Once Again, A Gun Saved Lives
By Chuck Baldwin
February 16, 2007
This column is archived at
http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2007/cbarchive_20070216.html
This past Monday night, a gunman walked into a popular Salt Lake City mall
and opened fire with a shotgun. The trench coat-clad gunman was heavily
armed and intended to kill as many people as he could. He killed five people
before being challenged by an armed off-duty police officer. Once again, a
gun saved lives.
Salt Lake City's police chief said, "There is no question that his [the
off-duty policeman's] quick actions saved the lives of numerous other
people."
According to press reports, "Ken Hammond, an off-duty officer from Ogden,
north of Salt Lake City, jumped up from his seat at a restaurant after
hearing gunfire and cornered the gunman, exchanging fire with him until
other officers arrived." The miscreant was killed in the ensuing shootout.
Mr. Hammond said, "I feel like I was there and did what I had to do."
The mall was crowded with Valentine's Day shoppers. Doubtless, had the
off-duty officer not confronted the gunman, the death toll would have been
staggering.
The incident in Salt Lake City is merely the latest example of how an armed
citizen saved the lives of innocent people. Professor Gary Kleck of the
College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University has
meticulously documented that handguns are used to resist criminals on more
than two million occasions annually-far more often than they are used by
criminals to commit crimes.
More often than not, the citizen-defender is not even required to discharge
his or her weapon, as the mere sight of a firearm is enough to thwart many
potential acts of criminality. I can personally attest to at least two
occasions when the display of a handgun by a member of my immediate family
prompted a would-be criminal to quickly leave the scene.
In addition, noted author and gun rights advocate Don Kates reminds us that
Professor John Lott's book, The Bias Against Guns, states categorically that
at least three American massacres have been stopped by civilians with guns.
Make that four now.
At last count, forty states have some sort of concealed carry law. Two
states, Vermont and Alaska, do not even require their citizens to obtain a
concealed carry permit in order to legally carry a concealed weapon. It is
no coincidence that the states and cities that deny their citizens the right
to legally carry a handgun for self defense have the highest crime rates.
Just ask yourself: Would I rather take a midnight walk in downtown
Montpelier or in downtown Chicago? It is an undeniable fact that an armed
citizenry is much safer than a disarmed citizenry.
With Nancy Pelosi and her gun-grabbing Democrats now in charge of Congress,
and with neocon President G. W. Bush already on record as supporting Bill
Clinton's gun ban, it is doubly important that the American people
diligently defend their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Not
only does safety on America's streets depend on it, so does liberty itself.
(c) Chuck Baldwin
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By Chuck Baldwin
February 16, 2007
This column is archived at
http://chuckbaldwinlive.com/c2007/cbarchive_20070216.html
This past Monday night, a gunman walked into a popular Salt Lake City mall
and opened fire with a shotgun. The trench coat-clad gunman was heavily
armed and intended to kill as many people as he could. He killed five people
before being challenged by an armed off-duty police officer. Once again, a
gun saved lives.
Salt Lake City's police chief said, "There is no question that his [the
off-duty policeman's] quick actions saved the lives of numerous other
people."
According to press reports, "Ken Hammond, an off-duty officer from Ogden,
north of Salt Lake City, jumped up from his seat at a restaurant after
hearing gunfire and cornered the gunman, exchanging fire with him until
other officers arrived." The miscreant was killed in the ensuing shootout.
Mr. Hammond said, "I feel like I was there and did what I had to do."
The mall was crowded with Valentine's Day shoppers. Doubtless, had the
off-duty officer not confronted the gunman, the death toll would have been
staggering.
The incident in Salt Lake City is merely the latest example of how an armed
citizen saved the lives of innocent people. Professor Gary Kleck of the
College of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Florida State University has
meticulously documented that handguns are used to resist criminals on more
than two million occasions annually-far more often than they are used by
criminals to commit crimes.
More often than not, the citizen-defender is not even required to discharge
his or her weapon, as the mere sight of a firearm is enough to thwart many
potential acts of criminality. I can personally attest to at least two
occasions when the display of a handgun by a member of my immediate family
prompted a would-be criminal to quickly leave the scene.
In addition, noted author and gun rights advocate Don Kates reminds us that
Professor John Lott's book, The Bias Against Guns, states categorically that
at least three American massacres have been stopped by civilians with guns.
Make that four now.
At last count, forty states have some sort of concealed carry law. Two
states, Vermont and Alaska, do not even require their citizens to obtain a
concealed carry permit in order to legally carry a concealed weapon. It is
no coincidence that the states and cities that deny their citizens the right
to legally carry a handgun for self defense have the highest crime rates.
Just ask yourself: Would I rather take a midnight walk in downtown
Montpelier or in downtown Chicago? It is an undeniable fact that an armed
citizenry is much safer than a disarmed citizenry.
With Nancy Pelosi and her gun-grabbing Democrats now in charge of Congress,
and with neocon President G. W. Bush already on record as supporting Bill
Clinton's gun ban, it is doubly important that the American people
diligently defend their Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms. Not
only does safety on America's streets depend on it, so does liberty itself.
(c) Chuck Baldwin
NOTE TO THE READER:
This email editorial cannot be considered Spam as long as the sender
includes contact information and a method of removal. To be removed, see
instructions below.
To subscribe to these columns, click on this link and follow the
instructions: http://00799fb.netsolhost.com/cwsubx.html
To unsubscribe, click on this link and follow the instructions:
http://00799fb.netsolhost.com/cwunsubx.html
Chuck Baldwin's commentaries are copyrighted and may be republished,
reposted, or emailed providing the person or organization doing so does not
charge for subscriptions or advertising and that the column is copied intact
and that full credit is given and that Chuck's web site address is included.
Editors or Publishers of publications charging for subscriptions or
advertising who want to run these columns must contact Chuck Baldwin for
permission. Radio or television Talk Show Hosts interested in scheduling an
interview with Chuck should contact chuck@chuckbaldwinlive.com.
When responding, please include your name, city and state. And, unless
otherwise requested, all respondents will be added to the Chuck Wagon
address list.
Please visit Chuck's web site at http://www.chuckbaldwinlive.com.