Reply #56: Cities have a CRIME problem!

[one-eyed fat man]

New York and Chicago were crime-infested cesspools in 1870, 1970 and it's a dollar to a donut bet they still will be in 2070. New York's corrupt Democratic machine, Tammany Hall, championed the city's first ban on handguns with the Sullivan Act in 1911 so the Irish thugs wouldn't have as much competition from the Italian thugs. Nothing has changed in the 100 years except the city's criminals have more diversity.

The key ingredient to having a crime infested cesspool is criminals. New York, Chicago, Baltimore, DC, LA etc have more than their share and breed more everyday. The only thing this decision will change is a small percentage of law-abiding citizens will avail themselves of the right to own a gun for self-defense. It just might do a tiny number of them some good. The loosening of concealed carry laws in the past twenty years has neither caused the massive blood-bath the strident fear-mongers had predicted nor can the small reduction in crime during this same period be attributed solely to the same change in gun laws.

FACT!The thugs will always have guns; this decision won't change their numbers or the ease with which criminals disregard any law they choose. The only thing that will happen is more bloviating politicians will spend more time pandering to idiots seeking simplistic solutions to complex problems and throwing tax money down rat-holes (legal firms owned by friends and relatives) futilely fighting lawsuits against their next unconstitutional set of ordinances. It is easier to ignore the consequences of the "catch and release" justice systems.

Fifty-six percent of the violent felons convicted in the 75 most populous counties from 1990 through 2002 had a prior conviction, according to the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

Of the offenders with prior felony records, the study found that at the time of the new crime 18 percent were on probation, 12 percent on release pending disposition of a prior case and 7 percent on parole.

The bureau also reported 38 percent had a prior felony conviction and 15 percent had been previously convicted for a violent felony.

In another finding, the bureau said youths under age 21 commit 30 percent of all homicides.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa4441/is_200609/...

It is equally easy to dismiss the very real effects of a thug culture which glorifies criminality and violence while demeaning work and educational achievement. It is easier to blame crime on "poverty" ignoring generations of working poor who made an honest living. For those claiming criminality is all about income or educational disparity it is telling that college-educated millionaire athletes find it useful to adopt the "gangsta persona" when out clubbing in NYC. Or that to succeed as a "hip-hop artist" some have gone so far as to fake a criminal past. It is instructive to see how some have seen their careers wither as a result.

http://www.inoutstar.com/news/Akon-s-Thug-Persona-and-Criminal-Record-a-Fake-6618.html

For all the "sturm und drang" from those whose blind hatred of guns this decision comes as the complete end of civilization, I am confident there will be a significantly insignificant increase in the number of victims who manage to turn the tables on their attackers. The bitter truth is that if you are the one who is victimized by a crime, statistics don't matter. If you are defenseless, you are completely at the mercy of the criminal. If you resist, even with a gun, you have no certainty you will win. One thing is clear, each person ought to have the right to decide for themselves if, when and how they are going to respond to an attacker.