Free Republic

Saturday, February 24, 2007 On Feb. 14, 2007, Representative Carolyn McCarthy (D-N.Y.) introduced H.R. 1022, a bill with the stated purpose, “to reauthorize the assault weapons ban, and for other purposes.” McCarthy’s verbiage warrants explanation. Presumably, what she means by “assault weapons ban” is the Clinton Gun Ban of 1994. Congress allowed the ban to expire in 2004 for multiple reasons, including the fact that federal, state and local law enforcement agency studies showed that guns affected by the ban had been used in only a small percentage of crime, before and after the ban was imposed. With the nation’s...

Exploiting Mass MurderDr. Michael S. BrownSunday, Oct. 20, 2002 October 2002 gave the battered anti-gun lobby what it desperately needed: a high-profile mass murderer who used a firearm. It has been over three years since the lobby's last big public relations victory at Columbine, but time has not changed the way these rare incidents are covered and exploited. There is an old saying that journalists know nothing about guns and don't want to learn. This was reaffirmed by last week's saturation coverage from the Washington suburbs that was loaded with firearms myths and misinformation. I used to enjoy a...