Author Topic: WI - Citizens can be trusted with their own safety  (Read 370 times)

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Offline FWiedner

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WI - Citizens can be trusted with their own safety
« on: November 27, 2005, 10:28:06 PM »
Wisconsin citizens can be trusted with their own safety

By Dave Workman

Recently, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reported that the city had recorded 113 homicides, and there are still six weeks to go in the year.

That's a grim statistic in a city of approximately 583,600 residents. So, it might appear understandable that people like Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle, Democrats in the Legislature and some police officials are not too keen about legislation that would make it possible for Wisconsin citizens to carry concealed handguns.

That is, until one does a quick comparison with another city of roughly the same size and social makeup. Welcome to Seattle, Wash., a city of approximately 571,500 people. At the same time Milwaukee had posted a body count of 113 homicides, Seattle had logged a mere 27.

Aside from the vast disparity in the number of homicides in Milwaukee and Seattle, there is one more big difference. Washington residents can carry concealed handguns, and a lot of them do, more than 230,000 at last count. The Evergreen State has had a concealed carry statute for more than 50 years and a state constitutional right to bear arms that is rock solid. An armed Washington citizen might wonder why Wisconsin's citizens are not allowed the means to defend themselves.

That's a fair question to ask Jim Doyle, Democrats in the Legislature and any sheriff or police chief who opposes concealed carry, because that amounts to being opposed to a person's inherent right of self-preservation. And the comparison certainly pokes holes in the argument that more guns cause more violence.

In Washington, concealed carry works. Our state Supreme Court has twice affirmed that under our self-defense statutes there is "no duty to retreat" from criminal attack. Florida's gun control zealots launched a barrage of hysteria earlier this year when the Sunshine State passed a law that strengthened self-defense there, but all the dire predictions of blood in the streets have proven false.

And that's been the pattern in states that have adopted shall-issue concealed carry laws over the past 15 years. Every alarmist argument trotted out by opponents of personal protection was bogus. Instead, according to various studies, violent crime rates actually go down in places where citizens are armed. In many cases, sheriffs and politicians who had opposed these laws changed their opinions after the statutes had been in place for six months or a year. Had it been any other way, we would have known it.

Sensible legislation proposed by Sen. Dave Zien and Rep. Scott Gunderson deserves to become law, because Wisconsin residents deserve to fully enjoy their rights under a very matter-of-fact 1998 state constitutional amendment that says: "The people have the right to keep and bear arms for security, defense, hunting, recreation or any other lawful purpose."

There's nothing in there about "subject to the social prejudice of the governor." This right is not subordinate to the whims of anti-gun lawmakers or apprehensive police officials.

I've found that the overwhelming majority of street cops around the country are not so distrustful of their fellow citizens, and that in reality, the legally-armed citizen is often the strongest supporter of good law enforcement.

Wisconsin citizens don't need to earn a right they already have. They don't need to prove how responsible they can be. But the governor and his allies need to explain why they don't trust the people who elected them and pay their salaries.

http://www.sheboygan-press.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051127/SHE06/511270364/1109/SHEopinion

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