Boston Bombers Ignored "Tough" Gun "Control" Laws

Background checks will reduce gun violence and massacres, right?  Maybe not so much.

From the Huffington Post reporting the fact the Boston bombers had no license for their weapons despite the Brady law requiring background checks:

The Boston bombing suspects engaged in a deadly firefight with police last week,possessing six bombs, handguns, a rifle and more than 250 rounds of ammunition. But the Tsarnaev brothers did not have proper licenses to possess the firearms, according to the Cambridge Police Department — a revelation that comes just days after the Senate voted against strengthening and expanding background checks for gun sales.

Cambridge Police Department spokesman Dan Riviello told The Huffington Post that neither Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, nor Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, appeared to have a license to own a handgun.

“The younger brother could not have applied as he is not 21 years of age and the older brother did not have a license to carry and we have no record of him ever applying,” Riviello said.

Massachusetts supposedly has the toughest gun control laws in the country according to Boston Globe reporter Jeff Jacoby, who trumpeted just a few weeks ago that Massachusetts has "the toughest gun legislation in the country."

IN 1998, Massachusetts passed what was hailed as the toughest gun-control legislation in the country. Among other stringencies, it banned semiautomatic “assault” weapons, imposed strict new licensing rules, prohibited anyone convicted of a violent crime or drug trafficking from ever carrying or owning a gun, and enacted severe penalties for storing guns unlocked.

From American Spectator about statements made by Massachusett's Govenor, District Attorney and Gun Control activist after passage of the Brady Law back in 1998: 

“Today, Massachusetts leads the way in cracking down on gun violence,” said Republican Governor Paul Cellucci as he signed the bill into law. “It will save lives and help fight crime in our communities.” Scott Harshbarger, the state’s Democratic attorney general, agreed: “This vote is a victory for common sense and for the protection of our children and our neighborhoods.” One of the state’s leading anti-gun activists, John Rosenthal of Stop Handgun Violence, joined the applause. “The new gun law,” he predicted, “will certainly prevent future gun violence and countless grief.”

The problem: gun crime has only gone up----a lot!   From the same Boston Globe article from Jeff Jacoby:

Since 1998, gun crime in Massachusetts has gotten worse, not better. In 2011, Massachusetts recorded 122 murders committed with firearms, the Globe reported this month — “a striking increase from the 65 in 1998.” Other crimes rose too. Between 1998 and 2011, robbery with firearms climbed 20.7 percent. Aggravated assaults jumped 26.7 percent.

Only the criminals ignore the gun "control" laws.