Firing Back: Did Otis Rolley Get Advice From Chris Rock?
Comedian Chris Rock once did a whole routine on how guns wouldn’t be a problem if ammunition cost more. While a funny routine, no one should be laughing as Otis Rolley, a Baltimore, Maryland mayoral candidate has proposed a $1 per cartridge tax!
Rolley suggests this effort would cut down on crime and random gunfire. Of course how he expects to enforce this law is not clear. If Rolley had watched any episodes of HBO’s The Wire, which is set in Baltimore, he would know that the fictional drug gangs drove vast distances to obtain supplies of drugs, and even drove miles outside the city to burn disposable mobile phones (burners as they were called). What would stop criminals from driving outside the city to stock up on ammunition?
We feel that Rolley would just use this as an excuse to push for even greater restrictions against firearms and ammunition. Let’s hope that New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others from Mayors Against Illegal Guns don’t jump on this band wagon.
CCRKBA.org: Baltimore Candidate Should ‘Bite The Bullet’ On Dumb Tax Idea
From the CCRKA:
A proposal by Baltimore, Maryland mayoral candidate Otis Rolley to levy a tax of $1 per cartridge in an effort to cut down crime and random gunfire in the city is typical of an anti-gun liberal who decries urban violence but offers a way for government to profit from it while not solving the problem, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms said today.
Rolley, a Democrat, is quoted by WBAL news acknowledging that raising the cost of firearms won’t work “because many criminals don’t purchase new guns, and they can be borrowed or even rented in some areas.”
“Sounds like Rolley’s trolley has left the tracks,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “If this guy actually believes that criminals rent firearms, he must live on Fantasy Island. Criminals steal firearms, even from the police, and when they do, they also steal the ammunition. Clearly, this one dollar-per-bullet tax idea comes from someone who doesn’t have a clue about criminals or the way they operate, but he does know about raising taxes.”
Rolley told a reporter that the tax would curb random shootings, especially around the holidays, by making it too expensive for people to indiscriminately discharge firearms.
“Tell that to someone who spends $300 on Fourth of July fireworks,” Gottlieb observed. “Rolley is really looking for a new revenue vehicle to fatten the city coffers, and sticking law-abiding citizens with the bill.
“Imagine what the First Amendment reaction from the press might be,” he said, “if Rolley had proposed a one-dollar tax per word in every newspaper in the city. There would be howls from every editorial board in the state, calling it a nutty idea that would not pass constitutional muster. The same goes for this proposed Second Amendment tax on recreational shooters, hunters and citizens concerned about personal protection.
“Rolley really needs a reality check,” Gottlieb concluded. “He ought to bite the bullet on this goofy proposal that shows just how far anti-gun extremists will go.”
With more than 650,000 members and supporters nationwide, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms is one of the nation’s premier gun rights organizations. As a non-profit organization, the Citizens Committee is dedicated to preserving firearms freedoms through active lobbying of elected officials and facilitating grass-roots organization of gun rights activists in local communities throughout the United States. The Citizens Committee can be reached by phone at (425) 454-4911, on the Internet at www.ccrkba.org or by email to InformationRequest@ccrkba.org.
Baltimore Mayor Calls for Gun Control
WCBC News Radio offered this interesting story:
“Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake says she wants Maryland lawmakers to approve new gun control measures.
“The mayor noted that the bills she supports, target criminals and not the legal gun owner. She also said the tougher sentences have been enacted in New York City and they have reduced crime there.”
Is this statement true? Tougher sentencing is one thing, but doesn’t gun control really just target the law abiding citizens?
Baltimore Sun Asks Questions in Compelling Second Opinion Editorial
A piece in The Baltimore Sun’s Second Opinion section brings up a very interesting point. The piece titles, “The revolving door for gun offenders: A Deadly pattern,” tells how the city is facing repeat gun offenders. The editorial offers this passage:
“Gun offenders are in a different category than people picked up for possessing small amounts of narcotics or other nuisance crimes. For one, gun offenders are much more likely to use an illegal weapon in a crime of violence, and after they are prosecuted and imprisoned they’re also much more likely to commit more acts of mayhem upon release. Gun violation penalties that amount to little more than a slap on the wrist, such as those now in place, are a feeble deterrent to future crimes.”
The question here is why is so much being made in cities such as Baltimore about the guns being used rather than who is using them? Isn’t this an issue of criminals with guns, and not an issue of guns being used to commit crimes?
Perhaps the media need not to worry so much about legally owned guns, but should concentrate on the real problem of gun violence – as in the violent criminals with the guns.
Dozens of Guns Off the Street
We do question most gun buybacks, because we tend to feel that these do little to get guns actually “off the streets,” but the headline from The Baltimore Sun this weekend that proclaimed “Dozens of guns turned in during buyback event at two city churches” really shows how little these efforts accomplish.
So what exactly does “dozens of guns” translate to, at two different locations no less? According to the Sun, less than you’d expect:
“Two churches took 42 working firearms off the street Saturday during a gun buyback sponsored by The Catholic Review newspaper in hopes of curbing violence in the city.”
But that’s not all. The paper notes that this is the “second-highest” take among the half-dozen buybacks that the St. Gregory the Great Church had held. Clearly these are just meant to be feel good events, but the truth is that this is likely a drop in the buckle at best, and it still probably isn’t getting any criminals to turn in their guns.
The paper also offered an interesting take on the event:
“For four hours, the churches accepted automatic and semi-automatic weapons and assault rifles.”
Of course it wasn’t noted if anyone actually turned in an “automatic” weapon. We find that this use of wording tries to make it seem like this event actually did get “dangerous” weapons off the street. Instead, we believe it was probably old shotguns, rifles and small caliber handguns that had been gathering dust.
Religious Leaders in Baltimore Put Lansdown Gun Shop in Their Sights
Several news outlets in the Baltimore area are reporting that religious leaders are protesting a local gun shop, essentially saying that Bill and Clyde Blamberg, owners of Clyde’s Sport Shop, isn’t doing enough to stop straw purchases and keep guns out of the hands of criminals.
The brothers have been quoted as saying that they refuse to sell firearms in situations where two people come in and only one fills out the background check form. This is to avoid, so-called straw purchases. And while we FirearmsTruth.com do believe that such transactions likely could occur, the truth is that maybe these ministers and other faith leaders should do more to address the crime issue in the city.
Stopping straw-purchases won’t stop criminals from being criminals, and there is little proof that it wouldn’t just create a different type of black market. The biggest concern is that if shops such as Clyde’s cave to this pressure, what is to stop anti-gun groups from eventually demanding that gun shops close entirely, or make private sales of guns illegal. This is clearly where this is headed. So we congratulate Bill and Clyde for not caving to the religious leaders on this matter.
The Baltimore Sun Questions “Private Sales”
In an editorial titled “Awash in illicit guns – Our view: Only Congress can stanch the flow of illegal weapons into Maryland,” the editors at The Baltimore Sun note come to the conclusion that private sales, including those at gun shows, are the source of illegal guns. The paper also calls for the reinstatement of the so-called “assault weapons ban.”
The editorial offers this choice conclusion:
“Although the gun show loophole which serves no legitimate interest and needlessly endangers communities and law-abiding citizens is the most obvious opportunity for the federal government to play a constructive role in reducing criminals’ access to guns, there is no reason it should not also be able to reach a consensus on reviving the assault weapon ban and limiting the number of handguns that can be sold at one time, which would help reduce gun trafficking. The only bill presently before Congress would actually weaken rather than strengthen the federal government’s ability to monitor illegal gun sales. When Congress returns to Washington, we hope it will summon the courage to begin reducing the flood of illegal weapons into states like Maryland that have tough gun laws on the books but still find themselves at the mercy of neighboring states where lax regulation allows criminals to buy all the weapons they want with impunity.”
Baltimore Mayor Calls for Tougher Gun Laws, Interesting Fact Noted
While we support law enforcement (even if we call out their fobbles from time to time), we realize that crime in our nation’s cities remains a problem. But we found an interesting fact in a story in The Baltimore Sun, which noted how the city’s incoming mayor, Stephanie C. Rawlings-Blake, is calling for tougher gun laws. The laws in this case we actually agree with, where use of a gun is added to a criminal’s charges when arrested (i.e. “use of handgun in commission of a crime”), but it is this passage that we found interesting:
“Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld III tried to steer the focus back to the legislation, saying that 26 percent of the guns seized in Baltimore last year were long guns.”
This is notable because many cities make it so much harder to own handguns. In New York for example, you need a different permit for long guns (rifles and shotguns) as you do for handguns. Two different offices handle these permits, and these aren’t even located in the same borough of New York City let alone the same building.
Now we worry that the anti-gun zealots will use this as ammo to say, “all guns are bad,” but we’ll flip the argument and say, “see if criminals can’t get handguns they’ll use rifles,” and to make our point, “if they can’t use rifles, they’ll use bats, axes or sticks with a nail.” Criminals, in other words will use anything they can as a weapon.
Baltimore Holds Buyback, Baltimore Sun Offers Biased Take
According to The Baltimore Sun about “150 guns” are “off the streets.” Bravo to the St. Gregory the Great Church and the St. Wenceslaus Churches, you’ve managed to make a lot of people feel good, while giving $50 for “regular” guns, and $100 for “semiautomatic weapons.”
In case you couldn’t tell, there is a bit of sarcasm in that previous paragraph. How does the reporter know these were ever “on the streets.” And the money give: $50 and $100 for firearms? Again, small change for items that could have been worth far more, and to the reporter at the Sun, what exactly is a “regular” gun versus a “semiautomatic weapon?” Is this a case where the reporter doesn’t really know firearms and thus wrote a piece that was confusing, and biased? Of course the fact that only one source is quoted, with a feel good quote at that, we can’t help but thinking this is so sugary and sweet without any actual bit.
“As we approach the season of peace and harmony, we hope this prompts people to think more about peace,” said Monsignor Damien Nalepa of St. Gregory.
This is a slap in the face to any soldier, any hunter, any collector, or just about anyone else who owns a firearm. Guns in themselves do not have to be violent items, and this quote suggests otherwise. While we hope this is a season of peace, the fact is that even men of the cloth shouldn’t demonize firearms.
Another Church Buyback This Saturday
Yet another gun buyback will happen this Saturday in Baltimore, but at least it will offer something resembling real cold, hard cash for the guns – unlike the recent buyback in Detroit! Still, from the story in The Baltimore Sun, the amount paid is likely a fraction of what firearms are worth:
“The program offers a $100 reward for each workable automatic or semi-automatic handgun or assault rifle, and a $50 reward for any other workable gun turned in. Some of the weapons surrendered in September included rifles, shotguns and assorted handguns.”
It is a shame that these events occur. While it is true that these churches and law enforcement have good intentions, the fact is that these hardly get guns off the street, and as we’ve said before good people sell their potentially valuable firearms for a fraction of the value.
What makes this even worse is that that St. Gregory the Great is now looking for donations. This will make the buybacks bigger, but likely without solving the bigger issue of crime.
