A Story to Think About

[ShotgunBlast]

Copied with permission from another forum. Singing to the choir here, but good to share anyway.

You're sound asleep when you hear a thump outside your bedroom door. Half-awake, and nearly paralyzed with fear, you hear muffled whispers. At least two people have broken into your house and are moving your way. With your heart pumping, you reach down beside your bed and pick up your shotgun. You rack a shell into the chamber, then inch toward the door and open it. In the darkness, you make out two shadows. One holds something that looks like a crowbar. When the intruder brandishes it as if to strike, you raise the shotgun and fire.

The blast knocks both thugs to the floor. One writhes and screams while the second man crawls to the front door and lurches outside. As you pick up the telephone to call police, you know you're in trouble. In your country, most guns were outlawed years before, and the few that are privately owned are so stringently regulated as to make them useless.. Yours was never registered. Police arrive and inform you that the second burglar has died. They arrest you for First Degree Murder and Illegal Possession of a Firearm.

When you talk to your attorney, he tells you not to worry: authorities will probably plea the case> down to manslaughter. "What kind of sentence will I get?" you ask. "Only ten-to-twelve years," he replies, as if that's nothing. "Behave yourself, and you'll be out in seven."

The next day, the shooting is the lead story in the local newspaper. Somehow, you're portrayed as an eccentric vigilante while the two men you shot are represented as choirboys. Their friends and relatives can't find an unkind word to say about them.. Buried deep down in the article, authorities acknowledge that both "victims" have been arrested numerous times. But the next day's headline says it all: "Lovable Rogue Son Didn't Deserve to Die."
The thieves have been transformed from career criminals into Robin Hood-type pranksters.. As the days wear on, the story takes wings. The national media picks it up, then the international media. The surviving burglar has become a folk hero. Your attorney says the thief is preparing to sue you, and he'll probably win. The media publishes reports that your home has been burglarized several times in the past and that you've been critical of local police for their lack of effort in apprehending the suspects. After the last break-in, you told your neighbor that you would be prepared next time. The District Attorney uses this to allege that you were lying in wait for the burglars. A few months later, you go to trial. The charges haven't been reduced, as your lawyer had so confidently predicted. When you take the stand, your anger at the injustice of it all works against you.. Prosecutors paint a picture of you as a mean, vengeful man. It doesn't take long for the jury to convict you of all charges. The judge sentences you to life in prison.

This case really happened. On August 22, 1999, Tony Martin of Emneth, Norfolk, England, killed one burglar and wounded a second. In April, 2000, he was convicted and is now serving a life term.. How did it become a crime to defend one's own life in the once great British Empire ? It started with the Pistols Act of 1903. This seemingly reasonable law forbade selling pistols to minors or felons and established that handgun sales were to be made only to those who had a license.

The Firearms Act of 1920 expanded licensing to include not only handguns but all firearms except shotguns.. Later laws passed in 1953 and 1967 outlawed the carrying of any weapon by private citizens and mandated the registration of all shotguns. Momentum for total handgun confiscation began in earnest after the Hungerford mass shooting in 1987.Michael Ryan, a mentally disturbed man with a Kalashnikov rifle, walked down the streets shooting everyone he saw. When the smoke cleared, 17 people were dead. The British public, already de-sensitized by eighty years of gun control, demanded even tougher restrictions. (The seizure of all privately owned handguns was the objective even though Ryan used a rifle.) Nine years later, at Dunblane , Scotland, Thomas Hamilton used a semi-automatic weapon to murder 16 children and a teacher at a public school. For many years, the media had portrayed all gun owners as mentally unstable, or worse, criminals. Now the press had a real kook with which to beat up law-abiding gun owners. Day after day, week after week, the media gave up all pretense of objectivity and demanded a total ban on all handguns. The Dunblane Inquiry, a few months later, sealed the fate of the few sidearms still owned by private citizens.

During the years in which the British government incrementally took away most gun rights, the notion that a citizen had the right to armed self-defense came to be seen as vigilantism. Authorities refused to grant gun licenses to people who were threatened, claiming that self-defense was no longer considered a reason to own a gun. Citizens who shot burglars or robbers or rapists were > charged while the real criminals were released. Indeed, after the Martin shooting, a police spokesman was quoted as saying, "We cannot have people take the law into their own hands."

All of Martin's neighbors had been robbed numerous times, and several elderly people were severely injured in beatings by young thugs who had no fear of the consequences. Martin himself, a collector of antiques, had seen most of his collection trashed or stolen by burglars. When the Dunblane Inquiry ended, citizens who owned handguns were given three months to turn them over to local authorities. > Being good British subjects, most people obeyed the law. The few who didn't were visited by police and threatened with ten-year prison sentences if they didn't comply. Police later bragged that they'd taken nearly 200,000 handguns from private citizens.
How did the authorities know who had handguns? The guns had been registered and licensed. Kind of like cars. Sound familiar? WAKE UP AMERICA ; THIS IS WHY OUR FOUNDING FATHERS PUT THE SECOND AMENDMENT IN OUR CONSTITUTION.

"...It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds.."
--Samuel Adams

Some people don't like the slippery slope argument as it's impossible to prove that if A will lead to Z while you're still at point A or B, but I see it as a hedge against what could happen. Why even go down the path to begin with? Keep the pressure on your Congress critters to protect your 2A rights! Further reading on Tony Martin: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tony_Martin_(farmer)

[SHMIV]

I've read this before. Always a good story to keep in mind.

[mk4]

thanks for posting!

below is another story to think about. it's from a 2005 issue of American Handgunner authored by John Connor. i found it at: http://www.handgunrepairshop.com/Why_do ... a_gun.html and near the bottom is a reference to the permission to reprint that was published in a subsequent issue.

“Why do you carry a gun?”

If I had a nickel for every time I've been asked that question, I'd have, uh ... as many guns as his firearm-festooned Editorial Immenseness, Roy-Boy. It's been asked of me by all flavors of folks in all slices of society, with attitudes and expressions ranging from angry-arrogant to curtly-contemptuous, to brainless an' befuddled. My answers to it have sorta formed three phases in my professional gun-carrying life. During that first and longest phase, I answered all of 'em sincerely and articulately, often following up with stacks of historic and legal documents. After many years, I concluded only a semi-significant sliver of people even heard what I was sayin'. The rest had already made up their muddled minds.

Finally, I just got sick of it, and moved on to Phase 2. If those asking seemed to have teensy open spaces in their minds, I gave 'em S & A: “Sincere & Articulate.” The more harshly-bleating sheep, however, often got exchanges like this:

“So,” queried Snidely Snotworth III, lookin' down his un-busted but needed-bustin' nose, “Why do you think you have to carry a gun?”

“Well,” bellowed the Brutish Neanderthal (that would be me): “Because you're not QUALIFIED to carry one. You haven't got the skills, the judgment, the sense of responsibility, or the courage for it.”

This answer often popped out after I'd just returned from some Heart-Of-Darkness where every living soul knew that the difference between slaves and free people is having the means and determination to defend their lives, property and liberties. That meant having guns and guts and God-given rights. Most of those people would quite literally die fighting for the freedoms so many Americans casually give away, and proudly bear social responsibilities those sheeple* won't even recognize.

*Sheeple: Sheep-like people, many of whom deny the existence of wolves, and vote to pull the teeth of the sheepdogs who protect the flock.

The Voices

Then I matriculated to Phase 3, where I started having some fun with the Snidely Snotworth types. When they asked the Big Question, I'd go all hunchy-shouldered an' secretive, then lean in close and mutter, “Because of the voices, ya know?” “The VOICES?” sniveled the Snidelies, suddenly scaredy-cattish. “Oh, yeah, the voices ... They told me to be, you know, prepared for when the killer clowns come ...” I'd furtively goggle around. “The voices say the killer clowns are comin' ... They're cannibals, some of 'em, and ...”

About that time the Snidelies would be skitterin' away like mice on polished marble.

Yeah, I know, the “killer clowns” answer might not have been “helpful,” but it did just as much good as giving S & A answers to sheeple and it was a lot more fun for me. I know you already know why we carry these cannons. But sometimes, just sometimes, we all need a little reminder. That includes me, and I've got one to share with you. One that got me where I live.

The Connor Clan has been nomadic, and we've lived in a number of places. In one of 'em, we shared a side yard and a friendship with a young woman we'll call Miss Maine, and her knee-high daughter, Little Lizzie. Miss Maine quickly bonded with the Memsaab Helena. Clearly, Helena's Amazon-warrior spirit and skill with arms impressed Miss Maine mightily, and much of their time and talk revolved around that fierce self-confidence – and guns.

As for Little Lizzie, the munchkin almost duct-taped herself to the Mem's leg. She followed Helena everywhere, but always, always, kept glancing back to check on her momma, as though she were the worried parent.

There was something guarded, something hurt and defensive about both of them, and that fearfulness extended to me for a while. They got over it, thank God. Then I sorta became a moving bunker for 'em, representing cover and protection. Finally, we learned the story.

Miss Maine had been attacked – brutally and viciously. You don't wanta know the details. As with so many such crimes, it wasn't really about sex. It was about hate and domination, cowardice and cruelty. And an even younger Little Lizzie had witnessed it. I like to think the Memsaab and I helped them to recover emotionally.

Then one day Lizzie came and snuggled into my shadow, visibly disturbed. That morning her kindergarten had put on “Frighten The Munchkins Day.” Some schools do a pretty good job of alerting children to predators – don't go with strangers and that kinda thing – but others do more harm than good. All they do is terrify the tots and give 'em no operating options. Lizzie already had twin tears glistening, ready to fall when she grabbed a tiny fistful of my trouser-leg and asked, “Connor-Sir, will you a'ways be here? Wouldja be here ... When the bad mens come?”

My knees cracked on the sidewalk as she slammed into my shoulder, shaking with sobs as the hot tears came, splashing my neck and searing my soul. “'Cause I'm a-scared!” she choked, and clutched me tighter.

Oh, GOD! Who would not - who could not – fight without fear, suffer without sense of sacrifice, and kill or die deliberately, using the most effective means available – to protect life, liberty and a Little Lizzie? For God's sake, who?

Those who would not are no better than the predators.

Maybe in Phase 4, when somebody pops The Big Question I'll just smile and say, “For life, liberty and Little Lizzie.” You guys can fill in the details.

[SHMIV]

And now, MK4, you're signature quote makes more sense. That's a good story.

When I'm asked "why", I try to answer with the KISS principle in mind (Keep It Simple, Stupid).

People don't have the attention span required to entertain a lecture.

[mk4]

And now, MK4, you're signature quote makes more sense. That's a good story.

When I'm asked "why", I try to answer with the KISS principle in mind (Keep It Simple, Stupid).

People don't have the attention span required to entertain a lecture.

a friend of mine urged me to google "little lizzie john connor" at the weekly ocdo richmond breakfast a couple weeks ago. needless to say, i found it... and it had a profound effect on me.

"For life, liberty and Little Lizzie." ----- just about as KISS as i can imagine.

[SHMIV]

"For life, liberty and Little Lizzie." ----- just about as KISS as i can imagine.

Indeed; that pretty much sums it up.

[mk4]

Interestingly, a couple weeks ago I had a heated discussion with a friend of the family about why I carried. Now to set the stage this person has a 12 year old daughter. Sweet, beautiful child. Just at the age that drives fathers, uncles and big brothers crazy with concern over who might, at a minimum, hurt her feelings, and at worst... well... let's not go there.

Anyway, I asked, what this person was prepared to do if ever faced with making the decision to defend her with any and every means available, up to and including deadly force. The answer I got was holier-than-thou, it must be God's will, you just don't understand, followed up by a contradictory 'how dare you suggest that our daughter would go undefended'. At that point there's no more to say. To be clear, I said nothing more after the first question.

Maybe I should pass Lizzie's story along...
Maybe not. I don't think would have any impact anyway.
Makes me sad, actually...

[Kreutz]

Strange you had that experience, when people find out how many daughters I have, the first thing they say is, "Got any guns"?

I tell the truth, but IMO a large bag of lye is alot better for that particualr problem then a gun.

[Reverenddel]

"Why do you feel the need to carry a gun?"

Best response, "Why do you feel the need to go unarmed?"

They ramble, they give some messed up statistics, then you say, "Okay, so if a criminal takes a pipe, and starts to beat you to death, what would you do?"

Usually that stops them, they mumble with no real answer, And I say "Exactly. Nothing. Not a thing."

Anti-gunners (No party affliation), are idealogues that cannot get passed the "Kumbayah" mode of the own screwed up logic. I have stopped associating with anti-gunners in the past couple years. They're victims. I'm not.