More Gun Control ... Please!

[TheEggman]

An open letter to DC, Maryland, Chicago and New York City

Dear D.C., Maryland, Chicago and New York City:

Thank you for your tough gun control laws, please keep up the good work!

A short trip to New York has always been enjoyable and helps me get back some perspective on life. I'm comfortable in the subways and know where not to go and when not to go there.

That being said, one thing is now different -- my heightened situational awareness. Maybe it's the permanent State Police presence at government offices near mine, the huddles of 'barely old enough to shave' kids at Grand Central wearing fatigues and carrying what everybody knew to be unloaded guns. (This seems somewhat like Barney Fife asking permission to put his bullet in his gun. Then again, maybe Kent State did teach a few lessons.) Perhaps it's the three middle-aged, Middle Eastern men who boarded the subway unchallenged while one of the aforementioned 'Barneys' obcessed over a suspicious piece of electronics in my rollabout. (A digital projector)

A few of the small, dark neighborhood streets I normally enjoy visiting for great ethnic foods felt ominous and uncomfortable. I couldn't put my finger on the feeling until I analyzed it.

I'm usually dressed for business and look like a typical, law-abiding person, going about their affairs. Looking like a law-abiding citizen may be great for meetings, sales calls and traffic stops, but on the streets of New York, Chicago, Maryland and D.C. it's like wearing a big "PLEASE ROB ME - I'M HELPLESS" sign across your back.

I always feel a sense of relief and gratitude when I return to Virginia, and now I have an idea how a criminal must feel when looking for prey on my Virginia streets.

While in the city I'm constantly looking over my shoulder, not knowing whether the next bunch of rowdy 'thugged-out looking' teens are 'hip' tourist kids from Des Moines or armed thugs, ready to attack. It's that uneasy uncertainty that keeps me cautious and steers me wide to avoid potential unsafe encounters. Not knowing who the bad guys are, I have to assume almost everyone is.

That assumption also works the other way.

It's well established that criminals fear encountering an armed would-be victim more than being caught by the police. Criminals in Virginia (and other concealed carry states) are never quite sure if the next passerby will be a potential victim or ready to present a swift, effective and deadly defense.

It's not knowing who the good-guys with guns are that helps keep the violent criminals on the other side of the Potomac river.

So, thank you New York, D.C. and Chicago and Maryland. By continuing to keep your most honest and law-abiding subjects disarmed and helpless you are empowering armed criminals, making them feel safe and welcome. You give them power to fearlessly and arrogantly wander among the sheep, culling out prey with disdain for both law and authority.

With such anti-rights localities for neighbors Virginia becomes far less attractive to the bad guys and a much safer place to live. Who is a rapist more likely to hit -- a known defenseless woman, or a woman who may be armed and prepared to resist with deadly force if necessary?

I have great empathy for your situation and hope that some day all of our rights will be fully restored.

In the interim, however -- better you than me!

Egg

[HK4U]

Good post. The so called leaders of these cities are good examples of the patients being in charge of the asylum.

[kwo51]

What is the major race in the city ? It seems the people with the most to lose have given in to the disarnament agenda.

[Glock Fan]

Don't think race is the issue. Don't care what their race is. Thugs are thugs. I'm highly against the government forcing citizens to be "unarmed".



gf

[TheEggman]

Originally Posted by Glock Fan

Don't think race is the issue. Don't care what their race is. Thugs are thugs. I'm highly against the government forcing citizens to be "unarmed".
gf

While race is NOT a part of this item, it is a big part of the Gun Control issue for at least two reasons.

The original gun control laws were written to keep firearms out of the hands of slaves and former slaves.

Todays gun control laws are primarily most strict in urban and inner city environments where, for whatever reasons (another subject) the population is mostly Black. (but becoming more Hispanic)

Regardless of the race of the perpetrators, the bulk of the violent crime appears to happen in those places where the law-abiding citizen is both a minority AND unarmed. The people in greatest need of self protection in these places are then, by sheer demographics, more likely to be Black.

Whether this is overt racism or merely circumstantial statistics is inconsequential and doesn't change the facts -- urban area gun control is more likely to disarm minorities. Since Law Abiding Citizens are the only ones who tend to comply with Gun Control laws these laws do target/affect the law-abiding Black population more than the white population in these areas.

So, while gun control may not be classic racism it is, by nature of its places of strict enforcement, racist, or at the least discriminatory in its effect.

Egg

[kwo51]

40% of black men have felons on the record. The UN troops will not get them first their guns are not regestered.Those of us with legal guns might have to trade them for food.

[kwo51]

Yes thugs are thugs and I did not mean to end this thread. We all of sinned and come short of his Glory. Color is not the issue, we all have the same fears and pleasures.

[toreskha]

Originally Posted by TheEggman

Regardless of the race of the perpetrators, the bulk of the violent crime appears to happen in those places where the law-abiding citizen is both a minority AND unarmed.

While I understand your point, it would be statistically difficult for law-abiding citizens to be in the minority. At least 51% of the residents would have to be criminals, which would mean round-the-clock riots.

As usual, the real troublemakers are in the extreme minority. Most people, even in a high-crime area, are law-abiding citizens. There's also a difference between uncontrolled teenagers who get drunk and steal cars, and people who repeatedly engage in serious crime. Most of those rowdy teenagers will eventually settle down and become average adults.

The people in the second group actually fall into two categories: pre-thugs and people who have no soul. Pre-thugs profess themselves to be thugs, but don't quite make the cut. They're dangerous, but have not yet developed the emotional detachment necessary to plan a crime from start to finish with the intent of killing someone, and then carry it out fully. While they're definitely not law-abiding, you can have a conversation with them, and they perceive that their violence is more about survival than anything.

Most real thugs have an incredibly hard, somewhat glazed-eye look about them; this is readily apparent in mugshots. They've lost their survival instinct and are somewhat dead inside; thus, they feel little remorse about killing, raping, etc. These are people you had better watch out for.

[tattedupboy]

Originally Posted by Glock Fan

Don't think race is the issue. Don't care what their race is. Thugs are thugs. I'm highly against the government forcing citizens to be "unarmed".



gf

I've gotta disagree with you on that one. Race is an issue. Take a look at the Black members of the 110th Congress and their voting records on gun rights and you'll see that in the Black communities of this country, gun violence has contributed to high rates of gunphobia (yes, I know that the proper term is hoplophobia, but gunphobia seems to give the effect I intend better than hoplophobia) and thus, support for gun rights is a loser for politicians in these areas. I posted a thread on this a few months ago, which I would try to find if it weren't 1:55 in the morning, and the fact is, race is an issue.

[MP3Mogul]

So if I understand Toreskha correctly in his post:

TORESKHA QUOTEThere's also a difference between uncontrolled teenagers who get drunk and steal cars, and people who repeatedly engage in serious crime. Most of those rowdy teenagers will eventually settle down and become average adults. END TORESKHA QUOTE

He is saying it's okay for rowdy teenagers to get drunk and steal cars, because it's not a serious crime.

WTF!!! It's called grand theft auto. It's serious, and it's real.

Crime is crime, just because a white collar commits it, or a teenager, it's crime.