Georgia House Speaker David Ralston didn’t have to do much. All he had to do was simply let the legislature vote on a bit of legislation. Yes, it was pro-gun legislation, but Ralston is supposed to be a Republican, the pro-gun party. Even if he voted against it, it would have let the Georgia General Assembly decide whether they wanted a fairly modest expansion of gun rights.

Ralston said no. He killed the legislation because of the Atlanta shooting.

The fact that the bill had jack-all to do with Atlanta was apparently lost on the speaker. Instead, he announced his capitulation with the anti-gun left’s preferred tactic of demanding we maintain a respectful distance from these unspeakable acts while they push legislation before the bodies are even cold.

However, Ralston isn’t without his defenders.

Due to a quirk of their coding, I can’t really block quote it for you here. The author takes issue with Republicans in the state of Georgia who are upset with Ralston. It seems the author is one of those who wants to see more gun control, which happens, but he uses some interesting statistics to defend his position.

• 60% of all people want stricter gun laws
• 92% want mentally ill people barred from owning guns
• 82% of GOP voters want universal background checks

Of course, we’ve seen these statistics before. They get thrown out an awful lot by folks who are demanding people roll over for more gun control. The problem is, if you understand polling, you know why you should question these findings.

First, how educated are these 60 percent on what the gun laws actually are? The media likes to pretend we have ultra-lax gun laws, yet firearms are one of the most heavily regulated goods in the United States today. How many of these 60 percent actually know that?

As for 92 percent wanting the mentally ill barred from owning guns, I’ve got good news for them. They already are. Only after they’re adjudicated by a court to be a threat, of course. Someone with mild depression and a paranois schitzophrenic are hardly in the same boat, after all.

Now, what about the 82 percent of Republicans who want universal background checks?

Yeah, I’m skeptical. First, do they want universal background checks, or do they want the mythical “gun show loophole” closed? There are those who think dealers are selling guns at gun shows without background checks and think that might be too far, but don’t agree with interfering with private parties having a transaction over a firearm.

Further, how many of those GOP voters are actually Republicans? After all, they simply ask. Many people have great fun messing with pollsters and pretending to be Republicans to skew the numbers.

No, I’m not saying that accounts for all 82 percent, but we don’t really know the real numbers.

More importantly, though, is that it doesn’t matter. We don’t govern by poll, nor should we. The public’s opinions are a windsock, blowing whichever way the wind takes it.

What does matter is our constitutionally-protected rights and the fact that gun control does not and wil not work the way advocates claim it will. They’ve pushed the same damn lies for years, despite increased gun sales typically not leading to the horrors they claim will happen.

So yeah, I’m not going to cut Ralston any slack, regardless of what the numbers claim. Neither should anyone else.

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