Colorado Springs Gazette Calls Gun Bans Racially Biased
This isn’t exactly a new twist in the debate over gun bans, but more and more we’re hearing an interesting take – namely that gun bans were a way of keeping guns out of the hands of minorities, notably those who were black. The Colorodo Springs Gazette noted this in an editorial entitled “Gun bans kill black people.”
This wasn’t some spoof headline via The Onion or other satirical faux news site either. The article isn’t meant to be a joke, and there is nothing to laugh about the facts – which note the “Chicago homicides in 2010 equal the death toll of Americans in Iraq and Afghanistan combined.” But more importantly the article hits home with this simple fact:
“Murderers like gun bans. They ignore them; their victims usually don’t.”
That remains a point too few in the mainstream miss, time and time again.
Editorialized Philly Gun Story Passed Off as News
Philly.com, home for The Philadelphia Daily News, has run a highly editorialized piece under the guise of news. Ironically, it ran said piece in the local news section, but yet it is about a gun law and those with ties to Florida. So is this really national news?
The story covers the main points without too much bias:
“Pennsylvania’s firearms reciprocity agreements require the state to recognize permits from 24 other states that have permit laws as strict or stricter than its own and that those states, in turn, recognize Pennsylvania weapons permits.
“Among the states covered, there are three – Florida, Utah and New Hampshire – that allow out-of-state residents to get permits even if they don’t qualify or apply for permits in their home state.” Read more
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.
Gothamist.com Says “Everyone Loves Bronx” Gun Buyback
Who exactly is everyone? According to Gothamist.com “Everyone Loves Bronx Cash4Guns Program,” and the article even has this introduction:
“According to everyone involved, yesterday’s gun buyback in the Bronx was a marvelous success.”
Sure, the police love it, because it takes NYC one closer to a police state. The churches that held the event love it, because they can claim to make a difference whether they really do or not. But everyone surely doesn’t love it. As a New York resident I loathe these buybacks, in part because I know real criminals aren’t handing in their firearms.
Biased Gun Show Report Passed Off as News
Is William Ecenbarger’s piece in The Philadelphia Inquirer news or an editorial? It appears in the commentary section, but yet is written in a way that could suggest to the average reader that it is actually a new story. Either way, it is biased and offers a terribly tilted anti-firearm stance:
“There was enough fire power [sic] here to arm a division.”
Really, a division. Does Ecenbarger know that a military division typically consists of between 10,000 and 30,000 soldiers? So was there really enough firepower for a division?
And here is some quality editorial copy from this “freelance writer,” suggesting that maybe he take a refresher course in writing:
“Just across the aisle there was a $999 price tag on an FN Herstal Five-seveN tactical pistol. This weapon, also known as “the Cop Killer,” is believed to have been used is last year’s massacre at Fort Hood, Texas.”
When he says “this weapon” does he mean this type of weapon, as in a FN Herstal Five-seven, or this particular Five-seven was actually known to be used in the massacre? It would seem odd to us that the actual shooters gun would be in evidence in Texas!
Ecenbarger further pointed out a Bren light machine gun was for sale, never mentioning that a special Class III license is required to actually own the thing, but that would probably be too much reporting this future prize winning freelance writer!
Who Guards the Guard: Man Robs Police, Takes Guns
Anyone could suffer a break in, but we’re wondering how it is that George Garcia managed to rob a Marina police officer’s house and find his guns and badge? Fox35.com is reporting this story, and notes that Garcia was actually captured, but ominously the news items lacks exactly how the police officer in question stored his firearms that Garcia was able to steal!
Bloomberg Responds to Times Square Shooting
While we often criticize the police we offer a BIG thank you to New York Police Department for stopping a very violent man, Raymond Martinez of the Bronx, this week in Times Square. This could have been a very ugly situation and the NYPD responded rightfully and quickly, saving the day and likely saving lives.
Of course we must respond to Mayor Mike Bloomberg for his (expected) response, which was covered by The Associated Press:
“Mayor Michael Bloomberg was asked about the shooting while appearing at a Manhattan charity event, and he used the question to discuss one of his signature issues — illegal firearms and gun violence in New York and other big cities. ‘We’ve got to stop this,’ Bloomberg said. ‘This is one of the great public health threats. And our police officers are clearly in danger.’”
Stopping illegal guns is one thing, and we encourage the mayor to do so. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that New York has an essential prohibition of firearms, and that law-abiding citizens are the ones who are clearly being disarmed, not the thugs like Raymond Martinez.
NYPD Shoots Man in Times Square
As we’ve long suggested, why don’t the police in New York and other big cities go after the real criminals and not worry so much about senseless gun laws that keep firearms out of the hands of law abiding citizens. The proof today, as reported by WABC News:
“According to officials, an undercover officer was dealing with illegal peddlers in Times Square. When the officer approached two peddlers, one of them took off running and a chase ensued. The sergeant pursued, and the man turned and fired with a Mac-10 machine pistol that held 30 rounds; he got off two shots before it jammed, Browne said, shattering the glass window at a Broadway baby store.”
To recap; an illegal peddler fired on the police with a very illegal Mac-10 machine pistol. This is NOT the sort of weapon that can just be obtained at Ohio or Virginia Gun Shows. So here again is proof that even with strict gun laws, criminals will obtain illegal weapons!
Calgary Daily News Questions Gun Laws North of the Border
Are people really safer if they are murdered with a knife instead of being shot by a gun? That’s an interesting question, and one brought up by The Calgary Herald this week. The paper notes that while murder by firearms have fallen since gun registration was put in place, “substitution” has increased, meaning that people are still finding ways to kill or commit suicide. The big question is why this type of common sense reporting is never considered by the American mainstream media?
