If gun laws in fact worked, the sponsors of this type of legislation should have no difficulty drawing upon long lists of examples of criminal acts reduced by such legislation. That they cannot do so after a century and a half of trying … that they must sweep under the rug the southern attempts at gun control in the 1870-1910 period, the northeastern attempts in the 1920-1939 period, the attempts at both Federal and State levels in 1965-1976 … establishes the repeated, complete and inevitable failure of gun laws to control serious crime.

Senator Orrin Hatch
In a 1982 Senate Report
[Senator Hatch said this over 20 years before I tried to say essentially the same thing with Just One Question.—Joe]

According to Mr. Schindler’s wife Maria, when Schindler decided to liberate his Jewish workers, he handed them all semiautomatic weapons so they could fight the Nazis.

In today’s politically correct Hollywood, Steven Spielberg probably would have ruined his chances for an Oscar by telling the whole story about Oskar Schindler’s devotion to freedom.

William R Tonso & David B. Kopel
August 24, 1994
Gun Bans and “Schindler’s List”

The Wild West was never as wild as many communities in Chicago, Los Angeles, New York, Boston, (and on and on) are.

Geoffrey Canada
Fist Stick Knife Gun: A Personal History of Violence
[I haven’t looked up the actual numbers but I suspect his statement is true as long as you don’t regard the Hollywood Western as the definition of “Wild West”. In which case we have a good comeback for those anti-gun people who claim we don’t need guns anymore because “the Wild West doesn’t exist anymore.”

I finished this book recently and need to review/fisk it. I believe Canada has some excellent insights, is a good person, is making a positive difference in the lives of countless people, and came to his anti-gun views honestly. But I think his conclusions about guns are incorrect and misguided.—Joe]

Young women are speaking out as to why AR-15 weapons are their weapon of choice. The guns are accurate, they have good handling, they’re light, they’re easy for women to hold. And most importantly, their appearance. An assault weapon in the hands of a young woman defending her babies in her home becomes a defense weapon. And the peace of mind that a woman has as she’s facing three, four, five violent attackers or intruders in her home with her children screaming in the background. The peace of mind from having a big, scary-looking gun gives her courage when she’s facing hardened, violent criminals.

Gayle Trotter
Independent Women’s Forum Senior Fellow
January 30, 2013
Best lines from the gun violence hearing
[It’s bigger than a handgun but not so big as a shotgun which can be cumbersome in close quarters.

Think of it as a Goldilocks gun. It’s not too big. It’s not too little. It’s just right.—Joe]

When you’re wearing a gun, you do not get upset if someone takes your parking space, or if someone cuts you in line. You have this quite noble sense of being the sheepdog, being the protector.

Dan Baum
March 6, 2013
What Liberals Need to Understand About ‘Gun Guys’
[H/T to Cargosquid for the email.

I don’t agree with everything he said in the article but I come close enough that I don’t think it is worth squabbling about. The above quote really resonated with me. I said essentially the same thing years ago and I’m pretty sure it was in a Massad Ayob book that I read something similar as well.—Joe]

What we are trying to do here tonight is not to protect ourselves from violent crime. What we are trying to do here tonight is prevent students and teachers from feeling uncomfortable by you carrying a gun to protect yourself.

Every witness that has come up here tonight, they want to feel unintimidated and feel free to debate freely on a college campus. And having you have the right to defend yourself against a violent attacker weighs more for them than for you and the right to self-defense. And for that, I apologize.

Ted Harvey
Colorado Republican state Senator.
March 4, 2013
COLORADO DEM TO RAPE SURVIVOR: A GUN WOULDN’T HAVE HELPED YOU AGAINST RAPIST BECAUSE ‘STATISTICS ARE NOT ON YOUR SIDE’
[Some people are taking this statement out of context and using just the first paragraph. I too did this on Facebook. I now believe this is wrong.

Taken in the context of this lead in to the quote above things take on a different flavor:

Republican state Sen. Ted Harvey took a shot at Democrats’ gun control efforts, telling Collins that the point of Colorado’s proposed ban on firearms on campus is to make sure people aren’t “uncomfortable.”

Hence it appears to me that Harvey was explaining the stupid, callus, and indefensible position of the anti-gun people. Many people claim they have a right to not be offended or that gun owners make them uncomfortable and government should ease their discomfort. And this was the case in the hearing and Harvey was justified in calling them out for it.

You don’t have a right to not be offended. You have no more business asking the government to make you feel better by restricting the rights of gun owners than you do asking the government to forbid people of color from using the same water fountains, restrooms, and swimming pools or mixed race couples from using the same restaurants as you.—Joe]

The “general welfare” is every tyrant’s excuse, going back to Robespierre and the guillotine. Free people are not in the habit of providing reasons why they “need” something simply because the government wants to ban it. That’s true of anything — but especially something the government is constitutionally prohibited from banning, like guns.

The question isn’t whether we “need” guns. It’s whether the government should have a monopoly on force.

In liberals’ ideal world, no one will even know you don’t have to wait 22 minutes for the police when someone breaks into your home, there are toilets that can get the job done on one flush, food tastes better with salt, and you can drive over 55 mph and get there faster.

Meanwhile, we’re all required to subsidize their hobbies — recycling, abortion, the “arts,” bicycling, illegal alien workers, etc.

Liberals ought to think about acquiring a new hobby: leaving people alone.

Ann Coulter
February 27, 2013
WHY DOES ANYONE NEED TO READ ABOUT CELEBRITIES?
[The one thing I would add is that the “question” as to whether the government should have a monopoly on force has been answered. The answer is not just “No”, but “HELL NO!” There are about 100 million reasons (bodies) that answered that question in the 20th Century alone.

But then Liberals know they can’t implement “justice” without a monopoly on force. Force is part of their nature.—Joe]