In an Associated Piece...

The morons concerned citizens of Ceasefire Maryland (where gun control has proven so effective) give us this little gem via JoinTogether:

CeaseFire Maryland Calls for Asking the Right Question in Gun Deaths

CeaseFire Maryland, the state's leading gun violence prevention group, is saddened by yet another massacre of innocent people at work - this time by gunman, Salvadore Tapia, in Chicago yesterday.

The frequency and regularity of workplace killings in America has become numbingly familiar. Commenting on yesterday's murders, Chicago Police Superintendent Cline said, `The problem here is easy access to a firearm. I mean here's someone who never should have had a gun, that had a gun, and its tragic results from it.'

Yeah? Well said gun transitioned - illegally - through the hands of two of your cops. Does that make the Department liable?

Didn't think so.

Leah Barrett, Executive Director of CeaseFire Maryland, commented: "This leads to a simple question that should be asked after every such tragedy: How did someone with a past criminal record such as Mr. Tapia's get his gun? Mr. Tapia had been arrested many times in the past 14 years on various charges that included illegal possession of a weapon and domestic battery and assault."

Um, Leah, he probably bought it on the street. You know, the black market? The same way British criminals get theirs even though HANDGUNS ARE COMPLETELY BANNED THERE.

This autumn, attention will be focused on the trial of the Washington area snipers who, lest we forget, killed 10 people and wounded 3 last October. Because the three-week shooting binge riveted the nation's attention, questions were asked about how the two snipers obtained their weapon, a Bushmaster assault rifle. And the trail led straight to Bull's Eye Shooter Supply, the Tacoma, Washington gun store from which the rifle used in the shootings `mysteriously disappeared', along with 238 other guns.

Although Malvo has admittted that he stole it, it's somehow still a mystery. And I think you need to be pointing an accusing finger at the BATFE for not shutting Bull's Eye down. It's their job to regulate - that's what they're paid to do - not stomp kittens.

But here's my FAVORITE part:

It's not a pretty story, but one that must be told if we are to address the root cause of much of the gun violence in America - cutting off the supply of illegal guns to criminals.

That's so wrong it can't be a simple error. The root cause of gun violence in America is violent criminals. If they didn't have guns, they'd still be violent criminals. Trying to address the problem through gun elimination is the most hopeless thing imaginable, and we've got England's sterling example to prove it.

Repeating the same behavior while expecting a different result is the definition of insanity.

And I don't think the people behind the disarmament effort really are insane.

Barrett continued: "There are countless other instances where this question should be asked and answered in full. Yet the US Senate doesn't seem to think this question is important. Last spring, Senator Larry Craig (R-ID) introduced S. 659, an ill-conceived and reckless attempt to provide special legal protection for the gun industry at the expense of innocent Americans who have been harmed by the dangerous and irresponsible actions of firearms makers and sellers." S. 659 has so far collected 54 co-sponsors and could be brought for a vote at any moment. Its companion bill, H.R. 1036, easily passed the House of Representatives on April 9th.

And I'm glad they did. Let's see, now they're going to sue Walther, who made the gun in 1966, the distributor that sold it to the gun shop, the gun shop that sold it to Beuck, Beuck, the family of the first officer who bought it from Beuck, the family of the second officer who bought it from the first officer, the ammunition manufacturer, and anybody else with suspected deep pockets.

It was Tapia who acquired (bought or stole) the gun, Tapia who loaded the gun, and Tapia who killed with the gun. But it's somehow the gun industry's fault, and those bastards should be made to PAY!.

Robert Ricker, who served as Executive Director of a major gun industry trade association and was also a former Assistant General Counsel for the National Rifle Association, maintains that leaders in the gun industry have long known that greater industry action to prevent illegal transactions is possible but have resisted taking constructive voluntary action and have `sought to silence others within the industry.' S. 659 would appear to be just what the gun industry ordered.

A UN survey on small arms released in July reveals that the US has by far the largest number of publicly owned guns in the world, approaching the point where there will be one gun for every American. Given this volume of lethal weapons, one would think that strenuous efforts would be made to keep guns out of the hands of people like Mr. Tapia. Yet we are seeing just the opposite with S. 659, a bill that would undermine the legal rights of individuals harmed by gun violence and provide unwarranted special immunity for the gun industry.

Given "this volume of lethal weapons" you'd believe that people capable of rubbing two brain cells together would recognize the impossibility of keeping guns out of the hands of the criminally inclined.