The Right Of Self-Defense

2 Pages 543 Words

More than a decade ago a controversial “concealed-carry” law went into effect in Florida.
People feared this would quickly lead to disaster and that blood would literally be running
in the streets. Today, it is safe to say that those dire predictions were completely
unfounded.
According to the Department of Justice statistics 87% of violent crimes occur outside
the home. Despite the fact that Americans possess 70,000,000 handguns, you are not
armed if you don’t have a weapon at hand when, and where, needed.
Even assuming that the victim can “see it coming” and has the time and ability to call the
police, Dept of Justice Statistics reveal that they can get to the scene within 5 minutes
about 28% of the time. Call for a cop, call for an ambulance and call for a pizza. See
which shows up first.
From 1984-1992, the city of Los Angeles refused to issue a single permit, a city of
3,500,000 people 50 year old outspoken, Jewish Liberal man in Denver, was outside his
home when a volley of thirteen bullets from a MAC-10 machine gun killed him in June of
1984. It was reported by the Denver Post that this man was Alan Berg-famous Denver
radio talker for whom people would hang patiently on “hold” for many minutes, waiting to
be insulted by the acknowledged master of the craft.
In Denver, Police Chief Ari Zavaras granted a mere 45 permits in a city with a
population of 500,000. The detective who administered Zavaras’ program explained, “Just
because you fear for your life is not a compelling reason to have a permit.” Among those
denied a permit in Denver was Alan Berg. He had received several death threats and
applied for a carry permit. He was shot and killed by white supremacists.
A 1997 study by John Loot And David Mustard “Crime, Deterrence and
Right-to-Carry Concealed Handguns,” provides significant criminological support for the
claim that, far from increasing bloodshed, s...