Monday, October 5, 2009

Think this can't happen in America?

You're sound asleep when you hear a thump outside your bedroom door. Half-awake, and nearly paralyzed with fear, you hear muffled whispers. At least two people have broken into your house and are moving your way. With your heart pumping, you reach down beside your bed and pick up your shotgun. You rack a shell into the chamber, then inch toward the door and open it. In the darkness, you make out two shadows.One holds something that looks like a crowbar. When the intruder brandishes it as if to strike, you raise the shotgun and fire. The blast knocks both thugs to the floor. One writhes and screams while the second man crawls to the front door and lurches outside. As you pick up the telephone to call police, you know you're in trouble.

In your country, most guns were outlawed years before, and the few that are privately owned are so stringently regulated as to make them useless. Yours was never registered. Police arrive and inform you that the second burglar has died. They arrest you for First Degree Murder and Illegal Possession of a Firearm. When you talk to your attorney, he tells you not to worry: authorities will probably plea the case down to manslaughter."What kind of sentence will I get?" you ask."Only ten-to-twelve years," he replies, as if that's nothing. "Behave yourself, and you'll be out in seven.

"The next day, the shooting is the lead story in the local newspaper. Somehow, you're portrayed as an eccentric vigilante while the two men you shot are represented as choirboys. Their friends and relatives can't find an unkind word to say about them. Buried deep down in the article, authorities acknowledge that both "victims" have been arrested numerous times. But the next day's headline says it all: "Lovable Rogue Son Didn't Deserve to Die." The thieves have been transformed from career criminals into Robin Hood-type pranksters. As the days wear on, the story takes wings. The national media picks it up, then the international media. The surviving burglar has become a folk hero.Your attorney says the thief is preparing to sue you, and he'll probably win. The media publishes reports that your home has been burglarized several times in the past and that you've been critical of local police for their lack of effort in apprehending the suspects. After the last break-in, you told your neighbor that you would be prepared next time. The District Attorney uses this to allege that you were lying in wait for the burglars.

A few months later, you go to trial. The charges haven't been reduced, as your lawyer had so confidently predicted. When you take the stand, your anger at the injustice of it all works against you. Prosecutors paint a picture of you as a mean, vengeful man. It doesn't take long for the jury to convict you of all charges.The judge sentences you to life in prison.

This case really happened.On August 22, 1999, Tony Martin of Emneth, Norfolk, England, killed one burglar and wounded a second. In April, 2000, he was convicted of murder and sentenced to a life term.All of Martin's neighbors had been robbed numerous times, and several elderly people were severely injured in beatings by young thugs who had no fear of the consequences. Martin himself, a collector of antiques, had seen most of his collection trashed or stolen by burglars.An appeal was considered in October 2001 by three senior judges. Submissions by the defense that Martin had fired in self defense were rejected by the appeal court. However, on this occasion the defense submitted evidence that Martin suffered paranoid personality disorder specifically directed at anyone intruding into his home. This submission was accepted by the Court of Appeal and, on the grounds of diminished responsibility, Martin's murder conviction was replaced by manslaughter carrying a five year sentence, and his ten year sentence for wounding one of the burglars was reduced to three years. These sentences were to run concurrently. Martin was imprisoned in Highpoint Prison, Suffolk. When he became eligible for parole and early release, the Parole Board rejected his application without stating a reason. The chairman of the parole board, in an interview with The Times, described Martin as "a very dangerous man" who may still believe his action had been right. Martin challenged the decision in the High Court, where the parole board's decision was upheld. Probation officers on Martin's case said there was an "unacceptable risk" that Martin might again react with excessive force if other would-be burglars intruded on his Norfolk farm.

On 28 July 2003, Martin was released after serving three years of his five-year sentence, the maximum period for which he could be held following good behavior.Also during 2003, the wounded burglar received an estimated £5,000 of legal aid to sue Martin for loss of earnings due to the injury he sustained. However, the case was thrown into doubt when photographs were published in The Sun suggesting that his injuries were not as serious as had been claimed. He later dropped the case when Martin agreed to drop a counter-claim.

How did it become a crime to defend one's own life in the once great British Empire?It started with the Pistols Act of 1903. This seemingly reasonable law forbade selling pistols to minors or felons and established that handgun sales were to be made only to those who had a license. The Firearms Act of 1920 expanded licensing to include not only handguns but all firearms except shotguns.Later laws passed in 1953 and 1967 outlawed the carrying of any weapon by private citizens and mandated the registration of all shotguns.Momentum for total handgun confiscation began in earnest after the Hungerford mass shooting in 1987.

Michael Ryan, a mentally disturbed man with a Kalashnikov rifle, walked down the streets shooting everyone he saw. When the smoke cleared, 17 people were dead.The British public, already desensitized by eighty years of "gun control", demanded even tougher restrictions. The seizure of all privately owned handguns was the objective even though Ryan used a rifle.Nine years later, at Dunblane, Scotland, Thomas Hamilton used a semi-automatic weapon to murder 16 children and a teacher at a public school.

For many years, the media had portrayed all gun owners as mentally unstable, or worse, criminals. Now the press had a real kook with which to beat up law-abiding gun owners. Day after day, week after week, the media gave up all pretense of objectivity and demanded a total ban on all handguns. The Dunblane Inquiry, a few months later, sealed the fate of the few sidearms still owned by private citizens.During the years in which the British government incrementally took away most gun rights, the notion that a citizen had the right to armed self-defense came to be seen as vigilantism. Authorities refused to grant gun licenses to people who were threatened, claiming that self-defense was no longer considered a reason to own a gun. Citizens who shot burglars or robbers or rapists were charged while the real criminals were released.Indeed, after the Martin shooting, a police spokesman was quoted as saying, "We cannot have people take the law into their own hands."When the Dunblane Inquiry ended, citizens who owned handguns were given three months to turn them over to local authorities. Being good British subjects, most people obeyed the law. The few who didn't were visited by police and threatened with ten-year prison sentences if they didn't comply. Police later bragged that they'd taken nearly 200,000 handguns from private citizens.How did the authorities know who had handguns? The guns had been registered and licensed. Kinda like cars.Sound familiar?

WAKE UP AMERICA, THIS IS WHY OUR FOUNDING FATHERS PUT THE SECOND AMENDMENT IN OUR CONSTITUTION."..it does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds."--Samuel Adams

If you think this is important, please forward (forwarded from a fellow blogger)

17 comments:

lisa said...

Boy, oh boy, that defiantly is a post to keep circulating!

Tammy said...

We had a bit of that media glorifying here a year or so ago, when the sheriff had to shoot a guy in self defense. Suddenly this person became a golden boy. As in your article, buried deep within the media reporting was the fact that he was a repeat offender and was on drugs at the time. Knowing the sheriff personally I know he is not going to randomly take someone's life just for the heck of it. It was amazing though to see the slant of the so called unbiased media. It's a scary old world anymore. (p.s. the sheriff went on to win re-election, because he is well known and respected in this county despite the tragedy)
Tammy

threecollie said...

Hear, hear! Good post!

Deb said...

wow it is unbelievable! thank you for sharing will put a link to your post

Nancy K. said...

Correct me if I'm wrong but wouldn't this whole thing have been avoidable by the gun owner simply registering his/her gun?

h said...

Good post. Yes, something similar can happen in America. Keep in mind that the traitor-democrat-party-of-filth nearly passed a draconian Gun Law after the over-hyped School Shootings "crisis".

It failed in the Senate, because ONE Democrat voted for freedom. That Democrat, Zell Miller, is no longer in the Senate.

Deb said...

Nancy,

The only thing he could have avoided was an illegal firearm charge by registering his firearm. Changes are he wouldn't have had one had he registered it.

I DO NOT advocate vigilante gun use....I do feel we have the right to protect our homes and families without being charged for murder if we shoot someone who entered our home and threatened us. That was my only thought and reasoning behind this post. We have very little to no police coverage in the town I live in. We MUST have some way to protect ourselves if the authorities do not have the capabilities.

Joy said...

The gun shows love President Obama. He's the best sales person they've had in years.

America does need to wake up. This could definitely be our future.

DayPhoto said...

Very Well DonE!!!

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

First England, then Canada - we are next. First we will register guns then soon after they will come. when the Feds come to MY DOOR and say - you have registered gun and we are here to take them, I am a good citizen and I will yield. BUT everyone should know that it will break my heart! Because that will be when they throw away the ten years of my life I spent fighting for us and my right to be called Veteran. My name is Bill and I'm made in the USA

Rayna said...

They can't seem to get it through their thick skulls that taking away guns isn't going to cure the problem! If you take away the everyday american citizens gun, you're not doing ANYTHING for the violence. Sure, it'll make it harder for criminals to get the guns, but they will. They have their ways. It makes me sick to see ANY anti-gun movements. I really truly hope it never comes to taking away guns, in my lifetime or ANYONES lifetime, in America.

Deb said...

lisa,
thanks for keeping it going.

Tammy,
Your right - the world can be a scary place. Thankfully all worked out well for your Sheriff. Our law enforment officials can't be too careful anymore.

threecollie,
Thanks :)

Deb,
Your right - it is unbelievable and sad.

TROLLY Y2K,
That doesn't surprise me in the least - a politician that actually works for the people doesn't stay in office very long. I'm afraid we are really in trouble.

Joy,
I never thought of it that way but your right - our President has done a great job of advertising :)

DayPhoto,
Thanks Linda :)

Bill,
First of all, Thank you for your years of service to our Country. Our Veterans never get the thanks and recognition they deserve.
Secondly, like you, I will yeild my weapons if it comes to that but I will also do so with a heavy heart, knowing full well that will be the beginning of the end of our country the way it was intended to be by our forefathers and all the people who have fought for freedom before us. I too, served my country and am proud to be an American. God Bless You.

Rayna,
I so agree with you. Removing all our guns is definately not the answer. Hopefully we will never see that happen.

Thanks everyone for all your thoughts and comments.

DayPhoto said...

By the way, I keep forgetting to tell you I love your header. Have the babies left Mom for a life on their own yet?

Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com

Anonymous said...

Deb, Thank you for caring. Someday lets talk about soldier or Jacob's cattle beans and good things to eat. Bill

Gayle said...

If they knocked on my door to take my guns, I wouldn't give them up. We should have the right to protect ourselves in our own home. Thanks for sharing this story.

Anonymous said...

This is 1 vet. that will give up my weapon when they pry my cold dead fingers from around it. As the old saying goes,"When guns are outlawed, outlaws will have guns."
HHC 3/187 101st Airborne Div.

Jennifer said...

Good post. I am worried about the future and what rights we will have left in the future.