From: "Dr Chris R. Tame", [EMAIL PROTECTED] >http://www.sierratimes.com/archive/waters/2001/jan/edrw011701.htm >The Self Defense Files: >Gimme Back My Bullets >published: 01.17.01 > > > In most states, they'd at least have had a chance. > > The seven victims in the recent Wakefield murders were sitting > ducks. As anti-gun Governor Paul Celluci said, "I don't know how > you can get any tougher [gun laws]" than in Massachusetts. > Translate that to mean that the victims were helpless because of > the state's restrictive gun laws. > > When "Mucko" McDermott took three guns into Edgewater Technologies, > he broke nearly a dozen laws. And that's before he even started > shooting. > > A fact often ignored by gun control zealots is that crooks and > wackos don't obey the law. But in states where laws are more > favorable to gun-owners, thousands of Americans use guns each year > to ward off robbers, rapists, burglars, stalkers, and murderers. > > Here are a few recent examples. > > On January 5, 2001, two teenagers walked into a crowded hair supply > store in Indianapolis. Wearing masks and brandishing a .40-caliber > handgun, they announced that they were holding up the place. The > owner, Thomas N. Williams, pulled his own revolver and fired a > single shot at the thugs. While one robber fled, the owner held the > second at gun-point until police arrived. No charges were filed > against the storeowner. A police spokesman said, "He was in fear of > his life, having a handgun pointed at him during a robbery." Had > the business-owner not had a gun, this could have become another > massacre with the criminals shooting employees and customers. > > Seventy-year-old locksmith Ephraim Briggs, owner of Chuck's > Locksmith in Richmond, Virginia, was hard at work the day before > Christmas. A customer came in and asked Briggs to make a key. As > the locksmith turned around to reach for a blank, the customer > picked up the fifty-pound key-cutting machine and smashed it down > on the business-owner's head. He then ordered Briggs to give him > money. The shopowner, bleeding from a gash in the back of his head, > handed up his wallet to the robber. But as the man reached for the > billfold, he dropped the key-cutting machine to the floor. Briggs > used the distraction to pull out a .38-caliber handgun and shoot > the robber. The wounded man was quickly arrested. Briggs, a Korean > War veteran, was back at work the day after Christmas. "What > happened is not going to bother me at all," he said. "I'm just > going on about my business." > > On the night of November 21, 2000, Jean Zamarripa was alone in her > Colorado Springs, Colorado home when she heard a noise in her > backyard. The widow turned on her outside lights, but couldn't see > where the noise was coming from. "Who's out there?" she asked. > Suddenly a man, later identified as Anthony Peralez, rammed his > shoulder against the dead-bolted back door, ripping it from its > hinges. Zamarripa, who had armed herself with a handgun, emptied it > into the intruder. She reloaded, then called police. Peralez ran > out to his car, but wrecked it as he was fleeing the scene. He was > taken to the hospital for gunshot wounds to the chest, then > arrested. The wounded man was suspected of being the serial rapist > who had been preying on elderly women in the same neighborhood for > several months. A police spokesman said, "[Zamarripa] did > everything right and kept her wits about her. She's a hero not > because she shot someone, but because of all the clear thinking and > everything she did prior to the shooting." The shooting fell under > Colorado's "Make My Day" law and no charges were filed against the > homeowner. > > On November 29, 2000, three armed robbers burst into Cash America > Pawn Shop in Orlando, Florida. According to the Orlando Sentinel, > "Employees said they were afraid for their lives when the suspects > drew guns on them." There were also four customers in the store, > including a woman with her baby. Employees and customers were > herded into a walk-in safe while the bandits looted the store of > cash and jewelry. But as they attempted to escape, the nervous > driver made the mistake of colliding with a car driven by Eliseo > Nunez. When the robbers kept going, Nunez, a medical assistant, > gave chase, calling 911 on his cell phone. Suddenly, the suspects > pulled over, jumped from the car, and aimed several weapons at > Nunez. Before they could get off a single round, the motorist > opened fire. The robbers panicked and fled on foot. Deputies, who > used police dogs to track down the crooks, hailed Nunez as a hero, > and refused to charge him with any crime. > > Inevitably, lawsuits against Edgewater Technologies and gun > manufacturers and the gunshops that sold McDermott his weapons will > flow into the courts. I hope the victims' relatives will save a few > rounds of lawsuits for Governor Celluci and the cowardly > Massachusetts politicians who took away the employees' right to > defend themselves. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ____________________________________________________________ T O P I C A -- Learn More. Surf Less. Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Topics You Choose. http://www.topica.com/partner/tag01
