John Lott, Mary Rosh both like guns

The National Rifle Assn., always quick on the trigger, fired back today at a report issued yesterday by State Rep. Jon Richards, D-Milwaukee, which opposed carrying concealed weapons.

The NRA diatribe is long and not deserving of a log, detailed reply -- if you think they are a credible source I probably can't dissuade you -- but there are a couple of things in their document that cry out to be mentioned.

One is citing John Lott as an expert. Lott has been discredited for, among other things, posing as a female student, Mary Rosh, to defend his statistics.

The other is the NRA's observation that a statewide poll which showed Wisconsinites against concealed weapons by a 63-31 margin would have actuallly showed a majority in favor if it hadn't included Milwaukee and Madison. Whaddya know? Lop off the state's two biggest cities and you get a different result. The same would be true in statewide elections, of course, if the NRA and the GOP could just figure out how to get rid of those darned city voters.