My Fox Illinois Shows Anti-Gun Bias
In reporting on the new law signed by Illinois Governor Pat Quinn that essentially makes it illegal to own even a long gun without a permit, My Fox Illinois’ Benjamin Yount shows a clear anti-gun bias right out of the blocks with the headline “Quinn Inks Welcomed Gun Law.”
Is this a fair title? And is it a welcome gun law? Given that Otis McDonald brought his case all the way to the Supreme Court, and now several individuals are suing Chicago over its restrictive gun laws, we must question whether this is actually “welcomed” by anyone? Yount further tries to imply how the state’s line is drawn on the issue:
“Illinois attempts to regulate, or deregulate, guns face the same regional challenges every year. Lawmaker in Chicago want to get tough on guns, but downstaters want to allow people more freedoms.”
Clearly again, given those suing the city of Chicago, as well as Mr. McDonald, this isn’t merely about “downstaters.” Equally clear is that the author has an agenda and does very little to hide his anti-gun bias in a “news” story.
Are Gun Buybacks Just About “Illegal Guns?”
New York Newsday seems to suggest that a Suffolk Sheriff’s Office upcoming “Gun Buyback Program” is about “illegal guns.” That seems like either like a stretch, or is just more biased reporting. While the message is typically about “getting guns off the street” this one implies that buybacks are about illegal guns – which in turn seems to imply that all guns are illegal:
“Hand over an illegal gun, get a $50 Visa gift card.”
After all, if you legally own a gun, are you not able to take part in the Suffolk buyback? So while the intent maybe about taking guns off the street, the message is guns should be illegal. At least that’s how we read this one.
Bi-National Panel Calls for “Ban” on Automatic Weapons
A bi-national panel of scholars and former – note the word former – government officials is calling for an American crackdown on firearms and urging the government to try to clamp down on the export of illegal guns and cash to Mexico. This brain trust also says Mexico needs “in turn must do more to stop to flow of illegal drugs and immigrants to the United States,” according to The Houston Chronicle. The paper further reports that the panel suggests the creation of unified and effective border police force.
Wait a second, isn’t part of the latter problem – that of illegal drugs and immigrants – is because of the corruption within the Mexican police, so why should we believe for even a second that a unified police force could even be trustworthy? We can’t.
But for this group of individuals to suggest we “reimpose” the ban on automatic weapons is silly. Silly, because automatic weapons are already extremely difficult to obtain legally in the United States. So either the paper or the report from this panel misunderstood automatic weapons with “assault weapons,” which were banned under President Clinton. And not to sound snide, but I think the United States should deal with the flow of the illegal drugs and illegal immigrants into this country and work to stop it. Let Mexico stop its own drug wars. When the drug pipeline closes, so will their gun problem.
Firing Back: Will Other Collectors be Next?
A Staten Island man is in jail. He claims to be a collector, and that he applied for gun permits, and was denied. This is just another example of how the tough New York City gun laws make it tough for collectors.
Yes, it is true that Gary Granato has broken the law. He was arrested for having an “arsenal” that included 77 handguns and three rifles. The SiLive.com Web site reports that this clearly isn’t so cut and dry however:
“Some of the weapons, including a ‘pepperbox’-style revolver with rotating barrels, several single-shot derringers and black-powder pistols resembled guns found in the Old West.”
These actually do seem like the sort of firearms that would be of interest to a collector, and hardly would be ideal for street crime. It is a shame that the police focused on this man, who while he did break the law, or his guns, which hardly seems to be of the type used as an example of guns that should be gotten off the streets!
Who Guards the Guards: To Live and Sell Guns in LA Edition
The Associated Press is reporting that a Los Angeles police has been indicted for attempting to illegal export firearms. This is noteworthy, because this is just the latest example of a case where law enforcement supplied guns to criminals.
Meanwhile law-abiding citizens are continually coming under attack for so-called straw purchases and gun show loopholes. The real loophole here is that the guards aren’t being guarded closely enough.
RecordOnline.Com Sets Record Straight
Trafficking of illegal guns is a crime, and criminals do get caught. This has been proven as a 30-year old Poughkeepsie, New York man was arrested for trying to sell a stolen .38-caliber handgun. This was reported this week on RecordOnline.com, Web site for The Poughkeepsie Times Herald-Record.
But this story should be proof of two things. First, illegal guns can easily be sold outside of gun shows, and two illegal guns can be easily tracked back. So the question in all this is why these facts are so often ignored by the mainstream media?
Editorial From The Toledo Blade Presents Facts and Then Completely Ignores Them
Millions of people enjoy a beer after work. A few of those people over indulge and get behind the wheel and kill someone in a drunk driving related accident. So we should make it harder for anyone to buy a beer. Sounds harsh right? But that’s essentially what the editors of The Toledo Blade have said… if you take out beer and insert guns. In a recent editorial the paper states the facts up front:
“EVERY year, hundreds of thousands of people attend gun shows across the United States. Most buyers and sellers are peaceful, law-abiding citizens who enjoy hunting, shooting, or just collecting firearms.” Read more
Saudis Loosen Gun Laws, But Will American Mainstream Media Report This Fact?
The Saudi government has changed a rule that will allow for the sale of personal firearms, The Gulf News reports. This is in part to “rein in the widespread illegal ownership of handguns and assault weapons.”
What is interesting about this is that it runs contrary to the American solution, which seems to be reducing private ownership to reduce crime. But it should be stressed that Saudi Arabia has had strict gun laws, but that hasn’t reduced crime. Now instead, the government is allowing guns with the hope that it will curb the sale of illegal firearms.
Let’s just hope things don’t have to go full circle in this country
Police Officer Supplied Guns to Criminals
The New Haven Independent is reporting that Sgt. David Setzer, a Waterbury, Conn., police officer has turned himself in to New Haven police. According to reports the officer had stockpiled explosives and even provided guns to criminals on New Haven streets.
We’ve asked the question before, but who guards the guards? This is an issue that the mainstream media is starting to report on, but it is a worrisome issue for anyone – not just those opposed to guns. If a police officer puts “guns on the streets,” then how is anyone going to be safe? This was no case of straw purchases, gun show loopholes or even stolen firearms. This was a case of one who was suppose to protect and serve actually serving the criminals and doing the opposite to protect anyone.
New Jersey Man Sentenced for Gun Trafficking
This week a 23-year old man in New Jersey was sentenced to 32 months in federal prison and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine for using a straw buyer in Georgia to purchase handguns. We’re reporting on this because the point is clear, straw purchases are far from easy to make and it is very easy to get caught! Both the man and his girlfriend were found when they falsified federal forms, and stating that the guns were for the girlfriend’s use. Again, all this is worth mentioning because guns aren’t so easy to get through straw purchases, and the reporting of this incident highlights that there is always a paper trail. So we ask again, why does the mainstream media spend so much time reporting on the so-called dangers of straw purchases and not enough on how people are so easily caught when doing so?
