A visit from an old friend…

So, how’s that board position with Ceasefire PA working out for you?

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New York City Loses Suit

A Federal appeals court judge today told the city of New York to go screw itself.

Gee, that must smart!

Firearms Industry Wins Appeal in NYC;
Lawsuit Against Gun Makers to be Dismissed

NEWTOWN, Conn. — Today, a Manhattan-based federal appeals court ordered the dismissal of a lawsuit filed against firearms manufacturers by the City of New York that sought to hold the manufacturers responsible for the criminal misuse of firearms.

Judge Robert J. Miner, writing for the U.S. Court of Appeals, held the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act, enacted in 2005, is constitutional and that Brooklyn, NY, federal court judge Jack B. Weinstein misinterpreted the law by not dismissing the case.…

(h/t) Call Me Ahab

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Terminal Ballistics as Viewed in a Morgue

I just read a very interesting piece on the subject from the point of view of a Coroner. It’s taken from a message board where he was answering questions posed by the members. It’s very interesting, but if you don’t want to read it all, here’s the summary:

“Bigger is better than small with an exception made for the 125 gn .357 Magnum. Shotgun, Rifle and then Pistol. Speer Gold Dot Hollow Points.”

One of the benefits of working in a morgue is that I get to see what works and what doesn’t. Ballistic gelatin is good as far as it goes, but there’s nothing like seeing what a bullet actually does once it strikes bone, flesh, and organs. Suffice it to say, it doesn’t always mimic ballistic gelatin.

The other is that I get to hear some great CCW stories. Here’s one of them…

Click here to read it all.

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Fear of the Law

Do you fear the cops? Apparently they want you to - at least the ones in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Massachusetts Police Get Black Uniforms to Instill Sense of ‘Fear’

SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — Springfield’s men in black are returning.

The city’s new police commissioner, William Fitchet, says members of the department’s Street Crime Unit will again don black, military-style uniforms as part of his strategy to deal with youth violence.

Fitchet’s predecessor, Edward Flynn, had ditched the black attire as part of an effort to soften the image of the unit. Flynn left Springfield in January to become the police chief in Milwaukee.

Sgt. John Delaney told a city council hearing Wednesday that the stark uniforms send a message to criminals that officers are serious about making arrests.

Delaney said a sense of “fear” has been missing for the past few years.

So it’s no longer about protecting and serving, now you want us to fear you too? Is this really the best image/message they could be sending? The Only One in the news story claims they’re targeting criminals, but I don’t buy that. Don’t criminals already fear the law? The only ones this is going to instill a sense of fear in is the public, and the message is clear.

*sigh*

I’ll post some later, it’s almost Hog Feeding Time.

(h/t) Sharp as a Marble

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Just for fun!

Here’s a picture of Al Gore in Vietnam looking down the barrel of his M16. In fairness, the magazine is out and the bolt is probably back, but it’s still funny.

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New Poll

There’s a new poll up. I’m interested in finding out what national pro-rights organization you belong to. You may select as many as apply. If I forgot one, let me know in comments.

Thanks!

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Firearm Ownership vs. Murder Rate

That last post got me to thinking about what the gun ownership in the states listed meant in regards to the murder rate. So I did some research. What I found intrigued me. The internet really is a great tool, just like a good 1911 in .45 ACP.

Below is the rough data followed by some graphs. The Brady Score is from last year while the gun ownership, and murder rate per 100,000 figures are both from 2001.

Here are my sources:

BRFSS (via The Washington Post)
FBI UCR (prepared by The Disaster Center)

Here’s the raw data:

State          Brady Score  Gun Ownership  Homocide Rate
                            %              (per 100,000)

Kentucky        2           47.7            4.4
Oklahoma        2           42.9            5.3
Alaska          4           57.8            6.2
Louisiana       4           44.1           11.2
Missouri        4           41.7            6.6
North Dakota    4           50.7            1.1
Utah            4           43.9            2.9
Mississippi     5           55.3            9.9
Arizona         6           31.1            7.5
Arkansas        6           55.3            5.5
Idaho           6           55.3            2.3
New Mexico      6           34.8            5.4
South Dakota    6           56.6             .9
West Virginia   6           55.4            2.2
Kansas          7           42.1            3.4
Tennessee       7           43.9            7.4
Florida         8           24.5            5.3
Indiana         8           39.1            6.7
Montana         8           57.7            3.8
Georgia         9           40.3            7.1
Texas           9           35.9            6.2
Vermont         9           42.0            1.1
Nebraska       10           38.6            2.5
Minnesota      11           41.7            2.4
Nevada         11           33.8            8.6
New Hampshire  11           30.0            1.3
South Carolina 11           42.3            8.1
Wyoming        11           59.7            1.8
Maine          12           40.5            1.5
Wisconsin      12           44.4            3.6
Ohio           13           32.4            4.0
Alabama        15           51.7            8.5
Connecticut    15           16.7            3.1
Colorado       16           34.7            3.6
Iowa           16           42.8            1.7
Oregon         18           39.8            2.4
Virginia       18           35.1            5.1
Washington     18           33.1            3.0
North Carolina 20           41.3            6.2
Deleware       22           25.5            2.9
Michigan       22           38.4            6.7
Pennsylvania   26           34.7            5.3
Illinois       28           20.2           10.0
Hawaii         43            8.7            2.6
Rhode Island   47           12.8            3.7
New York       51           18.0            5.0
Maryland       53           21.3            8.3
Massachusetts  54           12.6            2.2
New Jersey     63           12.3            3.9
California     79           21.3            6.4
The District    *            3.8           40.3

Here’s a chart showing the relationship between gun ownership and the murder rate. The data was sorted by murder rate and the gun ownership rate was divided by 10 to make the graph easier to read. Note, while the murder rate climbs, the gun ownership rate is all over the place.

Here is the inverse of the first graph. Note how as the gun ownership numbers rise, the murder rate is all over the place.

What does this mean? Well, with the notable exception of Washington D.C. (where exceptionally low gun ownership is paired with an astronomical murder rate), gun ownership and the murder rate have virtually nothing to do with each other. This means that attempts by certain groups to draw parallels between gun ownership and high crime are based in nothing but pure imagination and wishful thinking.

It is not necessary to prove a reduction in crime (I focused on the murder rate alone) to argue the case for the pro-rights side, only that gun ownership had nothing to do with increasing it. From the numbers above, there is no doubt in my mind this is the case.

Interesting.

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The Best States for Gun Owners

Here is a listing of the best states for gun owners to live in, ranked in order of best to worst (as in golf, a smaller score is better). The list is based on the total score only. I stole this data from the Brady Bunch and it reflects the inverse of their rankings (PDF) for 2007. Hey, who’d have thunk it? It turns out they’re good for something after all.

With the exception of Wyoming and Montana not being on the top of the list, there’s no real surprises here. And as I expected, California is dead last.

State          Score

Kentucky        2
Oklahoma        2
Alaska          4
Louisiana       4
Missouri        4
North Dakota    4
Utah            4
Mississippi     5
Arizona         6
Arkansas        6
Idaho           6
New Mexico      6
South Dakota    6
West Virginia   6
Kansas          7
Tennessee       7
Florida         8
Indiana         8
Montana         8
Georgia         9
Texas           9
Vermont         9
Nebraska       10
Minnesota      11
Nevada         11
New Hampshire  11
South Carolina 11
Wyoming        11
Maine          12
Wisconsin      12
Ohio           13
Alabama        15
Connecticut    15
Colorado       16
Iowa           16
Oregon         18
Virginia       18
Washington     18
North Carolina 20
Deleware       22
Michigan       22
Pennsylvania   26
Illinois       28
Hawaii         43
Rhode Island   47
New York       51
Maryland       53
Massachusetts  54
New Jersey     63
California     79

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Feel the Evil!

Looks like Robb over at Sharp as a Marble has become significantly more evil recently with the addition of a shiny new EBR (Evil Black Rifle) here, cradled by an EOC (Evil Orange Chair). Here’s a cute shot of one of his daughters modeling the new arrival.

Be careful Robb, she’s gonna want one of her one one of these days! Perhaps something like this?

Congratulations Robb, I hope to soon join the ranks of the EBR owners. We’ll see…

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Media Bias Strikes Again

Yet another biased article, this time from ABC News.

Virginia Tech Gun Dealer Offers Student Discount

Dealer Says Campuses Safer If Students Can Protect Themselves

By MADDY SAUER

The owner of an Internet-based firearms store that sold a gun to Virginia Tech shooter Seung-Hui Cho says he is now offering a discount for students who want to carry guns on campus to protect themselves. The company, TGSCOM Inc., also sold two 9mm Glock magazines to Steven Kazmierczak, who killed five people at Northern Illinois University earlier this year.

The owner of TGSCOM, Eric Thompson, announced today that for the next two weeks he will sell firearms at cost in the hopes of targeting students who may be on a tight budget. Customers will have over 5,400 different kinds of firearms from which to choose.

“This offer allows students and people who might not have otherwise been able to afford a weapon to purchase one at a hefty discount and at a significant expense to myself,” Thompson told ABCNews.com.

A spokesperson for Virginia Tech said that Thompson’s remarks and offer are “incredibly insensitive to the families of the victims who lost loved ones, and to the injured students still recovering from this horrendous tragedy,” said Larry Hincker, the Associate Vice President for University Relations.

You know what’s really insensitive and offensive Larry, is your continuing insistence that your students remain defenseless even after what transpired on your Utopian campus. Geez, what a bozo.

Gun control advocates also call Thompson’s special offer “shameless”.

“He’s arming the criminals and then telling the rest of us to buy guns so we can protect ourselves from the criminals he’s armed,” said Peter Hamm, communications director for the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence.

While gun control advocates acknowledge that Thompson has a right to make this offer, they say this is yet another example of the gun industry trying to profit from gun violence.

“What this shows is that to the gun industry, gun violence is at best an abstract concept and at worst a business opportunity,” said Josh Sugarmann, the Executive Director of the Violence Policy Center.

“No matter how these products are used against citizens, the answer is always more guns when in fact these problems stem from the fact that there are too many guns out there already,” Sugarmann told ABCNews.com.

He’s arming the criminals? Sure he is Petey. I don’t think many criminals are buying guns from a legitimate business owner who is required by law to do a background check on his customers, and then ships them to a local FFL for pickup. Petey, you’re lying out your ass and you know it. You too Josh. First of all, how is him selling the sidearms at cost making a profit? Apparently Josh is also under the delusion criminals buy their guns from honest business owners. Why do the anti-rights people feel the need to lie to try and make their point? Could it be they know they don’t have a leg to stand on? I’ve been told that if one lies enough, they actually begin to believe the lie, instead of the truth.

There’s more, but it’s basically a rehash of the same anti-rights talking points. They give Thompson a token paragraph or two, but bash him in the end with a sound bite from Petey Hamm and anti-rights bigot Larry Hincker.

Go read, if you have the stomach for it.

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