It is not that Mexico’s draconian gun control laws are the main cause of their deplorable internal security problems.  Drug-financed gangs and widespread governmental corruption have been strangling that nation for years.  The salient point for me as I look at Mexico, is that their strict gun control regulations have done little or nothing to ameliorate their desperate situation.  (See my previous posts under the Category: “Foreign Gun Laws.”)

You could argue that their condition would be worse without gun control, but it is hard to imagine a more serious situation.  Honest, police, military, and public officials are murdered with apparent impunity.  Civilians are killed wholesale by gangs.  Serial killers seem to operate without hindrance, given the number of women who end up dead along the border.

If gun control worked, the gangs would stage demonstrations and sit-ins to settle their rivalries and protest government interference in their illegal activities through attorneys.  Before the new American administration embarks on a policy of strict gun control, they would do well to look again at pobre Mexico.

Def Mech 

P.S. The main Blogivist Server is being worked on this weekend.  See you on the other side, when I will address comments on my post on H.R. 45.

In an Orwellian twist, a person under 18 may only effectively possess a firearm in an act of self-defense, after magically gaining access to the gun in violation of the law, having had no previous legally sanctioned training in the use of firearms.  (This looks a lot like the D.C. gun ban which requires either precognition of a break-in or criminal agreement to a “time out” that allows the gun owner to assemble/unlock a weapon for defensive use.)

One of the problems with registration is that it is often a precursor to confiscation.  It has happened in Britain, Australia, New York, Louisiana, and California, to name a few places where the rich and powerful decided to disarm “The Great Unwashed.”  As Dianne Feinstein wistfully remarked over her real desires regarding the Clinton “Assault Weapons” Ban, “If I could have gotten 51 votes in the Senate of the United States for an outright ban, picking up every one of them, Mr. and Mrs. America, turn them all in, I would have done it.”

Or, as “Conservative” Charles Krauthammer said in a Washington Post article about the Clinton Ban quoted on the site listed immediately above, “…Its only real justification is not to reduce crime but to desensitize the public to the regulation of weapons in preparation for their ultimate confiscation.” 

Probably the most ironic thing about registration schemes is that criminals can evidently not be forced to register or turn in their weapons under such a law.  In Haynes, the courts established that convicted felons, or other “prohibited persons,” who may not own a gun, can not be forced to incriminate themselves through registration.  These ploys only restrict the rights of, and provide inconvenience for, law-abiding citizens.

H.R. 45 requires the licensing of anyone who owns a handgun or semi-auto with a magazine well.  To obtain a five-year license, a citizen must submit a passport photo, and an application with a thumbprint.  Persons desiring a license must pass a test designed by the Attorney General.  (Think Reno Lieutenant Holder!  Ouch!)  The initial application requires a fee now capped at $25.  Of course, the requirements can always be tightened and the fees can be raised.

We might expect any misdemeanor conviction or even traffic offense to become a ban to ownership.  We might also expect psychiatric exams to be required to own an affected weapon.  In some places, gun ownership requires certification by prominent citizens as to the character of the applicant.  Understand!  The rich and powerful will always have recourse to armed force through preferential laws and bodyguards.  

This draconian proposal bans possession of any firearm by a person under 18.  The discrimination against youth all but guarantees the death of the shooting sports and the ownership of guns for self-defense from crime, tyranny and genocide.

The bill imposes increased restrictions and reporting requirements on already heavily-regulated licensed dealers.  It establishes a national registry of affected weapons.

H.R. 45 also makes it a federal crime to fail to report the theft of a firearm within 72 hours.  Understand!  The gun must be locked up to keep it away from anyone under 18.  The police would undoubtedly do detailed investigations of any thefts to see if they could bust the owner for improper storage.

Under this bill, the Attorney General will conduct studies to present to Congress regarding the use of handguns and semi-autos in crime.  We have here the typical Liberal positive feedback loop that goes something like this.  The restrictions don’t reduce crime, therefore, we need more restrictions.  Those restrictions don’t reduce crime, therefore, we need more restrictions.  Those restrictions don’t reduce crime, therefore…  Positive feedback loops are like addictive behavior, shrieking feedback in sound amplification systems, or computer viruses that overload hard drives.  They are ultimately destructive of the very systems that they were originally intended to benefit.

Understand!  Major research surveys of multiple studies (almost 400) done by the Centers for Disease Control, the National Academy of the Sciences and the Swiss-based Small Arms Survey indicate that there is no significant evidence that gun control reduces crime, or that gun ownership causes crime and violence.  (See my posts under the Category: “Research.”)

All in all, H.R. 45 gives the anti-gun organizations that supported Obama and the Democrats much of the substance of their wish lists for the new administration.  H.R. 45 infringes and lays the groundwork for much further infringement of the rights of American Citizens to armed self-defense against crime, tyranny, and genocide recognized by the Second Amendment and numerous state constitutions.  Contact your legislators to oppose this bill!  Tell your friends who value liberty that H.R. 45 jeopardizes their hard-won birthright of freedom!

Def Mech

To Brooke,
Fact One: Capitalization is our friend.
Fact Two: Your school apparently cheated you on spelling and the use of contractions. You may want to consider legal action.
Fact Three: Your other two comments were spam. I deleted them.
Fact Four: Gun control laws don’t keep people safe.

In my post, I was urging gun owners to vote for candidates who support the individual rights of American Citizens to armed self-defense against crime and tyranny. In many cases, that didn’t happen in the 2008 Election. It remains to be seen how much damage will be done to the Second Amendment by the incoming administration and anti-gun rights Democrats in the state legislatures across the country.

Mexico offers what should be a strong cautionary lesson to the U.S. about the dangers of strict gun control. The unfortunate people of Mexico are mired in a deadly swamp of crime, violence and corruption. The rich can afford armed guards. The lower economic classes are merely living targets for the gangland drug lords that turn the streets into rivers of blood.

Yet, in our own country, we continue to hear calls for more and more gun “control.” If gun control worked, Pobre Mexico would be the perfect non-violent society. Gun control advocates promise us safety, but Mexican violence gives the lie to their assurances of bliss in a gun-free America.

Benjamin Franklin aptly said in his Historical Review of Pennsylvania that “They that give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” The coming years will be a stern test of the character of American sports shooters, those who own guns for self-defense, gun collectors, and advocates of individual freedom.

Storm clouds are gathering. May we prove equal to the task of maintaining our birthright of liberty in the face of “nanny state” socialistic paternalism!  Remember Pobre Mexico!

Def Mech

When Moon Pies are outlawed, only outlaws will have moon pies. An assailant in Galesburg, Illinois apparently attacked a mature citizen on 05-23-08 with a plastic bag containing Moon Pies. When will it end? How many laws do we have to pass condemning violence with food items? Maybe if we eliminated all food packaging and only allowed commoners to eat semi-liquid baby food from plastic bags… No, wait! Some evil-minded villain would freeze the bag, creating a deadly club made of ice. Maybe if we took away all the freezers from ordinary citizens… Yeah! That’s it. Then they couldn’t hurt each other or any members of the ruling elite. Nah! They could still throw rocks or pick up a stick to use as a weapon.

We could make them all wear handcuffs outside their houses. That might not work. They could strangle each other with the chains. Strait jackets! Why didn’t we think of this before? If all the commoners are confined to strait jackets… Darn! They could still kick and head butt each other. This whole public safety thing gets so complex!

Sorry about that, but it must be obvious to any thinking individual that human beings have been assaulting and killing each other for tens of thousands or millions of years without the benefit of firearms. Restricting the ability of honest people to defend themselves against criminals and tyrants makes about as much sense as hitting someone with a bag of Moon Pies. There! I said what I had to say, and I’m glad. Glad! Do you hear me? Glad! Bwa Ha Ha!

Def Mech

We all know that prisons are supposed to be weapon-free zones. Crimes are not supposed to happen in prison. The prison environment is theoretically the most controlled and safe living arrangement that society can create. I often think the hard left would like us all to live in prisons watched over by guards of their choosing.

Prisons have metal detectors and incoming items are scanned and searched for contraband. Why then do murders occur when guards can ransack cells and frisk prisoners without warrant or warning?

The answer, of course, is that prisons house criminals, and that criminals commit crimes without society’s permission. Almost anything can be used as a weapon, including ink pens, cars, bar stools and bathtubs. (Imagine what would happen if you tried to get on a commercial airplane flight with a long pair of scissors. No, don’t even think about that!)

Depending on who you ask, serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer was killed in 1994 by another inmate using a broom, or an exercise bar, and a bathroom wall.
Jeffry Dahmer Homepage, http://www.mayhem.net/Crime/death.html
http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/d/Jeffrey%20Dahmer/jeffrey_dahmer.htm
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E07E4DB1330F93AA15752C1A962958…

The facility in question has reportedly banned exercise bars. But what about the deadly broom and the killer bathroom wall?

The obvious lesson of prison murders is that people, not objects commit crimes. Trying to control the means of violence does not address the basic issues of criminal behavior. I believe money and effort spent on gun control would be better used for parenting skills instruction, youth-oriented mental health programs, and life skills training. Long term incarceration of career criminals is valuable, because it segregates sociopaths from the rest of society. At least, in prison, the victims of criminals are generally other criminals.

Depriving honest citizens of their best defense against crime and tyranny in order to prevent criminal violence only disarms potential victims. Career felons don’t need more incentive to commit crimes.