On Monday, April 03, 2006 the Boston Globe carried yet another headline reporting the exploding violence in our state capital. According to the article, through March 30th of this year, there have been 87 fatal and nonfatal shootings. This number is up 67 percent from the same time last year. Using the latest numbers it is clear that this year is on track to become the most violent in over a decade. For anyone who has been following the statistical results of Chapter 180 of the Acts of 1998, this should be no surprise.

According to the latest reports from the Boston police department, violent gun crime has been on a sharp increase since the Worst in the Nation gun laws were passed in Massachusetts in 1998.

Boston Crimes involving Firearms

(The statistics from the report cover crimes between 1996 and 2005.)

http://www.ci.boston.ma.us/police/pdfs/july05.pdf

The laws passed in 1998 not only persecuted gun owners, but distracted the public and law enforcement from finding real solutions to the crime problems in Massachusetts. The proponents of gun control promised the residents of the Commonwealth that the laws passed in 1998 would be a major step forward in making this a safer place to live. Unfortunately these promises only led to a false sense of security in what has become one of the most violent times in our recent history.

While the rest of the nation is continually passing legislation to restore to citizens the right of self defense, certain Massachusetts political leaders are calling for even more restrictions on our basic right of self defense, even going so far as to foolishly urge other states to enact similar laws. This further distraction from real solutions ignores everything we have learned from the abysmal failure of our state’s gun laws. The simple fact is that the overly restrictive laws in place now have left this state at the mercy of criminals.

Carrying pepper spray for self defense is so heavily regulated that a non-resident must have a license to carry a handgun to merely possess it in our state. The cost of the license is $100 per year and violation of the law carries a possible two year jail term. Lawful citizens who wish to carry a firearm for self defense must submit themselves to an unregulated and demeaning application process and still may be denied or restricted for no reason. 

While the citizens of this Commonwealth are being denied the basic right of self preservation, the criminals are only growing stronger and more brazen. Calls for more of the same disastrous anti civil rights laws are only further distractions from real solutions to the rising crime problem. Rather than leading the nation in sensible laws, the gun laws of our state have accomplished only one thing: Massachusetts, You’re More Likely to be a Victim Here!