29 October 2007

In Canada, you have to run and hide...

In the United States, you can "stand your ground."
First enacted in Florida in 2005, "Stand Your Ground" bills are now being considered in 21 states including Georgia, according to the National Rifle Association and the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence. The South Dakota senate approved one just last week.
The article is a little dated... there are now 14 states (see graphic below) where you can stand your ground.
These new measures would push the boundaries beyond the self-defense measures already on the books. Twelve states already allow citizens to shoot intruders in their homes, and 38 states permit concealed weapons in public places.

"These laws send a more general message to society that public spaces belong to the public - and the public will protect [public places] rather than trying to run into the bathroom of the nearest Starbucks and hope the police show up," says David Kopel, director of the Independence Institute in Golden, Colorado.
This makes perfect sense to me. Let's spend a little less time worrying about the rights of criminals... and more about the rights of law abiding citizens.

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RELATED: Or you can let "the system" protect you
The Canadian Border Services Agency is investigating how and when a man deported from Canada two years ago sneaked back into the country only to be arrested on the weekend by Toronto police on multiple firearms charges.

Lloyd Demetrius, 28, was taken into custody early Saturday after two men fired several shots into the air in front of a bar on Hymus Rd., near Warden and St. Clair Aves.

In 1999, Demetrius was convicted of pumping three bullets into a man who tried to calm him down after Demetrius demanded to be at the front of a takeout line at a West Indian restaurant at Kingston and Galloway Rds.
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SIDENOTE: The Professor strikes back
"What Could Possibly Go Wrong if Everybody Has a Gun"?
Yessir... it's a reprise of soldiers, uh wait... "everybody... with guns... in our streets... I'm not kidding..."

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LAST WORD: A very special welcome...

To readers of noted humanitarian and progressive brown-noser "Canadian Cynic"
Make sure you check out his greatest hits.
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POSTSCRIPT: I guess the Cynic's a little pissed.
I'm headlined at his blog again today.

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