The echoes the gunfire in
From “gun free”
Australian Prime Minister John Howard said the shooting underscored the problems of a
U.S. “gun culture,” but the gun control debate echoed loudest acrossEurope , which has some of the toughest gun laws in the world.Howard, the Australian prime minister, staked his political leadership on pushing through tough laws on gun ownership in his country after a lone gunman went on one of the world’s deadliest killing sprees 11 years ago in his country.
“We took action to limit the availability of guns and we showed a national resolve that the gun culture that is such a negative in the
United States would never become a negative in our country,” he said.
From “gun free”
British Home Office Minister, Tony McNulty, earned a masters degree in political science at Virginia Tech in 1982.
“I think if this does prompt a serious and reflective debate on gun issues and gun law in the states then some good may come from this woeful tragedy,” McNulty said.
The Times of
“Why, we ask, do Americans continue to tolerate gun laws and a culture that seems to condemn thousands of innocents to death every year, when presumably, tougher restrictions, such as those in force in European countries, could at least reduce the number?”
Gun crime is extremely rare in
Britain , and handguns are completely illegal. The ban is so strictly enforced thatBritain ’s Olympic pistol shooting team is barred from practicing in its own country.
Britain ’s 46 homicides involving firearms was the lowest total since the late 1980s.New York City , with 8 million people compared to 53 million inEngland andWales , recorded at least 579 homicides last year.
And from
“The latest attack on a
U.S. campus will shake upAmerica , maybe it will provoke more vigorous reactions than in the past, but it won’t change the culture of a country that has the notion of self-defense imprinted on its DNA and which considers the right of having guns inalienable,” Corriere wrote in its front-page story.
Laughably, even Communist gun-free
“This incident reflects the problem of gun control in
America ,” said Yuan, from the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, a Beijing-based think tank.
Simply put, all of this is media hysteria and demagoguery. Power-hungry politicians and their liberal media allies are so eager to exploit a crime for their own gain that they cannot even wait for the cleanup to begin without chiming in to score cheap political points based on emotion.
The real story in places that restrict gun ownership like
Gun free zones may be well intentioned, but good intentions [are] not enough. It is an understandable desire to ban guns. After all, if you ban guns from an area, people can’t get shot, right? But time after time when these public shootings occur, they disproportionately take place in gun free zones.
(Read the whole article, written before the Virginia shooting, here.)
Sadly, the liberal media response to this act of pure evil in Virginia has been predictable, yet somewhat surprising in its rapidity. Anti-gun politicians and their news allies just could not wait to begin their condemnation of “gun nuts.” Unfortunately, the real issues of the right of self-defense and the stupidity of “gun free zones” on school grounds turning children into unarmed targets will be lost in the shouting, hysterical pursuit of the destruction of the Second Amendment.
More links:
It’s Charleton Heston’s fault!
36 Responses to “Politics of the Gun”
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April 17th, 2007 at 1:16 pm
This is the begginning of the end of nannyism
April 17th, 2007 at 1:20 pm
Well, at least one foreign newspaper has it right:
http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/Culture/11184.htm
This article is about an Israeli engineering professor at Virginia tech whose heroic sacrifice saved lifes. Go read it.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:22 pm
Japan has some of the strictest gun laws in the world. What do we have today?
Japan’s Nagasaki mayor critical after being shot
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070417/wl_nm/japan_shooting_repeat_dc
April 17th, 2007 at 1:38 pm
I do not believe one persons with two handguns could kill 32 healthy people unless they chose not to resist.
It appears most of them drank the Kool-Aid spread by our would-be rulers: “Don’t try to protect yourself. Don’t fight back. You don’t need guns. The police will protect you.”
Now they are dead sheep, except for the professor who chose to act as a hero. He’s dead too but maybe some of the sheep he saved will respond better next time.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:39 pm
Oops. One person. Singular.
April 17th, 2007 at 1:55 pm
That makes me so mad…and do you know it’s exactly what my NY friend who now lives in London (and works for the American Embassy there) started spouting? Gun control…the following is what she said (remember this is over instant message, it’s slightly edited for readability).
“theyve never had a school shooting in england, ever…thats why it is, if the parents dont have guns for the kids to take them from, you dont have the school shootings.
most of the US school shootings ended up being the kids parents guns”
Like it’s the parents fault for having guns. She referred to Columbine as part of her argument. Now that’s just plain stupid if you don’t pick up on the fact that your child has some sort of demented thing going on and you keep stuff around where they can get into it, but these guys are grown up for the most part and this guy was obviously an adult and could get the gun however he pleased…do they really think that if he really wanted to kill some people that he would find a way with or without a gun.
April 17th, 2007 at 2:10 pm
Another advocate for gun control:
“For the first time in history, a civilized nation has achieved complete gun registration.
Our streets will be safer, our police more effective, and the world will follow our lead into the future!”
Adolph Hitler/1933
April 17th, 2007 at 2:13 pm
when the government can prove to me they can stop crime and protect the citizens in this country they can have my guns.
when the governemnt cannot take my land and give it to someone who can create more tax dollars for them they can have my gun.
theres plenty more of this crap! right oh conservative republican party of texas - your name should be changed to the republican party of taxes.
oh great leaders that you are can you tell me why you do not follow your party platform or answer questions about it - ah all you want is the money!
April 17th, 2007 at 2:19 pm
No. 7,
Tell your friend to look up the Dunblane, Scotland massacre. A man killed 16 little kids there. The government’s in depth investigation found:
“THOMAS Hamilton showed a handgun and bullets to children only days before he massacred 16 pupils and a teacher in Dunblane, documents released yesterday reveal.” That’s from the Scotsman newspaper.
Authorities dropped the ball and did not prevent the massacre. Just like Virginia Tech officials blew it.
There was a school shooting at a college in Appalachia last year. It was stopped by another student who retrieved his handgun from his car.
April 17th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Assuming the wussies in Europe and Britain ever wake up and smell the jihadi, who are they going to whine to for help? That would be the USA and they will definitely want us to bring our GUNS!
I agree we need new gun control laws - every adult citizen should be REQUIRED to own and be tested on how to operate the firearm of their choice. If you want more, fine, but you have to own at least one and you have to know how to use it. I know that will never happen, but it would be the best crime prevention measure ever.
April 17th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
#9 fink
Just so we are completeluy clear on this, he is/was no friend of mine!
Merely pointing out the futility of more gun laws in ‘protecting’ the public……….!
I do agree that the officials at VT blew it, and should be summarily fired. Ultimately, when they accept the jobs they did(Pres of VT and Police Chief), they accept responsibility for the safety of the campus, and in this case, failed miserably.
April 17th, 2007 at 2:51 pm
Where is the logic in more gun control? We have laws against drugs. Do people still use drugs? of course, they do. IF we ban guns, we will have a black market kick in, with thugs controlling that market. I swear people who buy into this kind of thinking are mind-numbed robots. ( borrowing a name from Rush) Want to make it easy for criminals? Make sure they are the only ones carrying. I bet a ten year old could figure this out. How did lack of reason become so prevalent?
April 17th, 2007 at 3:18 pm
Gun control is highly prevalent in Europe. So what is the result? People just stab/bludgeon each other to death at higher rates than in the US.
You can’t stop people from killing each other via gun legislation.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
Jefferson said that as I pointed out on other threads today. Jefferson said:
They ought to be designated as laws not preventive but fearful of crimes, produced by the tumultuous impression of a few isolated facts, and not by thoughtful consideration of the inconveniences and advantages of a universal decree.”
Jefferson wanted the criminal to be fearful of crimes, not the honest citizen. And he did not want stupid laws made obstructing good citizens because legislators were fearful of crimes being committed in a few isolated and terrible instances.
April 17th, 2007 at 3:40 pm
Yes, we consider the right to bear arms as inalienable. It is in our constitution!
April 17th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
I just re-upped my NRA membership for five more years. Looks like an additional contribution will be in order. I hate to reference the cliche - I’ll be damned if the government is going to get my guns.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:00 pm
Italy, Australia, England….all people who have needed armed America to come to their defense when threatened. When England, which had already largely disarmed itself, was threatened by Nazi Germany, it was Americans who sent them our own private firearms by the millions.
It was Italy and England who stood by and watched the carnage taking place as Yugoslavia, right in their back yard, and did nothing about it until the USA stepped in (even if Clinton did it to distract from Monica’s testimony). I didn’t see Australia do anything about Cambodia.
As criminologists who don’t have a liberal agenda point out, crime in these countries has vastly increased. Criminals need have no fear of burlarizing and assault a person in their own home now….and they do with far greater frequency now.
To use an old phrase, Americans are not a bunch of panty waists who will run away from the problem - unless they are liberals/democrats.
April 17th, 2007 at 4:04 pm
These events usually bring out all sorts of folks trying to use the happenings as a way of justifying their own personal agendas.
It really doesn’t matter where you stand on gun control, violent movies/videos/games. This is an unpredictable and sometimes violent world and it was long before there were guns or videos.
I cannot castigate the police or campus officials for not anticipating the unthinkable. By all accounts so far, the perp came from a good home with loving parents.
We would all do well to remember the example set by the Amish parents of the young children murdered a few months ago. Their first action was not to fix blame, but instead they chose to forgive the killer and his family.
Simple
April 17th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Simple, I agree with much of what you said, but I disagree on gun control. It matters a great deal where you stand. If the citizens are armed, we can prevent a great deal of the crime we see in our society. As Jefferson pointed out, disarming the people only makes them sheep to be shorn.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:35 pm
As an Australian I take umbrage at being called “sleazy”.
#17 Big45Iron…where were the guns that the victims of yesterday’s massacre could have used to defend themselves with?
I also feel insulted and angry at your comment as quoted below:
“Italy, Australia, England….all people who have needed armed America to come to their defense when threatened.”
Who jumped to your aid immediately in Afghanistan and Iraq? Who are still there and haven’t pulled out?
From which country do the soldiers come from who are held in the highest esteem by the US Forces for their efforts during the Second World War (and the first World War…and Vietnam…I could go on), without whose fighting alongside the US Forces would have made it much more difficult for the US forces to have victory. Do your homework, BigIron.
April 17th, 2007 at 5:37 pm
My comment is also directed to you, Jeremy Weidendof.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Sunny I imagine they are simply frustrated with those from your country who align themselves with the Prime Minister in the quote at the top….I for one have been extremely grateful to all the support Australia has shown since 9/11. But you have to agree with us it isn’t really fair for him to start saying “well if America had been like us and outlawed guns this wouldn’t have happened”…that to me is like a kick in the stomach in the middle of such a tragedy.
April 17th, 2007 at 6:57 pm
When you outlaw guns, only outlaws will have guns. It has been proven time and time again. In the US, just look at Washington, D.C. which bans all guns. It has one of the highest crime rates in the country.
April 17th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
#20 - guns were forbidden on the campus as it was tested by one student. Even though he had a CCL they pressured him into not carrying it on campus (sorry, can’t find link right now) Surely, if someone were there that had a gun he/she would have fired back. 32 people may not have needlessly died IF someone else had a gun.
BTW - I have a lot of respect to Australia. ANZAC Day is next Wednesday and on both sides of the pond the soldiers were admirable.
April 17th, 2007 at 9:05 pm
#22…well, you can add me as one from this country who aligns herself with the Prime Minister.
Guns were forbidden on campus, nz-texas, but still that clown managed to have two or more. The police had guns…but he still managed to kill more after a two hour gap.
April 17th, 2007 at 9:10 pm
April 17th, 2007 at 9:22 pm
That’s pretty much the point. Your “ban on guns on campus” was thwarted by a guy who kept two of them—illegally—in his dorm room. While those who legally hold handgun licenses obeyed the law and either turned them in to campus police as they entered campus, kept them at home, or in thier car off campus.
Becuase citizens who held legal Concealed Handgun Licences were prohibited from carrying thier handguns on campus, the only people on campus with guns were the guy who wanted to kill people in classrooms, and cops who don;t go to class.
Know who DOES go to class?
Students who have legal Concealed Handgun Licenses.
So your “ban guns on campus” policy insured that there were only two kinds of people in those class rooms: The guy doing the killing and the people doing the dying.
One. Just ONE of those law abiding Students who had Concealed Handgun Licenses AND thier legal handgun in one of those classrooms would have averted disaster.
April 17th, 2007 at 9:57 pm
#4 fink1, I agree, I was talking to my wife tonight and I said,…do you think that the results would have been the same at College Station? (Where my baby girl, and her boy friend, lives). We both decided that NO,…HELL NO, the guys/men/boys that go to A&M would have taken the gun away from him even if they had to wade through gun fire to get it, It’s better than just waiting to be killed!
April 17th, 2007 at 10:07 pm
#16 Lawrence C, Very good! I’ve been a Member of NRA since I was 17 and I always wanted to be a Life Member, but I thought that I couldn’t afford it (I was married with kids)! Then when the “Brady Law” was signed into law, I became a Life member. Later when Bush the second was running for office I became an Endowment Member and now I’m a Patron Member. I’ve tried to tell all my hunting friends that if not for the NRA they would be using air rifles! AKA England! But they don’t understand. THE SECOND AMENDMENT IS NOT,…NOT ABOUT DUCK HUNTING!!!!!!!!!!!!! It is about self defence! Without the “SECOND” amendment the others would be more of a joke than they are now!
April 17th, 2007 at 10:12 pm
#26 and #27…Sarge…it isn’t my ban on guns on campus…….if you read back I was referring to and
quoting nz-texas’s comment #24 in which he/she said ”
guns were forbidden on the campus”.
I’m not being a coward but I’m also not going to get into an argument about your gun laws or Australia’s gun laws. Nothing you or I can say, is going to change what has happened…nor is it going to change either of our gun laws.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:29 pm
#30 Hi sunny! I don’t know why you got upset, but I think, (insert Forrest Gump here) that it may be national pride. Nothing wrong with that, the Aussie’s have always been a very independent people, after all they were 2000 miles away from their home-land? That said, I think I remember seeing Browning Auto-5’s being cut into scrap for the sake of safety?!?! Disarm all the law-abiding people so the thugs can have guns?!?! I can’t understand that! You are very smart and articulate, and I think that you are being over sensitive today….Dave Ducks and runs for cover!
April 17th, 2007 at 10:46 pm
Any man who abdicates the responsibility for his personal protection and that of his family to the government has ceased to be a man at all.
For those that go far beyond that by electing a government that denies people the basic means of personal protect, I don’t even have words to describe.
April 17th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Dennis,… Those who give up liberty for safety, are neither free or safe, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin?
April 17th, 2007 at 11:04 pm
I’ve usually heard that attributed to Franklin.
It was certainly heartbreaking to see the literal mountains of good firearms that were rounded up for destruction in Australia. Many of them had been passed down for generations. How a supposedly free people could stand for that is simply beyond my comprehension.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:14 pm
#34 Dennis, Don’t forget about all the weapons that the good people of the US of A sent to Britian BEFORE WWII because they were already disarmed and most of them were distroyed after the war! Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it!—I don’t remember, but it’s ture!
April 18th, 2007 at 9:58 am
#20/21
Sunny, you seem to be accusing me of painting with a broad brush and smearing all Aussies. Not at all.
I simply found it quite distasteful that so many world leaders and press could not even let a day pass after the shooting before heaping criticism on “those gun crazy Americans.”
No personal offense was meant, of course, but political statements by world leaders are fair game for scrutiny, which is what I was commenting on.