Washington post admits assault weapons bans don't affect gun crimes

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  • Drmsparks

    Old School Rifleman
    Jun 26, 2007
    8,441
    PG county
    From today's "5 myths about police militarization"

    5 myths about america's police

    Funny how the truth shows up in the strangest places


    3. With more criminals wielding heavy-duty weapons, police must militarize to catch up.

    Multiple studies, including from the Justice Department, have shown that the guns used in homicides, including the killing of police officers, overwhelmingly tend to be small-caliber handguns. Moreover, gun ownership has increased over the past 20 years — the same period in which both the violent crime rate and the killing of police officers have been in decline.


    One version of this argument advanced recently by Vox and the New Republic is that we can’t demilitarize the police without gun control. But even if it were true that criminals were arming themselves with bigger guns, it isn’t clear that gun control would demilitarize the police. First, gun-control legislation would probably not do much to keep guns out of the hands of violent criminals, particularly in the short term. Second, the argument assumes that the law enforcement community would accept such a bargain. That seems unlikely. Polls consistently show that large majorities of police officers oppose gun control, although big-city chiefs and the heads of some big police organizations support such policies. The NRA in particular includes a lot of cops in its membership and recently ran an article in favor of police militarization in its flagship magazine.

    New gun-control laws may have other merits, but it’s unlikely that they would slow down the militarization of U.S. police.
     

    Bob A

    όυ φροντισ
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Nov 11, 2009
    30,689
    I'm a very infrequent reader of the WaPo, but it seems to me that it's shifted a bit toward reality since it was bought by Jeff Bezos. Anyone else think that could be possible?
     

    ngman

    Active Member
    MDS Supporter
    Apr 19, 2013
    602
    Western Howard County
    I'm a very infrequent reader of the WaPo, but it seems to me that it's shifted a bit toward reality since it was bought by Jeff Bezos. Anyone else think that could be possible?

    I had this hope too when Bezos took over and they got a new publisher. After generally not reading it for a few years I restarted recently as a promo deal but I've not been impressed. Reporting, fact checking and editing still seem shoddy to me. I'm still hopeful though.
     

    DC-W

    Ultimate Member
    Patriot Picket
    Jan 23, 2013
    25,290
    ️‍
    I'm sure many of their readers are bleaching their eyes after reading that.
     

    Bob A

    όυ φροντισ
    MDS Supporter
    Patriot Picket
    Nov 11, 2009
    30,689
    I had this hope too when Bezos took over and they got a new publisher. After generally not reading it for a few years I restarted recently as a promo deal but I've not been impressed. Reporting, fact checking and editing still seem shoddy to me. I'm still hopeful though.

    All that notwithstanding, I seem to recall a few articles that failed to be rabidly anti-gun. I was surprised at that. However shoddy the actual production of the paper may be, I suspect a slight shift in editorial policy. I can't imagine this sort of article being published a year or two ago.

    Of course, it might be explained by the Dem rout in November; there's a new party in power to suck up to. But I'm hoping it's a slow shift toward the center.
     

    jc1240

    Ultimate Member
    MDS Supporter
    Sep 18, 2013
    14,791
    Westminster, MD

    Balko has advocated the abolition of laws criminalizing drunk driving, arguing that the "punishable act should be violating road rules or causing an accident, not the factors that led to those offenses. Singling out alcohol impairment for extra punishment isn't about making the roads safer"

    The first part had me rolling my eyes, but the whole thing is an interesting concept. It (to me) seems almost analogous to the concept of a "hate crime." I hate the concept of "hate crime" because the action is what should be punished (to me, a murder should be punished for murdering; who honestly cares if it's for the wallet or some other excuse?).

    Not sure if I agree with Balko, but it is an interesting concept.

    UPDATE: I don't think I do agree. Drinking and driving can be avoided for one thing (as opposed to a true accident caused by unseen ice). I also take the stance that most "accidents" are not accidents. By definition, accidents are not intended. Running a red light or DUI/DWI are deliberate acts which negates the "accidental" part of the collision in my book. This is along the same line as negligent discharge vs "accidental" discharge.
     

    Boom Boom

    Hold my beer. Watch this.
    Jul 16, 2010
    16,834
    Carroll
    I had this hope too when Bezos took over and they got a new publisher. After generally not reading it for a few years I restarted recently as a promo deal but I've not been impressed. Reporting, fact checking and editing still seem shoddy to me. I'm still hopeful though.

    It's still infotainment and leftist political grandstanding. The slight lean towards the center is nothing more than a calculated ploy to regain some lost market share. In other words, the leopard has put on a really thin t-shirt but the spots are still there.
     

    danb

    dont be a dumbass
    Feb 24, 2013
    22,704
    google is your friend, I am not.
    I'm a very infrequent reader of the WaPo, but it seems to me that it's shifted a bit toward reality since it was bought by Jeff Bezos. Anyone else think that could be possible?

    They do present alternative viewpoints from Radley Balko and libertarian law professors (Volokh conspiracy). They do attempts to maintain an illusion of balance.

    Don't confuse this opinion with with official editorial opinion though. Their actual reporters are still pretty mind numbingly dumb.
     

    nedsurf

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 8, 2013
    2,204
    Yawn. They, or the op eds the editorial staff decides to publish, stick with the truth when it is convenient to their agenda. This op ed is pushing for "police demilitarization". Anyone also pick up the demonizing jab on the NRA to say they support "police militarization"? This is agenda editing...but we already know this goes on with this "newspaper".
    I guess two years ago they were simply reporting what gov't officials claimed. Its not like professional journalism involves fact checking.
     

    mayor_quimby

    4+4= Jello
    Nov 19, 2008
    4,602
    Don't confuse this opinion with with official editorial opinion though. Their actual reporters are still pretty mind numbingly dumb.
    ^ basically spot on


    They try and toss a bone here and there but in the opinion section to show they are fair and balanced
     

    Drmsparks

    Old School Rifleman
    Jun 26, 2007
    8,441
    PG county
    I wouldn't classify this as straight opinion. The five myths is a regular series that they use similar to their fact checker pages.
    - and I don't think their official position on 2a has changed, however it's great to get facts to use against them straight from their own pages.
     

    nedsurf

    Ultimate Member
    Feb 8, 2013
    2,204
    Ah. Wasn't aware that "five myths" was a running series. I guess journalism did not include fact checking a little less than two years ago. :)
     

    Jim12

    Let Freedom Ring
    MDS Supporter
    Jan 30, 2013
    33,860
    After they get everything they want, they can admit they were wrong, shrug, and say, "That's ancient history. It's the law of the land now. Go pound salt."

    --Exactly what they did when they got Grubered over Obamacare.
     

    joppaj

    Sheepdog
    Staff member
    Moderator
    Apr 11, 2008
    46,451
    MD
    They do present alternative viewpoints from Radley Balko and libertarian law professors (Volokh conspiracy). They do attempts to maintain an illusion of balance.

    Not really an alternate viewpoint. Balko is one of America's foremost cop-haters, a view shared by the WaPo.
     

    Drmsparks

    Old School Rifleman
    Jun 26, 2007
    8,441
    PG county
    just to be clear, I am not recommending his views on the police or anything else. I am just pointing out the evidence against gun control, specifically an AWB, as presented by a writer expressing the supposed opinion of the Post in one of its regular fact check ezque columns.

    we now return to our regularly scheduled program....
     

    Tyeraxus

    Ultimate Member
    May 15, 2012
    1,165
    East Tennessee
    Not really an alternate viewpoint. Balko is one of America's foremost cop-haters, a view shared by the WaPo.

    I didn't know this (I knew nothing of his past other than he's worked for outlets all over the spectrum, from Fox News to Reason to HuffPo, and had even been an analyst at Cato, before going to WaPo). Is he any more anti-cop than your usual civil-libertarian reporter?
     

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