Do we Need more gun legislation? Will it prevent more crime?

In the wake of a fatal shooting at a San Ramon Jewelry store,
I began to ponder the ongoing moral and certainly political debate regarding
hand gun control legislation.

An assailant was shot on May 30th when he and
three other would be robbers entered the store and brandished a gun. The owner,
protecting himself, his wife, and an employee picked up his firearm, fired one
shot striking the criminal holding the gun who staggered out into the middle of
San Ramon Valley Blvd and collapsed. The three other assailants fled the scene.
The injured man was taken to a nearby hospital where he passed away. He was
only 18 years old.

The majority of the media likes to portray the Democrats as
proponents for more gun control legislation and the Republicans as gun fetishists.
What needs to be realized is there is a large difference between the number of
crimes being committed by non-registered guns vs by responsible and properly
registered gun owners.

In the April 2012 issue of Time magazine there’s an article
by Joe Klein entitled: “Triumph of the Gun Fetishists; The GOP is obsessed with
the right to bear arms. And the Democrats have just given up”. Cute title! In
his opening paragraph, Mr. Klein quotes President Obama as saying “that if he’d
had a son he probably would have looked like Trayvon Martin”.  With all the media coverage regarding this
case I don’t believe it needs further description except to say that a young
man was shot and killed by a neighborhood watchman who carried a registered
gun. Mr. Klein coupled this story with then Presidential hopeful Rick Santorum’s
visit to Louisiana where he was target practicing a semi-automatic pistol and a
woman called out, “Pretend it’s Obama.” Santorum, who was wearing ear
protection at the time, claimed he didn’t hear the remark but said it was a
horrible and terrible thing to say once he was told about it. 

Klein also stated that Obama has “embraced Radical Islamic
Groups” with a constant barrage of Predator-Drone strikes and special
operations. He continued with ”Republican Loser Candidates: they are desperate
men playing on the ignorance and racist bigotry of their audiences”.

Klein further reports that the Democrats are not completely
blameless. He says that many Democrats including the President have given up on
fighting for sane gun laws. Klein states that right now the NRA is on the cusp
of another “bloody triumph”. The so called Right To Carry Reciprocity Act which
could force states like New York and California to respect the “right of
citizens from the fever swamps of Florida to tote their weapons around Times
Square or Downtown Los Angeles”. The bill passed the House, according to Klein,
with lots of Democratic support, in what he called a disgracefully easy 272-154
vote.

The NRA publication tells the story of people like Willie
White, 75, watching a basketball game replay at about 1:15 am, when he heard a
steady banging at his door. White said, “I was nervous-I figured if someone is
hostile enough to kick your door down, he’s capable of anything. So once he came
into the house I shot him.” The intruder sustained a single gunshot wound which
proved fatal. His two accomplices fled the scene.

Sound familiar? The Second Amendment States: A well-regulated
militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the
people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed. Of course this was written
into the constitution by Thomas Jefferson. The question is whether more
restrictions placed on this amendment will prevent crime?

After visiting several websites the consensus is that crimes
committed with legally purchased firearms is extremely low…well into the single
digit percentages. On the other hand, 80% of inmates who’ve committed a crime
with a gun were not legally able to purchase the weapon.

Further restrictions on legal gun ownership will not thwart
illegal gun purchasing or crime. Citizens who abide by the law should be
allowed to protect their family and property as guaranteed by the
Constitution’s Second Amendment.

Happy Independence Day.

MJC