Microsoft Word - KatesMauserBLUE.doc - Vol30_No2_KatesMauseronline.pdf - www.law.harvard.edu (HTTP) Why Gun Owners Are Right to Fight Against Gun Control. In April, the Senate rejected the Toomey-Manchin gun control proposal.
In the wake of its defeat many asked why gun owners and their organizations resisted so limited a measure. Granted, it would have had little but symbolic benefit. Its core was to require background checks at gun shows (which Bureau of Justice Statistics concluded involved a whole 0.8 percent of crime guns) and on Internet gun sales (a miniscule proportion, most of which probably go through licensed dealers anyway). But why not accept something so modest, in light of the draconian ideas then being floated as alternatives? Understanding the rejection requires understanding gun owners’ shared experiences. Back in 1976, Pete Shields, chairman of what is today the Brady Campaign, candidly laid out the blueprint for The New Yorker: We're going to have to take one step at a time, and the first step is necessarily — given the political realities — going to be very modest.
Gun Myths Gone in Five Minutes: ABC News 20/20 - YouTube - www.youtube.com (HTTP) S Gun Control Survey: 11 key lessons from officers' perspectives - www.policeone.com (HTTP) In March, PoliceOne conducted the most comprehensive survey ever of American law enforcement officers’ opinions on the topic gripping the nation's attention in recent weeks: gun control.
More than 15,000 verified law enforcement professionals took part in the survey, which aimed to bring together the thoughts and opinions of the only professional group devoted to limiting and defeating gun violence as part of their sworn responsibility. Totaling just shy of 30 questions, the survey allowed officers across the United States to share their perspectives on issues spanning from gun control and gun violence to gun rights.
Top Line Takeaways Breaking down the results, it's important to note that 70 percent of respondents are field-level law enforcers — those who are face-to-face in the fight against violent crime on a daily basis — not office-bound, non-sworn administrators or perpetually-campaigning elected officials. 1.) 2.) 3.) Rape survivor: 'I was legislated into being a victim' 10 Defensive Gun Uses in December 2012 where victims had to fire a lot of shots in self defense - johnrlott.blogspot.com (HTTP) There are a lot of cases where victims face multiple attackers.
Here are just some of the cases from December 2012. When I read through these cases it was clear to me that there were seven cases that involved a large number of defensive shots fired. While it's not popular to say, gun control worked in all three of the tragedies. In each case the guns were stolen, not legally owned - showing yet again that gun control laws only affect the law abiding. Now the push for a revised Assault Weapons Ban is in full force including a law limiting magazines to 10 rounds of ammunition. Christmas Eve (Nevada) Police report "a multitude of gunfire" as four home invaders attack a couple and their newborn. December 3rd (California) A homeowner fights back as three armed men attempt a home invasion robbery.
How Safe Is Safe Enough: Sharing the Dilemma (Peter Sandman column) - www.psandman.com (HTTP) This is the ninth in a series of risk communication columns I have been asked to write for The Synergist, the journal of the American Industrial Hygiene Association.
The columns appear both in the journal and on this web site. This one can be found (more or less identical except for copyediting details) in the April 2006 issue of The Synergist, pp. 49–59. I just did a Google search for the phrase “every possible precaution” and got 51,000 hits. The Problem With the 'Public Health Research on Gun Violence' That Obama Wants You to Pay For - Hit & Run : Reason.com - reason.com (HTTP) One element of President Obama's gun control agenda is research by the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which may sound unobjectionable. It is not. Here is how the White House describes the situation: For years, Congress has subjected the [CDC] to restrictions ensuring it does not "advocate or promote gun control," and some members of Congress have claimed this restriction prohibits the CDC from conducting any research on the causes of gun violence. Public Health Pot Shots. Last year Congress tried to take away $2.6 million from the U.S.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In budgetary terms, it was a pittance: 0.1 percent of the CDC's $2.2 billion allocation. Symbolically, however, it was important: $2.6 million was the amount the CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control had spent in 1995 on studies of firearm injuries. Congressional critics, who charged that the center's research program was driven by an anti-gun prejudice, had previously sought to eliminate the NCIPC completely. "This research is designed to, and is used to, promote a campaign to reduce lawful firearms ownership in America," wrote 10 senators, including then Majority Leader Bob Dole and current Majority Leader Trent Lott. After the NCIPC survived the 1995 budget process, opponents narrowed their focus, seeking to pull the plug on the gun research specifically, or at least to punish the CDC for continuing to fund it.
Peter Sandman: Guestbook 2013 - www.psandman.com (HTTP) Prescribed burn outrage management and wildfire precaution advocacy comment: I’m curious as to what you would think about the tactics for communicating prescribed fire.
We do prescribed fire primarily to reduce the chances of a wildfire, and when we discuss this beforehand, people intellectually understand that reason. However, when they see flames and smoke in their back yard, they often get quite upset. So, how do you talk with folks to prepare them for something they likely support at the time of the conversation that creates outrage when implemented? Additionally, we’re put in the position of arguing for something that we think has little hazard (prescribed fire) but which some of the public can be highly outraged about. At the same time, we have to contrast the “good” prescribed fire with the “bad” wildfire that may come about. Spiked - www.spiked-online.com (HTTP) In the wake of the mass shooting at Sandy Hook school in Newtown, Connecticut, there seemed to be a great debate taking place in the US between those who want to see stricter controls on guns, and those who are opposed to such controls.
But to focus on the back-and-forth arguments over guns is to overlook the fact that there has been an underlying consensus in the response to Newtown. That consensus is: we must curtail freedom to prevent something like this from happening again. The loudest voices in the post-Newtown discussion have been those of campaigners seeking to impose new controls on guns. Many have called for a ban on so-called ‘assault weapons’, which would probably be an expanded version of a 1994 law signed by President Bill Clinton (which expired in 2004), among other measures. Such a move would be a limitation on the right to bear arms, as famously enshrined in the Second Amendment of the US Constitution. How to Think About Guns - WNYC - www.wnyc.org (HTTP)
More statistics, less persuasion. I was planning to write something about Moore v.
Madigan, No. 12-1269 (7th Cir. Dec. 11, 2012), the U.S. Court of Appeals decision earlier in the week that overturned an Illinois law that more or less bans ordinary citizens from carrying concealed weapons in public. Judge Richard Posner, our century's Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr., wrote the opinion. Not surprisingly, it's a good read. Posner irreverently mocks any attempt to wring meaning from the "original intent" of the Second Amendment (Posner is now engaged in a very unseemly but entertaining pissing match with Justice Scalia, in which both have basically said "liar, liar pants on fire!
" Many Say End of Firearm Ban Changed Little. Published: April 24, 2005 Correction Appended Despite dire predictions that the streets would be awash in military-style guns, the expiration of the decade-long assault weapons ban last September has not set off a sustained surge in the weapons' sales, gun makers and sellers say.
It also has not caused any noticeable increase in gun crime in the past seven months, according to several metropolitan police departments. The uneventful expiration of the assault weapons ban did not surprise gun owners, nor did it surprise some advocates of gun control. Rather, it underscored what many of them had said all along: that the ban was porous - so porous that assault weapons remained widely available throughout their prohibition. "The whole time that the American public thought there was an assault weapons ban, there never really was one," said Kristen Rand, legislative director of the Violence Policy Center, a gun-control group.
Shell File - www.gunlaws.com (HTTP) By John R. Lott, Jr., Ph.D. The finest documented account of media anti-gun bias I have ever seen. While these conditions remain tolerated and in place, the media has no legitimate claim to ethical behavior. Why do civilians need assault weapons? - www.americanthinker.com (HTTP)
One self-defense situation that comes to mind is the L.A. riots. Who can forget the nightly news's live footage of thugs hurling rocks at passing cars, buildings on fire, and looters smashing storefront windows? Then there was the savage beating of truck driver Reginald Denny. What was stunningly absent from the video footage? There were no police or fire personnel. According to the Los Angeles Times, police were ordered to stay out of the area for three hours. The Los Angeles Times reported that Richard Rhee had a group on the rooftop of his store armed with shotguns and assault rifles.
Attorney: Girl, 5, in trouble for chatting about shooting bubble gun. MOUNT CARMEL - Talking with a friend about a pink toy bubble gun got a five-year-old kindergarten girl in the Mount Carmel Area School District labeled as a terrorist threat, according to an attorney. The incident occurred Jan. 10 while the girl was waiting in line for a school bus, said Robin Ficker, the Maryland lawyer retained by the girl's family. He would not identify the girl or her parents, but gave this version of events: Talking with a friend, the girl said something to the effect “I’m going to shoot you and I will shoot myself” in reference to the device that shoots out bubbles.
The girl did not have the bubble gun with her and has never shot a real gun in her life, Ficker said. Elementary school officials learned of the conversation and questioned the girls the next day, Fickler said. The result, he said, was that the student was labeled a "terrorist threat" and suspended for 10 days, Ficker said. Parents Furious After Boys Suspended For Using Fingers As Guns « CBS Baltimore - baltimore.cbslocal.com (HTTP)
Get Breaking News First Receive News, Politics, and Entertainment Headlines Each Morning. Sign Up TALBOT COUNTY, Md. (WJZ) — Is it child’s play or a serious threat of gun violence? For the second time in less than a month, a Maryland child is kicked out of school for using his finger in the shape of a gun. KDVR.com – Denver News, Weather & Sports from FOX 31 News in Denver, Colorado - kdvr.com (HTTP) LOVELAND, Colo. — A 2nd grader has been suspended from school in Loveland for a make believe game he was playing. The 7-year-old says he was trying to save the world. But school administrators say he broke a key rule during his pretend play. “I was trying to save people and I just can’t believe I got dispended,” says Alex Evans, who doesn’t understand his suspension any better than he can pronounce it.
“It’s called ‘rescue the world,’” he says. He was playing a game during recess at Loveland’s Mary Blair Elementary School and threw an imaginary grenade into a box with pretend evil forces inside. “I pretended the box, there’s something shaking in it, and I go ‘pshhh.’” The boy didn’t throw anything real or make any threats against anyone. But his imaginary play broke the school’s real rules. <a href=" Our Poll</a> “Honestly I don’t think the rule is very realistic for kids this age,” says Alex’s mom Mandie Watkins. Why Police Officers Lie Under Oath - NYTimes.com - www.nytimes.com (HTTP) Mass Shootings Have Long History. He came along with a shotgun on his shoulder while a group of children were playing in front of the school. Without warning or provocation, he raised the gun to his shoulder, took deliberate aim, and fired into the crowd of boys. Although it sounds sadly modern, the account was published in the New York Times more than a century ago.
Dated April 10, 1891, the article described an elderly man firing a shotgun at children playing in front of St. Active shooters in schools: The enemy is denial - www.policeone.com (HTTP) “How many kids have been killed by school fire in all of North America in the past 50 years? Kids killed... school fire... Mass murder, shooting sprees and rampage violence: Research roundup – Journalist's Resource: Research for Reporting, from Harvard Shorenstein Center - journalistsresource.org (HTTP) (iStock) Sandy Hook, the Washington Navy Yard and, again, Fort Hood. Why Not Renew the “Assault Weapons” Ban? Well, I’ll Tell You… « Kontradictions - kontradictions.wordpress.com (HTTP) [EDIT: Since this article was published, the Democratic party has officially added support of the assault weapon ban renewal to their party platform and Senator Feinstein has vowed to introduce it again in the upcoming session, hoping the Newtown massacre will help it push through.
This bill WILL be debated and voted on, and I hope you can learn something about it here.] Are Mass Shootings Becoming More Common? Are mass shootings becoming more common in United States? Mass shootings are not growing in frequency, experts say - NY Daily News - www.nydailynews.com (HTTP) Alex Brandon/AP A group of people hold hands and pray at a memorial across from the Colorado theater where a gunman killed 12 and wounded more than 50. 2012 is tragic, but mass shootings not increasing, experts say - Los Angeles Times - articles.latimes.com (HTTP) Smoke from a sniper's gun is seen as Charles Whitman fires from the… (Associated Press ) 5 Facts About Guns, Schools, And Violence - Reason.com - reason.com (HTTP)
In the wake of December’s horrific mass shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, Vice President Joe Biden is chairing a panel of experts that will make gun-control recommendations to President Barack Obama by the end of the month. Newtown shootings: Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooter Adam Lanza Wore Earplugs - Hartford Courant - articles.courant.com (HTTP) January 06, 2013|By DAVE ALTIMARI and JON LENDER, daltimar@courant.com, The Hartford Courant. The Discriminatory History of Gun Control. NY Democrat begs Republican to keep gun confiscation proposal from public. Recently, the state of New York passed one of the toughest gun control laws in the country, but according to GOP Assemblyman Steve McLaughlin, Democrats wanted to confiscate guns and magazines. Worse yet, one Democrat pleaded with McLaughlin to keep the proposals from the public, the Commentator reported on Sunday.
"Here it is," McLaughlin wrote on his Facebook page. Illegal weapons used to protect Media Matters' David Brock. Just one question. Gun Control - Just Facts. The ‘40 Percent’ Myth - John Lott - National Review Online - www.nationalreview.com (HTTP) The most violent country in Europe. Gun crime up 600% in parts of UK. Gun crime 60pc higher than official figures.
Police fail to report 1.4m crimes. UK Firearms offences more than double since Dunblane. Larry Pratt Slams Piers Morgan Over “Sham” Gun Control Argument - www.prisonplanet.com (HTTP) Statistics 101: US Gun Crime vs. UK Knife Crime. Knife Control. States' crime rates show scant linkage to gun laws. Updated Assessment of the Federal Assault Weapons Ban. Guns in the Home and Risk of a Violent Death in the Home: Findings from a National Study - aje.oxfordjournals.org (HTTP) New York State - Sheriffs Association - www.nysheriffs.org (HTTP) How Often Are Guns Used in Self-Defense?
Watch security guard outdraw thieves - www.cnn.com (HTTP) NBC 10 Philadelphia - www.nbcphiladelphia.com (HTTP) The Blog : The Truth about Violence. Lies, Damned Lies and Washington CeaseFire's Statistics. Don’t mourn the assault weapons ban’s impending demise - Salon.com - www.salon.com (HTTP) Dispelling gun myths. Dispelling bullet myths. How Criminals Get Guns.
The Firearms Interstate Commerce Act. The Purpose of the Second Amendment. The Commonplace Second Amendment - www2.law.ucla.edu (HTTP) Living with Guns: A Liberal's Case for the Second Amendment (9781610391696): Craig Whitney. Why I own guns. Warren v. District of Columbia. Gun Law Fact Check: The Police have no legal responsibility to protect you, or your family. // Current TV - current.com (HTTP) So You Think The Police Are Bound To Protect YOU - www.frfrogspad.com (HTTP) City says cops had no duty to protect subway hero Joseph Lozito who subdued killer Maksim Gelman and was stabbed seven times in process - NYPOST.com - www.nypost.com (HTTP)
Justices Rule Police Do Not Have a Constitutional Duty to Protect. Sheriff who urged residents to learn how to use firearms blasts mayor's 'Dirty Harry' criticism. Record numbers now licensed to pack heat. Legally carrying a weapon is a crime. Law-abiding gun owners no source of fear. Handgunlaw.us. Methods of Suicide Among Persons Aged 10-19 Years. Trends in hanging and firearm suicide. Criminals target each other, trend shows - USATODAY.com - usatoday30.usatoday.com (HTTP) Gun Violence number of homicides (most recent) by state. Charts of the day: Gun violence in America declining over last 20 years « Hot Air - hotair.com (HTTP)
Homicide Rate (per 100,000), 1950–2007.