Posted on 03/13/2006 12:52:30 PM PST by neverdem
Henry Riekert's column cites the Violence Policy Center as a "well respected, non-profit, gun control advocacy group" -- true, if citing selective statistics and ignoring data that do not support yours is respectable.
One of the group's stated goals is a nationwide ban on the private possession of handguns. That isn't gun control; it's gun elimination.
The figure Riekert cites -- 5,314 arrests of Texas concealed-carry licensees -- sounds incriminating until you look behind the raw numbers. Total arrests spread over the period selected (Jan. 1, 1996, to Aug. 31, 2001) averages 1,138 a year. That includes arrests for all offenses, including traffic arrests.
Since there were about 213,000 concealed-carry licenses issued during that period, that calculates to a percentage of 0.5 percent a year being arrested, not exactly a staggering rate.
And I hope Riekert is not confusing arrests with convictions; they are not the same. Texas Department of Public Safety records show that 55 percent of the concealed-carry licensees arrested were cleared of violent offenses.
The department also says that concealed-carry licensees' frequency of arrest for violent offenses is only 17 percent that of the general public. The rate for non-violent offenses is even lower: only 7 percent.
How about the revocation rate of concealed-carry licenses in Texas? That will indicate how violent those licensees are. Between Jan. 1, 1996, and May 1, 2002, 1,724 licenses were revoked out of 240,506 issued; a revocation rate of .07 percent. That's not an overwhelming number and certainly does not indicate the rampant lawlessness Riekert would have you believe.
In Florida, 1,123,373 concealed-carry licenses were issued between Oct. 1, 1987, and Feb. 28. Only 157 licenses have been revoked because the licensee used a firearm while committing a crime. That's a rate of one 0.01 percent. Also, 2,976 licenses have been revoked for all offenses; that's a rate of 0.26 percent. Not what one would call a crime wave.
How about a couple of quotes from Texas officials regarding the concealed-carry law?
District Attorney John B. Holmes of Houston said, "I (felt) that such legislation ... present(ed) a clear and present danger to law-abiding citizens by placing more handguns on our streets. Boy was I wrong. Our experience in Harris County, and indeed statewide, has proven my initial fears absolutely groundless."
Glenn White, president of the Dallas Police Association said, "All the horror stories I thought would come to pass didn't happen ... I think it's worked out well, and that says good things about citizens who have permits. I'm a convert."
In 1996, many of us said that passing Kentucky's concealed-carry law would not lead to blood in the streets, and it hasn't.
As for making the names of concealed-carry licensees public, to what purpose? Riekert implies that under the legislation he opposes, House Bill 290, a woman being stalked would not be able to find out whether her stalker had a concealed-carry license.
But the bill clarifies that once an EPO or DVO is issued against a licensee, a law enforcement officer is immediately dispatched to confiscate the license.
Straw men are easy to knock down, but they don't make much of a case.
Robert L. Pruden of Owingsville is secretary/treasurer of the Kentucky Firearms Foundation.
I'm saving this post along with some others as ammunition for the next gun-grabber I get in a discussion with.
"(The VPC is) a small anti-gun think-tank supported by grants from liberal-left foundations and wealthy benefactors who can afford their own armed bodyguards, but prefer a disarmed peasantry".
Source: Dr. Michael S. Brown, a member of Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws
The VPC is a particularly virulent propaganda organ and nothing more. Remember these guys the next BJ Billy Clinton smirks at the camera and says condescendingly "Nobody's talking about taking guns away from anybody." He knows better.
"Don't believe anti-gun statistics"
I don't.
But I still don't care. Suppose a study said that freedom speech or religion was dangerous - would these people have us ban those freedoms too?
OK, they probably would but that's all the more reason for them to p*ss off.
GF is starting to get into shooting. Any suggestions on a good pistol for a small female?
Also, stick with the 9MM or go for a 10MM?
They quickly back down when faced with hard data and are able to accept new concepts (otherwise they'd still be writing COBOL source code by the mile.)
If you are looking for more power, a .41 Magnum won't punish you as much as a .44 or a .454 will. The .460 XVR or the .500 S&W are recoil junkies wetdreams. For a carry piece, Springfield XD in .45 ACP or a Sig P220. 1911's these days are too finiky about what they eat and how they are maintained.
9mm are labeled useless because the military and LE are limited to FMJ rounds. JHP and HP rounds in 9mm will tear a chunk out of anyone and do real damage to the human body.
A 9mm 147gr Gold Dot@1135fps against a 10mm 180gr XTP@1400fps? Which would you rather have backing you up?
That leads me to belive that she never got beyond COBOL.
Not that there is anything wrong with COBOL...it's just that in writing COBOL source, you know that at some point you will be printing out a listing that weighs more than your youngest child.
It is such a verbose language and so boring that, if you're like me, you start getting a little creative with your variable names....and file names. I mean really creative. Now, suddenly it's fun to go to work and actually enjoy it. But I'm digressing here and the "COBOL Capers" is a whole 'nuther phase of my life.
If she is still stuck in "COBOL Land" that would explain everything.
I'd suggest a .22 revolver--a K-frame Smith & Wesson, or a Ruger single-action. Ammo is cheap, the gun will be easy to shoot (espeically if you can find a Smith with a good trigger), and she'll get good with it pretty quickly. When she's very comfortable with the .22, move her up to a .38 Smith target revolver.
The revolvers are easy to clean, too.
And they are liars with closed minds on top of that. A couple years ago they issued a "press release" in which they stated that U.S. gun manufacturers were making handguns for kids and cited as their source a well-known U.S. gun magazine.
I happened to subscribe to that magazine, so I contacted its editorial staff and told them of what I had read. They went ballistic and wanted a copy of the VPC's "news release" which I fax'd to them. They also told me that they had published nothing of the sort.
I wrote a letter to the VPC, pointing out that there was no such thing as a handgun specifically sized down for tiny hands and marketed to children. Of course, I got no reply, but I'll bet they got an earful from the gun magazine's editor.
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