Cleveland police union president & Plain Dealer editorial board claim shootout with felon proves need for more gun control

by Chad D. Baus

23-year-old Glenn Proctor was killed last week in a shootout with police, despite a gun control law that prohibited the felon from even possessing a firearm, despite a gun control law the prohibits shooting a firearm in city limits, despite a law that prohibits shooting at police, despite laws against attempted murder, etc. etc. etc.

Despite all the gun control laws that were broken by this felon, the president of Cleveland's police union thinks he knows what would have prevented the shootout - another gun control law.

From the Cleveland Plain Dealer

Cleveland Police Patrolmen's Association President Steve Loomis also said Thursday that weapons with extended clips should not be legal.

"Unfortunately, as we saw last night, they are out there and are the reality law enforcement has to combat every day," he said.

Gun rights advocates dispute that argument.

Jim Irvine, chairman of the Buckeye Firearms Association, said that extended magazines are useful for zeroing-in rifle sights, for target practice and for self-defense.

"The gun is not dangerous," Irvine said in an interview Thursday. "Guns save lives. It's when guns get into the hands of the wrong people that it is dangerous."

The Plain Dealer also interviewed BFA's legislative chair, Ken Hanson, who told the newspaper the problem is in the criminal justice system and the enforcement of current laws. Existing laws, Hanson noted, prohibit felons from carrying firearms. Proctor had a 2010 drug conviction and was sentenced to six months in prison in April.

The Plain Dealer quickly jumped on board on its editorial page, calling for a ban on "oversized" magazines, as well as the development of a national gun registry, even while admitting their proposals would not have prevented the crimes committed in Cleveland and Arizona.

These fixes may not have kept weapons away from the assailants of Patrolman Sauto and Rep. Giffords. But they are simple measures a society committed to curbing gun violence would take without further delay.

Actually, a society committed to passing useless laws that make people feel better would do these things. A society truly committed to curbing gun violence and other criminal activity would instead demand that their elected officials, government bureaucrats and judges start enforcing existing laws and putting criminals away for good.

Chad D. Baus is the Buckeye Firearms Association Vice Chairman.