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Scapegoat Alert! D.C. Murders Increase, Police Chief Blames . . .

Friday, August 21, 2015

Scapegoat Alert! D.C. Murders Increase, Police Chief Blames . . .

Murders in the District of Columbia are not nearly as common as they were a generation ago, when the city’s crack cocaine gangs and former handgun ban held sway. However, murders in D.C. are up by a third thus far in 2015, as compared to the first eight months of last year. And while the local police union faults the city’s police chief, Cathy Lanier, for dismantling units that had kept drug gangs at bay, Lanier is pointing an accusatory finger at guns.

Lanier speculates that changes in gun laws around the country and the popularity of “high-capacity” magazines are responsible for D.C.’s worsening murder situation. The theory is odd, however. As the Washington Post reports, many of D.C.’s murders result from stabbings, not gunfire. And, in 2013, the way that neighboring Maryland changed its gun laws was by banning magazines holding more than 10 rounds, banning “assault weapons,” and requiring permits to purchase handguns. At the same time, similar gun and magazine bans were also imposed in Connecticut and New York.

Instead of blaming guns, Lanier might do well to consider a few other factors. In June, the Washington Post reportedthat about 500 officers had left the city’s police department in the previous 18 months. Last week, the newspaper reported that 55 of the city’s then-91 murders were still open cases and, according to Chief Lanier herself, more than 10 percent of D.C.’s murders involve violent felons recently let out of prison. This week, Lanier even said that some of D.C.’s murder suspects have as many as a dozen prior arrests for violent crimes.

Lanier should know there’s not a single new gun law in any state that has made it easier for members of narcotics gangs or anyone else in D.C. to obtain guns. Federal law prohibits anyone other than D.C.’s one firearm dealer from transferring a handgun to a resident of the District and prohibits anyone from selling a handgun to anyone under age 18.

Despite its history of restrictive gun laws, the District of Columbia’s murder rate has been three to 10 times higher than the national rate for the last 50 years. The expression, “people kill people” is perhaps nowhere so apt, as it is in the District. To be sure, the District has a problem. But it’s not the ability, elsewhere in the United States, of law-abiding people to exercise their fundamental right to keep and bear arms.

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Friday, February 7, 2025

NRA Statement on President Trump’s Executive Order Protecting Second Amendment Rights

Today, the White House announced a new Executive Order to protect and expand the Second Amendment rights of all law-abiding Americans. This is the first action taken by President Donald J. Trump to carry through ...

Vermont: Crossover Day Defeats All Anti-Gun Bills for 2025

Friday, March 14, 2025

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Today, March 14th, is  the "crossover" deadline in the Vermont legislature. Bills that fail to advance out of the chamber of origin are considered "dead" for the session.

Oregon Court Of Appeals Reverses Lower Court Decision, Lifts Hold on Ballot Measure 114

Wednesday, March 12, 2025

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On Wednesday, March 12th, the Oregon Court of Appeals reversed a lower court decision that had declared unconstitutional Ballot Measure 114, which imposed a permit-to-purchase scheme and banned the possession of magazines capable of holding more than 10 rounds of ammunition. ...

Washington Post Admits that Anti-gun Lawfare “Cannot be the Solution” to Crime

News  

Monday, March 17, 2025

Washington Post Admits that Anti-gun Lawfare “Cannot be the Solution” to Crime

In a turnabout worthy of Invasion of the Body Snatchers, The Washington Post (WAPO) published an editorial last Tuesday criticizing the gun control movement for ignoring the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA) and pursing its agenda in ...

New Mexico: Semi-Auto Ban Legislation Held Over in Committee Until Friday

Thursday, March 6, 2025

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Yesterday the New Mexico Senate Judiciary Committee met to continue discussions on Senate Bill 279 (GoSAFE). The author did not accept the committee substitute to amend the near all-encompassing ban on semi-auto firearms with equally ...

California: Bill to Restrict Self Defense Withdrawn by Sponsor

Friday, March 14, 2025

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On Wednesday afternoon, Assemblymember Zbur announced he is withdrawing Assembly Bill 1333 that would have restricted self-defense rights in California. The legislation, which was strongly supported by Everytown for Gun Safety and Moms Demand Action, ...

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Friday, March 14, 2025

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In the wake of this week's court decision on Ballot Measure 114, anti-gun radicals in the legislature intend to add insult to injury. 

Canada: A Fresh Gun Ban as Trudeau Exits

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Monday, March 17, 2025

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Just three months ago, Canada’s Liberal government announced that an additional 324 so-called “assault-style” firearms had been added to the list of banned guns established under then-Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in 2020.

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Established in 1975, the Institute for Legislative Action (ILA) is the "lobbying" arm of the National Rifle Association of America. ILA is responsible for preserving the right of all law-abiding individuals in the legislative, political, and legal arenas, to purchase, possess and use firearms for legitimate purposes as guaranteed by the Second Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.