Y'know, in old days, if there was a shooting at the Empire State Building, kids would be looking for Doc Savage.
These days, we have Mayor Mike playing shamey-shamey, while some gunnies have averred this is no time to cast aspersions on the strict firearms laws of NYC and the State of New York.
Balderdash! Balder-double-em-dash, in fact, of the highest water and the greatest magnitude. This is precisely the time to point out that, thanks to "common-sense gun laws," the shooter could count on having nothing but defenseless victims, plus whatever overworked and underpracticed NYPD personnel happened to be nearby.
Do I know for sure that if NYC had the same enlightened firearms laws as, say, Vermont or at least Indiana, the killer would have been stopped faster and before he did as much harm? No; I cannot. But I do know that the laws that are currently in place ensured that his victim and bystanders didn't stand a chance. Pen-knives and bare hands against a .45? Mayor Bloomberg, their blood is on your hands. (ETA: Given that most if not all harm to bystanders was at the hands of police, perhaps my focus should shift from "citizens disarmed by law" to "lack of a viable shooting culture," given that most NYPD officers shoot no more quals/practice than is required. In either case, local/state law must shoulder a portion of the blame.)
Dammit, let's have fewer tragedies, and a fewer deaths when they occur: Mister Mayor, put down that axe-handle and step aside from the gun-store doorway. Power to the people!
Update
3 days ago
6 comments:
Not just yes, HELL YES.
fyi NYPD has some competent shooters
you will find them in special units as the Emergency Service Division and special units of the Detective Division
The rank and file of the patrol force
leave much to be desired there is a great deal of institutional ignorance and arrogance with regards to training and usage of firearms if there is a regrettable incident there is a tendency to pull the wagons in a circle as opposed to try to find out what went wrong NYPD takes great umbrage at anyone giving them good advice and counsel particularly civilian marksmen whom they detest and assert "no one except NYPD should have fierarms CASE CLOSED" as with most thing in NYC its VERY political there will be the usual suspects to be dealt with but dont expect any major changes from them
by the way most of the cops before they went on the job had no experience with firearms blame this on the fact that NYC High Schools and Collages have not had Rifle and Pistol Teams for the past half century and civilian R&P clubs are few far between and very expensive
public venues for shooting are non existent and the city has done its
utmost to make the lawful ownership by responsible citizens nearly impossible
when the police and the government
cannot or will not decearn between the honest citizen going about their lawful occasions and the criminal
something is very wrong
The bad guy hits his intended victim with all five shots. The NYPD responds by shooting 9 bystanders. Great job, assholes.
The bad guy hits ONLY his intended victim with all five shots. The NYPD responds by shooting 9 bystanders. Great job, assholes.
Fixed that for you Anon! ;-)
I will never understand how it got so upside-down. If the Government serves at the whim of the people, then it seems inherent that the Government cannot exercise any power that the people do not have. Consequently the Government can not have the power to remove any rights from the people simply because it makes their job easier or safer. They have forgotten that the police are simply serving the function of enforcing the laws set forth by the Government, supposedly the laws desired by the citizens, but even those are controlled by the limits of the Constitution. THE ONLY TIME THAT A GOVERNMENT CAN REMOVE A RIGHT IS WHEN THEY ARE DEALING WITH SUBJECTS, NOT CITIZENS.
Late to the party, I know. But here's something for the Stat Geeks. In those States that have "Shall Issue" CHPs, it seems that the National Average is ROUGHLY running about 3-5% of those eligible have a CHP. How many carry on a Daily Basis is unknown to me. (Hat Tip: I'm getting my Stats from the Good Work Sean D. is doing down in NC, BTW).
But in NYC, under it's Unconstitutional Sullivan Act and other Laws, the only people who seem to be allowed to carry are Gooberment Employees, Private Security Firms,and a minuscule amount of the Politically Connected. Goblins and NutJobs, of course don't give a Damn about the Law.
Now, would that mean that if a Legally Armed Citizen was present, the Shooting could have been a lot less Harmful? I don't know. But I do know that a 5% increase in the Odds for the Good Guys is a lot better that a 100% chance for the Bad Guys.
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