I am not knocking the cops, just acknowledging reality. There are a thousand threats in the Big City. Picking out the real ones from the bluster is an impossible task. Given this reality, given that Central Florida is turning into a bad Mad Max sequel, my liberal belief in gun control is getting wobbly.
I’m not advocating selling machine guns and cop-killer bullets at Wal-Mart. But if somebody faces an immediate threat, I have a hard time understanding why they need to wait three days or longer to buy a handgun for self-protection. Shouldn’t we be allowed to go to a reputable gun store, get a lesson in how to use a specific weapon and buy it after the background check?
The stated reason against this is that some ill-tempered lout will blow a fuse, run off to Guns R Us, buy a Glock and open fire on his spouse, neighbor, boss or co-worker. One might assume someone this prone to venting with a volley already has a gun, locked and loaded.
A 2000 report in the Journal of the American Medical Association, hardly part of the gun lobby, showed cooling-off periods did not reduce homicide rates or overall suicide rates. After examining 51 studies on various gun-control laws, including mandatory waiting periods, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention concluded in 2003 that there was “insufficient evidence” to say they reduced gun violence.
It seems we pass laws that feel good without a lot of proof they are doing any good. Maybe I need a good slap from Ted Kennedy, but I almost buy the National Rifle Association argument that the primary target of gun-control laws would be the people who shoot them at ranges, then lovingly oil and ogle them before safely locking them up.
As far as keeping guns away from bad guys, gun-control laws work as well as crack cocaine-control laws. We even have high school kids in Orange County firing guns in the air at high school athletic events.
If there were no guns, I would say allow no guns. But since all the wrong people already have them, and the cops can’t do much about it except match their firepower, then it may well be time to arm thyself, citizen.
When Florida liberalized permits for concealed weapons in the 1980s, critics predicted a Wild West bloodbath. It never happened. Responsible gun owners don’t use guns irresponsibly. Go figure.
Until the cops get better at enforcing gun control on those who shouldn’t have guns, a better alternative for the rest of us is gun education, gun classes and secure gun storage.
Hat Tip to NRA-ILA for pointing me to this story.
We have sold all 5,200 signed copies of my new book Moment of Truth in Iraq, but I am making a special trip very soon to the printer to sign 2,000 more. I apologize for the slight delay in shipping. Once I have signed the additional books they will be shipped immediately.
The media have been falsely savaging the economy for so long, that everyone now believes we’re doomed. Today’s mega market dump is the result of self-fulfilling prophecies of economical doomsayers – an outcropping of the hatred of the Republican administration.
