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Editorial: Gun-control group manufactures threat
Josey1
Member Posts: 9,598 ✭✭
Editorial: Gun-control group manufactures threat Missoulian Opinion Summary: Claims of terrorists roving the United States to amass firearms don't ring true.
One of the nation's leading gun-control groups is trying to exploit public fears about terrorism following the Sept. 11 attacks to build support for greater restrictions on firearm sales. It's a shameful ploy. The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence on Dec. 19 leveled this alarming claim: "Terrorists use weak gun laws to amass firearms in the United States. ... For terrorists around the world, the United States is the Great Gun Bazaar." This astonishing "fact" is based largely on a manual reportedly retrieved from a Pakistan-based Islamic terrorist organization in Afghanistan. A chapter in the manual "How Can I Train Myself for Jihad" suggests would-be terrorists should go to the United States, buy an AK-47 or similar assault weapon and wreak havoc. Too bad that's not the extent of their strategy - we'd have a lot less to fear. AK-47-packing terrorists have a way of sticking out in a crowd. Astute observers no doubt have noticed a dearth of news reports about AK-47-wielding terrorists in America slaying people. In fact, the weapons of choice for terrorists in America seem to be planes, bombs, bacteria and box cutters. If you read the Brady Center's report "Guns and Terror: How Terrorists Exploit Our Weak Gun Laws," (www.bradycenter.org) what you find is evidence contradicting the group's claims. The report's few examples of people linked to terrorist groups buying guns in the United States all involve cases in which authorities caught the suspects breaking our "weak gun laws." Read the report critically and what you actually see is reassuring: Law enforcement agencies, using informants, tracking records and mounting sting operations, were effectively thwarting would-be terrorists long before Sept. 11. The notion that Islamic fanatics can expect an easy time shopping at gun shows - the main "gun bazaar" cited in the report - is laughable. We're not saying illegal use of guns isn't an issue, or that no measures reducing the violent misuse of guns are worth considering. Anyone bent on misusing a gun is a terrorist of sorts, and it's the goal of every responsible gun owner in America to keep guns out of the hands of such people. But let's be honest in our dealings with one another as we talk about how best to achieve that goal. Gun-control advocates often mean well, and they have a legitimate contribution to make in the debate over safety, responsibility and the preservation of civil liberties. Opportunistically linking their long-stated goals of curbing gun ownership to America's post-September angst over terrorism, however, does nothing for their credibility. http://www.montanaforum.com/rednews/2001/12/29/build/freedoms/bradycenterop.php?nnn=4
One of the nation's leading gun-control groups is trying to exploit public fears about terrorism following the Sept. 11 attacks to build support for greater restrictions on firearm sales. It's a shameful ploy. The Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence on Dec. 19 leveled this alarming claim: "Terrorists use weak gun laws to amass firearms in the United States. ... For terrorists around the world, the United States is the Great Gun Bazaar." This astonishing "fact" is based largely on a manual reportedly retrieved from a Pakistan-based Islamic terrorist organization in Afghanistan. A chapter in the manual "How Can I Train Myself for Jihad" suggests would-be terrorists should go to the United States, buy an AK-47 or similar assault weapon and wreak havoc. Too bad that's not the extent of their strategy - we'd have a lot less to fear. AK-47-packing terrorists have a way of sticking out in a crowd. Astute observers no doubt have noticed a dearth of news reports about AK-47-wielding terrorists in America slaying people. In fact, the weapons of choice for terrorists in America seem to be planes, bombs, bacteria and box cutters. If you read the Brady Center's report "Guns and Terror: How Terrorists Exploit Our Weak Gun Laws," (www.bradycenter.org) what you find is evidence contradicting the group's claims. The report's few examples of people linked to terrorist groups buying guns in the United States all involve cases in which authorities caught the suspects breaking our "weak gun laws." Read the report critically and what you actually see is reassuring: Law enforcement agencies, using informants, tracking records and mounting sting operations, were effectively thwarting would-be terrorists long before Sept. 11. The notion that Islamic fanatics can expect an easy time shopping at gun shows - the main "gun bazaar" cited in the report - is laughable. We're not saying illegal use of guns isn't an issue, or that no measures reducing the violent misuse of guns are worth considering. Anyone bent on misusing a gun is a terrorist of sorts, and it's the goal of every responsible gun owner in America to keep guns out of the hands of such people. But let's be honest in our dealings with one another as we talk about how best to achieve that goal. Gun-control advocates often mean well, and they have a legitimate contribution to make in the debate over safety, responsibility and the preservation of civil liberties. Opportunistically linking their long-stated goals of curbing gun ownership to America's post-September angst over terrorism, however, does nothing for their credibility. http://www.montanaforum.com/rednews/2001/12/29/build/freedoms/bradycenterop.php?nnn=4