Speaking of data points...

Some in Massachusetts are realizing that they are providing data points supporting the theory that gun control does not lower violent crime rates. 6 years after passing "the toughest firearms laws in the nation", violent crime has been spiking. Both the State police and the Executive Office of Public Safety have questioned the effectiveness of the Commonwealth's gun laws. About all they can show from the data they have is that the laws have been driving legitimate gun dealers out of business.

On a side note, ya gotta love this picture from the Milford Daily News and its caption...

Richard Callaghan, owner of Callaghan Firearm Sales in Marlborough, shows off a recent acquisition -- a working reproduction of an English Brown Bess assault rifle used between 1715 and 1835.
(Allan Jung photo)

(Not meaning to pick nits, but the Brown Bess wasn't a rifle; it was a musket.)