The Evidence Anti-Gunners Ignore About Inherent Gun Control Failure

U.S.A. –-(AmmoLand.com)- One major reason gun owners may be credited with helping defeat anti-gun Democrats in Tuesday’s midterm elections is that they are tired of being scapegoated by people who are stubbornly blind to graphic evidence showing why all of their gun control efforts are inherently doomed to failure.

It’s a simple code to crack: Criminals do not obey gun laws.

For proof, one need only read the local “Police Blotter” or read newspaper reports. Evidently, the gun prohibition lobby and its legislative lapdogs have a problem with reading comprehension, else they would “get it” from these reports:

Seattle, Washington: Police officers in the Jet City recovered a vehicle stolen from a parking lot at Seattle Children’s Hospital a few days earlier. The family had parked in the garage while waiting for their child to recover from brain surgery, according to the Seattle Police Blotter.

When police searched the vehicle after arresting the suspect in a failed escape attempt, they found the following: Two loaded firearms, one of which had been reported stolen, plus “methamphetamine, fentanyl, cocaine, marijuana, and $8,000.”

Merced, California: The Merced Sun-Star reported on the arrest of a convicted felon on Nov. 5 after they responded to a report of a “possible armed robbery.” The suspect, identified as 45-year-old Robert Torka Solis, allegedly entered a business called the Italo Lodge “with a firearm in his waistband.” Cops found the gun a short distance from where they confronted the suspect, one block away from the lodge.

“Authorities said the gun had been reported stolen,” the newspaper said. “Solis had an outstanding felony warrant for his arrest. Solis was arrested and booked into Merced County Jail on suspicion of being a felon in possession of a firearm with warrants, receiving stolen property, grand theft, and possession of ammunition by a prohibited person, according to jail records.”

Seattle, Washington: In a report from the Seattle Police Blotter, a suspect was arrested in connection with a shooting in late October. Police were investigating the shooting in the city’s Belltown district, where a 50-year-old man suffered a gunshot wound to the leg. Later, the 21-year-old suspect entered the Northgate office of the Department of Corrections. He’s a convicted felon, yet he was in possession of a firearm. The suspect was booked into the King County Jail.

Madison, Wisconsin: A man identified as 24-year-old Kolby Smith was arrested in Monona on Nov. 4 because he was “wanted on multiple warrants from various jurisdictions with charges of felon in possession of a firearm, use of a dangerous weapon, possession of an illegal article, second-degree recklessly endangering safety, a parole violation and battery, U.S. Marshals Service spokesperson Marcus Collins said in a statement,” according to Madison.com.

Smith had escaped an arrest effort on Oct. 28, the story noted when he fled from a car wash in Beloit. Members of the U.S. Marshals Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force bagged Smith at a Madison hotel, where he was staying under an alias. Marshals also seized “a stolen gun and drugs,” the report noted.

Michigan City, Indiana: A criminal suspect identified as Bryley Langford “faces several felony charges in connection with a stolen gun and illegal drugs found in his vehicle” by Michigan City police, according to the Northwest Indiana Times.

The newspaper said police were working a “special patrol” when they “spotted a Nissan Maxima commit numerous traffic violations on the city’s north side…The vehicle was stopped, and police said they found the handgun and drugs near the driver,” who happened to be Langford.

While officers conducted their investigation, they learned the gun had been reported stolen and that Langford was prohibited from possessing a firearm. He was jailed and “not offered a bond because of an unrelated pending court case,” the newspaper said.

Seattle, Washington (again!): The Seattle Police Blotter reported the Nov. 3 arrest of a 36-year-old suspect in an attempted robbery in the city’s Rainier Valley neighborhood back on Oct. 24. According to the report, the suspect is a convicted felon, yet there he was at a residence in the Valley, with “suspected fentanyl and a handgun.”

The suspect was booked into the King County Jail for investigation of the attempted robbery and the narcotics and firearms violations.

Albuquerque, New Mexico: In a lengthy report, the Rio Rancho Observer noted, “Since 2018, there have been more than 6,000 guns reported stolen in burglaries, auto thefts and other crimes in and around Albuquerque. In that same period, only 1,000 stolen guns have been recovered by police officers in the city.”

This leaves about 5,000 stolen guns still in circulation somewhere, guns for which there will be no background checks when they are sold. There will be no waiting period, no license for possession or for carrying any of these guns. None of the inconvenient restrictions on law-abiding citizens will even slightly hamper anybody who winds up with one or more of these hot guns.

Albuquerque Police Lt. Ryan Nelson told the newspaper 887 guns have been reported stolen so far this year, and only 172 have been recovered. He said they are “definitely used in violent crime” and that it is not unusual for such guns to be used “in separate crimes by multiple offenders,” the story said.

These reports hardly scratch the surface when it comes to criminals and guns, yet time after time, anti-gun politicians including Joe Biden and Kamala Harris and their colleagues on Capitol Hill and in the state legislatures simply ignore the obvious. All of the gun control restrictions they promote haven’t stopped a single one of these people from getting their hands on a firearm. The laws only come into play after these criminals are arrested.

Multi-million-dollar initiative campaigns in Washington, Oregon, and elsewhere only penalize honest citizens. They haven’t lowered the number of violent crimes, including homicides. Considering the evidence above, they never will.

All the laws have accomplished is to create the impression “something” has been done. After years of this cycle, and with Biden crowing about passage of his “first step” gun control package earlier this year and promising to do more if Democrats retain control of Congress, maybe this time around gun voters will have helped make the difference.

About Dave Workman

Dave Workman is a senior editor at TheGunMag.com and Liberty Park Press, author of multiple books on the Right to Keep & Bear Arms, and formerly an NRA-certified firearms instructor.