Richard Daley almost gets it. Better late than never I guess.

The Chicago Tribune reports on a few of the restrictions Daley proposed:

The four newly proposed measures would automatically transfer to adult court cases of 15- to 17-year olds arrested with a gun; require at least five years behind bars for felons caught with weapons; require 10 years in prison for people who point guns at police and firefighters responding to emergencies; and make it a felony to commit a crime with a child in tow if that child is injured by gunfire.

The mayor also said the city again will submit several other proposals that have come close to passage in the past decade. One would require background checks for private gun sales.

In Richard Daley's mind, if you can't prevent law abiding citizens from legally buying handguns, the next best thing is to actually go after people who are committing crimes. The people of Chicago (at least the ones who aren't complete nuts like Daley) should be asking Daley why he didn't propose this years ago?

As for that last bit about background checks, I guess old habits die hard. I don't live anywhere near Illinois, but even I know that background checks for private guns sales are redundant because you can't legally own a gun in Illinois unless you have a FOID card, which includes a background check. And i'm not the only one:

“It’s not a surprise — same stuff, different year,” said Richard Pearson, executive director of the Illinois State Rifle Association.

Pearson said his group will continue to oppose the background checks because buyers already must have met the standards to own a Firearm Owner’s Identification card. But it has yet to evaluate the mayor’s new proposals, he said.

There is more:

Daley said he also will urge Congress to close gun-show loopholes to require background checks at those events and change federal law to make it possible to hold gun manufacturers “accountable for wrongdoing.”

Last I checked, gun manufacturers were not above the law. If they break the law, they are accountable for it. What Daley wants is to hold gun manufacturers accountable for the wrongdoing of the dangerous criminals he and his cronies love to sit down and have pow-wow's with.

It's really not news anymore.

52 shot, 7 dead in Chicago.

What the "Wild, Wild West" really looks like.

A classic gun control refrain is, "[insert something stupid about guns], because this isn't the Wild, Wild, West!" It's probably second in popularity to the "Blood in the Street" meme

For the moment, let's ignore the fact that the "Wild, Wild West" is nothing more than a creation of Hollywood. What would a modern day "Wild, Wild West" look like? It would probably look a lot like present day Jamaica:



Jamaica: Sarah Brady Paradise. No gun show loophole. No open carry. No concealed carry. No "assault weapons" and for what few guns are legally available, they must be registered. And for what few people who can own guns, they must be licensed.

Remember, for every Australia and England, there is a Mexico and a Jamaica. The government monopoly on force that the gun controllers so desperately desire does not always lead to peace.

The Wild 100s.

Even when looking into the face of "the problem", some people will still blame law abiding gun owners.

When "the problem" is on TV remorselessly explaining how he perpetuates the cycle of gang violence, the gun controllers will be busy coming up with ways to abridge the rights of those who have been placed secret government lists.

When 13 year old kids are afraid to play outside, the gun controllers don't protest in front of the gang and drug houses. They protest in front of gun stores, Starbucks, and NRA meetings.

And that is why I will forever question the motives of the gun controllers. They claim to be working to prevent gun violence, but you never see them anywhere near those who are committing the violence. So I have to give credit to Roseland Ceasefire. They are doing the one thing you'll never see the Brady Campaign or VPC do: Confronting those responsible for gun violence as opposed to scapegoating some huge, mythical "gun lobby".