Intersting For Those In Maryland - From The NRA

[hacker15]

Historically, the state of Maryland has had higher murder rates than the nation as a whole, and for quite a few years it has had a handful of very aggressive gun control supporters. So in 1994, when the now-defunct federal "assault weapon" ban was imposed, Maryland's state government--dominated by anti-gunners at the time--additionally imposed a statewide "assault pistol" ban, a "large" magazine restriction, a seven-day waiting period on "assault weapon" sales, and a law limiting "assault weapon" sales to dealers in "Regulated Firearms."


At the time, Maryland's murder rate was 29% higher than the national rate. Since then, the federal ban, federal and many states' waiting periods on gun sales, and numerous other gun control laws have expired or been rescinded, but Maryland has increased its gun control restrictions. And, Maryland's murder rate is 71% higher than the national rate. More gun control, more murder.


The solution? If you are CeaseFire Maryland, a Brady Campaign offshoot in "The Free State," it is more gun control. CeaseFire recently came out with a paper claiming that an "assault weapon" is "traced to a crime" once every 48 hours in Maryland.


The paper is nonsense, for a number of reasons. First, it is based entirely upon old BATF firearm tracing data, which the Congressional Research Service and other researchers have pointed out are unsuitable for drawing conclusions about the kinds of guns used to commit violent crimes. Most guns that are traced have never been used to commit a violent crime, and most guns that are used to commit violent crimes are never traced. CeaseFire conspicuously fails to mention that most of the "assault weapons" traced in Maryland had nothing to do with violent crimes.
In addition, CeaseFire used the Violence Policy Center (VPC) approach to defining "assault weapon," including all guns defined as such in the defunct federal ban, all guns defined as "assault pistols" in Maryland, plus the M1 Carbine, Ruger Mini-14, and SKS. Not only that, but like VPC, CeaseFire categorized a gun as an "assault weapon" even if it did not meet the old federal definition, due to not having attachments like flash suppressors, folding stocks, and bayonet mounts. Pathetically, CeaseFire also refers to all of these guns as "assault rifles," to misleadingly suggest that they are machine guns.


Finally, CeaseFire does not say how many violent crimes have been committed with "assault weapons," or whether in any such crimes the type of gun involved was relevant. It mentions the Muhammad/Malvo "sniper" killings in the Washington, D.C.-area several years ago, without noting that in each crime only one shot was fired, which could have been accomplished with any firearm.


In trying to make a case for more gun control, CeaseFire has its work cut out for it. Despite having much more gun control than most states, Maryland's murder rate is higher, compared to the rest of the country, than it ever has been. And while the U.S. rate has been steady the last five years, Maryland's has risen 16%.

[Echo5Oscar]

Yeah, I lived in Maryland for a year, almost as bad as California.

Shhhh---I took my SKS with me

[hacker15]

Don't you just love the part about a corrosponding link between gun control laws and crime rates? Hey, pols never learn!

Saw this and it reminded me of the reasons pols are where they are:

Five Surgeons:

Five Surgeons are discussing who makes the best patients to operate on.

The first surgeon says, "I like to see accountants on my operating table,
because when you open them up, everything inside is numbered."

The second responds, "Yeah, but you should try electricians!
Everything inside them is color coded."

The third surgeon says, "No, I really think librarians are the best;
everything inside them is in alphabetical order."

The fourth surgeon chimes in: "You know, I like construction workers...
those guys always understand when you have a few parts left over.

But the fifth surgeon shut them all up when he observed: "You're all wrong.
Politicians are the easiest to operate on. There's no guts, no heart, no brains
and no spine, plus the head and the ass are interchangeable."

[pigfrmr]

And yet with all their restrictions, ccw without a permit or "improperly transporting" is just a misdermeaner

[hacker15]

Saw another one this morning in the local mullet wrapper (i.e., the "newspaper"). Seems GUN VIOLANCE has increased on a national basis - especially in the SOUTH and WEST. Now, when I look at a state-by-state breakdown of gun related crimes (as posted by the FBI in their Crime Stats page), I note that the increase in gun crimes seems to be delivered by those states with the most restrictive gun laws - and the paper specifically singled out Washington, DC (where NO ONE can own a gun). Hummmmmm. Can anyone other than me see the connection - restrictive gun laws = increased crime.

[DoctorDawg]

Originally Posted by hacker15

Can anyone other than me see the connection - restrictive gun laws = increased crime.

Yep, I see the connection. Alas, correlation is not causation. (Sorry, it's just the scientist in me; I can't help pointing that out whenever people conclude from 'X and Y show up together a lot' that 'therefore X must cause Y'. It's ever bit as likely that Y causes X...in this case, maybe increased crime causes restrictive gun laws...or that X and Y have absolutely no frickin relationship with each other whatsoever.) OK I'll shut up now.

[hacker15]

Originally Posted by DoctorDawg

Yep, I see the connection. Alas, correlation is not causation. (Sorry, it's just the scientist in me; I can't help pointing that out whenever people conclude from 'X and Y show up together a lot' that 'therefore X must cause Y'. It's ever bit as likely that Y causes X...in this case, maybe increased crime causes restrictive gun laws...or that X and Y have absolutely no frickin relationship with each other whatsoever.) OK I'll shut up now.

You know, Doc - you may have something there.....not the "shut up" part..... but I really believe there is a relationship here. Just take a look at the stats published by the DOJ or the FBI - restrictive states have a consistently higher percentage of gun crime than states with fewer restrictions. While the old saying that "figures don't lie, but liers can figure", I believe these are fairly consistent and accurate numbers. The biggest problem is in Washington, DC and that's the place that has the worst gun laws in the country. New York, New Jersy, Mass - all are not too far behind, and look how tight the laws are in these states. If we pass all these restrictive gun control laws, the bad guys sure aren't going to adhere to them. They'll go on carrying their unregistered gun, with no license, in restricted caliber and/or magazine capacity. They'll go on buying their wepons on the black market, not from any dealer you and I know and do business with. They will also know that you, as an honest citizen, will most probably not be armed. I do remember reading somewhere that convicted felonys don't fear the police or the courts half as much as they fear the citizen who is armed. When they can't tell, they tend to look elsewhere for a victim. In states where there are far less restictions on guns and gun ownership, they figure most men are armed. They figure most females are not armed. The figures also show that women are far more likely to be the victim in any one of the states. Hey - just an observation......