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Unarmed lawmaker mugged by reality ( Former gun grabber wakes up )
The Gazette ^ | August 12, 2007

Posted on 08/16/2007 8:36:45 AM PDT by george76

“A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged by reality.” That certainly seems to be the case with former gun-control advocate Michael DeBose, an Ohio state legislator. DeBose’s epiphany was not a result of being mugged by reality, but by being mugged by a couple of gun-toting thugs in his own neighborhood.

DeBose told Gun Week, the periodical of The Second Amendment Foundation, that he was taking a walk around his quiet residential neighborhood on the evening of May 1 when he was accosted by two men, one of whom was armed with a handgun. The unarmed DeBose took the only option available to him — he ran to a neighbor’s home and pounded on the door...

Long an advocate of stricter gun-control laws, DeBose, along with his wife and several neighbors, have since enrolled in classes to obtain concealed-carry permits.

DeBose’s apparent conversion might not sit well with antigun colleagues, but as he said, “until someone has had a gun pulled on them and stuck in their face...

(Excerpt) Read more at gazette.com ...


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Editorial; News/Current Events; US: Colorado; US: Ohio
KEYWORDS: banglist; gungrabbers; serendipity
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“A conservative is a liberal who has been mugged by reality.”

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1 posted on 08/16/2007 8:36:52 AM PDT by george76
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To: george76
Remember the anti-gun Carl Rowan shooting an unarmed white kid who took a midnight dip in his pool?

Rowan gained public notoriety on June 14, 1988, when he shot a teenage tresspasser, Neil Smith, who was taking a dip in Rowan's swimming pool in Washington, D.C.. Rowan used an unregistered .22 LR pistol.

Rowan was a strict gun control advocate. In a 1981 column, he advocated " a law that says anyone found in possession of a handgun except a legitimate officer of the law goes to jail -- period." In 1985, he called for "A complete and universal federal ban on the sale, manufacture, importation and possession of handguns (except for authorized police and military personnel)."

Immediately after the shooting, Rowan offered several conflicting accounts about where he got the handgun. He first said that he had purchased the gun himself in response to threats on his life (which he later claimed had been made by the Ku Klux Klan). He also initially claimed that the gun had been properly registered. However, when District of Columbia police disclosed that the gun had not been registered, Rowan changed his story, claiming that the gun belonged to his son, who "was an FBI agent and did not have to register it [because it was] properly registered federally." Police officials pointed out that under D.C. law, all guns must be registered locally; failure to do so was punishable by up to a year in prison and a $1,000 fine.

Rowan was tried but the jury was deadlocked, the judge declared a mistrial and he was never retried. In his autobiography, Rowan said he still favors gun control.


2 posted on 08/16/2007 8:42:37 AM PDT by Bon mots
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To: george76

Another convert! B-slapped by reality.


3 posted on 08/16/2007 8:43:48 AM PDT by READINABLUESTATE ("life is dangerous")
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To: george76

I thought that was ““A NEOCON is a liberal who has been mugged.”.........


4 posted on 08/16/2007 8:44:09 AM PDT by Red Badger (All I know about Minnesota, I learned from Garrison Keilor..................)
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To: george76
The only word I can think of is: serendipity.

5.56mm

5 posted on 08/16/2007 8:48:50 AM PDT by M Kehoe
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To: george76

Let’s hope he’ll still allow others to own guns.


6 posted on 08/16/2007 8:54:30 AM PDT by wastedyears (Alright, hold tight, I'm a highway staaaaaaaaaaaaarrr)
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To: george76

Like Saul on the road to Damascus . . .


7 posted on 08/16/2007 9:03:26 AM PDT by tumblindice
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To: Bon mots

And I too am in favor of gun control the way it is now. Convicted felons cannot legally purchase or possess a handgun for 7-10 years after their felony conviction. People convicted of aggravated assault, attempted murder, etc., too should not be allowed to own handguns.


8 posted on 08/16/2007 9:04:40 AM PDT by RSmithOpt (Liberalism: Highway to Hell)
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To: george76

Couldna happened to a more deserving guy!

Much as I dislike hearing about anyone being robbed, if it’s going to happen it should happen to one of those who was dedicated to depriving the rest of us of our means for self-defense.


9 posted on 08/16/2007 9:18:11 AM PDT by Redbob (WWJBD - "What would Jack Bauer Do?")
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To: Bon mots
Rowan was tried but the jury was deadlocked, the judge declared a mistrial and he was never retried.

It was probably an OJ jury. Pathetic.

10 posted on 08/16/2007 9:21:43 AM PDT by vox humana
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To: Bon mots
Rowan was tried but the jury was deadlocked, the judge declared a mistrial and he was never retried.

To anyone who knows DC, that was no surprise.

DC is the National Academy for "O.J. Juries"...

Just saying.

11 posted on 08/16/2007 10:03:20 AM PDT by Publius6961 (MSM: Israelis are killed by rockets; Lebanese are killed by Israelis.)
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To: RSmithOpt

Why does this prohibition apply to ex-felons (i.e., convicted felons who have served the sentence duly imposed by a court of law and thereby paid their debt to society) who did not commit a felonious act of violence against persons or did not use a firearm or other instrument of death or bodily harm in the commission of a felony? For example, certain “white-collar” crimes are felonies, and are committed using implements such as paper and writing instruments and computers, et cetera. What has this to do with being denied use of a firearm for self-defense after having served the required prison term and/or paid any monetary penalities imposed?
Signed,
Puzzled


12 posted on 08/16/2007 10:50:56 AM PDT by Elsiejay
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To: george76

Obviously the perpetrators hadn’t legally obtained their guns or had been prevented from getting them by draconian gun laws.


13 posted on 08/16/2007 10:51:24 AM PDT by The Great RJ ("Mir we bleiwen wat mir sin" or "We want to remain what we are." ..Luxembourg motto)
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To: Bon mots
"Remember the anti-gun Carl Rowan shooting an unarmed white kid who took a midnight dip in his pool?"

No, what happened to the kid?

14 posted on 08/16/2007 11:15:26 AM PDT by jackibutterfly
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To: jackibutterfly
"Remember the anti-gun Carl Rowan shooting an unarmed white kid who took a midnight dip in his pool?"

No, what happened to the kid?

Besides the fact that he got shot, I don't remember. I remember that there might have been two boys who went for a dip and Rowan shot one.

As this happened long ago, I've forgotten the details.
Rowan shot the kid with a .22 long, so I don't remember it being lethal.

15 posted on 08/16/2007 12:15:49 PM PDT by Bon mots
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To: george76

So then all we have to do is mug the liberals and they’ll roll over on the second amendment thingy ?

Cool...


16 posted on 08/16/2007 5:36:16 PM PDT by festus (I'm a fRedneck and proud of it.)
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To: george76
until someone has had a gun pulled on them and stuck in their face, (you can’t) put yourself in another’s place. . . . I just hope they’ll understand why I chose to change my mind.”

Most sane people can figure out that it is a good idea to be able to defend yourself before they get rolled.

17 posted on 08/16/2007 5:43:45 PM PDT by paul51 (11 September 2001 - Never forget)
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To: george76

The real test of his “conversion” will be in how he votes on the next Gun Grab in the legislature. Plenty of Grabbers have guns, or armed guards, or both.


18 posted on 08/16/2007 9:48:29 PM PDT by El Gato ("The Second Amendment is the RESET button of the United States Constitution." -- Doug McKay)
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To: Elsiejay
All good points you made and I agree with your take. I was just saying what is in place now is enough to satisfy the anti-gun crowd IMHO specifically, handguns. It's not the firearm that's the problem, it's always the person holding it.

I think too, after someone has paid their debt to society, certain assumptions must be let go to.

19 posted on 08/17/2007 5:57:43 AM PDT by RSmithOpt (Liberalism: Highway to Hell)
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To: george76

BTTT!


20 posted on 08/17/2007 9:54:42 PM PDT by neverdem (Call talk radio. We need a Constitutional Amendment for Congressional term limits. Let's Roll!)
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