Link Americans Brace for AK-47s Now in Streets Oooo! That sounds bad!
It is one of the most feared weapons that have largely been inaccessible for decades. That has changed recently, as law enforcement authorities in Palm Beach and Martin counties documented deadly incidents involving the new weapon of choice by gangs. . . .
The weapon is believed to be a badge of honour for organized youth gangs. AK-47s still are less readily available than the more traditional weapons used by gangs, but they appear to be the next phase of evolutionary drug turf battles. The illegal drug trade is a multi-billion dollar industry, with most of its acquired revenue secured by mid and upper levels of its hierarchy. The lower rungs of the organizational structure is where gang members are younger, more brazen, much more likely to take aggressive risks and more violent.
Now for some facts. Assault weapons uses in Violent Crime = 0.5% Link U.S. Dept of Justice/F.B.I. Uniform Crime reports 1991; Florida State University Criminologist Gary Kleck estimates that less than 0.5% of all violent crimes involve "assault weapons" See Graph
Assault Weapons recovered in all crime. Which means if they do a drug raid and find a gun in the home etc. Link Assault Weapons Proliferation
Link The CDC study identified 51 studies No study was excludedBATF statistics also show that the percent of assault weapons recovered in crimes dropped from 3.6% in 1995 to 1.2% in 2002.
Link Gun control doesn't reduce crime, violence, say studies -- National Academy of Sciences, Justice Dept. reports find no benefits to restricting ownership of firearmsSummary
During 2000--2002, the Task Force on Community Preventive Services (the Task Force), an independent nonfederal task force, conducted a systematic review of scientific evidence regarding the effectiveness of firearms laws in preventing violence, including violent crimes, suicide, and unintentional injury. The following laws were evaluated: bans on specified firearms (Read Assault Weapons) or ammunition, restrictions on firearm acquisition, waiting periods for firearm acquisition, firearm registration and licensing of firearm owners, "shall issue" concealed weapon carry laws, child access prevention laws, zero tolerance laws for firearms in schools, and combinations of firearms laws. The Task Force found insufficient evidence to determine the effectiveness of any of the firearms laws or combinations of laws reviewed on violent outcomes.
But the solution is, according to the article, we should attack rights of the law-abiding gun owners instead of going after the people who are committing these crimes, namely the Drug Dealers and Gang Members. The Truth is that even if all guns were totally banned, the illegal drug gangs could and would just import their illegal guns in with their illegal drugs, and this time, they would be fully automatic.The Justice Department's interviews also showed so-called "assault weapons" are not a major cause of gun violence.
-------
The next Anti-gun article promises improvement, if we just came to our senses and enact all kinds of gun restrictions. { "Research," it says "law changes could help prevent murder-suicides!"}
Wow! This is a bold statement considering the conclusions of two most exhaustive studies ever done by anti-gun people who HAD to report their findings truthfully because they were being conducted by the government ( Bill Clinton contracted them and authorized them. The 2 studies are linked above.) So who did this miraculous researcher that contradicted some of the best scientific minds on the planet? Oh! Never mind. The Researchers are just the Violence Policy Center. But it is never the less printed as good and factual research.
If this weren't an article calling for more Gun Control the reporters who reprint the Gun Controllers lies would be fired on the spot, and the paper would NEVER in a million years run such dribble.
Link Research, law changes could help prevent murder-suicides
Coincidently, last week the Violence Policy Center distributed a report, "American Roulette: Murder-Suicide in the United States." In the first half of 2005, 591 deaths were associated with 264 suicides in the United States, the center reported. Ten of the deaths and five of the suicides were in Iowa. Nationally, most of the homicide victims were females (78 percent), while most of the suicides were males (94 percent).
The Violence Policy Center makes several suggestions for reducing the incidence of murder-suicides:
* Set up a better system of national data collection, to learn more about the perpetrators and victims, the lethal means used and the nature of the location, most often homes.
* Adopt stronger domestic-violence legislation and adhere to the federal law requiring that weapons be removed from homes of domestic abusers. A state law reinforcing the federal law would strengthen the hand of local law enforcement in carrying out the removal of weapons.
* Treat depression across the life span. Screening with parental consent and student assent in schools and workplaces is an important step, but requires a strengthened mental-health system to be fully effective.
* Increase attention to the means. Ninety-two percent of murder-suicide cases involved a firearm. More effective for family safety is to remove guns from the home altogether. More owners need to take steps to ensure guns are less accessible, especially to youth.
The steps outlined above could help prevent the repetition of tragedies like those in Gruver, Armstrong, Oskaloosa, Davenport, Le Mars and in many other communities across Iowa.
Time for the facts!
Link Note all of the gun controlled countries with higher suicide rates than ours.
Country Year Total Suicide
Estonia -- 1994 = 40.95
Hungary-- 1994 = 35.38
Slovenia -- 1994 = 31.16
Finland1 -- 1994 = 27.26
Denmark -- 1993 = 22.13
Austria -- 1994 = 22.12
Switzerland2 -- 1994 = 21.28
France -- 1994 = 20.79
Belgium -- 1990 = 19.04
Japan -- 1994 = 16.72
Sweden -- 1993 = 15.75
Germany4 -- 1994 = 15.64
Portugal -- 1994 = 14.83
Singapore -- 1994 = 14.06
Norway -- 1993 = 13.64
Canada -- 1992 = 13.19
Mauritius -- 1993 = 12.98
New Zealand -- 1993 = 12.81
Australia -- 1994 = 12.65
Scotland -- 1994 = 12.16
United States -- 1993 = 12.06
Hong Kong -- 1993 = 10.29
Netherlands -- 1994 = 10.1
Ireland -- 1991 = 9.81
South Korea -- 1994 = 9.48