Jake McCafferty at Breakfast at Tiffany's (whose philosophy statement sadly takes a swipe at those of us in the Libertarian Party) makes the valid point that Jacob Robida, the neo-Nazi who attacked a bunch of people in a gay bar here in Massachusetts, committed this crime when:
1. Massachusetts already has a law banning handguns for those under the age of 21, including Robida, and
2. Massachusetts already has a "hate crimes" law that supposedly "protects" gay people (which HRC's recent fundraising letter doesn't bother to mention).
To be honest, when I heard that a violent gay-basher was on the loose and was last seen in a car less than an hour from my home, I called my husband-to-be and told him to be careful walking home that night. The whole Robida manhunt was indeed a scary time for those of us in Massachusetts. But that was the case even with "hate crime" laws and some of the strictest gun laws in the country. If anything, the Robida case proves that big government doesn't work, even for LGBT people. I'll take my freedom and a weapon to protect myself over (big, expensive, and most importantly ineffective) government "protection" any day.
