Numbers don’t lie

Let’s get a couple of announcements done before we launch into the meat of this column. First, I just found out about the Houston High School’s Gun and Outdoor Show, which will be held tomorrow and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Big Lake Lions Recreation Center in Big Lake. According to the radio ads I’ve heard, there will be 160 vendors. Admission is $5 and the proceeds go to help finance Houston High School activities and athletics. Follow the signs along Big Lake cutoff to get there.

Second, with the weather becoming nicer folks are starting to get outside and are visiting places like the Palmer Hay Flats State Game Refuge. Please be on the alert for criminal activity in places like the Hay Flats. Earlier this year, vandals defaced the “Kids Don’t Float” kiosk there. This sort of damage is stealing from all of us. Be on the lookout for any public facility abuser wherever you visit and note a description of the person(s), their vehicle and the vehicle license plate number. Call Alaska State Troopers and report your information. You’ll be doing us all a favor by reporting these petty criminals.

I’ve received correspondence since my last column wondering how any reasonable person could oppose the universal background check legislation recently voted down in the U.S. Senate. All the media hype and politicking surrounding this issue made it sound like this background check bill was the solution for solving gun violence in this country.

To those who understand the realities of gun transfers, this legislation would have done nothing to solve the violence issue and would have only created headaches for honest folks. The Newtown parents lobbying senators for passage said this legislation would not have stopped the Newtown shooting. Had the legislation passed, it would have forced honest folks to go through federally licensed dealers to sell their firearm to other honest folks.

There’s a difference between doing something meaningful to address and correct an issue and taking some “feel good” action that would not do anything but give the impression something is being done. I applaud our two senators for knowing the difference here and voting down the “feel good” approach.

OK, who made me so knowledgeable about this? Here’s some information from one of those surveys the politicians didn’t tell you about. A law enforcement organization called PoliceOne conducted a survey from March 4-13 asking a number of questions of their 400,000 registered members comprised of verified law enforcement professionals. More than 15,000 officers completed the survey and only current, former or retired law enforcement personnel were eligible to participate in the survey.

The survey sample size was broadly distributed by geography and rank in proportion to the U.S. law enforcement community at large. Respondents comprised a variety of ranks from departments of all sizes, with the majority representing departments of greater than 500 officers. Of those that took the survey, 80 percent were current law enforcement officers and 20 percent were former/retired law enforcement.

Here are some of the results. A total of 85.4 percent responded that passage of the White House’s currently proposed legislation would have no effect or a negative effect on improving police officer safety. A total of 91.5 percent said banning the manufacture or sale of “assault weapons” would have no effect or a negative effect on reducing violent crime. The overwhelming majority (95.7 percent) said banning high-capacity magazines would have no effect or a negative effect on reducing violent crime. Most (79.7 percent) said prohibiting private, non-dealer transfers of firearms between individuals would have no effect in reducing violent crime.

The survey found that the majority felt increasing the severity of punishment for gun trafficking would reduce gun crime (58.8 percent). A total of 70 percent opposed tracking legal gun sales while 91.4 percent believed that using a gun during a crime should result in mandatory stiff sentences with no plea bargaining. Most surveyed (81.5 percent) felt gun buybacks or turn-ins had no effect on reducing gun violence.

An overwhelming 91.3 percent supported civilian concealed carry and 76.4 percent replied that legally armed citizens were important or very important to reducing crime rates.

Eighty percent of respondents said legally armed citizens present at either the Aurora or Newtown shootings would likely have reduced causalities while 76.6 percent support arming teachers or administrators who are properly trained. Finally, out of eight choices, the most cited cause of gun violence was the decline in parenting and family values (38.1 percent).

Who would know the situation better than a street cop who deals with this issue on a daily basis?

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.