Wendy's Revisited
How Effective Were THESE Gun Laws?
by Rick Fairchild

Last month's Wendy's shootings were a prime example of how even the most draconian gun control laws completely fail to stop armed predators.

Consider the two killers that herded the seven Wendy's employees into the freezer, got them on their knees, bound and gagged them with duct tape, and then shot each once in the head execution style--five of them died.

36-year-old John Taylor was a fugitive from justice after jumping bail in a previous fast-food robbery, when he got five years' probation for trying to break into a safe at a McDonald's where he was assistant manager. During one week last June, Taylor was linked to robberies or attempted robberies at four fast-food businesses in Queens. Taylor has criminal career that stretches back to 1989 and includes convictions for narcotics, weapons violations and robbery.

30-year-old Craig Godineaux has a record of at least two previous robberies.

Okay. So they're both felons. And convicted felons nationwide are prohibited from owning guns. What's more, in New York City, with the Sullivan laws, owning and carrying a gun, or rifle, is virtually outlawed. You have to obtain a license for each and every gun you intend to purchase. You have to have a license to POSSESS a gun, even in your own home. Unless you are a politician, movie star or very well connected, the odds of being able to own a gun a slim to none.

So where did that .380 pistol used in the shootings come from? Probably not from a licensed gun dealer. Odds are that neither Taylor nor Godineaux bothered to apply for a license to purchase, much less a license to possess or carry. Brady check? Nope... I'm sure they opted out of a trigger lock as well. These murderers had already committed multiple violations of NYC's firearms laws before they stepped into Wendy's last week.

And yet you'll still hear the cries from the anti-gunners. Guns are bad. They kill. They make unstable people into mass murderers. People don't need to own a gun for self-defense.

Try telling that to the 2.5 million people who use guns to defend themselves each year. Try telling that to the 5 people murdered in cold blood in the Wendy's freezer.