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 Outside the Beltway 

Gun Control Irony Alert

Under the provocative headline “The Thugs Win the Case,” WaPo columnist Colbert King sniffs of the Supreme Court’s ruling yesterday in Heller,

There’s one group of District residents absolutely unfazed by today’s U.S. Supreme Court ruling shooting down the District’s strict handgun ban: the dudes who have been blowing away their fellow citizens with abandon since the law was put on the books 32 years ago.

But, surely, these dudes were not in fact doing any such thing, what with it being illegal to have guns and all? Not to mention it being illegal to blow away one’s fellow citizens, which I understand was not affected by yesterday’s ruling?

Otherwise, it’s hard to see how yesterday’s ruling affected anyone but the targets of said thugs, law-abiding fellow citizens of the District who were unable to own handguns and had to keep rifles and shotguns in a state that rendered them completely useless if their homes were invaded.

About the Author: James Joyner is the publisher of Outside the Beltway and the managing editor of the Atlantic Council. He's a former Army officer, Desert Storm vet, and college professor with a PhD in political science from The University of Alabama. He lives just outside the Beltway in Alexandria, Virginia.

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Comments
 

As Buggs Bunny would say, "What a maroon!"

Posted by John | June 27, 2008 | 08:07 am | Permalink
 

Perhaps were the anti-gun types to explain to us how 'gun free zones' have prevented thugs from using guns inside them in places like Virginia Tech and so on, they might actually have a case.
As it is virginia tech has a memorial to remind us of the victims of the gun free policy.

Posted by Bithead | June 27, 2008 | 08:16 am | Permalink
 

Eleanor Holmes Norton tells me that they'll have blood running in the streets of DC as a result of this ruling. I wonder how long it'll be for that effect to come about?

I mean, y'know, she can't be wrong about it or anything like that.

Posted by Boyd | June 27, 2008 | 08:58 am | Permalink
 

"Eleanor Holmes Norton tells me that they'll have blood running in the streets of DC as a result of this ruling. I wonder how long it'll be for that effect to come about?"

What a silly nanny goat. Mayor Fenty said specifically that the rulling means guns in the home, not in the street. No carrying guns in the street.

Just as the Chief of Police's declaration that our gang's will henceforth be called Crews, has lessened the amount of gang crime in the District, Fenty's proclamation of no guns in the street will mean a lessening of gun deaths, because, at the moment, so many gun deaths occur in the street.

Posted by davod | June 27, 2008 | 09:13 am | Permalink
 

Perhaps were the anti-gun types to explain to us how 'gun free zones' have prevented thugs from using guns inside them in places like Virginia Tech and so on, they might actually have a case.

I don't think the gun-free zones were ever intended to stop somebody who was intent on using his guns in those zones. It was meant to stop those people who may decide to use their weapon on impulse, because it is conveniently available.

It's like they say about door locks, they don't keep bad people out, they just keep good people honest.

(Please note: I'm not taking a position on whether such zones are good or bad, effective or not.)

Posted by Michael | June 27, 2008 | 09:19 am | Permalink
 

It's like they say about door locks, they don't keep bad people out, they just keep good people honest.

How can someone be considered good if the only reason they're honest is because they're forced into it?

Posted by c. wagener | June 27, 2008 | 09:59 am | Permalink
 

I don't think the gun-free zones were ever intended to stop somebody who was intent on using his guns in those zones. It was meant to stop those people who may decide to use their weapon on impulse, because it is conveniently available.

.... even in defense. And we now understand the consequences of that non-thinking.

Posted by Bithead | June 27, 2008 | 10:06 am | Permalink
 

How can someone be considered good if the only reason they're honest is because they're forced into it?

Wasn't it Frost who suggested good fences make good neighbors?

Posted by Bithead | June 27, 2008 | 10:07 am | Permalink
 

Wasn't it Frost who suggested good fences make good neighbors?

And that is the point of this debate; it is not about a hunk of metal you hold in your hand. It is about your right to feel safe and secure, establish limits to violent personal intrusion, and give you the peace of mind that you are not a completely helpless human being.

The greatest intrusion I feel comes from the government.

"All political power comes from the barrel of a gun. The Communist Party must command all the guns, that way, no guns can ever be used to command the party." Mao Tse Tung.(1938)

"The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to allow the subject races to possess arms." Adolf Hitler. (1942)

Sounds like our present-day democrats and liberals.

Posted by Eneils Bailey | June 27, 2008 | 01:31 pm | Permalink
 

Set unfazers to stun.

Posted by charles austin | June 27, 2008 | 02:19 pm | Permalink
 

I have a friend who is a local County Deputy who I once engaged in a conversation about self-protection and the confusion that Federal laws presents.

We discussed the current philosophy of calling "911" when you are awakened in the middle of the night and having them tell you "go run to a closet and hide." If you stand your ground and defend your rights you may get charged with assault with a deadly weapon. Excuse me, I am going to grab my 12 gauge shotgun and 1911 45 Caliber ACP and stand my ground. I have been shot at before and a couple of dope-using, mentally deficient, social misfits does not diminish my desire or ability to defend my rights.

The bottom line:
I had rather walk out of a court room after being judged by twelve of my peers than be carried out of Church by eight of my friends.

Posted by Eneils Bailey | June 27, 2008 | 08:52 pm | Permalink
 

How can someone be considered good if the only reason they're honest is because they're forced into it?

The point is not to tempt them by making it easy to be dishonest.

If you stand your ground and defend your rights you may get charged with assault with a deadly weapon.

Not here in Florida, you don't even have to try and get away from them first.

Posted by Michael | June 28, 2008 | 10:48 am | Permalink
 

Citizens running around with guns to protect themselves may not be the best cause of action, but paranoia rules on either side of this issue. The NRA side thinks government is banning guns in order to rule its citizenry with an iron hand, and the other side thinks the gun nuts want to storm the White House. This has to stop, otherwise gun laws will be insane and unenforceable.

Posted by joe | June 30, 2008 | 03:09 pm | Permalink
 

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