Despite Anti-Gun Ravings, No Gunfights at the Saloon

Crime Rate Drops as Concealed-Carry Restrictions are Relaxed

From The Washington Times, August 22, 2011

It has now been proven yet again that gun-grabber complaints about concealed-carry in bars and restaurants are nonsense.

Earlier this month, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reviewed Virginia State Police records and found the number of firearms-related crimes committed in establishments that serve alcohol dropped 5 percent a year after concealed-carry permit holders could legally carry concealed firearms while out on the town. There were 145 gun crimes reported in taverns and eateries a year after the law took effect, compared with 153 before. The Times-Dispatch could only identify a single permit holder who had misbehaved, though gun charges later were dropped against that person.

This shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Gun owners tend to be law-abiding members of their communities. Allowing concealed-carry at the local watering hole did nothing to change that. The Virginia Association of Chiefs of Police worked overtime to defeat restaurant carry, urging Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell to veto the bill in March of last year. “Allowing guns in bars is a recipe for disaster,” Virginia Beach Police Chief Jake Jacocks Jr. wrote. “We can fully expect that at some point in the future, a disagreement that today would likely end up in a verbal confrontation, or a bar fight, will inevitably end with gunfire if you sign this legislation into law.” The shootouts never happened.

Chief Jacocks said in his letter that he didn’t presume to interpret the Second Amendment but that he knew it would be irresponsible to allow “anyone other than a law enforcement officer” to carry a handgun in a bar. Allowing people other than police to protect themselves with firearms is exactly what the right to keep and bear arms is all about. When Mr. Obama took office, the public flocked to gun stores, fearing the imposition of new gun-control measures. Despite the unprecedented number of new gun owners, FBI crime statistics showed violent crime decreased 5.5 percent nationwide between 2010 and 2009. In Virginia’s major cities, the drop was 9 percent.

The arguments of the gun-control crowd are like an annoying barfly that needs to be sent home. Expanding the rights of lawful gun owners makes everyone safer.

Fallacy of Gun-Control Laws Exposed

The article below exposes the fallacy that gun control laws serve to disarm individuals that would use them to commit illegal acts.

Both of the individuals killed in the incident were prohibited by law from possessing firearms as convicted felons, but despite this fact they did possess them. And, it is only by a strange twist of fate that they used them to kill each other and not some innocent person.

There is a very old saying: ‘When Guns Are Outlawed, Only Outlaws Will Have Guns’, and it is very true even today since criminals, by definition, do not obey the law. It was illegal for these individuals to do everything they did in this incident, but they still did them and anyone that would remove firearms  from the hands of law abiding citizens makes them easy targets f0r individuals such as those who participated in this incident.

Victims in S.C. Fatal Shootings had Records

From The Rock Hill Herald, May 12, 2012 by Nicole E. Smith

LANCASTER, S.C. Authorities are closer to determining a motive for Wednesday night’s double fatal shootings in Lancaster County.

New details about the incident emerged Friday, including criminal histories for both victims.

Sheriff’s deputies responded to 2314 Old Blackmon Lane at 11:13 p.m. Wednesday, where they found Stephen Lamont Westbrook, 39, of Rock Hill, lying in the driveway of the house. Westbrook had been shot and was pronounced dead at the scene. A handgun was found beside his body, according to a press release issued Friday.

A second man, Mardrickus Javon Belk, 25, was found inside the home. He was flown to Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, where he died Thursday.

Deputies found firearms and drugs at the scene.

Officials believe Westbrook went to the home to rob one of the residents, according to a release issued Friday. During the attempted robbery, Westbrook and Belk began shooting, ultimately shooting and killing each other.

Both men were prohibited by law to have firearms, based on their criminal histories, the release states.

Belk’s criminal history includes convictions for unlawfully carrying a weapon, possessing a stolen pistol, forgery and assault and battery of a high and aggravated nature, according to the State Law Enforcement Division.

Records show that in 2009, he was sentenced to six months in prison for violating probation after a drug conviction. He also had four charges pending from 2011.

Westbrook’s record shows that in 1992, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison on an armed robbery and assault and battery charge. Other various charges include burglary, disorderly conduct, kidnapping and criminal sexual conduct.

“Both have been convicted of violent crimes, weapons charges and drug charges,” said Sheriff Barry Faile. “It is unfortunate that these individuals lost their lives. However, when you lead a life of crime and drugs, tragedy is bound to occur. This incident should serve as a lesson to young folks that involvement in criminal activity is a road to nowhere.”

The deaths are Lancaster’s ninth and 10th homicides of the year. However, one of those homicides was a March incident in which a homeowner shot and killed a relative who was breaking into the home. It was ruled self-defense, and no charges were filed.

At this time last year, there was only one homicide reported in Lancaster County. There were five homicides for all of 2011.

10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals Holds That Illegal Aliens Cannot Possess Firearms Under Second Amendment

Published by The Associated Press, May 08, 2012

DENVER –  A federal appeals court says illegal aliens don’t have a right to own firearms under the U.S. Constitution.

Emmanuel Huitron-Guizar of Wyoming pleaded guilty to being an illegal alien in possession of firearms after his arrest last year. He was ordered held by immigration authorities at the Natrona County Detention Center in Wyoming.

An attorney for Huitron-Guizar appealed the case, saying illegal aliens are not excluded from possessing firearms like felons and people who are mentally ill, and should have the same rights as U.S. citizens to buy a gun for hunting and protection.

The 10th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals in Denver ruled Monday that illegal aliens have only limited protection under the Constitution.

Huitron-Guizar’s attorney didn’t return a call seeking comment.

Online:

10th Circuit ruling, http://bit.ly/KiDhau

Court Rules 2nd Amendment Doesn’t Apply to Illegal Immigrants

From http://www.guns.com, May 8, 2012

A federal court has decided that illegal aliens are not protected by the Second Amendment right to bear arms and that is bound to tick off a lot of immigrants.

The court case that sparked this debate focused on Emmanueal Huitron-Guizar, who pled guilty to being in possession of firearms as an illegal alien. The court accepted his plea and he was held by a Wyoming detention center.

Huitron-Guizar’s lawyer, however, was not ready to give up the fight. He appealed the case, arguing that illegal aliens should have the same rights as US citizens to buy a gun for hunting or protection.

The 10th Circuit Court of Appeals reviewed the appeal and concluded that aliens have only limited protection under the Constitution.

Court cases like this can really lead to some tricky, controversial decisions; On the one hand, the Second Amendment clearly states the people have a right to bear arms. On the other hand, the laws of a country are designed to regulate its own citizens, and not citizens from other countries.

It would be great if the rest of the planet adopted the Bill of Rights and embraced freedom — that would really do away with a lot of terrible regimes out there. Until that day, though, it looks as though the US courts have decided that all of the benefits of the US Constitution will only apply to dues-paying members.