Michael Dorstewitz’s Feb. 16 Newsmax column was headlined “Kansas City Shooting Brings Out Same Tired Ideas, of Course.” But all he served up in response was the same old tired right-wing pro-gun talking points:
Gun control laws prevent only law-abiding citizens from acquiring firearms, while criminals find it easy to acquire them.
As proof, U.S. cities having the highest homicide rates, such as Atlanta, Baltimore, Chicago, and Detroit, are typically Democratic-run with some of the most stringent gun laws in the nation. While the criminals have the guns, the rest of society are denied the means to defend themselves.
But leftist lawmakers ignore the statistics and strengthen firearm laws that criminals ignore.
[…]Republican-led states, most recently Ohio and Florida, are moving in the opposite direction by offering permitless carry, which allows anyone who can legally purchase a firearm to carry it without the necessity of obtaining a government permit.
Despite predictions of doom, gloom, and the end of Western civilization, violent crime rates actually declined after permitless carry was introduced.
It’s simple, really.
Jail the criminal and trust the law-abiding.
But they still would rather release the criminal on cashless bail and handcuff the law-abiding citizen.
And as Janney noted, after each shooting they scream, “Do Something! Argle Bargle Rar!” And yes, “It would be just as meaningful” — and effective.
In fact, areas with “some of the most stringent gun laws in the nation” tend to be surrounded by areas with much more lax gun laws; for instance, 60 percent of guns used in crimes in Chicago are brought in from other states such as neighboring Indiana, which requires no permits, registration, or background checks for purchases. Further, the effects of permitless carry on violent crime rates is unclear at best.
It appears that the person serving up tired and dubious ideas on guns is Dorstewitz.