Professor John Lott again points out that More Guns equals Less Crime in this article at Real Clear Politics about Brazilian gun control this week.
Two of the many takeaways can be summarized with his quotes:
“Although one wouldn’t know it from the media coverage of gun control, the best social science has shown that law-abiding citizens frequently deter criminals. But when ideology trumps facts, policymakers are easily led astray. The latest example is occurring in Brazil, where a massive increase in gun ownership in recent years has prompted gun control advocates to reinterpret the data in ways that conform to their political views.”
“The reality is that Brazil’s experiment in legal gun ownership is just the latest example of “more guns, less crime.” Violent crime fell as criminals became afraid of armed citizens. But don’t hold your breath for any news media outlets or gun control groups to admit they were wrong.”
Throughout history, whenever a population is disarmed by its government, murders increase. So unless you’re just a dangerous quack, the only reason to disarm a population is to enslave them.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
In this week’s President’s Message, I’ll provide a brief legal news update. First, we will start with some international news. A while back I wrote about Brazil and its experience that when the good guys are armed, murder rates drop.
This week it’s Trinidad and Tobago farmers who are asking that they be allowed to acquire firearms to defend themselves from rampant crime and cattle theft. From the Trinidad Daily Express:
“Farmers throughout the country should be granted firearm user’s [licenses] (FULs) to protect their farms from praedial larceny, according to Couva North Member of Parliament Ravi Ratiram, who called on Commissioner of Police Erla Christopher to issue licensed firearms to those affected.
Speaking at yesterday’s United National Congress (UNC) press conference, Ratiram said the country should equip farmers with the necessary tools to protect their livelihoods and safeguard produce and livestock.
… “I call upon Commissioner Erla Christopher to issue licensed firearms to registered farmers through firearm user’s [licenses] (FULs), granting them the power to safeguard their produce and livestock. This is not a plea, it’s a resounding demand for action, for change, and for justice…Commissioner Erla Christopher, the choice is yours—stand with our farmers or sit back and watch them fall victim to the criminal elements. The choice is clear, and the solution lies in your hand,” he said.
… “I spoke to one farmer who lost approximately nine head of cattle on his farm. We are talking about nearly $100,000. Farmers and fishermen have been asking for this type of relief where the Government cannot protect them, they are prepared to protect their families, their livelihoods, and properties…this is why we have issued these calls. This is something that came about in consulting with our farmers,” he said.”
Go figure…
Meanwhile, in California…
Out of the Ninth Circuit (yes, President Trump’s judicial appointments are making a difference out West) California’s law prohibiting the marketing of firearms and shooting sports to minors has been struck down for now on First Amendment grounds. Judge Kenneth Lee, writing the majority opinion stated:
“While California has a substantial interest in reducing gun violence and unlawful use of firearms by minors, its law does not “directly” and “materially” further either goal. California cannot straitjacket the First Amendment by, on the one hand, allowing minors to possess and use firearms and then, on the other hand, banning truthful advertisements about that lawful use of firearms. There is no evidence in the record that a minor in California has ever unlawfully bought a gun, let alone because of an ad. Nor has the state produced any evidence that truthful ads about lawful uses of guns—like an ad about hunting rifles in Junior Sports Magazines’ Junior Shooters—encourage illegal or violent gun use among minors. Simply put, California cannot lean on gossamers of speculation to weave an evidence-free narrative that its law curbing the First Amendment “significantly” decreases unlawful gun use among minors. The First Amendment demands more than good intentions and wishful thinking to warrant the government’s muzzling of speech.
California’s law is also more extensive than necessary, as it sweeps in truthful ads about lawful use of firearms for adults and minors alike. For instance, an advertisement directed at adults featuring a camouflage skin on a firearm might be illegal because minors may be attracted to it.”
This law’s overly broad reach to make lawmakers feel good about doing something, even if it is ineffective or unprovable, does not pass any First Amendment test whatsoever. Maybe if the Ninth Circuit keeps up this kind of behavior, it will lose its nickname “Ninth Circus”.
Moving On…
Then, in the continuing saga out of New Mexico: As you know, Governor Grisham imposed an unconstitutional Executive Order banning the open or concealed carrying of firearms for thirty days in Albuquerque and Bernalillo County. It was quickly slapped down in Federal Court. An excellent analysis can be read by our friends at BearingArms.com and of course, she’s now trying to guilt the rest of us for not agreeing with her and trying to repackage it to only include parks and playgrounds. If nothing else, Gov. Grisham has displayed true contempt for both the Federal Constitution and New Mexico’s. “Karen’s” like her should never be allowed in elected office.
Lastly, in my recent Ready at All Times President’s Message I wrote about the growing ChiCom threat not just to Taiwan but also to the United States. One has to wonder why Chinese companies are smuggling suppressors and Glock Full Auto Switches into the USA packaged as toys. Well, if I were planning Mumbai-style attacks and sabotage in the US, I’d be smuggling those item’s here for the thousands of military-age Chinese males that Biden is allowing to walk across the US-Mexican border unimpeded, to provide them with the tools they need to attack Americans and our infrastructure.
If you read through the 9-11 Commission Report, a recurring theme was that our intelligence agencies did not connect the dots before the attacks. Hopefully, any post ChiCom attack on Taiwan and the USA will not cite the same errors in the future. But under apparently-compromised Joe Biden, I doubt it.
Those gun control dangerous quacks are playing a long game but so are we at IFC. Help us by joining or renewing your IFC membership here today.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
No, I don’t have ADD, or Attention Deficit Disorder, but you might feel that way after this week’s President’s Message. It’s my observations on just some of the last few weeks’ news, with a few of my remarks mixed in.
My first story is about a case before the US Supreme Court; Rahimi v. U.S., where clearly a bad actor is attempting to overturn the restrictions against convicted domestic abusers (misdemeanors that should actually be felonies but that’s a different issue) from possessing firearms. Back in March the 5th Circuit sided with Rahimi, noting while he’s “hardly a model citizen,” the statute barring him from owning a gun is an “outlier that our ancestors would never have accepted.”
The second story is from Guns America and it highlights a study about inner-city gang members and why they are carrying firearms. The study, by The Center for Justice Innovation, highlights four reasons for the carrying of firearms by gang members.
Carrying for Protection: Those who carry for protection expressed ambivalence about carrying and, even more, firing guns. “I’m not trying to kill nobody. I’m not a killer.” But this ambivalence was trumped by the safety imperative: “It’s not about being cool or being tough or nothing. It’s just more about being safe.”
Carrying for Image: Those who carry for image might brandish the gun in a group, flash it to intimidate opps, or shoot and intentionally miss. They were also perceived as likely to get into beefs related to false claims or representation.
Carrying for Street Hustles: Those engaged in street hustles (e.g., drug dealers, scammers) were known to hold large amounts of cash or goods. They carried for protection against being robbed. Others engaged in robbing or breaking-and-entering used guns to acquire the cash or goods sought through intimidation and threat, seldom intending to kill.
Shooters: Rarer than the other three categories, “shooters” were carriers who regularly went on the offensive, if need be killing those perceived as threats.
Go figure, we all know the first reason above is the same as everyday law-abiding Americans who want to carry defensive firearms, to protect themselves from the latter three groups listed above! How much money was wasted on that study?
My third story is about Brazil, a notably dangerous country that has seen crime and murder rates start to drop under liberalized firearms ownership and carrying laws in the last few years. Go figure. Dr. John Lott is proven right again that more guns equals less crime. Yet criminologist researchers cannot figure out what is going on. My suggestion is they go read Dr. Lott’s seminal book on the subject titled “More Guns Less Crime”; it’s now in its third edition.
We all know how much our mainstream media lies through omissions. I don’t care if it’s our once-trusted Iowa WHO-Radio’s news department or the NY Times. A great example is the recent terrorist attack in of all places, Fargo, ND on July 16th. While you may have heard about the event, what has not been widely reported was that it was brought by a Syrian immigrant with no social media presence, who had spent years in the background of legal society, and had been a student of mass killing events. From local reports of an official release;
July 21 is the first time officials have released a photo of Mohamed Barakat. Officials say he is a Syrian national who came to the United States in 2012. Barakat became a U.S. citizen in 2019. Investigators say it appears Barakat was working off and on at different jobs, and over the years he has been researching mass casualty events and collecting weaponry. His name appeared on what officials call a “Guardian Report,” but they clarified the tip received was not about a threat of violence.
Wrigley says Mohamed Barakat was not on the terrorist watch list and all of the firearms appear to have been purchased legally. Investigators say he appears to have no ties to the local Muslim community. He has family living in the United States, but not in the local area. Wrigley says Barakat’s family has been spoken to, but they do not appear to have had a lot of communication with Barakat.
I have no idea what motivated the Syrian shooter and wanna-be bomber. But please remember to be Ready at All Times and never forget that those anti-freedom dangerous quacks are playing a long game but so are we at IFC. Help us by joining or renewing your IFC membership here today.
Shoot Straight, Speak The Truth, and Never Surrender Our Liberties.
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