GeorgiaCarry.com gets favorable press
Pro-gun group GeorgiaCarry.org gets a very nice write-up in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
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Interesting article on popular panics, media, and laws
Right here. It focuses upon media driven panics, with little or no basis in fact (e.g., a "study" that indicated 80% of internet images are porn, and a claim that 50,000 sexual predators are online at any moment), that led to federal legislation, specifically anti-internet-porn laws and concern over MySpace being exploited by hordes of sexual predators. In each case, there was either no hard evidence, or in one case a largely invented study (which the author convinced a law review to publish without verifying his data) that led to media hype, perception of a crisis, and legislation.
The parallels with, oh, "assault weapons," "cop-killer bullets," "a gun in the home is more likely to kill you than a criminal," and other such issues are rather striking.
Brought back a memory of my late ex, who upon watching an episode of "60 Minutes" became utterly convinced that drug pushers were everywhere hanging out around school, and passing out free samples in order to get students addicted. It was on the TV -- it had to be accurate!
From Mike Masnick of Tech Dirt, who has this post on it, and to reader Sam Wilson....
[Update: wouldn't have been the Wild Bunch, which came out in the 60s, I think, and featured shotguns and a belt fed Browning. Great flick. But as I recall the movie fad in the late 50s was juvenile delinquency, and I'm sure there were a lot with switchblades.]
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LA Times -- NRA's clout waning?
Understand, I've been reading stories that NRA power is declining since the 1970s. As its membership went from 600,000 to 4-5-6 times that, the stories kept coming. But this one is a chuckle. It argues that NRA's power is waning because gun owners have completely defeated the opposition!
"Congress hasn't passed major legislation to restrict gun use in 14 years. Democrats -- scarred by past NRA campaigns -- almost never talk about the issue anymore.
And Americans now show little interest in gun control. Just half want tougher rules for gun sales, compared with nearly two-thirds in 2000.
"The issue has been essentially removed from the political agenda," said Robert Spitzer, a political scientist at the State University of New York in Cortland who has written extensively about the politics of gun control.
This marks a major victory for gun rights groups, which less than a decade ago were fending off demands from both Democrats and Republicans for strict new limits on gun ownership after the 1999 Columbine school shootings."
It goes on -- 40 states have right to carry, gun manufacturer protection was passed, the assault weapon ban not renewed, the Sureme Court is likely to find the 2A is an individual right....
OK, how to argue that's bad news for the gun rights movement?
Uh ... because gun control is almost a non-issue, the Times says, it's hard to swing elections based on it. I suppose it wouldn't occur to the Times that for groups with causes winning elections is not an end, but a means to an end.
Hat tip to a strong 2A supporter, in LA of all places, whom I met at the Backlot Film Festival...
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Now, this is pretty brazen
I noted yesterday that NRA won its suit against Philadelphia. The judge struck down two portions of the city's gun ordinance, and as to three ruled that plaintiffs' didn't have standing to sue. I.e., not that the ordinances were lawful, but that until they were enforced it was an abstract issue rather than a case. (Note that the city attorney had said she wouldn't prosecute the cases). Here's NRA's release on the case.
So the city sets out to spin, and the Philadelphia Metro buys every bit of it.
Headline: "Court gives city right to enforce some gun laws"
"A Common Pleas judge yesterday ruled in favor of three city laws passed two months ago by City Council, including the requirement of city residents to report lost and stolen guns to police."
"An appeal by the National Rifle Association, which filed the lawsuit last month, is very likely."
"The ruling was immediately hailed as a victory for Mayor Michael Nutter and the city in its fight for stronger local gun laws by the state’s leading anti-gun violence group.
Joe Grace of CeasefirePA said he hoped the ruling would also set a precedent for other cities and towns in Pennsylvania to follow."
This is pretty brazen! I'm awaiting the paper's announcement that the US lost the war in the Pacific, since, after negotiations on the deck of the U.S. Missouri, it abandoned plans to invade the country and agreed to stop fighting.
Oh, here's what makes it really pitiful. On the paper's page, in the right margin, is the AP release on the case.
Headline: "Judge tosses Philly ban on assault weapons, purchase limits"
"District Attorney Lynne Abraham has said she will follow state law and not enforce the city gun measures.
Greenspan had suggested in arguments last month that she, too, would follow that line. But she also thought the NRA might lack standing to challenge the three laws upheld Tuesday because they were not in effect and no clients had yet been harmed by them.
A lawyer for the National Rifle Association hailed Greenspan's ruling.
"The assault-weapons ban was just ridiculous," lawyer C. Scott Shields said. "There's just no way this would be enforceable.""
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Now a surprising article from BBC
Subtitle: "Despite the fact there are more than 200 million guns in circulation, there is a certain tranquility and civility about American life."
Hat tip to Peter Buxton....
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Surprising article in Chicago Tribune
"When a rash of gun murders takes place, it makes sense for the police to do one of two things: renew tactics that have been effective in the past at curbing homicides, or embrace ideas that have not been tried before. But those options don't appeal to Chicago Police Supt. Jody Weis. What he proposes instead is a crackdown on assault weapons.
I'm tempted to say this is the moral equivalent of a placebo—a sugar pill that is irrelevant to the malady at hand. But that would be unfair. Placebos, after all, sometimes have a positive effect. Assault weapons bans, not so much. ..."
It's gotten 167 comments, and I think I see a few readers in there.... and one from "A Fed":
"First, let me note that I'm a federal prosecutor, but that my opinions are my own, and not necessarily those of the DOJ. However, I come to this debate with more than thirty years in law enforcement. Mr. Chapman is absolutely correct on virtually every point in his article.
The notion of heaping nonsensical restrictions on law-abiding citizens whose primary interest is in protecting themselves and their families has been tried and has failed miserably. In every instance, the effect has been to diminish citizens' constitutional rights, render law-abiding men and women defenseless, and empower human predators to wreak havoc.
The true answer to violence in our society would be complex and difficult. It would require intellectual honesty and genuine commitment on the part of politicians to tackle the real issues of poverty, a failed education system, racial discrimination, and more. However, that is apparently too difficult. So, they return to the intellectually dishonest, facile tactic of misleading the public about guns, engaging in scare tactics to make it appear as though they care. Meanwhile, they ignore the fact that restrictions on guns, ownership, and the right to self-defense have actually contributed to making Chicago a more dangerous place.
I had high hopes when Mr. Weis came to the CPD. Now, it appears, he joins the ranks of public officials who have failed us."
Hat tip to readers Blake and Ambiguous...
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ABC News in another hit piece
I was too busy to give it justice, but Confederate Yankee does a great job.
It is a sign of the weakening dollar that now you're expected to pay a $20 bribe to get your car, and anything hidden in its truck, across the border. In the days when I had time, $10 did it, and offering $20 would excite suspicion that you really did have a trunk full of AKs and C4 and a body.
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Bit of embarassment for TV personality
Oops. I think with a declining value of the dollar you now have to be worth *ten* million to become eccentric....
Via Instapundit...
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Interesting study of media slant
Right here.
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Editorial--now this is the media we're used to!
Editorial in the (VA) Daily Press. Count the nonsequiturs. My favorite: a bill allowing CCW holders into restaurants that serve alcohol, so long as they do not drink it themselves, was properly vetoed because " Alcohol and firearms are a dangerous mix."
Of course illustrating that with two incidents involving drunken federal agents gets second prize.
And a bill allowing a firearm in a vehicle so long as it was under lock and key would have made the lives of policemen risky. We all know how cop-killers like to put their guns in locked containers, so the officer has a sporting chance.
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Newspaper runs a pro-gun show piece
"More Guns, Less Crime" Why a convention center in Wilmington was Ohio's safest place last weekend" in the Cincinnati Enquirer.
If it'd been the Philadelphia Inquirer, we'd know the Seventh Seal had been opened.
Hat tip to Dan Gifford...
[update: spelling corrected, thanks]
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This is the Chicago Sun-Times?
For the second time this week, I am thunder-struck:
"Daley unveils annual gun control legislation
Moved by the shooting deaths of five students at Northern Illinois University, Mayor Daley today unveiled his annual package of gun control legislation, even as a State Senate sponsor acknowledged that none of the bills could have prevented the tragedy."
"State Sen. John Cullerton (D-Chicago) acknowledged that none of the bills would have prevented Steve Kazmierczak from opening fire on Valentine’s Day afternoon in a crowded NIU lecture hall."
"For 19 years, Daley has been beating his head against the wall on gun-control issues, stymied repeatedly in Springfield."
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Very funny...
Via Instapundit comes this from IowaHawk. First paragraphs:
"Bylines of Brutality
As Casualties Mount, Some Question The Emotional Stability of Media Vets
An Iowahawk Special Investigative Report
With Statistical Guidance from the New York Times
A Denver newspaper columnist is arrested for stalking a story subject. In Cincinnati, a television reporter is arrested on charges of child molestation. A North Carolina newspaper reporter is arrested for harassing a local woman. A drunken Chicago Sun-Times columnist and editorial board member is arrested for wife beating. A Baltimore newspaper editor is arrested for threatening neighbors with a shotgun. In Florida, one TV reporter is arrested for DUI, while another is charged with carrying a gun into a high school. A Philadelphia news anchorwoman goes on a violent drunken rampage, assaulting a police officer. In England, a newspaper columnist is arrested for killing her elderly aunt.
Unrelated incidents, or mounting evidence of that America's newsrooms have become a breeding ground for murderous, drunk, gun-wielding child molesters? Answers are elusive, but the ever-increasing toll of violent crimes committed by journalists has led some experts to warn that without programs for intensive mental health care, the nation faces a potential bloodbath at the hands of psychopathic media vets.
"These people could snap at any minute," says James Treacher of the Treacher Institute for Journalist Studies. "We need to get them the help and medication they need before it's too late.""
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Robert VerBruggen takes on Harvard Crimson
At American Spectator, the Wash. Time's Robert VerBruggen chews up the Harvard Crimson.
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Harvard Crimson: Repeal the Second Amendment
Editorial, via Instapundit, here.
I'll merely take on the first paragraph.
"Written in an age in which minutemen rose to dress and fight at a moment’s notice,"
Actually, the minutemen were but a tiny part of the militia that fought in those days.
" the Second Amendment was no doubt motivated by a young nation’s concern for its own safety and stability."
The use of "no doubt" suggests that the authors are completely unaware of the Second Amendment's history.
"But now, when the United States is protected by the most powerful security forces on the globe,"
Yep. They don't even understand that a major part of the push for a Second Amendment centered on fears of just that security force! I guess they've never heard of Madison's Federalist 46. Or perhaps of Madison.
"the Second Amendment is neither relevant nor useful."
That line is explained by their historical ignorance.
"Rather, it has become an impediment to vital public policy,"
I.e., enacting gun controls that do no good.
"and it should be repealed and replaced with nuanced federal legislation."
Nuanced? That's SO 2004! Why should any criminal law be "nuanced?" In that setting, "nuanced" means "void for vagueness."
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Response to editorial column
And a good one. Let's see... the column says the solution is more gun laws, because locking up people who criminally assault others with guns would overcrowd the jails?
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Phila. Daily News
An editorial in the Philadelphia Daily News asks, "WHAT WILL it take to bring our Harrisburg lawmakers to their senses, to break them out of the National Rifle Association's hypnotic trance and pass the handgun laws we so desperately need? A splash of cold water to their faces? A sustained high-decibel scream? A sharp snap of the fingers?"
How about a demonstration that the gun laws the News is pushing will work, or have worked anywhere else? Strangely, the editorial entirely neglects that detail.
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More on "assault rifles," Brady, and officer slayings
Snowflakes in Hell has further analysis of data on the question. As I'd noted a bit earlier, rifles of any type were involved in a small minority of LEO killings. He looks deeper into the data -- which doesn't give weapon type, but does give caliber -- and notes that in 2006, chamberings associated with "assault guns" were involved in a total of four LEO deaths. Since these chamberings are also used in rifles that aren't within most definitions of "assault rifles," the actual number may be lower. The most we can say is that in 2006, two years after the "assault rifle" ban expired, it is likely that the number used in LEO slayings was 0-4.
No wonder the CNN article, the newspaper piece, and the Brady Campaign claims that police are faced with a wave of AW attacks didn't quote any figures....
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CNN and media touting Brady Campaign story on assault rifles
CNN runs a special on how police are under fire due to expiration of the "assault gun ban." "Across the country, at least 62 police officers have been gunned down this year -- a record pace, said Robert Tessaro, the associate director for law enforcement relations for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence."
Now the Baltimore Sun comes in with "The IACP reissued its call for a ban in September, noting a 59 percent increase in the number of law enforcement officers shot and killed this year compared with 2006....The group attributed the spike in police deaths to an increase in violent crime, the availability of guns and the absence of an assault weapons ban." I won't go into how misleading these pieces are (including quoting rates of fire for full auto weapons, and referring to former Soviet bloc guns flooding the streets) but it's immediately noticeable that when it comes to the core of the story ... officers being shot with "assault rifles" ... there are no figures given in either.
Here's a chart of LEOs killed feloniously (which is about the only way it can be done) in the line of duty, 1972-2006.
The worst point was 1973, 134 officers killed -- nearly twice the level that CNN and Brady call a "record." Throughout the 70s, the level remained about a hundred per year. In 1993, BEFORE the assault gun ban, it had declined to 70 per year. The same in 1994, first year of the ban. For the ten years of the ban, it see-sawed, mostly in the 50s and 60s. 2004, as the ban ends, it was at 57.
But if we're talking assault rifles, maybe we ought to look at that specifically. Unfortunately, I can't find any breakdown for that (because there is no real definition of assault rifle in semiauto form), but we can look at rifles in general.
Here's a table of weapons used to kill LEOs. Over the 1990s, rifles (of all types) figured in around 10 officer slayings per year. In 2004, when the assault gun ban ended, it was 13. In 2005, after the ban ended, that actually fell, to 3.
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More on New York's "musket loophole"
"Last week, The Investigators went undercover to expose a gaping loophole in New York state's gun laws. Now Governor Eliot Spitzer is promising to examine the problem more closely."
.....
"The black powder rifle's exemption from gun laws is one of the last remaining major gun loopholes in the state of New York. But the days of buying this deadly weapon no questions asked may be numbered.
Our undercover investigation showed with alarming clarity just how easy it is to get a black powder rifle in New York."
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Off topic but quite annoying
From ABC News, "The Case for Israel's Strike Against Syria":
"A senior U.S. official told ABC News the Israelis first discovered a suspected Syrian nuclear facility early in the summer, and the Mossad — Israel's intelligence agency — managed to either co-opt one of the facility's workers or to insert a spy posing as an employee....
But the hardest evidence of all was the photographs.
The official described the pictures as showing a big cylindrical structure, with very thick walls all well-reinforced. The photos show rebar hanging out of the cement used to reinforce the structure, which was still under construction."
Great. Some ^%&# leaker, for the sake of ego, or maintaining a tie with the media, plus ABC itself, for the sake of releasing a story, lets the world know that (1) there is a spy in the facility, (2) he took photos (let's start asking if anyone saw a fellow that might be hiding a camera) and (3) the exact state of the construction at the point when the spy was there and taking pictures.
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New York TV station focuses on "muzzle-loader loophole"
Channel 7 (ABC, NYC) is on a crusade... not against "assault weapons," handguns, .50 cals, but to close the musket loophole. They have calls in to the Governor's Office, asking what he's going to do about the risk of criminals and lunatics going on a rampage with an 1861 Springfield, or perhaps a flintlock plains rifle.
You can picture the headlines: "SWAT team rushes sniper, takes powder horn from his hand"
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Texas man who shot two burglars...
Instapundit is down on the FoxNews reporter who, well, stalked him, and with good reason.
UPDATE: it appears the reporter has been suspended. Maybe someone can find her, interview her and ask if those are tears of remorse?
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NY Times -- a rather disgusting silence
Story in the NY Post. A native of NYC gets a posthumous Medal of Honor, the first such issued in the Afghan fighting ... and the NY Times declines to cover the story.
A Google search of news shows the story is covered by the AP, NY Sun, NY Post, Newsday, NY Daily News, newspapers in Hawaii, California, D.C., Pennsylvania, Colorado, and others. But not in the NY Times.
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Media discover loophole: gun laws don't cover muskets!
Story here:
"It's a replica of an antique firearm and federal and state gun laws do not apply to antique-type guns. It can be purchased without any background check."
....
""We're undermined by weak laws elsewhere and this simply must be changed," said Jackie Kuhls, executive director for New Yorkers Against Gun Violence.
A former agent for the Bureau of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms says for state and federal law not to consider this rifle a firearm is crazy.
"It is totally outrageous to have this type of firearm considered to be an illegal type of firearm, especially under federal and state law," said former ATF agent Domincik Polifrone."
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New York TImes on instant check and.. the constitution
It's just what you might expect, but Instapundit draws attention to one remarkable gaffe:
"But that’s to care for them as human beings, under that other constitutional right — to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."
*Constitutional* right?
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The old media
A commentary on the MSM and the gun issue.
Here's the paper to which it refers. (pdf)
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Followup on news story from Iraq
A comment on the previous entry noted that the "bullets" the Iraqi lady is holding appear to be, not only unfired ammo, but civilian unfired ammo. To get a better look, I enlarged their image 400% in Photoshop, then scanned in some military ammo (too lazy to take a good photo just now) beside it.
When a cartridge is manufactured, the neck and shoulder are annealed (heat treated). It leaves a visible discoloration, ranging from a lighter yellow to a silver shade, with bands of purple. (The neck of the military round isn't clearly visible, due to using a scanner, but it has the effect, too). Civilian ammo manufacturers don't like the look and polish it away. The military doesn't care and lets it be. The rounds she is holding certainly look like civilian ammo to me. But where would she get it and why? Possibly there's civilian 5.56/.223 floating around Iraq. The other possibility is that the "stringer" who took the picture picked some up as a stage prop.
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Good news and bad news
Various media outlets reported yesterday that a military operation was underway to rescue Korean hostages held by the Taliban. The report turned out to be false.
That was the good news.
The bad news would have been that, if it were true, such reporting might have gotten people killed.
I guess the media just has to have its priorities....
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CNN transcript somewhat altered?
Read here.
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Audio of Boston Globe reporter talking about his straw buy
Here's the audio. It's pretty funny when the radio host starts Mirandizing the reporter.
(IF, a big if, the version the reporter later gives is true, then maybe it wasn't a straw sale. The buyer was an NH resident kept the gun after the sale, and kept it in NH. Although Rosenthal of Stop Handgun Violence keeps insisting "it actually was a straw purchase." And there's always 18 US Code section 2, which makes it a felony to command another person to commit one, to advise or counsel them on it, etc.)
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Boston Globe defends making a straw man buy
And Say Uncle takes them down.
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Christian Science Monitor on guns and Mexico
Ah, at least CSM will remind me of how the media is supposed to be! Here's their editorial, "Rescue Mexico from US Guns". I'll take the major parts one by one.
It's not only poverty propelling Mexicans into the US. Rising gun violence by drug gangs, and lately a military surge against them, have driven many to cross the border. And where do these drug cartels get their arsenal of weapons? El Norte, of course.Lax gun laws and lax enforcement in the United States have made it easy for Mexican gunrunners to buy and transport everything from AK-47s to Stinger antiaircraft missiles, which then allows the cartels to use these high-powered weapons against rival gangs or against a military attack.
Hmm... it's been a while since I've seen a Stinger for sale at the local swap meet, or an unlicensed AK-47. CSM's editors must hang out in some rougher places than I visit.
Most alarming is the increasing flow of combat-style rifles into Mexico, often just a few at a time hidden in the trunk of a car. That trend is partly a result of Congress allowing the US ban on assault weapons to lapse in 2004.
Earth to space cadet. Report in at once. The "ban" on AWs banned a few models by name, and required others to be made without a few features (e.g., a bayonet lug). Are the Mexican cartels fixing bayonets? As far as taking arms into Mexico in the trunk of a car -- this would be more difficult if the border guards couldn't be bribed (customary mordida is $10) to skip searching a car. This is a Mexican problem, not a US one.
But also worrisome is an increase in Mexican gang agents at US gun shows who brazenly pay citizens to buy weapons for them.
Got some examples?
An undercover investigation by Garen Wintemute, a University of California professor, found such illegal "straw purchases" are common at gun shows. He used hidden recording devices at 28 shows in five states during 2005 and 2006 to detect 24 illegal sales.
You can read his study (partially funded by Joyce Foundation) here. (1) We have to rely upon his judgment that he could tell a straw sale by watching, and that he reports it fairly; (2) the data on this is supposedly in Table 3. Unfortunately, the report has only two Tables. (3) He claims to have observed illegal sales in the immediate vicinity of police officers, which makes one justifiably suspicious that they weren't illegal sales; (4) he claims to have seen 24 straw sales and 3 probables, at 28 gun shows, which doesn't suggest much of an issue, and (5) he claims some behavior that I have never observed at a gun show, such as taking cell phone pictures of guns.
He says California has stronger gun laws than the other four states, and his research shows the result is less illegal trade and proves that tough regulation can work.
He refers to Table 3, which can't be found.
Just as the US expects Mexico to curtail illegal migration
Not a prayer, guys. Haven't you heard that there is a government agency, Grupo B, which gives them bus rides to the border?
the US needs to do far more to help Mexico in its current campaign against powerful drug cartels and to block these private armies from getting US guns.
Understand, CSM editors, the cartels own the Mexican government. There are even standard procedures for getting paid. (Cash is provided via third parties, who can be killed in the unlikely event the bribes are investigated).
he US and Mexico already work together against drug trafficking. But it is weak gun laws in the US – compared with strict ones in Mexico – that help drive the cross-border gun trade.
Those strict Mexican gun laws -- at least this part is true. What is also true is that Mexico has a murder rate 250% that of the US.
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Straw man buy by Boston Globe
The Boston Herald picks up the story. A Boston Globe reporter set up a straw man sale in New Hampshire so he could write a story about it, and the Globe paid for the buy.
Say Uncle notes there's even more to the story -- a leader of the antigunners was involved in the illegal buy, too. Apart from the felonies committed (sale to nonresident, false paperwork), it's interesting that the Globe is comfortable with its reporters working hand-in-hand with such leadership.
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New vs. Old Media
The latest bin Laden videotape:
The Australian proclaims "CAIRO: Al-Qa'ida leader Osama bin Laden has praised martyrdom as a weapon and a path to glory for Muslims in a new video posted on a website yesterday."
CBS says much the same. The new media: Michelle Malkin's HotAir runs it to ground, shows that the hills in the background exactly match those in a taped interview of bin Laden that was released in 2002 and probably dates to 2001 -- five or six years ago. As she notes, this is a further indication that bin Laden is dead. Why use ancient footage, unless he's not around to be filmed? Permalink
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Now BBC publishes a pretty fair article on Americans and guns. It opens with an interview of Suzanna Hupp, no less. But here in the US, the Sandusky Register, presumably hard up for controversy, publishes the names and addresses of CCW permit holders. Who respond by searching public records on the publisher and putting them online (they're polite enough to redact his SSN). Hat tip to Dan Gifford. Permalink
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The Washington Examiner reports that the National Press Club cancelled an appearance by Venezuelan Students Abroad, who wished to speak on human rights abuses in their country, after the Venezuelan Embassy objected. Always nice to see how seriously the press takes freedom of speech. It's unclear whether the principle involved is (a) you may only address human rights abuses if the abuser has no objection, or (b) you may only criticize human rights abuses if the abuser is not on the political left. Permalink
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At last there is a rival to the media's constant descriptions of denials of certiorari as "upholding" the decision below. I've seen this several times in the last few months: "...and other supporters say they will get the 60 votes needed on Tuesday to resume debate in the 100-member Senate." Note to reporters supposedly covering Capitol Hill: a cloture vote CUTS OFF debate. What do you think they are doing right now, if not debating? Permalink
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Not to say it's a tiny bit slanted, but the title tells you all you need to know: "The Next Big Thing in Law? The Harsh Jurisprudence of Justice Thomas". Although Thomas himself has explained his silence in oral arguments (he grew up speaking Gullah, and the transition made him shy about speaking) the article says that people speculate that it's because "he is afraid that if he speaks he will reveal his ignorance about the case; he is so ideologically driven that he invariably comes with his mind made up; or he has contempt for the process." He "regularly rules for the powerful over the weak, and has a legal philosophy notable for its indifference to suffering." "He appears poised in the next few weeks to achieve his longstanding goal: dismantling the integrationist vision of his predecessor Thurgood Marshall." He started out rather liberal, but then sold out: "But as he accepted jobs from Republicans eager to hire a conservative black lawyer, he shifted rightward." He is always "quick to reach a harsh result." [via Prof. Bernstein at the Volokh Conspiracy] Permalink
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Actually, a pretty balanced piece. Permalink
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The Arizona Republic carries a story on it. I wouldn't doubt that there's some of that, but I'm told by Border Patrol friends that the smugglers prefer full auto AKs, which you don't find in the typical American gun store, nor get without a government clearance if you do. And the story goes WAY overboard with scare lines like: "Cartel operatives flood Arizona to buy semi-automatic assault rifles, grenades, plastic explosives and rocket launchers in bulk. " Hmmm.... I dunno about anyone else here, but I can't think of a place that sells grenades, plastic explosive, or rocket launchers, let alone in bulk. If they are getting any, there's only one place they could come from: government supplies. Permalink
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Rec'd an email from Don Kates, via Dan Gifford: "The pervasive inaccuracy of the N.Y. TIMES on gun issues is epitomized From the article the ordinary reader would come away with the following The truth is almost diametrically opposite: 1) From its enactment till the outset of the 20th Century gun control 2) The states’ right and collective rights theories are inventions of 3) Over 120 law review articles have addressed the Second Amendment Permalink
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Newsbusters has the story. The 2007 Brady Center fundraising dinner will feature Sam Donaldson as Master of Ceremonies. (Mike Wallace was a speaker at their 2005 event honoring Art Buchwald). Media bias? Nawwwww.... [Second hand hat tip: Newsbusters says they got the news from Cam Edwards. Permalink
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A letter to the editor in the N.M. Daily Lobo: "Imagine that we can all carry weapons to campus. If an unbalanced individual walks into a class, pulls a weapon and opens fire, absolute chaos will ensue. The 20 students in the class will overreact as the adrenaline pumps through their bodies and open fire not only at the shooter, but at their classmates, as well. Other students who come into class brandishing their weapons, not knowing who initiated the violence, will start firing at everyone with a gun." [Link fixed--thanks...] Permalink
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Such as Mark Steyn, in the Chicago Sun-Times. Except: "Virginia Tech, remember, was a "gun-free zone," formally and proudly designated as such by the college administration. Yet the killer kept his guns and ammo on the campus. It was a "gun-free zone" except for those belonging to the guy who wanted to kill everybody. Had the Second Amendment not been in effect repealed by VT, someone might have been able to do as two students did five years ago at the Appalachian Law School: When a would-be mass murderer showed up, they rushed for their vehicles, grabbed their guns and pinned him down until the cops arrived. But you can't do that at Virginia Tech. Instead, the administration has created a "Gun-Free School Zone." Or, to be more accurate, they've created a sign that says "Gun-Free School Zone." And, like a loopy medieval sultan, they thought that simply declaring it to be so would make it so. The "gun-free zone" turned out to be a fraud -- not just because there were at least two guns on the campus last Monday, but in the more important sense that the college was promoting to its students a profoundly deluded view of the world." Permalink
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Every now and then, one retires, and then speaks his mind. Tom Plate was formerly editorial page editor of the LA Times; now he teaching at UCLA and free to tell us what he thinks: "In the nineties, the Los Angeles Times courageously endorsed an all-but-complete ban on privately owned guns, in an effort to greatly reduce their availability." "The correct target of our concern needs to be guns. America has more than it can possibly handle. How many can our society handle? My opinion is: as close to zero as possible." Permalink
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WTOP has the rather casual story. Permalink
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CNN has a VERY good program on the Roanoke Times having "outed" CCW permittees. The reporter who outed them claimed to have been receiving threats after that, and then that a suspicious package (which turned out to be just what it was labelled, a bunch of DHL shipping lables in a box) had arrived on his doorstep. Just for more amusement, VCDL got an audio of the reporter's 911 call and the police radio calls thereafter. After searching for the threat reports, they mention that the only reports of his name are as an offender. Here's the audio. Permalink
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Puerto Rico has a high crime rate: the Orlando Sentinel says it must be due to Florida's law gun laws. [Link updated, thanks to comment] Permalink
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Here's the editorial. "this radical ruling will inevitably mean more people killed and wounded..." "it was not completely unexpected, given the unconscionable campaign, led by the National Rife Association and abetted by the Bush administration, to broadly reinterpret the Constitution so as to give individuals Second Amendment rights. " [At least they do give a mention to the Cato Institute, which actually filed the suit and handled the appeal. It's quite obvious that the Post hates the Second Amendment, and hates the NRA, so anytime it covers the first it has to insert the second]. " Nor, for that matter, would it serve the nation's interest to leave this dangerous ruling unchallenged." I could be wrong, but I don't recall the Post ever (and I lived in DC and read it for nearly ten years) going this wild over a court decision. It's amusing that in the entire editorial attacking the decision, not one mention is made of its reasoning or basis. The Post's only concern is with its result. Permalink
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The Florida Sun-Sentinel runs a long series on the CCW permit system. All utterly impartial of course, with headlines like: "Police, sheriff groups back tighter restrictions on state's gun laws" "Florida legislator targets concealed weapons permits of reckless users" "Gov. Crist calls for meeting on loopholes in concealed weapons law" "Who carries a gun? It's a state secret" "Marion Hammer, NRA lobbyist" "Errors, weak laws keep concealed weapons in questionable hands around Florida" "Most states draw tougher lines on guns" "Want a gun? Florida makes it easy" Permalink
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A station is announcing that its investigation shows non-dealers can legally sell to felons. No mention of the fact that a non-dealer selling to a felon has been a federal felony since 1986. The push is actually to require background checks for private sales. [Light blogging today--I'm on the way home, and doing this in a hotel where I wound up stranded overnight]. Permalink
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Texas is considering the different self-defense supplements, and the L.A. Times describes them... "In a "shoot first, ask questions later" approach to personal safety, state lawmakers are weighing a bill that would give Texans the right to use deadly force as a first resort when they feel their safety is threatened." "The bill allows a person to claim self-defense if he or she feels threatened at home, in a car or place of business." "Florida legislators, who in 2005 were the first in the nation to enact a "stand your ground" statute, are already rethinking the law." Permalink
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The Sun-Sentinel has spent a week attacking the Florida shall-issue law, and a reader has a concise response. Best part: Permalink
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Readers respond to the Florida hit-pieces on "shall issue." Permalink
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I'd noted earlier that the media seemed to be going back to its traditional ways, of serving as an arm of the antigun movement. Well... Yesterday the antigun Violence Policy Center (as in Joyce Foundation is its main income, $400,000 a year) issued a press releaseMedia morning
Freedom of speech and the National Press Club
At last there is a media rival....
NY Times on Justice Thomas
NY Times on "assault rifles"
Gun smuggling to Mexico
Don Kates on the NY Times piece
by the fact that the article that follows is probably the most honest
treatment it has ever given a gun issue – and yet is still fundamentally
misleading.
impression: 1) from its enactment in 1791 to roughly 1980 everyone
viewed the 2nd Am. as a states right (or a meaningless "collective
right"); 2) since c. 1980 a few ivory tower intellectuals have theorized
that the 2nd Am. might be a right of individual gun owners; 3)
nonetheless the great majority of authorities say that is wrong.
movement there was no controversy over the 2nd Am. – not one court or
commentator denied that it was a right of individual gun owners. 18th
and 19th Century judges and commentators routinely described it as a
right of individual gun owners and expressly analogized it to the rights
of freedom of speech, religion, jury trial etc., etc.
the 20th Century gun control movement having no historical
constitutional provenance whatever. Far from the 2d Am being a states’
right, 200 years of Supreme Court cases on the militia hold that the
federal government has plenary power over it with state authority being
limited to issues on which Congress has not spoken.
since 1980. The overwhelming majority affirm that it guarantees a right
of individual gun owners. That is why the individual right view is
called the "standard model" view of the 2d Am by supporters and
opponents alike. With virtually no exceptions, the few articles to the
contrary have been written by gun control advocates, mostly by people in
the pay of the anti-gun lobby. In contrast, a very substantial
proportion of the standard model articles are written by scholars who
ruefully admit that they support gun control but must honestly admit
that the evidence is overwhelming that the 2d Am precludes banning guns
to the general population."Sam Donaldson of ABC News to host Brady fundraiser
The winner!
Some of the MSM get it
Media leader speaks frankly
Six children killed -- no media outcry, prob. since no gun was used
CNN program on Roanoke Times revealing CCW permit lists
Orlando Sentinel & Puerto Rican crime rates
WaPo raves about DC decision
Now, this is the media I'm used to
Media push in WI
LA Times on Castle Doctrine, No-Retreat Laws
Letter to editor re: Fla Sun-Sentinel attack on CCW law
"Your newspaper direly predicted "gunfights erupting in the streets" when the carry laws were improved to allow for a better right to self-defense outside the home a few months ago. Where are all those gunfights now? "
Florida readers hit back
Media forming herd
But the media uncritically leap into line:
The Philie Inquirer runs an editoral today entitled "Open Season on Young Black Men; Thank Gun Laws for Fact PA Leads the Nation in Black Homicides." (It didn't do much research: it claims that the "Handgun Owner Protection Act" hobbles BATF. It's the "Firearms Owners' Protection Act," and doesn't).
Other Pennsylvania press pick up the story, here and here
News outlets in other states pick it up, Kansas City; Maryland. The LA Times covers it with notes that California ranked No. 4.
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Newspaper begins attack on Florida "shall issue" law
The South Florida Sun-Sentinel has commenced a week-long series of articles attacking Florida's shall-issue CCW law.
As I read the first article: Florida law gives judges the power to take a plea, impose probation (without entering a conviction) and if the person completes that, "withhold conviction." OK, they're not convicted of anything, and eligible for a permit.
So the newspaper hunts up those cases, looks for the worst -- one guy got judges to "withhold conviction" on a manslaughter rap, on possession of ten pounds of pot, and on a CCW charge. The real question is ... why are the judges withholding convictions, if the cases are this bad? The problem is with the judges and the legal system here, and the easy way to ensure these folks don't get licenses is to get the judges to convict.
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Philadelpha Inquirer makes correction
A few days ago, I posted a critique of an Inquirer story, quoting Brady leaders, saying that dealers' records could only be inspected once a year.
An alert reader emailed the editorial staff with the link, and asked them to check it out. Today they published a correction, acknowledging that ATF can also check records anytime there is a criminal investigation.
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Chicago Alderman with illegal gun...got it from a TV show host
The Sun-Times has the story.
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Media waking up
They're starting to push on the assault weapons and gun show issues. Expect more.
Update: here it comes. (Via the Bitchgirls.
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Story on illegal guns
It's in the Florida Times-Union. Sounds a little as if the reporter wanted to write an anti-gun story, but came up with no material. The murderer who talked said he got his guns by stealing them from a railroad car. Police tried some "stings" at gun shows and gun dealerships and came up empty, confirming their belief that illegal guns were coming from burglaries. The sheriff has a copy of the Second Amendment on his wall. The main beef is that prosecutors aren't anxious to find out the sources of illegal guns as part of a plea bargain or confession.
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Favorable Op-Ed on requiring gun ownership -- in the NY Times?
Glenn Reynolds has an Op-Ed, in the NY Times, favoring municipal statutes requiring gun ownership!
"While pro-gun laws like the one in Greenleaf are mostly symbolic, to the extent that they actually make a difference, it is likely to be a positive one.
Greenleaf is following in the footsteps of Kennesaw, Ga., which in 1982 passed a mandatory gun ownership law in response to a handgun ban passed in Morton Grove, Ill. Kennesaw’s crime dropped sharply, while Morton Grove’s did not.
To some degree, this is rational. Criminals, unsurprisingly, would rather break into a house where they aren’t at risk of being shot. As David Kopel noted in a 2001 article in The Arizona Law Review, burglars report that they try to avoid homes where armed residents are likely to be present. We see this phenomenon internationally, too, with the United States having a lower proportion of “hot” burglaries — break-ins where the burglars know the home to be occupied — than countries with restrictive gun laws."
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Australian media and a rather confusing headline
"Anti-gun lobby concerned laws will be watered down". After reading the article, I concluded it means that an antigun lobbying group is concerned that existing gun laws will be watered down. At first read, I thought it might mean that laws concerning some manner of gun lobby would be watered down. On the up side, this is the first time which I can recall in which any media, US, Aussie or anywhere else, has described a group lobbying for gun control as an antigun "lobby."
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Paper publishes names of gun permit holders
A while back, the Journal News printed the names of 30,000 licensed New York gun owners (and thoughtfully provides an on-line list, for any burglars with internet access). It caught some flak and now has this response.
"The Constitution gives people the right to own guns in this country, and it also gives people the right to know whether they own a gun or not," said Henry Freeman, editor and vice president/news at The Journal News. "This is a public record. People have a right to know that.
"We did take it into consideration and did not publish your street address, which is also public information."
I don't think anyone doubted that they had a legal right to do it. Under the first amendment, they would have had a right to write a story praising the KKK, or suggesting excellent targets for future terror efforts. When you do that -- or run a story that targets people simply because they have obeyed the law -- the question is one of judgment, consideration, fairness, not of right. To talk of "having a right" in this context is the equivalent of "I did it because you can't stop me."
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Media response to Ohio override
The legislature passes pre-emption, the Gov. vetoes it, the legislature overrides him by a comfortable 2/3 majority in each house.
The Morning Journal says it's time to take it to court.
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CBS evening news on Parker case & Saul Cornell
CBS News has Lawyers, Guns And History: Recent News Over The Right To Bear Arms.
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ESPN on athletes and guns
A rather hyped article, and apparently by someone who knows little about firearms. "That's a clip," [fired off] Scott said matter-of-factly as he looked up, emptied the cartridge from his handgun and slid the weapon into his front pocket."
Hat tip to reader Ken Bullock...
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Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists
The Bulletin has an article entitled The NRA Goes Global. I trust their grasp of science is better than their grasp of politics.
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NY Times on proposal to allow carrying in Nat'l Parks
I guess it was a slow news day, so the NY Times ran a predictable editorial on the bill, introduced by outgoing Sen. George Allen, to allow firearms carry in national parks.
What was it the emperor Julian said of the gladiatorial games -- he would stand the brutality, but not the boredom? Let's see, the 2nd amendment is a collective right, the bill is being cheered on by the gun lobby (I don't see signs it's noticed it yet), the NRA and its cohorts stand for armed paranoia, if people feel insecure in the parks they should pay more taxes for more park employeees to protect them.
Reminds me of the famous painting of a NYC perspective, where NYC dominates 90% of the world view, there's a little strip representing the rest of the country, and dots of foreign countries beyond. From the NYT standpoint parks = city parks. Main risk is mugging. From the rest of the country's standpoint: National Parks, esp. mean thousands of wilderness acres, where risks include things like bears,venomous snakes, and the like.
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"Students Say No to Guns"
That's how station WALB (Alabany, GA) carries the story, adding "Some Albany youth pledge to stay away from guns. "
Actually, the story says they swore "to stay away from gun violence."
More "security theater." One of the sponsors, the US Attorney's Office, commented that they "think that we need a response to violent crimes that are taking over here in our community..." So the solution is to make a bunch of people promise they won't commit violent crime. For Pete's sake, they didn't include the "stick a thousand needles in my eye" part, without which no gradeschool promise is binding!
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Canadian media hatchet job
From the Montreal Gazette comes this piece, about a group of licensed competitive shooters (obviously a suspicious if not bloodthirsty lot!):
"The shooting rampage at Dawson College last month refocused the gun-control debate."....
"You'd never know it to look at them. In regular life, the Sunday shooters are just normal people with normal jobs....." [Zombies. They're all around you, but you can't tell it]
"Though professing a message of vigilance and safety, they collect gun paraphernalia, troll the Internet looking for gun websites and wear T-shirts logo'd with the provocative names of gun manufacturers and organizations. One of them is called Canadian GunNutz, and its emblem is a beaver holding an assault rifle."
"....they feel part of a misunderstood fraternity." (No ____?)
"The targets themselves are of two types: special octagonal cardboard targets about the size of a human torso, and thick steel targets called poppers, shaped in the rough size of a child..."
"But to an outsider, the match does seem to mimic something all too real: the modus operandi of a madman on a murder spree."
After all, weren't gunmen like Kimveer Gill just as brazen and agile as these shooters aim to be in competition? Didn't Gill fire his semi-automatics while out in the open and on the move? And didn't he aim to hit his targets?"
Continue reading "Canadian media hatchet job"
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Pro-gun story in Philie Inquirer
The Philadelphia Inquirer actually covered the pro-gun side of the legislative debate in PA.
Gad, here's another article in it, saying that studies have shown the laws being proposed have no effect.
Rather astonishing....
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Bloomberg suits criticized
The NY Sun has run an article that actually covers critics of the Bloomberg lawsuits.
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Media on gun buybacks
Newsbusters has a post on how, when the WashPo and the AP ran a story on a DC guy buyback, they for some reason couldn't find a single skeptic or critic to balance the story.
Actually, I rather like gun buybacks. I've got a cheapy gun I got at a yard sale and which has broken down, and I'd be happy to get $50-100 for it, when no buyer in their right mind would offer that. Last time we had one in Tucson, every gunny in town got rid of their old junk. I later got the records of what was turned in, and it was pretty funny. Air guns, gun parts (apparently the folks operating the buyback didn't know guns). A "Mars" brand revolver (those were cheapies made around the 1890s).
Some gun collectors took up station outside the collection points, and if they saw someone with a good firearm, offered them $25 more than the city was paying, and picked up some nice bargains. There were rumors that one local gun dealer cleaned out his stocks of junkers that were being cannibalized for parts and sent his employees rotating among the collection points, turning them in two or three at a time.
[Via the Volokh Conspiracy]
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Hilarious--media gets knickers in a knot over minature guns
A CBS station in New York has discovered a new gun menace.
Minature guns. Apart from the fact that they are about two inches long, fire a tiny bullet at 400 feet per second, cost upwards of $5,000, only 50 have been made by this company, and can't be imported into the US, they are the perfect criminal tool.
"These bullets could be aimed at the face." "No SwissMiniGuns have been recovered here yet..."
I suppose the station would be really upset if told that miniature guns have been made for at least three centuries, and were long a "final exam" for high-level European gunsmiths, on the theory that anyone who could build a flintlock that fired a ball the size of matchstick had proven his artistry beyond any doubt.
UPDATE in light of comment: a .092 ball would be about the size of a single No. 8 birdshot, which weighs in at 1.07 grains or 1/400 of an ounce. At 400 feet per second (about a third of the speed at which a shotgun launches birdshot) I doubt it could penetrate the skin. Might leave a red mark, tho.
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A few media errors
How many errors can AP make in a five-sentence story, based on a written report? Gene Volokh counts four errors.
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Now this is how to spin a story....
Regarding Mayor Bloomberg's "sting" of gun dealers -- The total conviction count is one dealer pleads to disorderly conduct. Bloomsberg's police seize the gun store inventory, then return it quietly a week later.
He sues out of state dealers, two have filed counter-suits, and he offers to settle against the others for supervision -- for which NYC will pay.
Comes now the Queens' Ledger to proclaim it a great success. "As a result of Spallone's arrest, 200 handguns and 34 rifles were taken off the streets." "Mayor Michael Bloomberg seemed happy with the news, stating that the case sent the message "if you break the law, you are going to pay the price."
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Vegas paper takes on Brady
The Las Vegas Review-Journal has a blistering editorial on Brady Campaign's opposition to expansions of self-defense.
[Hat tip to Budd Schroeder]
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Now, this is the media that I'm used to
A Columbus OH paper responds to bills intended to expand self defense rights with a headline: "State lawmakers hope to pass a 'shoot first' bill" More below.
Continue reading "Now, this is the media that I'm used to"
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An Oooops moment
Michelle Malkin's HotAir is reporting a media event right out of Police Squad. CNN Anchorperson Kyra Phillips left her lapel mike live while going to the bathroom, during Pres. Bush's Katrina speech today, and the whole world got to hear about how she has to protect her brother from his "control freak" wife.
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Editorial attacking Florida laws
The Daytona Beach News-Journal has an editorial attacking the Florida firearms laws. [Hat tip of Bruce Mills]
Let's take it one step at a time.
"The bad news: Florida's gun-crazy. The worse news: The ailment is contagious.Since the spring of 2005, 15 states have adopted laws expanding the concept of self-defense to ludicrous -- and deadly -- proportions. Florida was the first to adopt the so-called "shoot first" or "stand your ground" law, which allows people to use deadly force whenever they feel threatened, so long as they are in a place they have a legal right to be. The new law erases any duty to try to get away, even if escape is possible."
A person under criminal attack, and who has reasonable fear they would be killed or maimed, shoots the attcking thug. Now can't be prosecuted on the theory that they could have escaped.... so why is that a bad thing? I suppose newspaper's sympathies are with the criminal who got hurt. Mine tend to be with the victim. Take your pick.
As Don Kates has pointed out with regard to another article, "Among the highly misleading things in this article is that the ordinary reader will probably never realize that the retreat rule has always been the minority rule in the U.S. So instead of a horrible earthshaking change taking place, all that is happening is that the legislatures of at most 15 states have adopted what was already the rule in most states."
"And it blocks any liability for innocent bystanders. If a person is aiming his gun at a potential assailant but hits a 5-year-old girl instead, he still can't be arrested or prosecuted -- no matter how reckless he was. He also has immunity from civil suits."
I'd have to examine the law closely to see if that was the result. But in any event, how can one be reckless in that situation? Perhaps if, with an onrushing thug, the victim put his hand over his eyes and emptied a magazine in the assailant's general direction. If that has happened in the history of this Republic, it hasn't come to my attention. Gimme a break, editor!
"Over the past year, it's become clear that the law -- pushed by the National Rifle Association, but applicable to any deadly assault -- makes it tougher for prosecutors. To obtain convictions in cases where an assailant claims self-defense, prosecutors must prove, usually months after the fact, what a shooter was thinking when she or he pulled the trigger."
That's one thing the law did NOT do. Before and after, self-defense required proof that the defender believed they were under deadly attack, and that that was a reasonable belief. So prosecutors already had to prove, at trial months down the road, whether the defender had a reasonable belief at the time.
"When the law was passed, opponents predicted it would become a shield for warring gang members in drug disputes. That claim was dismissed as nonsensical -- until a drug dealer was lured to a Lexington, Ky., apartment by a man who owed him money and beaten to death with a lamp.Two years ago, James Adam Clem, 27, would have faced homicide charges. But since Kentucky had passed a law identical to Florida's, prosecutors would have had to prove that Clem wasn't in fear for his life. The fact that he was able to club his victim to death, rather than shooting him, made no difference. Instead of going to trial, Clem got a favorable plea deal earlier this month, and may be eligible for parole by Christmas."
To be precise: the judge refused to dismiss the case, based on the law. He plead to manslaughter. His claim was that the guy had assaulted him (and, presumably, tried to kill him). There were no eyewitnesses.
The castle doctrine itself didn't play a role (the guy hadn't broken in). Retreat wouldn't have played a role, since Kentucky has never had a retreat requirement.
With or without the law, odds of getting a murder conviction on those facts are pretty slim. Even if you disprove self-defense, in a fight like that the jury is probably going to go with voluntary manslaughter. So the prosecution took what it'd probably get anyway. This is a case that turned out the way it would have turned out anyway, but the editorial blames it on the statute.
[I see a lot of complaints that the new law in KY was badly drafted, and that may be the case. If so, it merely points out that laws should be well-drafted, not that the idea itself was flawed]
"The Orlando Sentinel documented 13 shootings in Central Florida where the new law may come into play. In another case, a New Port Richey prostitute is using the new law as a defense against charges that she shot and killed her 72-year-old client after taking his gun away from him.Because the state doesn't keep track of shootings, there's no statewide total -- but the early figures suggest that it would be daunting as more people learn about the major loophole in the law."
I blogged the Orlando Sentinel article here. Yep, there were 13 self-defense arguments where the law might come into play. Five persons have been cleared so far (one under investigation was an off-duty officer -- the castle doctrine laws protect law enforcement, too).
As far as the prostitute goes, Don Kates took that case apart here. "Her story is that her elderly client pulled a gun declaring that he was going to kill her and then himself. She wrests the gun away from him and then shoots him rather than fleeing. Even under the retreat rule one is only required to retreat if ths is clearly possible. Under these circumstances she was privileged to shoot rather than run away taking the chance that this homicidally desperate man can jump on her and get the gun."
I note the ediorial omits the fact that the client had pulled a gun on the lady of the evening and threatened to kill her, instead making it sound as if she just decided to whack a client (which is bad for business, of course).
"Right before the law became effective Oct. 1, the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence launched a campaign warning tourists of the dangers of the new law. The campaign included ads in key "feeder" markets like Chicago, Detroit, Boston and the United Kingdom, and fliers distributed at Florida airports reading "An Important Notice to Florida Visitors." Under the heading of "sensible precautions," the fliers urged visitors to "not argue . . . with local people.""
As I noted in an earlier posting, Brady is having a bit of trouble here, since Florida's crime rates have fallen to the lowest level in 35 years. "A telephone message left for comment after hours with the The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence in Washington, D.C. was not immediately returned."
"The Brady Campaign can't single Florida out any more. Expect other states to see an escalation in unprosecutable shootings.The spotlight may veer away from Florida, but the fact remains that this state was the first to enact this dangerous and bloody law. Florida can get national headlines again -- for the right reason -- by being the first state to tear up this virtual get-out-of-jail-free card."
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Illinois troubles
Sounds like some serious trouble in Illinois ... and from the info given, it doesn't sound like the first time it's happened. I'm not familiar with ILL law, but from the way it's set out, it sounds like he was carrying legally (Firearm Owner ID card, unloaded gun, in a buckled case) and was arrested anyway.
UPDATE: The local paper has an editorial, essentially saying "he had it coming." Their version claims he faces felony CCW charges, and had a firearm in a hip holster, and treats it as if he were setting up a second amendment test case (which, from his posting, seems to have been far from his mind).
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Article on NJ gun laws
The Philadelpha Inquirer has an article on how much harder it was for a woman reporter to buy a gun in New Jersey (which the paper of course regards as a good thing). Two strange things, tho.
1. Apparently you must give the police references, to whom they send a questionaire asking, among other things, if you are an anarchist. I suppose this is a holdover from the beginning of the 20th century, when at least some anarchists were throwing bombs instead of holding long debates on how capitalism and neighborhood associations could replace government. But you'd think a newspaper would be a bit skeptical about police asking about First Amendment matters...
2. The authorities were so considerate, they dropped by her house to make sure her husband approved of her having a gun. Now, you think, the newspaper would find that a bit odd. This isn't 1883, after all. Women can even appear in public in bloomers without being arrested, even in New Jersey. But she calls up the president of NOW and is told "It's a very thoughtful law," Gandy tells me by phone. "Yes, it makes it harder for people who aren't criminals or violent to get a gun. But, at the same time, it makes it harder for the people who are."
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New Orleans -- citizens were deputized to defend hospital
Can't help but wonder why this didn't get media coverage:
"Hundreds of people were stranded in the hospital with no power to run lights or elevators and no running water. Anyone willing to carry a gun was deputized to watch the entrances as people broke into nearby buildings."
As far as the main story (doctor and two nurses arrested for allegedly killing patients with overdoses) goes ... it's pretty hard to picture the three just deciding, on a lark, to whack some patients during the story. It might be possible that they had some dying patients, not a snowball's chance in the infernal regions, and under those hellish conditions decided to let them go with no pain. When my ex was dying, if that'd been available, I'd have done it. Sometimes it's all over, and the only question is when and how painfully. In her case, cancer tumors were squeezing the breathing passages shut. No cure and no hope. An OD of painkillers isn't going to make any difference in the end. You can figure that anoxia will make them comatose, and it appeared to, but why not be sure?).
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Local editorial
I don't much mind it when an editorialist displays his views and biases (views are what my friends have, biases are what my opponents have). It's clear that it's his opinion. I only find it annoying when news articles are written as opinion.
Local editorialist CT Rever made his views clear yesterday:
"Take away guns and the murder rate plummets."
"If I could pick and choose my constitutional amendments, No. 2 would be relegated to the trash heap."
The comments are interesting, too.
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Even the Boston Globe
Even the Boston Globe is starting to get it. They just need to learn more about firearms and firearms laws before they write a piece on women and shooting ranges.
(Update. Chuckle. They ran a bit of a correction:
"Correction: Because of a reporting error, a story in yesterday's Living/Arts section about a Manchester, N.H., firing range mischaracterized Massachusetts gun laws. Residents with a Class A gun license may purchase semiautomatic weapons. Residents without a Class A license may shoot semiautomatic weapons at a gun range or gun club that holds a Class A license. Certified police firearms instructors or firearms collectors who hold a machine gun license may purchase machine guns. Also, the story should have made clear that US laws prohibit private ownership of fully automatic machine guns manufactured after 1986. The Uzi mentioned in the story was never illegal because it was made before 1986."
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Amusing post on NY Times
PajamasMedia has an amusing post noting: (1) A NYT proxy statement that they believe they produce quality news, and that to the extent the public sees them as unreliable, the value of their stock may be negatively affected and (2) a chart showing how the value of NY Times stock has falled by 50% over the last two years.
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Boston crime
massBackwards takes on the Boston Phoenix's reporting on Boston crime trends.
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Media slap at NRA (once more)
The FBI issues its preliminary crime report for 2005, showing nationwide a 4.8% increase in murders (that's number, not rate, which will be somewhat lower). The preliminary figures give no breakdown as to weapon used.
Associated Press reports it with a note:
Criminal justice experts said the statistics reflect the nation's complacency in fighting crime, a product of dramatic declines in the and the abandonment of effective programs that emphasized prevention, putting more police officers on the street and controlling the spread of guns."We see that budgets for policing are being slashed and the federal government has gotten out of that business," said James Alan Fox, a criminal justice professor at Northeastern University in Boston. "Funding for prevention at the federal level and many localities are down and the (National Rifle Association) has renewed strength."
Hmm... NRA was pretty strong in 2004, too, when homicide rates fell by 2.4%.
And, strangely, in 2005, the FBI report notes, homicide rates fell by 3.9% in nonmetropolitan areas where gun ownership is highest.
And the lowest 2005 homicide increase came in the West, where gun ownship is also highest... 3.2% there, compared to 5.2% in the Northeast.
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Orlando Sentinel on Castle Doctrine
The Orlando Sentinel has an article on Florida's Castle Doctrine Law. As you might expect it's negative and of the "be very afraid" variety.
The title: "Gun law triggers at least 13 shootings." It says that 13 people in central Florida have "pulled the trigger this year under a new law that loosens restricti