If the results are nil, why bother?
From the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco's already tough laws on firearms will get even stronger -- becoming some of the most restrictive in the country -- after a vote at City Hall Tuesday....
They don't like the military (one supervisor believes that all the country need to defends itself is the Coast Guard and police), they don't like the Blue Angels, they don't like....well, you get the idea.
Being one of the most (if not THE most) liberal cities in the country, they certainly don't like guns - they're eeevvviiillll. Hey, ban the guns and crime will go away. Restrict peoples rights to own or carry guns should work, right?
Er...
...But even new restrictions won't do much to stop the gun violence escalating on city streets, one sponsor of the new laws said after the vote.
The violence that has been generally confined to more crime-plagued neighborhoods crossed into a major tourist area Monday afternoon, with a shooting that left one person dead and put bullet holes through the front window of a popular restaurant.
Gun-related homicides, injuries from shootings, and gun crimes in and around schools are becoming increasingly common, according to the Mayor's Office of Criminal Justice.
Well, THAT notion seems to be working real well - in proving that old saw of "if you make owning a gun a crime, then only criminals will have guns"...
Yes, the come back is "well, the guns are coming from outside the city!". Well, of course. But look what has happened in Britain....restrict guns and they'll use something else. And yes, Britain now has a terrific problem - knives have replaced guns.
The laws -- which gained final approval from the Board of Supervisors -- would restrict both the sale and possession of firearms.
Specifically, they would prohibit the possession or sale of firearms on city property, require firearms in residences to be in a locked container or have trigger locks and require firearm dealers to submit an inventory to the chief of police every six months.
The last provision is intended to allow city officials to know how many guns are sold, though there is only one gun shop in the city.
Please answer me one question - if it isn't helping to combat crime, if the restrictions that have been passed have effectively done nothing....why?
Despite the laws, however, Mirkarimi said he doubts they will quell the kind of violence that erupted on Monday afternoon, which police suspect may be tied to a feud between a San Francisco gang and an East Bay gang.
"Nobody should be surprised about the migration and proliferation of gun violence in San Francisco," Mirkarimi said. "We've been saying this for two-and-a-half years, that the murders, homicides and gun violence that have been occurring in the more routine areas ... have now migrated into other areas."
Sure thing! No deterrence (gee, someone else might have a weapon to use on me as I rob or assault them!) only emboldens some. Add to that the fact that they are a sanctuary city and the police are hamstrung with politically correct regulations, what would you expect?
Voters passed the proposition with 58 percent in favor, but it is tied up in court after the National Rifle Association challenged its constitutionality. Newsom said the vote amounted to a "public opinion poll."
Conservative - a liberal that got mugged....if they survive.
