Or, perhaps, none at all.
Posted on 08/30/2015 7:47:18 AM PDT by PROCON
Despite the best efforts of the Brady Campaign and Michael Bloomberg's Everytown, a small group in suburban Chicago has managed to break new ground in gun control stupidity. The achievement took place August 25th at a rally protesting a new Mariano's grocery store in Northbrook, Ill. organized by Peaceful Communities. The company's offense? Not forbidding licensed carry inside their suburban locations.
While a small protest for a silly cause is standard gun control fare, this one featured items of special significance. The protestors held signs during the event, several of which stated "SIGNS SAVE LIVES." By that logic, the roughly dozen, who took who it upon themselves to actually burden themselves by carrying the very items that so effectively protect the public, should truly consider themselves heroes.
To the protestors it must be puzzling how the July attack by a violent extremist on a military recruiting center in Chattanooga, Tenn. could have occurred. Surely if the violent extremist had just taken a moment to notice the no guns sign posted on the door to the facility he would have been assuaged from attacking the servicemen inside.
Moreover, these protestors would likely only be confused by what occurred at Smith’s Marketplace in Salt Lake City, Utah. In April 2012, a 34-year-old man began stabbing people with a knife at random outside the grocery store. Thankfully, a Right-to-Carry permit holder who was on the scene drew a firearm and subdued the violent attacker until police could arrive.
Gun control stupidity is probably too subjective a category for a Guinness World Record, however worthy Peaceful Communities’ actions may be. Hopefully the group will be content with merely the public shaming they have and will receive.
Or, perhaps, none at all.
• Oregon has a passion for useless gun control laws. What follows is my testimony on one set, but I am sure the links were ignored by those maintaining their ignorance through premeditated ignorance..
Testimony Senate Bills 347 and 699
A World Magazine article listed the supposed worst mass shootings in the United States since 1999. This article chronicled 25 instances with 220 dead, 242 injured, and 17 predator suicides. The shootings occurred at schools, churches, retail malls, and businesses, and in 19 to 24 cases at locations that would have prohibited firearms. In every case the police arrived for body counts and paperwork. In every case no one except the assailant had a gun.
The most recent citation involved Adam Lanza who stole his mother’s guns (which was against the law), and then killed her with them (which was against the law). Next he transported these loaded guns onto school property and inside the building (which was against the law). He discharged the weapons within the city limits (which was against the law), and murdered 26 people (which was against the law). Finally, Mr. Lanza committed suicide (which was against the law).
Evidently psychopaths follow this pattern of lawlessness and gun control legislation has no effect. The Clinton Administration commissioned a National Science Foundation (NSF) study that could not find a positive correlation between gun control laws and other measures for controlling murders after consulting 400 sources and doing its own research. The only dissent was detailed in Appendix A saying John Lott’s conclusion from his studies that concealed carry laws do drive down murder rates in public places had survived all attempts at reanalysis.
Here the dissenter referred to a twenty-year study by John Lott and William Landes from the University of Chicago Law School. That and subsequent Lott studies the NSF reviewed correlated passage of concealed carry laws with large decreases in multiple victim shootings, and reduced harm from shootings when they did occur.
Yet Senate Bills 347 and 699 can rely upon emotion to preclude consideration of such information. The passionate, contra-factual, asymmetrical marketing of the Sandy Hook Elementary tragedy and other events provides the emotional cover necessary for driving these bills forward.
Legislation excluding permitted concealed carry firearms from school campuses and public buildings targets a cohort of people vitally concerned with handgun safety, and the legal restrictions on use of deadly force. They have taken a course to confirm their safe handling of firearms, and received sobering instructions on when it is improper to use a handgun in a violent situation. They have also opened themselves to a continuous scrutiny by law enforcement agencies from which most are exempt. We could expect them to obey the law, because undergoing the permit process demonstrates their serious attitude.
I wonder about the rationality of focusing on this group of law abiding individuals, when the safety of school campuses and public buildings would not be enhanced, but would be degraded? In all the gun control statistics, where is the citation for the overwhelming numbers of psychopaths who routinely cower before administrative rules and laws forbidding the presence of guns? How about the statistics proving concealed carry permit holders promiscuously kill innocent bystanders while defending their own lives? What advantage accrues from touting the protocols of a “gun free zone” for evacuating, witnessing, communicating, containing, coordinating, notifying, and counseling? What is the rationality for criminalizing certified capable people from acting for their own self-protection?
If there is armed security for these various sites, why would these individuals routinely eclipse the five to ten minute police response that time guarantees psychopaths ample time to play out their malevolent fantasies? For them the few moments to relish the screams and explosions from innocent slaughter creates intimate, visual stimuli of human terror, bloody mists, and broken bodies culminating in splendid, convulsive suicides.
Senate Bills 347 and 699 have the effect of not only confiscating an individual’s inherent right of self-defense and creating islands of contentment for lethal predators, but promises felony prosecution to those individuals for actions certified to be responsible by county sheriffs.
Senate Bill 699
http://www.leg.state.or.us/13reg/measpdf/sb0600.dir/sb0699.intro.pdf
Senate Bill 347
http://www.leg.state.or.us/13reg/measpdf/sb0300.dir/sb0347.intro.pdf
A Town Clothed in Misery
http://www.worldmag.com/2012/12/a_town_clothed_in_misery/page3
National Science Foundation: Firearms and Violence, A Critical Review
http://www.nap.edu/openbook.php?isbn=0309091241
Study by John Lott and William Landes from the University of Chicago Law School
http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=272929
How about ZILTCH,ZERO,NADA?In Vermont,we define”Gun-Control”as” Hitting What You’re Aiming At”!!!
Tsk, tsk, your testimony was filled and replete with common sense, shame on you.
I am beginning to believe that the various pro-gun groups out there should create a web page that allows members to report anti-gun rallies. It should also allow for people to register as minutemen. The web page would then notify the minutemen via text and email, about upcoming anti-gun rallies. The minutemen would then respond, upon short notice, and go to the location to hold a counter rally.
Yes, that is a problem. I find I have to be satisfied with just irritating people.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.