Friday, March 21, 2008

Which is better, a gun in your hand now, or a cell phone?

When seconds count, Police are only minutes away:

A woman was asking a 911 dispatcher for help when her pleas were interrupted by gunshots, then silence . . . She was shot to death.
The victim was identified as Hsiao Hsu. She lived in West Covina in LA, an upscale nice neighborhood, but that did not keep her safe. She dialed 911 to ask Police for help, but that did not keep her safe. Police are really much more of a crime deterrent than a crime preventer based on the prospect that crime can lead to jail time. Even when Police don't arrive at all the Supreme Court has held that the Police are not obligated to keep any specific individual safe, their primary purpose is to deter crime as much as possible by their presence in the community and to capture criminals after the crime is complete. Each person is individually responsible for their own safety as well as for the safety of their own family. The intended victim is the immediate responder, not the Police. Anyone who thinks otherwise is a victim waiting to happen.

California is a "May Issue" State - that means that the Sheriff may or may not issue you a CCW permit, depending on whether or not he feels like giving one to you, how Politically connected you are, how much you contributed to his or her election campaign, etc, even if you meet all of the State requirements. She was in her home so only a place like Washington DC would have prevented her from having a gun available for her own Self Defense in her own home, but not all criminals strike in the Home so I thought it was worth mentioning California's "May Issue" status, one of the last holdouts for the May Issue legacy.

Another of many infringed gun rights issues in California is the fact that they refuse to recognize CCW permits from any other State. A bit like a State refusing to recognize drivers licenses from other States, only much worse since it prevents the basic right of self defense. As a result, I drive Around California through alternate States when I drive to a North West Destination such as Washington State, although I could save a little time by taking a shortcut through California. California's loss, Utah & Idaho's gain.

Don't even get me started on the issue that Adult Students & Teachers in most Universities & Colleges throughout the Country are disarmed on a daily basis by so-called "Gun Free Zones" when they head to classes. Not only do such policies fail to provide the crime & victim free Utopia of safety the "Gun Free Zone" proponents claim, but such policies lead to many tragic events on a yearly basis from mass shootings to rape & murder that take place in such victim disarmament zones. "You can't stop insane people from doing insane things by passing insane laws. That's insane!" (Penn & Teller)

H/T to JK, campus leader for U of A SCCC.

Update 1: More details.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Not all shootings turn out badly:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=OkS8mdbml0A

Dustin said...

Very True David. I liked that video too. I have a link to it here.