You Know What Scares The Washington Post? Soccer Moms With Guns

by William Teach | August 18, 2010 9:30 am

Interestingly, they aren’t worried about soccer moms protecting themselves from the violence in Washington, D.C., or from the vast numbers of criminals who have un-registered firearms. No, it’s the threat of soccer moms possessing firearms legally: Gun-toting soccer moms a scary thought in D.C. area, but not out west[1]

In the red rock and sand of the Arizona desert, just past the retirement villages and golf greens that have made this sun-worshipping city famous, sits the biggest public shooting range in the United States.

Not far away are the Wal-Marts where Arizonans pay Sun City retirees to wait in line when a new ammo shipment arrives, lest the supply run out. Residents have the right to carry handguns openly, and starting last month residents who have no criminal records and are at least 21 also are able to carry concealed weapons just about anywhere, without the bother of getting a permit.

The full embrace of firearms is just as fervent to the north in Montana, where nearly two-thirds of all households have firearms. Montanans feel so strongly about their right to own guns for hunting, fending off grizzlies and — if it comes to it — fellow humans that lawmakers passed a measure last year that challenges the federal government’s authority to regulate guns made and kept in their state.

This is the gun culture of the American West, and it is from here that the latest challenge to the District’s firearms laws has come. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Jon Tester (D-Mont.) have proposed a law that they say would sweep away overly stringent regulations imposed by the D.C. Council after the Supreme Court struck down the city’s 32-year ban on handguns.

Council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) said the McCain-Tester bill could gut the District’s regulatory powers, including laws that are stricter than most states about keeping guns away from people with records of domestic violence. He also said the law shows a disregard for the realities of the District, where guns mean drive-bys, holdups and intimidation more than sport, tradition and the American way.

Because we all know that soccer moms are a threat to indulge in drive-bys and bank robberies, that they’ll whip out their pink guns[2] with the Hello Kitty sticker to teach the milkman a lesson, and generally get crazy.

But gun rights advocates say that the District’s gun control laws — not to mention prohibitions against murder — did not prevent a drive-by shooting in March that involved illegal weapons. They also say that despite having nearly 158,000 people with concealed weapons in Arizona, their homicide rate of 6.3 per 100,000 is lower than the District’s, 31.4. That’s true of Phoenix, too, where the homicide rate is 10.5 per 100,000.

A few soccer moms packing pink heat[3] (get your mind out of the gutter) might give the criminals of D.C. a bit of pause.

Crossed at Pirate’s Cove[4]. Follow me on Twitter @WilliamTeach[5]