Why do Mexican drug cartels have to resort to U.S. gun shops? The answer is plain: because Mexico's strong gun laws are effective.

In America, the threat of terrorism is real, but it does not originate with Al Qaeda alone. The danger of homegrown right wing political violence is just as real.

If Pat Toomey is elected to the United States Senate, he will no doubt do everything in his power to ensure that the "terror gap" endures, as well as working to weaken the few federal gun laws on the books.

If the "reformers" want to argue for weakening, rather than strengthening, regulation of gun dealers, then let's put all the data on the table. Let the gun lobby make its case. But suppression of the data itself is nothing but a policy of government-enforced ignorance.