GUN REPRESSIONISTS can be SILENT

Gun-control advocates are noticeably silent when crime rates decline.
Their multimillion-dollar lobbying efforts are designed to manufacture mass anxiety
that every gun owner is a potential killer. The statistics show otherwise.

Last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) announced that
violent crime decreased 4 percent in 2011. The number of murders,
rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults all went down, continuing a pattern.

“This is not a one-year anomaly, but a steady decline in the FBI’s
violent-crime rates,” said Andrew Arulanandam, spokesman for the
National Rifle Association. “It would be disingenuous for anyone to
not credit increased self-defense laws to account for this decline.”

Mr. Arulanandam pointed out that only a handful of states had concealed-carry programs
25 years ago, when the violent-crime rate peaked. Today, 41 states either legally allow
carrying guns without a license or have “shall issue” laws that make it easy
for just about any noncriminal to get a license.

Illinois and Washington, D.C., are the only places that refuse to
recognize the right to bear arms. The Brady Campaign to Prevent
Gun Violence did not respond to requests for comment.

If the gun repressionists were right, then we’d be in the middle of a crime wave,
considering how many guns are on the streets. “Firearms sales have increased substantially
since right after the 2008 election,” said Bill Brassard, spokesman for the National Shooting
Sports Foundation (NSSF), which represents the $4 billion firearms and ammunition industry.
“There was a leveling off in 2010, but now we’re seeing a surge again.”

The FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS)
serves as one of the best indicators of gun sales because it counts
each time someone buys a gun. Checks hit an all-time high of 16.5 million
last year. In the first five months of this year, the numbers have gone up
10 percent over the same period last year as Americans rush to the gun store
in case President Obama decides to exercise “more flexibility” in restricting
guns in a second term.

Gun manufacturing is one private-sector industry “doing fine” on Mr. Obama’s watch.
Sturm, Ruger & Co. sold 1 million firearms in the first quarter of 2012 - an amazing 50 percent increase
from the first quarter of 2011. The jump was so steep that the company stopped accepting orders
from March to May to catch up with demand for its products.

Last month, Smith & Wesson announced a firearm-order backlog
of approximately $439 million by the end of April, up 135 percent
from the same quarter in 2011. Sales in that period were up 28 percent
from 2011 and 14 percent over its own predictions to investors.
NSSF estimates the industry is responsible for approximately 180,000 jobs
and has an annual impact on the U.S. economy of $28 billion.

Mr. Obama could honestly take credit for this jobs program,
economic boost and the reduction in violent crime
that has followed the spike in gun ownership on his watch.
Instead, he’s silent about his greatest positive accomplishment.

[All emfasis has been added by David.]

Emily Miller is a senior editor for the Opinion pages at The Washington Times.