Bob Costas Pops Off

For John, BLUF:  Early calls for Gun Control over the murder committed by Mr Jovan Belcher (and his suicide) were reflexive, but not thoughtful.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

The murder-suicide involing Kansas City Chiefs player Jovan Belcher quickly evoked calls for "gun control" (e.g., Bob Costas during the halftime period on NBC Sunday Night Football).  Law Professor Ann Althouse notes that Mr Belcher's teammates oppose gun control.  She then goes on to note:

Speaking of self-defense and looking at the picture at the link, showing the huge size difference between Belcher and the woman he killed, even if your concern is domestic violence, why would you blame guns?  There are any number of ways he could have killed her.  A gun would have been the one way she could have defended herself.

In my mind it is quite possible that a gun might not have protected the murder victim, but it is quite clear that not having a gun meant that she was at a major disadvantage, and would have been even if Mr Belcher had not had a gun, but was going to use some other device, or his raw strenth, to achieve his aim.

UPDATE:  Kad Barma has a few useful comments on this subject. Regards  —  Cliff