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Since
1968, gun ownership has doubled, while murders committed by gunmen
have diminished by half, according to a Congressional Research
Service study.
That
will be the central focus and talking point for the gun lobby's
counterattack to a media onslaught calling for tighter gun control
and a ban on assault rifles.
The
countering advocacy for gun ownership will air on the National Rifle
Association's four websites in live streaming at 10:45 a.m. Eastern
time, 9:45 Central.
The
gun lobby has waited a decent interval since the tragic mass murders
committed on Friday at Newtown, Connecticut. The NRA, Gun Owners of
America, and other gun ownership advocacy lobbies have maintained a
respectful silence.
Today,
the worm turns.
Catch
Wayne LaPierre and company live on:
NRA.org
NRA
Facebook
NRA
News.com
NRA
News Facebook
The
figures are impressive, to say the least. According to a report
written for Congressmen, the estimated murder rate peaked in 1974 at
9.8 victims per 100,000, and again in 1980 at 9.8 – 9.5 in 1993.
Firearms
related murders for the same periods were 6.6 per 100,000 in 1974;
6.4 in 1980; 6.5 in 1991. Starting in 1993, the rate decreased
dramatically to a low of 5.5 per 100,000 in population in the year
2000, and leveled off in the years 2010 and 2011.
Similarly,
youth killings with guns dropped from 1,975 in 1993 to 887 in 2009.
Gun
ownership in 1968 was one for every two people in the nation.
Today,
it is roughly one per person – double the 1968 figure.
The
NRA reported earlier in the month that membership applications are up
across the board by a large percentage, and gun manufacturers are
reporting solid growth statistics and sales figures.
Certainly,
the tragic attack on the elementary school kids in Connecticut has
had no effect on gun sales. According to national news reports, gun
sales since Friday have been “astronomical.”
According
to Karl Durkheimer, an owner of a gun store in Portland, Oregon, “We
have customers coming in who are worried for their personal safety.
There is no question that sales are leated...” Mr. Durkeimer, who
owns Northwest Armory, attributed a large part of accelerated gun
sales to President Obama's emotional response and his vow to take
assault weapons out of the hands of the public and all firearms out
of the hands of persons with a history of mental difficulties.
The
Congressional Research Service report on proposed legislation for the
112th Congress includes background information on such
issues as high capacity magazine feed mechanism, classification of
assault, machine, fully automatic and semiautomatic weapons, and
mental competency issues for veterans or any others adjudicated
mentally disturbed to the point of incompetence.
“Interestingly,
the Veterans Medical Administration has not submitted any
disqualifying records on VA medical care recipients to the FBI for
inclusion in NICS for any medical/psychiatric reason (like PTSD)”
the report concludes. It is noted that in cases where legal
authorities have ordered a veteran to an involuntary commitment at a
VA facility, it is left up to the states to inform the FBI of the
issue of mental incompetency, “if legally appropriate.”
Similarly,
the report details the state of proposed legislation and the federal
regulations regarding what records will be released to the FBI under
the terms of the Affordable Health Care Act of 2010.
One
may read the entire report by clicking here:
http://assets.opencrs.com/rpts/RL32842_20121114.pdf
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