Hindsight from The New Gun Week May 20, 1999
Anglophile Anti-Gunners Are Hiding
by Joseph P. Tartaro
Executive EditorApril was not a good month in the United States. The controversial NATO war in Yugoslavia was pushed off the front pages and the lead news slots on TV by the domestic brand of teen-age terrorism in Littleton, CO, on April 20.
The bodies of the victims and their killers were barely cool before the anti-gunners, who are always telling us how safe we would all be if we would just follow the gun law models of Great Britain and Canada, (see story on Page 2) tried to blame all gunowners as well as all guns for the murders committed at Columbine High School.
But April also wasn't a good month in Great Britain or Canada. And what was making headlines in those countries was something people like President and Mrs. Clinton, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY) and a host of other perennial gun-grabbers in government and the media wanted hidden. That's because the headlines from those countries proved that banning guns or restricting sales of guns has no serious impact on reducing violent crime.
However, I didn't think we should let them hide from what was happening in those model, "violence-free" nations. That's why I will share with you stories we have had relayed from readers in other countries, or found briefly noted in the back pages of newspapers.
Multiple Bombings
There are some stories from England which many Americans did read or hear about. They involved the series of nail-bombings in various parts of London during April.
There were at least three such incidents which set off grave concerns among various minority communities in England who believed that they were the targets.
The bombings were random, with the explosive devices detonated in public places so that the casualties would be selected at random.
During the course of a two-week reign of terror in Great Britain's largest city, well over 100 people were killed or seriously injured by the nails and other shrapnel thrown off by these explosive devices.
Some will, of course, believe this is the work of the IRA, which used to be keen on setting off bombs in England. But that's not the case this time.
No one claimed credit for purposes of promoting a political agenda, and when a suspect was found, it became clear that this was merely another random act just like those that excite the media in the US, if they happen here.
BBC Reporter
Another incident which got very little exposure in the US was the murder of British television network newscaster Jill Dando.
The popular BBC reporter, who had been doing a continuing series on crime in Great Britain, was shot and killed at close range by a man armed with a 9mm Glock pistol.
The average American, believing what Clinton and Sarah Brady claim, would be amazed to discover that anyone would have a modern, semi-automatic center-fire pistol in England, considering the handgun ban law in that county which is over 18 months old.
But BBC television broadcasts claimed than a Glock 9mm is "easily available in London, within an hour, if you know the right sources."
But then illegal guns are also available in such US cities as Chicago, New York and Washington, where legal handguns are totally or partially outlawed.
Reports I have seen indicate that Dando's killing, which is still under investigation, was not a "professional" hit because of her crime series; the shooter stood around outside her building in plain sight, waiting for her, shooting her and calmly walking away.
Not Isolated Cases
You might want to join Clinton and Sarah and Schumer in saying these are just isolated cases. But the facts are that violent crime is on the upswing in Great Britain where the gun prohibition seems as effective as alcohol prohibition once was in the US.
These are not isolated cases of mayhem in England. Here's another story from that country that reads more like a movie or TV thriller.
Three men were still being questioned by police on April 25 over a gun rampage in which five people were wounded and a 27-year-old woman snatched from the street and taken hostage, according to The London Times and other British newspapers.
The woman, who was grabbed and dragged into a stolen car by two of the Kalashnikov-wielding gunmen in Bolton, Greater Manchester, was under police guard as detectives pieced together her version of the events. Police believe the woman, whose identity they have asked not be revealed amid fears for her safety, could be at risk from associates of the gang.
She was kidnapped during a 50-mile high-speed chase that ended when the BMW car crashed in Rochdale. The woman was abducted by two gunmen as she strolled down the street in Bolton, shortly after the car was stolen from nearby. She was held captive as the BMW sped through Bolton, Bury and Rochdale pursued by police at speeds of more than 100 mph before crashing.
The woman was released from the hospital after being treated for severe shock after her ordeal which lasted nearly an hour.
Two men were arrested at the scene and a third man, who had been in a separate car, was held after a search of a building in Bolton town center.
Police in Lancashire, where the gunmen's first car-a red Rover-was first stopped on the M61 near Chorley, disclosed that officers came under fire as they tried to check the vehicle.
Detective Chief Inspector Michael Barton said a motorway patrol pulled up behind the Rover on the hard shoulder when one officer got out to approach the two men and came under fire. Bullets hit the police vehicle as the unarmed officers dived for cover. They gave chase as the Rover sped off and again came under fire as the chase approached the Greater Manchester border. There, the gunmen turned off the motorway towards Horwich.
During the chase that followed police were fired on several times, but did not return fire, said a spokesman. Victims told of the moments when they were sprayed with bullets as the car sped along a six-mile route between Bury and Rochdale pursued by police.
Army veteran Jim Gallagher, 75, was shot in the leg as he sat waiting for a bus opposite the Kwik Save supermarket in Edenfield Road, Rochdale. After an emergency operation in Rochdale Infirmary, Gallagher, a combatant in the D-Day landings, said: "I was in the Army for five years and I never got a bullet. I didn't realize what was happening."
Martin McKay-Smith, 46, from Lymm, Cheshire, was gunned down as he rode his motorcycle along Bury Old Road. The father of five said: "I heard a bang and thought I'd had a puncture. I felt a severe pain to the leg and managed to bring the bike to a halt and I fell off it." He only realized he had been shot when he heard other people talking about the shootings in the town.
More Shooting Victims
Another victim came close to being paralyzed when he was hit by a bullet as he cycled through the Rochdale town center. David Hassall, 46, of Wellfield Place, Rochdale, was hit in the right thigh by a bullet that narrowly missed his spine. He is in the Oldham Royal Infirmary.
His wife Pat said: "If the bullet had gone anywhere else he could have been paralyzed. Somehow the bullet missed his spine and all his vital organs. He is still very shaken up and said it frightened him a lot. He reckons the car was only about 10 feet away when he was shot."
A 51-year-old man was described as "comfortable" in the Rochdale Infirmary, together with Gallagher and McKay-Smith. A 31-year-old victim was also described as "satisfactory" in Bury General Hospital, where he underwent surgery for a thigh wound. None of the victims' injuries are life-threatening.
Barton said the original stopping of the gunmen's vehicle had been "purely routine" and the officers had no reason to suspect armed men were inside. He praised the bravery of the motorway patrol, who had given chase despite being unarmed.
The men abandoned the Rover in Horwich, near Bolton, and stole a Ford Fiesta in which they drove to Bolton, where the woman was taken hostage. A major aspect of the police inquiry has centered on how the gunmen had come into possession of the Soviet-made Kalashnikov rifles.
As the late, great CBS newscaster Ed Murrow used to sign off his newscasts during World War II, "This is London." After the gun bans were passed.
The New Gun Week is published three times a month by the Second Amendment Foundation (SAF) on the 1st, 10th, and 20th. Hindsight is a commentary written by SAF President and Gun Week Executive Editor Joseph P. Tartaro. This commentary may be reprinted so long as credit is given to the author and the publication. For more information or to subscribe, write Gun Week, PO Box 488, Buffalo, NY 14209, or call 716-885-6408 Monday through Friday 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST, or inquire on Compuserve to John Krull, Production manager-JohnSAF@Compuserve.com or gunweeksaf@broadviewnet.netAlso, check out the New Gun Week at http://www.GunWeek.com