21 June 2010

Chicago - Deathville USA

8 dead among 52 shot across city over weekend


Thus scream the headlines of the Chicago Sun-Times.  Eight people dead and 52 wounded over a single weekend in Mayor Daley's gun-free utopia of Chicago. This sounds more like an after-action report from Afghanistan or some other war zone. 
 
So far, in 2010 there have been 206 homicides in Chicago.  Statistics from the Chicago Tribune show that 81.5% of these homicides were by firearm.  But get to the truth, one has to dig deeper.  And the truth is ugly.  It is not something that the media tells you. It gets buried as an inconvenient truth about the homicide rates in our major cities.
 
In Chicago this year (so far), 78.6% of the homicide victims were African-American.  Just 20% were whites and the rest were other racial groups.  Of the 162 African-American men killed this year, 138 (85%) were fatally shot with a firearm.  While I haven't confirmed by neighborhood, prior reporting by Chicago area newspapers indicates the majority of these shootings take place in the poor neighborhoods.  The ones occupied by mostly African-Americans in low wage jobs.  The poor, the unskilled and uneducated.  The drug users, ex-felons, the gangs.
 
Looking at Chicago's statistics, 48.5% of the shootings take place on the streets,, sidewalks, alleys and front residential yards of Chicago.  Just 21% occur in apartments, residences or the porches & hallway of these buildings.  The streets of Chicago are indeed mean. 
 
Homicides in Chicago, like Baltimore in 2008, occur primarily in the "hot spots" for crime. The "bad neighborhoods".  The police know where these places are. So do the city's politicians. Yet, because of "the numbers" and sensationalized headlines, those like Mayor Daley want to curtail the Second Amendment rights of everyone in Chicago. 
 
The sad truth is that politicians see the homicide numbers as useful tools to demand that citizens give up more rights to the government to "solve" the homicide problem.  The politicians don't care that it's mostly young, black males who are dying in war-zone-like conditions.  The money used for "fighting crime" isn't directed into these areas to help reduce black male argument violence. It isn't going to the single-parent families in these troubled areas.  Nor is it going to creating jobs to give some of the younger people hope of an honest life, free of gangs and crime. 
 
Sadly, it's the same in many U.S. cities.  The poor are mostly ignored and money is poured into politically favored programs by the bucket load. Counties will spend hundreds of millions to expand an airport to handle eight more flights per day.  But ask for some fraction of that money to support the poor or struggling single parent and it seems there is no money to be had.  That's because those crime rates are reported for the whole city.  Thus, money can be justified for new police officers, equipment, courts and other government infrastructure projects.
 
The truth is ugly. I warned you.  And I'm not specifically picking on African-American young men.   But the truth is that most of the homicides in our larger cities are gang-related.  The demographics might change -- one would expect more Hispanics to be involved in homicides in Salinas, California than blacks -- but the basic facts remain.  Our whole concept of dealing with violent crime should change to focus on those areas where crime occurs and those who commit those crimes.  
 
I don't have all the answers. But I do know that so-called "gun control" efforts have failed. None have lived up to their media promises to lower crime or prevent homicides.  We need to a new approach to combatting violent crime. 
 
Want to comment?

18 June 2010

Misfires - News and Odd Stories

Kagan, the KKK and the NRA
Did Elena Kagan, Obama's Supreme Court nominee, compare the NRA to the KKK?  It sure seems so.  The National Review online contains an article detailing the documents that raised this question.  We're already sure that Kagan is not friendly towards the notion of the second amendment.  The fact that she would consider the 139-year-old organization as "bad guys" in terms of national volunteerism says more about her view of the constitution than almost anything else.


NY Microstamping Bill Withdrawn
Despite a 32-30 Democrat party advantage in the legislature, the NY microstamping bill was withdrawn from consideration when it was obvious it lacked the votes to pass. Three Democrats from conservative districts did not back the measure. Only one Republican, Sen. Frank Padavan of Queens, voted yes. 

“By blocking commonsense gun control, Senate Republicans showed they care more about gun industry profits than the safety of their constituents,” the party’s state Chairman Jay Jacobs said. “Democrats understand what Mayor Bloomberg and law enforcement agencies across the state know from experience: linking bullets with the criminals who fired them would save lives and wouldn’t interfere with the rights of law-abiding gun owners.”

Riiight.  Other than making felons out of otherwise law-abiding gun owners when their microscopic stampings wear out or become illegible. Or the extra costs it would add to gun makers having to not only manufacture, but perform detailed record keeping at every step of the supply chain. 


Gun Purchases and the No Fly List
"It's no surprise that (Republican Carly) Fiorina is attacking me," Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-CA.), wrote in a recent fundraising pitch, "because she's so out of touch with California voters. ... She supports allowing people on the no-fly terrorist watch list to buy guns."

Oh the horrors!  How could voters actually nominate someone so out of touch that she actually follows the constitution?  Perhaps it's Boxer who's out of touch or didn't she get the memo about the U.S. Supreme Court Heller decision?  For Ms. Boxer's further edification, the Constititution also provides that no one can be "deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law."  Being put on a secret government list doesn't qualify as due process.  Especially since there isn't any way to force the government to remove your name.

Why should we deprive a U.S. citizen with a common name like Robert E. Lee, Brian Smith or even Mohammed M. Mahazi from purchasing a firearm based on name alone?  Last I remember, my 6th grade civics class told us that "guilt by association" was not permitted in America.  One had to be guilty based on facts that showed a crime was committed. 

If Boxer wants to play the guilt-by-association game, she had better look around at her colleagues in Congress. Hell, even Teddy Kennedy was on the no-fly list.



In the You Can't Make This Up dept...
Austin police report that a man tried to rob a gas station - with a caulking gun.  This crack-smoking sorry waste of oxygen fled when his victim fought back and "the suspect fled the scene in the company of a transgender prostitute".  Nope. You can't make this kind of thing up, not even in Hollywood.


Gun Slinging Megan Fox?
Spreaking of Hollywood... Actress Megan Fox (Transformers, Hope & Faith) gave an interview to MTV News to promote her new gun-slinging Western film, Jonah Hex.  During the interview, she said she's been shooting guns since around the age of five, starting with her father's shotgun."He taught me how to shoot a shotgun," she said.  Fox is big on gun safety and supports the NRA's Eddie Eagle program to teach gun safety in schools.


ATF Sting Store Leaves Questions Unanswered
The headline reads "Criminals fell for fake store" on Albuquerque's KRQE TV website. But a reading of the story leaves many questions unanswered.  Federal agents set up a bogus "thrift store and pawn shop" and let it be known they'd buy black-market guns. Criminals, of course, took the bait.  During the one year it was in operation, claims U.S. Attorney Kenneth Gonzales, the shop took in 230 guns, including (gasp!) a machine gun.  Warrants were issued for 25 people, of which 22 are in custody. 

The unasked questions involve putting  a perspective on this "sting".  Some 230 guns were taken in - that's about 4.5 per week.  This would average out to about 9.2 guns sold to the Feds by each suspect.  ATF agents said the guns were either stolen, unregistered or had their serial numbers removed. Thirteen of the people arrested are convicted felons who will face additional charges for possessing firearms.  ATF agents plan to test fire the guns and compare ballistics to see if any of them are connected to unsolved crimes.

So, why did the feds wait almost a year to obtain warrants for people who were selling illegal guns?  How many were stolen between the time the store opened and arrests were made? Wouldn't maintaining a "fence operation" encourage more burglaries of firearms while these criminals were let alone to run amok?  And how many burglaries?   Why were known felons allowed to bring in multiple guns instead of being arrested after their first or second visit?  And why the delay in testing the firearms for use in other crimes?  Won't that result in violent criminals running free while ATF fumbles around running their cute little store?

And only one (1) machine gun - certainly a high-priced commodity even on the black market - turned in.  Were any others, especially legally registered ones, stolen?  What is ATF doing about those?


Americans Favor Gun Ownership
A recent Harris Poll shows Americans believe people should be able to own rifles and shotguns (80%) and handguns (74%).  The poll results and even the questions asked by the pollsters are posted here.  It makes for some interesting reading.  One thing is for certain, we still have a long way to go in convincing people that gun ownership is a right - like the right to vote.

Have something to say?

12 June 2010

Another British Mass Killing

The media in the UK is having quite a time with their latest mass-murder spree.  A taxi driver went off the deep end and killed 13 people, including himself.  And this is despite the toughest gun-control laws in any western democratic country. 

In the wake of the 1996 Dublane shooting when Thomas Hamilton murdered 16 primary schoolchildren the UK made gun ownership an ordeal for the few limited types of guns not banned.  Indeed, some stories inquire why the current shooter's firearms license wasn't revoked when he was fired from a job after being accused of stealing building materials. 

Think about that. The mere accusation and being sacked over it results in the police revoking your ability to have a firearm.  No trial. No legal findings, just your employer firing you with an allegation of theft.  Makes me very glad to live in the United States.

At least one comment in the news coverage suggested that mass-shootings were an American phenomena.  That made me wonder if that was really true. Then I ran across this article by John Lott which shows that, relatively speaking, these mass shootings are as common in Europe as they are in America.

To summarize - The worst K-12 school shootings have not happened in America, but Europe.

18 dead - 2002 - Erfurt, Germany, high school students
16 dead - 1996 - Dublane, Scotland, Kindergarteners and a teacher.
15 dead - 2009 - Winnenden, Germany, High school students, teacher and others.
13 dead - 1999 - Columbine, Colorado, USA - High school students & teachers
11 dead - 2006 - Emsdetten, Germany

A historical look at shootings in Europe shows that the phenomena of mass shootings is not new.

2002
Feb 19: Freising, Germany: Three people killed and one wounded.
Mar 27: Nanterre, France: A man kills eight city councilors after a city council meeting.
Apr 26: Erfurt, Germany: A former student kills 18 at a secondary school.
Oct 1: Madrid, Spain: A man kills two employees and wounds another at a company that he was fired from.
Oct 15: Turin, Italy: Seven people were killed on a hillside overlooking the city.

2006
Nov 20: Emsdetten, Germany: A former student murders 11 people at a high school.

2007
Nov 7: Southern Finland: Seven students and the principal were killed at a high school.

2008
Sep 18: Naples, Italy: Seven dead and two seriously wounded in a public meeting hall
Sep 23: Kauhajoki, Finland: 10 people were shot to death at a college.

2009
Mar 11: Winnenden, Germany: A 17-year-old former student killed 15 people, including nine students and three teachers.
Mar 19: Lyon, France: Ten people injured after a man opened fire on a nursery school.
Apr 10: Athens, Greece: Three people killed and two people injured by a student at a vocational college.
Apr 11: Rotterdam, Netherlands: Three people killed and 1 injured at a crowded cafe.
May 24: Vienna, Austria: One dead and 16 wounded in an attack on a Sikh Temple.
Dec. 31: Espoo, Finland: 4 killed while shopping at a mall on New Year's Eve.

2010
Jun 2: Cumbria, England: 12 people killed by a British taxi driver.

Totals: 18 shootings.  131 dead, 43 wounded. 

These mass killing sprees have nothing to do with how "easily" someone can get a gun or how many guns exist in the country.  We should be firm with anti-gun arguments that these killing sprees are primariliy American or due to the easy availability of guns.

Have something to say? 

11 June 2010

CCW and Armed Citizens

You don't need too many statistics to show that guns save lives.  The anti-gun-lobby likes to talk about their guns bans in terms of if it only saves one life, it's worth it.   Well then, the opposite must be true too.  If gun ownership saves just one life, all the effort is worth it.  Right? 

If you don't agree, just ask these folks who had legally carried handguns with them. 

Ambushed Florida Father Fights Back with CCW.
(June 2010) Three armed robbers ambushed a Florida father in the parking lot of his own apartment by shooting first.  The father fought back, firing his CCW. 



ATM Customer Thwarts Robber
(March 2010) - A routine stop at the ATM turns into a robbery attempt. But the robbery victim was armed and legally carrying his CCW. Surprise!



Those with a CCW can find themselves literally walking (or driving) into trouble. As the stories above show, the criminals are the ones looking for trouble, not the citizens.  The criminals get to choose the time, place and method of the attack, even when it's in your own home. The following stories illustrate the point.

Wheelchair-bound Does Not Mean Defenseless
(December, 2009) Just because you're confined to a wheelchair doesn't mean you have to be defenseless.  The anti-gun lobby would have forced Mr. Wroblewski to rely on a spray can of spicy seasoning to ward off his attackers.



Elderly Disabled Man Defends Home.
(April 2010) - Despite being 76, a diabetic and having Parkinson's disease, Vern Grant fought back and shot a "wild crazy man" who broke into his home and almost killed him.



Children and guns - The anti-gun lobby claims we should keep children away from guns until they are old enough to join the Marines. Despite the anti-gun claims, the following stories show that our kids can make good decisions in a crisis situation.  Where the anti-gun groups sell kids short, reality shows that our kids really can use guns correctly. 


Shot Boy 11, Shoots One, Drives Off Three Home Invaders
(January 2010) Despite the attempt of the newscasters to spin the story, many families would find nothing unusual about their own 11-year-olds knowing how to shoot an intruder in the home.   This "little boy" in Texas can stand tall because he showed courage under fire.



Young Boy Defends Self, Sister from Home Invaders
(July 2009) - A 10 year old boy defends his sister and himself from two hard-core criminals during a home invasion robbery.  From now on, this youngster deserves to be called a young man.


The news media plays up stories where a pre-teen calls 911 for help. What we used to call being level-headed is now "heroic".  But these two young men showed true heroism by standing up and protecting family members.

Email us your comments.

10 June 2010

Random Roundup

New York

It seems California doesn't have a monopoly on whacky legislatures.  Consider the news out of New York's capital recently.  After the controversial police shooting of Sean Bell, legislators decided the current rules favored police far too much.

A bill, sponsored by Brooklyn Assembly Members Annette Robinson (D-Bedford Stuyvesant) and Darryl Towns (D-East New York) shows utter incompetence violent encounters involving law-enforcement.  This new bill would require police to use their weapons "with the intent to stop, rather than kill" a suspect. They would be mandated to "shoot a suspect in the arm or the leg."

Assemblyman Joseph Lentol, the Codes Committee chair from Fort Greene and Williamsburg, said that the bill is well-intentioned but that the language may need changing.
 
Ya think? 

U.S. v. Skoien
Oral arguments have been heard en banc in a Seventh Circuit appellate court case that promises to be crucial to future Second Amendment cases.  The Skoien case challenges the constitutionality of 1996 Lautenberg Amendment on Second Amendment grounds.

Specifically, it argues that the courts should use a standard of review called strict scrutiny.  The original three judge panel of the Court of Appeals used intermediate scrutiny review standard instead.

Under intermediate scrutiny, the government must establish only that the law is related to an important government interest and in a way that is substantially related to that interest. 

On the other hand, strict scrutiny requires a compelling governmental interest, that any legislation enacted to address that interest must be narrowly tailored to achieve that goal or interest and it must be the least restrictive means for achieving that interest.

The audio of the oral arguments can be heard here.


LA-LA land moves to Chicago
For decades, Los Angeles (or "LA") has been known as LA-LA land for it's wierd trends, bizzare styles, off-beat characters and goofy politics.  But there must be some kind of migration going on from southern California to Chicago.  Almost every week we hear some kind of whacky, goofy political story out of the Chicago area.  

By now, you've heard about the 80-year-old Korean war veteran who defended himself, his wife and his great-grandson inside his from a violent predatory intruder with a 13-page rap sheet.  After previously being victimized, the veteran, who uses a walker to get around, obtained a handgun in violation of Chicago's gun ban.  But when the predator couldn't break open a door at 5:20am, he fired two shots through the man's bedroom window.  The veteran returned fire and with one shot ended the criminal's career.  Yet, the comments from Chicago's Mayor Daley almost tax credibility.

I understand the situation and I understand. What I'm saying is all of us have to understand that guns is [sic] not the answer to problems we see in homes and on the streets of America. It's just has simple as that.

Besides the bad grammer in saying "Guns is not the answer", it is obvious that Daley doesn't see the appropriateness of the senior citizen's actions.  Daley must believe that an 80-year-old man and his 83-year-old wife should somehow be capable of fending off an armed 29-year-old felon with a 13-page rap sheet full of drug & weapons convictions. Or maybe he expects their 12-year-old great-grandson to engage the man.

Of course the resident's handgun was confiscated and he'll probably never see it again.  Adding to the absurdity is Mayor Daley pretending he doesn't know if the resident will be prosecuted.  When asked about the possibility of charges, the mayor ended a news conference he had called about summer curfew in the city.
 
"I don't know. Thank you very much," Daley said and stepped away from the microphone.
 
Shame on Daley.  He knows full well that the resident cannot be charged.  Illinois state law prohibits his prosecution under the so-called "Hale DeMar Act" – named for a Wilmette, IL resident who shot a burglar with a handgun, a violation of Wilmette's handgun ban.  Yet Daley has several times said he didn't know if charges would be filed or referred questions to the Chicago Police Department. 

It's not a crime if Mayor Daley says it!
I noted on May 22 that Mayor Daley threatened to stick a rifle (with bayonet!) up a reporter's posterior and pull the trigger when the reporter asked if Chicago's handgun ban really worked.  Daley was quoted saying "If I put this up your—ha!—your butt—ha ha!—you’ll find out how effective this is! If I put a round up your—ha ha!

This press conference so outraged San Jose, Ca. resident Christopher Fox that he called the mayor's office to give Daley a piece of his mind.  Saying Daley's comments were "grossly inappropriate"  Fox, 39, says he asked him 'How would you feel if somebody did that to you?'" in the 45-second phone call.  He also admits he did toss in a few profanities too.  

According to a criminal complaint signed on the mayor's behalf, Fox's message contained "a threat to shoot with a firearm Mayor Richard M. Daley." He is being held without bail on suspicion of making telephone threats against a public official, according to Chicago police and jail booking records.

On May 28th, Fox was being held in the Santa Clara County jail, charged with making "terroristic threats" to a public official. A plumber who lives with his mother in San Jose, Fox says he doesn't have a bus, plane or train ticket and isn't a flight risk.  Yet his incarceration was a no-bail one - the same as used for murder suspects. 

I'm upgrading Mayor Daley's "Buffoon of the Week" award to Buffoon of the Month. I'll accept any suggestions for what kind of image should appear on his plaque. 


Murder up 3.8% in Chicago
More bad news for the "gun free utopia" of Chicago came when crime statistics were released earlier this week.  Despite a 5.8% overall drop in crime, homicides were up 3.8% over last year and auto-theft jumped 20.4%.  The release touted successful police efforts to seize weapons. Police took away 3,513 weapons in the month of May, 189 more than in May of last year, a 5% increase. Of the weapons seized in May, 130 were assault weapons - or if you prefer, 96.7% were not assault weapons.
 
Yes, the Chicago gun ban really does seem to be working. It's keeping law-abiding citizens from obtaining guns while criminals are increasingly better armed.
 
 
Kahr Arms Purchases Magnum Research
In another consolidation in the firearms industry, Kahr firearms added the Magnum Research brand name to its product line. Kahr Arms also owns Auto Ordnance, maker of the Thompson and .30 M1 Carbine rifles and a 1911 pistol. If you've been holding off buying a Desert Eagle, Baby Eagle, BFR or their other products, I'd suggest doing it now. Any time a company changes hands there are good odds that guns made before the buyout will be more desireable and collectable than afterwards.