Useless searches (the problems of Political Correctness)

Commissioner Kelly stressed that officers posted at subway entrances would not engage in racial profiling, and that passengers are free to "turn around and leave." he also downplayed the possibility of bottlenecks at subway entrances. . . .

1) No profiling (it would be nice if they were to at least using profiling by behavior) so they slow people down with a very small chance of catching the bad guys.
2) You can't be searched if you don't want to, thus letting the intended bombers just walk away if they do draw the wrong number to get searched.

Teachers carry guns in classroom in part of India

Teachers at Meerut Government College have added an item to their teaching aids: a weapon for self-defence. Those who have licensed weapons are now bringing them to the college after a student fired at a professor on Tuesday.

‘‘All professors who have licensed weapons have decided to bring them along to the college. Some of us have pistols, others have single-barrel guns that they brought today,’’ said Sociology Professor Amarjit Singh, who was the latest target. ‘‘We have no trust in the police...they can’t even control eve-teasing here, how will they protect us!’’ . . .

An op-ed on the Columbus, Ohio Assault Weapons Ban

While only the last third of this piece contains new points for those who regularly read my pieces, I thought that it was still useful to point them out here for the people in Columbus, which just adopted its own assault weapons ban.

Supreme Court Confirmation Op-ed

My newest op-ed is out at National Review Online and it deals with the "silly" Democratic consultations over the Supreme Court nominations.

Scare tactics over 50 caliber guns

A useful discussion of the exaggerated fears regarding 50 caliber guns.

On the back was a listing of why .50 caliber rifles should be banned. The reasons might seem reasonable, but a bit of research shows them to be exaggerated and open to interpretation. . . .

Karl Rove is a hunter

Howard Fineman hardly sympathetic to Rove, but I found one point interesting.

"Karl Rove is a hunter. His favorite quarry in Texas is quail."

Ten years of polling on Canada's Gun Registration Program

This is not quite going the way gun controllers would have predicted.

COMPAS – MAY 2004: 84% OPPOSED THE GUN REGISTRY:
• 47% OPPOSED BECAUSE: “It was an expensive election gimmick that didn’t keep guns from criminals but harmed farmers, who need guns to protect their livestock.”
• 37% OPPOSED BECAUSE: “It was a good idea at the time but it didn’t bring enough benefits to justify its billion dollar cost.”
Note: 1,579 telephone interviews. Accurate within 3% 19 times out of 20.

JMCK – APRIL 2004: 76.7% OPPOSED. Respondents agreed: “The government could better fight violent crime by scrapping the $1 billion gun registry and redirecting the money to other law enforcement priorities.”
Note: 1,586 telephone interviews. Accurate within 2.5% 19 times out of 20.

IPSOS-REID – FEBRUARY 2004: 52% OPPOSED. Respondents agreed: “that Paul Martin should get rid of Canada’s federal gun registry.”
Note: 1,055 telephone interviews. Accurate within 3.1% 19 times out of 20

JMCK – OCTOBER 2003: 52.7% OPPOSED. Respondents agreed: “The gun registry is badly organized and should be scrapped.”
Note: 1,018 telephone interviews. Accurate within 3.1% 19 times out of 20.

GALLUP – OCTOBER 2000: 26% OPPOSED: “the requirement that by law all firearms in Canada need to be registered with the federal government.”
Note: 1,011 telephone interviews. Accurate within 3.1% 19 times out of 20.

GALLUP – NOVEMBER 1994: 14% OPPOSED: “the requirement that by law all firearms in Canada need to be registered with the federal government.”

The Difficulty in Getting a Permit to Own a Gun in Massachusetts

In the two years since he's been in the military reserves, the United States Army has trusted David Bardfield to carry and fire a weapon.

But the town of Brookline doesn't seem to have the same faith in the 28-year-old Army specialist.

Bardfield recently completed military police investigator course work at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri. Since 2003, he has been issued a military firearm on various occasions, including a handgun at Fort Devens in Ayer, where he worked on patrol. He also patrolled an Army base in Italy, where he was authorized to carry a pistol when he made his rounds.

But Bardfield has been waiting nearly four months for the town to grant him a license to participate in target practice to help sharpen his skills.

"It's very frustrating," said Bardfield. "I just want my license."