Saturday, March 11, 2006

More email from the NRA...

Brady stuff...

SAME OLD SILLINESS, DIFFERENT YEAR

--Brady Campaign's Latest Annual "Grades" for State Gun Laws

Every year since 1997, the Brady Campaign, previously known as Handgun Control, Inc., has "graded" the states on their gun laws. It released its 2005 grades on March 9, 2006.
Brady's premise is simple. It supports gun prohibition and laws that inch closer to gun prohibition, so it naturally believes there are not enough gun laws. In the group's press release announcing its new "grades," its chair, Sarah Brady, says, "we have done almost nothing, at the state or Federal level, to make it harder for either a terrorist, garden variety armed robber, or young person to get their hands on a handgun." This is an incredible statement, given that the Brady Act, for which the group claims credit, requires a criminal background check on anyone who purchases a firearm from a firearm dealer, and given the fact that there are many other federal and state gun laws.
Brady's approach to its "grades" is equally simple: the fewer a state's restrictions on guns, the lower the grade, and conversely, more state gun control laws equate to a higher grade. This year, Brady gives 32 states an "F" or "D" (10 "Fs" and 22 "Ds") and the average "grade" for the 50 states is a "D+", about the same as in previous years.
However, there is no correlation between Brady's grades and violent crime or firearm-related deaths. For example, six of the 10 states Brady gives an "F", and 13 of the 22 states Brady gives a "D", have violent crime rates below the national rate.
There is also no correlation between Brady's grades and trends in violent crime or gun-related deaths. Since 1991, violent crime has declined every year, 39% overall, to a 30-year low (and murder has declined to a 39-year low), and since 1993 the firearm-related death rate has decreased 32% among the whole population and decreased 63% among children. Yet, as noted, Brady's grades are essentially unchanged from year to year, mostly "Fs" and Ds".
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Great. Now where's the link so that we all can have a giggle at what grade the nanny's gave our state?

No link. I hate that. Email from the NRA provides more links to things you could give two shits about, but none for this.

Yes, it's great that accidental injury from firearms is way down, and that people, cough, rednecks, are being more careful with guns, but if you're going to mock the Brady Bunch then for the love of mercy give us a fucking LINK. This is 2006. Google is for losers. If it is interesting enough to quote, then it is interesting enough to link to, or give us the whole story and be done with it. Which is why I don't link to the NRA itself because most of the prattle is old-man-windbag drivel, so I pick and choose what might be cool for gun aficianados.

I was hoping that Florida would go from D to an F. The Brady's were here in force handing out leaflets warning people to be nice because Floridians could now defend themselves from car-jackings and the like, and no longer had to run.

Imagine that. Dying face to face and not with a bullet in the back of your head.

I for one thought it was neat that they were telling folks to be polite. People should be polite, anyway, regardless of the fact that the person they're fucking with MIGHT just whip out a piece and drill them.

And can we please get rid of this Castle-Doctrine bullshit. Please. This isn't France, or England, or some other dirty place. ALL men and women of good will have the right to defend themselves, their families, and their property. Now, we can't go calling it the Big-Balls-Doctrine, this I understand, but Castle?

Our colors don't run, and neither do we. Case closed.

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