Violence Policy "Center"? More like Violence Policy Joke

We got a good laugh out of handgun eradication activist Josh Sugarmann's latest blog post on the left-wing, America-hating Huffington Post website, his 113^th so far.

But before explaining, a few background facts are in order. The BATFE reports that during 2009 and 2010--the first two years of the Obama administration--the number of new U.S.-made and imported firearms on the domestic market averaged 24 percent higher than in 2008. As an indicator of what has happened since 2010, firearm-transfer-related NICS checks rose 15 percent between 2010 and 2011, and the FBI reports that NICS checks, most of which are for firearm transfers, increased another 14 percent in the first three months of 2012, as compared to the same three months last year. Meanwhile, the latest Gallup poll on the subject found that self-reported gun ownership in the U.S. is at its highest point since 1993, including a staggering 43 percent among women.

Yes, we have important things to do here at NRA, but now allow us a moment to deal with Sugarmann's latest rant. Like a stand-up comedian with a short supply of one-liners, anytime Sugarmann has anything to say you can be fairly certain that he's going to say gun ownership is on its last legs. His most recent post is no exception. "Faced with long‑term declines in household gun ownership since the mid‑1970s . . . ," Sugarmann fantasizes for the fringe that lives on Planet Huffington.

We should mention that Sugarmann's post is all about calling attention to his latest "report," which tries to make a case against Right-to-Carry laws. Those laws, along with the Supreme Court's decisions in the Heller and McDonald cases, have turned Sugarmann's odds of achieving national handgun prohibition even lower than his chances of winning the Mega Millions lottery. But if gun ownership is headed for extinction, why does Sugarmann's 19-page "report" contain only one page of original text, but 18 pages of quotes from the firearm industry and high-gloss magazine ads from Bond Arms, HK, Heizer Defense, Kahr, Kel-Tec, Magnum Research, Ruger, Sig-Sauer, Taurus, North American Arms and Wilson Combat? 

This latest piece begs the question to the Joyce Foundation as to whether they are getting their money's worth with all those donations to Sugarmann's "Center?"