Gun Summit Ending: Another Steaming Stinking Mass

Yep, just what you'd expect, lots of hot air and promises to punish the law abiding.

DESPITE THE roughly 200 million firearms in private hands, mayors of major cities believe there are supply-side solutions to the problem of gun deaths that total 30,000 a year in the United States. Armed only with a statement of principles and fresh from a Tuesday summit in New York City, 15 mayors appear ready to recruit their colleagues to take on the gun lobby and its abettors in Congress.

I've looked for that 'statement of principles' but came up empty. I love the part about taking on the gun lobby. Totally missing the point that they are taking on the countries constituency that for the most part doesn't reside in their urban areas. I wish you luck.

This is a good fight, one that every mayor, and especially those from states with loose gun controls, should step right into. It is not an attack on the right to bear arms. Only one in six guns used to commit crimes is obtained legally, according to a major study by Northeastern University criminologist Glenn Pierce published in the June 2004 issue of Justice Quarterly. The rest are stolen, trafficked, obtained through straw buyers, bought off the books, or obtained from kitchen-table sellers or outright corrupt dealers.

That is something to give you pause. If the majority of guns used illegally are obtained illegally, then why are the vast majority of the proposed laws on the issue only going to restrict those who will abide by the law? And being from one of those "states with loose gun controls" I'm feeling especially guilty that your urban criminals are breaking state and federal law. But then, how about trying enforcing your own laws rather than bitching about the laws in my state?

The most important thing to emerge from Tuesday's summit was the mayors' resolve to press the gun violence issue with or without federal help. ''We put the days of waiting for Congress to act behind us," said Bloomberg, flanked by mayors from Dallas, Seattle, Philadelphia, and 11 other major cities. Mayor Tom Barrett of Milwaukee and several of his counterparts spoke of the dreaded phone calls that come with the shooting of an innocent child or law enforcement officer. But congressmen are often insulated from the direct impact of firearms violence and can't envision running cities where 2-year-olds die from bullets meant for a gang member standing a few yards away.

Ah yes, the "think of the children" gambit. How about thinking about the 2-year old that loses a parent in a home invasion or assault because they didn't have the means to protect themselves? Oh, well, I'm sure that isn't a valid argument.

You can also be certain that the mayors themselves are pretty well insulated from the violence, since they have police protection being paid for by the citizens who aren't allowed a means of defense.

The rest of the article is a loud and obnoxious BoGlobe whine about laws restricting the uses of the BATFE gun crime database. Nothing new there.

This article has a great quote:

"If the leadership won't come from Congress or from the White House, it will have to come from us," said New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who led the summit with Boston Mayor Thomas Menino.

The mayors -- from cities including Washington, Philadelphia, Dallas, Milwaukee and Seattle -- gathered to exchange ideas, consult with experts and promote law enforcement cooperation among their cities.

Well, at least with the fed and most state level governments not assisting these gun grabbers, you can at least have some relief that their actions will have lesser impact. The 'consult with experts' line is hilarious. Don't bother to mention that they refused to hear from gun-rights experts. But hey, you can make a learned decision by only hearing one side of an argument.

Here's another good one:

Boston Mayor Thomas Menino, one of the co-hosts of the summit, said that he believes that 90 percent of the children know where to find guns.

"Why aren't Americans outraged that 30,000 people are dying because of guns each year?" he asked.

He "believes." I "believe" Menino is an imbecile, and I have more proof that that is true than he does on his 90% statement. Americans are outraged about the high level of deaths, but atributing the problem to an inanimate object is showing a definite indication of being out of touch with reality. Imagine if the mayors did more to enforce or even inhibit crime. That would reduce even more deaths. No outrage over killings that happen without a gun?

Haven't we learned quite a bit about extreme gun control in places like Great Britain and Australia. Gun control didn't reduce crime, it increased it. Yep, there were less gun crimes, and less gun deaths, but the numbers of deaths and crimes with other weapons and means increased.

Here's one that I didn't expect, just because it's so easy to turn around.

Surrounded by 14 mayors attending an unprecedented Gracie Mansion gun summit, Mayor Bloomberg charged yesterday that legislators who "vote against getting guns off the street" share responsibility for the death of the 2-year-old boy killed by a stray bullet on Easter Sunday.

"The only thing that would have helped that child is if we had the courage to stand up and get the guns off the street," Bloomberg declared at a press conference following the four-hour summit.

"And those who vote against getting guns off the street really are the ones as much responsible as the shooter, because if the shooter didn't have a gun, that child would still be alive."

Yes, and by the same logic, if you asshats had been doing your job on law enforcement and not bitching about guns, maybe the 2-year old would be alive as well. Or does Bloomberg think that only by adding new laws do we get the illegal guns off the street? One law or fifty won't stop the criminal from violating the law. Maybe it's time you realized that adding legislation doesn't work. Adding further restrictions hindering legal ownership doesn't stop thefts or other illegal possessions.

Trenton Mayor Douglas Palmer suggested that Congress members join him when he has to inform a family about the shooting of a child, as he was forced to do four weeks ago.

"I had to call that mother that night," Palmer recalled.

"Believe me, it wasn't pleasant. Maybe some of the people in Congress that are so far removed from this issue and listen to all the lobbying groups need to come with mayors as we make calls with those families."

How does this guy deal with telling the children of a victim of rape or murder that their parent could have saved themselves if they had been allowed the means to defend themselves? I'm sure that isn't said. I have no sympathy for this dolt. If anything, this tells me he's too close to the issue to make a logical decision and thus shouldn't be given the ability.

What a complete waste of oxygen.

mAssBackwards and the Ten Ring have more on topic.