Chicago: Proof Of Gun Control's Effectiveness

It's impossible to legally possess a handgun in Chicago. And despite this, last weekend 32 people were shot and 6 died from gun wounds. How is this possible?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/04/21/chicago.shootings.ap/index.html

I find this article impossible to beleive. I mean, if gun control works, and clearly disarming the law abiding citizenry must, there shouldn't have been a single shooting last weekend, much less over 30.

You're LYING! Guns are banned. That couldn't have happen.

Yes, I saw this on report TV. They showed Jesse Jackson (from an earlier gun situation) complaining that more needs to be done to control guns.

Hey Jesse - you didn't finish your sentence....you forgot to add "in the ghetto" at the end of the statement about controlling guns.

Any bets the shooters don't have fathers? Fuck gun control - how about birth control?

I used to visit Chicago quite often as a kid (since I lived nearby).
Many areas are a typical urban, dangerous shithole, which gets worse by the minute. It's going to be an interesting summer.

BTW Oprah lives there....any bets none of the shooters are from her neighborhood? Right, I forgot....she lives on the Gold Coast!

A few points:

1) "There are just too many weapons here. Too many guns, too many gangs." You might want to focus on that part I emphasized for you, Jody. They don't go away with the guns or else your decades-old HANDGUN ban would've done the trick.

2) Obviously, a wider ban is needed since there's no way--NO WAY--the city's ban could be ineffective, the weapons are coming from somewhere else. Strangely, that "somewhere else" doesn't seem to have Chicago's gang or violent crime problems.

3) There must be some statistical anamoly here. The data indicate an increasing number of shootings each year, but this cannot be the case: Chicago has a handgun ban that prevents crime. Could it be that gun control is a cheap smokescreen that failing city officials can throw up when the gangbangers are overrunning their city? Naaaaaaaah....

If we were going to pretend to be objective, we would note that banning handguns isn't banning all kinds of guns.

From the article, at least some of these shootings were put forth by guns that aren't handguns.

Also, we would realize that there could be anamolous shootings even if the handgun ban was working. The proof of its working -- or not -- would be if gun crime decreased from the period before the ban to now.

Assuming the reporter is even correct, the AK-47 is a Class III restricted weapon and one has to have a licence to own one and are governed by the NFA of 1934 and the Gun Control Act of 1968. Now, given that it is nearly impossible for someone to A) get licenced these days and B) afford a Class III weapon and that C) since 1934 there have been exactly two instnaces of someone with a Class III licence committing a crime and both times it was a cop, I'm guessing a real, honest-to-God AK-47 wasn't used. An AK clone, maybe, but a real AK-47? Not a chance.

Don't forget the "Firearm Owner's Protection Act of 1986" ( ) banning the sale of all new fully-automatic weapons to civilians.

The FOPA would have been fine if that cocksucker Hughes didn't jam the amendment down our throats in the dead of night.

I hope he gets cancer, the traitor.

All guns must be banned, because of the one thing that all of you right-wing whacko gun nuts seem to forget.

Not unlike the hats in the Looney Tunes episode Bug's Bonnets (1956), guns have an irresistible spirit once they find their way into the hands of people. It's like demonic possession, and it is this that is the true danger of guns.

You see, people are powerless against the overwhelming will, or "mojo" if you will, of a firearm, and cannot help but commit violence against their fellow man, not to mention all of those cute little furry animals with big brown eyes that wish nothing more than to romp and play in the forests and afield.

It is the will of the firearm that is to be feared. If they could, they'd raise up and fire themselves, but like demons loosed upon the earth by His Infernal Lord Lucifer himself, they set upon unsuspecting humans, insinuating their evil into every breath, every thought, every impulse.

It is this reason alone why the right to own and possess firearms is a right that needs to be taken away.

Once firearms are totally prohibited and outlawed, there will be peace amongst all of the nations of the world, and all races and social classes will live in harmony, and we will be free of violence and murder for all eternity.






Now...if you'll excuse me.....the meds cart is about to come by.

Gang violence? In Obamaland? Say it isn't so!

Goodness. If Illinois isn't a beacon of hope and change with the leadership of Saint Barack, and if anything is more corrupt than ever, what could that mean?

It's all George Bush's fault!

How dare you take the name of Obama in vain. You will be smitten!

I rebuke thee, flame-haired succubus.....the power of Obama compels you, the power of Obama compels you...


oh, hey...are the little blue ones valiums?

Want to get rid of the majority of gangs?

Legalize all drugs and watch as they drop in price to unsustainable levels for gangs to operate their cash flows.

When you can't get bling by selling drugs for the money then whats the point of being in a gang?

Yes, the one kind of gun mentioned in the article isn't a banned hand gun, it's a banned assault weapon.

There is no indication that any weapon in the article was legally possessed.

It may be the case, but the article didn't mention it if that was true.

So, lets see, a city that banned guns surrounded by states and cities where they are readily available. Black market anyone?

I don't think it's even well-organized enough to dignify it with the name black market. Just bad guys selling stolen guns to each other.

I'm sure the gangbanging thugs probably outsource their gun buying from the pros.....The Mafia!

Whatever one thinks about gun control in the abstract, the American patchwork of localized restrictions and bans on sales is particularly silly.

Preaching to the choir! There should be ONE NATIONAL GUN LAW period.
Whatever I can (or cannot) do with a gun in Alabama I can/can't do in Wyoming. It's the only way to be fair IMO.

Also, same with drug and alcohol and "blue" laws. Keep It Simple Stupid!

Oh, but that violates States' Rights!!!!!!!!!111

The states have plenty of other areas they can regulate.
We do have some Federal Laws, so a couple more wouldn't upset the apple cart IMO.

But this will never, ever happen. Gun laws will be a maze forever.

But many just can't get their head around...NO HANDGUNS IN CITY LIMITS.

You want Little Bill to kick your ass???

A slight exaggeration, but only just. Between the numerous background checks, the fact that local law enforcement must sign off on it and isn't required to, and the BATFU dragging their heels, it's getting to be one of those deals where it can be done, but is becoming harder and hard to get. And of course thee are those states where it's just flat illegal to own Class III weapons.

Yes. It's time for an omnibus post:

Hmmm... I think the root of the problem is not the arms so much as it is the hands. As you have rightfully pointed out, guns are evil. But you have also rightfully pointed out they are powerless until they get to a person and are able to apply their evil power. Since outlawing guns will clearly not stop them from exerting their evil hold on people, the only logical solution is mandatory amputation of everyone's hands. If you cannot hold a gun, you cannot do evil. GENIUS!

Yeah, that'll hold up until about the time the zombie hordes that have quit their jobs to devote their time to their meth habits come to smash your living room window and steal your TV to buy meth. Sure, cheap drugs are cheap, but if they make the user unable to function and hold down a job it doesn't matter how cheap they are, they'll still need to turn to crime to support their addiction. To say nothing of drug-induced auto accidents and other shit.

So tell me Dan, have you bought your fine British stab-resistant clothing?

I think El Chup's point is that the "bad guys selling stolen guns to each other" are, in fact...black.

By that rationale, areas that don't have such draconian restrictions on the sale of firearms should have their streets flooded with blood and ruled by Mad Maxesque marauders.

Have you ever run for your life in an Iowa corn field on a hot summer day?