Posted on 02/23/2010 4:13:02 AM PST by Kaslin
It is a truism to say that there are many anti-gun ideologues among our educational elites. But few are as honest as Doug Van Gorder – a math teacher at Brockton High School. He admits that he would rather lose a child than exercise his right to defend himself with a gun. In the wake of a recent school shooting, he wrote this in a Letter to the Editor of the Boston Globe:
Some propose overturning laws that made schools gun-free zones even for teachers who may be licensed to securely carry concealed firearms elsewhere. They argue that barring licensed-carry only ensures a defenseless, target-rich environment.Morally speaking, I have no problem with anti-gun ideologues who wish to place themselves in peril by waiving their rights of self-defense. You almost have to respect someone who is willing to die for his beliefs. But when he decides that others should also die for his beliefs the real trouble begins.But as a progressive, I would sooner lay my child to rest than succumb to the belief that the use of a gun for self-defense is somehow not in itself a gun crime.
There are actually a lot of Doug Van Gorders in the world. In fact, there are whole organizations of them. The Brady Campaign for Gun Control is the first that comes to mind.
The Brady Campaign for Gun Control provides a scorecard on how states are doing in regard to gun control legislation. If you don’t have enough gun control laws you get a low score from the Brady bunch. For example, West Virginia receives a score of 4 out of a possible 100. Utah actually scores zero.
Right now, there is a post by a blogger named Don Surber circulating widely around the internet. Don has cleverly compared the homicide rates in some of the states getting low Brady scores with states getting high Brady scores. Consider the following comparison:
*Utah, the state with a zero rating, has only 1.5 homicides per 100,000 citizens. Less than half of those homicides are firearm related.
*California scores the highest according to the Brady report with a whopping 79. But they have 5.83 murders per 100,000, which is a rate nearly four times higher than Utah. Over 2/3 of the homicides in California are firearms related.
I can just hear liberals saying “People in Utah don’t need guns. There’s hardly any murder in their state.” Few probably make the connection between lawful gun ownership and low crime rates. Remember, these are the people who, in the 1990s, said that “despite the low crime rate, prison populations are higher than ever.” Back then they just could not connect the dots and figure out that crime was down because the criminals were locked up.
It all goes back to ideology. Liberals refuse to believe in deterrence theory because to do so admits to the fallen nature of man. To them, man is inherently good, not evil. Moreover, he is perfectible. The liberal is willing to die to preserve his vision of himself and others. And he wants you to die for his vision, too.
Don Surber’s comparison is clever but not dispositive. The data he examines is cross-sectional so its use is limited. What we really want to see is what happens after the laws the Brady Campaign opposes are actually put in effect.
Fortunately, we know the answer when it comes to concealed carry laws. Sixteen peer-reviewed studies show that allowing citizens to lawfully carry reduces violent crime rates. Ten peer-reviewed studies are inconclusive. But there are, to date, no peer-reviewed studies reaching the opposite conclusion; namely that allowing citizens to lawfully carry increases violent crime rates.
Nonetheless, the Brady bunch continues to fight for laws that will cause themselves and others to remain helpless in the face of criminal assault. They would sooner lay your child to rest than succumb to the belief that the use of a gun for self-defense is somehow not in itself a gun crime.
The anti-gun lobby must realize that law abiding citizens need guns in a society that cannot ensure that criminals will not have them. But even if guns could be kept from criminals they would find other means to kill. After all, passengers without guns have flown airplanes into buildings.
The gun control extremist has at least two things in common with the Islamic extremist. He has a willingness to die for his fundamental beliefs. And he has the sanctimony to demand that others go with him.
Ligyrophobia is the name of the phobia related to the fear of loud noises.
While on the surface, it almost seems silly to suggest that a large number of gun control advocates suffer from this phobia, the truth is that a substantial number of them do. In other words, they are opposed to guns *not* because of the bullets, but because they are terrified of the loud, and unexpected noise produced by guns.
A powerful phobia easily overcomes rationality. It also strips away at a person’s self-control, leaving them intellectually and often physically helpless in the face of their uncontrollable terror. A severe phobia is almost like an epileptic seizure.
Phobias also vary, based on the subject of the phobia, and the ability of the neurotic to avoid whatever it is that unnerves them. Those who suffer from claustrophobia, fear of confined spaces, for example, can consciously avoid going into confined spaces; which gives them some degree of control over their fear.
But those who suffer from Ligyrophobia have great difficulty, because they have virtually no control over the situation. When guns are around, there is the *potential* for loud noises. When guns are displayed, they could be fired at any moment. And they could be fired several times.
Unlike other phobias, however, Ligyrophobia is over a moment after it begins. So those that have it, while tied up in knots inside for who knows how long after, are not crippled by it, such as those with claustrophobia.
But it would be a very interesting study to find out what percent of such “Brady people” just have this severe phobia. Of course, distinct from the other phobias others in their group have.
He’s wrong. Police enforce the law; they are not security guards. That means they arrest murderers after they have murdered, they don’t protect. That is up to us as citizens.
And the idea that using a gun in self-defense is a gun crime is as explicit a statement of the Leftist mindset as I’ve ever seen. They really want us to be defenseless.
According to 2 other pro-gun forums I read, that piece was a parody.
A lot of people are turning on to the idea of using the term “Far-Left National Socialist” because it properly frames their ideology with the left’s use of the term ‘Socialist’.
And because they like to always accuse the right of being ‘Nazis’ – just remember, Nazi stood for: National Socialist German Workers Party.
One may not accuse them of being German Workers, but they certainly are Socialists and they are part of a National party, so it fits.
(It also pisses them off, and that’s always a lot of fun)
You can’t call them criminals ... they’re victims of an oppressive society with too few legitimate opportunities for people who want to ... well, take other people’s stuff without paying. Not everyone can work for the government, you know!
"A 75-year-old Israeli professor and Holocaust survivor was killed in the massacre at Virginia Tech on Holocaust Memorial Day, Monday when he leaped between the gunner and his students. According to eye witnesses the heroic action of Liviu Librescu, a lecturer in the Department of Engineering Science and Mechanics, saved the lives of an unknown number of students in his class. Asael Arad, an Israeli Virginia Tech student told Army Radio that 'all the students lived -- because of him,' The Jerusalem Post reported."
I love watching people get suckered by a master parody writer.....
Liberals refuse to believe in deterrence theory because to do so admits to the fallen nature of man. To them, man is inherently good, not evil. Moreover, he is perfectible. The liberal is willing to die to preserve his vision of himself and others. And he wants you to die for his vision, too.These utopians and the go along RINOs have generated our current problems from multiculturalism to incoherent foreign policy as well as deficit and debt. This list is not all inclusive.
This is true. Man is perfectible.
...but only in Christ.
Government is not our savior!
I was referring to that letter exactly. What I googled was OTHER LETTERS WRITTEN IN THE SAME NOME DE PLUME.
Heavy breathers never do get irony.
Mike Adams is usually smart enough to catch it, but I don't expect it of some. Usually the depth of their analysis consists in checking a poster's sign up date, and after that they are in over their heads.
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