How Gun Control Really Works
Jan 22, 2013 08:56:25 #
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 wing.
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 Hungerfordmass 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
If you think this is important, please forward to everyone you know.
You had better wake up, because Obama is doing this very same thing, over here, if he can get it done.
And there are stupid people in Congress and on the street that will go right along with him.
The UN Small Arms Treaty that Hilary is negotiating would take away our 2nd Amendment rights.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just remember - the reason the Japanese didn't invade the USA is because they knew that most
of the citizens were armed
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 wing.
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 Hungerfordmass 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
If you think this is important, please forward to everyone you know.
You had better wake up, because Obama is doing this very same thing, over here, if he can get it done.
And there are stupid people in Congress and on the street that will go right along with him.
The UN Small Arms Treaty that Hilary is negotiating would take away our 2nd Amendment rights.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Just remember - the reason the Japanese didn't invade the USA is because they knew that most
of the citizens were armed
Jan 22, 2013 09:17:05 #
Okay, you're entitled to opinions but that nonsense about the Japanese being afraid of guns is an insult to our WWII veterans. The Japanese didn't seem to be afraid of guns at Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Guam, Hong Kong and Wake Island, plus a hundred other places where they fought our brave and well trained army. But they wouldn't dare invade the USA because Skeeter bought himself a new 22 to kill squirrels with.
Please!! Don't repeat this stuff, it just destroys your argument.
Please!! Don't repeat this stuff, it just destroys your argument.
Jan 22, 2013 09:31:06 #
Frank T wrote:
Okay, you're entitled to opinions but that nonsense about the Japanese being afraid of guns is an insult to our WWII veterans. The Japanese didn't seem to be afraid of guns at Guadalcanal, Iwo Jima, Guam, Hong Kong and Wake Island, plus a hundred other places where they fought our brave and well trained army. But they wouldn't dare invade the USA because Skeeter bought himself a new 22 to kill squirrels with.
Please!! Don't repeat this stuff, it just destroys your argument.
Please!! Don't repeat this stuff, it just destroys your argument.
You might want to know it was the US Marines not the Army that fought the Japanese! Now who is insulting our WWII Vets!
What about the rest of the post? Do yoiu take issue with the information about how guns were first registered and then the registration was used to collect them?
Jan 22, 2013 09:36:06 #
Mr. Martin's story is this: He lay in wait for burglars, got them to get in close range and waited until their back was turned to kill one of them. His license to own and operate a gun had been revoked, as well. The jury was instructed that he would be not guilty if he was well and truly protecting himself, and that jury found him guilty of murder.
The rest of the screed is equally removed from the truth. And if Raider Fan had ever read the UN Small Arms Treaty he would realize that it has nothing to do with our 2nd amendment rights.
When Raider Fan stops boxing shadows (and I know that's a hard thing to do because when you box shadows, you always win) and decides to become informed, he'll be a better citizen and he'll be happier. I wish him well on that journey. :thumbup:
The rest of the screed is equally removed from the truth. And if Raider Fan had ever read the UN Small Arms Treaty he would realize that it has nothing to do with our 2nd amendment rights.
When Raider Fan stops boxing shadows (and I know that's a hard thing to do because when you box shadows, you always win) and decides to become informed, he'll be a better citizen and he'll be happier. I wish him well on that journey. :thumbup:
Jan 22, 2013 10:04:20 #
Curtis_Lowe wrote:
quote=Frank T Okay, you're entitled to opinions b... (show quote)
I didn't respond to the rest of his post because it's mostly just silly ramblings.
I don't know why you would think I insulted our Vets because I used the wrong branch of the service and I certainly didn't mean any disrespect. However, this ridiculous story about the Japanese not invading America because we had guns is just an NRA wet dream
Jan 22, 2013 10:31:15 #
Frank T wrote:
quote=Curtis_Lowe quote=Frank T Okay, you're ent... (show quote)
If you know any Marines you could ask them, they are pretty proud bunch. The Army slogged accross Europe and Norht Africa, it was the Marines that did the pacific on the Islands.
There is generally more to the story than a person post. The cultures are different here (the US) compared to UK or Oz for that matter.
I have fireamrs, I am REGISTERED and have a permit to Concealed Carry. Never had to use it thank goodness, but should the occasion present itself, I would hate to feel that I did not have a right to defend myself or loved ones.
Jan 22, 2013 16:03:24 #
Jan 22, 2013 18:17:00 #
Jan 23, 2013 07:15:59 #
It would never happen here in America:
Prayers taken out of our school
Abortion on demand
Homosexual marriages
African American elected as President(twice)
Total Gun Control
Not in America
Prayers taken out of our school
Abortion on demand
Homosexual marriages
African American elected as President(twice)
Total Gun Control
Not in America
Jan 23, 2013 07:46:38 #
In Baltimore County, MD some years ago two businessmen brothers had their warehosue broken into numbeous times - it had become habitual and in a patern.
They stayed one night with shotguns. Confronted the burglars, shot one, were arrested and charged with some felony, went to trial and the jury found them innocent. Sad part is the expense they had when they need not have been charged to begin with.
They stayed one night with shotguns. Confronted the burglars, shot one, were arrested and charged with some felony, went to trial and the jury found them innocent. Sad part is the expense they had when they need not have been charged to begin with.
Jan 23, 2013 08:45:07 #
Curtis_Lowe wrote:
quote=Frank T quote=Curtis_Lowe quote=Frank T O... (show quote)
WOW, US Marines not the army fought the Japanese! Now who is insulting OUR WWII Vets???? I guess that would be YOU!! Was there NO Air Force? Was there no Navy? From your reply I would Guess that you are a Marine? Does a Marine become a better American Vet than any other American soldier regardless what branch of the Military that they are in?
YOU INSULATED the Army by saying "The Army SLOGGED accross Europe and Norht Africa" (your spelling not mine). I would only guess that all the Army soldiers that died was only because they were SLOGGING across Europe! Yet they ARE STILL American Vets and don't need to be belittled for their Patriotism and standing up and fighting for this nation.
Were all those flying planes and shooting down the Japanese Zeros all Marines? Did the Air Force sit back and let the Marines fly their planes. And the Navy sinking all them Japanese ships. Were they all Marines on them Destroyers and submarines?
You say "If you know any Marines you could ask them, they are pretty proud bunch." So are you trying to say that the Army, Navy and Air Force are NOT???
You just hit the right nerve with me. Yes I did serve in the military and was in a war zone called Viet Nam. What branch was I in? Does it really matter? Is one better than the other? Isn't the same purpose of what ever branch you are in to achieve the same goal of protecting Our Nation?
When one puts on Any Uniform for this Country we all become brothers fighting for a common goal. Why do some people feel that one branch is better than the other? Just ask any of our enemies that have died if being killed by a Marine was better than being killed by the Army, Air Force or Navy? The end result is the same! One dead enemy.
Jan 23, 2013 08:46:49 #
tiger1640 wrote:
quote=Curtis_Lowe quote=Frank T quote=Curtis_Lo... (show quote)
Wow two post!
I did go back and do some additional research and during WWII the US Army did serve in the Pacific Theater. Mostly the Philipeans, Austrailia, the Aleutions islands and most likly others.
THANKS FOR YOUR SERVICE IN VIETNAM, much different type of war that WWII. The Cause was not clear, people were drafted that did not want to go, dieing and suffering was massive, and in the end no real resolution, what a mess.
The point I originally made got lost in your reaction, that is a shame.
I still say that most folks I know do care about what branch of the service and feel enormise pride in the accomplishments of thier branch if not thier unit.
And it was the US Marines that was the point of the spear in the Pacific theater, well them and the US Navy!
Thanks again for your service.
Jan 23, 2013 08:54:44 #
Sorry about the repost...somehow bad internet connection..
Maybe admin can delete the repost. Sorry again
Maybe admin can delete the repost. Sorry again
Jan 23, 2013 09:22:37 #
tiger1640 wrote:
Sorry about the repost...somehow bad internet connection..
Maybe admin can delete the repost. Sorry again
Maybe admin can delete the repost. Sorry again
No need to, you got steamed and wanted results.
No American is a better American than any other!
If you did not feel attached and that you bleonged to those that you seved with, I am sorry for that.
Anyone that serves, truly serves, is the best kind of American. Coast Guard to Local Police if you serve and do not do it for personal gain as some in Government do, then my hat is off to you. All Americans should be Proud of all of those who served.
Some/many did not feel appreciated during the Vietnam era and for that I am truly sorry. I was one who was supportive and proud of thier service and was sickened by the boos and jeers when our guys came back.
good luck to you!
Jan 23, 2013 09:38:38 #
Curtis_Lowe wrote:
quote=tiger1640 Sorry about the repost...somehow ... (show quote)
"No need to, you got steamed and wanted results."
I was Not that steamed, just a bad internet connection.
"If you did not feel attached and that you bleonged to those that you seved with, I am sorry for that."
I NEVER said that I felt unattached! I accepted all those I served with regardless of what branch they were in.
"Some/many did not feel appreciated during the Vietnam era and for that I am truly sorry. I was one who was supportive and proud of thier service and was sickened by the boos and jeers when our guys came back."
Personally I did NOT care what others thought of what when on in Vietnam. I was there and saw something that those who never went there will never understand. Once I read somewhere...Two men look out the jail cell window, one sees the mud and dirt and the other sees the stars and moon...Most people will only see what they want to and unless you release what others want you to see you will never see what is really there.
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