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Showing Original Post only (View all)Massachusetts: nanny-state gun control FAIL [View all]
So much over-the-top coverage of the shootings in Aurora! It's a sad story, but we should not overreact. On an average day in the US, roughly 80 people are killed by guns people who coincidentally happen to have guns, so Aurora only represents 15% of Friday's quota.
One thing I am thankful for is that we're not hearing people refer to my own state of Massachusetts as a model for reducing gun deaths.
As pretty much anybody who's paying attention knows, Massachusetts is a nanny-state's nanny state. For centuries it has been overrun with liberals, ranging from the Revolutionary War crowd, to the Kennedys, to that shrill woman Elizabeth Warren.
Par for the course, Massachusetts also has a bumper crop of second-amendment haters. Visitors realize this pretty quickly when they see the array of anti-second-amendment billboards on the side of the Mass Pike, by Fenway Park:
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Shameful!
Of course, it turns out that Mass has about the toughest gun laws in the country. Strictly by coincidence, it also has the second-lowest rate of gun deaths in the country. Hawaii, who also coincidentally has strict gun laws, has an even lower rate.
There are some gun grabber types who use so-called "math" to show that if Massachusetts had the same rate of gun deaths as our second-amendment-biding neighbors to the north (New Hampshire), we'd have more than 200 more dead people in our state each year. In fact, if the entire country had the same rate of gun deaths that we do, roughly 21,000 fewer people would be killed. I suppose that some sort of argument could be made that this would be a good thing, but we need to consider the other side of the equation.
Living in Massachusetts is Hell for gun enthusiasts. People need to know how bad it is here.
It's almost impossible to get guns and ammo in this state.
For example, on my commute to work each day, I pass only two gun stores. Only two! What would happen if I was having a shootout with another car on my way to work and needed more ammo pronto, or I wanted to upgrade my firepower? I might have to drive miles under withering attack before I could exercise these second-amendment rights. This is unacceptable.
One of my co-workers has a permit to carry a concealed weapon in our state. He actually had to apply for the permit, wait a few days, then get the permit. Soviet Union, anyone?
200 lives saved in our state each year. Is it really worth this terrible price?
Regards,
NRA Manny