Recent blog on Huffington Post by someone who used to be the VP of the Brady Center, sitting around in his orange shirt, wistfully thinking of a time when only the government and outlaws (is that redundant?) will have guns. As with most such articles, he refuses to talk about the cultural decline of the last 20 - 30 years and the role that liberal policies have had in it, instead suggesting that the only way for us to deal with its violent consequences is to limit the right to keep and bear arms. It also refuses to acknowledge that while legal gun ownership has increased over the past decades, violent crime has consistently decreased. They always find something to whine about and clearly this piece wants nothing more than to blame law-abiding owners of legal guns for crimes committed by criminals.
It notes that: "The National Rifle Association and its allies will insist that no laws will prevent dangerous people from getting guns, invoking the bumper sticker slogan that “When guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have guns.” Yet we know that every gun used in those multiple shootings started out in the legal gun market and that even modest regulation of the legal market can help to deny violent individuals access to guns."
Well, no better approach in an article like this than to immediately invoke baba yaga - the NRA. Unfortunately for the author, his point does not negate the truth of the idea that laws against guns (or any laws) only affect those who follow the law. Shooting people is already against the law. Well criminal steal things - and guns are a profitable commodity on the street. Now, we could deal with crime itself, be honest and forthright in our discussion of the decline of our culture, stop pussy-footing around the issues - or we can simply ban everything that a criminal might steal and misuse.
"For example, Brady background checks, now required only for sales by licensed gun dealers, should be extended to all gun sales." What criminal is going to do a NICS check?
The perpetuation of the myth that crime guns come largely via the "gun show loophole" or "internet sales" or other private sales by law-abiding legal owners is so tired. I have bought guns at gun shows = NICS check! I have bought guns over the internet - they must be shipped to an FFL and = NICS check!
To reiterate: Criminals commit crimes (figured that one out). Criminals steal guns - that's a crime.
One crime they commit is theft, the next would using the gun to commit crimes and another would be selling the stolen gun to another criminal without a background check. This polly-anna BS about if we make rules for legal owners it will affect criminals grows so tiresome. I used to respond to it ad nauseum, now I simply ridicule it.
As always, this piece is liberally peppered with the term "gun lobby". It is always some dreadnought out there, lingering with no intent other than to sell guns and make money - NOT. I recently had to explain this to someone else who thinks this is all about the NRA and gun lobby and that gun owners are being "duped" by some evil force.
The NRA is people - millions (~5) of people who are not all in the business of selling firearms. They are Americans, they are engineers, soldiers, business men, psychologists, children, parents, spouses. They share a common interest. The NRA was formed in 1871 - long before there was a Brady Center or a movement for "gun control". They (it is they) do not exist as a reaction to this - they exist as a confederation of people with shared interests. It is in reaction to threats, such as those posed by Obama, Clinton, Bloomberg, the author of this blog, and others, to that interest that NRA members stand in opposition. Stop blaming us for criminals' behavior.
This Huffpost blog does a good job of answering the question liberals are always asking (had to answer this one recently, too) when they try to accuse gun owners of paranoia or stupidity: Why do you think anyone is coming for your guns? Because they say they are and I take them at their word.
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