Thursday, August 09, 2007
|
|
Liberal, Anti-Bush Editor Wonders, 'What if the Second Amendment is for real?'
|
|
Posted by:
Mary Katharine Ham at
11:46 AM
|
In light of the sexual assualt and murders of the women of the Petit family at the hands of brutal home invaders who also happened to be repeat offenders, Keith C. Burris says, "Time to admit the 'gun nuts' are right.":
What if the Second Amendment is for real? Is it possible that it should it be revered, just like the First Amendment?...
Is it possible that the Second Amendment is not a quaint and antiquated remnant of a world that will never return, but an idea as relevant and sound today as when it was written?
Is it possible that we are not talking about the right of the government to form a militia when there is no standing army, but the right of the individual to defend himself, or herself, against both tyranny and lawlessness? Maybe we are talking about the right of self-defense -- the right of the individual to take up arms against a government that wants to oppress, be it foreign or domestic. And the right of the individual to defend himself against criminals, brutes, and barbarians when local police seem unable to stop them.
Might the Second Amendment matter almost as much as the First?
I think the answer is yes.
And just like the First, the Second is practical, newly relevant, and far wiser than the watered-down alternatives.
I don't think George Bush wants to impose martial law on his fellow citizens. But he has diluted habeas corpus. And he has enlarged Big Brother. You have to stop and think about a government that wants to control the thoughts and behavior of its people.
Should such a government be permitted to disarm them as well? Hey, whether it's an irrational fear of George Bush's America or the legitimate fear of recidivist brutes that convinces you that you should support the Second Amendment, I applaud it.
Here's the rest of the story on the Petit family:
Dr. William A. Petit Jr., his head bloodied and legs bound, stumbled out of a rear basement door of his two-story home here into a pouring rain, calling the name of a neighbor for help.
The neighbor heard the shouting, but so did the two men inside the house, who peeked outside from an upstairs window. They were both serial burglars with drug habits, having racked up numerous convictions for stealing car keys and pocketbooks. This time, they took something far more precious. The men, the authorities say, had already strangled Dr. Petit’s wife, Jennifer Hawke-Petit, 48, and in short order would also kill the couple’s two daughters, Hayley, 17, and Michaela, 11. The elder suspect, Steven J. Hayes, 44, had poured gasoline on the girls and their mother, according to a lawyer and a law enforcement official involved in the case, in hopes of concealing DNA evidence of sexual assault. He had raped Ms. Hawke-Petit, and his partner, Joshua Komisarjevsky, 26, had sexually assaulted Michaela. Moments after Dr. Petit escaped, as the house was being surrounded by police officers, the men lighted the gasoline. The girls were tied to their beds but alive when the gas Mr. Hayes had spread around the house was set aflame.
|
|
I wonder if the Petit family supported gun control laws before this horrible incident, but then in the waning minutes of their lives wished they had the ability to defend themselves.
Hayes and Komisarjevsky actually lurked in the bushes outside the Petit homestead for hours studying the family and their movements as if they were lions on the African tundra stalking a few zebras for dinner.
Good guys with guns prevent crimes more than five thousand (5,000) times a day and about 93% of the time, the defender's gun is not fired. This tragic story is just another in a long line of reasons why I carry a concealed revolver all the time, yes, even at home while doing the dishes...
Marc
http://www.SaveTheGuns.com |
|
To determine whether it is likely you will discharge a firearm, you have to first think about when it'd most likely be used, and what the actual task of the police is, and should be.
#2 first: The police are not there to directly prevent crime. Like these sub-humans described in MK's article, they're going to do what they do (or attempt to do it), police or no police. Such as, if the police are standing at the doorway to the domicile, they may delay or move on, otherwise, they're going to break in and do the dirty work. The police are almost never Right There to affect the outcome of a burglary, robbery or home break in. Their deterrence value is only somewhat mild to moderate, depending on the mind of the crook involved.
#1: In the 50 years I've been alive, there are three distinct times when pulling a gun, and discharging it, were warranted. It depends on where you live, where you work, where and how you travel, your public persona, etc. Also, it depends on lady luck. Sometimes you are doing everything right, and you end up with two demented psycopaths that no level of correctness is going to deter. In all events, I think it's worth while to always be prepared in training, equipment, etc.
By the way, Paddy, I wouldn't tell anyone on the internet the condition of my gun status, etc. That gives the potential bad guys too much information they don't really need to know. MK is being very circumspect, and it's warranted. |
|
on the perpetual existance of the first two rights.
Without the first, the second has no rally cry for which to take up arms.
Without the second, the first has no teeth to inspire mankind. |
|
So, a chainsaw for home defense eh...? Naw, a little unwieldy I'm thinking.
The baseball bat though, that's good. You have to remember not to swing in close quarters though - jab, thrust, hook and twist, but no swinging or you might break the lamp or get stuck in the wall; and remember not to fall for the cheap horror flick gag, keep up the beating 'till you're sure there's only one side of the story left. Aluminum or wood? |
|
|
concept that a firearm is basicly a tool. Much like a chainsaw, it can be used for evil or good. You could murder someone with a half inch variable speed drill, but what decent human would want to? Most bad people always aquire a weapon of some sort to intimidate, or injure the victim, with whatever the deranged mind intends to aquire. A baseball bat in the hands of the right person, could certainly deter the criminal element from most altercations.(I would prefer Barry Bonds to shoot me rather than beat me to death with a baseball bat!)....However, they are difficult to conceal, and annoy restaurant owners when you persist in bringing it into a restaurant! So, most law bidding citizens prefer a firearm, pray that there is NEVER an altercation, and love the security that a firearm gives for the protection of ones self and loved ones..........A study in law enforcement, shows that a HUGE percentage of police officers work 20-30 years, and NEVER discharge a firearm on the job!.....So, what are the odds that a citizen would ever have to use their firearm in self defense?.....Unfortunatly, it only takes one time to wish it was available. And the victim doesn't choose when that ONE TIME takes place! |
|
|
I guess MKH doesn't draw in the gun nuts. :( |
|
It's always amusing when the enlightened left is stunned by a revelation such as this--"You mean a gun might well have changed the course of a violent crime? We've always been told they're inherently evil!"
What about Virginia Tech? One student with a Sig or Smith could have saved dozens of lives.
Yes, there are always extenuating circumstances and no outcome is guaranteed, but a gun in the hands of someone trained in the use of firearms is a solid deterrent to violent crime.
Statistics by Prof. Gary Kleck and Jon Lott have demonstrated beyond any doubt the truth in all of this and it's encouraging that the left may finally be taking off its political blinders.
Best,
Phil Mella
ClearCommentary.com |
|
|
remember to teach her instinct shooting for self-defense, not target shooting. Have her practice centering the frame for snap-shots at sound and motion, always bearing in mind, "take two, they're small." |
|
|
|
|
Great article over on NRA.com today. Did you see it....? |
|
Soothsayer wrote;
----------------
"Well what do you expect from me... that beer isn't going to get up and walk in here by itself."
----------------
And now apparently, neither will your girlfriend, who is now a 'missing person'---with your BEER.
Ha, ha, ha. |
|
|
Well what do you expect from me... that beer isn't going to get up and walk in here by itself. |
|
Kimber's enlistment in the Kos Army may be up.
There are some posters re-appearing with different names, so there may have been a purge..... |
|
|
whoops, I should have written "store" |
|
By the way, Kimberlyric is M.I.A.
When Soothsayer fills out a missing persons report with the police about her disappearance, he'll tell them he sent her to the corner 7-11 sotre with a twenty dollar bill to buy a couple packs of cigs, a 40 OZer, and a lottery ticket---and she just never returned ! |
|
If you said similar things about a race, you'd be drummed out of the commie union....you know that don't you.
You might as well have said "nappy headed hos...." |
|
I'm sure you won't be surprised to hear that I don't own any guns, never have. Guess I lucked out and didn't get the fear and paranoia gene.
I did go to a gun show once - my strongest memory is looking around and realizing I hadn't seen so many missing teeth since I went to a nascar race. Those poor folks need national health care to fix their choppers! |
|
Soothsayer believes that only "gangsta rappers," Islamic Jihadists, and people with felony convictions should be allowed to carry guns !
|
|
|
Mike Adam's (dradams.org) view point. He has many guns. I celebration of Queen Pelosi's promotion to Speaker, he went out and bought a couple more. I quote "ATF should be a convenience store." |
|
|
culture today. In my opinion, the Founding Fathers knew that disarming the citizenry was historicaly the first step of tyrany. Even as far back as when Kings made it illegal to own a sword. Being isolated with the largest moat in the world(Atlantic Ocean)the fear of invasion was not as invisioned as the fear of our own Government!.........There are many elderly couples attacked and robbed, raped, and abused each year in America, because the assailant knows that they themselves have a knife, numbers, and youth on their side. But Gun ownership in States that have a healthy attitude towards self defense for the law bidding citizen appears to have less incidents.......That is ONLY because the "old man" with the limp might have a gun?....And criminals love the path of least resistance! Cultures like the Southeast, where Guns and God go together like cornbread and butter understand this concept. Criminals in these kinds of cultures also understand that "Gun Control" means hitting what your aiming at all 6 times! Unfortunately, DRUGS sometimes cause criminals to forget these concepts, and they wind up on a slab down at the morgue............And justice has been served. |
|
|
Since MK appears to only answer the questions of those she likes a lot or dislikes a lot, let me ask you something: what firearms have you ever fired. Please relive those experiences for us in your pearly prose..... |
|
I see that MKH has caught on to oreilly's method of identifying a source as "liberal, anti-Bush" so her readers don't have to bother reading and deciding for themselves who to hate.
Good thing she can't cut our mics like the loofahphile. :o) |
|
|
I feel the same way about college professors..... :-) |
|
in the truest sense. But Mr. Liberal's response is more gut-busting than gut wrenching;
"You have to stop and think about a government that wants to control the thoughts and behavior of its people."
Considering the source, this makes me laugh. |
|
Gun nuts are the funniest of all the kooky groups under the conservative umbrella, and I look forward to an afternoon of entertaining comments!
|
|
|
The whole Constitution is as relevant today as it was the day is was ratified. To think otherwise is insanity. |
|
I read a story like this, all I can think is, "duh." Not very eloquent I know.
MK, I would like to know if you are an owner of a firearm(s), and if so, what do you own? NRA Member perhaps....?
|
|
|
|