Crime soared with Mass. gun law

bostonglobe ^ | FEBRUARY 17, 2013 | Jeff Jacoby

[i_robot73]

>
The 1998 legislation did cut down, quite sharply, on the legal use of guns in Massachusetts. Within four years, the number of active gun licenses in the state had plummeted. “There were nearly 1.5 million active gun licenses in Massachusetts in 1998,” the AP reported. “In June [2002], that number was down to just 200,000.” The author of the law, state Senator Cheryl Jacques, was pleased that the Bay State’s stiff new restrictions had made it possible to “weed out the clutter.”
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I would love to see the #’s of into vs. out-of residents during this time as well.

IOW: Did the gun ‘laws’ drive out the gun-owners?

[i_robot73]

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Later they have many reasons and explanations as to why the “SOLVED” problem has gotten worse. Naturally there are many reasons for the failure, but “THEY TRIED to DO SOMETHING!”
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True, but too few, if any, are penalized, in any way/shape/matter/form, for having ‘done something’ that made things worse. And, ‘voted out of office’ (w/ all the bennies still intact) really isn’t a *deterrent*.

[i_robot73]

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Menino is currently dead and not actively rationalizing anything.
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Well, maybe, “How did I get (down) *HERE*?”

[Robert357]

An oldie, but bump for reference

[Vermont Lt]

In Mass the Attorney general has unique power in that she can, at will, declare specific guns to be unauthorized in the state. There is no review or appeal.

She waves a magic wand and all of the AR-15s on the shelves become illegal.

Our legislature and RINO governor walk in lockstep behind this Social Justice Warrior and her coven-mate Lizzy Warren.

[Vermont Lt]

Probably not.

The gun laws have been pretty restrictive here for years. Along with that, the tax situation has been progressively bad as well. However, there are mechanisms where over spending can be limited.

If I were considering moving out of MA, the gun laws wherever I was moving to would be better.

[trebb]

And the leftist answer to the fact that crime soars when guns are restricted is - imagine how bad it would be if we didn’t restrict the People from defending themselves...

[Mears]

“Menino is currently dead and not actively rationalizing anything.”

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Menino didn’t rationalize anything even when he was alive———dumber than a rock.

.

[ClearCase_guy]

But he hid it pretty well by mostly just mumbling.

[Ancesthntr]

"IN 1998, Massachusetts passed what was hailed as the toughest gun-control legislation in the country. Among other stringencies, it banned semiautomatic “assault” weapons, imposed strict new licensing rules, prohibited anyone convicted of a violent crime or drug trafficking from ever carrying or owning a gun, and enacted severe penalties for storing guns unlocked."

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Samuel Whittemore is spinning in his grave, likely at speeds exceeding 10,000 RPM.

...and some (colorful) background:

http://www.badassoftheweek.com/whittemore.html

[vette6387]

““Massachusetts probably has the toughest laws on the books, but what happens is people go across borders and buy guns and bring them into our state,” rationalizes Boston Mayor Tom Menino. “Guns have no borders.””

Like the states that border MA are simply “the wild west” when it comes to their gun laws.