Posted on 02/06/2008 11:06:31 AM PST by Dr._Joseph_Warren
I'm in an argument with liberal co-workers on the merits of gun ownership.
They are claiming that there are few (if any) examples of where civilians (not police officers or security guards) came to the publics defense.
We are talking about malls, universities, restaurants, etc., not private residence.
I'm sure there was an incident at restaurant a few years ago, but can't find a link.
Their arguement is the best one to use against them. 32 innocents dead at VTech, because no one but the killer was armed. Tell them that the number of people being killed on our streets is due to the success of gun control.
Thanks to everyone for their feedback. As usual, your info was great.
The liberals here are a bit quieter now. Hard to counter so many good examples. They won’t be able to use this argument again, so I expect they are trying to figure out a way to morph it into something else!
John Bingham, the main author of Sec. 1 of the 14th A., included the 2nd A. when he read the first eight amendments as examples of constitutional statutes containing privileges and immunities that the 14th A. applied to the states. So there is no doubt in my mind that the 14th A. protects the personal right to keep and bear arms from the states as well as the federal government as much as any other privilege and immunity protects other personal rights. See the 2nd A. in the middle column of the following page from the Congressional Globe, a precursor to the Congressional Record.
http://tinyurl.com/y3ne4n
Guns don’t protect civilians, other civilians do. It helps if they have guns. ;=)
You might consider raising the point that there are an awful lot of incidents where firearms are used by civilians to prevent crimes or apprehend criminals. If no shots are fired, and sometimes if there are, it isn't reported. I've sent half a dozen people to jail at gunpoint... may not have been necessary that I have a gun, but the first time I confronted people in the commission of a crime, they were armed and I didn't know it until I caught them, and I won't let that happen again. On two occasions I've fired shots to get the attention of people so they'd call the police...one time, the person I was trying to alert ran and hid under her bed...and in neither case was it reported that a shot was fired.
Also, I live in a county where 1 in 8 people have concealed carry permits, and we haven't had a gun crime commited in forever. More guns, less crime.
The website includes a searchable database.
Book Description
This collection of true stories examines incidents involving the use of firearms by ordinary citizens for personal protection against criminals. Three basic types of events are discussed: armed defense at home, at work, and in a public place. Each episode is explored in detail, with a look at the citizen involved as well as how their defensive actions aided them or could be improved. From convenience-store robberies to police arrests gone awry, these stories provide memorable reminders of firearm self-defense dos and don'ts.
Also:
Check the numerous incidents reported *here*- there may even be a few from Iowa for you.
So far as school shootings go, there was one the week before the recent Northern Illinois University shooting in which a pair of armed attackers in a schoolroom, one with a firearm and the other with a knife, were shot to death by the school's armed teachers in the room. I wonder why it was we heard nothing about that during tall the hand-wringing about the poor unarmed victims in Illinois being slaughtered like sheep.
Ha! I missed your post before posting the link to the CGDB in my post #29, above.
Btw, you might find the links in my post to the other school shooting in late January about 2 weeks before the one at Northern Ill. University in which five unarmed victims were killed, and eighteen others wounded to be of interest. I much prefer to see the attackers lying dead on the ground.
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