You belay this gun control nonsense right now, or I will campaign day and night to ensure that you are a one-term mayor. I will make your defeat in the next election my mission in life, if I have to knock on every door in Indy myself and talk about nothing else on this blog.
(H/T to NRAhab.)
Write the newspaper, write your state reps, write Ballard directly.
ReplyDelete(and then post the replies!)
>>"I'm just looking for the "big hit", the big impact of violent crime. That's what I keep going back to, that's what I really want to do if it can have a dramatic impact," said Ballard.
ReplyDeleteTranslation: I'm too frigging lazy to actually discern the root of the issue, what I really want to do is something that gets LOTS of media attention so everyone can exercise their name-recognition skills when the next election rolls around.
I continually fail to understand why we tolerate such morons in leadership roles.
Quik note.... if anyone is wishing to leave a comment on the article, type it out and cut/paste it into the comment box. The site refreshes itself often, erasing your comments in progress.
ReplyDeleteBy joining MAIG, he statistically increases his chances of being indicted for fraud/corruption.
ReplyDeleteInsanity.
ReplyDeleteThe guy is ex-military, WTF is he thinking?
If he doesn't do a fast 180, he's lost my support. We might as well have reelected the Peterpuffer.
After watching the video (took a while to get the page to load), the real question in my mind is what Ballard considers to be an "illegal gun". Is he proposing a general gun registry? It sure sounds like it. If so, that needs to be fought tooth and nail.
ReplyDeleteThe story says he wants to make clear what he considers an "illegal gun", but then he mush-mouths about the 2nd Amendment and doesn't define the term.
I really would like to see the raw tape to see what he said in its original context. I lost my trust of edited tape years ago thanks to 60 Minutes.
One line I loved from that video was the sanctimonious reporter saying "As the pace of murders slowed, but never stopped..." (00:28 in the video). Somebody needs to go upside the reporter's head with that. The sad truth is that murders are never going to stop, regardless of the availability or legality of guns, and anyone who assumes otherwise is a moron. That's just the way of the world.
Define 'illegal gun'.
ReplyDeleteYou will find the definition under the heading, "Person who uses a firearm for an illegal purpose."
There are many and adequate laws regarding that circumstance.
What is impossible to regulate is the breakdown of cultural values that have long inhibited violence. The reasons for that sea-change towards poor to non-existent civic values does not lie in an inert object. A rock did not inspire Cain to bash out
Abel's brains.
Pretending that 'guns' are the core of the issue is the worst sort of dishonesty to ingenuously avert an examination of the violence issue. The PEOPLE who are habitually resorting to physical harm to another human are YOUR problem, NYC's problem, and the problem of our whole nation.
Until the politicians, and educators, and pundits and the the general citizen are willing to examine the cultural matrix which has produced a generation or two of young adults with no inhibition against impulsive violence, you will make no more progress in alleviating the problem, than investigating 'illegal' rocks.
The entire 'gun' premise is a stalking horse designed to hide the failure of our leadership. elected or otherwise, to take a moral stance against pathological sub-cultures that glorify and romanticize murderous idols as role models. The scholarly studies which verify that 'violence in, equals violence out' are plentiful. And they have been readily available for over two decades.
A politician who wishes to really make a mark against violence should be a solid ally of the responsible firearm owner, and repeatedly back their educational safety efforts. Legal GUN OWNERS are not your problem, Mr Mayor. It is the morally neglected citizens of your community who LIVE in an atmosphere of illegality regarding everything they do, that is your problem.
The question becomes: Do you have the courage to face that issue and attempt to remedy it? Or will you just follow the political sheep, who allow disarmed members of the flock to be consumed by predators. That is the REAL price to keep up the appearance of "Every thing is normal. You will be safe. Just do what we say.[even if it's based on the avoidance of very unpleasant political truths]. Thank you for your vote."
Does your sound-bite thinking work with Indiana citizens? I think not.
John the Red
I'll hold my fire until he actually tells me what his plan is. Is it increased enforcement of already-existing laws? Is it increased penalties for already-existing laws? Or is it new restrictions? One one hand, increasing emphasis on enforcing existing laws, or increasing the penalties for those violations, doesn't cause me too much worry. On the other hand, politicians sometimes use the "increased enforcement" claim as a mask to hide additional restrictions behind. On the gripping hand, he hasn't really said what he wants to do or whether Newman and Brizzi have put in their $.02 worth, so it may be premature to push the panic button. Certainly bears watching, though.
ReplyDelete" ...what works there might also work in Indy."
ReplyDeleteUm, if it works there, why did Mr. Burress have a gun?
Many states have sentencing laws requiring those convicted of using a gun during a commission of a crime to spend time in jail. Usually it is one year minimum.
ReplyDeleteDefense attorneys in this state simply cut deals with prosecutors to drop the mention of a gun in aggravated assault and aggravated battery cases. Then the defendants plea guilty or no contest and are usually eligible for probation.
Another law won't make a different in Indianapolis. No doubt the city is like everywhere else--existing laws aren't enforced.
He needs to try getting the laws already on the books enforced...
ReplyDeleteLet Mayor Ballard know what you think
ReplyDelete"Ballard considering stricter laws for illegal guns"
ReplyDeleteBy making them more illegaller?
Like those who ignore the law as it is will pay so much more attention to it if they risk "Double Secret Probation".....
These are his true colors don't forget he just came back from China What happend there?????
ReplyDeleteSomerled, sure there are laws passed from time to time that are designed to increase penalties on CRIMINALS. I doubt anyone here objects to that concept. If Ballard had said "I want some tougher laws against criminals," we wouldn't be having this discussion.
ReplyDeleteWhen someone comes out and says they want tougher penalties for GUNS, you can pretty much bet they are into magical thinking, and the legislative result will be a) no effect on criminals b) more hassle and nonsense for law-abiding gun owners.
alath, criminals break the law now and face little or no consequence. If the mayor wants a "big hit" on violent crime, he should spur law enforcement and prosecutors to fully implement existing laws.
ReplyDeleteGun bans, registration, etc., are simply window dressing. They haven't worked in Chicago, NY, DC or anywhere else. They are illusions, busy work to impress the news media and "community activists".
No doubt most of the knuckleheads victimizing people in urban areas are already violating federal and state laws. I'd find handguns on convicted felons during traffic stops. They were never prosecuted for breaking both state and federal law. They plead to a lesser offense and the greater offense of carrying a firearm was always dropped.
Mayor Branson should spend time on the streets of his city rather than reading NY newspapers in his office.