Just the facts ma'am.

I don’t ask much of an editorialist these days. Considering what pops up on the editorial pages its best not to. What I do ask is that the writer, before they put pen to paper, do a little research. I do ask that the writer not take the words of politicians at face value. I do ask that your fact be, ya know, facts.

Susan Estrich failed the test. She failed it when she repeated Calderon’s statement that 80% of the 75,000 firearms seized over three years during Mexico’s current spat of violence with local drug lords come from gun shops in the United States. That’s misinformation [a lie] and Estrich is either incompetent at her vocation because she repeats it or doesn’t care because it supports her aim. I'm not sure which is worse.

Thus, if the “last three years” the President mentioned are 2007, 2008, and 2009, only 9,760 of the guns seized in those years – the total of 2007 and 2008 – definitely came from the U.S. The U.S. share for 2009 has not yet been reported, but even if it doubled the total of 2008, the U.S. share for all three years would be less than a third of the 75,000 seizures in Mexico. A more realistic U.S. share is between 20 and 25 percent.

That’s called a fact. I suggest you become acquainted with the concept. That’s also a lot of guns, but still not enough to let you, Calderon, or our elected officials, ignore the Constitution and strip me of my right to bear arms. By the way semi-automatic rifles, what you call assault weapons, in .223 cal., 7.62mm, or other calibers are used for sport, hunting and, home protection. That’s another fact you failed to research.

H/T to the pistolero.