[Ed: New DRGO writer Dr. Anthony Ferraioli shares his experience. Injustice can happen to the best of us.] I was denied my handgun permit by Saratoga County, N.Y. Mind you, the great majority of applicants are approved, not just in my home county, but in most of the surrounding Upstate New York counties as well, in spite of New York’s regressive policy of may-issue permitting. (more…)

The mobilization of youth in response to the Parkland High School shooting has similarities to the Children's Crusade and must not end the same way. There was a sense of exasperation and failure within Europe at the beginning of the thirteenth century.  For over one hundred years, the European powers had been engaged in the Crusades.  Their great endeavor was to wrest the holy land away from "Saracen usurpers". Despite the best efforts of powerful kings with vast armies, the forces of Christ...

A paper in the January 2018 Journal of Surgical Research attempts to show that the right to keep and bear arms is a cause of suicide.  According to the authors, “Weaker gun state laws are associated with higher rates of suicide secondary to firearms”. The authors use data from a small percentage of US hospitals to look at the number of admissions with diagnoses said to represent firearm related suicide attempts. They compare these with the population of the states they’re in to estimate f...

Medical Economics recently published an interview with Jack Ende, MD, MACP, president of the American College of Physicians. The ACP is one of the signatories to the joint statement to treat gun violence as a public health issue. The interview with Ende is titled “This is why gun violence is a public health problem.” This is becoming a tattered drum for the medical hoplophobes to bang, and Dr. Young has adroitly dismantled the argument for treating guns as a public health issue before. (...

[Ed: This was first published February 28 on GATdaily.com.] The Doctor will school you now. The “AR-15” is the common name for a style of semi-automatic rifle which is perhaps the most misunderstood firearm in modern history. To listen to gun controllers, one would think that this style of firearm had emerged from the depths of hell, become sentient, and started attacking residential subdivisions across the country. I am here to attempt to explain in layman’s terms what this firearm is...

In the wake of the Parkland shooting we’ve seen a push to find solutions that would keep firearms out of the hands of dangerous people who might commit atrocities. The majority of the mass killers in recent times appear to have been mentally ill or deeply disturbed. Because mental illnesses are so varied, the mere presence of one does not indicate any risk of violence. Approximately 25% of our population experiences some mental illness at any given time. (more…)

“We’ve got to do something!”  This is the refrain among angry, frightened, and frustrated Americans every time there’s a horrific event like the recent school shooting in Florida. On this there is tremendous common ground between people on both sides of the gun control issue—despite despicable statements by some that the NRA or gun owners in general “have blood on their hands”.  All rational people agree that mass homicide is unacceptable.  All rational people agree that it’s even more aw...

Like all of you who read this, I’ve been watching the disturbing news of the Parkland, Florida school attack and trying to process the horror of it all. I’ve listened and tried to be understanding, but now I’m angry. It’s not just the attack itself that’s disturbing, but the dysfunctional reaction coming from so many people and the way so many special interest groups are trying to spin the disaster to promote their own agenda. (more…)