Firearms Owners Against Crime
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
Institute for Legal, Legislative and Educational Action
There’s a saying about how you have lies, damn lies, and statistics.
While it may not be entirely fair–statistics are simply bits of data that can either be accurate or inaccurate–the truth is that even the most accurate statistic can be horribly misused by biased hacks.
You know, people like former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
It seems that old Mikey is trying to push a statistic that may well be factual, but he’s using it to push a fake news narrative, and Dana Loesch took him to task over it.
Democratic presidential candidate Michael Bloomberg released a campaign video listing the school shootings that have happened on President Trump’s watch, claiming “21 students are shot every day” due to his “unwillingness to act.”
But gun rights advocate and Second Amendment expert Dana Loesch pointed out how misleading the viral video is because the former NYC mayor is making it seem as though “madmen are targeting kids at schools when in reality, every available statistical resource from BJS to FBI Uniform Crime Reports to countless pediatric surveys (like this one) show that the tragedy is due to older teenagers involved in gang activity and suicide.”
The deaths are no less horrific, she says, but “it is an important distinction.”
It really is an important distinction.
For the record, our own Cam Edwards had this to say:
Bloomberg included an incident at Waukesha High School where a student was shot by a school resource officer after pointing what appeared to be a real gun at a student’s head. Other incidents include gang and drug related shooting during non-school hours. 1/ https://t.co/5pJF6Y56qf
— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) December 17, 2019
Bloomberg’s idea of “gun safety” is taking young minority males and “throwing them up against the wall” to frisk them in the hopes of finding a weapon.
Then, if one is found, he wants those young men to go prison for several years for a non-violent possessory offense. 2/
— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) December 17, 2019
And of course Bloomberg’s only answer is to go after legal gun owners, rather than address the staggering rise in school violence, which more often than not doesn’t involve a gun at all.
Just an awful ad from an awful candidate. 3/3
— Cam Edwards (@CamEdwards) December 17, 2019
Of course, one could argue that there’s not really much to add after what Dana and Cam had to say…
…but I’ve almost always got something to say, so I will.
Look, 21 students being shot every day is a ridiculously high number. It’s awful and we really do need to address it. However, what laws are really going to curtail this kind of thing? These are handguns being used and guess what? Kids can’t buy handguns legally. An 18-year-old can buy a rifle in most places, but that’s not what’s being used. These are pistols, often bought off the black market or stolen from law-abiding gun owners.
In other words, they’re breaking the law to get these guns in the first place, so what additional laws would actually stop it?
Of course, the answer is “none.” It’s just a useful excuse by people like Bloomberg to restrict law-abiding citizens.
As Dana pointed out, the vast majority of these shootings aren’t from mass shootings. They’re associated with other criminal enterprises. They just happen to occur at school, probably because that’s why the shooter has easy access to their target. If it weren’t at school, these crimes would happen elsewhere.
That’s because Bloomberg doesn’t actually care about ending the violence.
You see, while I tend to warn people to be cautious of saying anti-gunners are just after control, in Bloomberg’s case, I think it’s an accurate assessment. This is a man who also regulated how much soda you could buy and how much salt and trans fats could be in foods you consumed in New York City. His every action as mayor illustrated his desire for control.
He wants it so badly that he’ll tout “fake news” in order to scare people into making him president.
Luckily, the American people aren’t so easily hoodwinked.
Tom Knighton is a Navy veteran, a former newspaperman, a novelist, and a blogger and lifetime shooter. He lives with his family in Southwest Georgia. https://bearingarms.com/author/tomknighton/
https://bearingarms.com/tom-k/2019/12/18/dana-loesch-calls-out-bloombergs-fake-news-statistics/