Keep your gun rights: Sign new petition

Chicago has some of the toughest gun restrictions in the nation, but since the start of 2012 authorities have reported 2,364 shootings and 487 homicides, according to recently released statistics.

It's enough to convince even some skeptics that restricting citizens' access to guns does not mean less gun violence.

In fact, a new petition to Congress declares the opposite: When there's violence, ordinary people with guns can bring it to a halt.

The new petition being launched on WND urges Congress "to resist demands for new gun-control laws."

By signing the petition, Americans are specifically calling on Congress to "uphold the solemn oath they took to uphold the Constitution – including the Second Amendment, which clearly and unambiguously guarantees that 'the right to keep and bear arms SHALL NOT BE INFRINGED.'"

Chicago is a case study of such violence. The Washington Post reported that nearly 90 percent of the 487 homicides in the city this year have been gun related. Shootings are up 12 percent this year and homicides are up 19 percent, even with those severely restrictive gun laws.

The June death toll for shootings of public-school students was 24 in Chicago, more than the recent shooting rampage in Connecticut in which 20 students were killed.

Jens Ludwig of the University of Chicago Crime Lab said in the report that the city is struggling with gun violence, but taking the weapons offers limited benefits.

Sign the petition now!

The new petition is written to ensure members of Congress understand that.

The petition reads:

Whereas, each time a mass shooting crime occurs – most recently, the horrific elementary school slayings in Connecticut – those opposed to private gun ownership exploit the tragedy by pressuring Congress to pass new laws denying or infringing on Americans' constitutional right to keep and bear arms;

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Whereas, under pressure from President Obama and others with little respect for the Founding Fathers' original intent expressed in the Bill of Rights, Congress is now being pressured once again to ban "high-capacity magazines" and "assault weapons" – an inflammatory and deliberately misleading label for millions of run-of the-mill semi-automatic rifles – a blatant "infringement" of the Second Amendment;

Whereas, repeated, comprehensive studies of U.S. gun-ownership and crime data spanning the past 35 years prove beyond dispute that increased private gun ownership – and particularly, increased levels of citizens carrying firearms on their person – results in dramatic reductions in violent crime;

Whereas, authoritative studies also prove that violent crime is highest in cities where private gun ownership is severely restricted;

Whereas, the strategy of designating schools and colleges as "gun-free zones" has backfired again and again, providing potential criminals with an assurance they can murder and maim countless victims without any possibility that those victims can defend themselves or fight back;

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Whereas, since the alleged Connecticut mass-shooter, Adam Lanza, broke several of that state's existing stringent gun laws before shooting his victims, it is nonsensical to believe still more laws could somehow have prevented his crime, or will prevent future similar crimes;

Whereas, the one and only thing that might have saved the victims of Sandy Hook Elementary School – or the Aurora, Colo., movie theater, or Virginia Tech, or Columbine High School, or any of the other mass shootings in recent years – would have been for one or more of those present to be armed and trained, and thus have the ability and opportunity to put an end to the shooter's rampage."

Even while commentators were lamenting the failure of Chicago's gun laws to decrease violence, a Chicago Tribune editorial called for more restrictions.

"Background checks should be required for every gun purchase – yes, get rid of the gun show loophole. The capacity of magazine clips can be limited," the editorial stated. "We can evaluate the U.S. experience with a ban on assault weapons, and determine how such a law could be more effective."

The Tribune also called for a conversation about "the impact of violent video games," "the treatment for mental illness" and "personal responsibility."

The petition is intended to ensure America's lawmakers maintain a strong commitment to protecting citizens' Second Amendment rights while battling violence across our nation – even while enemies of gun rights attempt to distract Congress from the facts.

Those diversions include the dispute over an NBC News anchor who displayed on camera a large ammunition clip – apparently in violation of District of Columbia law, a newspaper that posted online the names and addresses of handgun permit holders, the hate speech that has been directed at those who support the Second Amendment, the surge in sales of guns and ammunition, demands from China that Americans be disarmed and immediate plans of Congress to try to accede to that idea.

Sign the petition!