I’ve been getting tweet after crazed tweet from gun zealots who are insisting that I shouldn’t live in Chicago (which I don’t) because their gun ban just plain old failed, and since I’m not a gun owner, I’d have no way to defend my defenseless little self.

Handguns are great! Handguns are essential! Handguns are what keep us safe, they keep tweeting me! How dare I suggest otherwise!

Actually I didn’t. I referred only to military-style weapons and large capacity magazines, but who’s counting?

But since they insist…

In 2009 prior to the handgun ban being lifted, per the Chicago police department:

Them’s the stats, folks.

In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Chicago’s 28-year-old handgun ban. After the ban was lifted, in 2012 alone there were 516 gun-related deaths, per The Washington Times:

Chicago ended 2012 with a bang — an astonishing 516 gun-related deaths in one year.

In the first week of 2013, Chicago had already outpaced 2012’s gun deaths with 12 homicides.

I’d like to share what one of our Commenters wrote (in part) in response to one of my posts and a few of my own tongue-in-cheek comments that he seemed to take literally:

You are obviously not a reasonable adult, merely a child with the appearance of grown woman. You have probably never held a weapon let alone had to use one to defend yourself.

Real women hold guns. Got it.

One of my Twitter followers, @4dogsplus1, responded with:

So Annie Oakley was more of a woman then say, Golda Meir?

@SandiBehrns tweeted:

Bright side: Always fun when “real women” can be defined in terms just as assholishly macho as “real men”!

And finally, @MegTee tweeted:

I have held & fired a gun. I’m “grown up” & still for gun control. Their reasoning is non existent.

H/t: @KingDavidLane for all the links and stats.