Lando 
Posted on 03/11/2005 12:06:32 PM PST by Lando Lincoln
For those who thought the assault weapons ban was history, listen up. The gun banners had a taste of victory for ten years. They had stolen power from the people, and it was a rush. When the ban faded into the sunset last fall, there was a general wailing and gnashing of teeth among those who thought the end was near for civilian firearms’ ownership. Like addicts suddenly cut off from their favorite drug, withdrawal set in, along with an overwhelming desire for revenge on those they mistakenly hold to be accountable for their suffering. They are waiting for any opportunity, and when there is a mass murder using a firearm, the misinformation machine—dormant but not dismantled—will swing back into high gear.
Two recent shootings were the ignition key for the Violence Policy Center public relations machine. Their home page recently declared:
A shooter armed with an AK-47 assault rifle killed three and wounded four, including three law enforcement officers, in Tyler, Texas on Thursday, February 24, 2005. On the same day, a Los Angeles city worker allegedly shot two co-workers, also with an AK-47. Both incidents starkly demonstrate the urgent need for a comprehensive nationwide ban on assault weapons such as the AK-47 assault rifles the shooters wielded.
What’s wrong with their statement?
The Texas shooter killed two people, not three, but three is 50% more dramatic and sounds more like a mass murder. The third person “killed” was the shooter, shot by police after a chase. VPC does not mention that the second person killed was an armed citizen who attempted to stop the shooter. VPC does not credit the armed citizen with halting the shooting and saving at least one life, since nearby police were shot first, a strategy intended to clear the battlefield of trained resistance forces. VPC does not mention that the shooter had a criminal history, and therefore it was already against the law for him to own any firearm.
The LA shooting was the result of an argument in which an employee was reprimanded by his supervisor for coming to work late. The shooter went home, retrieved an AK-47, and returned to commit premeditated murder, which could have been accomplished by any means. VPC ignores the fact that the AK-47 has been banned from all commerce in California since 1989, with any owned before 1989 requiring registration. But we’ll give VPC a partial point and accept that the shooter has legally owned an AK-47 for at least 15 years.
Nevertheless, VPC wants to ban a gun that is already banned, naively believing this will stymie criminals. The clear evidence from Texas, posted in the VPC’s own press release, makes this a pipe dream. In a recent national survey, 96.5% of all police and sheriffs answered “Yes” when asked “Do you maintain that criminals currently are able to obtain basically any type of firearm by illegal means?”
Demeaning the Sacrifice of a Good Man
“Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” – John 15:13
Who was this person whom Violence Policy Center wishes revised out of history in their haste to twist the truth to fit their agenda? Mark Wilson gave his life protecting others. Here is what others say about him:
We are so proud of our friend. We know Mark saved this young man's life by doing what he did. – Lorraine Childress, witness
With his knowledge of weapons, he would have immediately known it was gunfire and taken action. That's just Mark. He was always looking out for others. – Deborah O’Sullivan, wife of Wilson’s landlord
Wilson could be found sitting on the back deck of his loft cooking burgers and hot dogs on weekends, offering them to anyone who passed by. – related by Bob Cox, neighbor
About three years ago, Wilson went to work at Sealtite…Wilson started out as a carpenter refurbishing and building new office space, but his intensity and intelligence impressed his bosses so much that they eventually made him an assistant to the operations manager… “Man, I don't know what we ever did without the guy…” – related by Joedy Hargis, vice president of Sealtite
Conclusion
In the tradition of supermarket tabloids, VPC demonstrates great skill in combining tiny snippets of information with huge omissions of truth to sell a low-quality, titillating product to the gullible masses. Gun confiscation has been shown time and again, in many parts of the world, to have no significant impact on reducing crime.
Courage. Honor. Service unto others. Attributes Mark Wilson deeply understood; attributes irrelevant in VPC’s view of reality. Are they the type of people you want influencing political and social policies that will impact your civil rights, and quite possibly your right to life? They will win only if you let them.
Endnotes
[1] VPC News for February 26, 2005, Violence Policy Center home page.
http://www.vpc.org/
GUNMAN KILLS 2, WOUNDS 4 IN SHOOTING ON SQUARE, KENNETH DEAN, MARK COLLETTE & JACQUE HILBURN, Tyler Morning Telegraph, February 24, 2005. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=14032843&BRD=1994&PAG=461&dept_id=226369&rfi=6
Factory worker killed saving a man in Texas town square firefight, Max B. Baker, Bill Hanna, Kansas City Star, February 25, 2005.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/10994229.htm
Authorities say Texas shooter should never have obtained rifle, Jack Douglas, Jr., Bill Hanna, Max B. Baker, Kansas City Star, February 25, 2005.
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/10995968.htm
Gunned Downed, Grief Stricken Family Speaks Out, ABC 7 News, February 25, 2005.
http://abclocal.go.com/kabc/news/022505_nw_two_shoot_update.html
California Penal Code Section 12275-12277, Findlaw for Legal Professionals.
http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cacodes/pen/12275-12277.html
16th Annual National Survey Results of Police Chiefs & Sheriffs, National Association of Chiefs of Police, 2004. http://www.aphf.org/surveyresults.pdf
See 3.
About the Writer: Howard Nemerov is a Bay Area freelance writer who has a special interest in the preservation of the Second Amendment. Howard receives e-mail at hnemerov@netvista.net.
Lando
Why don't we just ban liberals. I guarantee you the crime rate would be cut in half in one year.
I say we get the full auto ban lifted. The business end of an M-60 sticking from my cupola would be quite the fashionable statement in my neighborhood.
Most people just get a dog. It's cheaper to feed. ;-)
I doubt that either of these two incidents involved a AK-47, which is a full automatic weapon and reqiures a special licences to possess sinc 1934.
BS news reporting !
Lando
BTTT
You gotta point there.
Thanks for the ping...and a bttt!
BTTT
VPC sucks.
In which case, it's not an AK-47, but a WASR-10 or other designation. It's not an AK-47 anymore than an semi-auto AR is an M16.
bump
LOL! I remember seeing that here about 4 years ago... Scary stuff. It must really make them pee their pants!
Does the VPC have any idea who you are and what you write about?
Maybe my monitor's crap, but I can't make out the caption. What's the history behind the picture?
Is that really you? BTW I just finished reading Enemies again...I need to read it and a few other books yearly to remember all the useful info. Also, my son's 9th grade English teacher wants to read it! I sort of raised my eyebrows, but he told me "Dad, she buys ammo by the case."
These are the people who write script for such firearms bigots as Diane Feinstein, Chuckie Schumer, and Dave Bonier. They have direct conduits to sympathetic media such as the NY Times, LA Times, Washington Post, Boston Globe, and Chicago Tribune. A press release from VPC makes its way to those newspapers' pages in minutes, not days.
Lando
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