Wow, lots of out of context numbers.

So if 30% of illegal guns are "connected" to gun shows...that tells me nothing...how about telling me what percentage of legal guns are "connected" to gun shows, that way I have a baseline.

These are legal transactions with a legal loophole, it's apparently easy enough to find blatantly illegal gun trafficers. I remember a TV news station in Los Angeles a couple of decades ago doing a story where it only took them a couple of days to find someone who would be willing to sell them fully auto submachine guns( illegal to own in that state) cash and carry out of the back of a van.

This country is saturated with guns, if a petty thief wanted one, a simple burglary could turn up a few, so I don't really see any point in this "oh no criminals have guns" hysteria. I would be seriously surprised if closing the legal loophole solved anything.

I think I just found my next burglary victim. I'll just bring a stereo blasting Urdu music.

The burglary is Rated - M for Mature


[M - Excessive violence, Gore]

(CNN) -- A Johns Hopkins University student killed an apparent burglar with a samurai sword after discovering the man in his garage, police said Tuesday.

Baltimore, Maryland, police received a phone call shortly before 1:30 a.m. Tuesday about a suspicious person, and an off-duty officer arrived at the scene with campus security, city police spokesman Anthony Guglielmi said.

When authorities arrived, they heard calls for help and for police, he said. They discovered a suspected burglar with a severed left hand and severe lacerations to his upper body, Guglielmi said.

The suspect died at the scene, he said.

The man had entered a home where several Johns Hopkins students lived, Guglielmi said. Four students, one armed with a samurai sword, had confronted the suspect in the garage.

The man "lunged" at the students, and the student with the sword defended himself, severing the man's left hand and cutting his upper body, Guglielmi said.

Police did not release the name of the suspect, who Guglielmi said had a long criminal history, or that of the student.

Police questioned the three witnesses, Guglielmi said, and released them. It was not immediately clear whether all four students lived at the house, he said.

Authorities are determining whether the student will face criminal charges, Guglielmi said.

Burglars had taken two laptops and a Sony PlayStation from the students' home Monday, Guglielmi said.

The burglary suspect had been released from prison Saturday, Guglielmi said.
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Quality healthcare, or access to healthcare is not the problem. The problem with healthcare is genuinely "rare" disease like Xeroderma pigmentosum which is presently uncurable. These people suffer in ways you and others can't hardly imagine. In all honesty, they are the ony ones with any right to complain about the quality of healthcare available.

I can buy car insurance for $200 a year that protects me up to several hundred thousand dollars in the event of a "rare" multi-car collision seriously injuring or killing multiple victims. I can also buy home insurance which protects me in the event of a flood, fire, earthquake, or burglary. Why isn't my health insurance similarly priced, when the cost and frequency of car crashes and property damage are comparable to the cost and frequency of rare disease?

How can health insurance not be expensive when three formerly rare, 1 in 100,000 diseases are now seen in 1 in 3 Americans? Its like forcing Geico to insure people for $200 a year when 1 in 3 people get in a fatal crash or 1 in 3 houses are burnt to the ground. Its physically impossible to maintain a positive balance with such statistics. It doesn't matter if Geico, Blue Cross, Obama or Jesus himself are running the books. That is idealism, and it will never solve anything.

You wanna start a government healthcare program? Fine, but make it voluntary or you are adding "oppression" to the laundry list of items a sick person has to deal with.

I want to let the independent commission do it's job. If it is truly independent, and they actually base their decision on the facts and not race politics, the truth will bubble to the surface. From the evidence I have seen (not hearsay or opinion), the actions the police took were justified and according to protocol.

The previous weeks in Cambridge involved multiple home invasions in that area. During the day. Front door busted in. The police were on high alert, and reacted accordingly to a 911 emergency call to investigate a potential invasion/burglary in progress.

Mr Gates should take care not bite the hands that protect him, his home, and his community. Should he really need their help in the future, he wouldn't want them to be hesitant or second guess their actions in a dire situation where mere moments could mean life or death.

Police have reasonable doubt when approaching any emergency situation. Cooperate, be cordial, answer any questions asked clearly and accurately, and their defensive posture to protect THEMSELVES will diminish. Verbally assault them and refuse to immediately fork over identification or cooperate in a cordial manner. You are going to jail. Who cares how rich or famous you are.

I'm sorry to say, but all evidence points to a race/class card being played. This is going to hurt Prof Gate's credibility here on out for certain. Time will tell where this leads, though it won't be the first time where someone slipped through the law's fingers as a result of the race/celebrity card being played...or have we forgotten OJ already? At least bad karma caught up with that guy. Sure this isn't murder, but it once again proves that money, name, and 'friends' in high places makes one immune to the laws that the rest of us are required to abide by.

FYI I am a local resident, know the area well, and understand the crime situation. Bank Robberies, burglaries and other crimes are on the rise with the bad economy. A lot of people are hurting, and some people are desperate and take measures they should not.

Gates is well advised to be quiet, let the commission investigate, and stay out of the lime light. Let the system work. Though he likely wants some press attention to get his books some direly needed plugs.

"Hey new guy... whatcho in for?"

"Uhh... burglary..."

"Oh yea, I recognize you. You got beat down by some old dude."

"Uhh... yeah..."

"... bend over."

Here's something to think about. In Kansas, in 2007 there were 107 murders. Making the assumption that each murder had a unique murder, the recorded population of Kansas of 2,775,997, and extending that trend, the abortion of 60,000 babies saved the state 2.3 murderers. These are murderers that kill real people with a life.

Assuming unique circumstances here are some other numbers that show the kind of crime that may have been stopped (based on 60,000 fetuses and current population):
~27 rapes (although many rapists are repeat offenders)
~272 violent crimes
~439 Burglaries
~1584 theft/larceny
These assumptions are per year, mind you.

I know these numbers aren't perfect but the fact of the matter is, there's always 2 sides to a coin.

"But there is no way to perform a double blind test, what the fuck do you tell the shooter? It's impossible. How can you adequately mimic the behaviour of a psychopath? Any person you send in to do that job will do it unflinchingly and with as much speed and clinical precision as their skill would allow."

Simple answer for this one... Take one of the students, even one of them with gun experience and tell them to enter the room and shoot as many people as possible... a realistic goal for a killer. Don't tell them another person in the room has a gun. Once they are hit once or the gunman gets hit, trial over. Do this a few times with a few groups, then compare it to a like study where no one in the room except the gunman has a gun. Look at the numbers and you've got a good study. Science gods appeased. Demonstration valid... and still scary.

"* Guns are used 2.5 million times a year in self-defense."
To be fair, that number is likely an overestimate:
http://www.springerlink.com/content/t1h35xg532770p26/


The Journal of Criminal Law and Criminology, Vol. 86, No. 1 (Autumn, 1995), pp. 150-187 http://www.jstor.org/stable/1144004?seq=2 :
"...research has consistently indicated that victims who resist with a gun or other weapon are less likely than other victims to lose their property in robberies and burglaries. Consistently research has also indicated that victims who resist by using guns or other weapons are less likely to be injured compared to victims who do not resist or who resist without weapons."
"With regard to studies of rape, although samples typically include to few cases of self-defense with a gun for separate analysis, McDermott, Quinsey and Upfold, Lizotte, and Kleck and Sayles (citations in linked article) all found that victims who resisted with some kind of weapon were less likely to have the rape attempt completed against them."

I found that in ten minutes... Apparently ABC had fewer than 10 minutes to look?

Here's a book I found but can't yet vouch for, still:
http://books.google.com/books?id=B1TqrNK3OkAC&printsec=frontcover&dq=gun+personal+protection+evidence&lr=&source=gbs_summary_s&cad=0

Since we're all using anecdotal evidence about whether or not guns make a difference, here's some from this week.

http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/local/article/troutville_man_who_shot_intruder_says_911_tapes_are_accurate/33207/

You can find plenty of cases like this in casual news searches. I've had similar problems in my neighborhood over the last year alone where home invaders were scared off by homeowners with firearms. It's true that people without police/military training are not likely to be Rambo in high stress situations like the one demonstrated in the sift. Hell, even with training there is still a large element of chance when sitting in what is essentially a shooting gallery while you're ambushed by a gunman that has the draw on you. However, I don't think that makes a compelling argument for writing off concealed carrying.

Now for some real evidence. The Lott study from the University of Chicago contains plenty of real data on crime deterrance and firearms. Studies done in Florida showed crime dropped significantly after concealed carry laws were enacted. Also, of the crimes reported in Florida between 1987 and 1994, only 18 were attributed to legally licensed owners (of which there were over 220,000). There is a documented connection between decreased homicides, rapes, and assaults in states where citizens can legally carry firearms. Facing a serious risk of death while attempting a burglary or robbery tends to deter people. If that knowledge still isn't enough to stop them, then bullets get the job done quite effectively.

http://www.mtssa.org/lott.htm

For starters in the case of an even mildly thought out burglary guns are probably irrelevant.

It seems strange to me that in the case of a lone gun man in a public setting they try to say that drawing weapon is pointless yet using a cell phone would some how be less pointless. If you have time to hide, call 911, and start answering questions, you have time to hide, draw your weapon and select a target.

I've been in a violent situation before where I was the person in the back on the phone, and to be honest the only thing that protected me, and prevented the situation from escalating, was a well timed can of mace.

think about the lone gun man again. What if multiple people had weapons? What if a hand full had weapons and a couple called 911??

I guess the feeling I got from the video, was that in the case of a shooting, one of you hiding and calling emergency while the rest were lambs to the slaughter, was preferable to calling for help while some try to defend.

>> ^Shepppard:
There's nothing to me that proves having a gun deters burglary, at all.


Personally, I'd use either the shotgun or the .22 to just shoot the bastard, but maybe I'm looking at it wrong. Though I also admit that shooting a person is much harder than people realize, in more ways than one.

I have zero pity for burglars.

Think of it as deterrence in the post-modern sense of the word.

>> ^Doc_M:
They go on to say that there is not a single study that supports the idea that having a gun in the house deters bunglers. This is simply a LIE! They are either simply lying or they are the most pathetic journalists ever to live.


...it's true. I can't see why a gun would deter a burglar.

most of the time, burglaries are committed on a whim, with a lack of planning, ergo, they wouldn't know that the place they're robbing has a gun.

And besides, if you're not home, or if you're asleep, and they're good enough not to wake you, what the fuck good is the gun to you anyway?

Not to mention if it IS the type of burglary that has been planned for a while, do you think they wouldn't bring their own weapons to counter yours? break in, kill you while you sleep, then take your stuff?

There's nothing to me that proves having a gun deters burglary, at all.

Your video, Monty Python - I Wish to Report a Burglary, has made it into your personal Highest Rated Videos listing. Congratulations on a job well done. For you contribution you have been awarded 1 Power Point.

Lol

In reply to this comment by illeto:
Ok, here is the Bio of the shirtless man:
FURIOUS

Usually not wearing a shirt, Furious stays true to his roots; the ghetto's of Harlem. Being the only black man in the show he is prone to be subject of racism, which leaves him little choice but to carry a piece.

Other than packing a .45 he is a peace-loving man who makes an honest living by selling ponies and standing up for his people. Despite this fact of life he has been falsely accused several times of slander, fraud, thefth, battery, carjacking, homejacking, illegal possession of firearms, pimping, assault, manslaughter, bribery, obstruction, perjury, burglary, provocation, arson and robbery.

The latest accusations also involve unfair competition in games such as Call of Duty 4 and CS:S, where he allegedly owned other players to the point of virtual rape and humiliation.