Tag: Crime

The Philippines under a total gun ban

Recently, the PNP, under its chief General Jesus Verzosa, proposed a permanent total gun ban. Chief Verzosa seems to conveniently ignore the fact that, to date, there have been no cases anywhere in the world where a ban has effectively prevented criminals from obtaining weapons. To see how the Philippines might look if it continues on this course, we need only look to Jamaica. The former Spanish possession changed hands with the British to become a colony for around 300 years. Jamaica attained full independence in the 1960s, after which it experienced strong economic growth. Its prosperity didn't last long, however, as in the 1970s it suffered from growing inequality and fell into economic deterioration. Continue Reading

Gang violence and an unstoppable gun culture

Last Wednesday, a 16-year-old girl was shot in the neck as she stood with her friends in a restaurant. She was rushed to hospital but died of her injuries. Closed-circuit-TV cameras recorded the incident and revealed that the perpetrators were two youths riding bicycles. A few days after, wild gunfire between rival gangs erupted in the neighbourhood. With so much firearms-related violence, you might think that it is time, once and for all, to call for a total and permanent gun ban in the country. The problem is that the country where this happened is the UK, whose gun-control laws are among the world's strictest. It also has one of the most professional, well-trained and best-equipped police forces. Continue Reading

Gun-ban election of 2010 to be the most violent

On April 5th, we heard from fallujah that the PNP plans to permanently stop issuing permits to carry firearms (PTCFOR). The reason, according to PNP Chief Verzosa, is that they found the total gun ban during the elections to be an effective crime deterrent. Now we hear from Comelec that the 2010 elections are turning out to be the most violent. What does this do to Chief Verzosa's credibility on anything he says about gun control? Of course, I don't need to answer that question; any thinking person can form his or her own conclusion. Continue Reading

Would you use deadly force in this situation?

Before continuing, first watch the clip below. The important part happens after about 25 seconds into the video.

What would you do?

So, put yourself in the situation of the driver in the blue car. What would you do if this happened to you while stuck in traffic? Would you be justified in using your firearm? I've asked a lot of people and many said, yes, it would be justifiable. Their reasoning stems from the fact that the man is clearly violent and may have caused serious or fatal injury to the driver. However, I do not agree. Continue Reading

Gun ban: A kneejerk Reaction to Crime

In light of the so-called "road rage incidents" by Jason Ivler and Richard Ordonez, and the Ampatuan Massacre in Maguindanao, there have been the usual calls by the police and anti-gun groups to impose further restrictions on civilian firearms ownership and to impose gun bans as a means of curbing such violence. PROGUN being an anti-crime organization has always condemned such criminal acts. But is a gun ban the solution to such problems? Will the suspension of licensed civilians who have permits-to-carry outside of residence ("PTCFOR") solve these problems of crime on our streets? Continue Reading

License the Individual not the Firearm

Why do we license guns? 
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Election Related Violence on the Rise

In spite of the best efforts at imposing a total gun ban, it would seem that the efforts at curbing election related violence have been proven to be a failure. As per the statistics, election related killings and violence has been steadily on the rise since 2001, in spite of the Comelec Gun Ban. The current figures of deaths since 1992 as gathered from the PNP and Inquirer files are that a total of 537 have been killed in election related violence since 1992 up to 2007. Continue Reading
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