Nothing a couple of .45 slugs wouldn't cure

It’s been awhile…time for a rant.

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What the HELL is going on in England?

I was just reading the Right to Keep and Bear Arms page from Thursday, Dec. 7 and came across several news items which made me despair for the future of the country from which a majority of my forebears emigrated.

Item 1:

A 23-year-old policewoman described yesterday how she was left screaming in agony after being shot at point blank range trying to arrest a suspected burglar. Biggest mistake: like most of the bobbies, she could only bring pepper spray to a gunfight. Bobbie (Bobbette?) Rachael Bown, 23, said that despite yelling at him not to shoot her, she heard a bang as the gunman ran past and felt excruciating pain down her right side. She collapsed on the floor terrified and struggling to breathe, screaming into her radio "I've been shot, I've been shot".Nottingham Crown Court was told that the gunman, who the prosecution claim is 24-year-old Trevon Thomas, did not even break stride as he ran past her and her partner and fired the gun.

Item 2:

AN ARSENAL of 40 imitation guns are to be destroyed after a man surrendered his collection. Officers were shocked to find the weapons at the home of a Nantwich man. Along with relatives, the man, who has refused to be named, had built up the collection over the years but became worried that they could be stolen by criminals. The stash included self-loading rifles, machine guns, automatic pistols and a long-barreled Smith and Wesson revolver, similar to that used in the film Dirty Harry. There was also one genuine Thompson sub-machine gun, which had been de-activated. But police say they could have been faced with a 'life or death' situation if the guns had found their way into the wrong hands (emphases added above.)

Item 3:

This is the moment three sword-wielding raiders robbed a petrol station. The CCTV image shows the brave cashier struggling with one of the thugs. Despite the man's courage, the raider overpowers him. The robber then pinned the cashier against the wall, allowing another gang member to rifle through the till. The cashier was bludgeoned across the back of the head with one of the blades after the gang stormed into Skippool Garage, in Singleton, Lancashire, at around 9.30pm on Sunday. Police were shocked by the degree of violence in the robbery, which netted the raiders £250 in cash and cigarettes.

Above are two clear-cut cases where the law-abiding use of a gun was clearly warranted. And one case of hysterical overreaction in the face of a non-threat shows how out-of-balance British thing has become.

Let me state the obvious in no uncertain terms: Police officers NEED TO BE ARMED.

The people they come into contact with, by the very definition of their work, are criminals. Criminals tend to scoff at things like gun laws and rules of polite society; they prey on the weak, try to avoid (fear) the strong and exhibit behavior more along the lines of “A Clockwork Orange” than “Pride and Prejudice.” They don't even raise their pinky finger when sipping tea...appalling!

When someone pulls a gun on police, it’s a pretty good indication they have little regard for the law. Their reward for this behavior should be a double tap through the center of mass, not a misting with pepper spray as they blithely skip between the neutered guardians of law and order on their way to their next act of crime. The timely application of a couple .45 caliber slugs not only puts an end to this crime (and saves the state the expense of paying health care costs for the injured officer…and in the unlikely even they're caught, the resulting criminal trial and incarceration), it also puts an end to any future criminal activity in which the perpetrator would have been involved.

Likewise, guys with swords come to rob a gas station: Clerk’s gun trumps sword in that confrontation. At the least, bad guys flee and think twice about their life of crime.

And the case where the police were all a-dither because of a collection of non-guns? What the hell is scary about fake guns? See option A: if someone pulls a fake gun on a police officer, apply two .45 caliber slugs through the center of mass and then call the coroner. Problem solved. You'd also be ridding the gene pool of someone clearly too stupid to be allowed to procreate.

Impolite? Yes. Less than genteel? Definitely. American cowboy justice? Perhaps…but I’d rather be guilty of that than lose my life to some thug because I refused to see the world, complete with its monsters and dark underside, in the harsh light of reality.