Gun owner ID cards soar in Chicago

Chicago has seen a 16 percent spike in the number of people holding state firearm owner’s identification cards in the past two years, state officials said Wednesday.

About 122,000 people possessed FOID cards at the beginning of this year compared to 105,000 at the beginning of 2010, said Monique Bond, spokeswoman for the Illinois State Police.

Illinois residents must possess a FOID card to buy guns in the state.

Illinois State Police officials check an applicant’s identification and background before issuing a card.

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I wonder why? Tom

More guns in Canada now, but fewer owners: RCMP

Canadians own more than half a million more firearms than they did in 2006, according to the 2010 annual report from the RCMP’s Canadian Firearms Program.

But while federal firearms data shows that the number of registered gun owners in Canada is dropping, the arsenal of each is getting bigger and bigger.

But many gun owners — and a Tory MP — say the government’s estimates are off the mark, and that there may be twice as many firearms, and firearms owners, in Canada as the RCMP says. They say many Canadian gun owners are “going underground,” due to fears they will face increased police scrutiny and the seizure of their weapons.

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'Before They Tighten Up the State Laws, I'm Buying More Guns'

Guy Adams finds a brisk trade at the Tucson shop that apparently supplied Jared Loughner

Trade was roaring at the gun counter of the Sportsman's Warehouse in Tucson on Sunday afternoon, where roughly 30 types of shotguns competed for shelf space with 100 pistols, 50 rifles and enough ammunition to fuel more than one decent shootout at the nearby the OK Corral.

Whatever the motivation behind the shooting, it seems likely that Arizona's gun laws will now come under fresh scrutiny. The state boasts the most relaxed gun regulations the United States, which in turn has the fewest restrictions on firearm ownership in the developed world. (AFP/Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla)

Just a day had passed since Jared Lee Loughner allegedly launched a deadly shooting spree using a gun purchased from the very same store, but patrons were undeterred. Richard Tucker and his eight-year-old daughter, Emily, spent the afternoon examining a Smith & Wesson revolver, the quintessential firearm of the old wild west. They were pondering whether to add it to the small armoury at their home in Drexel Heights, a residential neighbourhood on the outskirts of the Arizonan desert city.

"For hunting, I already own two rifles, a shotgun, and a crossbow, and in addition to that, I like to keep a couple of pistols around the house for personal protection," Mr Tucker said. "But this will really be more a toy: something to take out to the range and clip paper targets. When the children are a little older, it'll also be a good gun for them to learn to shoot with."

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States with Higher Gun Ownership and Weak Gun Laws Lead Nation in Gun Death

Louisiana, Mississippi, Alaska, Alabama, and Nevada Have Highest Gun Death Rates

Washington, DC--States with higher gun ownership rates and weak gun laws have the highest rates of overall gun death according to a new analysis by the Violence Policy Center (VPC) of just-released 2007 national data (the most recent available) from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Injury Prevention and Control.

The analysis reveals that the five states with the highest per capita gun death rates were Louisiana, Mississippi, Alaska, Alabama, and Nevada. Each of these states had a per capita gun death rate far exceeding the national per capita gun death rate of 10.34 per 100,000 for 2007. Each of the top-ranking states has lax gun laws and higher gun ownership rates. By contrast, states with strong gun laws and low rates of gun ownership had far lower rates of firearm-related death. Ranking last in the nation for gun death was Hawaii, followed by Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York. (See rankings below for top and bottom five states. See http://www.vpc.org/fadeathchart10.htm for a ranking of all 50 states.)

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Meanwhile crackpot author John Lott has brought out a new edition of More Guns Less Crime. Glowingly reviewed by rightwing jounal Human Events. Here is a link to Who is Mary Rosh, just one site devoted to debunking Lott's odd research, and odder behaviour. Tom