Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Thom Hartmann: What did Arizona Republicans learn from the events in Tucson more than a week ago?

What did Arizona Republicans learn from the events in Tucson more than a week ago? That more guns are the answer. Lawmakers in the state legislature that brought you such goodies as the "papers, please" law, the elimination of multicultural studies in schools across the state, and the right to carry guns in bars and concealed without a permit - are at it again.

Republicans plan to introduce laws during this session that will: allow individuals to carry firearms on college campuses - allow the display of gun for purposes of self-defense (whatever that means), and prevent homeowners and landlords from forbidding people residing on their properties the "right to bear arms". Of course - an expansion of gun rights has been widely proven to not increase safety.

The National Research Council published a study in 2004 that showed states with Right-to-Carry laws saw absolutely no decline in violence. In fact - a study published last year by Stanford Law School found that states with Right-to-Carry laws may actually seen an increase in aggravated assault cases. But these numbers - and the horrific consequences of easy access to guns - don't seem to bother the GOP in their effort to have guns outnumber people in this country. After all - why let any crisis go to waste for their gun lobby friends, right?

-Thom

(What do you think they should have learned? Tell us here.)

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