|
"New Haven, Look What We've Got...." (Tyranny!)
By Doug Wrenn
July 09, 2004
Benjamin Franklin once sagely noted, "Those who choose security over liberty deserve neither." Apparently, that concept, as well as the concept of our liberties to keep and bear arms, as guaranteed under the 2nd Amendment of our Constitution have not yet permeated the totalitarian state of the city of New Haven.
A new Walmart in New Haven was successfully bullied by Mayor John DeStefano and Police Chief Francisco Ortiz to keep legal firearms off its shelves. Sadly, Walmart blinked and American liberty acquired yet another chink in its armor.
Mayor DeStefano, being interviewed in the WTNH news story, had a very conspicuous smirk on his face as he described how he and Police Chief Ortiz suggested that Walmart rethink its sales policy on guns, with a just a subtle hint of "or else" in his oh so carefully crafted words. Chief Ortiz stated that he sent a letter to Walmart, expressing his opposition, and saying that "Even lawfully possessed weapons cause injuries." So do automobiles, Chief Ortiz. As a matter of fact, more people die in car crashes than by shootings. Are you now banning car dealerships in the Elm City as well?
Mayor DeStefano cited a Super KMart that previously operated in Walmart's current location as part of his reasoning for wanting the current retailer to ban sales of guns. The mayor said that local residents protested Super KMart selling guns in their neighborhood. Sadly, that does not necessarily account for what may have been a silent majority. Watch any municipal referendum and you will find that more often than not, those who seek change are more fervent and come out in greater numbers than those who support the status quo, be it right or wrong. And who are DeStefano, Ortiz, or anyone else to suppress the 2nd Amendment? If the mayor feels so righteous and so strongly that gun sales should be banned in New Haven then let him try to enact a city ordinance requiring same.
New Haven, like any other city has it's share of urban crime and bureaucratic ineptitude. Much like what is now being publicly learned about Hartford, the New Haven Police Department has a long and inefficient history of "stacking" calls on a priority basis, yet being unable to respond to many of them, including emergencies in a timely manner. At times, the city has many unanswered calls, as all patrol units are busy, and sometimes, calls for assistance are handled on the following shift. Some complaints are not handled at all. A friend of mine was recently the victim of identity theft, for (thus far) several hundred dollars. As his bank (not the police) identified the perpetrator, the NHPD told my friend that they would not pursue an arrest in the case, as the crime was solved and not worth their trouble. Last I heard, when advised about the commission of a crime, a police officer is bound to act, and not when he or she deems it convenient. Chief Ortiz should concern himself a little more with his own woefully over worked, understaffed and incompetently managed police department before so cavalierly giving unsolicited business advice to successful merchants in the private sector. New Haven has also recently explored imposing an 11 PM curfew on local merchants, such as convenience stores and gas stations, to limit the number of robberies. A dangerous pattern of apathy and tyranny is evident here as the city's best answer to crime is limiting the liberties of the good guys, and letting bad guys roam and prey, seemingly unchecked, if not encouraged.
In his book, More Guns, Less Crime," Yale University Professor John Lott shows how statistically, areas with more draconian gun restrictions are more prone to violent crime than areas where the 2nd Amendment rights of the citizenry are more respected. That is why in Kennesaw, Georgia, where possessing a gun in every home and business is encouraged by local government enjoys low crime rates, while Washington, DC, in which guns are supposedly banned, is the nation's leader in homicides, a rather shameful distinction in deed for our nation's capital. Yet, the socialist thinking administration in New Haven and it its misinformed minions don't see it that way. And that is why the defenseless and befuddled residents of New Haven pause to scratch their heads and ponder why they are so often easily victims of crime, as sheep are so often easily prone to slaughter.
Of the hundreds of millions of guns known to be in the US, a fraction of less than 1% are used in the commissions of crimes. Also, two million Americans on average annually save their own life or that of an innocent third party from violent crime with the use of firearm, and usually without having to fire a shot. Even the US Supreme Court has ruled that the function of the police is to protect society as a whole, and not any specific individual. The obligation for personal protection, according to the Court, is still the burden of the individual. (Unless you really insist on relying solely on calling 911, only to have someone show up an hour later to write a report and draw a chalk line around your corpse!)
Neither Mayor DeStefano or Chief Ortiz even remotely resemble Alice, and New Haven is far from Wonderland, so city officials and their continually naive and victimized citizenry would be well advised to wake up and smell the coffee. The answer to oppression of one's liberties is first knowledge, and then to act, promptly and appropriately. That means protecting one's self, family, and property, and going after the bad guys, not the good guys. The bad guys will always get the guns no matter what (And often without using a credit card!) , and like it or not, Walmart, KMart, or whomever else has the right to sell any legal product they so desire in our free capitalist marketplace, and in any locale.
The arrogant, hideous, oppressive regime that exists in New Haven only enjoys the privilege of doing so because it's voters, tax payers and citizens so allow them to do so. I remember an old advertising slogan from years back, which boasted, "New Haven, look what we've got!" Answer that slogan now with crime, atrocities to individual liberty, and bullying, apathetic city leaders smugly acting as the all knowing and (supposedly) all benevolent "Big Brother," because they recognize that their lemming constituency is far too ignorant and lazy by its own choosing to know better or to demand reform. You have heard it before, but it bears repeating, guns do not commit crimes, criminals commit crimes. To define who the bad guy is, consider it safe to assume that he is the person wearing the ski mask in the middle of summer, and relieving you of your wallet, and not the clerk behind the counter of your local neighborhood retail store. Meanwhile, those atrocities to liberty continue, as does the crime, and individual freedom for Elm City residents, continues to ever so gradually erode like beach sand in the tide with no foreseeable end in sight.
Little if anything will likely change until the people of New Haven and similar urban areas so desire and actively seek change. Only then will the likes of John DeStefano and Francisco Ortiz get the message-and their well deserved pink slips. Much unlike the people of New Haven, the people of Virginia recognized that fact long ago, when they came up with their state motto, also proudly displayed on their state flag, which reads "Sic Semper Tyrannis." The translation from Latin to English, and born of our own national history reminds us, "Thus always to tyrants."
|
