After Australia banned virtually all firearms, armed robberies, gun murders, gun assaults, and home invasions skyrocketed in that nation. Watch this short documentary so you can be armed with the shocking facts.
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Photo credit: US Mission Geneva
Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia said Sunday the Second Amendment leaves open the possibility of gun-control legislation, adding to what has become a slow-boiling debate on the issue since the Colorado movie theater massacre earlier this month.
Scalia, one of the high court’s most conservative justices, said on “Fox News Sunday” that the majority opinion in the landmark 2008 case of District of Columbia v. Heller stated the extent of gun ownership “will have to be decided in future cases.”
“We’ll see,” he said.
Scalia’s comments follow the July 20 massacre at the Aurora, Colo., movie theater in which the alleged gunman, with the help of a semi-automatic weapon and an ammunition clip that could hold as many as 100 rounds, killed 12 and wounded 59 others.
His comments also follow those of lawmakers who have called for tougher gun-related laws in the wake of the shootings – most recently New Jersey Sen. Frank Lautenberg and New York Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, Democrats who said Sunday they will introduce legislation this week to “make it harder for criminals to anonymously stockpile ammunition through the Internet, as was done before the recent tragic shooting in Aurora, Colorado.”
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Publisher’s Note: Scalia also noted in his interview on Fox News Sunday that an original construction of the Constitution opens the door to gun limitations as well, noting that the Second Amendment allows us only to “keep and bear arms.” The word “bear” means that the Founders intended some restrictions, at the minimum allowing prohibition of weapons that cannot be carried.
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A revised draft of a new U.N. treaty to regulate the multibillion dollar global arms trade raised hopes from supporters and the British government, which has been the leading proponent, that an historic agreement could be reached by Friday’s deadline for action.
The draft circulated late Thursday closed several loopholes in the original text, though the Washington-based Arms Control Association said further improvements are still needed to strengthen measures against illicit arms transfers.
A spokesman for Britain’s U.N. Mission, speaking anonymously because he was not authorized to speak publicly, said the new text is “a substantial improvement” and “an historic agreement that effectively regulates the international trade in conventional arms is now very close.”
The estimated $60 billion international arms trade is unregulated, though countries including the U.S. have their own rules on exports.
Opponents in the U.S., especially the powerful National Rifle Association, have portrayed the treaty as a surrender of gun ownership rights enshrined in the U.S. Constitution. The issue of gun control, always politically explosive one for American politicians, has re-emerged since last week’s shooting at a Colorado cinema killed 12 people.
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While many pundits have been quick to advocate for gun control in the aftermath of the Aurora, Colo., theater rampage that killed 12 and wounded 58, rapper Ice-T took to the airwaves to defend gun rights.
Speaking with Channel 4 London’s Krishnan Guru-Murthy, the rapper and “Law & Order: SVU” actor said: “The right to bear arms is because that’s the last form of defense against tyranny. Not to hunt. It’s to protect yourself from the police.”
Guru-Murthy pushed back against the rapper who penned “Cop Killer” by asking if a link between the Second Amendment and the tragedy in Colorado exists.
“No, not really. You know what I’m sayin,’ if somebody wants to kill people they don’t need a gun to do it,” the rapper responded.
Ice-T’s comments stand in stark contrast to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s remarks immediately following the theater massacre.
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Here’s the video:
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If you didn’t see this on O’Reilly the other night, take the three or four minutes to watch this video. In it, O’Reilly advocates for a massive expansion of federal oversight over the purchase of guns and ammo, erroneously (and repeatedly) citing the Aurora shooter’s “60,000 rounds” of ammo purchased on the Internet. Watch this video and send a note of thanks to Rep. Chaffetz HERE.
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The theater shooting in Colorado last week continues to generate discussions about firearms in America, but it is doing more than just getting people to talk. Gun sales in Colorado have skyrocketed in the days since the Aurora, CO massacre.
James Holmes, 24, is being held in connection with the Friday morning outburst that left 12 people dead and injured dozens more. Authorities allege that Holmes opened fire shortly after the midnight screening of Batman: The Dark Knight Rises began at the Century Aurora 16 theater. Only hours later, though, locals were lining up in droves to equip themselves with the same kinds of weaponry.
Jake Meyers tells the Denver Post that he arrived for work at Rocky Mountain Guns and Ammo on early Friday to find a line of 15 to 20 people waiting outside of the store. Three days later, he said surging gun sales yielded “probably the busiest Monday all year” and that, for the first time all year, firearms classes taught by the store’s staff were booked for three weeks straight.
“It’s been insane,” Meyers says.
“A lot of it is people saying, ‘I didn’t think I needed a gun, but now I do,’ ” Meyers adds. “When it happens in your backyard, people start reassessing — ‘Hey, I go to the movies.'”
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