DC proves gun bans don't work
Rusty Pugh - OneNewsNow - 4/29/2008 8:30:00 AM
Gun-control advocates claim that banning guns reduces incidences of gun-related violence. But a gun-ownership rights group says the nation's capital is a perfect example of how just the opposite is true.

Police in the District of Columbia have increased patrols city-wide because of a rash of shootings. The city has recorded more than 50 homicides this year, 19 in April alone. The nation's capital also has one of the most far-reaching gun bans in the country. In contrast, the murder rate just across the Potomac River in northern Virginia is only a fraction of that in Washington. So why are so many people dying from shootings in DC? Erich Pratt with Gun Owners of America believes he knows why. He argues against gun-control advocates who claim the firearms are coming into the area from northern Virginia. "Well, if that's the case then why aren't the guns a problem in northern Virginia, [where] the murder rate is only a fraction of what it is in Washington, DC?" he asks. "Even though the northern Virginia area has twice the population, we have only a fraction of the murder rate -- and that's because the potential victims [in Virginia] can arm themselves." Guns, says Pratt, are not a problem in northern Virginia because "bad guys would rather take the guns into a place where they know they're not going to be opposed and [they know] they're going to be the only one with a gun." Pratt says as a rule, thugs do not target areas where they know people can shoot back. They target inner cities that have gun bans, he contends, as well as university campuses that have been declared "gun free."