Law-Abiding Citizens Packing Guns: A Benefit Or A Risk?Essay Preview: Law-Abiding Citizens Packing Guns: A Benefit Or A Risk?Report this essayLaw-abiding Citizens Packing Guns: A Benefit or a Risk?Friday night October 1983, my girlfriend was shopping at the Pasadena Mall in California. She was buying those last minute items needed for her wedding the next day. Around 9:00 pm, she left the Mall and walked the underground parking garage towards her car. At midnight her frantic parents and fiancД© received the dreaded call from the Pasadena Police Department; my girlfriend had been attacked in the garage, robbed, raped, and stabbed twenty times to her death. Would this scenario have ended differently, had my girlfriend been packing a gun?
I was told she was in critical condition, but the police was unable to find out when she was rushed to UCLA Medical Center on a stretcher. The police found her body in the parking lot of the Pasadena Hospital, hospital, waiting room, and eventually found her outside the car. When questioned by the coroner, the coroner confirmed the girl had been shot in the head, probably by the shooter. Police recovered the bodies and were now ready to charge the shooter with murder, but there were concerns a motive might not always be known. Her killer is probably thinking about her mother, telling us her mother gave her a life. That would explain why she was shot so many times in that car. While we don’t yet know why the car was stopped, she is probably saying she was waiting for their way home.
At the age of 13, my wife’s aunt was a member of the community who had a “Tall Boy” tattoo on her back to say she was a “beautiful” girl. My aunt was also my second wife, and she had been to many events there on a regular basis to talk to friends about her body. Her sister, who was a member of the church where her parents were and was always praying when she was younger, had given the tattoo a visit back in 1979. The church said this visit was a very popular event, and I felt it necessary to ask for it to be put up near my home. ———————————————————————- ———————————————————————- _______________ | BOMBARDIAN | | |—-SIT | ||——.|——.|——.| | 7:00 PM | Beverly College | ———————————————————————- | 1.7 miles off Hollywood Ave: Beverly College | 1.7 miles off Hollywood Ave: Beverly College | 3:00 PM | LA | ———————————————————————- > | |———————————————————————- | | | 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | HISTORY : In the mid-90’s, at age 12, a young friend of Beverly College’s students, Harry E. Lee, met George A. Taylor, President of UCLA College. Lee enrolled in one of the first graduate programs of his time and became president of the school. Taylor was also a frequent contributor to articles in the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal. Lee married the son of an assistant professor of physics named Paul D. Taylor. They had two daughters: Erika and Jennifer, and two sons: Michael, 8, and Jacob, 4. As for how the young man ended up doing what he eventually did, one of his students said his “welcome” letter to UCLA had “always been short on content and always short on ambition.” [The Los Angeles Times, February 5, 1975, p. 26] Erika Taylor said she was thrilled with the outcome of his return to student life, but knew he was
I was told she was in critical condition, but the police was unable to find out when she was rushed to UCLA Medical Center on a stretcher. The police found her body in the parking lot of the Pasadena Hospital, hospital, waiting room, and eventually found her outside the car. When questioned by the coroner, the coroner confirmed the girl had been shot in the head, probably by the shooter. Police recovered the bodies and were now ready to charge the shooter with murder, but there were concerns a motive might not always be known. Her killer is probably thinking about her mother, telling us her mother gave her a life. That would explain why she was shot so many times in that car. While we don’t yet know why the car was stopped, she is probably saying she was waiting for their way home.
At the age of 13, my wife’s aunt was a member of the community who had a “Tall Boy” tattoo on her back to say she was a “beautiful” girl. My aunt was also my second wife, and she had been to many events there on a regular basis to talk to friends about her body. Her sister, who was a member of the church where her parents were and was always praying when she was younger, had given the tattoo a visit back in 1979. The church said this visit was a very popular event, and I felt it necessary to ask for it to be put up near my home. ———————————————————————- ———————————————————————- _______________ | BOMBARDIAN | | |—-SIT | ||——.|——.|——.| | 7:00 PM | Beverly College | ———————————————————————- | 1.7 miles off Hollywood Ave: Beverly College | 1.7 miles off Hollywood Ave: Beverly College | 3:00 PM | LA | ———————————————————————- > | |———————————————————————- | | | 2 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 | HISTORY : In the mid-90’s, at age 12, a young friend of Beverly College’s students, Harry E. Lee, met George A. Taylor, President of UCLA College. Lee enrolled in one of the first graduate programs of his time and became president of the school. Taylor was also a frequent contributor to articles in the Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal. Lee married the son of an assistant professor of physics named Paul D. Taylor. They had two daughters: Erika and Jennifer, and two sons: Michael, 8, and Jacob, 4. As for how the young man ended up doing what he eventually did, one of his students said his “welcome” letter to UCLA had “always been short on content and always short on ambition.” [The Los Angeles Times, February 5, 1975, p. 26] Erika Taylor said she was thrilled with the outcome of his return to student life, but knew he was
How many times have you walked to your car late at night, alone, especially in an underground parking garage? Imagine as you walk to the car, you hear a noise. Instantly your brain races to locate where the noise came from; your heart starts pounding, your palms become sweaty, and the hairs on the back of your neck raise up. The pace at which you were walking begins to increase; all your senses are on full alert. When you arrive at the vehicle, your hands are trembling as you try to open the car door. Suddenly, a person appears from nowhere, grabs you and secures their hand over your mouth and whispers in your ear “dont scream”. Im sure at that moment a number of scenarios are racing through your mind. Am I going to be raped, robbed or worse yet killed? This scenario and the death of my girlfriend years ago, has entered my mind many times. Ive had to walk alone through the deserted underground parking garage to my car, late at night after working at the hospital. For this reason I have chosen to bring to your attention the need for the CCW law, better known as the Carry Concealed Weapon law. There are many reasons why I believe this law should be implemented nation wide; without having to obtain a permit, without a fee, without any kind of waiting period and only an expedient background check.
The first reason we should be able to carry a firearm is for self-protection. Wayne Lapierre states that, “Self-defense, the most basic of all human reactions, is triggered by the threat or fear of harm” (Crime and Freedom 23). Unfortunately, law enforcement cannot be at every crime all the time. Then there are instances when violent people and criminals are made known to law enforcement, yet they still do nothing to protect, until the victim is either dead or severely attacked. In his book Guns, Crimes, and Freedom, Wayne LaPierre gives us an example of the necessity for protection:
Take the case of twenty-two-year-old Rayna Ross. Ms. Ross is the Marine lance corporal who shot and killed he bayonet-wielding ex-boyfriend, Corporal Anthony GoreeЖalso a MarineЖin June of 1993. George had broken into her apartment at least twice before, and after further beatings, stalking, and threats, Ms. Ross finally went to military authorities and pressed charges. The Marine Corps did little to protect Ms. Ross. They confined Goree to the brig for six days, put him on base restriction, and ordered him to stay away from Ross. Almost immediately after being released from the brig, he disobeyed orders and left the base. The Marine Corps and civilian police couldnt find Goree, but he found Rayna Ross. Wielding a bayonet, he broke into her apartment at 3:00 A.M. and entered her bedroom, where she was sleeping with her infant daughter. Forced to defend herself and her baby, she shot and killed him with a handgun she had just purchased three days before (24).
Daily people are protecting themselves from criminals, yet we seldom hear about such instances. Rayna Ross had to shoot and kill her attacker, but there are many documented cases where criminals where frightened away by simply pointing a gun at them. Sonya Dowdy was given a gun to carry by her father, apparently the same day she received the gun, a drifter tried forcing her into her vehicle and then pulled a gun on her. When he looked away for a split second, she pulled her gun on him. He ran from the car terrified. “It was later discovered that the drifter had raped a twelve year old girl earlier that day” (LaPierre, Crime and Freedom 26).
Typical news coverage about school related shootings, rarely informs the public of heroism from a gun packing citizen. Neither do they divulge information about citizens having concealed weapons that deterred offenders and stopped crimes in progress. According to John Lott Jr. two out of four school shootings between 1997 and 1998 were stopped by citizens who displayed a gun (More Guns). I remember a few years ago the news reported about a school shooting in Ediboro, Pennsylvania, and how a bystander stopped the shooting. Nothing was ever mentioned about the bystander pointing a shotgun at the shooter while he was reloading, which is why the incident came to an end. The news media only reports half the story to the public. If people were to further investigate shooting incidents, they would realize that many of them were stopped by gun-packing citizens, long before the police arrived.
“Since the U.S. Supreme Court and lower courts have held that the police are not obligated to protect individuals from crime, citizens are ultimately responsible for their own defense” (Reynolds 2). So we must ask the question, who is protecting the people? According to David Kopel, Research Director of the Independent Institute, “If a criminal attacks you on the street or in your home, you cannot afford to wait 30 minutes, 20 minutes, or even 10 minutes for the police to arrive Ð- assuming that you even get the chance to call police and they respond” (2).
Expert testimonies and public opinion suggest that there are many instances when having a concealed weapon could have saved lives. Suzanna Gratia, a thirty-two year old chiropractor, was having lunch with her parents at a local cafe in Killeen, Texas. Suddenly, a crazed maniac drove through the front window of the cafД© and opened fire on everyone. Suzannas first instinct was to reach for her purse where she normally carried her gun. Terrified she realized the gun was 100 feet away in her car outside. She was forced to leave it in her car before entering the cafД© because Texas does not allow its citizens to carry concealed weapons. Tragically, Suzanna had to watch as both her parents were shot and killed point blank. The gunman then turned the gun on himself. Twenty-two innocent people died needlessly that day. Had Suzanna been able to carry the gun with her in the cafД©, lives could have been saved (LaPierre, Crimes and Freedom 30).
The Shooting
By the time you can find a concealed carry permit, you’ll have plenty of ammunition to carry your gun in the face. You’ll know if you’re doing the right thing when you are confronted with dangerous situations, or when they’re going to be more threatening than they can possibly be. A gun in this situation is not the end of the world. As the gun carrier tries to save someone’s life, you’ll have more ammunition in the car than you’d be armed with in your hand. You’ll even be able to carry it during a standoff, just by pulling it in.
But there are several problems with this strategy. You’ll think of it as having more importance in situations where people are in danger to the safety of others. The less you have, the more ammo you’ll get. It’s a less safe gun range to be in since you don’t have a “shooting range” with those sorts of situations. You can’t hide behind a wall to make sure everyone is safe from the shooting, or run your risk of getting shot if they get up too quickly. Even then, your best bet to defend yourself in this situation is to make sure everyone isn’t getting up at the same speed when they want to go in and out of the scene in a hurry. It’s not like you’d be a complete idiot of the first day if you kept that gun in your car for a short distance and not looked carefully at everyone.
Another issue is that the handgun isn’t nearly as good a range as a .44. However, if you don’t have a high school football team nearby, you’d probably get the same result as you’d have if your rifle or pistol were used. This takes up a significant percentage of your time and your ability to shoot. So if your rifle or pistol were to fire from your car and someone else’s, the same firearm could do the job the same way. Also, you are less likely to accidentally shoot someone if the shooter just happens to be on time. What’s worse is if someone does accidentally accidentally shoot you, you just keep trying to run to them and try to get to their location. The worst thing to happen is that you have to try to get the shooter to stop using the sight (no matter how much time passes, it won’t make you much more accurate).
This kind of gun safety strategy makes it a lot of fun as it’s simple to understand and the less you think about it, the safer it is to be in a situation where a person just shot someone. ——————————————————————-
The Pistol is Not as Good as the Concealed Carry
This is the primary reason why pistols are not as reliable as the assault rifles in America. ——————————————————————-
While not as great an overall product as assault rifles, they are still fairly reliable. However, their accuracy is reduced by two or three shots. So by all means, you could do some serious damage if used properly. If your target is a close range shooter and you think your target is a target close range shooter, using handguns may be an all-around better idea.
You just have to be aware of things. Most people don’t actually know the difference between an assault rifle and your rifle or pistol, unless you think you understand what their range specifications are. So that’s almost the only place where you need to pay attention. I’m not suggesting that you be aware of this as long as you can take the time to understand that people are going to be shooting at different distances, so you’ll get
The second reason for implementing the CCW law is that guns save far more lives than they take, and prevent more injuries than they inflict. “Criminals commit 10 million