The 2nd has some police behind it...

[hammAR]

Who'da thunk? Guns best crime deterrent after all
'People who say bad guys will stop because of 1 more law are full of it'
By Bob Unruh
© 2008 WorldNetDaily

When sexual assaults started rising in Orlando, Fla., in 1966, police officers noticed women were arming themselves, so they launched a firearms safety course for them. Over the next 12 months, sexual assaults plummeted by 88 percent, burglaries fell by 25 percent and not one of the 2,500 women who took the course fired a gun in a confrontation.

And that, says a new brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court by police officers and prosecutors in a controversial gun-ban dispute, is why gun ownership is important and should be available to individuals in the United States.

The arguments come in an amicus brief submitted by the Law Enforcement Alliance of America, whose spokesman, Ted Deeds, told WND there now are different law enforcement voices speaking together to the Supreme Court in the Heller case.

That pending decision will decide whether an appeals court ruling striking down a District of Columbia ban on handguns because it violates the 2nd Amendment will stand or not. The gun ban promoters essentially argue that any gun restriction that is ruled "reasonable" is therefore constitutional, such as the D.C. handgun ban.

Deeds said this probably is the largest unified law enforcement statement in support of the 2nd Amendment ever, and includes nearly a dozen organizations that represent tens of thousands of police officers across the country, dozens of state attorneys general, dozens of prosecutors and a long list of federal law enforcement experts up to and including federal judges.

Oral arguments in the case are scheduled on March 18, and the LEAA brief is just one of 46 that have been filed on the side of seeking affirmation that the 2nd Amendment does, indeed, document a right for individuals to own guns in the United States.

The brief notes when the Georgia town of Kennesaw decided to require all residents, with exceptions for conscientious objectors, to keep a firearm at home, home burglaries fell from 66 to 26 to 11 in consecutive years.

In Orlando, the deterrence to criminals who simply knew that their victims may have a gun and may know how to use it and may be willing to do just that had a significant impact, because while Orlando's rapes were plummeting, assaults were up 5 percent across the state and 7 percent nationally.

The brief cites a study that discovered, based on interviews with felony prisoners in 11 prisons in 10 states, one third of the felons had been "scared off, shot at, wounded or captured by an armed victim," and nearly four in 10 had decided against committing a specific crime because they thought the victim might have a gun.

"Seventy-four percent agreed with the statement that 'One reason burglars avoid houses where people are at home is that they fear being shot,'" the study said.

The brief suggested the nation's crime rate could rocket should more restrictions be placed on guns.

"Numerous surveys show that firearms are used (usually without a shot needing to be fired) for self-defense at least 97,000 times a year, and probably several hundred thousands times a year. The anti-crime effects of citizen handgun ownership provide enormous benefits to law enforcement, because there are fewer home invasion emergencies requiring an immediate police response, and because the substantial reductions in rates of burglary, assault, and other crimes allow the police and district attorneys to concentrate more resources on other cases and on deterrence."

"Guns save lives," the brief said. "In the hands of law-abiding citizens, guns provide very substantial public safety benefits. In all 50 states – but not the District – it is lawful to use firearms for defense against home invaders. The legal ownership of firearms for home defense is an important reason why the American rate of home invasion burglaries is far lower than in countries which prohibit or discourage home handgun defense."

The brief said handgun ownership reduces the number of confrontational home invasions, so "the total U.S. violent crime rate [is reduced] by about 9 percent."

Deeds said it's always hard to predict the U.S. Supreme Court, but ideally the ruling would clarify the 2nd Amendment means exactly what its words say: that the right to bear arms shall not be infringed.

He compared it to the discussion of freedom of religion, should the Bible be banned. "For Christians there's no effective freedom of religion if they didn't have a Bible," he said.

"To have the 2nd Amendment right on paper, but to be denied the effective means of exercising that right at a moment of truth, when you're trying to defend yourself or your loved one from an aggressor, [is wrong,]" he said. "The gun is the only answer."

Where the rubber meets the road, he said, is when a good guy needs to survive an encounter with a bad guy, he said. There are two possible results: Police arrive on the scene later to have the innocent victim hurt or killed, or they arrive on the scene to "find the victim hearty and the offender on the floor."

"Every cop in American is going to pick the second closing of the story," Deeds said.

He said gun control originally was sold to Americans as a way to lower crime, but he disagreed. "People who sell this idea that bad guys are going to stop because of one more law are just full of it," he said.

"That's a lie. That's a fraud," he said. He also said it's a terribly slippery slope to say that under the 2nd Amendment, some gun restrictions are good because they are "reasonable."

"We are hoping that they [the Supreme Court] make a very clear, very unambiguous decision in favor of the 2nd Amendment," Deeds told WND.

Montana officials already have argued the U.S. already resolved any dispute about the meaning of the 2nd Amendment when it defined in Montana's compact under which it became a state that "any person" has the right to bear arms.

And U.S. Rep. Virgil Goode, R-Va., has led a congressional delegation in asking President Bush to order the U.S. Justice Department to submit a brief to the high court supporting the rights of individuals under the 2nd Amendment.

A similar request already has been submitted by officials for the Gun Owners of America, whose executive director, Larry Pratt, warned: "If the Supreme Court were to accept the Solicitor General's line of argument, D.C.'s categorical gun ban of virtually all self-defense firearms could well be found to be constitutional. ..."

The government's position is available in a document submitted by by U.S. Solicitor General Paul D. Clement. He said since "unrestricted" private ownership of guns clearly threatens the public safety, the 2nd Amendment can be interpreted to allow a variety of gun restrictions.

"Given the unquestionable threat to public safety that unrestricted private firearm possession would entail, various categories of firearm-related regulation are permitted by the Second Amendment," Clement wrote in the brief.

Because of the specifics of the D.C. case, the ultimate ruling is expected to address directly whether the 2nd Amendment includes a right for individuals nationwide to have a gun or whether local governments can approve whatever laws or ordinances they desire to restrict firearms.

The amendment reads, "A well-regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed."

[justaguy]

The brief suggested the nation's crime rate could rocket should more restrictions be placed on guns.

Kind of like the crime rate in D.C.?

Guns are bad.

[Aceq2jot]

The nice thing is the Police are Behind it but it does not seem to matter any more as they are just " black booted door kickers " Acording to some so i guess we cant really count on thier support if people they are trying to support have refer to them and think of them that way

[hammAR]

What, are you axilesyd or what? Difficulty with spelling and comprehension?

I'm trying to post a positive item both for the 2nd A and LEO's. I would rather that you help solidify and reinforce the POSITIVE rather than soil.........OK?

BTW: Dyslexia is a Greek derived word. The words dys means inadequate or poor and lexis means language or word. Dyslexia is not considered as a disease. It is taken to be a state of brain which is talented and productive, but its capacity to learn is different.

Now go to you room .............

[TC95GT]

The nice thing is the Police are Behind it but it does not seem to matter any more as they are just " black booted door kickers " Acording to some so i guess we cant really count on thier support if people they are trying to support have refer to them and think of them that way

Im hoping the police are intelligent enough and not so thinned skinned that they would let the opinions of a few stand in the way of supporting something they supported.

[BRIT_in_the_weeds]

What, are you axilesyd or what? Difficulty with spelling and comprehension?

I'm trying to post a positive item both for the 2nd A and LEO's. I would rather that you help solidify and reinforce the POSITIVE rather than soil.........OK?

BTW: Dyslexia is a Greek derived word. The words dys means inadequate or poor and lexis means language or word. Dyslexia is not considered as a disease. It is taken to be a state of brain which is talented and productive, but its capacity to learn is different.

Now go to you room .............

I believe it was a dis, towards that guy.

This was a new one to me http://www.protectpolice.org whilst looking for chief scott knight, I bet any police organisation he has spoken for, is NOT on the list that supported this brief.

[hammAR]

I believe it was a dis, towards that guy.

This was a new one to me http://www.protectpolice.org whilst looking for chief scott knight, I bet any police organisation he has spoken for, is NOT on the list that supported this brief.

I know, just thought that you needed company on the settee,
besides my gas tank is full,
and I needed someone to share the Murphys with......

[justaguy]

Guns are bad.

HammAR I will be using the “piss in the gas tank” whenever possible. If necessary I will make it possible even if it doesn’t fit I’ll still use it as well as “guns are bad.” This will continue till I don’t find it amusing. That will be a longtime.

[Aceq2jot]

What, are you axilesyd or what? Difficulty with spelling and comprehension?

I'm trying to post a positive item both for the 2nd A and LEO's. I would rather that you help solidify and reinforce the POSITIVE rather than soil.........OK?

BTW: Dyslexia is a Greek derived word. The words dys means inadequate or poor and lexis means language or word. Dyslexia is not considered as a disease. It is taken to be a state of brain which is talented and productive, but its capacity to learn is different.

Now go to you room .............

Thank God i am not thin skinned there Gunny as i may have taken it the wrong way like some

But instead i had to laugh at your jar head humour.

And i was simply making a comment that people saying nice things about LEO's is just not a good way to win friends or keep them

And if you dont like my spelling blame it on the American school system as they did it to

I went to an Immersion school

[rucker]

That's good news and we need more of it. No matter how logical it seems to us there are a lot of people who would think about it harder coming from the police than from us.

[justaguy]

+1

[Widge]

I'm all for it, but then, most of you knew that already, right?

[GregM]

Back on the TCC forum, someone posted an article about a nationwide survey among police officers on the subject of armed civilians.

One of the survey questions was something like: If your department ordered you to start rounding up civilian guns, would you comply? A full two thirds responded NO.

[BRIT_in_the_weeds]

Back on the TCC forum, someone posted an article about a nationwide survey among police officers on the subject of armed civilians.

One of the survey questions was something like: If your department ordered you to start rounding up civilian guns, would you comply? A full two thirds responded NO.

Then the 1/3 that did'nt, need to go back to Jnr High for a refresher on the constitution. 4A first, then 2A, and then the whole department can work on having the department heads arrested.

It would be interesting to see how many of that 1/3 were behind a desk!

[Aftrshck]

would be interesting to see how many of that 1/3 would be alive by lunch....


~Aftrshck