INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
Posted 4/17/2007
Gun Control: Left-leaning editorial boards both here and in Europe leaned so hard after the Virginia Tech shootings that they fell all over themselves making spurious arguments. It was, of course, predictable.
'What is needed, urgently, is stronger controls over the lethal weapons that cause such wasteful carnage and such unbearable loss," grumbled the New York Times in Tuesday's lead editorial in response to the mass murder that left 33 dead.
The Boston Globe was only a bit more subtle: "As for the gun or guns used, where did they come from and what kind of weapon were they? Not sporting arms, it would seem, but highly efficient killing weapons that should probably be in the hands only of law enforcement or military personnel in combat."
Under the headline "Tragedy Must Trigger Reform," Rep. Carolyn McCarthy wrote in the New York Daily News that "it has been more than a decade since any meaningful legislation that would prevent gun violence has been signed into law. This pattern must change. For too long, Congress has stood idle while gun violence continues to take its toll."
McCarthy, who lost her husband to a deranged gunman in the Long Island Railroad shootings of 1993 and was elected to Congress on an anti-gun crusade, claimed it's possible that Monday's shootings "could have been avoided if congressional leaders had stood up to the gun lobby more forcefully."
She went on for a little more than 500 words ranting in favor of more gun laws.
In the heart of what coastal elitists believe is shoot-'em-up country, the Houston Chronicle was angry that even in the aftermath of Monday's tragedy, Texas lawmakers are "contemplating making it easier for people to carry weapons to and from work."
Europeans, of course, couldn't resist the chance to show their superiority over their backward American cousins.
"Here is a country that represents the vanguard of development and democracy," lamented French daily Le Figaro, "while it is legal to carry a gun in 45 of 50 states, as long as the gun is not loaded."
German daily Bild haughtily rued the U.S.' "overly lax gun laws," while Spain's El Pais wasn't happy that gun-control laws "are decided by the individual states and are constantly sidestepped by means of an exaggerated interpretation of the U.S. Constitution."
We don't need more shooting deaths. But neither do we need knee-jerk reactions to catastrophic events. A cool-headed look at the data shows why — data like those compiled by economist John Lott, who found that in states where right-to-carry laws are enacted, multiple-victim firearm attacks fall by 60%.
It's not unusual for an American to defend himself or herself with a gun. According to at least one study, it happens successfully more than 2 million times a year.
But facts change nothing for culture warriors who equate guns with a lack of sophistication. They're the ones who don't get it. Shooting straight seems to be beyond their ability.
