New York "MORE GANG THUGS ARE PACKIN' HEAT "

[cuchulainn]

Sure, it's Virginia's and North Carolina's fault.

from the New York Post

http://www.nypost.com/news/regionalnews/10524.htm

MORE GANG THUGS ARE PACKIN' HEAT

By STEPHANIE GASKELL

November 11, 2003 -- Guns have become "standard equipment" for gang members, experts warned the City Council yesterday, but the NYPD says gang violence is on the decline.
"As guns become more available and gangbangers and wannabes have been able to access them more readily, they've become standard equipment as opposed to fists," said Councilman Lewis Fidler (D-Brooklyn) during a Youth Services Committee hearing on gang violence yesterday.

While NYPD statistics show that gang violence dropped 17.5 percent from 2001 to 2002, guns are increasingly seen as a way to gain instant respect from fellow gang members, experts said.

The NYPD could provide no data on gang members' use of guns, although experts said they believe it's on the rise.

"There is a generalized view that guns are an immediate way to gain respect," said Pedro Mateu-Gelabert, a senior research associate at the Vera Institute of Justice.

Gang members also use guns "as a deterrent to other gangs' potential use of violence," he added.

Gun use is much more prevalent among people who are looking to join a gang, Fidler said, because they need to prove themselves.



"Wannabes are worse because they have something to prove and they're willing to risk more," he said.

"They say, 'I've got a piece,' and even worse, 'I've used it.' They think they're impressing somebody to get them in the gang."

Fidler said part of the problem is that it's too easy to get a gun. "Now unfortunately guns are a commodity," he said. "They are available on the streets to anyone who is of a mind to find out how to get one."

"There needs to be a better understanding in Virginia and North Carolina. They need to know that their gun laws are killing people on the streets of New York," Fidler said.

A former gang member also testified at the hearing to underscore the need for kids to get involved in community activities so they don't get caught up in gangs.

Andre, now 21, joined a gang in Brooklyn when he was 15. He said he was lured to a life of crime and violence because he needed protection - and attention.

"I didn't really get that much attention," he said. "By me being in a gang, I felt like I had all the attention I could possibly have."

Copyright 2003 NYP Holdings, Inc.

 

[cracked butt]

"There needs to be a better understanding in Virginia and North Carolina. They need to know that their gun laws are killing people on the streets of New York," Fidler said.

Wow! Liberals have finally made the leap from inanimate objects killing people to intangible ideas killing people.
Maybe if they just banned guns in NYC, the criminals wouldn't have guns. Wait, that has been done already.

 

[El Tejon]

Was this taken from a speech in 1911 from Big Tim Sullivan?

How could it be Ol' Virginny's fault? Did not they institute a one gun a month law to address exactly this concern?

Don't tell me "gun control" doesn't address crime!!!

 

[semf]

This does, however, prove one point. When gun ownership goes up in a community, violent crime goes down.

 

[JimJD]

Oh man...
As all of you already know, this article and it's "data" are so full of B.S. !
Some of you know I recently moved from NYC down to FL.
I grew up in chinatown and was witness to a LOT of gang violence.
Back in the eighties, it was much worse around the city as a whole.
Then in the nineties, it started to change. It's still plenty dangerous, but not as bad as the article would have you believe.

Guns have become "standard equipment" for gang members, experts warned the City Council yesterday

Oh COME ON! It's always been "standard equipment"! Also knives, broken bottles, fists, and harsh language
Who are these so-called experts?

"There needs to be a better understanding in Virginia and North Carolina. They need to know that their gun laws are killing people on the streets of New York," Fidler said.

WHAT!? That really is a stretch on "Fidler's" part! Another anti who just does'nt get it. Never will.

I still love the city of my birth, but boy, I'm happy I left!
Feel bad for all the gun owners up there though. It gets harder and harder every year for them.

 

[CZ-100]

That's NOT True.

Guns are illegal in NYC

 

[Devonai]

Gang members also use guns "as a deterrent to other gangs' potential use of violence," he added.

Welcome to the human race.

 

[Langenator]

Gang members also use guns "as a deterrent to other gangs' potential use of violence," he added.

Thus proving that even gang members are capable of understanding the deterent effect that being armed has on violent criminals.

There fore, since gang members can understand this but the gun grabber pols can't, the gun grabbers must be less intelligent than your average gang member.

 

[Nightfall]

"There needs to be a better understanding in Virginia and North Carolina. They need to know that their gun laws are killing people on the streets of New York," Fidler said.

And when the whole US bans guns, and somehow criminals still have them, it will be the fault of Canada, along with Mexico. Then when the whole world follows suit, it'll be because there aren't enough regulations concerning machining tools, and metals capable of being formed into guns. And so on.

Deal with your violent crime problem and stop blaming us for your gun control failure. We're sure as hell not going to give up our rights for your ignorance.

 

[twoblink]

Yep, guns are great. Look how much safer it's made Virginia and NC! NY needs to soften up the gun laws to balance out the crime..

Gangs understand deterrents..

 

[Standing Wolf]

"There needs to be a better understanding in Virginia and North Carolina. They need to know that their gun laws are killing people on the streets of New York," Fidler said.

Wrong! Criminals are killing people on the streets of New York, not other states' laws.

 

[NIGHTWATCH]

Fidler.....NYC COUNCIL....

CCW in NYC you

 

[Mark Tyson]

They've banned all guns in the city and they still can't stop crime. Now they want to ban guns in other states and they think that'll work.

Gun free America is not going to be the blissninny utoipa that some people think.

 

[Augustwest]

The NYPD could provide no data on gang members' use of guns, although experts said they believe it's on the rise.

Great thing that belief is a proxy for actual facts these days...

 

[Partisan Ranger]

Sorry, maybe it's my lowly education and middle-class background, but I fail to grasp why law-abiding citizens' access to firearms in the Commonwealth of Virginia should be infringed because criminals misuse guns in New York City.

I seriously doubt, by the way, that criminals can't get home grown guns in New York.

 

[sonny]

I live in NYC and I am a proud and legal firearm owner.....What's with all the "guns are illegal in nyc" talk?....just wondering.

 

[Wedge]

Question for Sonny

I live upstate, and my county recognizes the fact that guns stop crimes and has a shall issue mentality (especially since we have a murder rate as high or higher than NYC this year...Rochester NY for those who wonder has had almost 50 murders so far this year for a city of ~ 225,000.)

Sonny, do you have a carry permit or just a possession permit? I think the essential non issue of carry permits part is what irks people and makes them say guns are illegal in NYC. Same thing with Canada. You can own a handgun in Canada but carry is illegal.

 

[Langenator]

OK Sonny, they're not "technically" illegal, but the powers that be make it a huge pain in the rear to get one through the byzantine maze of a permit process, and then once you actually have it, place massive restrictions on using and carrying it. Unless, of course, you're one of the "special people," the connected illuminati who rule the peons, or at least are cozy with those who do.

They'll be banned completely soon enough-and the crime rate will be the same, just like Chicago and DC. And they'll still blame NC and VA for their problems.

 

[sonny]

I agree it's a pain in the rear ,I was just making the point that they are not illegal.....yet......And no I don't have a carry permit.....I'm not that important