100,000 People Can't Be Wrong, Can They?

Before I start, let me say that I have no real opinion on the matter except one that regards myself. I don't want Ted Nugent shooting holes in my house or stalking me like I was a bear in Alaska. There, I've cleared that up. I just want to make a comparison...one that is most likely an "apples to oranges" one, but one I find interesting nonetheless. To date, Wisconsin has issued more than 100,000 concealed carry gun permits in the last year or so. Trainings are a booming (so to speak) business, and I applaud the care with which the issue is being addressed. This means that Illinois (we'll come to them later) is the lone remaining state in which a person is not allowed to carry a concealed weapon on his or her person. Despite the publicity generated by dozens if not hundreds of news stories revealing ghastly shooting rampages (weapons for three of which came from a shop right here in Titletown!) it would seem that most Americans have some common sense when it comes to weapons. Not so Venezuela, it would seem. There is a new law in Venezuela making it illegal for private citizens to buy either weapons or ammunition.period. That right is available only to the police, the army and security companies. I can see gun rights activists getting a bit uncomfortable about now, but remember, OUR constitution gives us the right to have and bear arms (mostly for protection against the Redcoats and unfriendly natives). Venezuela has two things we don't have: a ruler named Chavez and an ever-increasing murder rate...you'd think it was Mexico, for goodness sake. For example, in the capital Caracas last year, there were 18,000 murders; that's almost 50 per day, which makes it one of the deadliest cities in Latin America. And, face it, Latin America, and in particular the southern part of it, often leads the Americas in murders per capita, and most, if not all, feature the use of guns. So, I can somewhat see where the government is coming from. Hey, it tried an amnesty program that allowed folks to turn in their weapons, but it was not successful, so desperate times apparently call for desperate measures, especially when the numbers are elevated to where the international rate of 6.9 per 1,000 people would make it seem like a church camp by comparison. According to Sarah Grainger of the BBC, 70% of all homicides in South America have guns featured prominently. The percentage in Western Europe is about 25 %, and though there was no figure mentioned for North America or the U.S. in particular, let's go back to Illinois--Chicago, specifically. Over the Memorial Day weekend, 10 people were killed by gunfire, and 42 were wounded. that would mean an average of about 1200 in a year (just for "average" sake). Remember Caracas? 18,000 was the number there. Thus, for those of you who feel squeamish about 100,000 of your "neighbors" packing secret heat AND for those who would feel "nekkid" without their sidearm, hunting rifle, AK 47 or other assault weapon favored by hunters when pursuing the vicious deer, it could be worse: you could live in Venezuela. And the mayor of New York just wants to ban sugary drinks over 16 ounces.