"A full 86 percent feel that casualties would have been reduced ... in recent tragedies like Newtown and Aurora if a legally-armed citizen was present."
Some cities as well as some police chiefs distrust even their law-abiding citizens to be armed - and yet wonder why so many of their citizens distrust the police in return... Rather focus on reducing injury to your citizens not spurious partisan political ideology, become even more proactive - discourage violent criminals instead!"Hey, we have fires. Take all of the fire extinguishers out of your home because if there's a fire, the firemen will just come."
But what if they don't come in time? Martin Luther King's home was always guarded by armed men and although a pastor, Dr. King was denied a concealed-carry permit in 1956. Civil rights activist Daisy Bates carried a .32-caliber handgun in her purse. "Time and again, guns have proven pivotal to the African American quest for freedom." Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas - also African-American - fully agrees. African-American statesman Frederick Douglass proposed: "a good revolver" when asked in 1850 what he believed to be the best response to the Fugitive Slave Act. Gun rights protected many blacks during the civil rights movement - and would have protected the innocent black Americans in Senator Pinckney's AME church if he hadn't voted against armed defense from illegal gun violence today..."The FBI report says that violent crime continues to fall nationwide, which might annoy liberals because gun purchases continue to rise. In the first six months of 2013 "All violent crime showed decreases... compared with the first six months of 2012," according to the FBI. Overall, violent crime in the U.S. fell by 5.4 percent. The left likes to link violent crime to the proliferation of guns in the country, so it's worth noting that the crime reductions described in the FBI report correlate with a steady increase in firearm sales."
But that's not all, it shows that even more guns cause even less crime:"Gun-ownership rates in the South (50%) far exceed gun-ownership rates in the Northeast (22%), yet violent crime is down more in the South than in the Northeast, according to the FBI statistics."
"Felons said they would avoid Kennesaw because they were afraid of armed victims who can defend themselves.''
Attorney Fred D. Bentley, Sr. concurs. As counsel for the town he's absolutely certain that guns are contributing to the peace in his now far larger city. "We have had one murder and that was with a knife," he says with a chuckle and continued "We had a warden of a penitentiary in Florida poll his prisoners after our ordinance came out, and the answer to his poll was this:
"I wouldn't hesitate for a minute to go to [gun-free] Morton Grove,
but I wouldn't step foot in [well-armed] Kennesaw."
"I was wrong, I'm going to get a permit and so is my wife. I've changed my mind. You need a way to protect yourself and your family. If more people were packing guns, it might serve as a deterrent."
"Our ordinance told our violent criminals that all our citizens are armed, it persuaded them to live somewhere else, don't attack anyone here, you'll get shot!"
– Mayor Mark Mathews, City of Kennesaw, Georgia
"The number of CPL [concealed pistol license] holders running around the city of Detroit act as a deterrent.
"Good Americans with CPLs translates into crime reduction. I learned that real quick in the state of Maine ... Maine is one of the safest places in America. Clearly, suspects knew that good Americans were armed."
– Police Chief James Craig, Detroit, Michigan
"People normally don't want to get involved in suspicious activity or crimes because they're scared of becoming a victim themselves.
"But [by Discouraging Criminals], you're much more likely to be open and sincere with police officers because you have a means to defend yourself and your family if the bad guys come looking for you."
– Police Chief Jim Koury, City of Nelson, Georgia
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