“No one should feel safe in the following states,” Leonard Steinhorn writes at huffingtonpost.com. “These are states with the most Wild West gun laws where you are most likely to encounter someone — anyone — with a gun: Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana and Mississippi. It is legal in these states for people with absolutely no training to walk around armed and to carry their guns openly in the streets.” For the record, it is also legal in these states (and others) for citizens to speak and observe their religion without government-mandated training. “It is legal in these states to . . .
bring loaded guns into gambling establishments, sporting events and restaurants that serve alcohol. It is legal in these states to carry weapons into stores and shopping malls, and in some cases even onto college campuses and into bars and houses of worship.
In all of these states, it is legal to shoot first and claim self-defense much the way George Zimmerman did with Trayvon Martin and hundreds of others have done in less publicized cases.
Now hold on a minute there, pilgrim. You can’t claim self-defense before you shoot. (Well you could, but good luck with that.) And just as you can shoot someone and claim self-defense, you can hit them with a baseball bat or Taser them and claim self-defense, too. You can also claim they were possessed by demons or controlled by aliens if you like. It’s up to the police, prosecutor, district attorney, judge and/or jury to decide if your claim is valid.
And in all of these states, their background laws — if they even exist — are so full of loopholes that someone with a criminal record, a drug or drinking problem, or a history of mental illness can obtain a gun.
Hang on. ALL states require a background check for the purchase of firearms from a licensed FFL (gun dealer). That’s a federal law (shouldn’t be, but don’t get me started). A citizen’s ability to sell a firearm to another citizen without government knowledge, approval or permission is a feature, not a bug. [See: protection from government tyranny and the Second Amendment.]
And it bugs me that Mr. Steinhorn doesn’t understand that “someone with a criminal record, a drug or drinking problem, or a history of mental illness” can get a gun, with or without a background checks.
It’s no consolation that before many of these shooters pulled the trigger, they were once law-abiding citizens. That’s irrelevant. What’s relevant is that they were allowed to carry around and wield a lethal weapon, and because of that someone’s life was cut short.
Sigh. Here we go again. Steinhorn trots out the idea that everyone who owns a gun can snap at any minute and shoot an innocent so no one should be able to own a gun. Except the police and military, who are rock-steady. And since we’re recycling old “arguments” for gun control, here’s the Mack Daddy of anti-gun memes: the evil “gun lobby” is thwarting the will of the people:
. . . as much as we fear common criminals, we may face an even larger threat from citizens who are allowed to carry guns almost anywhere and anytime.
It is time to stand up to the gun lobby and tell the states most in their thrall exactly what you think: I don’t feel safe in your state. Sign this petition and make your voice heard.
Two-hundred-and-fifty signatures on the Boycott These Gun States! So far. What does that tell you?
You can’t fix stupid.
^^ This – a million times over. 🙂
I live in Arizona and not only Feel safer than living in NY, NJ, IL.
Where only the BAD Guys have Guns ….
Samuel Colt made all men equal …
I also live in AZ, and just got home after visiting friends & family in NJ and NYC. I’m soooo glad to be home.
You couldn’t pay me enough to live in NYC. Although, if I had a nickel for every surveillance camera or sign stating “don’t do X because it’s a crime & here’s the penalty” I could probably afford the rent.
It wasn’t the relative feeling of safe / unsafe that bothered me most, although the suggestion that I should feel safer in NYC than Phoenix is about the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard. It was the feeling of being “owned” by the state and all of its guardians and regulations. Back home I can get by pretty easily by following the “don’t be a dick” rule without the aid of all the cameras, signs and police / security.
Overall, NYC is actually pretty safe – the NYPD is large and well-funded, and actually does a pretty good job of suppressing crime (and some people). What violent crime there is generally relegated to the seedier neighborhoods and is usually incidental to transactions involving illegal substances. But NYC is the outlier – its very wealthy population and the huge tax revenues thrown off by the finance industry pay for a police force that is far more pervasive and effective than any other in North America. And even then there are plenty of neighborhoods in the Bronx and Brooklynn where I would definitely rather be carrying. But forget about NYC, think about Camden or Newark in NJ, or parts of White Plains in NY State. The folks there are equally disarmed and especially in Camden, unprotected by the Police. I didn’t mention CT, because the carry permit process is, for now at least, pretty reasonable by the standards of its neighbors, though I am sure Malloy would change that if he could.
Anon in CT:
In a friendly spirit I’ll disagree with a few of your statements about NYC:
Overall, NYC is actually pretty safe – the NYPD is large and well-funded, and actually does a pretty good job of suppressing crime (and some people).
On a per capita basis NYPD is not particularly large, at 244 residents per uniformed cop. My large township (27,000) provides one uniformed per 192 residents, with a much higher education level within the force, and with higher on-duty rates. We also have much lower crime rates than NYC. The secret of Manhattan policing is that most homes and offices are in high-rise buildings. It is simply difficult to commit a robbery or rape on the 30th floor yet escape successfully when a video-equipped elevator is required and the exits are guarded by cameras and watchmen/doormen/concierges. I haven’t looked at 2012, but crime is lower in the areas in which the buildings are taller and its occupants more affluent, and the streets more thoroughly covered by video surveillance. Midtown Manhattan is quite safe, as is the financial district with its massive video-watching hall staffed by police funded directly by the financial industry.
But NYC is the outlier – its very wealthy population and the huge tax revenues thrown off by the finance industry pay for a police force that is far more pervasive and effective than any other in North America.
NYC is wealthy on an average basis, but not a median statistic, adjusted for cost of living. NYC is basically 800,000 rich and very rich people (on an income basis) surrounded by 7.5 million people living paycheck-to-paycheck. It has a remarkable number of homeless people and drug addicts (even rich drug addicts). Though Bloomberg spent 12 years trying to drive its addicts and drug dealers out to NJ and PA via stop-and-frisk harassment based on mere profiling, success was partial. I expect it to reverse under deBlasio.
+1000, NYC is a Cesspool.
Anon, the only reason NYC is as “safe” as it is, is because they have wholly ignored the First, Second, Fourth, Fourteenth (and reportedly Third) Amendments.
I’ll pass on such “safety” thank you very much.
I was visiting NC a few months back and basked in the freedom not even conceived
of in NY/NJ. Guys open carrying in restaurants (I felt REALLY SAFE), boxes of 30rd mags and all kinds of ammo (not behind the counter, in locked cages, available for purchase without special permits) in all the gun shops. Wanna buy my house? I didn’t think so. Gotta get out of this place, if it’s the last thing I ever do…
I’m moving out of NC to AZ in a month because I’m not satisfied with NC – still too many infringements here in my opinion.
Keep voting with your feet – getting out of NJ is a good start.
And stupid of this magnitude should be painful, very painful.
What a piece of shxt article. HP lies. Opposite truth speak. 1984 today. Disgusting.
1984 every effing day. I’m as sick of it as you are, but there’s no magic “undo” button. The “undo” button, historically, has proved to involve lots of bloodshed.
If you think it can be undone without it, you are almost dead certainly wrong.
I think you may have accidentally copied and pasted something Robert, in the “…As much as we fear common criminals” paragraph.
That said, I feel much more safe as a free man than as a slave.
D’oh! Text amended. Thanks!
AH, hell hasn’t frozen over just yet! HP back to normal (ANTI normal).
Thank the heavens I read this as I was getting dressed to head to REI for some snowshoes. The previous post had be twitching for some serious cold weather gear. Glad I don’t have to make the trip.
lol, that took what, five minutes?
I live a mile from Indiana. Where is the wild west bloodbath of which he speaks? Oh yeah it’s MUCH safer in Cook County,Illinois where I live. A gun law paradise. What a TWINK.
I lived in Indiana for 5 years, and had a CCW permit there for 4 of them. Never had a problem. Now I live in Chicagoland, and have to do my best avoiding the Southside when I commute to the city. And believe me, It’s not the handful of ILCCW holders I have to worry about.
If that is the most compelling argument they have then we have won already
Man, that is just terrifying, people can legally buy guns?! In contrast to New Jersey and New York, where criminals illegally buy guns? Where its legal for cops to frisk you for no reason, where lawmakers disregard their own laws and use their power to shut down bridges and hurt their political opponents? Yeah, I’m just gonna use my equally relevant 1st amendment right and tell him to eat a d*** and enjoy his concrete utopias, I’ll stay right where I’m at free.
Wait wait wait, your telling me I can’t claim self defense then shoot?
Mr Steinhorn, I’ll clue you in as to what “feeling unsafe” really is like.
It is waking up at your buddy’s West Hollywood apartment at three AM hearing yelling in the hallway, knowing if someone tries to kick in the door and I use a weapon to stop it, ILL be locked up longer then the thug would .
Feeling unsafe is knowing that if the guy muttering to himself on Sunset Blvd tries to attack you, all you got is a cell phone and a 3″ knife .
Feeling unsafe is realizing that self defense is a class resource, permitted only to the rich and powerful. The ordinary Joes like me are offered death,injury ,or a hold request for a government representative via 911.
That’s what BEING unsafe is like.
What an idiot. Let’s look to the FBI crime statistics to see how those “dangerous” states compare to ones with the country’s strictest gun laws.
Average violent crime rate among Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana, and Mississippi: 373/100k
Average violent crime rate among California, DC, Maryland, New York, and Illinois: 593/100k
Math. Is. Hard.
In any case, the dummy totally obfuscates whatever point he might have had by failing to include the many states that allow open carry without any kind of licensing–such as New Hampshire (violent crime rate 188/100k). And what about good old Vermont (142/100k).
Typical Progressive fascist moron.
–Andrew, @LawSelfDefense
Exactly!!! But don’t use REAL statitics on a progressive….It scares them……It ruins their lies.
The reason that you cannot use real statistics on a progressive is because they already know better than you.
I have a greater risk of getting murdered in Chicago, Newark, NYC or LA than I do in North-central Florida because of gun control.
I also have a greater risk of being shot if I am beating a man’s head into a sidewalk.
These bozos never figure crime stats into their rants. Indiana has a very low crime rate. Some of the states with the loosest gun laws have very low murder rates.
To compare apples to apples, look at CA and TX, both large urban border states with similar demographics, but very different gun laws. CA’s murder rate is higher.
Gun grabbers can only argue on emotion and anecdote, because they lose on the numbers.
Aww. We didn’t make the list. Neither did Idaho.
I find that rather surprising considering Alaska, and Idaho are very gun friendly. In fact there are many states that are pretty gun friendly.
no worries. perhaps with more 2A advocates and improved legislation y’all will make it on the hate list next time.
always room for progress.. 😉
. . . and HuffPo reverts to form.
Interestingly, the regulars in the comments section over there are giving him the business. Even the progs realize that he’s full of it.
Told you guys Indiana had great gun laws.
I’m (not) surprised he didn’t contrast these states with D.C. where nobody until recently was allowed to own guns (and now only people who are willing to jump through a gauntlet of bureaucratic barricades are allowed to). According to the Census Bureau in 2009 D.C. had a murder rate 4.75 times the national rate, a robbery rate 5.34 times higher and an aggravated assault rate 2.1 times higher. I think I’d rather take my chances in Alabama, Arizona, Georgia, Indiana or Mississippi over our nation’s capital any day.
Luckily for DC residents, the city and Federal po-po can legally possess a gun in DC. Unluckily for DC residents, the vast majority of them head home for MD and VA at 5.
There are a few places downtown I’d like to drop Mr. Steinhorn where I think he might feel just a bit unsafe in the night, even in the absence of legally-licensed hardware. Maybe he could complain to the gun lobby.
5? Try 3:30PM.
As a former longtime resident of Georgia, I can assert that seeing an average citizen with a pistol on his hip was the least of my worries. No one batted an eye at it, in my county at least. Seeing some druggie with his handgun printing every time he hitched his pants up, on the other hand..
Tourist Advice: If you’re visiting Atlanta, stay north of I-20 and keep the hell away from Underground Atlanta.
Two points: academics should just STFU, and Huffington Post posts nothing but BS.
no reason to hate academics because this guy evidently isn’t one.
academics implement facts and reason to make a point.
steinhorn is just sensationalist liberal with a piece of chalk in his hand trying to pass as a quote, unquote academic.
Really?!? I’m willing to bet the author has never traveled to any of these states. I have been to everyone of those states and currently live in Mississippi, and I do not fear being randomly shot by a concealed or open carrier. Not to mention there are states that are more pro-gun. Seeing that he co-wrote a book about the lack of race integration and relations, he may be bias against some of these southern states. That is what it looks like to me at least.
I’m certain his prejudice played into that list. He omitted other states that have looser gun laws or higher murder rates. Progressives in general are quite bigoted against southerners and rural folks.
Progressives in general are quite bigoted against everyone.
You forgot Pennsylvania.
Oh, and Leonard? Here in P-A not only can anyone open carry a pistol with nothing more than the ability to attach the gun to their body somehow, they can legally do it while knee-walking drunk.
So there’s that too.
Whoops! He forgot PA, where anyone aged 21 and over can be issued a license to carry, and buy a gun, after passing a background check. Add to that our recently passed Castle Doctrine laws, and that aside from Philly, we’re largely a conservative state, and that data shows that any given time, there are over half a million people who are legally carrying a gun in PA…he’d shit himself in abject terror.
I love living in PA.
Holy crap on a cracker! I didn’t realize we Pennsylvanians were clinging to so many guns at one time. As much as the Northeast or Mid-Atlantic region gets dogged on for liberal politics and progressive utopias, their only stronghold in PA is really Philly. Without that cesspool, we’d be undeniably crimson, and ironically not with the spilled blood of our neighbors but that of the stripes of our wonderful flag. With all of this freedom, I can hardly figure out which gun I want to buy next. Life is hard!
This happens anytime we start winning our pro gun war against the progressives.
They KNOW they are lying. They KNOW the worst murder rates are in liberal controlled “Gun control” cities.
What they don’t know is that only their progressive fool buddies pay them any attention. America gave up on this BS in 2008.
Get this fool on TV and force him to prove his lies like progressives always tell us when the don’t lioke what we say.
Of course we can and DO prove our point and then they just get pissed and blame Bush or gun owners, or the boogy man.
Pretty much anything Huffpost puts out can be regarded as propaganda and not news.
Is it wrong for me to be disappointed that Utah isn’t on this list?
Say isn’t this the guy who said that “rape only last minutes, death is forever”. Naw just kidding, he could have.
God! There should be a law prohibiting the totally ignorant from being able to express their completely untrue opinions in print. If there has to be a background check to purchase a firearm, there should be a competency test on the subject in question before allowing people to pop off in op-ed pieces.
The crime stats many of you put up are spot on. Of course, the author of the article didn’t seem like he was talking about being safe. He seemed to emphasize FEELING safe. If he feels safer in an objectively more dangerous, authoritarian state, that’s just fine with me.
You nailed it.
What he prefers is being unsafe but not FEELING unsafe to being safe but FEELING unsafe. This can actually be diagnosed as a psychological disorder.
Scared anti-gunner is scared.
I know! Let’s take this liberal punk to south Chicago. Put him in a tshirt that says “I have $1000 cash on me”…..
At 3AM.
I wonder how safe he would feel then. I mean come on!….Chicago has FULL gun control….It should be the safest place in the world….Those 525 homicides in 2011 couldn’t have been done with guns…..
OMG OMG OMG OMG!! People can carry a gun!!! I can’t live with this!
Maybe he should just stay inside, lock the doors, and hide under the bed. Oh wait isn’t that where the boogie man lives! No where is safe!!!
Boogie Man in the bedroom closet.
Huge ankle-grabbing undefined vaguely-reptilian creature (Nancy Pelosi??) under the bed.
Bone-in-nose spear-wielding aboriginal outside the door.
Well, that’s the way it is at my house anyway.
I’m sure the author is of the opinion that no other state is capable of performing a background check (don’t get me started) like HIS state.
And I’m pretty sure you can’t open carry on the gaming floor of any Mississippi casino.
I live in Wyoming where the laws are very similar to those mentioned in this article and guess when the last time we had a nut job (who wasn’t prohibited by law to have a firearm at all) go nuts and shoot up some place? Guess when someone who was legally allowed to carry concealed with or without a permit committed a violent crime using said firearm? Can’t come up with one? Neither can I! Violent crime happens less often in places where the criminal element knows that they are likely to be meet with deadly resistance. Your media bred and fed fear and miseducation about firearms does not trump my right to defend myself, my loved ones and my property with any means necessary. I will not be content with “FEELING” safe, I will “BE” safe.
HuffPo forgot to mention the issue with genital size. I’m sure that will come up in their next article.
The only response needed: Malo periculosam, libertatem quam quietam servitutem.
An “overwhelming majority” of people support gun control. And, damn it, I’ll keep repeating that until it is true.
Well, at least of the people that he knows. Sorta.
This history Professor then means to say what?
I own a set cooking knives therefore I’m a gourmet chef? Not according to my wife.
Steinhorn isn’t a history professor. He’s a professional blogger, a cofounder of PunditWire (which I’d never heard of before today). He has a BA in history from a fine women’s college and a masters in communications from JH. No Phd. If he ever does show up with one it’ll be a gratuity for blogging leftward.
I find it sort of tedious that he sneaked into my day via this site. He’s not an academician. He’s not a serious producer in either the private or public sector. In short he’s nothing but….HuffPo material.
When I noticed he had a Wikipedia page I laughed. I suppose I should create a page for the kid who blue-books for me.
WOW! Are lefties ever big scairdy cats. I wonder if Mr AntiGun would feel safer in the middle of the Bronx at midnight or in some small town in Texas? The problem is that most anti-gun types are afraid of what THEY might do if they had a gun and they realize they are not responsible enough to own a gun therefore they cannot imagine someone else being responsible and restrained enough to own a gun. To admit that others may be more responsible and better behaved than they are is to admit they are a bad person … so it is eraser to demonize responsible gun owners than to admit to their own failings as a human being.
I’m going to guess that he’s never heard of Vermont. Not just places west of D.C. and New York that have relaxed gun laws.
I’m an Alabamian and concealed carrier for 28 years, and have lived in the largest and 3rd and 4th largest cities. I walk without fear. I know that if I’m not a pimp,prostitute, dope dealer or user, my chance of being murdered is roughly .00003. This despite the fact I was a city prosecutor and city judge in two jurisdictions (and got death threats in one prosecution job) and defended criminals for 8 years.
Yes, we have no training requirement to get a permit, but other than hunting accidents, I know of no accident statewide where an innocent bystander has been hit in a DGU.
Mr. Steinhorn’s fears are irrational. He has neither fact nor experience to back them up. He should see a shrink about his irrational fears and projection instead of trying to tell sane adults how to live their lives.
I’m sad Wyoming isn’t on this list
I am sad SC in not on here as well.
I have come to the conclusion that I’m glad a number of anti-gun people are anti-gun. After seeing comments like “all gun owners should be shot in the head” and the like the world is a much safer place without those violent anti-gun people being in possession of firearms. I’ve come to believe that they think guns make people violent because they’re actually violent themselves and if they had guns who knows what they’d do. its a simple matter of projection, they’re projecting themselves into the issue, therefore everyone must be the same as them with that violence barely held in check. I now understand why its impossible to convince them that the majority of gun owners aren’t violent and that shooting someone is the last thing that we would ever want to do. They can’t see past their own violent natures and can’t believe that everyone isn’t as inherently violent as they are.
I feel safer in those pro 2A places than I ever would in a place where I would be disarmed.
FRAUD !!!! Northern New England has similar laws to the states he criticizes — and is the safest place to live in the US. VERMONT has exactly what critics would call “Wild West” laws (of course the Wild West analogy is BAD history — too much TV) and has THE LOWEST FIREARM MURDER RATE IN THE US — rivaling some European countries that have MUCH lower firearm ownership rates. SEE REAL FBI DATA:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_violence_in_the_United_States_by_state
Look at the far right column and SORT for lowest rate on top. Says it all.
This history professor happens to teach in DC, The hypocrisy or irony run deep in that town. I’m borrowing that link BTW while LMFAO !
In DC you can get promoted and improve your love life just by mumbling absurd counter-factual rants of the Steinhorn type. DC does not run on facts or truth. It runs on high-octane group-think politically correct gang-of-talkers presume-we’re-elites consensus. The goal is to push these ideas up to the busy-doing-fundraising elected officials.
I can’t think of a single first-rate academic serving as a full-time tenured professor in DC in his or her prime productive research years. Second-rate? Sure. Third rate? Yep. Over the hill formerly-great? Lots. DC is the most status-anxious city in the U.S. The way they try to get comfortable if they don’t have mega-millions is to fight for in-group acceptance by writing some rubbish about an America with which they are actually unfamiliar.
I’d bet a dime he lives in NOVA or MOCO and commutes in to teach. By car. Too many “people of color/poor people” on METRO for him. He’d feel scared.
He is not safe in Northern Virginia. You can legally carry on the Metro.
Glad to be in Georgia. I’ve seen numerous people open carrying and didn’t feel the least bit concerned about it. And last I checked, blood isn’t running in the streets as a result.
He missed NH and VT. Douche.
Ohio is a open carry state also.
Wow.
So if you are a normal, law-abiding type citizen, you could snap at any minute, so no guns for you.
If you have a criminal record, a history of mental illness (depressed when you went through that divorce?), or a past drinking problem, you should be disqualified from gun ownership. Never mind the liberal memes of “But criminals CAN be rehabilitated and set free, our mental health system works wonders, and people should not be condemned for things in their past.” Except of course, with regard to guns. Even normal people shouldn’t have them!! Typical liberal gibberish.
Rights are subject to the approval of the majority, didn’t you know that?
Come to Newark and tell me how safe you feel…
Leonard Steinhorn should stay in his region of the country, and keep his opinions with him. Before I read this article, I had never heard his name…and could care less how he feels. Keep your opinion and your nose, out of the rest of the country.
What a fool.
I think you misspelled “tool.”
Funny, I live in one of the states this guy probably considers “safe” and that’s the last word I’d use to describe the environment here. Can’t wait to move to the “Wild West” I guess…
It is legal in these states for people with absolutely no training to walk around armed and to carry their guns openly in the streets.”
True the cops do this but that’s the case everywhere.
Why does everyone STILL get the Trayvon case wrong?
Zimmerman didn’t “shoot first” he shot Trayvon as he was being beaten into the pavement. Trayvon threw the first punch, the second, the third, the fourth, until Zimmerman was in fear of his life and that’s when he shot him.
Do people just not look at the case records, the police photos, nothing? Or are they willfully ignorant because it doesn’t suit their agenda?
I’m gonna go with “willfully ignorant” because “malicious intent” is a given.
I’m sorry, but in what states can habitual criminals NOT obtain firearms? I can’t believe anyone with an ounce of self- respect could actually write that in all seriousness.
I’m disappointed that my state didn’t make it to Leonard’s Little List.
Lot of guns toted up here in Maine, too, and yet millions of rich folks vacation here every summer and manage to make it out alive. How? How is that possible? Guns = death, am I right? This dude is clearly trying to get laid with this enlightened male shit.
What is the murder rate in Washington D.C. where this “gentleman” lives? I understand owning a gun let alone carrying one is rather hard in that location is it not…well legally that is.
I wonder if he stays out of Northern Virginia in fear for his life.
They INVARIABLY have that goofy, self-satisfied smirk on their faces. And (hopefully) a sheet of paper stuck to their back that says, KICK ME!
He sat in his cat’s poop…
Funny, the states I am uncomfortable in are CA, NY, NJ and CT, who’d of thought 🙂
EDIT: Cant forget the wretched hive of scum and villainy that is DC also.
Open Carry is perfectly legal in CT. And is practiced daily by hundreds of people. FYI.
http://ctcarry.com/Permits/Unconcealed
Wild West? I’ve spent a lot of time in Georgia over the years visiting relatives and more recently just moved here to stay. So far, not much dust and tumbleweeds. I must have missed something?
Tom
This guy is an idiot. I live in GA and it is a safe place. I carry, am a law biding citizen and unless someone is trying to kill/harm me, my loved ones or is trying to take my freedoms or rights then they have nothing to worry about. Is it just me or has most liberal idiots noticed that all of the mass shootings occur in “gun free zone”. Take away gun free zones and the criminal has no free pass to kill without meeting resistance form people that will not tolerate their BS.
Of course they know that. Except for the “useful idiots”, who are never in short supply.
I don’t care one bit about FEELING safe, I care about BEING safe by protecting myself.
The real “wild west” was surprisingly crime free, vastly less so than people think nowadays.
This is just the start of the pile of crap, lies and distortions spewed in this op ed piece.
“Vastly MORE so…”, to fit your own syntax. See what I mean?
Well as long as he ‘feels’ safer, that’s all that matters. Somehow I bet that he doesn’t live in the nastier neighborhoods of Newark or Chicago.
He probably knows that. He’s either in a gated community, on on the waiting list for one. Just being on the waiting list imbues a sense of safety and well-being!
“feel safe”……
“feeling” is a subjective state of belief completely independent of facts or reality.
I’m sure plenty of people let out their last breath before they fully realized that their feelings were inconsistent with reality.
The more articles that leftards write like the one above, the less impact the message has on the dolts who read them. Then, the left has to ramp up the message, making it more and more absurd until, eventually, even the low information morons realize that it’s all bvllshit.
I love it when leftards soil their panties. I wish they would do so more often so they can drown in their own stench.
Excellent point Ralph. It follows for many things, not just the second amendment and guns.
Good insight, Ralph.
Writers like this just kill me. Using his logic, Chicago and other liberal bastions should be all peace and harmony, right? He is either completely disconnected from reality or a complete liar. I can’t really think of any other options.
No, because there are confounding variables (institutional racism, etc) that result in those cities being more crime-ridden. They’d be twenty times WORSE with guns. If there’s a murder in Arizona, though, it’s completely due to the gun laws. There’s always a reason, and if we can’t find one we like we’ll make one up. Heads he wins, tails you lose.
What do you mean, “with guns”? You seem as deluded as they are.
Sarcasm.
Ah!! Must have left my sarcasm detector upstairs. I’ll try to remember to bring it tomorrow. Promise.
I knew it was on the line when I wrote it and just hoped the last couple of lines would have explained the first couple. Probably should have added the /sarc note.
Many people living in the statist bubble that stretches from DC to Boston, this guy included, have been turned into professionally dependent victims over a couple of generations. I know people who literally view the mid-west, and especially the south, with the same sense of frightened, cautious bewilderment Joseph Conrad displayed towards Africa in Heart of Darkness. I’ve felt safer walking around Oklahoma City and Dallas by myself at night than I have in NYC or Boston at any time because carry is legal and widely practiced by non-cop citizens.
I’m pretty confident Conrad (who, along with Nabokov, I consider the best writers in English whose native language was not English, ever) didn’t feel the way about Africa that is expressed in THE HEART OF DARKNESS. Conrad traveled extensively as a merchant seaman, and was speaking more to the prevailing (lack of) knowledge about Africa than to the reality.
In fact, Conrad and Nabokov are among the best English writers, PERIOD.
There was a letter to the editor in my local paper this morning by someone who would rather have citizens openly carry so he would “know which places to avoid.” Although he understands that concealed carry is legal, he claims that he is fearful of going into coffee shops when he doesn’t know who might be carrying a gun. I think they call that paranoia–fear of the unknown. I feel like writing a response, advising him that maybe he should move to San Francisco, because our little rural county has issued more than 5000 CCWs, while SF has issued only two. why, these legally licensed and carrying people are ALL AROUND HIM!!!
You know what’s funny….just a few months ago I learned that HuffPo is regarded as an actual news source. For several years I thought it was similar to The Onion, and I just laughed at their stories.
I still laugh at them, but now I shake my head, too.
Regarded as a news source by whom? Maybe CNN or MSNBC or the WAPO or NYT, but not by any sentient being that I know of.
If the chimp thinks it is free, you cannot free the chimp. Stalin and Hitler laugh their asses off every time a liberal spouts emotional nonsense in favor of gun control.
Good point, although you forgot Mao, easily the greatest mass-murderer in history.
He left out Pa. Open carry without a permit, concealed with, castle doctrine, SYG. He should get out more. What’s really scary is it looks like a black board in the background so he might be teaching young impressionable children.
So the “highly trained” police should be the only ones with guns? Do some real research and find out how many people are actually murdered by the Law Enforcement officers that the Liberals think should be the only ones allowed to have guns……..Just sayin’
Really. He should just read that other article posted here today.
I feel safer knowing that my neighbors are armed. So much so that I also make SURE they aren’t out of ammunition.
What a load of lies.
Federal law mandates a background check when you buy from any gun dealer.
All the activities he described are completely legal and yet none of the bad things he describes happen in these states. He has got it wrong. Criminals don’t feel safe in these states.
You are not allowed to shoot first and not worry about jail time in any state. The author is supposedly some sort of professor, yet I don’t think he can understand simple and basic facts.
Zimmerman shot the punk Martin, while Martin was slamming Zimmerman’s head over and over into the pavement. That’s not stand your ground. That’s self defense and that is legal everywhere.
This is why liberal are loosing the gun control argument. They make up their facts to suit their causes. They don’t live in the real world. This author of completely false article needs to be involuntarily committed to some mental heath facility. He also should not be teaching anyone his brand of lies and slander.
This guy is full of it! I have no idea where he is getting his information but the information he is providing is completely false. Guns are not allowed in bars, casinos, schools, sporting events, college campus, and they are not allowed in churches. This gentleman has absolutely no idea what he is speaking about and he may want to do some actual research on this subject before opening his mouth. Please disregard what this man has written and find out the information for yourself.
Right, buddy–Let’s make the rest of the country look like Chicago. Dolt.
As bad as CT is, we can still get a pistol permit here, unlike CA, NJ, and NY. And once you do, you can carry however you like.
You can get a pistol permit in NY and carry as long as you’re not in or around NYC. It is still a PITA though.
And yet, all the states he named have lower rates of violent crime per population than the states that have more restrictive gun/carry laws. Once again, the liberal media ignoring their own administrations agencies facts on firearms and violence. If you live in the land of unicorns, cotton candy houses, and my little ponies horses, anything is explainable……like guns, Obamacare, the increasing national debt, jobless Americans, etc, etc, etc, etc.
Complete 180 degrees off base. Not only do I feel safer in states with liberal (in the old fashion meaning of the word) gun laws but statistics show I AM safer. What an idiot.
Guns in the hands of citizens are the antibodies to the infection of BG’s with guns. When you have a sterile environment with disarmed citizens then you are open to the infection of rampant crime and political tyranny. And from a history professor no less – what a joke.
Please add Texas to the list if states you want to stay away from. We want you and your ilk to stay as far away from Texas as possible.
I like the way he tells everyone who couldn’t locate those states on a map and have never been there to sign the nonsensical petition to tell those states how unsafe they’ll feel IF they ever visit there. [Shaking head in disbelief.]
We don’t want those “people” in free states. Stay home in your weapons free utopia.
On vacation from the left coast, walked into a GA gun shop and stood gobsmacked as rifles stood at attention, unlocked in isles, and the dreaded 30 round magazine (or clip if your a ignorant politician) hung on a peg. Casually walked over, reached and braced for enforcement…then…no noticeable disruption of space time, held a second one. Owner of the shop in the finest Georgina drawl asked if he could hellpme. Still in a daze, walked over to aforementioned rifles and picked up an AR, held close and repeatedly cycled the mag release, ejecting the evil bullet box. The good ole boys concern heighten, noting body positions and their open carry, calm restored when I uttered…from California.
Those two actions deemed unlawful in one state, fully supported in another, leads to wonder the term “these United States”.
As an Atlantan, I found myself opening the article saying over and over in my head, “please be Georgia. Please be Georgia.” And boom! It’s right there!
Lol, I feel very safe here especially given that our state legislature affords us the legality of defending ourselves against the always present ne’er-do-wells.
I love how he’s even getting torn apart on the comments on HuffPost. These rants are sounding more and more like a swan song every time I hear them.
I agree. Somewhere, a violin is being dusted off, and tuned.
Wait, who tunes any more? 😀
That would be the world’s smallest violin, playing…
From the bottom of a box of TRIX!
I am insulted that Virginia was left off the Wild West list. Constitutional open carry state? Must be shootouts every day. I can’t understand why I have missed out on all the the fun. My guess is that he doesn’t even know how “lax” Virginia gun laws are. He probably thinks it just like DC or Maryland.
All he knows about is NOVA.
The law is the same all over the state. There are lots of guns in Northern Virginia. My north Arlington neighborhood could repel a small invasion.
He meant the difference between the RKBA laws, which are the same, and the legal and practical application of them, which are very different.
The legal and practical applications are uniform in the state of Virginia. In fact the Arlington County Commonwealth Attorney is pro-Second Amendment even though she is a Democrat. It is culturally different than other part of Virginia but its large military presence makes NOVA more firearms friendly than say Richmond.
Henrico and Chesterfield Counties are quite gun-friendly, however.
Sadly, most folks who’ve never lived in Virginia, or near to it, don’t know how vast the difference is. It’s like the difference between Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis.
Oh, man, does THAT date me!
You mean he thinks Virginia is “lax” on guns, like DC or Maryland? I’ve found it helps to read what you’ve written before posting and not editing it.
But even then it doesn’t always work. Anyone can proofread his writing; the trouble is, you read it as what you meant to say, not as what you actually wrote.
It can happen to anyone.
I feel slighted.. LA didn’t make his list… once they get rid of that stupid rule against carrying in a business that servers alcohol for on-premises consumption it will get even better.
Don’t tell him that here folks can just strap on a holster and a gun and walk the streets… loaded even! Hell, keep one or two stashed away in your vehicle (concealed even)… without such much as a permit or permission from the gov’t. OR if you want to pay the ‘tax’ you go to some silly class wait 6 months or more to get a piece of paper so you can hide a gun under your shirt.
“Help, its coming right at me!!” BANG BANG BANG
Interesting that Leonard does not even try to back up his concerns with what I am sure would easily obtainable metrics. If these states are more dangerous because of their gun laws, where are the statistics to back it up. What is the murder rate in NY, IL, NJ compared to these AL, GA, MS?
I glean two things from the article, open carry reduces murder rates. and, it’s fine by me if libtards choose not to come here. In fact, please consider taking back some of the ones that can’t seem to find their way back home!
No way, a Steinhorn wants people to not be able to defend themselves? Shocker
Live in Mississippi , have gone to a class for my enhanced permit so I can carry in more places than non-enhanced permit holders , went through extended background check , which entails NCIS that is the FBI , state check , check with local Sheriff to see if he objected to my having a ccw , they even spoke with two of my neighbors , now tell me again about not being checked out enough to have a ccw permit ! There are states that I don’t feel safe going to , and will not be recieving any tourist dollars from me , they are New York , Rhode Island , Conneticut , Maryland , Colorado , and California , and any other state that enacts draconian gun laws . Be prepared and ready. Keep your powder dry .
Your reaction against CO is understandable given recent history but WAY overblown. With one very large caveat, it is CC shall issue and OC friendly, no types of guns are banned or even illegal to purchase. All that happened here that would affect a visitor was a ban on transfer of mags 15+ in size, though old ones are grandfathered. The law is regularly evaded and most sheriffs are on record as refusing to enforce it.
If you live here you will find you need to get a background check on a private sale to stay legal. Another law that is routinely evaded.
Culturally we are still pro 2A as the recalls of certain pukestain legislators demonstrates.
My caveat is that OC is strictly forbidden in Denver; somehow they managed to persuade a court to ignore Article 2 section 13 of our state constitution. Local governments are otherwise allowed to ban OC in places like parks and their own facilities, but are required to POST them as such–and CC is generally OK because there is strong premption there. Even Denver has to “tolerate” (boo hoo, smallest violin in the world) CC.
Sounds good, Steve, as I’ll be moving to CO in a couple of years. 🙂
–Andrew, @LawSelfDefense
Listen people! Lives were cut short! If those people were not carrying a gun the people they shot would still be alive today. All they wanted was their wallet, car, or just a little bit of non-consensual sex! It’s our responsibility to give people (some use the word “criminal” but I don’t know what that is) what they want for the greater good of society, then no one has to die and we can all live together peaceably. /s
LMAO !! I have news for you all thinking/planning to go west.. Don’t !! We don’t want you here !! Period !! Why ?? Simple, you all say how you hate NYC/Chicago/blah/blah/blah, and how much you love it out here in AZ, UT, NV, ID, CO, NM, WY.. But the second you get here, what do you do ?? YOU start trying to turn it into the sh-t holes you just left.. I was born, raised and still reside in Southern Utah, 15 miles from AZ, 30 miles from NV.. THIS Ain’t NYC !! No sh-t !! WE WANNA KEEP IT THAT WAY !! SO STAY WHERE YOU’RE AT !! You won’t like it once you get here anyway !! This is where it all begins.. CHANGE what YOU already created for YOURSELVES..
As a resident of Idaho (the REAL wild west, full of unrepentant wild-eyed libertarian right-wing gun owners), I am DEEPLY OFFENDED that we did not make the Huff-n-Puff Post list of “states with the most Wild West gun laws.”
Guess we will have to pass Constitutional Carry next year.
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