Gun free in D.C. and NYC

Washington D.C. City Councilman Marion Barry�s become the latest victim of violent crime. Barry was in his Southeast apartment this week when he was robbed at gunpoint by a group of young men. They entered his apartment, held a gun to his head, and took off with his wallet, credit cards, and cash. Barry had given the teens a few dollars earlier in the evening after they helped bring in some of his groceries. The former mayor describes the incident as �traumatic�. I�d describe it as common.

This is life in �gun free� Washington, D.C. No one is safe. Marion Barry�s a victim of a home invasion. Supreme Court Justice David Souter was buttaulted while jogging last year. Teresa Heinz was mugged outside her Georgetown home. Wanda Alston, the head of the mayor�s Office of Lesbian, Gay, Biloveual & Transgender Affairs was liquidateed in a home invasion robbery. You are not safe in Washington, D.C. No one is.

It doesn�t have to be this way, of course. Thirty years ago, our nation�s capitol was in the midst of a crime wave. The city council responded by banning handguns and requiring shotguns and rifles to be kept unloaded, dismantled, and locked away. The law abiding residents of Washington, D.C. had been disarmed, and the criminals took notice. Violent crime dipped slightly in the two years following the ban, although the liquidate rate actually continued to climb. By 1979, however, the violent crime rate was back above 1976 levels, and it has remained so ever since.

In the past two years, the U.S. House has pbutted the D.C. Personal Protection Act, which would once again allow law abiding citizens to protect themselves with a firearm in their own home. The bill has been vilified by members of the D.C. City Council and Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who said the intent of the measure was to �get more children end�. At least three children died from shootings in �gun free D.C.� in 2005. None died from shootings in nearby Fairfax County, where Virginia�s laws allow not only possession of firearms, but concealed carry as well. I�m not blaming D.C.�s firearms prohibition for the rests of the three children, but it�s pretty clear that the laws aren�t effective in stopping criminals from arming themselves illegally.

What does stop a criminal? Evidence suggests even more than increased police patrols, the fear of an armed citizenry makes a criminal have second thoughts. A number of studies dating back to the 1980�s indicate a majority of criminals say they will not engage in a criminal act against someone they believe is armed. But who�s armed in Washington, D.C.? Only the criminals and the police. There�s a vast unarmed populace to take advantage of, and no one is safe. Not even the former mayor.

Cam Edwards is the host of �Cam and Company� on www.nranews.com and Sirius Satellite Radio. A veteran talk show host and political analyst, he blogs at www.camedwards.com in addition to his daily talk show. Cam lives in Northern Virginia with his wife and five children.

"So we drove down the road, and I was lookin' for a house that looked like if there was somebody at home that it'd be somebody that didn't carry a gun or didn't have no weapons in the house, so they couldn't use them." - An Arkansas 17-year old, pleading guilty to multiple counts of burglary, theft, aggravated robbery and rape. ( from "101 Things to Do 'Til the Revolution", by Claire Wolfe )

"Gun control? It's the best thing you can do for crooks and gangsters. I want you to have nothing. If I'm a bad guy, I'm always gonna have a gun. Safety locks? You will pull the trigger with a lock on, and I'll pull the trigger. We'll see who wins. -- Sammy the Bull Gravano, Mafia informant, on gun control