An unsigned editorial in today’s Tennessean is all aflutter with emotion and no substance. Regarding the passage by the house of the repeal of the DC gun ban (a symbolic gesture which can’t clear the Senate, at least this term), they write:

The U.S. House of Representatives showed it’s more concerned about political capital than Washington, D.C.’s reputation as a murder capital in the United States with its vote last week lifting the ban on handguns.

Hmm. Murder capital and a near total gun ban at the same time. Now, I don’t really think that correlation equals causation but I think it’s a pretty safe bet that gun laws do not significantly impact crime.

No one can seriously believe this is good policy, but for both parties it seems to be good politics for members of Congress who can campaign back in the safety of their districts as gun advocates while poor Washington residents suffer for their mistake. All of Tennessee’s congressional delegation shamefully voted to lift the ban.

Actually, I seriously can. By dismissing completely that it may be good policy, there is no effort to present the case for it. It’s just dismissed outright.

But the lifting of the ban does much more than put handguns into the hands of Washington residents. The bill puts semiautomatic rifles and other weapons in their hands. The legislation also ends all requirements to register firearms as well as regulations that require owners to unload and lock up their rifles and shotguns.

So, it makes DC like just about every other place in the country where, you know, crime is lower?

It’s not the absence of guns in Washington that has given the city the name of murder capital; it’s the proliferation. Lifting the ban is some kind of cruel joke. But Americans should consider the ultimate irony: Congress is spending billions of dollars to protect itself and the nation’s most important work in Washington from terrorists. The House apparently wants to hand terrorists another weapon.

Actually, it’s got more to do with the socio-economic aspects of DC than gun availability. Obviously, the guns are getting in somehow and criminals are getting them. These laws disarm honest citizens or result in them breaking the law to feel safe.

Posted in uncategorized on October 4th, 2004 by SayUncle | RSS 2.0 |