Posted on 01/05/2012 8:49:33 AM PST by marktwain
Dave Zweifel of the Madison WI Cap Times doesn’t like Wisconsin’s new shall-issue permit to carry law, and doesn’t mind telling the world about his feelings. And neither does the house cartoonist. In Zweifel’s piece, the scribe tries to make the case that there’s no way to know if concealed carry is safer or not. Despite all the evidence staring him in the face. If he cares to look. Unfortunately, he also doesn’t seem to mind lying through his teeth about the law, its passage and its proponents…
Oh sure, he starts out well enough:
Now that Wisconsin’s learned Legislature has seen fit to allow the citizenry to carry concealed weapons everywhere but where they are specifically banned, we surely must be on the threshold of a safer future for us all.
It probably won’t surprise you that he was actually indulging in sarcasm there, for in his very next paragraph he states:
At least, that’s what the majority of our legislators assured us last fall as they quickly moved to pass a concealed carry law, which the state’s new Republican governor eagerly signed. Forty-eight other states, after all, have passed concealed carry laws and, according to the guns-for-all proponents, they’ve experienced absolutely no problems.
Wow; I can see one misleading statement and two outright lies just in those two sentences. The legislature did not “quickly” move to pass the permit law, this was something which, according to the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, had been being debated for more than a decade. Indeed shall-issue bills passed the legislature in 2003 and again in 2005, only to be vetoed by then Governor Doyle.
As for Dave’s contention that there exist “guns-for-all proponents,” that’s just a flat out lie. I do not know of a single civil rights activist (of the firearms flavor) who suggests that people in prison or locked mental facilities should be allowed access to firearms. Nor do I know any who advocate that young children have unrestricted access. If Dave (or anyone else, for that matter) has access to such a statement I’d love to see it and will happily apologize to him. But I’m not holding my breath.
Then there’s Dave’s real whopper, claiming that civil rights activists have stated that permit holders have never caused any problems in any other states. As Rep. Cliff Stearns said in 2009 regarding the law-abiding nature of permit holders:
Florida, which has issued more carry permits than any state has issued 1.36 million permits, but revoked only 165 (0.01%) due to gun crimes by permit-holders.
Again, it’s hard to prove a negative, but I have never, ever heard even the most rabid pro-carry advocate (who could well be me, for that matter) say that no permit holder will ever cause a problem. What we can say is that study after study has shown that permit-holders are more law-abiding than the general populace.
Did you catch that? Hard data on concealed carry permit holders’ criminal interactions (or lack thereof)? Apparently, Dave doesn’t understand that the relevant stats can be/have been/will be compiled without compromising privacy. And that’s a big (if non-existent) problem for the journalist and his friends in the police force:
The shielding of concealed carry permits from public inspection has been a major reason why the gun lobby has been able to claim that concealed carry laws have not caused any problems. The trouble is, because of the secrecy, it’s virtually impossible to prove whether they do or they don’t.“I would think that the sponsors of this law would want to show proof to the public that the sky isn’t falling because of concealed carry,” said Oregon Police Chief Doug Pettit, the legislative representative of the Wisconsin Association of Police Chiefs. “But if no one can access records, how will we know?”
Apparently, what you don’t know can hurt you. So know this: Zweifel’s entire argument is based on a piece from the New York Times about the criminality of concealed carry permit holders in North Carolina. A piece whose erroneous conclusions have been thoroughly debunked by TTAG and others. A state of affairs that could have been established with a simple Google search. If Zweifel could have been bothered.
“...The truth is its biggest enemy....”
There’s a reason that those completely incapable of understanding even the most basic math go into journalism...
There are none so blind as those who refuse to see.
For the first four years after "shall issue" passed in Michigan, leftists and RINOs, including all the newspapers, had April 1 interviews with all the county prosecutors predicting a wave of murder. They were also disappointed that it hadn't appeared yet.
They finally gave up on that, and now quietly press for more disqualifications for mental "issues", such as "excessive use of aspirin". A permit holder arrested for unpaid traffic tickets gets more publicity than the average murder in Detroit, which is an everyday item.
that's why they have Eric Holder to help out.
Wisconsin Concealed Carry Ping!
Dave Zweifel is an avowed Communist.
As far as WI CC goes, I’m going for my training class this month and want to also get a non-resident permit for MN. Does anyone know what state has the cheapest non-resident permit that would be recognized (reciprocity) in MN?
Again, it’s hard to prove a negative, but I have never, ever heard even the most rabid pro-carry advocate (who could well be me, for that matter) say that no permit holder will ever cause a problem. What we can say is that study after study has shown that permit-holders are more law-abiding than the general populace.
WAY better than a LEO badge.
I was born in Madison.
Raised in Middleton.
Left in the early 60’s.
Won’t ever move back to Wisconsin.
Too Liberal.
Too many communists in the media.
Too expensive for property taxes which support the layabouts.
Why do you think so? My experience is opposite, but much depends on department, peers, and specific problems.
House Votes To Eliminate License Requirement For Concealed Guns
3 Other States Don’t Require Permits
POSTED: 10:26 am EST January 5, 2012
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CONCORD, N.H. — The House has voted to make New Hampshire the fourth state to eliminate the need for a permit to carry concealed, loaded guns anyplace where gun possession is legal.
The House voted 193-122 Thursday to make the permits optional. Gun owners could still get them so they could travel to states with reciprocal permit agreements. The bill also would increase from four to five years the length of time a permit is valid. The bill also would make it legal to transport unlicensed guns.
The House passed a similar bill last session, but the Senate postponed action on it until this year.
Exemptions in the law, such as for felons carrying weapons, would not change.
Vermont, Arizona and Alaska don’t require a permit.
Read more: http://www.wmur.com/news/30140798/detail.html#ixzz1ic1uimjN
Yes, it is a hard place to live. Like radiation, I am surrounded by weapons-grade stupidity on a daily basis and it does take its toll.
Wyoming has constitutional carry now as well.
Beginning and end of the gun debate: SCOTUS Castle Rock vs Gonzales
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/06/28/politics/28scotus.html
I’m taking my concealed carry class this month.
Take that, liberals!
: )
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