When I see legislators doing reactionary stuff like this, my first thought is, what are you trying to hide?
The Senate today joined the House in voting to close the state’s handgun carry permit records to the public. Lawmakers say they want to protect the privacy of our nearly 400,000 citizen gunmen. But their real goal is preventing the media from finding out when one of these Barney Fifes shoots his foot or someone else.
The AP recently looked at public records and found that 2,133 people have had their permits revoked or suspended for criminal charges or orders of protection over the last two years in Tennessee. Handgun permit owners have killed or been accused of killing 16 people in the past five years in this state. One of the shootings started as argument over how close together two SUVs were parked.
The NRA would rather the public not learn about all that murder and mayhem because it makes voters wonder what the hell our lawmakers are thinking when they keep expanding gun rights.
Yep, that sounds about right. Now when the loonz say, “CCW holders are the most responsible gun owners ever,” we can no longer respond, “Yeah? Prove it.” We’ll just have to take their word for it. And you know something is wrong when Southern Beale and Lt. Gov. Ron Ramsey are in agreement. Back in February Ramsey said:
“Having the handgun carry records open actually helps the cause of the Second Amendment,” he said in an interview Thursday. “Because people can go look at those and realize that they truly are law-abiding citizens.”
I guess they’re not law-abiding citizens, or else the legislature wouldn’t be trying to hide this information. So, thanks Tennessee legislators, for proving our point.
The NRA operates under an “ignorance is bliss” policy, forcing groups such as the Violence Policy Center to turn to sketchy news reports:
No comprehensive data exists on non-self defense killings by private citizens legally allowed to carry concealed handguns. Concealed Carry Killers offers examples from May 2007 to the present of such incidents, which are taken from news reports and the limited state data available. These examples are only an unknown fraction of the unreported number of similar incidents that routinely occur across the nation.
Currently, Concealed Carry Killers documents 377 incidents in 32 states resulting in 508 deaths. In nearly 80 percent of the incidents (300) the concealed carry killer has already been convicted (126), committed suicide (167), or was killed in the incident (seven). Of the 67 cases still pending, the vast majority (55) of concealed carry killers have been charged with criminal homicide, four were deemed incompetent to stand trial, and eight incidents are still under investigation. An additional 10 incidents were fatal unintentional shootings involving the gun of the concealed handgun permit holder. At least 14 of the victims were law enforcement officers. Twenty-three of the incidents were mass shootings, resulting in the deaths of 103 victims.
I would remind the loonz and NRA lapdogs that shutting the door on factual debate is a two-sided blade. You can keep telling the world that CCW holders are the safest, bestest, most wonderful gun owners ever, but you can no longer prove it. Those of us on the other side of the issue will keep saying otherwise, and you can’t prove we’re wrong.
By the way, sealing gun records is one of those ALEC-sponsored “model” bills. They’ve been cropping up all over the country lately. Virginia just passed a similar bill, so did Mississippi, and the issue has come up in Maine and elsewhere. I’m sure nobody is shocked to learn our legislature is doing the gun manufacturers’ bidding.
