Targeting a Myth [Gun Control]

The Boston Globe ^ | 5/26/2002 | Joyce Lee Malcolm

[My Identity]

But there are two problems with that model. When guns were freely available, England had an astonishingly low level of violent crime. A government study for the years 1890-1892, for example, found only three handgun homicides, an average of one a year, in a population of 30 million. In 1904 there were only four armed robberies in London, then the largest city in the world. One century and many gun laws later, the British Broadcasting Corp. reports that England's firearms restrictions and 1997 ban on handguns ''have had little impact in the criminal underworld.'' Guns are virtually outlawed, and, as the old slogan predicted, only outlaws have guns. And what is worse, they are increasingly ready to use them.

[Poser]

Thanks for the link. I was just in the middle of an arguement with a bunch of snooty UK anti-gunners on rec.motorcycles. I had the pleasure of posting a paragraph and a link.

[rellimpank]

--intresting that something we gun nuts have known about all along (forty years , in my case) is now appearing in something as liberal as the Boston Globe--

[NetValue]

It's really a no-brainer. The gun does not commit the crime. Look to who is mis-using guns and there you may find the solution you seek.

[LoneRangerMassachusetts]

This article is absolutly shocking coming from the Boston Globe. Maybe there is hope.

[Euro-American Scum]

Americans who believe that more guns mean more crime awakened earlier this month to find, to their dismay, that the Justice Department and the federal courts had affirmed their constitutional right to be armed. Presumably, they would have preferred restrictions based on the English model, where the toughest firearms regulations of any democracy have been credited by gun control advocates with producing a low rate of violent crime.

Oh really? And who would presume to presume such a thing? Nice to see the Boston Globe still does their editorializing on the front page. At least they're consistent.

[Stavka2]

Here you go David, why your English system is a total failure. Go ahead and criticize the US all you want, but in the US the people live with a lot less to fear. Thank God, Russia is following right on the US model and not the EuroSocialist failure model. We've had all the socialism a society can handle.

[Saundra Duffy]

From my cold dead hands.

[Cicero]

Holy Mackerel, this was printed in the Boston Globe? The world must be coming to an end.

[My Identity]

The author, Joyce Lee Malcolm, is not on BG's staff.
She is a professor at Bentley College (a miracle in itself?).
The article was printed in BG's quasi-opinion Focus section
which holds lots of other freelance articles.

[litany_of_lies]

"Gun crime is just part of an increasingly lawless environment. Your chances of being mugged in London are now six times greater than in New York. England's rates of robbery and burglary are far higher than America's, and 53 percent of burglaries in England occur while occupants are at home, compared with 13 percent in the United States, where burglars admit to fearing armed homeowners more than the police."

These two stats, especially the second one, are among the best-kept secrets on earth, and should be required reading for ANYONE who thinks banning guns is the answer.

Unfortunately, the comparison is to NYC, which Giuliani cleaned up and Bloomberg, from early indications, is beginning to lose a grip on. I would still guess that Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, and DC, to name a few, are more dangerous than London for most crimes-for now.

The self-defense crimes cited in the article are examples of the kinds of things the International Criminal Court that the Bush Administration repudiated would have tried to shove down the throats of any Americans overseas, including soldiers.

[Abbysomeone]

Why is it that something we have known all along falls under the category of NEWS? I don't think this is news at all, only a public comfirmation that Gun Control is a miserable failure every time it is tried.

[wardaddy]

Good lord....simply incredible. How they can be so stupid is mindboggling.

[genefromjersey]

Oh, dear ! That poor author is going to be FLAMED : banned in Boston, pilloried in Providence, mauled in Middlesex...( you get the idea ! )

The Elitists and Statists will shout : " How dare she embarrass us with the truth ????

[gcruse]

gun control has not made England a safer, fairer society

For the life of me, I cannot understand how
gun control or the lack thereof contributes
to a 'fairer society.'  At a stretch, if every
one were packing heat, life might be fairer,
but that goes against what they expected.

[floriduh voter]

BTTT & 2nd amendment ping.

[Joe Brower]

Thanks for the ping. This was posted earlier under an incorrect title HERE. No flame intended.

Shameless freedom-lovin' plug: CLICK HERE for a large assortment of powerful, pro-RKBA docs in PDF format.

[pabianice]

American Liberals will never, never, EVER change their anti-gun hysteria -- until they become victims of violent crime. Remember, the fundamental purpose of Liberalism is to be able to make yourself feel good about yourself. Results are besides the point and to be ignored -- until they happen to you.

[backhoe]

Statistical Facts Gun-haters Run From

---

And just FYI---

-Empty-Barrel Gun Policies-A legacy of nonsense from Clinton, Blair, and the Left--

-A Problem With Guns (Long... but SOOOO good)--

Shooting More Holes in Gun Control

Gun Control Down Under

HCI Aussie Style (read it and weep-or laugh)

The Great Australian Gun Law CON!

British Gun Crime Soars

Gun Crimes Surge in London

Canadian Gun Control Has Little Impact on Crime (Home Gun Confiscation/Resisters)

Israel is Arming Its Civilians - Why Aren't We?
... and cyberjournalist. His latest book is The Seven Myths of Gun Control. Topics: News/Current
Events Keywords: GUN CONTROL, ISRAEL, SECOND AMENDMENT, TERRORISM ...
beta.freerepublic.com/focus/news/646679/posts - 39k - Cached

Through the Looking Glass and Back Again - From Anti-gunner to Firearms Instructor in Four Months