New Haven Police Seizing Illegal Guns
This week News8 (WTNH) is reporting that New Haven police are stepping up efforts to seize illegal guns.
This is just the latest round in an ongoing effort, and we have to ask – what is the big deal. Most law-abiding gun owners would be in favor of this move. We ask why isn’t this standard procedure? Shouldn’t illegal guns be the target of law enforcement, while law-abiding citizens can keep their guns?
WaPo Columnist Calls Second Amendment “Problematic”
In an op-ed piece about NBA basketball player Gilbert Arenas, Washington Post metro columnist Robert McCarthy actually said the following about the second amendment:
“… that amendment has become problematic in a modern society. It’s a vestige from an era when the nation was mostly rural and the guns were muskets. But it’s the law unless the text is amended, and there’s no chance of that in the current climate of opinion.”
Should we first remind McCarthy that the first amendment, which gave the freedom to the press, was written in a time when moveable type printing presses were advanced technology, and newspapers were entirely biased and wrote only what the owners felt was newsworthy? There was no radio, TV and the information superhighway was the dirt roads that connected the cities. But today the first amendment is still used to protect the right of a free press, whether it be online or in the few remaining newspapers.
As to the matter of Mr. Arenas. We feel he did get a slap on the wrist, and that is wrong. But this isn’t a matter of a gun issue to us at FirearmsTruth. This is a matter of the rich and famous getting away with crimes that would land others in jail. As we noted, a family who broke the law in New York City for having unlicensed guns will likely lose their home, go to jail and see their lives turned upside down. But Arenas, who pulled a gun on a teammate, received a suspended sentence and probation. He might lose his career playing basketball, but unless he spent every last penny, he likely still has a good life and can go home to his family every night.
So Mr. McCarthy you are partially right on this issue, but you’re dead wrong on saying that the second amendment has become problematic.
Virginia Looks to Over Turn One-Gun-A-Month
The Richmond Times-Dispatch reported last week that the Virginia House Committee on Militia Police and Public Safety voted 15-6 to eliminate a law that only allowed residents to purchase “one-gun-a-month.” This was specifically direct towards handguns. While the article was largely unbiased, the comments by former Governor L. Douglas Wilder, a Democrat who signed the bill into law in 1993, were less biased:
”In my conversations with the people across the state, I have not encountered anyone who has listed as their priority the need for them to have more handguns.”
Might we suggest Mr. Wilder you talk to more people, such as collectors and sport shooters!
Associated Press Story Seen as Too Biased
A story running on The New York Times Web site from The Associated Press titled “Seeing Loose Guns Laws as Still Too Tight” is one that is still too biased on our opinion, and borders on an opinion piece! The article offers a few choice quotes:
- Arizona’s permissive gun laws gained national attention last year when a man openly carried an AR-15 rifle to a protest outside a speech by President Obama.
- “That’s sheer insanity,” said M. Kristen Rand, legislative director for the Violence Policy Center.
- Police departments worry that making permits optional might encourage more people with bad motives to carry concealed weapons, said John Thomas, a lobbyist for the Arizona Association of Chiefs of Police.
Of course there were hardly as strong statements from those actually supporting to move for Arizona to allow concealed weapons to be carried without a permit. But why would we expect otherwise? About the only thing missing in this one is a quote from gun hating Mayor Mike Bloomberg. Yeah, we know Arizona is a long ways from New York City, but that doesn’t stop Bloomberg from offering his opinion about Virginia or Ohio laws!
Firing Back: California Off the Mark in Ammo Limit
This week California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a law that would limit the amount of ammunition sold. When – or rather if – this law goes into effect in 2011 (we expect lawsuits any second now), it would mean that handgun owners would be unable to buy more than 50 rounds per month, while gun shops would have to record identifying information about the buyer. While this is aimed at reducing crime, it is another step that won’t have the intended effect. Instead, it will make it harder for target shooter to go target shooting, while criminals will simply find gray markets or buy from illegal sources.
In the meantime, 2011 is a long time away. We expect just about every gun owner in the state to stock up. So that rush for ammo might just further heat up. Of course we’re also expecting praises from the mainstream media over the next 15 months. Let’s just not hold our breath thinking that gun related crime will disappear at the stroke of midnight.
Prohibition didn’t reduce drinking in the 1920s and it just created new black markets, while normally honest people broke the law casually. Why would anything think that the same wouldn’t happen with bullets as well. But maybe that is the intention; if people break the law they can’t legally own guns. And that sadly might be the ultimate gun control plan.
Paintball Ban Debated in Germany
In March of this year a troubled 17 year old went on a shooting spree in a German school, killing 15 before the youth shot himself. This has led the German government to consider new firearms laws. In this paranoid atmosphere, members of parliament are considering a ban on paintball, the popular game where participants shoot colored paint at each other. Read more
