By Matt Agorist
After the tragic shooting in Parkland, Florida last month, a group of anti-gun high school children became the darlings of the anti-gun movement. They were given widespread coverage and platforms on all mainstream media networks to call for the disarming of Americans. They were sanctioned by the government to do so—and now they are getting what they asked for—less rights.
In the Land of the Free, marching for change used to mean that you were standing up to the government to demand more or equal rights. Fast forward to 2018, however, and it is the exact opposite.
The mainstream media and the government tells us that these students are brave for walking out of class and demanding change—but how is it brave to be used as a tool of the State?
Activism involves challenging the establishment and what these kids were tricked into doing is not activism.
Earlier this month, millions of students across the country were encouraged by the government, mainstream media, and even their own school systems to walk out of class and demand the government take away their rights. It was, by no means, a challenge of authority and, in fact, it was a celebration of it.
Schools across the country not only sanctioned it, but they supported it and actually punished those who chose to abstain. The walkout was little more than young people conforming to government authority by parroting the government-approved message in a government-approved venue—even at the government-approved time.
The message was simple: we want this government to take our rights away.
Young Americans across the country marched to demand less freedom from their rulers and the mainstream media, celebrities, and politicians alike shoved this down our throats as some grassroots heroic political activism. However, it was the opposite, and now even the cheerleaders of this movement, David Hogg, Emma González, et al., are beginning to realize what happens when you beg the State to take away your rights. They take away your rights.
On Friday, the Broward County School system announced its plan to violate the students’ right to privacy be implementing a clear backpack policy.
“Clear backpacks are the only backpacks that will be permitted on campus,” said Broward County School Superintendent Robert Runcie said in a letter sent to parents.
Now, all students will have to allow anyone at anytime to view the contents of their backpacks as well as wear IDs so they can be properly identified by school authorities.
These new measures now have the darling activists on the defensive.
“I’m not happy with it. Why are you punishing me for one person’s actions?” Tyra Hemans, 19, a Stoneman senior, told CNN on Friday. But this is exactly what they wanted. These students wanted to punish the tens of millions of law-abiding gun owners by demanding the government take away their right to defend themselves—all for the actions of one person. Now, they are getting a taste of their own medicine, and it stinks.
“It’s unnecessary, it’s embarrassing for a lot of the students and it makes them feel isolated and separated from the rest of American school culture where they’re having essentially their First Amendment rights infringed upon because they can’t freely wear whatever backpack they want regardless of what it is,” Hogg said.
Trampling the 2nd Amendment is just fine to David Hogg, but touch the First, which is upheld by the Second, and you are a tyrant.
“One of the other important things to realize is many students want their privacy. There are many, for example, females in our school that when they go through their menstrual cycle, they don’t want people to see their tampons and stuff,” he explained.
“What we should have is just more policies that make sure that these students are feeling safe and secure in their schools and not like they’re being fought against like it’s a prison,” he added.
The irony of the students’ ignorance is astonishing. Luckily, there are still many people out there that see this irony and are calling it out.
I get what you mean.
It’s REALLY frustrating when the law abiding are punished because of the actions of a criminal.
?♂️ https://t.co/5UqKM6e8pr— Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellUSA) March 23, 2018
Destroy the second amendment?
No problem!Require kids to have clear backpacks?
Woah woah woah, let’s be rational here! https://t.co/Q53WD0B3Zq— Austen Fletcher (@fleccas) March 23, 2018
“I feel like our school is now a prison,” Nicholas Fraser, a 16-year-old Stoneman student said. “It doesn’t feel like home.”
Indeed, when you advocate for only government to have guns, you are making the entire country a prison. Bravo young America, you have successfully asked for fewer rights and you now have fewer rights. Hopefully, this serves as a wake-up call to those who think it is somehow heroic to punish law-abiding Americans for the actions of a single deranged lunatic.
If this ridiculous astroturf activism is not called out for what it is, these are the folks who will be responsible for creating the horrid police state that comes from their selective definition of “freedom.”
Here at the Free Thought Project, we find it is important to note that when you say, “I believe in freedom,” you don’t follow that sentence up with the word “but.”
Matt Agorist is an honorably discharged veteran of the USMC and former intelligence operator directly tasked by the NSA. This prior experience gives him unique insight into the world of government corruption and the American police state. Agorist has been an independent journalist for over a decade and has been featured on mainstream networks around the world. Agorist is also the Editor at Large at the Free Thought Project, where this article first appeared. Follow @MattAgorist on Twitter, Steemit, and now on Facebook.
Cut down on the DRUG PUSHERS with transparent backpacks! Great idea!
it dont matter what tool a killer uses, he will find a way to kill, the question is, what tool will his intended victim use to stop him?
That’s false: because guns are such efficient killers, when laws are enacted to reduce gun violence, the overall murder rate goes down. For example, after Australia enacted stricter gun laws, the gun murder rate has gone down 60% and the overall murder rate is down 50%.
The same pattern can be observed in the other 33 advanced nations. When gun violence is reduced, the overall murder rate drops. It’s a fact. The FBI reports that half of murders in the US are by family or friends and guns are used over 70% ot the time. Many of these murders are not premeditated but occur when an argument, often fueled with alcohol, escalates and a gun is handy.
The UK has virtually banned guns and since 9/11 has had about 600 gun murders, compared to 200,000 in the US. Pro-gunners argue that people in the UK just turn to other means, but that is not true: the overall murder rate in the UK is 80% lower than the US and the percent killed by knives is also lower than in the US. All these lies are spread as propaganda to block gun regulation and to promote gun sales, putting profit above public safety.
You can fact check any of this at gunpolicy.com, the FBI website, nationmaster/homicides, and wikipedia/homicides: these are the sources for my data and I am accurately reporting what these sources have collected and pubiished.
This is gross propaganda. The students who survived a mass murder started a movement which the tiny fraction of those opposing common sense guns laws (a recent Quinnipiac poll showed 97% of gun owners supporting universal background checks, 67% of the public supporting a ban on semi-automatics, while Fox news poll showed 90% supporting UBC and 60% supporting a ban on semi-automatics) are claiming is being controlled by some vague entity called “the establishment.”
The one person who was suspended for “refusing to participate in the anti-gun rally” actually was given a choice to go to the commons but was not allowed to stay in a classroom unattended by school policy. He chose to stay and so he was suspended, not for refusing to protest but for refusing to go to the school commons. Meanwhile, unreported, were the cases of students punished for “ditching class” for 17 minutes to honor those who died.
These young students are protesting not just the lack of rational gun laws that in no way infringe on 2nd Amendment rights, a situation that is enabed by the NRA paying tens of millions to politicians (mostly Republicans) to block legislation by keeping proposals supported by an overwhelming majority of Americans, from even coming to a vote….but they are also protesting a corrupt system where money from corporations (the NRA is mostly funded by gun makers and opposes universal background checks which 4 polls have shown 3/4 of its members support) perverts democratic governance.
This is a revolution not just against the lack of action which has resulted in 450,,000 gun deaths since 9/11 (with over 200,000 gun murders) but a system which for the sake of private profit (gun sales soar when mass murders occur and the NRA puts out the word the gubmint is coming for your guns) blocks the will of the people and the evidence that rational gun laws reduce gun violence.
These courageous young people are leading the struggle to overcome the power of the corporations to use government to serve their profit interests rather than the public good.
This article is no more than an NRA troll disguised as activist journalism. The real activists were out the other day, millions (one million in DC alone, the largest demonstration in US history) in not only US cities but worldwide, since the whole world looks aghast at how the US, the richest of the rich nations, has a gun murder rate of 85% (Canada) to 99.9% (UK and Japan) higher than the other 34 developed nations.
And only the US has frequent mass murders, ALL using semi-automatic weapons designed for mass killing. We are #1 in gun murder, gun violence, gun injuries, gun accidents, and corporate control of legislation. The y oung people, in the absence of adult action are protesting this horrific situation and the vast majority of Americans support and applaud them.
I fully expect the NRA trolls to attack me for these thoughts, but I remind you you are a small cult compared to the vast majority who support gun law reform, now led by those who just recently survived mass murder and being attacked by other NRA trolls as tools of “the establishment.”
Fact: the “establishment:” are the corporations who run the country through their financial bribes to politicians. US gun policy is controlled by the gun makers thru the NRA, which gave Trump 30 million and other Repubican pro-gunners another 30 million to continue to block the will of the American People. These young people, and most Americans, are protesting this real establishment of corporations using goverment to subvert democracy and serve their private, profit-driven agenda.
polls are fake, the same polls showed Hillary with a victory, gun rights groups are reporting membership of 18-20 year olds is up over 1000% since Feb. 14th, further more, 150 million gun owners didnt shoot up a school at Parkland, only 1 did
Kill the messenger is an ancient tactic to suppress the truth. The polls in the 2016 election predicted Clinton wouild win the popular vote by points, and she won by 2 points….very accurate. I wrote an article called Are you Ready for President Trump for opednews.com after seeing 3 top rate polls showing Trump ahead.
The “polls are fake” lie is used by those who want to suppress the truth.
Since 9/11, there have been over 450,000 gun deaths in the US, with over 200,000 gun murders (Japan had 150, the UK 600 in that period…both neary gun free zones) and nothing has been done. The shooter at Parkland, like all mass murders killed so many because of the availlability of semi-automatics, designed for mass killing. 2/3 of the public (Fox news has it at 60%) siupports banning the weapons of choice of mass murderers. Gun rights groups are notorious liars, since they are the propaganda arm of the gun makers, who profit from mass violence. What is your source that young people are flockig to the “gun-rights groups.”
There were one million in DC cemanding gun llaw reform. There were many more millions throughout the nation, the largest demonstrations in our history. You are being duped by paid propagandists serving the merchants of death. Wake up! Your guns will not protect you from lies but they will make your home nearly 3 times as likely to have a gun death.
How many? Who’s being duped? However lets stretch the truth and assume that your numbers are correct. Please, please tell me where you people get off believing you have the duty or right to punish millions of Americans for the actions of a very few? What give you the right to tell me I cannot protect my family, myself or my property. Oh and please don’t tell me that you don’t want all the guns, you just want “common sense” laws.
Hey did you know that criminals are criminals because they don’t obey laws. Just asking………
There are not 150 million gun owners. All the polls from CBS to Pew to Gallup show that the number of households with guns is about 36%….which is about 1/3 of the 126 million households. So about 40 million households have guns, with the average (skewed by the fact that 50% of guns are owned by 3%) of 8 guns per household. Nearly 2/3 of households do NOT have guns and homes with guns have nearly 3 times as many gun deaths, according to peer-reviewed studies.
Lying is a mark of consciousness of guilt, according to legal precedent. You are lying because you are an NRA troll and do not have any real facts to support your claims.
do you think we’re gonna tell some crackpot over the phone if we have a gun or not?, the FBI reported over 70 million back ground checks from 2009-2016, we know that number is double from before that, theres 9 million people in NYC, guns are illegal, theres a big chunk of your phony poll of households without guns, the cities with the least firearm restrictions have the lowest crime rates, check the FBI website ,
Gun owners are proud and want to advertize they have a gun as a deterrent. Quinnipiac is an A rated poll based on historical accuracy and lack of bias. Would a gun owner be paranoid when Fox news calls to ask?
I have heard this claim many times. It’s bullshit.
Guns are not illegal in New York. The cities with the least gun restrictions have the highest murder rates: St. Louis New Orleans, Memphis, etc.
The safest big cities have the strictest laws: NYCity has a low gun murder rate and strict laws. Our safest big City is San Diego, in the state with the strictest laws, which has a gun murder rate 50% lower than the national average.
The most violent cities are: “Chicago remains in the middle of the pack when homicide is measured on a per-capita basis. In 2016, the city had a rate of 27.9 killings per 100,000 residents — half that of St. Louis, whose 188 murders amounted to 59.3 homicides per 100,000 people and preserved that city’s status as America’s murder capital. Baltimore placed second, with a homicide rate of 51.2, followed by Detroit, New Orleans, and Cleveland.”
Revolt against those lying to you and using you as a tool!
i just checked the FBI website, the last full data available, 2016, ST.Louis had 188 murders, Chicago had 765, NYC,335, N.Orleans 174 Memphis 196, Chicago has the strictest laws
Violence is measured by raw numbers but by the murder rate per 100K. Of course a much larger city has more murders but what counts is the rate per capita. Chicago in 2015 had 468 murders (you are looking at the spike year of 2016, where it rose drastically and has since fallen) and in 2017 650 with a population of 2.7 million. St.Louis has about 85% fewer people: “#1. St. Louis, Missouri
Murder rate per 100k people: 59.29
Number of reported murders (2015): 188
Population: 317,095”
Number 2 was Baltimore, then Detroit, then New Oreans (41/100K),then Birmingham, then Baton Rouge…..et
Chicago ranks #25: “#25. Chicago, Illinois
Murder rate per 100k people: 17.52
Number of reported murders (2015): 478
Population: 2,728,695”
Even using the spike in 2016, Chicago is not near the top, and today it is about average for big cities, with the safest being those like San Diego and New York with the strictest gun laws.
thetrace.org reported: “urders increased significantly last year in the majority of American cities with a population over 250,000, according to preliminary data from police departments and news reports. The bump comes one year after killings rose across the country at their fastest pace in 25 years, and is likely large enough again to drive up the national homicide rate when final tallies are released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
In no place did the uptick feel more dramatic than in Chicago. The city recorded 762 murders last year — a 59.4 percent increase over 2015, and its highest tally since the mid-1990s.
(and, to repeat)
Chicago remains in the middle of the pack when homicide is measured on a per-capita basis. In 2016, the city had a rate of 27.9 killings per 100,000 residents — half that of St. Louis, whose 188 murders amounted to 59.3 homicides per 100,000 people and preserved that city’s status as America’s murder capital. Baltimore placed second, with a homicide rate of 51.2, followed by Detroit, New Orleans, and Cleveland. “Because Chicago has so many people, it can get a murder every day, and that gets people’s attention,” John Pfaff, a professor of law at Fordham Law School, told The Trace recently. “When you focus on numbers, not rates, Chicago ends up looking worse because you forget just how big a city it is.”
You forgot!
Chicago does not have the strictest gun laws (San Diego, our safest big city, does) and it does not rank in the top 20 most violent cities, based on murder rates.
I once worked as a pollster; people did not see me as a crackpot and were almost all willing to be interviewed. Gun owners want people to know they have guns as a deterrent.
every body conceals their weapons because we dont want anybody to know, I have a right to self defense period!!
MTV, Jimmy Kimmel and Lady Gaga paid for the transportation of all those misguided students at their infringement march, but you dont have a problem with that
I have o problem. I would chip in to hep them become the voice of sanity. Why wouldn’t you? Or are you an NRA troll?
I advocate self defense, the NRA funds most of the police training across the nation, safety programs in every state, the anti-gun lobby does nothing but disarm law abiding citizens, the top 50 cities with the highest crime rates have the strictest gun control laws, we told you, if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have them…guns were banned in schools in 1995, teachers obeyed the law, a criminal did not!!
The cities with the highest crimes rates (
St. Louis, New Orleans, etc) have the loosest laws, and cities with strict gun laws are undermined by the ability of criminals to drive to the nearest city, county, or state to buy their weapons.
Repeating NRA lies does not make them true: the UK and Japan have virtually outlawed guns and Japan has about 10 gun murders a year, the UK about 40, while the US last year had 15,000, with the loosest laws of all 35 advanced nations.
You are repeating NRA lies, used to block legislation and promote gun sales; you are an NRA troll. Stop lying; stop repeating lies. To promote such lies is to be complicit in the 450,000 gun deaths since 9/11 (in the same time, Japan, with virtually no guns had 150 gun deaths, the UK 600). STOP LYING NOW!
they dont drive to another state or city to get their weapons, its a black market, drugs are illegal, but yet readily available, the top 50 cities with the highest crime rates have the strictest controls, gun control didnt work in your city, what makes you think it will work in ours, look at the overall murder rate in every country, disarm law abiding citizens and criminals will have a safe work place, the United States ranks 85th in death by violence, of those 15k you mention, almost all are gang related, others are self defense and cops shooting criminals, the guy in Maryland stopped a shooter in 60 seconds, nobody stopped the guy in Florida,
You make shit up; I do my homework:
“The link between illegal gun trafficking and the violence plaguing Chicago has been laid out in a new report issued by the Chicago police. That report found that 60 percent of guns seized in the city came from outside of the area.”
https://www.nbcchicago.com/blogs/ward-room/chicago-gun-trace-report-2017-454016983.html
You make shit up; I do my homework:
#1 is St. Louis, Missouri
#2 is Baltimore, Maryland
#3 is Detroit
#4 is New Oreans
https://247wallst.com/special-report/2017/11/13/americas-25-murder-capitals-2/6/
St. Louis and New Orleans have very loose laws; you can buys guns, including semi-automatics in private sales with no background checks or id.
Baltimore is hours from Virginia which has almost no gun law: both handguns and longuns require no permits, no background checks, etc in private sales.
Detroit is a little over a hour to Indiana, which has almost no gun laws.
When you can drive a hour or two to buy guns in an adjoining city or state, this is why we need universal background checks and national laws.
California has the strictest laws (and San Diego is the safest big city in America with a gun murder rate 50% lower than the national average) but if you live in Sacremento, you are just a few hours from Reno where you can buy guns, semi-automatics, unlimited ammo, etc and bring it back home.
This is why 97% of gun owners support universal background checks according to the latest Quinnipiac Poll, and even the Fox News Poll found 90% of gun owners supporting universal background checks, which the NRA opposes, despite the fact that 4 polls have found that 3/4 of NRA members support UBC>
So stop making shit up and educate yourself!
I get my official stats from the FBI website, gun control didnt work in Chicago, so now you blame somebody else, what part of ..shall not be infringed..do you not understand, we told you if guns are outlawed, only outlaws will have them..have a nice day, i’m thruogh with you pulling numbers out of a hat, if you know how, take a look at the website..world life expectancy dot com.. scroll down to suicides and death by violence, one last note..guns dont load them selves, the first murder was committed with a rock..bye bye
The FBI doesn’t publish stats on crime in cities. Gun control did work to bring down gun murder by nearly 50% until the strict gun laws were repealed and then it spiked in 2016 again. As I made clear, the police report details that 60% of guns confiscated from criminals come from outside of Chicago. Gun laws work when you can’t just go to the next town or state to buy the. This is the reason that UNIversal gun laws do work, as in Europe.
Guns are virtually outlawed in the UK and Japan (and we are not talking about outlawing guns, a straw man fallacy, but about regulating them) and the outlaws do NOT have guns. The gun deaths (murder, suicide, and accidents) in 2014 were 6 (in the US, 32,000) source: gunpolicy.org and wikipedia.
By your false logic, Japan should have the most gun violence but in fact it has the least and is the safest nation on earth, with a virtual ban on guns. In the 50’s Japan was awash with guns and had a gun murder rate as high as the US but thru strict gun law, they reduced guns and gun violence by about 2% a year and now have brought it down to 99.9% lower than in the 50’s.
See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_intentional_homicide_rate_by_decade
I do not pull numbers out of a hat. I do serious research and report what I have learned. And I give my sources. I do not need to lie because I have studied and found the relevant facts.
You just don’t like the facts. I dare you to prove that any of my evidence is fake. I give accurate reports and sources.
And since guns don’t load themselves, what do you have against laws that keep guns out of the hands of violent individuals or banning weapons that are used in virtually all mass murders. Effective gun laws, as proven in 34 advanced nations (you can fact check at nationmaster/homicides, wikipedia/homicides, and gunpolicy.org, all of which collect and publish official data) , reduce gun murder by 85% (Canada) to 99.9% (UK and Japan) by keeping them out of the hands of violent people. You say it doesn’t work, repeating the propaganda of the NRA, but the historical evidence of 34 developed nations proves otherwise.
I study the facts and report; you act as an NRA troll with no facts and no sources. Truth is not what we want to believe but what the evidence demonsrates. I have studied the evidence and challenge you to factcheck me by consulting my sources.
And if you have a link to where the FBI reports on crime by cities, please share it because in 5 years of studying FBI Uniform Crime Reports and Tables of Homicide, I have never found it (because it does not exist). You are exposed as a liar and NRA troll…and I dare you to provide solid sources that refute the evidence I have provided. If you just deny and trash talk, I will treat you as a gullible piece of trash. But if you want to learn the truth, then we can discuss and compare notes.
FBI table 6, states and city’s
Truly you are a misguided useful idiot.
You are entitled to your trolling.
Gosh, Thank You for your permission Dale. What a great guy……………..
the NRA is funded by its members and we vote, the anti-gun lobby is funded by billionaire democrats such as Ted Turner, George Soros and Warren Buffett
This article is about the obtuseness of the
Author and his inability to understand what “False Equivalency” means. YOU, freewill2, are an apologist at best, and I notice YOU DID NOT EVEN ATTEMPT TO REBUT THE FACTS ABOVE?! As usual, folks like you do not argue from a place of “Good Faith”–you scurrilously IGNORE FACTS that do not support your fear-driven narrative, which you try and couch as personal Freedom, when all it really is is petulance or propaganda. So which are you? 😉 #Sanders2020 😉
It is useless to attempt to have a rational discussion with Ruff. He is merely a “useful idiot” for the deep state that constitutes the real government of this country, and who actually orchestrated the shooting and the carefully planned “protests” by the indoctrinated, ignorant, and nearly illiterate inmates of the day prisons that we wrongfully refer to as educational institutions. His post is absolute nonsense as evidenced by the “450,000 gun deaths” statement. Its inaccuracy lies in the part of that statistic that he “conveniently” left out. That fact is that suicide by gunfire exceeds that of homicides by over two to one. As Samuel Clemens once remarked, “There are three kinds of lies, lies, damned lies, and statistics”.
I have spent a lifetime denouncing the Deep
State. Your ad hominem attempt to smear me is pathetic.
Agorist, your contempt for the students is well displayed in this article. Why don’t you just tell us how much the NRA is paying you for such garbage?
the NRA is made up of over 5 million people from all walks of life, I am not paying this guy anything,..hurts dont it!! when someone violates your rights
The NRA gets most of its funding from the gun makers, whom it serves. 4 polls show that 3/4 of NRA members support universal background checks, while the NRA opposes. 1/4 of 5 million is just over a million Americans who oppose UBC, which infringes on no rights but makes it harder for violent individuals to obtain guns. The NRA buys politicians (30 million to Trump and 30 million to pro-gun Republicans in 2016) to block the will ofo the peope: 97% of gun owners support UBC, according to recent Quinnipiac poll, and Fox had it has 90%. Fox has 60% of public supports banning semi-automatics, while Q poll has 67%). The NRA is the propganda/lobby arm of the gun makers who put private profits above public safety and contribute to mass carnage (450,000 gun deaths since 9/11) and democratic rule by the people.
One millioin marched in DC the other day; the NRA is reeling from the fact that the vast majority of Americans and gun owners oppose their control of gun legislation and policy. Money from the NRA is now poison, and those who take it are being ushered to the exit door. The young people, not yet brainwashed, are leading the way. The times they are a changin’…..
firearm manufactures dont give money to the NRA, all of the NRA’s paperwork is available to the public, if gun laws worked, Chicago would be a safe place to live, the US Virgin Islands has the strictest gun controls and the highest per capita murder rate, the NRA dont buy politicians we the people vote for them,.Hillarys war chest was in the hundreds of millions, you dont have a problem where she got her money..the poll was worded to get the expected response, 150 million gun owners says different, Membership in the NRA, gun owners of America and the second amendment foundation is growing in leaps and bounds, that speaks louder than your phony polls, we believe in self defense, you want to run and hide..
“In its early days, the National Rifle Association was a grassroots social club that prided itself on independence from corporate influence.
While that is still part of the organization’s core function, today less than half of the NRA’s revenues come from program fees and membership dues.
The bulk of the group’s money now comes in the form of contributions, grants, royalty income, and advertising, much of it originating from gun industry sources.
Since 2005, the gun industry and its corporate allies have given between $20 million and $52.6 million to it through the NRA Ring of Freedom sponsor program. Donors include firearm companies like Midway USA, Springfield Armory Inc, Pierce Bullet Seal Target Systems, and Beretta USA Corporation. Other supporters from the gun industry include Cabala’s, Sturm Rugar & Co, and Smith & Wesson.
The NRA also made $20.9 million — about 10 percent of its revenue — from selling advertising to industry companies marketing products in its many publications in 2010, according to the IRS Form 990.
Additionally, some companies donate portions of sales directly to the NRA. Crimson Trace, which makes laser sights, donates 10 percent of each sale to the NRA. Taurus buys an NRA membership for everyone who buys one of their guns. Sturm Rugar gives $1 to the NRA for each gun sold, which amounts to millions. The NRA’s revenues are intrinsically linked to the success of the gun business.”
businessinsider.com
Chicago is far from the most violent US city and many of its strict gun laws have been repealed. Chicago police report that most guns confiscated from criminals were bought in Indiana, or outside Chicago, because local gun laws are relatively ineffective when you can just go to the next town, county, or state and buy your guns. That is the main argument for universal background checks.
Chicago gun violence is however down by 50% from the 90’s thru 2014 until the recent spike, which came after stricter gun laws were repealed and since has again declined.
“Chicago Police have disputed those criticisms, saying it is a common misconception that Chicago has the country’s strictest gun control, and the department’s officials have contended that gang members face worse sanctions from their gangs for losing a gun than they do by the courts for illegally possessing one.
Police have also emphasized that most guns used in Chicago crimes were bought outside of the city or state, where regulations are not as strict.
“What they fail to recognize is we don’t have strict gun laws that hold people accountable,” Police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said of critics.
So, is Chicago the strictest?
Our regulations are actually similar to those of other major cities, said Roseanna Ander, the founder and executive director of the University of Chicago Crime Lab. The Crime Lab works to reduce violence through scientific analysis and research.
RELATED: Is Chicago One of America’s Most Dangerous Cities? An Examination
“At this point, we’re probably fairly comparable,” Ander said. “I think in New York and Los Angeles, both cities have pretty restrictive gun laws.”
Even in the past, when Chicago had tougher gun regulations, its handgun ban was rivaled by the “restrictive gun laws” of New York and the “onerous” process to get a permit and have a gun in Los Angeles, Ander said.
Here’s a timeline of recent changes to Chicago’s laws:
• June 2010: Chicago’s ban on handguns was ended by the Supreme Court in the McDonald v. Chicago case
• December 2012: Illinois’ concealed carry ban — the last of its kind in the United States — ended in a court decision, though the state still restricts where people can carry concealed guns
• July 2013: The Firearm Concealed Carry Act went into effect, providing regulations for concealed carry
• September 2013: Chicago ends its gun registry
• January 2014: A judge rejected Chicago’s ban on gun shops”
‘https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20151027/downtown/does-chicago-have-strictest-gun-laws-country-its-complicated
I am sorry to tell that Trump, the NRA, and others who profit from the gun industry (the NRA gave Trump 30 million) are lying to you.
“Chicago saw nearly a 16% decline in murders in 2017 from the previous year, according to statistics released in the early hours of New Year’s Day.
The city recorded 650 murders in 2017, a drop from 771 murders in 2016 — which had been the deadliest year in nearly two decades.
https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/01/us/chicago-murders-2017-statistics/index.html
On average, in last 15 years, the gun murder rate in Chicago is about 40% lower than in the previous 15 years, and the spike came AFTER the stricter gun laws were shot down. Most gun violence in Chicago is in a very localized areas where gangs murder each other, but still Chicago is falsely used as the poster child while other cities like St. Louis, Memphis, and St. Louis, with the loosest gun laws of all, are much more violent. Don’t buy the propaganda, friend. They are using you.
only a fraction of the NRA’s money goes to lobbying congress, safety programs and police training makes up most of their expenditures..firearm manufactures supply the military and police also, Former Mayor Michael Bloomberg has spent more money by himself trying to ban guns than the NRA has..and as far as Chicago, Indiana cant sell a gun to an Illinois resident unless they have a state issued FOID card..compare the crime rate in any city in Indiana with Chicago, and Chicago hasnt laxed their gun laws, I have a right to defend myself period!!
Hundreds of millions IS a large fraction and can buy enough politicians to shut down gun law reform.
“The National Rifle Association’s overall spending surged by more than $100 million in 2016, surpassing any previous annual NRA spending totals on record, according to an audit obtained by the Center for Responsive Politics.
The explosion in spending came as the NRA poured unprecedented amounts of money into efforts to deliver Donald Trump the White House and help Republicans hold both houses of Congress.
The audit filed with the state of North Carolina shows that the NRA’s total expenditures exploded to more than $419 million, up from $312 million the prior year.
The jump is even more stark when compared to its spending during the previous two presidential elections in 2012 and 2008, when their outlays topped out at $261 million and $204 million, respectively, according to similar audits.These spending totals include all of the NRA’s operations in 2016, from law enforcement programs and hunter services to education and training.
The main driver of the growth in spending, however, came from two program areas: legislative programs and public affairs, which together accounted for about $75 million in the overall growth. The two program areas are not defined in the financial audit, nor do they have a standard definition in accounting practices, but they likely include the NRA’s historic political spending in the 2016 elections.”
opensecrets.com
Gee Dale would you feel better if the NRA closed it’s doors. I get the feeling you don’t like them. Can we shut down the drug, oil and insurance lobby too?
It would be a great day if the we banned legalized bribes, used by the NRA to buy inaction on gun laws, for all corporations and their shills. It would be the day we become a democratic Republic instead of a plutocracy dominated by Big Money. I think we should ban all money from the political process, as many nations have.
Most American agree that Big Money has corrupted our system: “In a new Bloomberg Politics national poll, 78 percent of those responding said the Citizens United ruling should be overturned, compared with 17 percent who called it a good decision.
“Wow. Wow. I’m stunned,” said David Strauss, a constitutional law professor who teaches at the University of Chicago. “What it suggests is that Citizens United has become a symbol for what people perceive to be a much larger problem, which is the undue influence of wealth in politics.”
We should shut down all forms of legalized bribes. What a great and liberating day that will be!
WOW we agree on something. Now if we could get the media, the Globalists and all existing politicians out of the picture too we would have it made.
Did you march with the students not only against inaction to reduce gun violence but in protest of a system where the gun makers and their shills use Big Money to buy politicians? I did. The people in power won’t act, so it is up to us to make them act. When Dr. King got 300,000 to gather at the I have a dream rally, after nearly 500 years of legal persecution, it was less than 3 months before the Civil Rights Act was passed: critical mass.
The other day, nearly a million, the largest demonstration in our history, gathered in DC. The time has come: join us not just to stop the NRA but to create a political revolution which replaces plutocracy with genuine democracy: rule not by the rich to serve their own interests but rule by the people to serve the common good.
If you join us, you will experience a deep emotion of connection that will rub away the cynicism and frustration that abiding by the status quo brings. There is a deep joy when people unite to fight injustice……I experienced this in the Civil Rights marches in the 60’s, the demonstrations against the War on Vietnam, and most recently, the March for our lives motivated by young people not yet brainwashed into either apathy or cynicism.
NO, Oh hell NO. First of all I am no longer able to march. Aside from that I would never support the Globalists or the elimination of our rights or sovereignty. A few hundred thousand kids and adults may be easy to dupe into marching but many can see through it. “Hope and Change” was easy to see through but not everyone had their eyes open. I think Lenin said it best when he used the term Useful Idiots. I am convinced that the Socialists will win in the long run. They will continue to brainwash the youth through the indoctrination camps (public schools), continue to chip away at basic rights, eventually eliminate the Constitution and become Socialist drones under a Global government. Fortunately I will no longer be here.
Prviate sales require no id, no background check, no monitoring. Chicago police report criminals get their guns in Indiana in private sales. Private sales are in effect secret.
“Indianapolis ranked number 9.” as the murder capital of the us.
Indiana has a higher gun murder rate than the national average of 2.75/100K at 3.29. And the fact remains that Chicago’s strict gun laws have been repealed, which is when the spike occured, and it is still easy to get assault weapons etc in Indiana where you can buy them with no checks of any kind in private sales.
You have a right to defend yoursellfbut homes with guns have 270% more gun deaths than homes without, so, in general, the best defense is to get rid of your guns. Guns, as demonstrated by peer-reviewed studies, pose more of a threat than a protection to your family. The FBI reports that each year there are about 100 murders by home invaders compared to 5000 gun murders by family and/or friends. Having a gun increases the chances of a gun death in your home, my friend. Homes without guns are much safer. You can deny the evidence or gamble against the odds, but be aware that in having a gun, you are increasing the likehood of a gun death or injury in your home.
This applies to both homicides and suicides”
“A new survey in the Annals of Internal Medicine narrows down some of the causal relationship between guns and death by finding conclusively that having a gun in your home makes you more likely to successfully attempt suicide.”
“Gun death rates are 7 times higher in the states with the highest compared with the lowest household gun ownership. (Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Injury Control Research Center, 2009).”
“States with the highest levels of gun ownership have 114 percent higher firearm homicide rates and 60 percent higher homicide rates than states with the lowest gun ownership (Miller, Hemenway, and Azrael, 2007, pp. 659, 660).
The risk of homicide is three times higher in homes with firearms (Kellermann, 1993, p. 1084).
Higher gun ownership puts both men and women at a higher risk for homicide, particularly gun homicide (Harvard School of Public Health, Harvard Injury Control Research Center, 2009).”
Dahhhhhhhhh Having a car makes it more likely you will get in an accident.
That makes no sense. Homes with guns have 3 times more gun deaths than homes without. You do not need a gun to get to work. Car deaths are down because of strict regulation, safety features, registration, background tests, driving tests, and insurance required. Cars are not bought to keep our homes safe, guns are, but home with guns have nearly 3 times more gun deaths so in fact guns are not keeping homes safe but making them more unsafe. Wake up!
It makes perfect sense. Most people choose to follow traffic laws and most people choose to follow laws against illegal drugs…. but not the bad guys. Like the drug laws, when you people get the guns do you think the bad guys are going to comply? Maybe not. I live alone and I would like to know what gives you the right to tell me how I should live. I have legally owned guns for more than 40 years and have had a permit to carry all that time. Although I live alone my guns are kept in a large safe when not in use. I comply with the gun laws just like the drug laws and the traffic laws. So tell me dale what gives you any yours the right to take my guns?
You ask a good question: will bad guys comply?
The same question can be asked about speeding laws or laws against robbery.
First, who are the bad guys. The FBI reports that on average, less than 1% of gun murders are done by home invaders, and 6% are done by gang members (mosty killing each other) but half of all gun murders are family and friends (such as husbands, ex-boyfriends). So the majority of bad guys are not strangers but actually people we know. And when a husband shoots his wife, as happens thousands of times a year, he becomes a “bad guy.”
Second, do we have any evidence that gun control can keep bad guys from getting guns?
We do: we have the experience of 34 other high income/advanced nations, all of whom have much stricter gun laws and drastically lower gun murder rates than the US
We will not cherry pick. The nation with the highest gun murder rate among our peer nations is our neighbor Canada, which has 85% lower gun murder rates. Police in Canada claim that when “bad guys” are caught with guns, the guns almost always were bought in the US and smuggled in.
What about nations with many guns like Germany and Switzerand. They have very restrictive gun laws and a gun murder rate 95% lower than the US. Bad guys have a hard time finding guns.
How about the average: the average gun murder rate of the other 34 developed nations (I will give sources to factecheck at the end) is over 90% lower than the US.
What nations have the lowest gun murder rates? These are the two nearly gun free zones of the UK and Japan: since 9/11, the US had had over 200,000 gun murders, the UK about 600, Japan about 150. So can we conclude that the bad guys in Germany or Japan or the UK are just bad shots or rather the obvious answer that they have trouble obtaining weapons. No law is perfect but we want to reduce gun violence even if we cannot entirely eliminate it as they have virtually done in Japan, which 50 years ago had a gun murder rate as high as the US but thru the strictest laws reduced guns and gun violence about 2% a year…which over 50 years resulted in reducing the gun murder rate by 99.9%.
Australia, since it enacted its stricter laws in 1996, has seen a reduction of 60 in gun murders and 50% in overall murders.
‘For all these 34 nations the overall murder is rates is about 80% lower than the US.
Those are the facts; you can check them at gunpolicy.org, nationmaster/homicides; and wikipedia/homicides, all of which collect and publish official data on guns and gun violence.
So let us return to the question: will bad guys comply with stricter laws? The answer comes to us from 34 other nations which have seen strict laws result in over 90% lower gun murder rates, and even the criminal gangs in the UK and Japan rarely shoot anyone. There just aren’t guns easily accessible.
Sometimes, guns are stolen or smuggled and bad guys do bad things but, again, the inability to stop all gun violence is not an argument against proven laws and policies which have drastically decreased gun violence and practically eliminated it in the two most gun free nations of the UK and Japan.
I urge you to fact check the information I have presented, all taken from the sources I have cited.
The evidence of 34 peer nations is that strict and common sense laws such as universal background checks with a comprehensive data bank that prohibits individuals with a history of violence from obtaining guns legally works! It doesn’t stop every crime with firearms but it does reduce the gun murder rate from 85-99%!
The key to the effectiveness of these laws is universality. A criminal in the UK cannot drive to the next county to buy his guns; nor the criminal in the UK. The bad guy in Germany cannot drive to France to buy his weapons, for all European nations have rigorous gun regulations. But if you live in Sacramento and want to do bad things you can just drive to Reno and load up and come back home ready to go a spree.
That is why we need universal gun laws, and the evidence of ALL other advanced nations is that they work, that they keep guns out of the hands of “bad guys” and that they reduce gun violence by a factor of 9.
Those are the facts; I will leave it to you to appy them to our situation and explain why what works in 34 other nation cannot work in the United States. These nations have found a remedy for high rates of gun murder and this remedy is there for us to adopt. Those who make excuses we we cannot are complicit in a nation that sees 90 deaths by gun each day, several in the time it has taken me to write this post.
We know what works; we just have to have the will to use the lessons of alll the other deveoped nations. We just have to stand up to the gun makers and their propaganda and lobbying shills and say NO More. We will make it hard for bad guys to get guns and have severe punishments for those who provide them with firearms………at last.
First of all, Yes I have seen these stats but I have also seen statistics that that say when the guns are removed other violent crime goes up. Second, You know full well that the desire to remove guns from American citizens has nothing to do with safety. This is about more control over the masses. Perhaps there are a few kids who are genuinely concerned about School safety and a some adults foolish enough to think this is a safety issue but the handlers, elitists, would-be rulers are afraid of the masses having guns and simply want more control. You know this is true.
Third, this is the United States of America, not Canada, not Japan not Australia. The 2nd Amendment is unique to this country. It does not give us a Right. It requires the Government to protect a natural right of a person to protect their life and liberty and even to remove a tyrannical government.
Forth, I would still like you to answer the basic question. Why do you and your party believe you have the right, duty, responsibility to tell ME, as someone that follows the law, cannot own a gun or guns? Not the masses, Not gangs, Not Bad guys, ME……. Again, there is only one reason to take guns from law abiding Americans and that is control… You know this is true.
Don’t you mean, “it hurts doesn’t it”? You did pass high school English didn’t you? Yes, it would hurt I’m sure to have your right to kill America’s children on a daily basis, stopped. Where will you look for your victims? Maybe you’ll join the army and kill children in other countries. Wouldn’t that satisfy your blood thirst?
3 historic examples of gun control: 1. Cambodia under Pol Pot, 2. Germany under Hilter, 3. Russia under Stalin. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/057e3b31aae6a0adbad908aefe731bf04c443a382113fb566a96dbff103b209c.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/52f5ec0f067fe1fcd25ba38f7a984c3f33e446165c43ef34440829f53f5afe61.jpg https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f305e18ba2f4362c9ca328a5776e2d5ca28e391483e7b0df919a516b73d71c58.jpg
U repeat the same regurgitated bullshit. Change ur record about Hitler, go do some real research on real history. Unless ure a holohoaxer.
Please don’t forget the Ukrainians. They were purposely starved to death.
All told, there was in excess of 100million people murdered in the 20th century by “socialists” after they disarmed the people. These stupid kids no nothing about this.
More NRA lies: in 1938,, the Nazis passed the Germans Weapons Act which liberalized, expanded, and deregulated guns for 99% of the German population. Like the NRA, the Nazis hated the gun controls imposed after losing WWI and they sought to expand gun rights to create “an armed Aryan nation.”
Look it up.
The two most gun free nations, with a virtual ban on guns are the UK and Japan, which have 99.9% lower gun murder rates and are ranked in terms of civil liberties and political freedom higher than the US by several conservative organizations that rank nations yearly. Both are “free” with A ratings.
The right to a safe environment, in all other 34 advanced nations, almost all with A ratings for freedom, trumps the right to own guns. That is why Japan, a nation with high ratings, is the safest nation on earth. It turns out the best self-defense is a society without guns, and the dogma that such nations will be totalitarian dictatorships is refuted by the freedom enjoyed by citizens of the UK and Japan.
NRA lies are meant not to educate but to block gun regulation and to promote gun sales. Those days are coming to an end.
” Power always thinks it has a great soul ” – John Quincy Adams
You live in an ” Anarcho – Tyrannical ” State when Domestic Enemies of The Constitution and the Elite super predator criminals create havoc at will , while the majority of citizens freedoms are eviscerated by ever increasing tyranny .
im guessing some politicians own stock in the clear backpack company
Call me unobservant, but I’ve never seen a clear backpack in my life before this. Did you? Had no idea such a thing existed. Sounds like something that would never sell ordinarily. Suddenly, it appears? Smells like a forethought?
i think the nfl has a similar policy clear bags only entering stadiums
useless policies from useless people
I bet these snowflakes don’t see the humor of their situation.
There’s nothing funny about 15,000 murders a year and 20,000 suicides by gun.
Hey, want to know what’s a real riot – 300,000 deaths yearly by doctors. Why aren’t we talking about banning doctors.
Government stats show that five times as many teenagers die from knives than guns- just not all at once as in a mass shooting. So where is their big protest over knives? I worked in the mental health field for fifteen years, and during my orientation about “client rights” there was extensive training about honoring the civil rights of the people we cared for. So I asked: “Does that include the right to keep and bear arms, even though these people are acknowledged to be mentally deficient?” To my complete astonishment, the answer was “Yes” even these people, whom the government knows shouldn’t have guns, have a second amendment right! Policies may be different now, but I think the problem back then was obvious. And when you look at how many of these shooters were under clinical care for mental health issues, including the prescribing of psychotropic drugs, the real answer isn’t banning guns; it is assuring that the wrong people are not allowed to have them.
That is a barefaced lie. What is your source. The FBI reports that in 2016 there were
15,070 total murders, with firearms involved in 11,040 and knives and other sharp objects involved in 1.604, or about 11% of all murders. https://ucr.fbi.gov/crime-in-the-u.s/2016/crime-in-the-u.s.-2016/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-4.xls
“From 2012 to 2014, on average, 1,297 children died annually from a gun-related injury in the US, according to the study, published in the journal Pediatrics on Monday.”
“…the U.S. Department of Justice’s study on homicide trends from 1980-2008 found that children under 14 accounted for 1.5 homicides per 100,000 people in 2008. In a similar timeframe, teens had a 5.1 per 100,000 victimization rate. From 1980-2008, 10 percent of U.S. homicide victims were children under 18.”
So if you do the math, you will see that most youths are killed by guns, just as with adults. The claim that while guns kill 9 times more adults than knives while teenagers die 5 times by knife is pure bullshit, to use a technical term.
I urge you to publish here your source for this absurd claim. Here finally are the facts that show how dangerously wrong you are: “Firearms were the instrument of death in 88 percent of teen homicides and 41 percent of teen suicides in 2014.”
Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2015). Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS) [Online]. National Center for Injury Prevention and Control, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (producer). Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/injury/wisqars/fatal.html
I said this on another site.
The march was planned, organized, and funded by communists, led by communists, who led a bunch of ignoramuses.
Now the “kids” are mad because the ideas they supported (taking away rights) will be used against them.
What goes around, comes around.
Pure fascist bullshit.
U have no idea what fascism really means, but like any libtard u like to use big words and victimize urself.
Too true
When it comes to gun control, the left scream, “Listen to the children, they have the answers!” In this case, the “children” are Hogg and his crew who are thrilled with their star status and all the adulation from Hollywood types. Hogg and crew don’t notice their Hollywood “friends” are fine with the transparent backpacks. As student Tyra Hemans complained, “Why are you punishing me for one person’s actions?”
Libs and progressives believe they are incapable of prejudice and stereotyping. I was in many on-line courses with a fellow who constantly denigrated Christians, conservatives, the military, gun owners, etc, etc. He engaged in personal attacks on anyone who did not immediately agree with him- “You are just a …” followed by Democrat/progressive talking points and their echoes in the MSM. Instructors refused to admonish him. I always said whatever position he took, he should think for himself, instead of just repeating stereotypes. I completed my degree, and two years later (2003) he called me at home. He was confused and hurt. (He got my number from an instructor who shared his opinions.)
He worked at a private company with 300 people, where he and the owner’s secretary constantly vented their disgust about the above groups. Then, the secretary started calling him an ‘Eco-terrorist’ because of his SUV, – a popular meme at the time – and many employees shunned him. She sent emails across the company, describing how SUVs were contributing to global warming, people who owned them were destroying the environment. In three weeks, “Terrorist” was painted on his windshield several times and twice his tires were slashed. Parking lot security videos conveniently ‘disappeared.’ He had the SUV because his two boys were involved in sports and scouts. For years, he drove doctors and nurses to and from work in snow storms, and gave the secretary and others rides. He couldn’t fathom why they would not acknowledge the good things he did. I said “That’s how stereotypes work, and it’s how you’ve been treating people.” He said it was not fair, and I said “Exactly!” He could not believe they treated him that way. He just kept repeating” it just isn’t fair” and finally hung up.
Millions of children marched the other day. They are leading us out of this quagmire of mass carnage, with over 450,000 gun deaths since 9/11. The carnage is not the act of one man but of a system, paid for by the gun makers, using the NRA as their paymaster and propaganda agent, to buy politicians to block the kind of common sense gun reform an overwhelming majority of Americans support.
I guess no matter what you read (if you actually read my comment) your only response is the same rehearsed line of propaganda. Also, I never said carnage came from the actions of one man. My point was the kids paint others with broad brush but cannot stand it themselves, as in the example of the fellow I mentioned. He was not out to destroy the environment. He had an SUV for very practical reasons and did good things with it. None of that mattered to the people stereotyped him. I was also alluding to a system where those in authority tacitly agreed with him and refused to apply University policy about in class behavior, facilitating his attacks on and stereotyping of most other students, as well as later giving him my home phone number. They agreed with him, so rules did not apply.
You refer to ’a system’ run by gun makers and the NRA. What about the ‘system’ of liberal pundits, politicians, and the MSM, that for decades, has enthusiastically vilified and stereotyped guns and gun owners. One example, among thousands: (CNN/By KC Maas and Josh Levs, Thu December 27, 2012) was the New York paper, The Journal News, that published an interactive map listing the names and addresses of every Licensed Pistol Permit holder in New York’s Westchester and Rockland counties. They had published a similar article in 2006. The paper’s publisher, Janet Hasson, president of the Journal News Media Group, said, “We knew publication of the database (as well as the accompanying article providing context) would be controversial, but we felt sharing information about gun permits in our area was important in the aftermath of the Newtown shootings.” [In other words, a broad brush of permit holders who had passed background checks.] A few days later, the reporters and editors behind the story were outraged when bloggers published their names and address. Reporters and editors felt it was okay to do it to permit holders but not to them.
I asked a local TV reporter friend why the MSM do not report thousands of incidents where guns were used to stop crimes with out a shot fired. The national network execs have stated in closed meetings that there will be no content that mentions guns in any positive way. Summarized: Reporting those incidents might encourage someone to buy or use a gun. We don’t want people to think that owning or using a gun is ever a good thing.
They love dishing it out, but hate receiving… ha ha.
Boo Hoo chicki, lacks knowledge, poor schooling; Sick system-PC Parental/Public Culpability. Wake up America. Put focus on someone who knows something worthy of attention.
The majority of high school students today lack cognitive thinking skills. Point in case- they do not understand double standards. Idiots…