There are no dangerous weapons; there are only dangerous men. We’re trying to teach you to be dangerous–to the enemy. Dangerous even without a knife. Deadly as long as you still have one hand or one foot and are still alive.

Robert A. Heinlein
Sergeant Zim
A character in Robert A. Heinlein’s book Starship Troopers
Page 61
[I would probably say it slightly different. I would say, “There are no dangerous weapons; there are only dangerous minds.” In any case the anti-gun bigots need to learn this lesson.

In case you hadn’t guessed I’m listening to Starship Troopers on my long commute to/from Idaho/Seattle. I had read it before but that was probably in the mid-70s. I remember Heinlein being a major influence on my world view. I sometimes have wondered if I would still be as impressed with him now that I am 30 years older than when I read his works. I’m not wondering anymore. It has a lot more meaning to me now than what I remember from then. And I’m recommending to Xenia that she read this book. Her boyfriend is in the U.S. Army. I had kept my Heinlein collection all these years “for my children, if I ever have any”. I could never get any of them interested before–but things change when members of the opposite sex start influencing your children.–Joe]

These numbers should make everyone question the NRA’s campaign for lax CCW laws under the guise of fighting crime.  If the gun lobby is truly interested in reducing crime, they should work for common sense measures like stopping criminals from getting guns at gun shows and limiting handgun sales to one per person per month to cut gun trafficking. Working with lawmakers, law enforcement, the public health community and civic leaders on proven crime-fighting strategies, we can make America safer for everyone.

Sarah Brady
Regarding a ‘study’ that claims crime rates fell faster in states that did not have ‘shall issue’ concealed carry laws.
Originally from: http://www.handguncontrol.org/press/RLSE.htm (As of January 20, 1999)
Currently found here: CONCEALED TRUTH Concealed Weapons Laws and Trends in Violent Crime in the United States
Issued October 22, 1999
[What she fails to tell you is that the crime rate was much higher in the states with disarmed vicitims both at the beginning and at the end of the time period under consideration. The crime rate could be zero at both the beginning and the end in states with lots of guns and 1000 murders per 100,000 and then later 999 murders per 100,000 in the Sarah’s utopia and she would still be singing the same song of joy and be entirely truthful.–Joe]

We call upon the city government and Congress to immediately repeal the District’s Draconian gun regulations. The city’s law-abiding citizens must be allowed to fight back, and regain control of their neighborhoods. Any politician, whether in the municipal government or on Capitol Hill, who does not trust the citizens of Washington, D.C. with their Second Amendment rights does not deserve to hold office, and should hand in his or her resignation. This risk-free working environment for criminals must end now.

Alan Gottlieb
July 13, 2006 News Release
Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms

Contrary to widespread opinion, to rationally demonstrate or justify a belief is not synonymous with claiming certainty for that belief.  Depending on various factors, such as the nature and amount of available evidence, a belief may be categorized as probable to some degree.  If this is what the evidence warrants, the belief has been justified.  Reason demands that the degree of certitude assigned to a belief must be in accordance with the available evidence.  Reason does not demand that every bit of human knowledge must be accepted as certain or closed to further investigation.

George H. Smith
From: Atheism: The Case Against God
[Although not directly mentioned in this quote I took Smith’s approach to theism in my approach to gun control. Translated that comes out as, demonstrate to me that your belief in the goodness of gun restrictions is valid. Hence, I have Just One Question. I have been asking that question for over six years now and still there is no answer other than the absurd.–Joe]

The introduction of tough laws to control guns and knives appears to be failing to keep lethal weapons out of the hands of Australian criminals.

An Australian Institute of Criminology study of interviews with more than 2300 prisoners also found that drug users were more likely to carry – and use – weapons than other offenders.

Greg Ansley
July 6, 2006
Tough new weapons laws ‘miss hard core of criminal underworld’
The New Zealand Herald
[We told you so. And a reminder of Just One Question. Thanks to David Hardy at Of Arms & the Law–Joe]