Cell phone is handy to get someone to come scrape up the perp's body after the fact. My wife is from Ohio and we visit in-laws once a year. They are mostly amazed and some frightened that we both come armed. 
Posted on 02/18/2004 12:24:24 AM PST by JohnHuang2
Ohio sniper and disarmed populace
© 2004 WorldNetDaily.com
The case of the Ohio sniper is a perfect illustration of the dangers of disarming the public – and leaving crime-prevention and deterrence to the government.
The sniper has been shooting at people and cars since November of last year. He is linked to at least 24 shootings, including one murder.
Last weekend, he took a potshot at a Chevrolet Suburban in plain view of countless witnesses in broad daylight. The driver of the Chevy immediately called 911. After the shooter was finished, he sauntered to his car and slowly drove off.
Despite the fact that police aircraft responded within minutes, they came up empty again.
"The person appeared to be in no hurry," said Chief Deputy Steve Martin of the Franklin County Sheriff's Department. "I think we'll probably all agree that our particular shooter is becoming much more aggressive – much bolder – in letting himself be seen by the public. His intent is to hurt somebody."
The truth is that if you want to hurt someone in our broadly unarmed society today, it's not difficult.
The American people have become convinced that the police can protect them from bad guys like the Ohio shooter. The truth is that they can't.
Police detectives might be useful in putting together clues, working on the forensic evidence and enlisting the public to help them identify a menace like this. Usually police choose to go it alone, withholding information from the public that might actually lead to the capture of the attacker.
The only way the D.C. Beltway snipers were caught was when information about the car they were using was released to the press and public. After terrorizing the Washington, Virginia and Maryland area for months, they were caught within hours.
But the Ohio shooter is more brazen. He uses a handgun, which requires him to get close to his victims – within range of other citizens armed with handguns.
So far, apparently, not one of those witnesses or victims has had a firearm handy. It's too bad. Firearms can come in quite handy in situations like this – even more handy than the cell phone to dial 911.
I've said it before and I'll say it again: In this new age of terrorism and high crime, it is essential Americans demand their full rights under the U.S. Constitution to arm themselves, to protect themselves, to defend their country, to save their families.
The police are not equipped for this job. They do not have sufficient manpower. They are not omnipresent. Nor would we want our nation to become a police state.
The only way for us to maintain order, to clean up the streets, to govern ourselves and to defeat this kind of terrorism, is to encourage law-abiding citizens to arm themselves.
Yet I hear virtually no other voices even making this case. More and more of our cities are becoming "gun-free zones" – competing with one another to see which will become the murder capital of the nation. The most unsafe place to be in America is a "gun-free zone" – be it a school or a city like Washington, D.C.
The good news is that Ohio is set to become a concealed-carry state in April. Lawmakers may want to consider speeding up enactment of that new law. It might be the best thing the government can do to get this menace off the streets.
Joseph needs to get out more. Take a stroll down the sidewalk in Manhattan and you'll see a police state on steriods. When I was there a few weeks ago there were at least two cops on the street for every pedestrian. And, in front of my hotel, were three commandos in black ski masks with M16's.
I'd call that a police state three times over!
Actually, the commandos I saw last month in NYC were pretty much the same thing as "black helicopters".
Possibly because you've been looking for the wrong author. Try Alan Dean Foster....
The story originally ran in Galaxy in the September, 1971 issue, and you might find a used bookseller with a copy, or one might turn up on eBay.
It also was included in at least two Sci-Fi anthologies: Don Wollheim's 1972 Annual World’s Best SF, from DAW, 1972 and in a collection entitled With Friends Like These from Ballantine in 1977.
More ADF info *here*.
Possibly because you've been looking for the wrong author. Try Alan Dean Foster....
The story originally ran in Galaxy in the September, 1971 issue, and you might find a used bookseller with a copy, or one might turn up on eBay.
It also was included in at least two Sci-Fi anthologies: Don Wollheim's 1972 Annual World’s Best SF, from DAW, 1972 and in a collection entitled With Friends Like These from Ballantine in 1977.
More ADF info *here*.
The police arrive in time to rope off the area & take photos of lifeless bodies.
Oooo, can't we sue the car manufacturer?
Cell phone is handy to get someone to come scrape up the perp's body after the fact. My wife is from Ohio and we visit in-laws once a year. They are mostly amazed and some frightened that we both come armed.
The Right Way to Do the Wrong Thing
Hank
If he's within "handgun range" to shoot at cars, he is within handgun range from the cars he is shooting at.
He obviously is not afraid of somebody shooting back. Few people in Ohio can drive around with handguns in their cars.
Note that he isn't shooting at occupied houses!
According to (federal and local) LEO in my family, it is not their primary job to protect the public from crime. It is their job to gather evidence after the fact to support the prosecutor's case in court.
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