I just got off the phone with a gun control group that wanted to raise money to fight for stricter limits on hand guns. Their pitch was centered around recent events in Baltimore. They told me that there has been a major increase in murder and violent crime in Baltimore since the riots and that this crime surge demonstrates the need for stricter gun control.
Since the woman who called was low key and seemed rational, I asked her why she would put the surge in violence in Baltimore together with gun control rather than with the new limitations on police activity. I asked her whether there had been some change in the gun laws that had let more weapons on the streets of Baltimore since the riots that could explain the surge in gun violence. I also asked her if it was true that Maryland had one of the strictest anti-gun policies of all states.
The response spoke volumes about the reality of the gun control movement. She just hung up.
The reality is that the one thing that the increased violence in Baltimore proves is that gun control is neither the cause nor the answer to the problem. Maryland has had strict gun laws for many years; that has not stopped all the killings. The principal difference from before the riots until now has been that the police in Baltimore have been restrained in their enforcement of the law. Violent criminals know that their chances of being caught have dropped dramatically. The result is more murder, more robbery, more rape and more violence. Baltimore has been governed for nearly half a century by liberal Democrats who have put all the favorite liberal programs in place in that city. They haven't worked at all to reduce the crime rate. Now, the Liberals are feeling panic. They are using appeals for gun control to try to hide what has actually happened in Baltimore. The real truth is that putting unnecessary limitations on police has left the ordinary citizens of Baltimore exposed to all sorts of attacks by violent criminals. Gun control is irrelevant here.
Since the woman who called was low key and seemed rational, I asked her why she would put the surge in violence in Baltimore together with gun control rather than with the new limitations on police activity. I asked her whether there had been some change in the gun laws that had let more weapons on the streets of Baltimore since the riots that could explain the surge in gun violence. I also asked her if it was true that Maryland had one of the strictest anti-gun policies of all states.
The response spoke volumes about the reality of the gun control movement. She just hung up.
The reality is that the one thing that the increased violence in Baltimore proves is that gun control is neither the cause nor the answer to the problem. Maryland has had strict gun laws for many years; that has not stopped all the killings. The principal difference from before the riots until now has been that the police in Baltimore have been restrained in their enforcement of the law. Violent criminals know that their chances of being caught have dropped dramatically. The result is more murder, more robbery, more rape and more violence. Baltimore has been governed for nearly half a century by liberal Democrats who have put all the favorite liberal programs in place in that city. They haven't worked at all to reduce the crime rate. Now, the Liberals are feeling panic. They are using appeals for gun control to try to hide what has actually happened in Baltimore. The real truth is that putting unnecessary limitations on police has left the ordinary citizens of Baltimore exposed to all sorts of attacks by violent criminals. Gun control is irrelevant here.
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