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Do Guns Save Lives?
Newsmax ^ | July 7, 2002 | Dr. Michael S. Brown

Posted on 07/06/2002 10:55:38 PM PDT by Swordmaker

"Guns Save Lives" is the fitting title of a book about citizens who successfully defended themselves with guns. This is the second such book by Robert A. Waters, whose first effort, "The Best Defense," was wildly popular with gun owners and political activists.

The heart of the book is a collection of stories that Waters developed after studying police reports, reading news stories and interviewing actual participants. In spite of the thorough preparation, this is anything but a reference book. It reads more like an action novel in which each chapter contains a suspenseful climax.

Reading all 46 cases in quick succession allows the reader to see profound patterns in these violent events. The most obvious common thread is the unfortunate fact that the police can't be there when you need them and violent assailants often prefer surprise attacks to prevent victims from calling for help.

Even if you are able to call, terrible events can transpire in the deadly interval after one dials 911.

Students of the gun will notice an interesting pattern in how many people successfully defend themselves with tiny weapons, like .22, .25 and .32 caliber handguns that are often derided by the anti-gun lobby as "junk guns" and "Saturday night specials." In many cases however, the marginal stopping power of these little guns prompts the citizen survivors to purchase something bigger at the first opportunity.

One interesting example involving small handguns occurred in 1997. A high-strung robber armed with a shotgun attempted to rob a crowded restaurant. Two customers with permits to carry a concealed handgun were watching events unfold, each unaware of the other. The robber became incensed when the terrified waitress couldn't open the till.

Both armed citizens, fearing the worst, fired simultaneously, each using .22 magnum revolvers. The robber was hit once. His plan ruined, he ran outside to the getaway car, breaking his shotgun on the doorframe as he ran.

This particular robber then demonstrated what appears to be a common behavior for his species. It seems that many criminals flee after receiving a minor wound and are later apprehended by police when they seek treatment at a local hospital.

But don't think the stories are all clean little tales of good over evil. The most striking common theme is the extreme brutality that criminals apply to their innocent victims. Lawbreakers willing to commit a crime like a home invasion robbery are fully prepared to mete out extreme physical violence or death. Their disregard for their victims is chillingly inhuman.

Many of the victims in these stories suffered terrible wounds, but still found the courage to fight back. Gunfights are desperate life-and-death affairs that almost always occur when the intended victim least expects it.

A speaker at the original Million Mom March once said: "If someone comes at you with a knife or gun, say, 'I know you're upset.' We all want to be valued as human beings." The sheer lunacy of that statement will be dreadfully apparent after reading "Guns Save Lives."

One horrific case describes the ordeal of a woman who survived a vicious knife attack by a convicted murderer/rapist in her home. Severely wounded and bleeding, she struggled to remove a trigger lock from her handgun while her 11-year old son fought heroically with the intruder. Shooting the man did more than simply save two lives, it prevented the untold pain and suffering of his future victims.

Almost all of the attackers in these stories were on parole, on probation or released early. Criminologists tell us that a small minority of repeat offenders commits the overwhelming majority of crimes. The average serial rapist, for example, strikes 20 times before he is caught or killed.

Many future crimes are prevented when one of these predators is shot by an intended victim. When he is shot, there is little doubt about his guilt. If he survives, there isn't much chance that he will escape justice, no matter what legal maneuvers are applied.

Waters reports that he has over 6,000 armed self-defense incidents in his files and many are available online through Operation Self Defense. They are primarily gleaned from local news reports, since the national media maintain a de facto blackout on self-defense stories.

Media decision-makers would have us believe that such stories are of no interest to a national audience, but we are also told that the networks are hungry for stories with emotion and human interest. The refusal to acknowledge these dramatic events understandably draws charges of media bias.

Thanks to Waters and his supporters, we may eventually see more armed self-defense stories in the national media. Journalists, news-oriented Web sites, politicians and scholars subscribe to his e-mail list, which distributes reports of recent incidents.

How many lives could be saved if the national media reversed course and began covering armed self-defense stories? Crime rates might plummet as thousands of rapists and burglars sought safer careers. Network news ratings would soar as viewers found something more inspiring than the usual diet of celebrities and scandal.

"Guns Save Lives" should be available soon from Amazon.com or immediately from the publisher listed below. After you and your friends have enjoyed reading it, pass it on to a local television news producer or newspaper editor.

Dr. Michael S. Brown is an optometrist and member of Doctors for Sensible Gun Laws.

E-mail the author at: rkba2000@yahoo.com.

References

"Guns Save Lives" by Robert A. Waters may be ordered directly from the publisher, Loompanics Unlimited (www.loompanics.com).

Operation Self Defense (http://www.keepandbeararms.com/opsd/default.asp) lists many self-defense stories.


TOPICS: Activism/Chapters; Constitution/Conservatism; Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Government
KEYWORDS: banglist; guncontrol; guns; lifesaving; righttocarry; secondamendment
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To: patton
Man I knew I left sombody off that ping list who should be out on their BOAT !! dat's were I'd be if I had a BOAT !

Stay Safe Coop ;o) !!

21 posted on 07/07/2002 1:51:16 PM PDT by Squantos
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To: Squantos; Lion Den Dan
Thanks - good reading.
22 posted on 07/07/2002 2:13:42 PM PDT by SLB
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To: Swordmaker
Bump.
23 posted on 07/07/2002 2:16:18 PM PDT by Rocko
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To: Swordmaker
Yep, they do definitely save lives. I'm not one to sit back and be a victim
24 posted on 07/07/2002 2:20:32 PM PDT by Sally'sConcerns
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To: Squantos
Bump....for me personally aside from defense for my family and myself and sporting purposes....guns are the last redoubt against tyranny. That fact is why the JBTs and their Puppeteers hate and fear guns and folks like us who recognize that danger so.
25 posted on 07/07/2002 9:38:55 PM PDT by wardaddy
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To: wardaddy
EXACTLY !...........Stay Safe, VOTE, Cache & Carry !!
26 posted on 07/07/2002 9:40:31 PM PDT by Squantos
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To: Squantos
A belated thank you from somebody who was on their boat.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

27 posted on 07/08/2002 6:06:34 AM PDT by harpseal
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To: harpseal; patton
LMBO !!! ......Was I too hard on Coop ?

Stay Safe Ya'll !!

28 posted on 07/08/2002 7:27:58 AM PDT by Squantos
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To: Swordmaker
bttt
29 posted on 07/08/2002 7:46:07 AM PDT by Don Myers
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To: Tijeras_Slim
"These people are truly too stupid to live."

Sometimes, they don't. But, that is Darwin's Law.

30 posted on 07/08/2002 7:47:21 AM PDT by Don Myers
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To: Squantos
While the polically correct might call it being hard on him we call it camraderie sort of like being chained out naked as mosquitto bait by the guys in your platoon.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

31 posted on 07/08/2002 8:19:14 AM PDT by harpseal
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To: Squantos; harpseal; Travis McGee
Did someone say boats?.....I have some faint memories of boats once upon a time....nice wind...cool water..warm sunshine. Must be nice. All I see now are diapers, diapers, diapers.

Yes, I'm whining...a happy whine.

32 posted on 07/08/2002 9:23:26 AM PDT by wardaddy
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To: wardaddy; harpseal; patton
The only boat I get to see of late is the prairie schooners here in the Panhandle of Texas.... we call em chevy suburbans now.

Stay Safe !

33 posted on 07/08/2002 9:47:12 AM PDT by Squantos
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To: Squantos
I just bought one of those landbound Whalers. My wife hates it. We're selling it.
34 posted on 07/08/2002 11:39:36 AM PDT by wardaddy
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To: Squantos
Nah, I got a laugh out of it.

FWIW, I spent two days on my boat this weekend - unfortunately, under the starboard engine.

35 posted on 07/08/2002 12:49:03 PM PDT by patton
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To: Squantos; Tijeras_Slim; AAABEST; harpseal
A speaker at the original Million Mom March once said: "If someone comes at you with a knife or gun, say, 'I know you're upset.' We all want to be valued as human beings."

I wonder how this statement sounds when spoken through a bleeding throat or a sucking chest wound?

LOL! That's the best laugh I've had all day! Unbelievable that someone would THINK this, let alone say it in public.

The Million Morons probably stand in front of the mirror each morning and recite this.

36 posted on 07/08/2002 4:39:13 PM PDT by pocat
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To: pocat; Squantos; harpseal
I wonder how this statement sounds when spoken through a bleeding throat or a sucking chest wound?

"I know you're upset ...gurgle-gleeeck .... We all want to wheeeeeeeeze .....wheeeeeeeze ....be valued as human beings."

37 posted on 07/09/2002 6:10:16 AM PDT by AAABEST
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To: AAABEST
I think the gurggles are much louder than anything else. I for one will not be saying this statement so I guess I will never find out.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armked - Yorktown

38 posted on 07/09/2002 6:47:03 AM PDT by harpseal
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To: AAABEST; harpseal; Travis McGee
LMBO !.......... ! Remember @ 21 feet or less it's a clean kill per most LEO department SOP if knife is involved . Per civilian rules...............one side of the story is SOP.

Stay Safe !

39 posted on 07/09/2002 7:47:53 AM PDT by Squantos
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To: Squantos
In my youth circa 1971 I had someone come at me with a knife one night while walking home from work. I had to take a side trip to let the PD know where I had left him on the ground. I was actually unarmed at the time until I got his knife of course but it was a really cheap switchblade and I gave it to the cops. Of course that was right after I got discharged from the USN and I actually enjoyed the exercise. Since the kid who cam eat me was a juvenile and had a lot of broken bones after the fact the cops decided he had learned his lesson about trying armed robbery.

Stay well - Stay safe - Stay armed - Yorktown

40 posted on 07/09/2002 12:16:11 PM PDT by harpseal
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