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Gun Control Will Not Save You

Earlier today, two men armed with AK-47s and an RPG stormed the office of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris, France and killed at least 12 people. In case you forgot, Charlie Hebdo has several times in the past made fun of the “prophet” Muhammad, which at the time of writing appears to have been the motivation for this attack.

The two gunmen in the Charlie Hebdo attack via Daily Mail

The two gunmen in the Charlie Hebdo attack via Daily Mail

From Daily Mail:

Twelve dead after gunmen armed with Kalashnikovs storm offices of French satirical newspaper Charlie Hebdo after Prophet Mohammed cartoon storm

  • Masked gunmen storm Paris headquarters with AK-47s shouting ‘Allahu akbar!’ and ‘the Prophet has been avenged’
  • Stalked building asking for people’s names before killing the editor and cartoonist during weekly editorial meeting
  • Horrific footage shows a police officer begging for his life before being shot in the head at point-blank range
  • Killers fled in stolen car across eastern Paris after a ‘mass shoot-out’ with police officers and remain on the loose
  • Newspaper was previously firebombed in 2011 for publishing satirical cartoon of Prophet Mohammed

I’m sure this will be analyzed and over-analyzed in the days and weeks to come, but there are a couple points I’m hoping are not lost in the shuffle.

1. Something like this will almost assuredly happen in America, and probably soon.

No, I’m not giving timelines, nor am I here to tell you that I have some super secret inside source of knowledge or some other such nonsense. What I do have, however, is a healthy dose of reality for those of you who do not live in this place I like to call “the real world” – these people HATE us. Let’s skip the question of “why” for now (our fault, their fault, everyone’s fault, whatever) and just deal with reality – they HATE us. If you don’t understand that, you need to somehow make it real for yourself. If nothing else, listen to their own words.

2. Gun control will NOT save you.

It pains me that this isn’t plainly obvious to everyone with a pulse, but gun control will not prevent something like this attack from happening. For evidence, please scroll up and read where this attack took place: Paris, France.

From Wikipedia:

In France, to buy a firearm, a hunting license or a shooting sport license is necessary. All semi-automatic rifles with a capacity greater than 3 rounds, all handguns and all rifles chambered in ‘military’ calibers, including bolt action, require permits. These are known as B1, B2 and B4 type permits. Firearms are divided into eight categories that determine the regulations that apply to their possession and use. France also sets limits on the number of cartridges that can be kept at home (1000 rounds per gun).

The total number of firearms owned by an individual is also subject to limits (not possible to have more than 12 authorizations/permits on B1, B2 and B4 type firearms). As of September 2013 France has a capacity limit of 20 rounds for handguns, one needs a permit for category one semi-automatics that have a capacity greater than 3 rounds. Fully automatic firearms are illegal for civilian ownership.

Short version: all of the weapons used in today’s attack in Paris were illegal, very hard to get in France, and yet it did not matter. So when something like this attack happens here – on churches, schools, malls, wherever – and the cry for gun control once again reaches a national level, over the din of sheep begging to trade their liberty for a sense of security, remember Charlie Hebdo.

30 Responses to Gun Control Will Not Save You

  1. Timmons January 7, 2015 at 8:43 am #

    Brandon,
    This is exactly what I think! Thanks for putting out there!

    -Timmons

  2. chadjcyr January 7, 2015 at 8:58 am #

    You are SPOT ON! Thanks for sharing!

  3. dgdimick January 7, 2015 at 9:01 am #

    At least they are calling it a terror attack and not trying to sweep it under the rug like they had the past 3 attacks.

    I think now that the elections are over we are going to see more attacks; the T’s want to show that the Republicans are just as weak as the Democrats when it comes to terrorism.

    People also need to remember that there are at least 10 MILLION, probably a much larger number then this, of these nutballs that want to kill us.

    • dgdimick January 7, 2015 at 9:03 am #

      Just an update – car bomb just exploded outside a Synagogue in Paris just now.

      • LOSSOUARN Yohann January 7, 2015 at 11:51 am #

        It’s wrong!!!

  4. LOSSOUARN Yohann January 7, 2015 at 9:06 am #

    Hello Monderno,
    I live in France , thank you for your concern and support. Here we are totally shocked by this act cowardly and barbaric. It is freedom of the press and freedom of expression that have just been assassinated …

    • dgdimick January 7, 2015 at 1:20 pm #

      Your correct. It is a direct attack on your freedoms today. At least France isn’t going to be like Spain and run and hide.

      • Guest January 9, 2015 at 7:09 pm #

        Kindly elaborate please

  5. g January 7, 2015 at 10:19 am #

    Wow, more than 3 bullets? So I guess with a 30 round mag in your Kalash, you’re violating the law by a factor of 10?

    Of course, I seriously doubt the bad guys in this crime had permits…

    • Toasty January 7, 2015 at 4:11 pm #

      No. Semi auto’s with a capacity for more than 3 rounds are legal, but are in a separate category than semi autos with a lower capacity. AR-15’s and AK’s are legal with 30 rounders over there, it just requires a different license. For that you just have to go to the gun range 3 times a year and qualify. For a person that shoots regularly it’s not hard to maintain that license. You can actually own more types of guns and magazines in France than you can in California or New York.

      • Brandon January 8, 2015 at 8:40 am #

        Automatic weapons are not legal, RPG’s are not legal, France has “universal” background checks and strict rules governing the safekeeping and transport of weapons, the number of rounds allowed per weapon, none of which are allowed to be carried, etc, etc. The point I was trying to make is that even with all of those “feel good” gun control laws, they couldn’t prevent this attack.

        • TTom January 9, 2015 at 6:31 pm #

          Do you know if the police are all armed in France? What do they carry? Long guns?

  6. akble January 7, 2015 at 12:17 pm #

    Am sure it has nothing to do with religion – if in US Obama/ Holder would label workplace violence

  7. Lef January 7, 2015 at 1:20 pm #

    Hi Brandon, I’m french and live in this country and I can assure you that for 800$ you can buy an AK47 coming from eastern europe or north africa. But I’ll agree with your post gun control won’t save anyone… and I think maybe, if more people in the street were carrying, they could have at least tried something. Stay safe

    • Brandon January 7, 2015 at 1:28 pm #

      Thanks Lef – yes of course you can get an AK illegally…that’s my point. Sorry I wasn’t more clear.

  8. TK January 7, 2015 at 1:31 pm #

    Sad day for France, and hopefully a wakeup call for America.

    • FairladyZ January 8, 2015 at 1:07 pm #

      Practically ever true american has a arsenal of weapons. I don’t care if it’s sand niggers or Russians parachuting in. Come get some!!!!

  9. Hillbilly Bob January 7, 2015 at 1:39 pm #

    Hmmmm the ROP you say?

  10. Jim January 7, 2015 at 8:00 pm #

    Hate to rain on the parade but it has already happened. Not being being smart but Sept.112001 was a planned coordinated attack as was the first attack in 93. I know you all are referring to attack with firearms but Fort Hood was a planned attack as was the Lax attack, the center in Seattle and the attack on the recruiters in Ark. As well as the foiled attack on Fort Dix. Remember our so called president has encouraged this saying no one has the right to insult the so called pig prophet a false prophet if there ever was one. There are numerous attack that have occurred over the last several months around the world. And let me remind everyone ( you can out the foil over your if you like) but we still have a hijacked airliner that I believe has been seized and stored in Pakistan for what purpose I can only speculate. More is yet to come because they see that they can get away with it. Just remember because the messages these animals receive through various communication methods don’t make sense to us doesn’t mean it doesn’t to them . Code phrases have been used for years especially with the undergrounds in WW2, now the animal undergrounds are doing the same.

    • Brandon January 8, 2015 at 8:36 am #

      I’m not saying we haven’t been attacked, I’m saying this style of attack is MOST LIKELY coming to America – think schools, churches, malls, etc – and again MOST LIKELY in a coordinated fashion.

      • Jim January 8, 2015 at 9:51 am #

        I agree with you, I just feel it started in our country earlier Think CIA killings at agency entrance and the fact that they’re have been numerous attacks in our country already it was just that our government refused to name it as such. These attacks have always been coordinated, the government due to PC wouldn’t deal with it in the past, it was always a “lone wolf”. In my book there is no such thing. Trying to get people to realize this is damn near impossible.

  11. Curt Darabos January 8, 2015 at 4:08 pm #

    If your religion is worth killing for, please start with yourself.

  12. Shea January 9, 2015 at 10:22 am #

    In Canada not long ago we had a lone gunman shoot a solider and entered our parliament with a rifle. The man that stopped him in his tracks had a “conceal and carry” firearms permit. Very few people are allowed this permit in Canada but can you imagine how much further this man may have gotten or what he may have done?! I totally get what your saying here and agree 100%
    We should have some control over our own safety and not just be sheep waiting for the Sheppard to show up and draw chalk lines around our bodies.

    • TTom January 9, 2015 at 6:38 pm #

      Good luck changing the laws in Canada! Stay safe our Northern Friends.

  13. Hem January 10, 2015 at 10:12 am #

    What a huge oversimplification of a complex, systemic problem that traverses all religions.

    • Brandon January 10, 2015 at 10:44 pm #

      You lost me at “all religions”.

  14. Faith January 10, 2015 at 1:54 pm #

    Brandon,

    You seem to be basing your argument off of one individual instance wherein gun violence could not be prevented by stricter gun control laws than the United States’. This is a really invalid argument simply because you’re looking at one piece of data (the Hebdo shooting) rather than looking at trends over time in these two countries. No person on either side of this issue will say that gun violence can be completely eradicated by imposing stricter laws. That would be incredibly unrealistic. However, when you look at the statistics regarding the number of guns per capita and the number of gun-related deaths in France as compared to the U.S., it becomes clear that France’s policies surrounding gun ownership and licensure are effective in keeping the frequency of gun violence in their country far below that of the U.S. Please see the following for these stats:

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Number_of_guns_per_capita_by_country
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_firearm-related_death_rate

    • Brandon January 10, 2015 at 10:43 pm #

      No Faith, I am not, in this post, arguing against the efficacy of gun control, though I have done that many times in the past on this blog. The specific point I’m making here is that gun control CAN NOT prevent attacks like this. Period. So when it happens here in the US and the MSNBC zomies start begging for gun control, I’m encouraging my readers to remind those folks of Charlie Hebdo.

      To address your comment, we can both play the “guns/deaths per capita” comparison game and it won’t get us anywhere (take a look at Switzerland). Instead, I encourage you to look at US states gun laws and gun crime (all violent crime, not just murders), and I think you’ll see a pattern emerge.

      Thanks for stopping by.

    • Jim January 11, 2015 at 1:35 pm #

      I would suggest you read the studies by John Lott A PHD on Firearms Ownership and Self Defense, whose work has been peer evaluated and which shows without a doubt that an armed citizenry made up of free people fare far better than an unarmed citizenry. This is what Brandon is referring too. Also the lame stream media never ever reports when a citizen uses a firearm or any other weapon to defend themselves successfully. The NRA and others document these incidents (dozens of them) every month!

  15. Chris January 17, 2015 at 10:35 am #

    About the guns, majority come from Belgian, where muslim extremists have a comfy nest (thanks to laxist politics in EU) These weapons were stolen from military stocks in Albania.
    Most of the criminals in France, buy these illegal firearms, and come back to France to commit all kinds of violent crimes all over our country, from robbing to gangs war to protect their drug traffic.