From: [g--y] at [hawkmoon.MN.ORG] (Bill Gray)
Newsgroups: misc.legal,soc.women,talk.politics.guns,talk.rape
Subject: Testimony Before Violent Crimes Commission (LONG)
Summary: Armed citizens reduce crime without excessive violence
Keywords: armed citizens, crime prevention, rape
Message-ID: <[1991 Oct 8 150012 9401] at [hawkmoon.MN.ORG]>
Date: 8 Oct 91 15:00:12 GMT

Last week I testified before the Governor's Commission on Violent
Crime in a public hearing in St. Paul.

Here is (approximately) what I said:

In the 1930's AT&T introduced dial telephones, eliminating thousands
of operators' jobs.  The move was controversial and AT&T took some
flak over it because of the high Depression-era unemployment rates.
But by the 1970's, had AT&T not gone to dial technology, every woman
in America would have had to be a telephone operator to handle the
call volume.

Presently in Minnesota, we have an "operator assisted" approach to
safety in the streets.  I suggest that a "direct dial" approach to
personal safety would have better results.  Let me give you just one
specific example.

In Orlando, Florida, in 1966 a series of brutal rapes swept the
community.  Citizens reacted to the tripling in the rate of rape
over the previous year by buying handguns for self-defense; 200-300
firearms were being purchased each week from dealers, and an unknown
number more from private parties.  The newspaper there, the _Orlando
Sentinel Star_, had an anti-gun editorial stance and tried to pressure
the local police chief and city government to stop the flow of arms.

When that tactic failed, the paper decided that in the interest of
public safety, they would sponsor a gun-training seminar in conjunction
with the local police.  Plans were made for a one-day training course at
a local city park.

Plans were made for an expected 400-500 women.  However,
more than 2500 women arrived, and brought with them every conceivable
kind of firearm.  They had to park many blocks away, and the weapons
were carried in in purses, paper bags, boxes, briefcases, holsters,
and womens' hands.  One police officer present said he'd never been so
scared in his life.  [It must have been quite a sight! :-) ]

Swamped, the organizers hastily dismissed the women with promises for
a more thorough course with scheduled appointments.  The course offered
was for three classes/week, and within 6 months, the Orlando police had
trained more than 6000 women in basic pistol marksmanship and the law
of self-defense.

The results?

In 1966 there were 36 rapes in Orlando, triple the 1965 rate.  In 1967,
there were 4.  Before the training, rape rates had been increasing in
Orlando as nationwide.  5 years after the training, rape was still
below pre-training levels in Orlando, but up 308% in the surrounding
areas, 96% for Florida overall, and 64% nationally.

Also in 1967, violent assault and burglary decreased by 25% in Orlando,
in addition to the rape reductions.

In 1967, NOT A SINGLE WOMAN HAD FIRED HER WEAPON in self-defense.  In
1967, NOT A SINGLE WOMAN HAD TURNED HER GUN ON HER HUSBAND OR BOYFRIEND.
(No data are available for later years.)

The reason the program worked so spectacularly well is that it was
widely known that Orlando women had the means and training to defend
themselves from attackers.  Rapists, being (somewhat) human, they are
learning engines; they took their business elsewhere--to the detriment
of the defenseless in those other locations.

Department of Justice victim studies show that overall, when rape is
attempted, the completion rate is 36%.  But when a woman defends herself
with a gun, the completion rate drops to 3%.

Overall victimization studies show that for all violent crimes, including
assault, rape, and robbery, the safest course for the victim is to
resist with a firearm.  The second safest course is passive compliance
with the attacker, but this tactic approximately doubles the probability
of death or injury for the victim.  All other tactics (mace, whistles,
hand-to-hand combat, screams, and so forth) have even worse outcomes.

My home was built in 1913.  It has never burned.  But we still have
two operational smoke detectors and a fire extinguisher.  We practice
fire drills with our children.  We do *not* just count on the fire
department to save us if something goes wrong.

I have never been in a personal injury automobile accident.  But I still
wear seatbelts whenever they are available, and require all passengers
to use them when I am driving.  We also maintain our cars as best we
can and we drive sober and defensively.  We do *not* just count on the
paramedics to save us if something goes wrong.

Since my family moved to Minnesota in 1987, we have been victims of
crime 8 times.  Before that, in Tennessee, we were burglarized three
times.  How can it be sensible for us to just depend on the police for
our protection?

We are *not* talking about vigilantism here, but simple self-reliance.
We are not talking about shooting anyone, anywhere at the drop of a
hat; that privilege is reserved for the criminals.  We are only talking
about reasonable self-defense.  Remember that it was not armed citizens
who threw a grenade into the Smalley's home and killed two elderly
invalids, or who shot Tycel Nelson, or two thirteen-year-old Hmong boys
in the back with a shotgun from behind cover in broad daylight.  Those
were the "professionals."*

Armed citizens may make some mistakes, too.  But they have proven
statistically to be better risks than the police when it comes to
justifiable shooting.

I urge the members of the Commission to remember that to protect women,
one must empower them.  I ask that you recommend to the Governor that he
support an amendment to the state constitution guaranteeing the right
of each citizen to keep and bear arms for the purpose of legitimate
self-defense.

Thank you.

To what I had time to present to the Commission I'd like to point out
that the average sentence served per rape is about 84.5 days.  If that
seems low, remember that most rapists are not caught, and the average
convicted rapist had raped 17 times before being apprehended.

*Notes to the net about local cases mentioned in the testimony:
Lloyd (?) Smalley and his female companion, both elderly, invalids, and
black, were killed by Minneapolice (TM) who threw a "flash-bang" grenade
into their home to "confuse and disorient" the "drug dealers" they were
raiding.

The grenade landed in the room where Smalley and his companion were
confined to bed.  The resulting fire killed them both.  The younger
housemates who cared for the Smalley couple--and who may have been
selling drugs on the side--were in the front of the house.  The Smalley
couple was in the rear in a bedroom.  Any citizen who threw such a
grenade under these circumstances would go to prison for a long, long
time.

The cop is still "protecting" the public in Minneapolis.

Tycel Nelson, a 17 year old black male, was at a party when someone
fired a few shots.  (It is not known whether they were fired at someone,
or even if they were gunshots and not firecrackers.)  On hearing the
sirens of approaching police, Tycel and many other partygoers bugged out
rather than have to deal with the Minneapolice (TM).

One heroic officer shot Tycel in the back with a shotgun as Tycel ran.
A small-caliber handgun was found near Tycel's body, but friends and
relatives vociferously deny that he ever had a gun.  As a shooter, I
can assure the non-shooting public that it is rather difficult (to
understate it considerably) to place an accurate shot behind you while
running away from someone, especially at the 25 yard range the officer
fired from.  Put another way--had any ordinary citizen fired under
those circumstances, s/he would have faced charges and likely been
convicted for at least manslaughter.  The heroic officer who shot Tycel
is still on patrol in Minneapolis.

The two 13 year old Hmong boys were running from a stolen car they had
wrecked following a police chase.  One of them had a screwdriver in his
hand.  The officer shot them in the back from a position behind some farm
equipment.  Again, any citizen who shot under those circumstances would
face charges and probable conviction.
-- 
[g--y] at [hawkmoon.mn.org]
"Veni, vini, vomiti!"  -- the ghost of Tom Jefferson on reading the Brady Bill