So, I was over at Samizdata to read a thread dealing with the arrest of a columnist in the UK for using "hate speech". The horrible speech Robin Page is accused of using?
Mr Page said yesterday: "I urged people to go on the march and I urged that the rural minority be given the same legal protection as other minorities. All I said was that the rural minority should have the same rights as blacks, Muslims and gays.
The horrible monster! Suggesting that people who support the "rural rights" movement have the same protection as blacks, Muslims, and gays.
Well, as frequently happens with a thread dealing with a controversial topic, there were many good comments generated by this post. I am scrolling along, getting a feel for the general attitude of the commentors with regards to the arrest, when I come upon a post by someone we shall call Michael (because, er, that's his name). Michael's contribution to the debate? A nice little anti-gun upchuck where he manages to call all of us gun owners paranoid and unstable. Now it may in fact be true that I am paranoid and unstable, but my owning a gun (or several) has nothing to do with it. Michael's Missive:
While I'm sure we agree on the probable absurdity of the arrest, the vast majority of folk on this side of the Atlantic see the US gun laws as the nonsensical ones.
Life really is a lot safer for everyone if the number of guns about the place is minimised.
If it is always wrong for someone other than the police or the military to be carrying a weapon, it makes law enforcement much more straight forward.
It becomes far more reasonable for the small number of armed police we have to assume someone carrying a gun is intending to use it with criminal intent if there is no legal reason to be carrying it in the first place.
If I see someone sufficiently paranoid to feel carring a gun is necessary, they are obviosly unstable enough to think they might need to use it. If they are that unstable, how can I know they are not going to use it on me, or someone I care for, in the mistaken belief that they are threatened?
If I am also carrying a gun, are they not more likely to feel so threatened?
Michael.
So, Michael feels that it is only "probably absurd" that the Telegraph reporter was arrested, but he is sure all of us on this side of the Atlantic are paranoid and unstable. Now, the "rural rights" guys want to be able to keep sporting guns and hunt on their land, something that there is an appreciable movement afoot to stop. I would guess that Michael belongs to the group that wants to quash these so-called "rural rights".
Well, I decided to take a look at actual UK and US crime statistics, and do a population based comparison. I found out 2 important things.
1) Violent crimes in all categories (Murder, rape, aggravated assault) have decreased in the US every year since 1992 (ok, there are a couple of blips in the data. But this is generally a true statement)
2) It is difficult to find an on-line database reporting violent crime statistics in the UK. It is easy to find lots of articles that mention the skyrocketing violent crime rate, but hard to find actual numbers. I was not able to find actual reports of murders, rapes, etc in the one database giving crime statistics. What I was able to find was a database of offenses in which a firearm was reported to be used, a database that showed a 35% INCREASE in crimes committed with a firearm between 1997 and 2001. But wait, you might say. Didn't the UK enact tough new anti-gun laws in 1996 (following the Dunblane Massacre) to prevent such things from happening? How could the number of offenses go UP if anti-gun laws are now in effect? Could it possibly be that criminals don't care about guns laws anyway, and now they know they have nothing to fear from an unarmed populace? Naaahhhhhh. There I go being all paranoid and shit again.
The state of affairs in the UK should serve as a cautionary tale for those of us interested in the second amendment here in the United States. Once you start down that road, where does the erosion of your personal freedoms end? Perhaps you should ask the Telegraph reporter that question.
_____________________________________________________
OK, OK. I know this is not exactly new stuff. But it was interesting to me that I started to respond to a post over on Samizdata, decided to do a little research to back up my position, and found a ton of evidence to support the fallacy of the statement "gun control decreases crime". Why, then, is it still a mantra for the left? If I can find this shit out using a home computer and about 20 minutes of my time, why haven't places like the Brady Center and other gun control advocates reached the same conclusion? Is it possible that they really don't care about the truth revealed by the data, and are only interested in what they believe is best for us all, regardless of what the numbers show? Naaaaahhhh. That can't be it. Everything will be fine. Go away. Now.
I take a more practical view of the firearms debate. My wife, my love, the mother of our children, is 5'1". She stands no chance against some asswipe with malice in his peabrain. I taught her how to shoot, and I know that when I can't be with her, she can protect herself and the kids. Thats the entirety of the issue for me. I understand all the arguements, but will never support anyone who says that my wife can't arm herself. To protect my family, I would do things to a man that would make Satan proud, and I'm NOT ashamed of that. But the only real defense a woman has against a man is a gun, period. So the debate can go on, but I believe the statistics show that the majority of Americans share my view. The Brits are trying to reinvent the wheel, and it shows.
Posted by: puggs on November 23, 2002 10:38 AMPay no attention to the man behind the curtain!
Posted by: Anna on November 23, 2002 04:55 PMIt seems England's freedoms are swirling down the drain.
Did you notice the argument that desiring to own a firearm was proof you were "paranoid" & unfit to have one?
And asking for special 'rights' makes you an oppressor.
Why weren't the other groups arrested when they asked?
Orwellian!
for information on how Britain attained its current deplorable state:
https://www.davekopel.com/2A/LawRev/SlipperySlope.htm#A
Interesting, yes, so very interesting that these leftyloons love to point out how the US has such a violent crime problem, while failing to mention what's happened in Britain (and Australia, and Canada...). This, from the very people who claim to be compassionate and concerned about and listen to and consider all sides of an issue. Not really, eh?
But I'm unhinged and dangerous because I own and advocate the ownership of firearms; thus, my points aren't valid, right?
Well, dude, your nick is "Crazy Pat". What else is the Brady center going to think. You own guns, your name is Crazy Pat, ipso facto.......