In discussing the mass public shooting in New York City on July 28th, Greg Gutfeld on Fox News’ The Five made points very similar to ones that we have long made and we discussed these points with Greg before the show. Our point was: The New York City murderer who killed four people broke numerous gun control laws—he openly carried a rifle that was already illegal to possess or carry in the city. Even if the murderer had lived, he would have faced four life sentences and punishing him for these gun crimes by sentencing him to a few years of prison during his fifth lifetime, would have been a meaningless penalty. Meanwhile, the law-abiding victims were defenseless, disarmed by the city’s strict regulations. Those few years in prison for the law-abiding person would have made them a felon and completely changed his life. The problem is that these laws only disarm the law-abiding citizen and make these attacks easier as the criminal is the only person who will have a gun.
The problem is simple: someone intent on murdering four people won’t be deterred by extra gun control penalties. Even if the killer had survived, he is already facing four life sentences which makes adding a few more years meaningless. For attackers who expect to die during the assault—as most mass public shooters do—those laws carry no weight at all.
But for law-abiding citizens, the consequences are severe. Violating these laws could turn them into felons and upend their entire lives. The laws meant to stop criminals end up disarming the innocent instead.
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Author: johnrlott
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