No, There Is No Law Against Gun Violence Research

Yet Again, Gun Control Advocates Are Lying To The Public

Today, in the publication Education Week, an article was published an article arguing once again, that the CDC is forbidden to do research on gun violence.  This is an outright, downright lie.  They say that we are willfully ignorant on the subject.

Willfully ignorant?  That describes literally every gun control advocate I have ever met - starting with the fact that THERE IS LOTS OF RESEARCH GOING ON RIGHT NOW!!!!

That's right, tons of research is being done from a gun control perspective, from a gun rights perspective, a gun control perspective and from a law enforcement perspective.  THIS INCLUDES US GOVERNMENT RESEARCH AND SOME OF IT HAS INDEED BEEN DONE BY THE CDC! 

Plenty of real data exists on gun violence,
the problem is gun control advocates don't
like it.

In fact, Pres. Obama, post Sandy Hook, ordered the CDC to study this very issue.  This study was buried.  You will never hear a gun control advocate reference it.  Why?  One of the primary conclusions was that defensive gun use by citizens was "common" and that additional studies of defensive gun use was needed. Opps, we can no longer use that study, let's demand another one.

Now, to be clear, there is a ban on using federal funds to conduct studies the purpose of which is to advocate for gun laws.  Impartial studies are not banned and have been conducted many times since the law was passed.  In other words, gun control advocates are complaining that biased, agenda driven studies cannot be done with federal funds.

Just last Friday (1/11/2019), the FBI released a study that has been in the works since 2016.  They spoke to nearly 250K prisoners who had a gun when they committed the crime that put them in prison.  They asked them where they got their guns.  Here are the results:

Breaking the 10% from legal sources:
8% were purchased from licensed dealers
2% were purchased from private parties

Gun shows? They were the source of 0.8% of criminals firearms. Not 8%, 0.8%.

The implications for gun control advocates are devastating.  

First, this proves that there is already a robust black market in firearms.  Gun control advocates will say that these firearms were once in the legal market.  This may be true now, but experience from many countries that have enacted gun control proves that the black market will find other sources, just as the black market in drugs finds other sources.  Additionally, what will happen to the 300-600 million firearms currently in private hands?  Many of them will end up in the black market.

Second, the 27% that are otherwise illegally obtained are mostly people knowingly giving or selling firearms to criminals who are their friends.  This is already a federal felony.  However, there is nearly know enforcement of this law.

Third, the 15% that are straw purchases can only be stopped if we actually punish people who do this.  Jail or prison time is almost unheard of for this offense.  Again, no new law needed.

Now, after all of this, we get to the legal marketplace - where only 10% of the firearms were obtained.  

80% of the crime guns from this segment we purchased from dealers - WITH BACKGROUND CHECKS.  This involves felons and other prohibited persons "lying and trying", in hopes they are not in the system.  About 1/3 of the time they slip though.  No new law required to fix the background check database - something the NRA and the gun industry have been pushing for years.  No new law required to prosecute the criminals who try to buy guns through legal channels - but Obama's ATF director told Congress that such prosecutions were "a waste of resources".

20% of this segment, 2% of the total, came from private sales.  Not 40%, 2%.  Not my opinion - FBI data.  Even within this 2% some sales were done with background checks because several states require this.  So, the so called "gun show loophole" is relevant in maybe 1.5% of criminal;s firearm purchases.

Gun shows?  0.8 % came from a gun show - but again, many of these illegal buyers had to pass a background check because most sellers at gun shows are licensed dealers.  Their sales are conducted exactly like those at their stores - background checks, forms and records.

The problem is that gun control advocates focus 100% of their efforts on the 10% of sales to criminals that are done through legal channels.  They ignore the 84% that we know already come through illegal channels.  It is reasonable to conclude that if the legal channels are completely closed by their efforts, the illegal black market will simply provide what these people want. 

Finally, I can point to several nations where implementing gun control far beyond what the 2nd Amendment possibly allows was followed by drastic increases in gun crime (Jamaica and Brazil to name just two).  I'm still waiting far an example where gun control decreased gun violence.  Not suicides, gun violence against others.

Don't bother pointing to nations that have strict gun laws and low violent crime or murder rates.  I can point to nations with high gun ownership rates that have low crime rates,  Neither proves anything. Association does not prove causation.  What you need is an example where violence, or even just gun violence, went down after gun control was enacted.

I'm waiting........