New gun control is often marketed as “commonsense” rules that save lives – and it works, too, according to the left. A recent drug bust in the Big Apple, however, demonstrates just how ineffective these laws are. The good news for the people of New York is that close to a million potentially fatal doses of fentanyl were intercepted before they could be sold to users, likely disguised as some other less deadly drug. The bad news for the anti-gunners, however, is that officers also confiscated illegal firearms.
A Measure of Success and Failure
An October 12 press release by the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York and a subsequent email from the DEA highlights the good work of law enforcement who took off the streets enough fentanyl to wipe out just over a tenth of the city’s population. It seems to be a job well done, and many lives were probably saved. However, the raid also reveals a truth that has long been self-evident to many: Criminals don’t care about gun control laws. From the DEA’s email:
“Yesterday, DEA and the Office of the Special Narcotics Prosecutor for the City of New York announced a significant seizure of fentanyl. Two individuals in New York have been charged following the seizure of approximately 300,000 rainbow fentanyl pills, 20 pounds of fentanyl in white and blue powder form, and multiple weapons, including a loaded Tec-9 [sic] semi-automatic assault weapon, an extended magazine, and a box of ammunition. This significant seizure represents more than 850,000 deadly doses of fentanyl and fentanyl pills prevented from reaching New York communities.”
Note the firearm called out by name: a TEC-9. New York is one of several states that specifically bans the TEC-9 and all its variants – KG-99, TEC DC-9, TEC DC-9M, AB-10, etc. Well, but they’re legal in other states, right? Sure. As this case shows, however, banning the infamous weapons nationwide won’t stop criminals from acquiring them.
As the DEA explains, “[w]hile Mexico and China are the primary source countries for fentanyl and fentanyl-related substances trafficked directly into the United States, India is emerging as a source for finished fentanyl powder and fentanyl precursor chemicals.” This drug is highly regulated in the United States and isn’t exactly available over the counter at the local pharmacy. Nowhere in the US can one simply walk into a Walgreens and find a box of fentanyl pills between the Tylenol and Ibuprofen. No legitimate manufacturer in America is selling hundreds of thousands of pills and pounds of powder to TEC-9-wielding drug dealers, either. The vast majority of illicit fentanyl in the country comes from Mexico, China, and now India – which is why so much of it comes through New York.
Even if firearms were banned entirely in the United States – and fentanyl, too – drug traffickers would still bring in massive shipments under armed guard. Indeed, if the demand for black market weapons increased in America thanks to some degree of federal prohibition, one should expect far more illegal guns, not fewer. They’ll make their way into the country right along with the drugs.
Gun Control Is Population Control
(Photo by Leonardo Munoz/VIEWpress)
What does gun control accomplish? Most criminals simply ignore it; others exploit it for profit. It’s the “law-abiding citizen” who is most harmed. On the one hand, if “good guys” have to disarm in order not to become a “bad guy,” but the scofflaws face no such restriction, that simply empowers the ne’er-do-wells over the righteous citizenry. Then there’s the question of the God-given right to self-defense against a much more powerful and centralized tyrannical government.
There’s an old saying amongst much of America’s gun culture: “When guns are outlawed, I’ll be an outlaw.” Snarky “cold, dead hands” remarks aside, however, when new restrictions take effect, legally armed citizens are faced with a dilemma – and it isn’t as simple a question as such quotes imply. Do I continue to carry because, should the worst-case scenario play out, “it’s better to be tried by 12 than carried by six” – and in so doing become a criminal? Or do I remain a “law abiding citizen” and lay down my liberty?
In a discussion on the bust, Liberty Nation Editor-in-Chief Leesa K. Donner asked a rhetorical question worth repeating: “Do you really think gun control is going to make these people carry water pistols?” Strip away the sarcasm and ridiculous imagery and we are left with a question the left simply can’t – or, more likely, won’t – answer.
