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Public Affairs coverage from our award-winning staff |
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Cities Look to Draft New Gun Laws
Produced by Rob Wildeboer on Monday, August 18, 2008
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Lawyers in the Chicago area are looking for new ways to restrict handguns despite a recent Supreme Court ruling that made bans illegal.
The ruling found that Washington, D.C.'s ban on all handguns violated the constitutional rights of the city's residents. Since then, villages and cities around Chicago have been getting rid of their bans. Nina Vinik is with a gun control group but she says the court's decision wasn't all bad news.
VINIK: It's an opportunity to come in now and say, 'Okay, no longer do we have a ban, let's look at what we can put into place.'
That's what Vinik's doing. She's with a group called Legal Community Against Violence and they're using their legal savvy to write up model gun legislation that would conform to the recent Supreme Court ruling. The idea is that smaller towns with few legal resources could implement the restrictions, confident that they won't be hit with a lawsuit from the National Rifle Association.
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Carl in Chicago, Chicago, IL // Monday, August 18, 2008 @ 8:10 AM
And the intended result of Vinik's strategy? The same as always. To discourage and vilify the ownership of firearms for lawful purposes, including defense.
The LCAV, Brady Campaign, ICHV, and funcing sources such as Joyce Foundation believe as a matter of faith the mantra that "more guns equal more crime." This myth has been thoroughly debunked via legitimate criminal and public policy research. In a nutshell, a very small proportion of the population commits crime (with firearms or any other weapons), and these people are extraordinary because they have long criminal records. So increasing the number of defensive firearms in law-abiding hands decreases the prevalence of overall violent crime through deterence, or at the very least, does not increase violent crime.
Yet, the LCAV and similar organizations, in order to "comform" with the SCOTUS ruling, work hard to draft the strictest possible regulations to discourage the lawful ownership of firearms.
That they claim to want to reduce violence is admirable. That they deny fact and logic in their pursuit toward criminalization of firearm ownership is despicable.
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Matthew, Springfield // Monday, August 18, 2008 @ 8:57 AM
Right on, Carl. I couldn't have said it better, so I'm going to try an analogy with this one.
Vinik reminds me of the kid who wants to change the television channel while their parent is watching a show. The parent (SCOTUS) sternly says "no", but the kid just has to try and test them. While keeping his eyes on his parent he inches closer and closer to the tv. The parent gives him that stern look along with a final warning, "Don't do it or you'll be in trouble." With hand extended the kid reaches out slowly and then lightly touches the television. Seems like that is enough as the parent stands up with a look that puts an expression of shock on the kid's face. The parent then makes it absolutely clear with little room for doubt that they mean it when they say "no". It's unlike the kid will be as eager to test it in the future, huh?
The same thing will happen here. Those who want to test the SCOTUS ruling will only find their efforts to be in vain.
So, reading this story, like Vinik says, wasn't all bad news.
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Travis, Oakdale // Monday, August 18, 2008 @ 10:17 AM
There's a liberal comic with his own show on Comedy Central where he pits one group against another. I just saw last night, the next show will pit the NRA against PETA.
That really says it all.
The NRA was founded in the 1800's by U.S. military men for the purpose of improving the marksmanship of Americans. Since then, they've become the single most effective organization in preserving our Constitutional 2nd Amendment right.
PETA is a bunch of weed-smoking degenerates who think eating steak is barbaric.
Yet, with almost no effort at all, this comic has successfully communicated to tens of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands that the NRA and PETA are birds of a feather. And equally dismissed.
To what end? That of, at least, the United Kingdom, and Australia.
And with a 5-4 SCOTUS vote, they'll get there with little more effort.
Ultimately, the single biggest reason that's so, is because there are almost NO comics (not with their own show on Comedy Central, anyhow) who point out how humorous the anti-2A position is. Then again, I fail to find much humor in that, myself.
Simply put, THAT is what we call "media bias". It's NOT a conspiracy. It's simply birds of a feather, flocking together. It exists, it's real, and quite prevalent.
Watch the movie Runaway Jury ... then read the book.
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Jim, Chicago // Monday, August 18, 2008 @ 10:35 AM
"...more guns equal more crime."
The point they are missing is that "More thugs equal more crime". Start getting rid of the gang members and thugs and you will get rid of the crime.
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Kevin P., Austin, Texas // Monday, August 18, 2008 @ 10:37 AM
The Legal Community Against Violence is funded by the Joyce Foundation, which provides most of the funding available to anti-gun groups.
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cbb, Glenwood // Monday, August 18, 2008 @ 8:56 PM
The Joyce Foundation's Annual Reports list Barack Obama as one of the 12 members of the Board of Directors from 1998 until 2001 .
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cbb, Glenwood // Monday, August 18, 2008 @ 8:57 PM
The Joyce Foundation's Annual Reports list Barack Obama as one of the 12 members of the Board of Directors from 1998 until 2001 .
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Just curious, Philadelphia, if more guns=less crime, why aren't our street // Tuesday, August 19, 2008 @ 6:51 AM
Funny how these Gun guys all sound alike and talk about freedom, but the NRA was just caught hiring someone to spy on the folks who want to control guns.
Are these guys paid moles?
I mean haven't you ever noticed how once anyone writes something saying that we need gun control, the argument gets swamped with pro-gun bullshit?
I mean the DC v. Heller decisions was the biggest pile of shit ever written since it was based on pro-gun propaganda instead of proper attention to legal precedent.
I think all these pro-gun guys are just paid NRA operatives out to stifle democracy.
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Just curious, Philadelphia, if more guns=less crime, why aren't our street // Tuesday, August 19, 2008 @ 9:38 AM
(Sanitized version) Funny how these Gun guys all sound alike and talk about freedom, but the NRA was just caught hiring someone to spy on the folks who want to control guns. Are these guys paid moles? I mean haven't you ever noticed how once anyone writes something saying that we need gun control, the argument gets swamped with pro-gun nonsense? I mean the DC v. Heller decisions was the biggest pile of rubbnish ever written since it was based on pro-gun propaganda instead of proper attention to legal precedent. I think all these pro-gun guys are just paid NRA operatives out to stifle democracy.
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Sandee E, San Diego // Tuesday, August 19, 2008 @ 11:28 AM
"Just Curious" ought to ask WHAT, WHERE, WHY and HOW our cities got to be such dangerous sewers. Try the policies of the very same fools who knee jerked their way into private charity, families, schools and the penal system. All of these entities have been taken over and redone in the collectivist ideology of today's liberalism. It produced a mass of fatherless children which inturn grow up to pray on the rest of us. You liberals using a mobocracy CREATED the monsters amongst us and now you want to take away the innocent's right to defend themselves from your Frankensteins? The REAL problem is, you liberals/socialists are incapable of recognizing "cause and effect." Now, go read James Madison or Thomas Jefferson to get your your facts straight on what the 2nd Amend. was INTENDED to be.
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SCOTUS Sniffer, Chicago // Tuesday, August 19, 2008 @ 3:57 PM
The problem is that she is from a gun control group so any model legislation that they come up with will almost certainly be so restrictive that cities that adopt it WILL, in fact, be sued, and will probably lose their cases. The only way to be certain that lawsuits will fail would be to adopt fairly loose restrictions, more like Las Vegas' restrictions (the gun must be registered with the police for free) than New York City's (three trips to One Police Plaza in Manhattan, a six month waiting period to comply with all the requirements, and about $450 in fees - for each gun).
The Supreme Court ruling is over a month old. Let's see the model legislation!
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Brian, Wheaton, IL // Tuesday, August 19, 2008 @ 6:43 PM
The Aftermath of Gun-Free School Zones created by the 1990 Crime Control Act:
1776-1990 214 years = 7 incidents
1990-2007 17 years = 78 incidents
Repeal this terrible law. Do it for the children.
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Dan, Michigan // Friday, August 22, 2008 @ 2:15 PM
I have an idea - 1st throw out all of the "Love Children" dope smokers in our Government who passed all the lousy legilation. Then scrap all gun laws from 1968 and forward. Then ENFORCE the DEATH penalty and sit back and watch the crime rates plummet!
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