WALB News Fair in Firearms Sale Story — To a Point
Recent crime in Albany, GA has spurred gun sales to local business owners and employees. When I read the headline from WALB’s site I figured it would be another attack on the dangers of gun ownership. But Georgia isn’t New York.
District Attorney Greg Edwards supports the local population buying handguns for self-protection, as long it is done responsibly. If only the mayors of Chicago and New York were this reasonable the gun rights issue could be settled.
The problem I have with the story comes at the end when the same statistical clap-trap is listed as though authoritative. It starts with a bullet point about FBI statistics that show gun sales between 2008 and 2009 are up 10%. And that four people are killed by firearms every hour. (Is this in just the U.S. or worldwide? Are all those killed victims or does this include dead criminals and suicides?) What the WALB story doesn’t tell the reader that over that same time period the number of per capita murder rate in big cities decreased by 12%. The rest of the nation saw an 8% drop in the murder rate.
Jackie Sizemore, owner of Backwoods Outdoors, gets it right. “Desperate things are happening, and it’s making people nervous. You know it’s made us nervous. We know we are vulnerable. But we’re prepared too,” Sizemore said.
Firing Back: Gun Dealers vs. Car Dealers
One of the biggest complaints that the anti-firearm crowd has about gun shows is that supposedly guns can be sold without background checks. The argument is that firearms can pass through many hands, and supposedly enter some gray market. The problem with this logic is that if a gun is legally purchased at ANY point it enters the system. If the gun is used in a crime it can still be traced back to that owner. If the owner illegally sells it, such as to a criminal, that last “legal” owner could be traced back to the gun. Thus these so-called straw purchases aren’t really all that common – or certainly not as common as the mainstream media has made out.
The other problem with this complaint is that the anti-firearm zealots, along with the mainstream media expect everyone to act like a licensed dealer. This is a problem because some individuals, including this reporter, can’t really become dealers. It isn’t that I’ve broken any law, but based on where I live I can’t get into the “guns business.” I can still legally buy and sell guns, and have to report everything to the police – at least anything that comes through New York City. For many individuals who only buy and sell a few guns, there is no reason for them to become “gun dealers” either. There is an extensive process to go through, paperwork to maintain, and essentially it becomes your job.
This is the case even if you just want to on the rare occasion set up a table at a local gun show, or even bring in a rifle to sell to another collector. The anti-gun crowd says these purchases are a problem because the guns change hand and could end up in criminals’ hands. Yes, this could happen, but should the bulk of legitimate buyers and sellers be made to suffer?
Now imagine that to buy or sell a used car you had to become a used car dealer? This is essentially what the anti-firearm crowd is asking for when it comes to guns. And actually, it would take everything a step further, this would mean making sure that when you sell a car the person has a license, insurance, isn’t wanted for a crime, etc. So instead of relying on the person to be responsible for all these things, you as the seller of a car would have to do this work. But given the direction this country is headed, it probably won’t be too long.
Firing Back: My Guns Aren’t “On the Street”
Time and time again, politicians including my own mayor (Mike Bloomberg of New York City) talk about how tougher firearm laws get guns off the street. But let’s consider a few points. Nearly all my firearms are stored out of state, and I do this because it is the ONLY legal way I can keep these guns. So most of the year I have no access to these firearms. If I had them in New York City these would be safely locked away as well. Either way these guns would never be “on the street.”
There have been countless gun buy back programs across the country with the intention to “get guns off the street.” And the bigger problem is that the mainstream media continues to praise these events for helping “get guns off the street,” while at the same time labeling anyone standing up for firearm rights as a “gun nut.” The point that we’ve tried to make time and time again is that criminals probably aren’t handing in their guns for cash.
Worse, there have even been increases in thefts of firearms in the days leading up to such events. And why not? Most of these are events are cash for guns, no questions asked. Perfect way to score some fast money. Steal a gun, hand it in, and the evidence of the crime is melted down. The problem of course is that such firearms were never on the street. But something tells me that many criminals will continue to be on the streets and armed.
Gun Research Study Misses Mark
You have to question any study that gets the key facts wrong. KCRA reported how a new study from the University of California found that “a major source of weapons in violent crimes in Northern California” were purchased at gun shows? The report was titled, “Inside Gun Shows What Goes on When Everyone Thinks Nobody’s Watching.” This claims to include undercover video at guns show in 19 states to spot illegal gun sales. Read more
Troy Police “Try to Get Guns Off Streets”
No one wants guns on the streets and in the hands of criminals, but the way the mainstream media keeps on reporting about it, it seems like a bigger deal than it actually is. And the latest example of this is from News10.com in Albany, New York. The site is reporting:
“The Troy Police Department is trying to get guns off city streets. The department is getting ready to hold its first ever gun buyback program.”
Old News: No Fly Suspects Can Buy Guns
File this one under old news. Robert Friedman of the Pocono Record goes on the record in an editorial that takes aim at the fact that “firearms sales have surged President Barack Obama’s election” and that those buying the firearms might have been on “terror watch lists.”
But Friedman’s editorial has problems. He notes this surge, but then mentions that 963 background checks resulted in matches with the lists, from 2004 to 2009. Obama was only elected last November, so the point is sort of suspect. A bigger issue is that of those 963 individuals how many are really a threat? People end up on lists by accident, and for various other reasons.
Yes, it is absolutely wrong that terrorists would get their hands on guns. But it is ironic that the mainstream media continually demands that the government does its job to protect the citizens. That is until terrorist’s rights are violated (as in water boarding), or if the FBI introduces new wiretapping practices. But an important fact should be stressed. How many terrorists have committed mass shootings? Don’t you think if nearly 1,000 real terrorists had purchased guns over the past five years there would have been a few shootings by now?
Felon’s Gun Rights Restored
There is going to be another round of misinformation floating on the Web any minute now, and likely all sorts of concern from the anti-gun lobby. This is because a convicted felon in North Carolina won a case this week that would restore his gun rights. For the record, the felon in question had committed a drug offense in 1979.
His lawyer Dan Hardway spoke to News 14 in North Carolina, and cleared up some facts:
“Today, there are more than 1,500 felonies in North Carolina – including taking shellfish from polluted waters after dark. They’re not an indicator of violence.”
But of course the mainstream media, and the anti-gun crowd, will make a big deal out this, and will try to twist this into the NRA’s doing to get guns “on the streets.” But let’s hope it doesn’t come to that!
Firing Back: 70th Anniversary of Beginning of World War II
Yesterday marked a dark day in history. It was the 70th anniversary of Nazi Germany’s invasion of Poland, which plunged the world into war, a conflict that would claims the lives of millions and realign the borders of Europe for decades. It is worth noting, because the Nazis were masters of controlling the media, influencing the people with false promises – and most importantly made sure that non-party members, including law abiding citizens wouldn’t have guns. The same practice was used by Communist regimes, Fascist nations and by other despots and dictators. This is something that maybe the anti-gun crowd should consider.
Philly DA Moves to Crack Down on Criminals
One of the biggest complaints we have about the way the media covers firearms, is that far too often criminals and law-abiding citizens are often intermixed in the reporting. The mainstream media fails to point out that many “loopholes” aren’t so much “loopholes” devised by gun owners or the NRA, but are problems with the criminal justice system. In other words, the mainstream media likes to target loopholes but fails to admit that anyone using this loophole already knows they are breaking the law!
One example is cited this week on Philly.com:
“Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham announced this morning that the Gun Violence Task Force will begin arresting people who falsify applications to carry a firearm.” Read more
The Washington Times Sets Record Straight
While we at Firearmstruth.com continue to act as a watchdog to report on mistakes, misinformation and other flat out lies by the mainstream media, we like to report when the media gets it right. This week The Washington Times set the record straight and called out the erroneous reporting being done by MSNBC and CBS News in recent weeks. Thank you to The Washington Times.
