborah Courtney, the rape victim who has learned how to defend herself with her Glock 9 mm. She redefines the term ‘gun control’ [‘Steady aim, steel will,’ News, March 5].”

Read complete letter.

[Use Bug Me Not to bypass OCR’s site registration.]

The War on Guns is hard at work deconstructing another letter that was not so kind. Stay tuned…

Some Unambiguous Questions for Gun Industry Lawsuit Advocates

Here is a direct question—I DEFY anyone from the civilian disarmament camp to publicly and unequivocally provide a “yes" or “no” answer.

If someone buys a gun or ammunition, and either malfunction causing injury or property damage, can the victim(s) sue the manufacturer responsible for the product defect?

YES or NO?

The answer, of course, is “Yes,” and they know it. We’ve always been able to do so. There is no exemption or shielding from liability. To suggest otherwise is yet another example of prevarication everyone has come to expect.

Here’s another question: If Sarah Brady’s son accidentally or intentionally shoots someone with the rifle she bought him, should the victims be able to sue the gun manufacturer?

Open Letter to "Rabbi" Eric H. Yoffie, President, Union of American Hebrew Congregations

In response to http://urj.org/yoffie/archive/mmm/

“Rabbi” Yoffie:
(PresUAHC@urj.org)

You are neither a master nor a teacher.

What a traitor to Jews and to all of humanity you are, calling for “gun control.” You are either evil or a fool.

You do not deserve the freedoms of this country, established in powder, steel and blood by armed citizens risking their lives, fortunes and sacred honor, to resist tyranny. In their wisdom, they codified our unalienable claim to the tools of self determination and defense on both a personal and a societal level by recognizing the right of the people to keep and bear arms, and by putting lawful infringement of this right off limits to government.

You are nothing but a genocide enabler. You make a mockery of the phrase “Never again.” The evil policies you endorse guarantee that mass murder of citizens by governments will indeed happen again.

The people of the Warsaw ghetto listened to false leaders like you until it was too late. The lesson taught by a small band with the courage not to listen shook the Third Reich to its core, and should have resounded with Jewish people forever.

I won’t waste my time trying to persuade you. If I had the slightest inkling that you are not an anti-defense fanatic, I would point you to Jews for the Preservation of Firearms Ownership. If I thought it would make a bit of difference, I would urge you to obtain a copy of Innocents Betrayed. But I don’t believe you are redeemable.

So what I will do instead is warn people against you, that if they listen to you, they will be powerless to prevent this from happening to themselves or their loved ones.

People like me will NEVER disarm as long as we draw breath, so I leave you with one question: How many of us are you willing to have the state persecute, imprison or kill to enforce your will against us?

With disgust and contempt,

David Codrea

Welcome to Homeland Security

Cool site with posters.

“I’m the only one professional enough in this room to carry a Glock 40.”

Remember, kids, don't play with guns. [More]

Thanks to WOLFESBLOG for this.

Good grief.

The Eloi Award

I wrote an article for the Jan. 2000 Millenium issue of GUNS AND AMMO Magazine titled "The New Eloi."

Using H. G. Wells' "The Time Machine" as a metaphor, it made the argument that "society has fragmented into three distinct groups, the provide-all/control-all state, the provided-for/controlled general populace, and the increasingly besieged self-determining/self-controlling rationalist individual. Or, in terms of Wells' prescient speculative fantasy, we could identify these as the Morlocks, the Eloi, and the Time Traveller."

Markeeta Gould is a Mansfield, OH, woman who was "jailed for failure to file a 2001 city income tax bill totaling 96 cents…[she]earned $55 that year…on Feb. 19, she was arrested in front of her children."

He reaction? Was she outraged? Has she comprehended the loss of her sovereign individual rights, and has she been galvanized to fight against the blatant tyranny of a system where such outcomes are inevitable?

“Gould said she was embarrassed to be arrested.

"‘I'm a mother and I'm a law-abiding citizen,’ she said. ‘I paid my taxes every year before and I paid my taxes every year after. With me getting arrested, I could lose my job.’"

Ms. Gould, you are suffering from Stockholm Syndrome. You get The War on Guns' Eloi Award (I may make this a monthly feature).

And our Morlock of the Month Award goes to Mansfield Finance Director Sandra Converse, who claimed the Nuremberg Defense, saying she is bound by city filing policy.

"We don't know what people owe if they do not file. We wouldn't be doing our jobs if we didn't enforce this,” Converse claims.

So, Sandra, you financial genius—how much of the people’s money would you say you’ve spent in your insane quest to recover 96 cents?

To borrow a metaphor from another work of Classic literature, Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables," at least the fanatically obsessive Javert had the good sense to throw himself off a bridge.

Credit Card Fraud Hits New High Despite Chip and PIN

Now substitute the phrase “Crime Using Guns” for “Credit Card Fraud,” and you’ll have some idea of where so-called “smart gun” technology will surely take us.

Here are some observations from a few years back.