Gangs Don’t Heed Gun Bans in City Parks
Following a shooting in a Seattle park, many – including those in the media – suggested that guns should be officially banned in all parks in Washington State. The problem is that criminals won’t heed these bans, as another shooting has proven. KEPR TV.com in Pasco, Washington reports:
“Pasco investigators have not said whether a shooting at Chiawana Park Sunday evening was gang-related, but witnesses say gangs are to blame.”
The sad truth is that criminals will never follow these bans, and that will just keep law-abiding citizens from being able to defend themselves in these situations.
Penn Live Story Offers Anti-Gun Bias in Reporting
The key word missing today from a lot of the media: attribution. It seems that thanks to blogs, website posts and quasi-news organizations that attributing a statement or belief to someone isn’t so important. This is certainly true of a recent PennLive.com news story. The site, which is associated with the Central Pennsylvania The Patriot News offered a story this week titled “Gun ‘culture’ stirs frustration and grief.” Already that has a zinger of a headline that shows a lean that is anti-guns in general.
The story does discuss the growing problem of urban gangs and a fascination of youths to use a gun as a fashion statement, and to show how tough one can be. We don’t agree that this is how guns should be used, nor would most law-abiding gun owners. That’s the key, law-abiding. These men are not law-abiding, so the story could be as much about “gang culture” as it is about “gun culture.” But the feature also offers a snappy kicker:
“Some believe the gun laws in Pennsylvania don’t go far enough.”
We’re sure “some” people don’t believe this gun laws go far enough, but some probably think they go too far. This is a weak argument, and weaker still because it lacks any attribution. Who is this some? Was it so hard to find an anti-gun group out there? But the point by the author, who is likely among the “some,” is still made.
Police Go Where the Guns Are
Time and time again we question buybacks, new laws that restrict guns to law-abiding citizens and ask why don’t the police instead put more efforts to getting to the real problem, namely going after the bad guys directly. But now ABC 13 in Toledo, Ohio is reporting that local police are doing just that:
“Police are currently doing round-ups where violent criminals who carry guns hang out. It’s a problem plaguing the streets of Toledo.”
Finally, this sounds like a real solution to the problem. If you know where the criminals hang out, do sweeps instead of buybacks that won’t likely get guns off the streets!
NY Daily News Thinks Buybacks Could Solve Chicago’s Crime
In responding to the SCOTUS ruling, Errol Louis of The New York Daily News offered an editorial that looked at both sides of the issue. Louis also looks at the roots of Chicago’s crime problem, noting that the city’s efforts to break up the major drug-gangs have left a free-for-all scenario in its place. This is seldom understood by the media, and hardly reported.
However, Louis believes that churches can help solve the problem, in part by offering gun buybacks:
“New York has seen churches play a key role in anti-violence initiatives. An NYPD/district attorney gun buyback program at four Bronx churches this year netted 1,200 weapons in a single weekend, and a group of Brooklyn churches this month will serve as sanctuaries for people with outstanding arrest warrants who want to surrender peacefully.”
While we don’t see any problems with church groups providing moral and even spiritual support to these communities, the idea that gun buybacks will do anything is nonsense. There is little proof that any of those 1,200 weapons netted in New York City were ever on the streets. This part of the argument is just wrong, and it is a shame because many of Louis’s other arguments were really that far off base.
Columbus Police to Target Criminals in Gun Sweeps
More good news out of Ohio: instead of massive new gun laws that will affect everyone, the city of Columbus is going to go after the criminal element instead. The Columbus Dispatch reports:
“Columbus city government and police leaders announced a new initiative to combat gun violence yesterday, but they weren’t specific about what the initiative will entail.
“The Columbus Police Gun Violence Reduction Program will be ‘proactive’ and ‘intelligence-based,’ officials said, focusing on gang members, career criminals and particular parts of the city.”
We like the focus on gang members, career criminals and even the notion that is about particular parts of the city. We just hope this “proactive” program is truly “intelligent” in how it works. We’ll be watching.
Firing Back: Details Emerge Regarding Times Square “Shooting” on Easter
The mainstream media was quick to call out the late day Easter shooting spree in Times Square, but new details have started to emerge. It seems that the gun in question was a “BB Gun,” and this was reported by local news station New York 1 as well as The New York Times.
We’re not saying this isn’t a big detail; in fact, we’re saying this is a huge deal. This time of year has seen a rise in gang activity – but in this politically correct environment no one wants to be the first to use the “G” word for fear of upsetting some minority or local “community.” If we could, we’d go to the rooftop and shout it, “gang, gang, gang!”
We say this at FirearmsTruth because we believe another “G” word is one the media loves to bring up anytime there is a problem. When first reported, the Times Square incident was regarded as another sad tragedy involving “GUNS.” But this isn’t about guns, this is clearly about “GANGS.” Mayor Michael Bloomberg at least had the courage to use the word “gangs” when talking about this scumbag thugs in the streets.
Yes, it is true that the police can’t be everywhere, but it is a sad state that many New Yorkers must live in fear on Easter Sunday after the sun goes down. Spring should be a time of rebirth and a time to get outside after a long winter, but now gangs are making it a time for their own rebirth and initiation. And yet, law-abiding New Yorkers in their own homes can’t arm themselves should this violence get worse. Let us hope that Bloomberg sees the real problem, and doesn’t take aim at gun owners instead.
Who Guards the Guards: Carmel Officer’s Guns Stolen
All too often we report on situations where a law enforcement officer’s guns were stolen, and in many cases it was a result of pure carelessness – such as a leaving a gun in a car, or worse a public restroom. We’re more concerned about a report from KSBW.com, which notes that a Carmel police officer had his guns stolen from his Salinas home. According to the report:
“Five guns, and the officer’s badge, were taken from the Carmel Police Department reserve officer’s home in the 1000 block of Fitzgerald Avenue on Wednesday. The guns that were stolen included two handguns, two rifles and a shotgun.”
This is truly disturbing when a police officer’s home is broken into, and we’re left wondering if he wasn’t targeted by gang members. But the point here is that no amount of gun laws, or gun bans, are going to keep criminals away from guns. If criminals want guns, we see now they’ll go so far as to break into the home of a police officer to get them!
Minorities Banned From Owning Guns Say Illinois State Rifle Association
Imagine being denied the right to buy a gun, just because you looked too tough or someone thought you looked like a criminal. That’s the argument being made by the Illinois State Rifle Association, which is now challenging a law sponsored by Rep. Harry Osterman (D-14). This law (HB6123) makes it a crime to sell a firearm to a so-called “street gang member.”
As a result, the ISRA is aiming back that, while the law is attempting to curb criminal violence, it could be used to keep African Americans or Hispanics from owning a gun, even if they pass a background check. The group is claiming the law promotes racial profiling, so if a young man or woman wars clothing that is in keeping with their ethnic group’s fashion, the seller can determine that perhaps they’re a drug dealer or gang member and deny them. You be the judge whether this is fair or not?
ISRA Web Site
ISRA Press Release
Chicago’s Daley Looks for New Gun Bans
Even as the Supreme Court hears the case of McDonald v. Chicago, the anti-gun zealot mayor is working over time in an effort to create a prohibition of guns. The Chicago Sun Times reported:
“Daley backed changes to state law that would require background checks for those buying a gun in a private sale, ban assault weapons, require that gun dealers be licensed and limit the number of handgun purchases to one per person per month. Those were all ideas that failed in previous legislative sessions.”
We’d like to ask Daley, or anyone in favor of limits, why they think this would work? Criminals clearly aren’t following the complete ban on handguns in Chicago, so if the Supreme Court overturns the ban, why would criminals suddenly listen to a new law on the limits of guns one can buy? This only hurts the law-abiding citizens.
On a positive note, the paper adds:
“The mayor also is asking the General Assembly to make it a Class 1 felony to knowingly sell a gun to a known gang member.”
Now that is a gun law that actually makes sense. So why should good men like Mr. McDonald have to be treated almost as bad as the gang members?
Illegal Guns Easy to Obtain in Philippines
Numerous international sources are reporting of large number of illegal firearms in the Philippines, including homemade shotguns. The Inquirer News Organization reported:
“The roundup yielded 21 improvised and illegal firearms, some bladed weapons and the arrest of 23 persons who possessed the contraband”
This has not been widely reported in the United States. While this increase in illegal guns is because of an increase in gang crime, it should serve as a warning that where there are criminals there will be guns.
