We tried to warn Sheridan folks before you had your Getti era. We had already experienced this phenomenon and the women of the neighborhood felt pity for you and what was surely to be coming your way. Sort of like calling the next town to warn about a tornado headed their way.
The Getti's of the world however do not represent legitimate rights to "bear arms". To even remotely equate legitimate gun ownership with "a gangbanger packin' a piece" is similar to equating a pharmacist with a drug dealer. What Barb has missed is that the " gangbangers" are engaged in a criminal activity. Only if the "vigil anti" is illegally carrying the weapon is it criminal. Even the "nut cases" have not been allowed to carry guns on patrol to my knowledge. Though given the level of crime on Franklin and the escalating violence with it, coupled with the lack of police resources to protect citizens, it may not be so far fetched to expect "Citizens" to start wanting to protect themselves and their families. Several years ago a potential rapist broke into my home just after my wife had turned the lights off at 10:30 in the evening. This person was strikingly similar to a drug dealer who was upset that I was bothering his "trade". I am quite sure if she had not had a gun and the ability to scream "Do you want to get shot?" that bad things would have happened to both her, and possibly, the three year old sleeping in the other room. As it was he jumped back through the window he had forced open and fled. I might add he never returned. Even a woman who is eight months pregnant is very threatening with a shotgun in her hands. If my son had ran on to a porch near Bloomington Avenue and was cowering while a gun waving "Gangbanger" agitatedly paced back and forth, I would feel much better knowing the adult inside possessed a gun. The problem with Barb's logic is that she feels that the police are responsible for, let alone capable of, protecting citizens. The reason the "gangbangers" take over communities is that they believe that only they and the police are armed, and that the police are either not going to get there in time or be able to do anything if they get there. Barb needs to ask a drug dealer who he is more afraid of, a police call or an irate citizen. Most of us already know the answer. So either we need a whole lot more police resources allocated to troubled neighborhoods, (with a much more aggressive posture), or we need "citizen" to be allowed to defend themselves. When I, with other neighbors like Robert Cook, have to sit up all night to protect a family in the neighborhood from gun tot'en "Gangbangers" because the police do not have resources to do so, and when I call 911 on twenty five occasions in one afternoon about one block with out the drug trade being even slowed down , then it is time to start asking what is the next step. Jim Graham, Ventura Village ----- Original Message ----- From: Barbara Lickness <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: Pamela Taylor <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>; <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2002 1:04 AM Subject: Re: [Mpls] List Member on the News > I think the important point to remember in this story > is that "arms" in anyone's hands are dangerous. > > The gun is no safer in the vigil anti's hands than it > is in the hands of the criminal. In either hands, it > is capable of the same destruction. > > I wouldn't feel any safer in Minneapolis with some > looney "cop wanna be" (and I have met many of them in > my line of work) walking the street bearing arms under > the guise of protecting the neighborhood than I would > with a gangbanger packin' a piece. > > I have to admit that I've employed some pretty > creative strategies to target crackhouses and > crackheads in my time, but, none of them ever involved > the use of a weapon. > > I remember the one thing I was the most grateful for > after our burglary was the fact that neither the > burglar nor my husband had a gun. The outcome would > most likely have been a whole lot different if there > had been a weapon involved. > > Barb Lickness > Whittier > > ===== > "Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, > it's the only thing that ever has." -- Margaret Mead > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! - Official partner of 2002 FIFA World Cup > http://fifaworldcup.yahoo.com > _______________________________________ > Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy > Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: > http://e-democracy.org/mpls > _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
