That's Unpossible!

Stretch sends in a story that obviously must be false:

16 shot, 1 dead, in overnight violence

One man was killed and 15 others wounded by gunfire across the city Friday night and Saturday morning, according to authorities.

A 42-year-old man died after getting shot in the head on the 5200 block of South Troy Street in Gage Park about 12:15 a.m. Saturday. He was a passenger in a car and after he was shot, the driver drove to 59th and Sacramento Avenue and alerted police, police said.

Why am I so certain this story is false? Because it happened in Chicago, IL - the one state in the union that does not allow any type of open or concealed carry. Obviously these people weren't shot, because no one can legally carry a gun outside of their home or business. Someone needs to contact that reporter and set him straight - since IL doesn't allow its subjects citizens to carry guns, obviously no one could be out shooting people, right?

This is why gun control will fail, each and every time. In the one state in the union that does not allow any carry of arms whatsoever, in the city that has extremely strict gun control laws, people are still getting firearms and using them illegally (i.e. to harm others). Criminals - literally by definition - are going to break the law. It's already illegal to shoot someone while trying to steal their car - why the hell does anyone think that requiring a permit to carry a firearm is going to change their goals one iota?

Something I've mentioned in the past on Vicious Circle comes to mind here - does Smith & Wesson sell J-frame snubbies in IL? What about Kel-Tec and the P3AT? In a state where there are no provisions for any sort of concealed carry, why would these firearms be sold? I suppose folks might take trips to VT or AK or AZ and carry concealed without a permit, but that's a stretch. Or is it tacit admission that the laws do nothing and that folks are going to do what they want regardless of the law?

Let's face facts. Requiring a permit to carry a firearm is nothing more than state robbery. That piece of paper means absolutely nothing - even in states where training is required; even in states where you can only list a gun you've qualified with. All that piece of paper does is enrich state coffers - it doesn't make anyone any "safer"; it doesn't keep guns out of the waistbands of folks who shouldn't have them. It's a moneymaking scheme and nothing else.

And in IL, one person is dead and 15 more and injured because only the criminals carry guns - there's a lesson there.

That is all.