"You want my weapons": Gun paranoia inspiring murders

Most media sources are quick to suggest antisemitism and racism as the motivating factor in James von Brunn's attack on the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. Surely it decided his choice of that institution as a target, and perhaps it contributed to his choosing of a black man, security guard Stephen T. Johns, as his (first?) victim. Von Brunn's antisemitism and racism are well-documented.

But what did the chilling note say that he left in his car?

"You want my weapons -- this is how you'll get them. The Holocaust is a lie. Obama was created by the Jews."

Obvious antisemitism here, but he's also convinced that someone wants his guns. As a felon, he hasn't been able to own guns since the 1980s. Why would he think that someone is out to get his guns now?

Right-wing paranoia about gun-grabbing is out of control ever since President Obama's election.

One consequence of right-wing paranoia is skyrocketing prices on guns and ammunition, as some shooters stockpile supplies in case of some sort of ban. Anecdotally, I was in a gun shop the other day and noticed the price on an SKS military rifle had almost tripled in about a year. Some gun shops are running out of ammunition. (Ammunition prices and supply are explained in part by the 4-fold increase in copper prices since 2004. But this does not explain the change in prices for firerams and non-copper ammo.)

Another consequence of right-wing paranoia is murder. Von Brunn explicitly linked his domestic terrorism to a fear that someone was coming to get his guns. Von Brunn is not the only one.

In April in PA, Richard Poplawski shot and killed three police officers when they came to house for a domestic disturbance call. According to a friend, he feared "the Obama gun ban that is on the way." He didn't like that "our rights were being infringed upon." So he holed up in his house, and killed three police officers.

Clearly these men are nuts, and do not represent the typical gun owner. But where are they getting their ideas? Did each man independently come to the conclusion, in Spring of 2009, that someone was coming to take their guns, and therefore the time was right for violent action? Of course not.

The NRA has been distributing literature suggesting that serious gun control is right around the corner. The half-truths spread like wildfire on the Internet, not unlike emails that purport that President Obama is not a U.S. citizen or that Microsoft will give you money for passing along an email. Factcheck.org sorts fact from fiction in some of the NRA mailings.

The main issue, it seems, is that Obama made some strong statements about gun control in the 1990s. However, as he has acknowledged, he does not have the votes in Congress to substantively change gun laws. Both Reid and Pelosi oppose reinstating the assault-weapons ban, for example. (Ironically, arch-conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia appears to be more of a threat to assault weapons than Reid and Pelosi: He recently wrote in a decision that the Second Amendment does not apply to "M-16 rifles and the like.") But the "Obama gun ban" that Poplawski feared, that was cited as part of the reason he killed three police officers, is not a reality. Shame on those that try to fill their coffers by exaggerating the possibility of such a ban.

The left tries to inspire hysteria on its side as well, of course. But pro-gun-control advocates haven't murdered anyone in the name of their cause, as far as I can tell.