chicago suntimes lamets failure of lawsuits

[beerslurpy]

http://www.suntimes.com/output/otherviews/cst-edt-ref28a.html

To which I responded: ([email protected])

"Take any major American city -- Chicago, New York, Detroit,
Philadelphia -- and statistics reveal that annually, more people get
killed by handguns in any one of these cities than all of Europe
combined. Why is that?"

Because every one of those areas disarms the law-abiding population
and encourages the violent criminals to do what comes naturally to
them. The best evidence of this is the one city you forgot to
mention....

Washington DC. Also the city with the strictest gun control.

The interesting thing is that anyone (including any criminal) can take
a 10 minute train ride and end up in Fairfax County, VA. In many ways
they are just different parts of the same city, much as southern MD is
very much a suburb of DC or northern NJ is really a part of NYC for
all practical purposes.

There are only two real differences between these crowded urban areas.

The first difference is that while DC completely bans armed
self-defence and posession of handguns, Virginia does not regulate
firearms ownership and in fact allows both open and concealed carry.
In fact, it is not unusual to see law-abiding citizens strolling about
with firearms on hip holsters just a few miles from Washington DC.

The second difference is that Fairfax County has a violent crime rate
approximately 1/20th that of Washington DC. Oddly, these same
criminals do not wish to attempt robbery, rape or murder in Virginia
but they feel suddenly embolded after a mere 10 minute trip to the
north? Care to hazard a guess as to why?

hope I could help

Oh, and on the subject of gun lawsuits- when you point a gun at
someone and pull the trigger, it is not the gun manufacturer's fault
if something bad happens. That is why your lawsuits failed. Basic
common sense.

-jim

 

[Standing Wolf]

That's very well said!

I'm sure the presstitutes of the Sun Times will rush your letter into print.

 

[beerslurpy]

Yeah I know it was wasted typing, but I have to practice my rhetoric somehow.

I am the only family member living in a non-blue state and I devote constant effort to getting them interested in guns and being non-anti.

 

[Rumpled]

Beerslurpy,
Very well written letter. Be sure to gloat when the S-T publishes it (I will not hold my breath for my own safety)
Stephen Young,
It may sound contrite, I am sorry to hear that your son was murdered - but the gun companies had nothing to do with it!
If a person ran your son over with an Explorer would you sue Ford (OK, you might)?
I know, I'm preaching to the choir.

 

[Rumpled]

I just sent Stephen and the S-T these same senitments
[email protected] Listed right there on NU's website.
And he's going to write a book - profiting on his own son's murder?
Maybe that's a bit harsh. Noone should have to deal with a son being murdered.

 

[beerslurpy]

His son being murdered is tragic, and should definitely not be brought up in a positive or mocking light. Even if, like me, you think he is using it as excuse to be an ??????? and engage in dishonest behavior and emotional arm-twisting.

That being said, the blame for anyones murder lies with the murderer, not with their weapon of choice. Unless we can specifically predict when people are going to commit murder, gun control will not work and cops will be left chasing the guilty after the crime has already been committed. The best we can do as potential victims is assume our time will eventually come and prepare for it.

 

[Boats]

I suffered horrendously once from a bad burrito. Perhaps we should legally eliminate the dealer, the distributor, the slaughterhouse, and the cattle rancher just to make sure no one else ever suffers again. What do you think?

Bad things happen to good people. The wise do not overreact to random instances of tragedy.