Via Steven Aftergood of Secrecy News, it appears that the Congressional Research Service completed and published a report on Gun Control on 3 August of this year. The author is one William J. Krouse, who also authored a piece on hate crimes legislation in 2010.
The only serious problem is the very usual fact that CRS was not authorized to release this report to the public. The report itself is a good thing. Congressmen frequently make badly informed statements about firearms, and some framing of the debate with quality information is beneficial. CRS expects a debate in the next Congress on the subject, so it's trying to anticipate the need for facts. CRS is a good service, and tries to be nonpartisan. The report attempts to outline the basic arguments for and against gun control, and provides what it takes to be the best available statistics (which show, as you will see, a nearly continuous decline in gun violence, gun related deaths, and so forth in spite of an explosion of gun sales over the last twenty years).
There is a lot here that's worth reading if you intend to be involved in the debate that CRS expects the next Congress to have.
7 comments:
Thanks for the link...
After reading the summary, I'm going to throw this on the top of pile of to be read material beside the bed.
Since this is a thread on 2A...
Is it just me, or do reports of first the DHS, then NOAA, and now the SSA placing RFP's for hundreds of thousands of rounds of sidearm ammo, I've read .40 and .357 Sig, sound a wee bit unusual?
Have the Federalis become survivalists? I thought only the wacky flown-over bitter-clinger survivalists were stocking their revetments?
If true, something smells.
On reflection, I think DHS ordered several hundred million rounds...
BThun, the Weather Service purchase was actually for the fish rangers (maritime anti-poaching arm of NOAA) that was coded into the computer incorrectly and has been corrected. The order was for their annual requalification course. Yeah, I'm not thrilled about the DHS's purchases either, but this one was corrected and the word put out this AM.
And don't get me started on the idea to rename the BATFEIEIO "The Violent Crime Bureau."
LittleRed1
"the Weather Service purchase was actually for the fish rangers...
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I'm not thrilled about the DHS's purchases either, but this one was corrected and the word put out this AM."
Thanks for the update LR1.
I did the math on the DHS purchase over at D29's place, and it actually turns out to be a reasonable figure for regular practice assuming their total employment, and given that many of the positions require regular practice. We don't want our Border Patrol agents walking around with guns they haven't had the chance to fire recently.
Weather Service purchase was actually for the fish rangers (maritime anti-poaching arm of NOAA) that was coded into the computer incorrectly....
Reminds me of an incident while I was at Ft Yukon. Our hapless Supply Sgt put in an order (this was manual and manual typewriter days) for 10 washers. He mistyped, and ordered 100 washers. Oh, well, that's still chump change. While the order was in the mill, though, the USAF changed the unit of issue from each to boxes of 100. Naturally, the REMF Supply Sgt didn't think about the order that was in progress and what a dinky little remote radar site might actually need, so we got our order filled--100 boxes of 100 washers each.
Eric Hines
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