Time to arm yourselves...?
steven
2012/02/12 19:23:50
Pacific Northwest Patriots
Random observations and opinions of reluctant citizen activists in Southwest Washington
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Arm Yourself
by Lynda Wilson
Our second amendment is being attacked. On many levels we see anti-gun rhetoric that touts how guns cause deaths, that guns should be banned, that crime is going up. I find these statements to be rather profound. Profound and also not true. I’ve done a bit of research and found actual statistics based on fact (what a concept). Let me show you.
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| Holster by: Soteria Leather |
Regardless what anti-gun zealots tell you, there is a big correlation of gun ownership and crime rates. The more guns- the less crime. Seriously. In recent reports from 2010 (FBI), it shows a 5.5% decrease in number of reported violent crimes when they compared that to 2009. Even property crimes dropped by 2.9% nationally. Overall, murders have decreased steadily since 2006 from 15,087 to 12,996. Those murders cause by firearms (well, people using firearms) amounted to 67% in 2010 decreasing by 14% since 2006. An interesting FACT here is that while crime has dropped substantially, gun sales have surged. In 2009, FBI background checks increased by 30% over the previous year. (There’s a correlation to some occurrence about that time, just can’t think what that is). Gun sales showed a 40% increase in large retail outlets as well.
This last December, there was a record breaking statistic in gun sales and FBI background checks. There were 1,534,414 inquiries in November of 2011 and with a few days left in December, that record was broken. In just the last 6 days before Christmas, there were almost half a million checks. That’s a lot of background checks. Two days before Christmas, NICS (National Instant Criminal background Check System) ran 102,222 checks, which was the second busiest day in history. It was Black Friday the month before that broke all records with 129,186 searches. The next closest NICS check record was on November 28, 2008, with 98,000 requests. These spikes indicate people feel the need for guns for self-defense, says the NRA. The Brady Campaign (anti-gun) begs to differ. They think less people own guns. I’d like to see their research on this argument. Maybe it’s just something they just feel.
While we continue to fight state by state to keep our Second Amendment rights in tact, there are those states that are becoming even more lenient with their laws. Vermont and Alaska used to be the only 2 states not requiring permits to carry your gun. In the last year, Arizona and Wyoming have amended their laws to allow carry of guns with no permit.
While we continue to fight state by state to keep our Second Amendment rights in tact, there are those states that are becoming even more lenient with their laws. Vermont and Alaska used to be the only 2 states not requiring permits to carry your gun. In the last year, Arizona and Wyoming have amended their laws to allow carry of guns with no permit.
In a recent Angus-Reid Public Opinion Poll, 85% believe the 2nd Amendment of the US Constitution means that individuals have the right to keep and bear arms. Over half (51%) support the idea of allowing citizens to carry concealed weapons if they meet specific criteria laid out in the law. Of that 85% total, the average comes from the 3 different political arms; Democrats at 80%, Republicans at 92% and 86% Independents. With respect to handguns, rifles/shotguns and semi-automatic firearms, 73% think every American who is eligible to own firearms should have access to handguns, 72% access to rifles/shotguns. But, only 30% think those eligible should have access to semi-automatics. Personally, I’ll bet most who think semi-auto should be restricted are those that don’t truly know what a semi-auto firearm is. A semi-auto still only fires a single cartridge each time the trigger is pressed. It “automatically” extracts the spent casing and prepares to fire another. A revolver does not eject the casing, therefore is not a semi-automatic.
Back to the states and their gun laws. As much as the Brady Campaign has tried to twist the facts to fit their agenda, it just ain’t happenin’. In the part of the USA that has the strictest gun laws, crime by far has the highest rate of occurrence. The area having the highest murder rate would be Washington DC. Go figure….. There are 16 murders for every 100,000 people. The next closest is Louisiana at 7.75/100,000. Washington state is 1.38/100,000. We can be thankful for that.
Back to the states and their gun laws. As much as the Brady Campaign has tried to twist the facts to fit their agenda, it just ain’t happenin’. In the part of the USA that has the strictest gun laws, crime by far has the highest rate of occurrence. The area having the highest murder rate would be Washington DC. Go figure….. There are 16 murders for every 100,000 people. The next closest is Louisiana at 7.75/100,000. Washington state is 1.38/100,000. We can be thankful for that.Interesting that guns are used 2.5 million times a year in self-defense. This calculates to about 6,850 times per day. So, consider that this means people use their firearms 80 times more often to protect lives than to take them.
I have to cover the ladies side of this as well. While attending the SHOT show in Vegas (conference for manufacturers of gun and accessories and outdoor gear) this last month, I was keenly aware how the gun industry is catering more and more to women. There were lots of pretty colored guns-pink, orange, sapphire blue, red. Many were smaller (easier for us to hold and maneuver) but still had plenty of firepower for those of us women wishing to carry concealed. The gun industry understands that more women are becoming interested in the 2nd Amendment. They have decided that they have the right (and the duty) to defend and protect themselves and their families as well. They are educating themselves on their firearms and the laws that go with them. (Right On Girlfriends!)
I’ve only covered a small amount of gun information that’s out there. Sorry for all the statistics, but I’m a nerd that way. Either way, it seems clear to me that the statistics back up the facts that there are more gun-totin’ people out there than some wish for you to believe. The more memberships in different gun clubs and foundations, the more concealed carry permits we have collectively will make it harder for the government to disarm their citizenry. We’ll just let them call our bluff.
Stay safe…..and remember….. When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
Read More: http://pnwpatriot.blogspot.com/2012/02/arm-yoursel...
Top Opinion
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TruthExposed 2012/02/12 23:31:41
Life experience changed my outlook. After being a repeat victim of violent crime, the last involving a good pistol whipping, I became desperate with the need to protect myself and my family.
Anyone who denies that there is an orchastrated long term attempt to remove the right to bear arms has obviously not paid attention to the news. Not what is said on TV but the hudreds of bills passed city by city taking away that right.
Then there's that unconstitutional UN treaty that I believe Obama will sign. His record on gun control speaks for itself. If he signs it, Americans should rally to have him removed from our house.
God Bless the NRA for fighting for Americans rights.
the police do not have to come to your , my , our aid in time of need..
that is the law,,, personal protection is a personal responsibility..
police carry a firearm .... to protect them selves..
not you,,, not me ,, not your next door neighbor ,,
the Glock on his / her hip ... is for their own personal protection...it is a tough world out there , and the police officer personal protection is the first thing they think of...
the same reason for my 1911, my safety
When governments fear the people, there is liberty. When people fear the government, there is tyranny. The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.
Thomas Jefferson
That statement will remain forever true.
Or maybe this will be the next red herring issue that the right will lose, since they cant win on National Defense, and it looks like the economy is turning around, it just seems to me that republicans cant win without bringing out the old faithfulls like, abortion, Birth Control, Gays and now Gun laws, wow this is when you know the right is scared, you arent scared are you?
http://www.truth-out.org/bill...
Hey Psst over here, gotta tell you something, guess what they are comming for you, better look under the bed in your closet, those mean gun takers are coming for you. Man grow the hell up.
If you want to take away the guns, then take them away from everyone, police and military included. Then we would just use bows and arrows.
http://www.sodahead.com/unite...
Every time some street thug, gang member, or drunk jerk goes and shoots someone the public screams for gun control, and you can't blame them because their children are being killed. Our political leaders think by taking everyones guns away they can impact that problem, but my thinking is then only the criminals will have guns, because they get them now being illegal, they are already breaking the laws and they are still out there!
So gun control would only work to disarm the innocent people.
Hell if I were a gang member I would be in favor of gun control, lol, less competition, lol!!
What we need is military convoys roaming the streets of the worst neighborhoods, so their people will be safe, and the gangs will eventually leave, or be killed off if the military stays there.
Worked in the middle east while we were there, now it's going back to the old ways because we are gone.
We need to hammer down on gangs and criminals who use guns for violence, because that is what will get our guns taken away, stupid people who don't care about YOUR rights!