3 thoughts on “Lesson Learned

  1. Two things stuck out to me in that Sun OpEd:

    1) The Rev. Nancy Nord Bence, executive director of Protect Minnesota, said her organization has no issue with responsible gun owners who go through the permit-to-carry application process at their county sheriff’s office, undergoing a criminal background check and completing the advanced firearms training as required by law.

    DG is going to have to realign her incorrect howling points, since her local commandant has given up fighting carry permits.

    2) Like Freeman, she pointed out that having more people carrying guns makes the state less safe. She said 80 percent of gun deaths in Minnesota are caused by suicide, not homicides.

    A) CARRYING a gun doesn’t mean a person is more likely to commit suicide. I’d like Rev Nord-Bence to show us the statistics that say carry permit holders are more likely to commit suicide with their carry weapon, than non-carry permit holders are by any method. I’d be willing to bet that like crime in general, suicides per capita committed by permit holders are far less than those committed by non-permit holders.

    B) Japan, with its draconian gun laws, has twice the suicide rate per capita compared to the US.

    Other than that, it’s a well written, non-hyperventilating OpEd.

  2. Good on the instructor.

    And Protect MN? Well, half right–they’ve at least conceded the crime angle, even if some sheriffs have not. But on suicide, exactly how are we to argue that when a gun owner gets his permit to carry, he’s going to be more likely to take his life? “Gosh, I’ve had my 1911 for two decades, but now that I’ve spent $200 getting a permit that’s good for five years, why not blow my brains out?”

    One would hope that even Protect MN would get it that an investment in the future might be a good indication that a man is less likely to take his life, but oh well….

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