“It’s never just guns. It’s never just mental health. It’s never just radical ideology. It’s never just sad manhood. It’s almost always a toxic combination.” That’s what New York Daily News opinion editor Josh Greenman wrote on Twitter in the time after the mass shooting in El Paso, but before the one in Dayton. His statement…
Stop Creating False Equivalency Between Lawful Speakers and Those Who Try to Silence Them
Over the weekend there was a demonstration organized by 2nd amendment supporters in opposition to a proposed ballot measure instituting new gun control laws. They held what they branded as a “Liberty or Death” rally outside of Seattle’s city hall. They were targeted by left-wind demonstrators who showed up and tried to disrupt the rally.…
Podcast: Bismarck Mayor Says Parkland Student Activists Are “Being Used as Pawns”
On the radio show today newly-elected Bismarck Mayor Steve Bakken joined me to discuss the recent visit to his community by the anti-gun student activists from Parkland High School, including David Hogg. Bakken spoke at a pro-2nd Amendment rally outside of the Parkland event and then was invited inside to listen to the presentation. He…
What if Our Schools Are Actually Safer, and School Shootings Aren’t Actually More Common?
One point I’ve been trying to make in the debate which erupted after the school shooting in Parkland, Florida, is that America is actually a far less violent country than it was a generation ago. The public perception driven by myopic and sensationalist media coverage is that violent crime, and gun violence specifically, is on…
Trump’s Call to Arm Teachers Is Kind of Dumb
Pressed for a solution to mass shootings, President Donald Trump has said he’d like to see armed teachers in our schools. Which is kind of dumb. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against guns in schools. Making our nation’s K-12 schools and campuses “gun free zones” don’t make them safer. They make them targets. I’d…
Podcast: Congressman Cramer Says “I Love the NRA”
The podcast for today’s radio show is available. If you’d like the audio delivered to your devices daily, click here and subscribe. Congressman Kevin Cramer joined me for his weekly open phones segment. Not surprisingly, he got some questions about gun control and the NRA. “Yeah I actually am,” he said in response to one…
The Argument for Gun Control Is Myopic and Shallow
Over the weekend the Fargo Forum published an editorial calling for the reinstatement of an assault weapons ban that was as shallow as it was myopic. “There is no legitimate civilian use for guns like the AR-15,” the paper writes. There are millions upon millions of Americans who own AR-15 rifles, and equivalent firearms, who might…
The Mass Shooting as a Medium for Extremists and the Disaffected
Yesterday all too familiar news broke about another mass shooting. This time at a high school in Florida. This morning the alleged shooter, 19-year-old Nikolas Cruz, has been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder. We may learn more in the coming weeks about why Cruz did this. It’s unlikely, given that he’s still alive,…
Blaming Guns for Suicides Does a Disservice to Suicide Prevention Efforts
My last Sunday print column suggested that we could save more lives in America with better suicide prevention efforts than with tougher gun control policy. To support this contention, I pointed out that most deaths in America resulting from a gun shot wound are self inflicted. In any given year, about 60 percent to 70…
Senator Heitkamp Is Awfully Quiet About Gun Control Right Now
After the horrific events in Las Vegas gun control is, once again, a topic of national debate. Which is fine by me, as I’ve said on my radio show and elsewhere this week. The people proposing gun control have good intentions. They genuinely feel these policies will make us safer. They’re just wrong is all.…