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1. Gun control's future? Doctors target gun violence as a social disease
2. Sikh temple shooting will disappoint gun prohibitionists
3. James Holmes' psychiatrist contacted university police weeks before movie-theater shooting
4. Lawyer explains why he brought gun to Batman showing
5. Virginia lawmakers conspicuously silent in gun debate
6. Gun billboard will urge D.C. residents to take their first shots
7. DC Superior Court judge robbed at gunpoint
8. White House: Obama wants assault weapons ban
9. Why not renew the "assault weapons" ban? Well, I'll tell you...
10. VCDL quoted in story on gun control poll
11. Virginia Tech survivor Colin Goddard: To prevent next tragedy, gun control must follow mourning
12. Gun grabber's disrespect for victims of violence
13. Do more guns equal more murders?
14. Virginia gun sales soar without one-gun limit
15. Top GOP governors oppose gun-control law
16. NYT: Mixed views are found on stricter laws for guns
17. Column: Gun control isn't the answer
18. Guns and self defense
19. WaPo LTE: Democrat's misguided gun control policies
20. Armed grocery store employee scares off would-be robber
21. Who needs a gun on a bus in Hampton Roads?
22. RT LTE: Killings fueled by easy access to guns
23. RT LTE: Gun laws won't prevent killings
24. Who needs a gun at home in Albemarle County?
25. Who needs a gun while standing in your driveway?
26. Rapper Ice-T defends right to carry guns
27. NYPD union president warns cops after rash of officers shot
28. Spotsylvania man charged in son's shooting
29. Clarification on gun-related deaths in Switzerland vs. the U.S.
30. D.C. resident orders TV, gun delivered instead
31. Shooting range sees marked interest from women
32. Virginia vs the Austin Magic Pistol
33. Looking for a gunsmith?
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1. Gun control's future? Doctors target gun violence as a social disease
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I've been in touch with someone who is "in the know" about a future direction of gun control. That future is regulating guns and ammunition under the guise of "public health." My source told me we would be seeing more and more of this - and we have.
As usual, gun controllers have it completely backwards by treating guns as a pathogen. The correct medical analogy is that violent crime is the pathogen and guns are the inoculation!
Bloomberg is the puppet-master behind the scenes driving this lunacy through the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Bloomberg has strong ties to Maryland - something I just learned recently. He could well end up uncomfortably close to us once they finally run him out of New York City on a rail. But, who knows? Perhaps he can buy yet another election?
From FOX News: http://tinyurl.com/bmz5vg2
August 11, 2012
MILWAUKEE - Is a gun like a virus, a car, tobacco or alcohol? Yes say public health experts, who in the wake of recent mass shootings are calling for a fresh look at gun violence as a social disease.
What we need, they say, is a public health approach to the problem, like the highway safety measures, product changes and driving laws that slashed deaths from car crashes decades ago, even as the number of vehicles on the road rose. [PVC: Gun accidents are at an all time low already, so why are we even having this discussion?]
One example: Guardrails are now curved to the ground instead of having sharp metal ends that stick out and pose a hazard in a crash. [PVC: Again, that example deals with automobile ACCIDENTS - gun accidents are pretty rare.]
"People used to spear themselves and we blamed the drivers for that," said Dr. Garen Wintemute, an emergency medicine professor who directs the Violence Prevention Research Program at the University of California, Davis.
It wasn't enough back then to curb deaths just by trying to make people better drivers, and it isn't enough now to tackle gun violence by focusing solely on the people doing the shooting, he and other doctors say. [PVC: Surely these can't be real doctors that can't understand the massive difference between an inert piece of metal and an active lunatic.]
They want a science-based, pragmatic approach based on the reality that we live in a society saturated with guns and need better ways of preventing harm from them.
The need for a new approach crystallized last Sunday for one of the nation's leading gun violence experts, Dr. Stephen Hargarten. He found himself treating victims of the Sikh temple shootings at the emergency department he heads in Milwaukee. Seven people were killed, including the gunman, and three were seriously injured.
It happened two weeks after the shooting that killed 12 people and injured 58 at a movie theater in Colorado, and two days before a man pleaded guilty to killing six people and wounding 13, including then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, in Tucson, Ariz., last year.
"What I'm struggling with is, is this the new social norm? This is what we're going to have to live with if we have more personal access to firearms," said Hargarten, emergency medicine chief at Froedtert Hospital and director of the Injury Research Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin. "We have a public health issue to discuss. Do we wait for the next outbreak or is there something we can do to prevent it?" [PVC: Well, doctor, considering that people have been murdering each other since the dawn of time, it's safe to say you can't do anything about it. We've already tried regulating one of the tools (guns) that are used by criminals (and good guys) and it doesn't work. Actually such regulation only makes the problem worse.]
About 260 million to 300 million firearms are owned by civilians in the United States; about one-third of American homes have one. Guns are used in two-thirds of homicides, according to the FBI. About 9 percent of all violent crimes involve a gun ˘ roughly 338,000 cases each year.
Mass shootings don't seem to be on the rise, but not all police agencies report details like the number of victims per shooting and reporting lags by more than a year, so recent trends are not known.
"The greater toll is not from these clusters but from endemic violence, the stuff that occurs every day and doesn't make the headlines," said Wintemute, the California researcher.
More than 73,000 emergency room visits in 2010 were for firearm-related injuries, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates.
Dr. David Satcher tried to make gun violence a public health issue when he became CDC director in 1993. Four years later, laws that allow the carrying of concealed weapons drew attention when two women were shot at an Indianapolis restaurant after a patron's gun fell out of his pocket and accidentally fired. Ironically, the victims were health educators in town for an American Public Health Association convention.
That same year, Hargarten won a federal grant to establish the nation's first Firearm Injury Center at the Medical College of Wisconsin.
"Unlike almost all other consumer products, there is no national product safety oversight of firearms," he wrote in the Wisconsin Medical Journal. [PVC: Modern firearms are already pretty safe. The vast majority of handgun models won't fire if dropped while loaded.]
That's just one aspect of a public health approach. Other elements:
"Host" factors: What makes someone more likely to shoot, or someone more likely to be a victim. One recent study found firearm owners were more likely than those with no firearms at home to binge drink or to drink and drive, and other research has tied alcohol and gun violence. That suggests that people with driving under the influence convictions should be barred from buying a gun, Wintemute said. [PVC: Says who? Sounds like voodoo statistics.]
Product features: Which firearms are most dangerous and why. Manufacturers could be pressured to fix design defects that let guns go off accidentally, and to add technology that allows only the owner of the gun to fire it (many police officers and others are shot with their own weapons). Bans on assault weapons and multiple magazines that allow rapid and repeat firing are other possible steps. [PVC: This is nothing more than plain, old, tired, gun control being pushed by people wearing white lab coats, like the ones who stumped for various cigarette brands in the 1960's..]
"Environmental" risk factors: What conditions allow or contribute to shootings. Gun shops must do background checks and refuse to sell firearms to people convicted of felonies or domestic violence misdemeanors, but those convicted of other violent misdemeanors can buy whatever they want. The rules also don't apply to private sales, which one study estimates as 40 percent of the market. [PVC: Bloomberg's name is written all over this. Again, this isn't medicine. It's just another attack on gun shows. And the rules also don't apply when the federal government is arming the Mexican drug cartels by requiring dealers sell to known criminals & straw purchasers! ;-) ]
Disease patterns, observing how a problem spreads. Gun ownership ˘ a precursor to gun violence ˘ can spread "much like an infectious disease circulates," said Daniel Webster, a health policy expert and co-director of the Johns Hopkins Center for Gun Policy and Research in Baltimore. [PVC: Yeah - how about "car ownership, just a precursor to DUI." or "breathing, a precursor to committing crimes."]
"There's sort of a contagion phenomenon" after a shooting, where people feel they need to have a gun for protection or retaliation, he said. [PVC: So, in the case of a flu break out, people shouldn't get a vaccine, Doctor?]
That's already evident in the wake of the Colorado movie-theater shootings. Last week, reports popped up around the nation of people bringing guns to "Batman" movies. Some of them said they did so for protection. [PVC: Oh, say it ain't so!!! People don't want to be murdered?]
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2. Sikh temple shooting will disappoint gun prohibitionists
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From Examiner.com: http://tinyurl.com/9bovvjk
By Dave Workman
August 6, 2012
[SNIP]
As the history of slain gunman Wade Michael Page continues to surface in the wake of the Sikh temple shooting in Wisconsin, the Associated Press and Seattle Times are reporting some facts that will not help gun control proponents.
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3. James Holmes' psychiatrist contacted university police weeks before movie-theater shooting
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Virginia Tech redux. Government was told of mental health issues, but dropped the ball. Government gets a pass by the media as the media searches instead for a reason to blame guns and law-abiding gun owners.
From ABC News: http://tinyurl.com/bm9a2rx
By Mark Greenblatt
August 6, 2012
The psychiatrist who treated suspected movie-theater shooter James Holmes made contact with a University of Colorado police officer to express concerns about her patient's behavior several weeks before Holmes' alleged rampage, sources told ABC News.
The sources did not know what the officer approached by Dr. Lynne Fenton did with the information she passed along. They said, however, that the officer was recently interviewed, with an attorney present, by the Aurora Police Department as a part of the ongoing investigation of the shooting.
Fenton would have had to have serious concerns to break confidentiality with her patient to reach out to the police officer or others, the sources said. Under Colorado law, a psychiatrist can legally breach a pledge of confidentiality with a patient if he or she becomes aware of a serious and imminent threat that their patient might cause harm to others. Psychiatrists can also breach confidentiality if a court has ordered them to do so.
"For any physician to break doctor-patient confidentiality there would have to be an extremely good reason," said Dr. Carol Bernstein, a psychiatrist at NYU Langone Medical Center and past president of the American Psychiatric Association.
Bernstein has no specific knowledge of the Holmes case and spoke in general terms.
"Confidentiality is a key part of the doctor-patient relationship," she said. "It is central to everything we do."
ABC News and affiliate KMGH-TV in Denver first reported Wednesday that Fenton had contacted other members of the university's threat-assessment team about her concerns. The university-wide, threat-assessment team reportedly never met to discuss Holmes after he announced his intent to withdraw from the University nearly six weeks before the July 20 shooting that left 12 dead and 58 injured.
University of Colorado spokeswoman Jacque Montgomery declined to comment on what, if anything, the university police officer might have done with information provided by Fenton, citing a court-issued gag order preventing her from confirming or denying any information related to Fenton or the investigation.
In a written statement to ABC News, however, the university said campus police officers are "frequently involved" in meetings of the university's Behavioral Evaluation and Threat Assessment (BETA) team.
The statement went on to say that police involvement with threat assessment "could include security matters, badge access, background checks, wellness checks, criminal investigations and referrals and outreach to other law enforcement agencies."
An attorney for Fenton declined to comment.
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4. Lawyer explains why he brought gun to Batman showing
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From NBC News: http://tinyurl.com/dyo7vmf
New Haven police apprehended a man who brought a loaded handgun into a movie theater during a showing of "The Dark Knight Rises" on Tuesday night. On Wednesday, he said he brought the gun with him to feel safe. [PVC: I can just picture the wide-eyed look on the reporter after being told that the gun was carried for self-defense.]
Sung Ho Hwang, a 46-year-old attorney from New Haven, was arrested and charged with breach of peace and interfering with police after it was discovered he brought a loaded hand gun into the theater.
"I normally do not carry, but I live in downtown New Haven and the movie was getting out at 1 a.m., so I felt that I should protect myself since I was alone," Hwang, who has a valid permit to carry a gun, said during a news conference on Wednesday afternoon.
New Haven Police responded to Criterion-Bow Tie Cinemas at 86 Temple St. after receiving a call reporting a man with a gun inside theater one or two.
According to police, an usher said at least three patrons inside the theater saw that Hwang had a holster with a gun in it and alerted theater staff, who then called police.
Police entered Theater 1 and asked the patrons to raise their hands and file out of the theater. As they exited, they were patted down and escorted outside. [PVC: I wonder if the theater was surrounded by tanks, too? After all, there was a person actually carrying a gun for crying out loud! Sheesh.]
The officers identified Hwang as the suspect, drew their weapons and ordered him to put his hands up.
According to police, Hwang remained in his seat using his cell phone and did not comply with the officers' commands.
Hwang said he was cooperative and followed all directions from police.
Police acted well and were professional and understanding when they found that he had a valid permit to carry the weapon, he said.
Police said they took Hwang into custody by force and officers were then able to remove the loaded handgun from his waistband at the small of his back, police said.
Officer David B Hartman, media liaison for New Haven police, told the New Haven Independent that it was a "bad choice" for Hwang to bring the gun to the theater but that it was not illegal itself and the reason he was charged was for being uncooperative.
Hwang said he had the right to bring the gun.
"There is no posting at Criterion that states that weapons are not permitted," Hwang said. "As far as the law is concerned, I have a right to carry here."
Hwang is the president-elect of the New Haven Bar Association, concentrating on immigration law and civil litigation, according to his LinkedIn page.
During his news conference, he brought up the Second Amendment and the right to bear arms.
"I think that the Second Amendment is crucially important to protect. When baseless breach of peace and interfering charges are brought against people that have a right to carry, it really threatens our constitutional right to bear arms," Hwang said.
Hwang does not think the patrons who alerted theater staff did anything wrong.
"If they did suspect that someone had a weapon I would expect them to call the police. If I were in their situation, I would have done the same thing," he said. [PVC: I wouldn't have. The mere possession of gun is not an indicator that the person carrying it is a criminal.]
The real issue is that the city of New Haven is unsafe, he said.
"Why do law-abiding citizens feel that they need to carry a weapon? Why does New Haven have a crime index of 2, which means that 98 percent of other cities are safer? Why is New Haven considered the murder capital of Connecticut? Those are the real issues here," Hwang said.
After the mass shooting at the midnight showing of the "Dark Knight Rises" in Aurora, Colorado, New Haven police increased patrols at the Criterion Cinema, which was the only New Haven theater showing the movie at the time. [PVC: Increased patrols are no guarantee that a crime won't occur. I wish it worked.]
Nearly 20 New Haven police officers, two sergeants and the chief of police responded to theater On Tuesday. [PVC: 20 officers! For someone merely carrying a gun, not making threats or brandishing it? Sounds like criminals could have a heyday all around the area while the police were away for a simple, "man with a gun" call.]
Hwang said he understands that we are in a state of heightened security since the Colorado shooting.
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5. Virginia lawmakers conspicuously silent in gun debate
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Anti-liberty Congressman Gerry Connolly rears his head on gun control again. He just barely squeaked a win on his last election.
F. Kolbrener emailed me this:
--
From WAMU: http://tinyurl.com/chszlf2
By Matt Laslo
August 7, 2012
Only a few lawmakers on Capitol Hill are floating ideas to tighten U.S. gun laws after the mass shootings in Aurora, Colo. and at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin Critics say that, much like the aftermath of the shooting at Virginia Tech on 2007, the efforts are going nowhere because of the powerful National Rifle Association. Some Virginia lawmakers won't even talk about gun policy.
Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.), for example, isn't talking. He's no stranger to firearms; some might recall the episode in 2007 when one of his top staffers was arrested for carrying the senator's loaded hand gun into a Senate office building. Webb is one of a handful of lawmakers who carries a gun for his own protection, so it surprised some that the retiring senator wouldn't even answer a question about an effort to restrict buying ammunition online.
Rep. Scott Rigell (R-Va.) also refuses to discuss gun control efforts. The first-term congressman is locked in a tough reelection battle in the 2nd District. He refused to comment for this story through his press secretary.
"The silence is almost deafening when you think about what's happening here," says Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.). He wants to require anyone buying ammunition to present identification, effectively ending online ammo sales.
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) blames the NRA for silencing U.S. policy makers. "I think the perception, if not the reality, is that it's too dangerous for one's political health to have that conversation," says Connolly.
"It's not a debate we need to have," contends Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), who says U.S. gun and ammunition laws aren't to blame for the recent mass murders in Colorado and Wisconsin and the one at Virginia Tech five years ago. "We have bad people who will do bad things. And you can never protect society completely. But we do the best we can."
The recent massacres of unarmed Americans are drawing attention to U.S. gun laws, but it doesn't seem like this Congress wants to have that discussion. [PVC: And more importantly, neither do the American People.]
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6. Gun billboard will urge D.C. residents to take their first shots
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The D.C. Mayor is having a hissy fit over a billboard promoting some gun-safety courses. One minute the D.C. Government is demanding that people take hours of gun safety and training courses just to have a gun in their home, but then they get mad when those courses are advertised and people are encouraged to take them! Go figure.
Jay Minsky emailed me this:
From Washington City Paper: http://tinyurl.com/cp2acpr
By Will Sommer
August 6, 2012
If you're concerned that handguns still aren't catching on in post-Heller D.C. last weekend's three gunshot fatalities notwithstanding good news: A 1,000 square foot billboard promoting gun use was approved for Massachusetts Avenue NW last week.
The billboard will read "Hey D.C, it's time for your first shot," according to the Washington Business Journal. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, a Connecticut-based pro-gun group, is promoting First Shots, a gun-training program for new gun owners.
First Shots seminars will be held at gun ranges in the D.C. metro area from August 24 to 28, although none of the ranges is in the District.
This "first shots" thing is apparently very big with the foundation, which did not respond to a request for comment. In a release promoting First Shots events to gun-range owners, "to share in the joy of watching people take their first shots" is listed as the second-best reason to host First Shots.
----
Miller: Shooting up D.C.
From The Washington Times: http://tinyurl.com/8z3le54
By Emily Miller
August 8, 2012
Washington politicians are so anti-gun that they oppose a mere photo of a paper target. With D.C.'s gun-grabber laws under fire and pressure rising to allow concealed carry, the city's liberal political establishment is panicking.
The National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) put up a billboard in July at 13th and L Streets, N.W., that says, "Hey D.C. -- It's time for your first shot," with the organization's website and a photo of a woman holding a red, shot-out bulls-eye. The advertisement is for the NSSF First Shots, which are free safety-and-training seminars.
Mayor Vincent Gray fired off an attack on the sign, calling it "offensive" and "irresponsible." According to NBC4, the Democrat complained, "To promote the use of guns in the city I think really is just anti-safety." [PVC: Er, ever heard of D.C. vs Heller? You guys lost that one.]
"His reaction is sadly predictable -- a knee-jerk, anti-gun reaction to anything firearms," responded NSSF General Counsel Larry Keane. "I don't see how the billboard or people going to a First Shots program to learn about firearms safety threatens the public safety of Washington or in any way encourages anyone to violate the draconian laws of D.C." Mr. Keane said, "We have a suggested summer reading list for the mayor: the Bill of Rights and the Heller decision."
First Shots, which has been taught in 48 states, was brought to Washington and Chicago after the Supreme Court overturned gun bans in those cities in 2008's Heller and McDonald cases.
Phil Mendelson, chairman of the city council, thinks the course is on target. "I see nothing wrong with promoting gun safety," the at-large Democrat -- who wrote the city's gun laws -- told The Washington Times. "If this is a program which helps people use a firearm responsibly then that's a good thing."
The three-hour seminars cover local firearms laws, safe handling and shooting fundamentals. The classes from Aug. 24 to 28 will be taught at shooting ranges in Maryland and Virginia. There are no ranges inside the District because it's illegal to carry a gun outside the home.
The mayor's anti-gun hysteria stands in the way of greater gun safety. "The hands-on course with instructors and the chance to operate a firearm at a shooting range are better than watching a video," explained Mr. Keane. He is referring to the free, 30-minute online video on gun safety and the laws -- created by the Metropolitan Police Department -- that has been required viewing for potential gun owners since July 1.
Until then, D.C. required residents who wanted a gun to submit to a five-hour course on gun safety that wasn't allowed to be taught in the city. The class generally cost from $200 to $250. Mr. Mendelson got rid of this requirement in a bill that unanimously passed the city council and was signed by the mayor in May.
Robberies with a gun are up an astounding 19 percent in Washington this year, and assaults with a gun are up 9 percent. Mr. Gray should take aim at criminals with guns instead of law-abiding citizens who want to defend themselves.
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7. DC Superior Court judge robbed at gunpoint
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Who needs a gun in D.C.? The police will protect you!
Walter Jackson emailed me this:
--
From MyFoxDC.com: http://tinyurl.com/9a27k9g
By Paul Wagner
WASHINGTON - A D.C. Superior Court judge, who recently presided over a high-profile murder case, was robbed at gunpoint last Friday while walking with two others through an upper Northwest D.C. neighborhood.
Judge Ronna Beck was walking with her law clerk and the clerk's boyfriend when two men with guns approached from behind and announced a robbery.
Judge Beck, who recently presided over the trial of five men convicted in the South Capitol Street drive-by murders, did what the robbers wanted and was not hurt in the holdup.
In fact, all three turned over their valuables, telling police the men jumped into a car and fled east toward 16th Street.
According to a police report, the judge and two companions had just left a tennis match over at 16th Street and Kennedy Streets and were walking near the intersection of 17th and Crittenden Streets when two men with guns came up from behind and said "Turn around, give me all your money, drop it."
The judge turned over her purse, which contained a hundred dollars in cash. She also lost her cars keys and a judge's badge. Her two companions turned over their wallets.
The stickup was just one of nine robberies or attempted robberies in the city that day on August 3, according to what D.C. Police reported on its Twitter account.
In fact, robberies have been a major problem for police in recent years -- most of them involving the theft of electronic devices from people on the street.
According to statistics on the D.C. Police website, robberies involving a gun are up 19 percent when compared with the same time last year, and robberies without a gun are up three percent.
The judge's purse, keys and badge were recovered by police but it is unclear how or where.
Judge Beck is 64 years old and has been on the bench since 1995.
Through a spokesperson, the judge declined to comment citing the ongoing investigation.
No one was hurt. There have been no arrests.
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8. White House: Obama wants assault weapons ban
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Another shocker!
Paul Mattson emailed me this:
--
From Breitbart TV: http://tinyurl.com/8jectjc
August 6, 2012
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9. Why not renew the "assault weapons" ban? Well, I'll tell you...
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More pro-gun stuff from the liberal point-of-view - great to see!
From Kontradictions: http://tinyurl.com/bnuqxpm
"No one should have any illusions about what was accomplished [by the ban]. Assault weapons play a part in only a small percentage of crime. The provision is mainly symbolic; its virtue will be if it turns out to be, as hoped, a stepping stone to broader gun control."
- Washington Post editorial, September 15, 1994
Between Two Worlds
It's not easy being a leftist who loves guns. It's like being a Republican who listens to NPR or supports single payer health care. But being a leftist, I get exposed to all the liberal publications and media that invariably call for gun control every time someone does something stupid with one. Being a gun enthusiast, I also get exposed to the political Right's oversimplification of those liberals as somehow lacking moral fiber or true appreciation of freedom. Rather than agreeing with both, I tend to end up arguing with both. It's exhausting to always feel like I'm apologizing for the other "side".
This article takes a point of view, but aims to do so in a way that members of both sides of the political spectrum can understand. I'll try to give some idea as to why we on the political left roll our eyes at the rhetoric of the NRA, and how we in the "gun culture" can possibly defend something called "assault weapons".
We all know the cycle by now: Tragic incident occurs, both sides attempt to use it for their political gain, both sides act shocked that the other would attempt to use it for political gain, insults are flung, statistics are cherry-picked, rinse, repeat.
I began writing this some time after the Aurora massacre, but it was just this morning that news started coming in of the mass shooting at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin. I knew the wave of cries for a renewal of the "assault weapon" and "high capacity" magazine bans hadn't yet faded from Aurora, and that they would be reinforced by this next event, regardless of how relevant either of the topics were to the incident.
So in order to get around to why the assault weapons ban was an utter and absolute failure in its attempt to deter violent crime, I have to start with mass shootings...
[SNIP]
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10. VCDL quoted in story on gun control poll
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From WTVR.com: http://tinyurl.com/8m62dvn
August 8, 2012
Richmond, Va. (WTVR) - A poll out today from Quinnipiac University is taking aim at gun control. The results find stricter laws on the sale of guns would not be an effective way to prevent a mass shooting in the Commonwealth, according to those surveyed.
The poll asked nearly 1,500 voters in each of the states of Virginia, Colorado and Wisconsin questions related to gun laws and gun control. Colorado and Wisconsin had mass shootings this year, and Virginia had the Virginia Tech mass shooting in 2007.
One question asked Virginia voters if they personally believe stricter laws covering the sale of guns would be an effective way to prevent violent acts like mass shootings.
60% said no. 37% percent said yes.
Another hot-button topic in gun control is the sale of high-capacity magazines for weapons.
52% of people in Virginia would support a ban on those clips. 42% would be against a ban.
Virginia repealed the one-handgun a month law July 1st, and according to the Virginia Firearms Transaction Center, gun sales have jumped by 29 % in the state from July 2011.
We talked with Lori Haas, whose daughter Emily was injured in the Virginia Tech shootings. She says Virginia lawmakers are making it easier for the wrong people to acquire guns of all kinds. [PVC: Felons and those mentally unstable can't have guns at all. More baloney from the dark side.]
"I'm more disgusted with our leadership and our elected officials and their moral corruption", Haas said. "They have capitulated to a special and very narrow special-interest group all for the sakes of votes and money. And I think they have blood on their hands." [Gee wiz, Lori. Gun control groups have almost no members and the majority of people don't want gun control. And there's that other thing called the Constitution. I wonder why support for gun control continues to wane?]
We also contacted the Virginia Citizens Defense League, a gun-rights organization, for their comment on the poll. President Phillip Van Cleave says "The poll confirms that most people believe that gun control does not stop evil people from doing evil things and that most people do not want stricter gun control." [PVC: I couldn't have said it better myself! ;-) ]
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11. Virginia Tech survivor Colin Goddard: To prevent next tragedy, gun control must follow mourning
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This report is on Democracy Now, not a friend to the Second Amendment. No balance at all in this piece.
Goddard spouts his usual fallacies, such as NRA members want more gun control. Ugh.
DUCT TAPE WARNING! Be sure your head is wrapped securely in duct tape so it doesn't explode.
Board member Bruce Jackson emailed me this:
--
From Democracy Now: http://tinyurl.com/ckqna3j (video)
August 6, 2012
Police in Wisconsin have identified the suspected gunman in the Sikh temple shooting as Army veteran Wade Michael Page. According to the Associated Press, Page enlisted in April 1992 and was given a less-than-honorable discharge in October 1998.
The Wisconsin shooting came just more than two weeks after 12 people were killed and 58 wounded at a movie theater in Aurora, Colorado. We discuss the state of U.S. gun control with Colin Goddard, a survivor of the the 2007 Virginia Tech massacre and now a campaigner with Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence; and with John Nichols of The Nation magazine, who is based in Wisconsin. "We cannot continue to keep having the same conversation over and over again after these shootings, where we just express our sympathy and look around at each other like, 'How could this happen?' and leave it at that," Goddard says. "It is beyond time to address this issue and Americans are beginning to realize that."
[SNIP]
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12. Gun grabber's disrespect for victims of violence
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Emily hits the nail on the head. Victims are nothing but tools for the gun controllers to use as they please.
From The Washington Times: http://tinyurl.com/8f2fnnj
By Emily Miller
August 10, 2012
Gun-control advocates have no shame. Before the bodies are buried or families have grieved, political opportunists exploit the tragic murder of innocent people to advance their cases. New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg uses his taxpayer-funded staff to jump all over a shooting anywhere in the country as a hook to call for more restrictions on Second Amendment rights.
The day before seven people were murdered at a Sikh temple in Milwaukee on Aug. 5, Mr. Bloomberg's organization, Mayors Against Illegal Guns (MAIG), started running a TV ad called "Tucson Survivors Demand a Plan," which demands President Obama and Mitt Romney offer plans to stop firearm killings. The spot was timed to take advantage of renewed attention on the Jan. 2011 shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords as her shooter, Jared Loughner, was to plead guilty on Tuesday.
One day after the Wisconsin shooting, Mr. Bloomberg went to a Sikh community center in Queens to call for more gun-control laws. "Just two weeks after tragedy in Aurora, we've seen another mass shooting," the Big Apple's chief executive stated. "And still the two presidential candidates have not given the American public a plan to keep guns out of the hands of dangerous people."
Since it is already against the law for felons or the mentally ill to get guns, Mr. Bloomberg believes outlawing certain kinds of scary-looking guns -- which the left calls "assault weapons" -- will somehow stop criminals from committing murder. Hizzoner also said, "guns, I think, are the reason why we have high crime." He left out the contradictory fact that higher rates of gun ownership are proven to reduce crime.
Media Trackers Ohio recently uncovered emails between Mr. Bloomberg's mayoral staff and gun-control organizations seemingly trying to exploit the Feb. 27 deaths of three high-school students at a school in Chardon, Ohio. One hour after that shooting, Mark Glaze, director of MAIG, emailed a CNN story about it to official government emails of three Bloomberg staffers and other anti-gun activists. Minutes later, one of the mayoral aides, William Swenson, updated the group with a note "four injured."
An hour later, Lance Orchid, national organizing director of Gun Violence Prevention, emailed, "Perhaps this is the perfect time to push out the new micro-site petition around guns on campus." Neither Mr. Orchid nor Mr. Glaze responded to requests for comment.
That afternoon, Janey Rountree, firearms-policy coordinator in the New York City mayor's office, asked the group to find out how shooter T.J. Lane got his gun and asked, "Are reporters working on this or planning to push the question?" She later wrote, "It may still make sense to talk about guns on college campus in the wake of this shooting." A spokesman for Mr. Bloomberg refused to comment on the emails.
Mr. Bloomberg's aide Chris Kocher sent the group a note about "membership outreach" that said the group ProgressOhio had created a website for condolence notes from which "email acquisitions will be shared" with MAIG and a "small subset of these names" will be provided to a group called Ohio Coalition to Stop Gun Violence. Brian Rothenberg of ProgressOhio complained to The Washington Times, "It's outrageous to question our sincerity for the condolence page."
Unlike gun-control groups, the National Rifle Association's policy is not to make any public comments until after the funerals and memorials. "The gun-control types are so adept at exploiting tragedies that they make ambulance chasers look like Sunday drivers," one NRA official previously lamented about the speed at which the other side snaps into activist mode. There is a time and place for public-policy debates, but gun grabbers should learn to have respect for victims.
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13. Do more guns equal more murders?
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Greg Butler emailed me this:
From Human Events: http://tinyurl.com/9rsh9ad
By Mark LaRochelle
July 31, 2012
Since the inept attempt by ABC's George Stephanopoulos and Brian Ross to link the killer in Aurora, Colorado, to the Tea Party collapsed, the new narrative - driven by such bastions of the Establishment as The New York Times, the Associated Press, Time magazine, and The New Yorker - has been to blame, not the killer, but the alleged laxity of gun control laws in the U.S. Personalities ranging from CNN's Piers Morgan, to Juan Williams of Fox News Channel, to film critic Roger Ebert have all joined in to exploit the killings, to lament the alleged cowardice of American politicians before the fearsome NRA.
The pols themselves have not been far behind: Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) complained on MSNBC that her colleagues who don't join in her push for gun control "don't have a spine"; New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said the city's police should go on strike for stricter gun-control laws; Even Mexican President Felipe Calderon chimed in on Twitter, denouncing U.S. gun laws as "mistaken."
Meanwhile, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney stressed President Obama's advocacy of "common-sense measures." That, according to the President, means stricter gun control: repealing the Tiahrt Amendment, closing the so-called "gun show loophole," mandating "childproof" guns, and permanently reinstating the Clinton-era ban on so-called "assault weapons."
The common thread running through this narrative is a familiar one: The easy availability of guns in the U.S. is creating an epidemic of mass shootings, turning the nation into an increasingly violent place reminiscent of the Wild West.
BUNK.
It's true that gun ownership in the U.S. is on the rise, as shown by statistics from the FBI's National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS). That's the program under which the FBI performs background checks on anyone who seeks to purchase a firearm in the U.S. from a licensed dealer. According to the FBI, "More than 100 million such checks have been made in the last decade, leading to more than 700,000 denials." That's a denial rate of about 0.7 percent, meaning that 99.3 percent of all purchases have been approved. (That's not surprising; denials are generally issued on the basis of criminal backgrounds, and criminals generally obtain their weapons illegally.) This statistic implies that law-abiding citizens purchased some 99.3 million firearms during this period.
Over the past decade, reports the FBI, the number of background checks performed under NICS each year has increased dramatically - from less than 9 million in 2001 to more than 14 million in 2010 (the latest year for which final figures are available). That's an increase of more than 60 percent.
The FBI also collects statistics on murder rates throughout the U.S., published in its Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Statistics. Over the past decade, according to UCR data, the murder rate in the U.S. plunged to the lowest level in 50 years - from 5.6 (murders per 100,000 population) in 2001 to 4.8 in 2010. That's a decline of more than 14 percent. (Preliminary figures indicate that murder dropped another 1.9 percent in 2011.)
To summarize: Over the past decade, the annual number of background checks performed increased by more than 60 percent, while the murder rate simultaneously dropped by about 14 percent. (See chart and graph).
The facts are utterly devastating to the narrative propounded by the mainstream media and its favored politicians: Either (1) there is no correlation between gun ownership and the murder rate, or (2) gun ownership is negatively correlated with the murder rate (in other words, more guns means fewer murders). Either way, the Establishment narrative is not merely unsupported but conclusively refuted by the evidence.
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14. Virginia gun sales soar without one-gun limit
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It's not the repeal of Virginia's old One Handgun A Month law that is really spurring sales - it is concern about the upcoming elections and the current state of our country and the world, for that matter.
James Corbett emailed me this:
From The Washington Examiner: http://tinyurl.com/97ma7xq
By Steve Contorno
August 7, 2012
Virginia has seen a spike in gun sales since abolishing a long-standing state law that limited buyers to one handgun a month.
The state recorded slightly more than 29,000 firearm transactions in the month since the limit was lifted July 1. That's a 17 percent jump from June, the last month the restrictions were in place, according to the Virginia Firearms Transaction Center. It's a 29 percent jump compared with July 2011, when 22,547 transactions were recorded.
The recorded transactions reflect the number of times a registered gun dealer does a background check on a buyer, but more than one gun could have been purchased in any transaction. The state does not specifically track the number of guns sold. The total also doesn't include guns sold privately without a background check.
Gun sales were up generally in Virginia this year even before people could start buying multiple handguns again. Sales grew by 22 percent from January to June.
Still, sales were much higher in July than in any previous month, thanks in part to multiple handgun sales.
One gun dealer, NOVA Firearms, has seen multiple handgun sales jump 20 percent to 30 percent since the ban was lifted, owner Dennis Pratte said. Some gun buyers, including those licensed by the state to carry a concealed weapon, were allowed to buy multiple handguns, but most buyers were covered by the ban.
"We are seeing more" multiple sales, Pratte said. "We see a lot of husbands and wives come in and buy two guns at a time, but maybe the husband puts it all on his card. Primarily, it's family members, or people buying pairs or match sets of revolvers. It's more of a convenience for the law-abiding citizens."
Virginia's one-gun-a-month limit was enacted in 1993 to stop illegal gun-running. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms reported at the time that 40 percent of the 1,200 guns found at crime scenes in New York had come from Virginia.
Virginia lawmakers and gun rights advocates have long argued that the law was ineffective and unnecessary, particularly with the increased reliability of background checks.
One thing is unchanged, however. Virginia remains the No. 1 out-of-state source for guns found at New York City crime scenes. An ATF study done last year shows more than 400 guns coming from Virginia, though it also showed more than 300 guns coming from other East Coast states and from as far away as California.
Gov. Bob McDonnell signed legislation abolishing Virginia's restriction in February.
Criticism from gun control advocates has increased, though, following a mass shooting at an Aurora, Colo., movie theater on July 20, and after the weekend shooting spree at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin.
"The greatest fear is that you'll have an increase of straw purchases and we'll return to our status as the No. 1 gun-running state in the country," said Del. Mark Sickles, D-Franconia. "I'm not worried about the people that value their right to carry guns. I'm worried about people that are out of control like we've seen the last few weeks."
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15. Top GOP governors oppose gun-control law
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From The Aspen Times: http://tinyurl.com/9n6p2ks
By Scott Condon
August 2, 2012
ASPEN - Five prominent Republican governors in Aspen for a conference dismissed the idea Wednesday night that the U.S. needs a national gun-control law targeting assault weapons despite the multiple-murder tragedy in Colorado last month.
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said his state has some of the toughest gun-control laws in the country, which he supports.
"I have to because that's what the people of our state want," he said.
Christie said more states should craft their own gun-control measures following the will of their residents rather than following a national law.
"I don't have a problem with different states making different determinations," he said.
Christie chided members of Congress for capitalizing on the tragedy in Aurora before victims were buried. Twelve people were killed and 58 wounded July 20 when a gunman entered a packed theater during a premiere of the new Batman movie and opened fire.
"I'm really repelled by the reaction to things that happened in this state," Christie said, "and by politicians tripping over each other to take advantage of the tragedy, before people even had their funerals, and try to turn it into a political cause.
"I think it's wrong. It's been done by a number of politicians around this country. At least have the funerals for the dead first before we start lining up with bills for Congress and holding press conferences. I think it's unseemly."
Political grandstanding such as that, he concluded, is why people "hate politicians."
Christie spoke during "A Conversation With Republican Governors," an event hosted by the Aspen Institute as part of the McCloskey Speaker Series. The Republican governors have been featured for several consecutive years, though Institute President and CEO Walter Isaacson stressed the organization is nonpartisan.
Isaacson moderated the conversation with Christie; Nikki Haley, of South Carolina; Bobby Jindal, of Louisiana; Bob McDonnell, of Virginia; and Scott Walker, of Wisconsin. The governors are in Aspen for a closed-door conference at the St. Regis Hotel to discuss policy and politics. Mitt Romney, the likely Republican presidential candidate, will join them Thursday, first for a public campaign rally at Basalt High School and then at a fundraiser at The Little Nell hotel in Aspen. Politico.com reported that the fundraiser is expected to attract a guest list that reads like a who's who of donors to the Republican Party.
Wednesday's public event packed the Greenwald Pavilion at the Aspen Meadows. The crowd, which appeared dominated by elderly, wealthy second-home owners and a small mix of full-time residents, was clearly enthusiastic for the five Republican governors. All five panelists have been mentioned as possible vice presidential selections by Romney.
While Isaacson tossed the governors a variety of questions, from education reform to immigration policy to the inability of Democrats and Republicans to get along, the toughest question came from the audience. A man asked why so few Republicans stand up with courage and take a leadership position on an assault-weapons ban.
Jindal responded, "I just disagree with the premise of the question. I don't think it takes courage to do the politically correct thing."
The reality is the nation needs to enforce the laws already on the books, Jindal said.
"I don't think taking weapons away from law-abiding citizens is going to make it safer," he said.
Based on the crowd's reaction to the question and answers from Christie and Jindal, opinions were split on whether a national ban is needed on assault weapons. Otherwise, the crowd expressed nearly unanimous support for the positions expressed by the five governors.
[SNIP]
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16. NYT: Mixed views are found on stricter laws for guns
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The states (New York, New Jersey, and California) that already have draconian gun laws are the ones that want to make them even MORE draconian! It's not about safety, but about power and control.
EM Jackie Blundell emailed me this:
--
From The New York Times: http://tinyurl.com/cbbdgb7
By Dalia Sussman
August 8, 2012
Most voters in Colorado, Virginia and Wisconsin are not clamoring for stricter state laws covering the sale of guns, with majorities in each state saying more restrictions would not prevent violent attacks like last month's killings in Aurora, Colo.
Still, roughly 4 in 10 likely voters say gun laws in their individual states should be made more strict, new Quinnipiac University/New York Times/CBS News polls find. But as many voters in Virginia say the laws should stay the way they are, as do about half of voters in Colorado and Wisconsin. (Most interviews in Wisconsin were conducted before Sunday's shooting at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wis.) The polls found that 6 percent in Wisconsin, 8 percent in Colorado and 9 percent in Virginia want their gun laws made less strict.
Many voters seem to lack confidence in the effectiveness of more stringent laws. About 6 in 10 voters in Virginia and Wisconsin and two-thirds in Colorado say stricter laws would not deter gunmen intent on mass shootings.
"I honestly believe that criminals can get guns no matter where or when or how," Phyllis Everitt, 65, of Aurora, Colo., said in a follow-up interview. "I realize this man purchased them legally, but if he hadn't and he was determined to do this, he probably would have gotten them illegally," she said, referring to James Holmes, who has been charged with killing 12 people and wounding 58 in an Aurora movie theater last month.
Few voters in the polls are satisfied with how much time the presidential candidates have spent on gun laws. More than 4 in 10 in Virginia and Wisconsin say too little time has been spent on the issue, while nearly 3 in 10 say it has been the right amount; Colorado voters are more divided. About 2 in 10 in each state say they have spent too much time discussing the issue.
About half of voters in each state say they or someone in their household owns a gun.
The polls found majority support in each state for a nationwide ban on the sale of high-capacity ammunition magazines, ranging from 52 percent in favor in Virginia, where 32 people were killed by a gunman in 2007 at Virginia Tech, to 57 percent in Wisconsin and 58 percent in Colorado.
"I'm not saying you should outlaw guns, but I don't see the point of hundred-round magazine clips and automatic weapons if you just want to target shoot," said John Tyson, 66, of Winchester, Va. "People say it's their right to bear arms, but when the Constitution was written there was no such thing as an automatic weapon." [PVC: And when the 1st Amendment was written there was no such thing as computers or TV, so inscribe your views by quill pen and deliver them by horse!]
Partisanship is a factor fueling views of gun control, with Democratic voters largely in support of stricter laws and Republicans in support of keeping the laws as they are.
Independents in each state are more apt to favor keeping the laws, rather than making them tougher.
The telephone polls were conducted from July 31 to Aug. 6 among 1,463 likely voters in Colorado, 1,412 likely voters in Virginia and 1,428 likely voters in Wisconsin. The results in each state have a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 3 points.
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17. Column: Gun control isn't the answer
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From Wicked Local: http://tinyurl.com/9mzletx
By David Steinhof
August 5, 2012
HOPKINTON - Gun Control.
The horrific slaughter that occurred recently has brought a slew of demands from many on the left for more gun control. As is always the case, we're now discovering that the assailant was mentally unstable, and again as is always the case, the assailant's screams of intention were systematically ignored. In practically all instances of massive gun violence (including the massacres at Virginia Tech and Columbine High School) guns were already banned on those properties. In one case, a person who had a license to carry a gun lamented that his gun was locked in his vehicle because he could not bring it on campus. In this case, as is probably the case in many instances, one gun in the hands of just one law-abiding citizen could have saved dozens of lives.
It should be noted that Chicago has already listed over 200 murders since January of this year, yet it has the strictest gun laws in the country. The assumption in much of the media is always based on the premise that anyone who owns a gun, buys a gun, stores ammunition, or wishes to carry a concealed weapon for the purposes of protection, is an extremist. I would also note, as is usually the case, that in their zeal to ostracize those whose political beliefs differ from theirs, many in the media are quick to lay blame at the feet of the Tea Party without so much as a shred of evidence.
In all cases of gun violence such as this, the person responsible is mentally ill. Lawmakers should be able to make the determination for the difference between law-abiding citizens and criminal intent. Maybe we should be abandoning political correctness for a better system in identifying and taking proper care of those who suffer with severe mental illness before they decide to finalize their intentions for murder.
Criminals are by definition those who would ignore the law. Are we foolish enough to believe more laws would prevent the actions of those who have already chosen to ignore law? New laws and restrictions such as gun free zones are knee jerk reactions that only put law abiding citizens at risk. Anti-gun politicians prey on the emotions of their constituents in order to gain easy votes and support but, in reality, they are demonstrating an unwillingness to uphold our Constitution while doing nothing to treat the real problem.
Dr. David Steinhof is a dentist in Fall River, MA, and has worked his whole life in the private sector. He is the conservative choice in this year's GOP primary for the 4th Congressional District.
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18. Guns and self defense
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Dale Hawley emailed me this:
--
I don't know if you are already aware of this but the CATO institute has created an interactive map listing reported "defensive gun use".
It has just started so reporting is a bit skimpy but I bet we can get the VA part filled out a bit more <grin>.
-
From CATO Institute: http://tinyurl.com/6tyy9m8
[SNIP]
Gun control proponents want legislation that will restrict access to firearms. The rationale for such legislation is to reduce accidental shootings and the criminal use of guns against people. But if harm reduction is the goal, policymakers should pause to consider how many crimes--murders, rapes, assaults, robberies--are thwarted by ordinary persons who were fortunate enough to have access to a gun. Gun control proponents cannot deny that people use guns successfully against criminals, but they tend to play down how often such events take place. The purpose of this map is to draw more attention to this aspect of the firearms policy debate.
Two additional points are worth noting. First, the map is not comprehensive. Criminals will often flee the scene when they discover that their intended target has a gun. With no shots fired, no injuries, and no suspect in custody, news organizations may report nothing at all. Thus, it is important to remember that news reports can only provide us with an imperfect picture of defensive gun use in America. Second, when a citizen is able to shoot an attacker or hold a rapist or robber until the police arrive, it is very likely that more than one crime has been prevented because if the culprit had not been stopped, he could have targeted other citizens as well. The bottom line is that gun owners stop a lot of criminal mayhem every year.
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19. WaPo LTE: Democrat's misguided gun control policies
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This LTE really hits the nail on the head and does so HARD!
Steve Brown emailed me this:
--
From The Washington Post: http://tinyurl.com/9fpofh8
August 4, 2012
I began to read "Congress will never act on gun control. Right?" http://tinyurl.com/9btd2hx [Outlook, July 29], but I stopped when I got to the following: "In the case of guns, the experts are police chiefs and mayors in cities plagued with gun crime, who almost uniformly support tougher gun laws, to little avail in Congress," I turned immediately to the horoscope section because I believed I would find more useful information there.
Which cities are plagued by violence? Big cities run by mayors who are Democrats. Which party tends to support gun control? The Democratic Party. Who votes for the Democratic mayors? Democrats who support gun control. Who appoints police chiefs of crime-plagued cities? The Democratic mayors who support gun control.
Experts were once academics who have spent years studying issues, but in the realm of gun policy, some of the experts have become self-serving Democratic mayors and their police chiefs.
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20. Armed grocery store employee scares off would-be robber
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John Wilburn emailed me this:
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From The Roanoke Times: http://tinyurl.com/9adgl75
By Neil Harvey
August 9, 2012
A gunshot, fired by an armed employee, interrupted a store robbery in northwest Roanoke late Tuesday night.
Officers responded to Annwil Grocery in the 200 block of 24th Street about 11:50 p.m., according to police spokeswoman Aisha Johnson. That's near the intersection of Shenandoah Avenue and Boulevard Street.
Investigators were told a male had entered the store and showed a gun to the employee at the register, Johnson said. She said the cashier also produced a gun and fired one shot, scaring the male out of the store. The employee gave chase, she said, but the suspect fled in a vehicle. It was unclear Thursday what type of vehicle was involved.
Johnson said no one else was in the store at the time. The employee was not hurt and it did not appear the suspect had been hit by the shot, she said.
No arrests had been made Thursday afternoon, police said.
The suspect is described as a black male in a black hooded sweatshirt and blue jeans.
Anyone with information about the incident is asked to call the Roanoke Police Department at 853-5959 or Crime Line at 344-8500.
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21. Who needs a gun on a bus in Hampton Roads?
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Alan Rose emailed me this:
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From WVEC: http://tinyurl.com/9qq2stp
By Karen Hopkins
August 5, 2012
NORFOLK - Saturday was a wild night aboard a Hampton Roads Transit bus.
Police say a fight broke out on the bus, and one person was stabbed.
The dispute ended around 10:15 p.m. Saturday night, as the bus stopped in the 900 block of Scott St off Virginia Beach Blvd.
Investigators have not released the name of the suspect, and have not said if any charges are filed. However, police say the victim is expected to recover.
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22. RT LTE: Killings fueled by easy access to guns
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Dave Hicks emailed me this:
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From The Roanoke Times: http://tinyurl.com/d7ovn8v
By Stratton Wayne St.Clair
August 9, 2012
To say that guns don't kill people, that people kill people, is not only a just plain stupid argument, it's disingenuous and used by people who don't want to or are incapable of discussing the issue rationally. [PVC: Uh, oh. Just by that opening salvo, I can already tell who is the one that is not going to be rational...]
To repeal an amendment of the U.S. Constitution first requires a two-thirds majority of both houses of Congress or two-thirds of the state legislatures to call a convention.
The repeal must then be ratified by the legislatures or conventions in three-fourths of the states. It takes years.
In short, it's not about to happen.
No one not President Barack Obama, not liberals, not Democrats, not the American Civil Liberties Union no one is going to take away gun rights.
I just wish people cared about others as much as they care about their guns.
No one needs an assault rifle in a civilized society. Are people who think we do suggesting we are not civilized? [PVC: There will always be monsters regardless of a society being "civilized" or not.]
No one needs to buy a bunch of guns at once, and we should worry about anyone who does. Dealers buy wholesale. Gangs and cartels buy bulk. [PVC: And who is to decide on the magic number when limiting liberty?]
There is nothing wrong with waiting 24 hours to buy a gun. Again, if someone is in a hurry to buy a gun, we should worry about him. [PVC: Who is to say that a 24-hour wait is appropriate for exercising a right?]
There is absolutely nothing wrong with background checks performed at a store or gun show. [PVC: Background checks ARE performed at stores and gun shows. So much for understanding the topic.]
With the Internet, it takes no time to conduct.
No one is really inconvenienced except by a few minutes. And again, if someone objects, what is he trying to hide? [PVC: Nothing. He's enjoying his liberty.]
In the long run, these are reasonable requirements. The National Rifle Association, whose mission used to be gun safety and education, is not doing our society any good objecting to reasonable requirements or spreading paranoid fantasies to fire up supporters.
I can hear the detractors saying that if someone had a gun in the Aurora, Colo., theater he could have taken the shooter down and saved lives.
The shooter had on full body armor. No one else did.
Guess who would have gotten killed? Either the "hero" or more innocent bystanders. [So I guess the police should have just waited outside until the gun shots inside ended since the man was unstoppable and only the police and innocents would have been killed?]
Even if the shooter didn't have the armor on, it'd have been more likely than not that more bystanders would have been shot and killed in the exchanges. Is this the Wild West? [PVC: I would love to hear where these fantasies came from. They don't happen in reality.]
No one, absolutely no one, needs to take a gun, open or concealed, into a bar, church, school, theater, political rally, etc. [PVC: So the police should check their guns at the doors to those places, too? Many of the antis believe that way and Mr. St. Clair is probably showing his true colors here.]
No one is fooled. Those who do are trying to make a (threatening) political statement or be a big man. I am not impressed by machismo. [PVC: Sure sounds like Mr. St. Clair is puffing up his chest and pounding on it.]
I am not anti-gun, nor do I think guns should be banned. They have their time and place. [PVC: Just not in the home or outside the home.]
What I am against is a fanaticism that thinks more guns and easy access to them are the solution to violence in society. More guns add to that violence; they don't stop it. [PVC: Luckily, Mr. St. Clair isn't a fanatic! ;-) ]
What does it say about the nature of our society when people think they need to be armed to the teeth? [PVC: Crime can happen anywhere and any time?]
Nothing good.
Guns don't kill people; easy access to guns makes it easier for people to kill others. [PVC: So typical. All that bluster and in the end he can't bring himself to admit that evil people are the reason for the murders, not the tools they intentionally and willfully misuse.]
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23. RT LTE: Gun laws won't prevent killings
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Dave Hicks emailed me this:
--
From The Roanoke Times: http://tinyurl.com/8fup2j6
Pick of the day: Gun laws won't prevent killings
Every time there is a tragedy like the mass shooting in Colorado, people on both sides of the issue get up in arms to debate. Seems to me that the sad truth is that no gun laws are going to prevent people from killing other people.
It's naive of people to think that it's as easy as doing away with guns.
I believe a lot of these people have their hearts in the right place. Others, however, take the opportunity to further their own agendas.
Anyone with any common sense can see that anything can be a weapon if someone is of a mind to use it as such.
This recent case is a good example. Look at the bombs the shooter had made for investigators and police. He could have done the same in that theater.
Also, if a gun ban was passed tomorrow, does anyone really think all the criminals and psychopaths are going to say "OK, here's mine"? [PVC: Sadly, the antis, in their fantasy world, actually believe that to be true.]
No, the ban would only be hindering the rights of law-abiding citizens to protect themselves. Also, is the government going to be as successful at keeping the guns off the street as they have been with illegal drugs? [PVC: I use that argument all the time and no one has ever had a comeback to it.]
JERRY ANGEL
VINTON
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24. Who needs a gun at home in Albemarle County?
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Charles Winkler emailed me this:
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From NBC29.com: http://tinyurl.com/cpcpdqo
By Natalie Wilson
Albemarle County police are searching for three men responsible for a violent home invasion.
According to police, three men, one of which was wielding a firearm, broke into a home in the 3000 block of Burnley Station Road in Barboursville around 9:00 p.m. Thursday. There were four people inside the house at the time.
Sgt. Darrell Byers with the Albemarle County Police Department said, "Three black males entered their residence wielding a firearm. The subjects came in demanding money and in that process one of the victims was injured."
Two of the victims are an elderly couple who have lived in the neighborhood for years. The couple was too upset to go on camera, but the 81-year-old male victim told us off camera that he was lying in his bed when he was hit in the head with a gun. He was able to wrestle one of the men to ground, but said it was too dark to see who any of the attackers were.
The only description police have is the suspects are three black males. The suspects were seen fleeing on foot.
Sgt. Darrell Byers with the Albemarle County Police Department said, "We don't know ages or anything like that. I think right now we're not prepared to give out anymore of a description than that. We're still investigating it, but we're just not at that level where we can give out that kind of additional information right now."
It's unclear if they got away with anything, but police are still searching for clues. Police are calling this a fluid investigation. If you have any information, you're asked to contact Crime Stoppers at 434-977-4000.
The couple tells NBC29 they just want their privacy at this time and hope the focus will remain on catching the three suspects.
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25. Who needs a gun while standing in your driveway?
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Bill Hine emailed me this:
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From NBC12: http://tinyurl.com/ce563s5
By Sarah Bloom
CHESTERFIELD, VA (WWBT) -
A Chesterfield man said he was attacked with a bat in his own driveway and says he has no idea why. Now, police say they need help catching the person who did it.
The victim said he was headed to work when he heard a rustling in the brush. He said he thought it was an animal, but when he turned around he said he was attacked by a person with a bat.
From the first hit the victim said he felt dizzy. He only remembers the sound of metal hitting his skull and he said, in that moment, he knew he was in a fight for his life.
He said his attacker hit him several more times in the head, never saying a word. He tried to run away while fighting off his attacker but kept falling because of his injuries.
When he finally made it to the yard, he said his attacker ran away and the victim ran to the neighbor for help.
"Bleeding around his face, down his neck, he's bleeding everywhere," said neighbor Jerome Olivier.
The victim went to Chippenham Hospital where he needed 23 staples. He also had a fractured nose and battered ear.
"There was no statement made, there was no attempt to take anything from the suspect, there was no demand made," said Lt. Randy Horowitz. "Our victim isn't aware of anyone who wishes him ill will so we have no lead as to who would have wanted to do this to him."
It happened around 10:20 p.m. Tuesday night on Jessup Pond Lane in Jessup Meadows.
Police say they think this is an isolated incident, but if you saw anything suspicious in the Jessup Meadows area on Tuesday night, please call Crime Stoppers at 804-748-0660.
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26. Rapper Ice-T defends right to carry guns
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Jay Minsky emailed me this:
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From NY Daily News: http://tinyurl.com/bp68ota
By Victoria Cavaliere
July 24, 2012
Rapper Ice-T doesn't think stricter gun laws would prevent deadly shooting rampages like last week's theater massacre in Colorado.
In a recent interview with Channel 4 London's Krishnan Guru-Murthy, the musician and actor defended the Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.
"It's legal in the United States. It's part of our Constitution. You know, the right to bear arms is because that's the last form of defense against tyranny. Not to hunt. It's to protect yourself from the police," he said.
When asked if there was a link between the wide availability of weapons and deadly incidents like the one that occurred Friday in Aurora, Colo., Ice-T seemed skeptical.
"No. Not really . . . really. You know what I'm saying, if somebody wants to kill people, you know, they don't need a gun to do it," he said.
Guru-Murthy pressed the point, asking if access to guns makes it easier to carry out a murderous plan. The suspected gunman in Colorado, James Holmes, was able to legally buy an assault weapon and had thousands of rounds of ammunition delivered to his home.
Ice-T said would-be murders will find a way.
"You can strap explosives on your body, they do that all the time," he said.
Ice-T also said he carries guns routinely in the U.S., and he'll stop "when everybody does. Doesn't that make sense? If there were guns here, would you want to be the only person without one?"
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27. NYPD union president warns cops after rash of officers shot
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James Ragsdale emailed me this:
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Note last sentence in quotes in last paragraph. They should have added ".....unarmed citizens...."
From WPIX: http://tinyurl.com/cpkf83m
By Mario Diaz
August 10, 2012
NEW YORK - The streets of New York are the most dangerous they've been for NYPD officers in eleven years.
Pat Lynch, President of the Police Benevolent Association is concerned not only for his officers but also their families, "We don't want them to look out the peephole of an apartment and see a priest and a police officer standing there."
Wednesday's shooting of NYPD Sgt. Craig Bier marks the 10th time this year that an NYPD officer has been on the receiving end of a bullet.
Brooklyn leads all boroughs with five incidents, followed by Manhattan with three, and the Bronx along with Queens each have one. "We've told our members to be careful it's getting dangerous out there," said Lynch during an interview with PIX 11 News at the PBA offices in Lower Manhattan.
The haunting images that shootings overall are up by 9% in the city can be found everywhere. Police tape tying down a scene, blood on a sidewalk, or bullet holes in a window were clearly evident in the aftermath of Sgt. Bier's shooting.
However, the stat that is raising a number of eyebrows within precinct walls is that 2012 has recorded the most shootings of NYPD police officers in which they have returned fire since 2001.
Lynch says the reason for the rise is simple math, "The problem? Staffing we're 7,000 police officers short in the NYPD. That's about 100 police officers for every neighborhood precinct."
As the summer of 2012 is quickly becoming notoriously known for gun violence it comes as no surprise that Olinville Arms, a Bronx gun store and range, is seeing more business. One NYPD officer working out of the 44th precinct telling PIX 11 News he goes to their range often to "stay sharp." When asked if he dons his bulletproof vest while on patrol? His response, "everyday."
Officers from different boroughs deacribed the environment on the streets to PIX 11 News as "crazy." A constant site are teenagers running around with guns and a mentality of shoot first and think about the consequences later.
Hours after the latest shooting, the NYPD released an image of the Ruger 9-MM used. It serves as a reminder that hoodlums with guns have no respect or fear when their finger is on the trigger, "If they'll shoot and try to kill a new York City police officer, the citizens don't have a chance," said Lynch.
One final note, Sgt. Bier went home Friday.
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28. Spotsylvania man charged in son's shooting
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The son was asking to be shot by his father, who had to defend the rest of the family from what he viewed as a serious threat.
From Fredericksburg.com: http://tinyurl.com/co5w8o8
By Keith Epps
August 6, 2012
A Spotsylvania County man was charged with malicious wounding Saturday after shooting his son in a dispute involving the son's older brother, police said.
The incident occurred about 8 p.m. in the 8600 block of Laroque Run Drive in Spotsylvania, Sheriff's Capt. Mike Harvey said.
When deputies arrived, they found 30-year-old Danen Roh with a gunshot wound to his left shoulder.
His father, 49-year-old Daniel Roh, was putting pressure on the wound and told police he shot his son because he feared for his life.
Harvey said the investigation revealed that Danen Roh had been arguing with his parents all evening regarding their decision to visit his older brother in Washington. Harvey said the two brothers don't get along, and the younger brother was upset about his parents' visit.
Danen Roh was eventually told to leave his parents' home. He did, Harvey said, but said he was going to get a gun, return to the residence and kill them. The younger son lives about five minutes away.
The parents were upstairs when the son returned about 7:45 p.m. The father confronted the son from the top of the steps and told him to leave. When the son refused, the father fired one shot into the son's shoulder and immediately administered first aid until rescue workers arrived.
Danen Roh was treated at a local hospital and is in stable condition, Harvey said. The son had no weapon on him.
Harvey said the warrant charging Daniel Roh was obtained at the suggestion of an assistant county prosecutor, but the investigation is continuing. Daniel Roh was placed in the Rappahannock Regional Jail.
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29. Clarification on gun-related deaths in Switzerland vs. the U.S.
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Nathaniel Webb emailed me this in response to VA-ALERT Mini-Update 8/5/12, item #4 "Anti-rights rant in the Falls Church News-Press"
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I just wanted to point out that Nicholas F. Benton's citation of a lower rate of gun related deaths in Switzerland does not support his thesis that more gun restrictions are needed.
There are about 420,000 assault rifles stored at private homes, mostly SIG SG 550 types. Additionally, there are some 320,000 semi-auto rifles and military pistols exempted from military service in private possession, all selective-fire weapons having been converted to semi-automatic operation only. In addition, there are several hundred thousand other semi-automatic small arms classified as carbines. The total number of firearms in private homes is estimated minimally at 1.2 million to 3 million. Current Population estimate = 7,952,600
The vast majority of men between the ages of 20 and 30 are conscripted into the militia and undergo military training, including weapons training. Due to this fact, the personal weapons of the militia are kept at home as part of the military obligations. Switzerland has one of the highest militia gun ownership rates in the world. In recent times political opposition has expressed a desire for tighter gun regulations. A referendum in February 2011 rejected stricter gun control. Each such individual is required to keep his army-issued personal weapon (the 5.56x45mm Sig 550 rifle for enlisted personnel and/or the 9mm SIG-Sauer P220 semi-automatic pistol for officers, medical and postal personnel) at home.
Police statistics for the year 2006 records 34 killings or attempted killings involving firearms, compared to 69 cases involving bladed weapons and 16 cases of unarmed assault. Cases of assault resulting in bodily harm numbered 89 (firearms) and 526 (bladed weapons). As of 2007, Switzerland had a population of about 7,600,000. This would put the rate of killings or attempted killings with firearms at about one for every quarter million residents yearly. This represents a decline of aggravated assaults involving firearms since the early 1990s. The majority of gun crimes involving domestic violence are perpetrated with army ordnance weapons, while the majority of gun crime outside the domestic sphere involves illegally held firearms.
Nathaniel J. Webb, III
Attorney at Law
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30. D.C. resident orders TV, gun delivered instead
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Of all the people, the gun was delivered to a hysterical anti. But even he had to get his picture taken with the gun.
From WAMU.org: http://tinyurl.com/9byqykd
By Rebecca Cooper and Armando Trull
August 8, 2012
Seth Horvitz was in for a bit of a surprise last night when he went to open his brand new flat screen TV ordered off Amazon.com. That's because instead of the TV, the box left outside his apartment door in Northeast D.C. contained an assault rifle, he says. It was a brand new SIG 716 to be exact, a semi-automatic patrol rifle worth at least $1,800.
"This isn't a toy and it's not something used for hunting necessarily," says Horvitz. "It's used for killing people. That's what its meant for ˘ that's what this weapon was built for ˘ so needless to say, I was shocked to have it sitting in my kitchen."
Horvitz didn't know what to do with the weapon, so he called the Metropolitan Police Department, who came and confiscated it. Assault weapons are still illegal in the District, despite the city's decades-old gun ban being lifted in 2010.
"[The Police] were almost as confused as me, to tell you the truth. They themselves identified the weapon as an assault rifle when they saw it and said, 'Yeah, you can't keep this,'" says Horvitz.
Horvitz had ordered the television from a third party seller through Amazon. He received an email Tuesday from the seller denying any responsibility for the mix-up.
What was even more astounding for Horvitz than even receiving the gun was that UPS left the gun on his apartment's front door, where anybody, including children who live in the building, could have taken it.
"It's very strange, the cardboard box had a UPS label with my name on it," he says. " But there was another label underneath, with different information."
That label was for a gun shop in Pennsylvania. The gun shop confirmed that they were waiting for an assault weapon, but unfortunately for Horvitz, they were not in possession of his TV.
It's perfectly legal to ship rifles through UPS, as long as certain conditions are met, like receiver having a license.
Update: UPS public relations director Susan Rosenberg responded to a request for comment with this statement Wednesday evening: "We appreciate that the D.C. resident came to the authorities with concern about the delivery. UPS has been in touch with local police and is cooperating in an investigation. There's nothing more to share at this point."
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31. Shooting range sees marked interest from women
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Music to my ears!
Bill Hine emailed me this:
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From WTOP.com: http://tinyurl.com/cga77ba
By Andrew Mollenbeck
August 9, 2012
ROCKVILLE, Md. - Guns aren't just a guy thing anymore, and while debate over their role in society has intensified this summer, the surge in gun interest comes from women.
"We have a lot of women. They bring their kids in," says Bryon Gossard, a manager at Gilbert Indoor Range.
The owner estimates women make up about 40 percent of new customers.
"Lately most of our business has been people who have never touched a gun before," Gossard says.
The trend at this range is consistent with what's taking place across the country.
The National Rifle Association certified 5,000 additional instructors in just the past 15 months, USA TODAY reports.
Two mass shootings this summer are putting gun rights back in the national discourse. But renewed interest in gun ownership already had been on the upswing, and people cite different reasons for attending gun-safety classes.
"[Guns] are scary when you don't know anything about them. They freak me out," says a young woman who was taking the safety course.
"But I know you can do it and be safe," said the woman who asked that her name be withheld because of the nature of her job.
At this location, crime has been a factor in prompting neighbors to consider guns for the first time.
"We have a lot of people that show up when there's burglaries in their neighborhoods," Gossard says.
In one case, a burglary at gunpoint in Bethesda created an immediate interest in guns.
"Their entire community the whole block wanted to come out here and have us go to their neighborhood and teach them to protect themselves," he says.
Nationally, Illinois is the only state not to allow people to carry concealed firearms. The District does not issue concealed carry permits.
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32. Virginia vs the Austin Magic Pistol
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From Monachus Lex: http://tinyurl.com/8b3mwvu
By John Pierce
August 8, 2012
Recently, a friend sent me a link to a Cracked.com article about vintage toys that would be considered wildly irresponsible by today's consumer safety standards.
The article itself was a hilarious read but what really caught my attention was the #2 toy on the list; the Austin Magic Pistol. This marvel of 1950's engineering fired a ping-pong sized plastic ball by igniting the combustible gases generated when you added water to the provided 'magic crystals.'
Those 'magic crystals' were in fact calcium carbide and the resulting combustion was impressive indeed as the video below demonstrates.
Video: http://tinyurl.com/d2d8ulz
This ingenius little device is apparently much sought after by toy collectors and I did a little searching on eBay myself but never found one. As it turns out, I was lucky to have not found one.
While I was doing the research for my article on Virginia's air gun laws, I discovered that, back in 1950 when the Austin Magic Pistol and its progenitors were all the rage, Virginia passed a law prohibiting the selling or gifting of such toys. Originally passed as 18.1-347, the law is still on the books at 18.2-284.
No person shall sell, barter, exchange, furnish, or dispose of by purchase, gift or in any other manner any toy gun, pistol, rifle or other toy firearm, if the same shall, by action of an explosion of a combustible material, discharge blank or ball charges. Any person violating the provisions of this section shall be guilty of a Class 4 misdemeanor. Each sale of any of the articles hereinbefore specified to any person shall constitute a separate offense.
Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing the sale of what are commonly known as cap pistols.
So if you have one of these unique pieces of toy history, don't sell it to a Virginia resident. You don't want to have to explain to the other inmates that you were arrested for selling a 'Magic Pistol.'
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33. Looking for a gunsmith?
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Board member Dale Welch emailed me this:
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Find a gunsmith etc: http://tinyurl.com/8j6y89m
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VA-ALERT is a project of the Virginia Citizens Defense League, Inc.
(VCDL). VCDL is an all-volunteer, non-partisan grassroots organization
dedicated to defending the human rights of all Virginians. The Right to
Keep and Bear Arms is a fundamental human right.
VCDL web page: http://www.vcdl.org [http://www.vcdl.org/]
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