Yes, one could hypothesize, as Joe Biden
does, a shooter, forced to reload after seven shots rather than 13,
being tackled by a bystander. One could equally hypothesize a citizen
with a seven-round clip running out of ammunition before stopping a mass
shooter. This is why Congress, for good reason, usually prefers to pass
laws in response to systematic evidence rather than hypothetical
anecdotes.
The Sandy Hook problem is the suicidal, disturbed young male looking for a large number of defenseless civilians to mow down. The Chicago problem is crime-ridden neighborhoods in which gangs murder each other and anybody who gets in their way. These aren't the same problem, and possibly gun control offers no practical handle on either. But if you accept the unlikelihood of ridding America of its guns, as the gun-control movement now says it does, then one systematic proposition links the two.
That proposition can be stated as a question: In an America where at least 43 states now let a law-abiding citizen carry a concealed weapon, how should we protect ourselves in the fewer and fewer places where we are required to be unarmed?
This is from Holman Jenkins' latest opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. He repeats what everyone else knows: Enforcing gun laws against bad guys keeps unarmed good guys safe.
The Sandy Hook problem is the suicidal, disturbed young male looking for a large number of defenseless civilians to mow down. The Chicago problem is crime-ridden neighborhoods in which gangs murder each other and anybody who gets in their way. These aren't the same problem, and possibly gun control offers no practical handle on either. But if you accept the unlikelihood of ridding America of its guns, as the gun-control movement now says it does, then one systematic proposition links the two.
That proposition can be stated as a question: In an America where at least 43 states now let a law-abiding citizen carry a concealed weapon, how should we protect ourselves in the fewer and fewer places where we are required to be unarmed?
This is from Holman Jenkins' latest opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal. He repeats what everyone else knows: Enforcing gun laws against bad guys keeps unarmed good guys safe.
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