Look Out, He Has a Finger
link Give Us a Right to Be Free of Those Who Bear Arms: Ann Woolner – Bloomberg.com.
I have an idea, why don’t we just tell criminals that they can’t use guns? Prominently displayed on signs as you enter a town or city will be the warning that no guns are allowed, so criminals will have to resort to other weapons of intimidation or some very strong language to get what they want. Any drug deals that may be done will have at least one person armed on both sides with either a slingshot and or a thesaurus. Of course, some concessions will have to be made by the populace as well. For instance during a bank robbery, the mere pointing of thumb and forefinger in a mock gun pose should be enough to spur the teller to hand over all the loot. This is only fair in return for observance of the local ordinances. I’ll be the first to agree that drive by finger pointings are much more civilized. Better yet, why don’t we just ban criminal behaviour in certain areas?
While I will concede that packing heat to church is a bit much, even in Texas, to universally ban firearms is also an extreme position in the U.S. Especially since it is enshrined in the constitution. To be sure, I’m not convinced that carrying six shooters displayed on the hip is the way to go for everyone. Actually, it is rather unnerving to think that the guy next to you in the Mcdonald’s can lose it just because he was short a few fries and starts waving the Smith and Wesson. As we know, there are enough nutbars running loose that this scenario is not unlikely. Just read some of the writers on the Huffington Post.
Presumably, most citizens don’t really feel the need to own a firearm, feeling safe in their society and secure under the protection of their local police. But what of people who live in areas that are more iffy. The plight of the 76 year old gentleman who lives in the south side of Chicago brought this issue up again in the news recently. His neighborhood is so rampant with violence and home break-ins that he wants the right to have a firearm to protect himself and his property. Why is that an issue to someone who lives in a leafy suburb across the country? The author states:
“…Chicago’s looking better to me all the time…”
She’s obviously never been to the south side of Chicago where red lights are routinely run to avoid having to stop the car. A place where there were more murders in 2009 than there were casualties in Iraq for the same year. Since the police are obviously unable to offer round the clock protection for this or any other citizen, it is unfair to leave this gentleman or anyone for that matter at the mercy of miscreants who would invade their home.
I don’t know who is responsible for the old saying, “if people are happy to be sheep, there are many who are willing to be wolves”, but that certainly applies on this issue. In the U.K., for years the bobbies there were acclaimed for being armed only with whistles to get their jobs done. This wishful thinking is no longer the case and like all police forces, they are now suitably armed. To think that unarmed citizens will not be victimized by armed criminals is equally naive.