Some similar psychology must be at work in the UK regarding their insane gun/self-defense laws. Check out this op/ed in the Telegraph (via Samizdata):
In recent years governments have even felt it necessary to prevent the public from defending themselves with imitation weapons. In 1994 an English home-owner, armed with a toy gun, managed to detain two burglars who had broken into his house while he called the police. When the officers arrived, they arrested the home-owner for using an imitation gun to threaten or intimidate.The logic seems to be that if you manage to best the intruder, then you have used too much force. Is there some socialist values system at work where all gain is ill-gotten and therefore burglary is merely an alternative wealth redistribution system?
I believe it was Mark Steyn who wondered how long it would be before British homeowners started burying burglars in the backyard instead of calling the police. Seriously, the government is just begging for vigilantism. We had an analogous situation here in Missouri several years ago about which a book was written:
Ken Rex McElroy terrorized the residents of several counties in northwestern Missouri for a score of years. He raped young girls and brutalized them after they went to live with him or even married him; he shot at least two men; he stole cattle and hogs, and burned down the houses of some who interfered with his criminal activities. Thanks to the expert efforts of his lawyer and the pro-defendant bias of state laws, he served no more than a few days in jail, the author shows. In 1981, sentenced for the shooting of a popular grocer and free on bail, he was killed by the men of Skidmore, the center of his felonies; they closed ranks against all attempts to identify those who had pulled the triggers. Written by a first-time author, this is an engrossing, credible examination of the way vigilante action can take over when the law appears to be powerless.Ya think?
No comments:
Post a Comment