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America is at war for her Second Amendment rights and it seems as though there is no middle ground - with nearly everyone I talk to having a strong opinion, one way or the other.
What are the gripes from non-gun owners?
"40% of all guns sold at gun shows don't include a background check!"
This statistic is gathered from a rather dubious poll taken by the National Institute of Justice in 1993-94 using a sample size of 251 citizens - That's right two-hundred-and-fifty-one! That's one hell of a sampling size - and it was taken 20 years ago! The poll was actually 34% with a +/- factor of 6%. So, of course, pro-gun control advocates latched on to the 40% number as gospel, while in fact, it could have been 28% (and reading the poll itself, the numbers could have been appreciably smaller.)
This same poll shows that only 3.9% of all guns purchased in America were bought at gun shows. So, if 3.9% of all guns were purchased at the aforementioned gun shows, and even using the high end of 40% were without background checks, then only 1.56% of all guns bought in the United States were without background checks at gun shows. If you figure the low end of 28% (34% - 6%) then that number falls to 1.09% of all guns. That, for all practical purposes, is one-in-a-hundred.
And
how many of those one-in-a-hundred are sold to maniacs? Bureau of
Justice Polls of prison inmates in 1991 and 1997 showed that less than
1% (0.6 and 0.7) of guns used in crimes were bought at gun shows. As you can see, in a worst-case scenario it becomes an infinitesimal number - less than 1 in every 10,000 guns sold at Gun Shows.
Hmm... can you say "Mountain out of a molehill?"
"We need background checks to keep the guns out of the hands of criminals!"
Okay, I know this is going to be hard to hear because to know the truth means that the politicians you voted for are lying to you, but here it is. We already have background checks! Let me say that again, nice and clear - WE ALREADY HAVE BACKGROUND CHECKS! Whenever you buy a gun from a Federally Licensed dealer, he is required to run a background check through the F.B.I. Since 1998 there have been 166,000,000 (166 MILLION) background checks performed by the F.B.I. Yeah, you read that right. Here in Illinois - the State I live in - We are required to apply for a Firearm Owners Identification card (F.O.I.D.) in order to purchase and or own a firearm, and guess what it requires? An F.B.I. background check. And when you apply for a Carry Permit? Yep, another F.B.I. background check plus checks by State, County and or Local constables. And when I buy a gun and show them my F.O.I.D. card (which acknowledges that I have already had a background check) guess what they still have to do? Wow, you guys are smart! You catch on real quick... yes... Another background check!
The contention that background checks catch criminals is just plain wrong. Criminals don't buy their guns through legal channels. You know why? Because they're criminals! Whoa! I saw it! I saw it! It was a glimmer of light shining in your eyes... Like a mindless zombie coming back to life! Stay with me, you'll get there, I promise.
"We need all guns registered so that if a gun crime was to occur we would know who's gun it was!"
Alright. Let's talk about this one. The only reason to have a gun registry is to keep a national
database of law-abiding citizens who own guns. That's it. No other reason. Don't believe me? Criminals don't registers guns. Why? Because they don't follow laws. That's why we call them criminals. And if they don't register their guns, then who would be the only people listed on a national database of registered guns? Law-abiding citizens. And why would you need information like that on law-abiding citizens? You'll have to answer that for yourself.
Getting back to gun registration. Did you know that all legal guns are already registered? No? Hmm, I wonder why the same people who want a National Gun Registration Database of law-abiding citizens wouldn't want you to know that?
When a gun manufacturer produces a gun its stamped with a registration/identification number. When the manufacturer ships the gun to his Distributor, the distributor keeps a record of the number. When the distributor ships it to a Federally Licensed Dealer, he keeps the dealer's information in his database. When the dealer sells it to me, he writes down the registration number and I must read it off to the dealer when I pick up the gun to ensure its correct. He keeps that information on his database.
If a crime is committed with a gun, the gun registration number is taken to the manufacturer, who tells the government who the distributor was. The government goes to the distributor and asks who he shipped it to. The Government then goes to the Federally Licensed dealer and the dealer pulls up the number and tells them who he sold it to. And then there is a knock on my door. Where is your gun? And I should have a good answer. In Illinois, if I sold it to someone else (Father to Son, or family member or friend) I must have a receipt of the transaction with the registration number of the gun and I must keep it available for 10-years. If it's been stolen, has it been reported? Maybe I didn't know it was stolen. Maybe a bad guy (otherwise known as a criminal) took it without my knowledge (hard to believe anyone would do that, ya' know... because it's against the law). At the very least I may be a suspect in a gun crime. At best all I've had is a hassle with the police.
What's the difference between a national database of guns and owners and the way it's done now? That's an easy one. The way its done now is out of the government's hands. The truth be told, I don't trust them to do the right thing with a national database of guns and gun owners. It works fine just the way it is, with all the information available to them and without them prying into our lives any more than they already do.
"We need more laws to keep criminals from getting guns!"
The bottom line is that none of the legislation that's been brought before the Senate will stop or even lower, crime. Why? Because law-abiding citizens follow the laws already in place. We aren't the problem. Criminals are the problem. They don't care about laws, they don't care about background checks, they don't care if a gun is registered or not. They don't care about you or I or their own lives. They don't care if they KILL someone! Why? Because they are criminals! If they want a gun they will buy one. Legally if they meet the parameters of the background check. Illegally if they can't. Pay someone to buy it for them. Steal one. Get a fake I.D.
Laws don't make people criminals - they define who criminals are. In order for laws to work, you must prosecute those criminals who break the laws with seeming impunity. Here in Chicago, it's a killing zone - it's a story that is on the national stage due to the press for gun control laws. Chicago is where every gun control advocate points to as the reason why we need more gun control. Yet Chicago has some of the strictest gun control laws in the country and still people die by the hundreds every year. And Chicago ranks dead last in the prosecution of Federal gun laws! How is this possible? How is it that politicians can stand and deliver an emotional message of streets filled with the blood of children and not even attempt to prosecute those who have illegal guns? Its as if they don't really care about those that have died. This is why gun owners throw up their hands when the argument for more gun laws comes up. All we can think is, "How about we enforce the ones that are already on the books!?"
In the end, everyone is free to form their own opinion and to voice that opinion whenever they want. It's just a shame that those who believe in the First Amendment, journalists and electronic media who make their living off the First Amendment, citizens who have a belief and say it loudly and proudly, don't realize the First Amendment stays intact, without interference, because of the Second Amendment.
Its a shame that so many supposedly intelligent people don't realize the wolves are at the door and darkness is coming.
Hipshot
My new book -Concealed Carry and the War on the Second Amendment, a collection from the New Gunner Journal - is now available at Lulu.com, Amazon and Barnes and Noble. If you have any questions about Concealed Carry or are sitting on the fence, this would make a nice Christmas present to learn about the lifestyle and those who live it.
Please stop trying to confuse the issue with facts.
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing, isn't it? They just refuse to see the light. Pure emotion and fear.
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