Gun Control: Interesting Facts
Ron Dreher, editorialist for the American Conservative, on January 30, 2013 wrote "Never Mind the Facts, Let's Pass Gun Laws." In it he states:
1) Strict gun control laws have done nothing to stem the tide of homicidal violence in Chicago, a city with strict gun control laws;
2) The Sandy Hook shooter used guns that had been legally obtained under strict gun control laws;
3) The Sandy Hook shooter could have killed as many children with pistols as with his 'assault rifle;'
4) According to FBI statistics, 90 percent of gun homicides are committed with handguns and only five percent with rifles; and
5) A survey cited by the Justice Department reports 80 percent of inmates imprisoned for a crime involving a gun say they got the gun through family, friends or illegal means; which is to say they did not go through the channels that would have allowed gun control to prevent them from obtaining the weapon.
Mr. Dreher cites Chicago's gun control laws banning civilian gun ranges, assault weapons and high-capacity magazines, gun shops and handguns (overturned in 2010 by the U.S. Supreme Court) and its position as "the only state in the nation with no provision to let private citizens carry guns in public." Nevertheless, Chicago, he documents, has experienced gun violence which resulted in more than 500 homicides last year and at least 40 killings thus far in 2013.
While Dreher admits to having "no problem in principle with gun regulations, up to a point," (e.g, banning guns for felons and the mentally ill, banning large capacity clips) he does point out that the vast majority of American gun owners use guns responsibly and the conversations regarding gun control cannot be driven by emotion.
Affordable Health Care A Thing of the Past
Research from the Republican National Committee shows that "the Obama administration adopted a strict definition of affordable health insurance on Wednesday that will deny federal financial assistance to millions of Americans with modest incomes who cannot afford family coverage offered by employers." (Robert Pear, "Federal Rule Limits Aid to Families Who Can't Afford Employers' Health Care Coverage," The New York Times, 1/30/13). Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Loise Radnofsky explains the decision "means some low income Americans whose employer-plan premiums are beyond their means won't be eligible for the main perk of the law" as Obama pedaled it to Americans before and after the 2012 elections.
IRS regulations issued Wednesday failed to fix what's being called "a glitch" in the administration's overhaul law (The Associated Press, 1/30/31). The Center for Children and Families at Georgetown University has reported that they can "see kids falling through the cracks" as access to affordable family-based coverage is blocked. Hailed as "a very significant problem" by the organization Families USA, an advocacy group that supported the overhaul from its early days, that organization called for repair of the law through legislation and not the administration's regulatory process.
Politico reports that not only has a recent survey of insurers found that ObamaCare may actually triple premiums for some young and healthy men, but the law would make "the premium for a relatively bare-bones policy for a 27-year-old male nonsmoker ... nearly 190 percent higher." When the law takes effect in 2014, a young male who currently has a plan that does not include all of ObamaCare's required benefits, will almost certainly see increased premiums according to The Washington Post's Fact Checker, 08/10/12. The RNC cites Obama's speeches made while he was a U.S. Senator and details from FactCheck.org that show Obama broke his promise to make "health care affordable and available to every single American." In addition, the director of the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office projected 23 million persons will remain uninsured - some because they cannot afford coverage. (D'Angelo Gore, "Promises, Promises," FactCheck.org, 01/14/12).
