The most common killers may surprise you (Brady Barf alert)

Once again today, we are all struggling with reports about terrible losses of lives to gun violence. What a disturbed teenager in Utah and a tormented businessman in Pennsylvania have in common is that they had access to guns. Horrific mass killings cannot be committed with knives or baseball bats or bare fists. Weak gun laws have led to a glut of weapons on the streets. And as a result, bitter human frustrations lead to gun violence. Anger leads to killings. When will our Nation wake up and confront the tragic reality that we make it far too easy for dangerous people to have access to guns?

In Utah, two 28-year-old women, a 15-year-old girl, a 52-year-old man and 24-year-old man were killed by a shotgun-toting gunman.

Shotguns fire an extremely lethal large caliber round that delivers either a cloud of bullets (shot) or a single large slug. Sawed off and assault shotguns are popular with gangs and terrorists engaged in urban warfare- they have enormous knockdown power, and they don't even need to be aimed as the hail of shot will takes precision out of the equation. All it takes is ten minutes with a hacksaw and a shotgun can be turned into highly compact, concealable mayhem.

Shotguns used in World War One were so lethal, that governments such as Germany lobbied to ban them from organized warfare, because they were inhumane and extraordinarily dangerous.

The gun industry continues to try to market weapons such as the Jackhammer automatic shotgun, Streetsweepers, and other deadly weaponry that was deemed so dangerous, it isn't even labeled a firearm. They are destructive devices and regulated by the National Firearms Act. Does a "Destructive Device" sound like something you go duck hunting with? Unfortunately, with a few cosmetic tweaks, the same lethal weapons are manufactured for "sporting purposes."

Shotguns aren't the only deadly killer that the gun lobby has tried to wrap up in the American flag, history, and apple pie. What caliber kills more people every year in the U.S. than any other?

22s are commonly found in three flavors. 22 short, 22 long and 22 Long Rifle. All of them are lethal. Most Saturday Night Specials come in .22 caliber. These handguns are not useful for sport or self-defense because their short barrels make them inaccurate and their low quality of construction make them dangerous and unreliable. They are, however, favored by criminals because of their low cost and easy concealability.

Let us repeat: more people are killed by the .22 every year, than any other caliber.

.22 are indeed deadly in shots to the body, because they don't go through entirely and they bounce off bones, creating more havoc. They have the ability to penetrate through gaps in law enforcement officer's kevlar, such as at the sides. If a .22 bullet enters the head, it will fatally ricochet around in the skull.

.22s are also the most easy of all the rounds to use with a silencer. They are a favorite of assassins performing mob kills, using a semi-automatic .22 or a revolver chambered in that caliber along with a silencer.

Creative criminals create penguins, cell-phone guns, knife guns, and more, all using the .22. It is truly the most dangerous of all calibers in terms of human cost per year, if not in mass and size. The tiny .22 can travel over a mile, and this fact is bragged about in promotional literature.

Many people are killed and injured by stray rounds traveling through the air and striking innocent victims, even children. Often people in the country will shoot off the back of their porch - exercising their rights, no doubt - and end up causing deadly harm to someone else's family.

Do cut-down shotguns and silenced .22s belong on our streets, or in our schools? Should criminals have a ready access to the more 'innocent' versions, ripe for conversion to more lethal configurations?

The Brady Campaign is making our stand to fight against the gun lobby, once and for all. We may not be able to eradicate murder in the human heart, but if we keep those who would terrorize our children and our malls from having easy access to deadly weapons, it will be worth it if but one child's life is saved.

You can always count on the Brady gun grabbers to politicize every gun-related tragedy to call for more gun control. But what about the leading Republican presidential candidate. Rudy Giuliani used the occurrence the first terrorist attack in New York City during his term as mayor for the same thing. On 23 February 1997 an Islamic terrorist opened fire on the observation platform of the Empire State Building in New York City. This was a terrorist attack and is even listed as a "significant terrorist attack" on the U.S. State Department's website. How did Giuliani react to the first Islamic terrorist attack while he was mayor? He took the opportunity to immediately and openly politicize the event to advance his and the Democrats' agenda for national gun control and to praise Bill Clinton's gun control efforts.

Here's the relevant info and quotes:

U.S. State Department - Significant Terrorist Incidents 1961-2003

Empire State Building Sniper Attack, February 23, 1997: A Palestinian gunman opened fire on tourists at an observation deck atop the Empire State Building in New York City, killing a Danish national and wounding visitors from the United States, Argentina, Switzerland, and France before turning the gun on himself. A handwritten note carried by the gunman claimed this was a punishment attack against the "enemies of Palestine."

Archives of Rudy Giuliani, Mayor's Message, 2 March 1997:

"Good morning. It has been a week since the terrible tragedy that happened last Sunday at the Empire State Building. And even as we grieve for the families and our hearts and prayers go out to them, perhaps we can use this senseless tragedy to re-energize the fight for gun control."

Archives of Rudy Giuliani, Major Addresses, Citizen's Crime Commission, 6 March 1997:

A couple of weeks ago, all New Yorkers and people throughout the world were appalled by the senseless and horrifying act of violence that occurred at the Empire State Building.
[snip]
Because of this transformation of perception, when this latest tragedy occurred, instead of having to defend New York City, we were able to focus national attention on the real problem, which is gun control. And even as we grieve for those who lost their lives, and our hearts and prayers go out to the victims and their loved ones, we may be able to find some sort of meaning in this tragedy by using it as a catalyst to revive national gun control efforts.
[snip]
Yesterday, President Clinton outlined his proposals for more stringent, federal gun licensing requirements. ... I applaud the President's proposals, and I will support them any way I can.
I only hope that he is right, and that Congress is finally ready to recognize that the vast majority of Americans want more gun control. It makes sense. It is time. And we can no longer let special interests dominate this vitally important issue.
[snip]
I know many people argue that keeping and bearing arms is federally guaranteed right as stated in the Second Amendment of the Constitution. But even in the Second Amendment, it refers to firearms in the context of a well regulated militia, and well regulated is what we're trying to accomplish.

Two days after the terrorist attack, Giuliani wasn't assessing further Islamic terrorist threats or preparing the city against terrorist attack or publically denouncing Islamic terrorism. No, instead he was in a press conference at City Hall with a Democrat gun control nut (Rep. Carolyn McCarthy) by his side calling for national gun control.

Have his views changed since 1997. Not really. The following quote came from an interview with John Gizzi of Human Events on 11 February 2007. It demonstrates that Giuliani is still a gun grabber and that he doesn't believe the second amendment protects the individual right to own firearms.

Regarding gun control, the New Yorker told me "I used it effectively as mayor" with regard to handguns, that gun control was one of several of crime-fighting tools along with "increasing the number of police and the ‘broken windows’ policy [the famous concept of sociologist James Q. Wilson that crime "starts with broken windows" and the careless practice needs to be punished]." As a result of his policy, Giuliani said, "we reduced homicides by 65% while I was mayor."
But, he quickly added, "I understand the Second Amendment" and, regarding owning guns for hunting or collections, Giuliani believes "there is a right to do that."

This is the truth that must be told about the February 1997 terrorist attack in New York City and how Giuliani misunderstands the Second Amendment. This is how Giuliani deals with terrorist attacks. He blamed the guns, called for violating constitutional rights for EVERYONE, and wanted to take away our own individual defense against further terrorist attacks. Also disturbing is that he would openly politicize a terrorist attack to advance a liberal agenda.

Even if Giuliani didn't have all of the other 100-ton social liberal and personal baggage he would carry as the GOP nominee for President, his reaction to this terrorist attack and complete misunderstanding of the second amendment is more than enough reason for Republicans to seriously consider looking for a better candidate.

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