Monday, July 26, 2010

Someone Should Tell Joe Huffman

What was that question again, "Can you tell me one place where gun control has worked?" I may be misquoting it, but I think that's the idea.

Datelines Philippines reports on the good news.

From January 1 to the end of June, 157,674 crimes were recorded nationwide, a 68 percent from from last year’s 502,655, Directorate for Investigative and Detective Management (DIDM) figures released by Camp Crame showed.

“What is very noticeable here is the direct effect of the gun ban to peace and order, particularly the gun-related crimes,” PNP Chief, Director General Jesus Versoza said in a statement.


That seems pretty clear to me, I can't wait to hear how the gun bloggers will rationalize it away. You see, they already know it can't be right, so now they just have to find a way to explain why. And if all else fails, they'll just say they don't trust the stats or the folks reporting them.

I hope that's what they do, because when I did that about some of their fluky reports, they didn't like it very much. This will be a way of balancing out the argument. Let's see.

“Crimes are effectively prevented when the instruments of crime were virtually ‘taken away’ from the hands of criminal elements, threat groups and other unauthorized individuals,” Verzosa said.

Now, wait a minute. Where did a Police Director, way down in the Philippines get an idea like that? Do you think he's been reading the Brady Campaign or the VPC site? Or do you think, as a reasonable man, looking at the facts, he came up with the same exact conclusion that many reasonable people looking at the facts in the United States have concluded. The fewer guns the better.

What's your opinion? Please leave a comment.

8 comments:

  1. I find it hard to believe numbers from the "most corrupt country in Asia". The reduction in measured crime is likely due to them diverting their already thin and underpaid police force to search-and-confiscate checkpoints on the roads.

    Seriously doubet the average Phillipino benefited from this scheme. If it worked so well, why did the population push back when the government was considering continuing the ban?

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  2. http://apps.facebook.com/polldaddy-polls/?view=results&id=3288115

    Underwhelming support by this unscientific online Philipino news agency poll. 13% supported extending the ban. (63 for, 408 against)

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  3. International comparisons are not the friend of the gunloon. When one looks at international stats/laws WRT gun violence--we can easily see gun control works.

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  4. Jade: “When one looks at international stats/laws WRT gun violence--we can easily see gun control works.”

    Like Brazil, Mexico, Russia…

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  5. TS: Are you kidding?

    I can tell you countries like Brazil, Mexico, Russia all have very strict--even draconian-- laws against drugs, prostitution, corruption, etc. Yet, they all significant problems in those areas.

    So, what can we surmise?

    Hmmmm...could it be that they all have difficulty enforcing their laws? Hmmmmm?

    Time for you to put on your thinking cap.

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  6. That's a good point. Those countries have trouble enforcing all their laws.

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  7. Or, it could be that the more they restrict freedoms and increase criminalization of things most people don't consider criminal, the more people resist and do those things anyway, with greater risk of arrest and prosectution, but with much higher reward should they succeed.

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  8. I guess I didn’t realize we have our drug problem under control.

    Jade: “I can tell you countries like Brazil, Mexico, Russia all have very strict--even draconian-- laws against drugs, prostitution, corruption, etc. Yet, they all significant problems in those areas.”

    When criminals are out of control- there will be more crime. Just like here.

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