Fear factor

And this in Massachusetts, the safest place on earth because it has the toughest gun laws in the country. Boston is rapidly becoming a mirror of London, and for the same reason.When the law-abiding citizens cannot obtain the means for self protection because the legislators are idiots, then only the predators (and police) will have arms. The whole thing is so predictable, it almost hurts. TS, Massachusetts.

And hot on the heels of the above, comes this little piece:

House votes to amend landmark law, expand gun rights

By Jennifer Peter, Associated Press, 7/10/2002 18:43

BOSTON (AP) Citizens convicted of most violent misdemeanors could regain their right to carry concealed weapons under a House bill approved Wednesday amending the state's landmark 1998 gun control law.

The House adopted the change, 114-32, after a heated debate fueled by a recent spate of shooting crimes, including the death of a 10-year-old girl in Boston last week.

''I would stand here in opposition to any legislation that would seek to increase access to more handguns by those who would use them illegally,'' Rep. Marie St. Fleur, D-Boston, said. ''We're opening the door for everyone.''

Champions of the bill argued, however, that the 1998 law unfairly bars sportsmen who made youthful mistakes from hunting in Massachusetts by too broadly defining ''violent'' crime.

Under the existing gun control law, widely lauded as the nation's toughest, people convicted of violent crimes including violent misdemeanors such as simple assault and minor drug crimes cannot apply for a license to carry a hand gun or assault weapon.

''Someone driving unlicensed or uninsured would be ... excluded right along with the ax murderers,'' said Rep. James Fagan, D-Taunton.

The House bill would allow people convicted of violent misdemeanors except for domestic assault on a family member to apply to the local police chief for a gun license seven years after completion of the sentence.

Police chiefs could still reject the request, the bill's supporters noted.

''This addresses an issue that separates those who made one mistake and those who have had more serious problems and should not have access to guns,'' said Rep. Timothy Toomey, D-Cambridge, who sponsored the bill. Opponents unsuccessfully tried to amend the bill to give those convicted of violent misdemeanors the right to hunt, but not to carry a concealed handgun or assault weapon.

Ten-year-old Trina Persad died on July 1 after being hit in the head with a shotgun blast allegedly aimed at gang members in a park in the city's Roxbury neighborhood. It was Boston's 26th murder of the year. In Brockton, five homicides have been reported in the last six weeks, including a series of four violent attacks last week in which two people died.

The Gun Owners Action League has blamed the crime increase on the weak economy, not access to guns.

Gun control advocate Jerry Belair argues, however, that ''if we're going to combat gun violence in Massachusetts, the idea is not to give violent offenders their guns back.''

The 1998 Gun Control Act also came under scrutiny Wednesday in a report released Wednesday by the House Post Audit and Oversight Committee.

It found that a key provision of the landmark law requiring fines of up to $5,000 for anyone with an unlicensed gun is unenforceable.

The regulation was designed to tighten restrictions on two types of gun licenses that allow the purchase and possession of guns in Massachusetts.

Before the 1998 law, Firearms Identification Cards, which permit the purchase and possession of rifles and shotguns, were issued for life. Under the new law, the cards must be renewed every four years.

The law also tightened restrictions on so-called Licenses to Carry, which allow the purchase and possession of handguns and large capacity firearms. Under the law, those licenses also expire after four years.

I find it so hard to reconcile the fact with Harvard and MIT, there are so many smart people in the Boston area (and they'll certainly tell you that they're smart), and yet they're so STOOPID about firearm prohibition. It's hard to believe that the American revolution started in this same area with Lexington and Concord.

So what to do? Officials are reviving their practice of pushing tougher federal statutes against gun users.

You do something, and a problem follows. How to correct the problem? Do more of what caused it.

You are what you elect to office. These citizens living in fear have themselves to thank. The solution is to arm yourselves and throw these bums out before it is too late. Maybe it is already too late.

List of States I will never live in until gun laws are changed for the better:

California

New York

New Jersey

Massachusetts

District of Columbia