Lessons of a Civil Rights Victory
The elected servants of Kansas identified a great injustice and moved to correct it by passing legislation that gave law-abiding citizens the right to protect themselves and their families when away from the home. After more than a decade of fighting the battle to restore the legality of a God-given right was seemingly won when the Kansas congress passed Right-to-Carry legislation.Then Democrat governor Kathleen Sebelius decided that she knew better: she vetoed the legislation.
But victim rights won out in the end. Last week, the Senate voted 30 to 10 to override Sebelius' veto, three more than the 27 necessary. The House followed suit with a vote of 91 to 33, seven more votes than necessary.
And with that, Democrat Kathleen Sebelius became the first Kansas governor to have a veto overridden in 12 years.
That leaves Wisconsin, Illinois and Nebraska as the only states that don't allow law-abiding citizens the right to exercise a right that is enshrined in the Bill of Rights.
Among the lessons in this fight is one that underscores the importance of contacting your elected servants, because so few do. Democrat representative Ed Trimmer reported that he voted to override Democrat Gov. Sebelius' veto because he had received 60 to 80 emails in favor of the measure and only three who opposed it. He voted according to his constituents' wishes. [What a novel idea. More of our elected servants should try it.}
Of course, the usual ninnies are throwing up the usual hysterical arguments:
The supervisor of uniformed street officers for the Wichita Police Department said the law is likely to create stress among those trying to enforce laws.It's always management that is concerned with an armed citizenry; rarely will you see a quote from a street cop (unless he's bucking for promotion). In fact, take a survey of the "regular cops" and you'll find them overwhelmingly in favor of people being able to protect themselves. They handle guns every day and, because of that, are not afraid of them nor do they think that putting an inanimate object in the hands of a law-abiding citizen will somehow turn them into a homicidal maniac.
"I've got to say, I'm concerned," Deputy Police Chief Tom Stolz said. "Now every call our officers respond to, every traffic stop has to the potential to have a gun involved.How incredibly ridiculous is that sound bite? How incredibly moronic? Every police officer knows that everycall, every stop has the potential to have a gun involved. They are trained to treat every stop as if there is a gun present.
"I'm just hoping that those people who choose to carry concealed weapons do so responsibly and that they recognize the extra challenges and stress it puts on our officers," Stolz added. "I know they haven't had many incidents in other states, and I'm hoping it's the same here.""Those people" who choose to carry must pass a background check. One assault, one call to their home for a domestic dispute, any flaw in the record and they don't get a permit. Compare that population to that of the police.
Police have one of the most difficult jobs on the planet; they see things that no one should ever have to see. Babies killed. Women beaten and raped. Children molested. Gays beaten into unrecognizable lumps of flesh. Men whose race cannot be determined because their flesh was worn from their bodies as they were dragged behind trucks. The list is as long as Man's potential for cruelty and evil.
They do things that no one should ever have to do. Approach a car on a dark road late at night. Walk into an explosive situation in a home or business. Subdue a drug-crazed sociopath. Face down an irrational man with a knife. Shoot another human being.
These things take their toll. A huge number of our police force are suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. To make it worse, they feel isolated from the "civilian" population that they have pledged to protect.
[Note: if you ever hear anyone ask why a cop didn't just shoot someone who deserved it, have them read this article about two cops involved in the same shoot handled it. Highly recommended.]
As a result, as a population, police have a higher rate of alcoholism and substance abuse than the general population (10% of the general population who drink become alcoholics; for police it's 23%).
As a result, as a population, police have dysfunctional marriages with high rates of spousal abuse and high divorce rates. [I says "spousal abuse" because the perception that domestic abuse is primarily a male-dominated crime is a media-perpetuated myth.]
As a result, as a population, police have a higher rate of suicide than the general population (twice as high, according to the Suicide and Mental Health Association, Intl.). In fact, they are eight times more likely to die by their own hand than in the line-of-duty. And while I am usually suspicious of statistics like these, in this case they are probably skewed to the low side: not included are suicides by retired cops and suicides covered up by fellow officers in an attempt to avoid the stigma and ensure benefits for the family survivors.
As I said, police have one of the hardest jobs on the planet, and they choose to do it for an entire career, year after year after year. I salute them and thank God that I don't have to see the things they see and do the things they do.
But when I hear people say that it's OK for a cop to carry a gun into a bar but it isn't OK for me to carry a gun into Krogers, I just ask them: Why would they not not trust me, after having gone through a background check and come up spotlessly clean, but they'll trust any and every cop in spite of the fact that, in general, cops are more likely to be alcoholics, drug users, wife beaters and very well might be considering suicide at any given moment?
And why do people think that putting a gun in a cop's hand is fine because they have half a college degree (54 hours, unless waived in lieu of military service) and went to an academy for 20 weeks, but putting a gun into the hand of an otherwise normal person will endanger everyone around them because they might "get mad" and suddenly start shooting?
And so I ask them, when was the last time that they were so angry at someone that, had they had a gun in their belt, they would have drawn and fired, killing that person. And when they say that they couldn't imagine being that angry, I ask them what it is about me that makes them think that I am so different from them.
I'm not, nor are the other millions of permit holders across this nation. Which is why, of the 1.1 million licenses issued in the last 19 years in Florida, only 2,976 of them have been revoked because of a crime. Basic math tells us that only 0.27 percent of carry permit holders end up committing a crime. Hmmm, I wonder how that compares to the crime rate of those who wear blue?
Thankfully, the citizens of Kansas can now protect themselves. Hopefully the citizens and politicians of Wisconsin, Illinois and Nebraska will learn the lessons provided by the other states. Following that, perhaps we'll get states like California to loosen up a little so that someone besides a Hollywood "star" can carry a gun for protection (after all, we all know how responsible "stars" are).
For a look at rather interesting stats on gun licenses by red state/blue state, hop over to Right Wing Nation and read CHL Percentages, Red And Blue.
Also see how the media continues the battle with War on Guns' The Gun Show Peephole.
Other blogs covering the Kansas civil rights victory:
- Right Side of the Rainbow: Congratulations Kansas!
- Smallest Minority: Time to Modify That Map Again! (nice map)
- Say Uncle: We're winning
- Also from Say Uncle: CCW In Kansas
- Clayton Cramer: Kansas Legislature Overrides Governor's Veto of Concealed Carry Law
- The Other Side of Kim: Thirty-Nine
- John Lott's Website: Kansas passes right-to-carry
- TFS Magnum: Kansas Legislature Overrides Concealed Carry Veto
- Of Arms and the Law: Kansas overrides veto, passes liberal CCW
- Alphecca: Rights Expanding -- KS & DE
Technorati Tags: Second Amendment, RKABA, Gun Rights, Civil Rights, Victim Rights, Carry Permits, Right to Carry, Concealed Carry, CHL, CCW, Armed Citizenry, Firearms, War on Guns, Hoplophobia, Ballistophobia, Kansas Politics, Kathleen Sebelius, Sebelius, Police Suicide Rate, Police Domestic Abuse, Police Substance Abuse, Police Alcoholism, Brady Campaign.
Blog post #5907 in category
Second Amendment
posted 27 March 06