Kasandra Perkins & Jovan Belcher
“A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
In the wake of the tragic and horrific murder-suicide perpetrated by the Kansas City Chiefs’ Jovan Belcher against his girlfriend Kasandra Perkins and then himself, the question of gun control again assumes a prominent place in the public discourse. It is a pattern as regular as clockwork whenever there is a highly publicized gun tragedy, and these tragedies themselves have become all too regular in our society.
So what can we say about all of this with any degree of confidence? Only one thing.
We can talk about the Second Amendment forever and what the constitutional framers had in mind. With no professional standing army, did they want to make sure a militia was always ready to defend the populace against any threat or foreign intrusion? With no professional police force, did they want to make sure individuals could protect themselves and their families against harm and mischief? Did they anticipate multi-bullet, double action or automatic handguns or assault rifles? These are all valid questions and subject to serious discourse.
Here’s the one thing we can say with confidence, though: Without a handgun at the ready, many, many individuals now dead would still be alive. No, not all of them; some would still be killed with knives or clubs or baseball bats or even bare hands. But those are more difficult ways to kill and it is not easy to be spontaneous with them or mow down an entire classroom or cafeteria.
“Guns don’t kill people. People kill people.”
Of course people kill people. But they often do it with guns. The fact of the matter is that objects change us. They alter our outlook and alter our behavior. Whether it is a Ferarri or a gold Rolex or a Smith & Wesson, we behave differently with objects than without them. Compare our homicide rates with the rate of any nation that practices strict gun control and you see staggering differences.
Do guns protect people? Of course they do. But not nearly as many people as they hurt. Despite anecdotes to the contrary, the statistics are clear on this. In very few of the public mass murders has anyone in the crowd taken out a gun and killed the shooter. It just doesn’t happen that way.
So here’s the takeaway: Until handguns are either restricted or “well regulated” in the way the framers envisioned for their militias, personal and public tragedies of the type we have witnessed within only the past couple of years in Arizona, in Colorado, in Wisconsin and now in Kansas City will continue and the suffering will not stop.
Sorry about all of the type o’s. I wrote that just before class started. I was rushing and I didn’t proof read it. Yes, I’m finally finishing my degree at 39 years of age. I hope that it will open more doors up to me in better LE markets. Hopefully far away from here.
I see what you are saying and I respect your opinion. I imagine you live in an area where you can call the police and expect them to show up in a timely manner.
Things are not like that over here in Flint Mi. For example, I witnessed a murder while at work a couple years ago. I was working as the unarmed security guard at the Department of Human Resources on Pierson Rd. in Flints northwest end. I was watching the parking lot when I seen a rather popular guy(the interim police chief’s son) running along the side of Northwest Pawn. Two guys were running after them. I watched a man shoot at him 7 times. The victim kept running and collapsed next door in front of the Clover Tree Apartments office. I of course called 911 and reported all that I had seen. 4 hours later 2 Michigan State Police car came down the road. The stopped in front of the DHS and 4 MSP troopers got out in riot gear. Thats because there was a lot of angry people waiting on the police to show up. Finally, after 4 and a half hours, the ambulance that was parked down the road showed up. Were talking about the police chief’s son. They knew who the victim was. I told 911.
Why did this happen? I believe its due to budget cuts, rising poverty and a diminishing amount of opportunity in mid-Michigan. The less money the goverment gets in taxes. The less police, fire and ems they put on the streets. Flint got rid of most of there officers. Now there is only 4 cops per shift patrolling 160 miles of road and serving 100,000 people with about 10 detectives running around like chicken with their heads cut off. Did you know that they have over 300 cold cases? They used to have 260 officers total and would patrol with a minimum of 16 officers. On the day the interim police chief’s son was killed, there was a bank robbery, a young child was discovered beaten to death and there was a stabbing of an elderly man few miles away. Up to a 4 hour wait is typical for a police response time in many parts of the Flint area. As soon as they get into their patrol unit. They start complaining that they already half half a days work flashing on their mdk. An hour later, they all ready have their whole day planed out for them. The shortest responce time of 5 minutes can be only found on the outskirts of Gennesee county.
This has caused a significant portion of residents over 21 who do not have criminal backgrounds or mental history to go get their C.P.L.(concealed pistol license). Yeah, its a whole lot of hoops to jump through. Mine was a little easier to get. I’m a MCOLES certified officer and thus exempt from mcl 28.442. The residents seem to feel safer having their own control over their safety. Especially with the 7.62 killer still not captured and still praying on people. The Feds caught the serial stabber when he tried to flee the country a few years ago. But at any time there is at least one sicko hurting people over here. That still not considering the gangs. Its as if all sick people in the country found out theres a place called Flint. Who’s police don’t even arrest people anymore. They just hand out tickets. Theres no room in the jail. So if you get caught assaulting some one. Expect to be taken to the police station. Interviewed and then released with a notice to appear ticket.
With all due respect to your opinion, I cant see myself not supporting my neighbors having a CPL. At least not until the day that we all get those 3 minute response times that people in NYC enjoy. Also, I find that most of the gun crimes committed in my area are people that cant own a gun legally anyways. I have no idea of where they are getting their weaponry. I wish I knew. Most people assume its through theft. But the type of weaponry tells me that not really likely.
I also find that 99 percent of cpl holders do not commit gun crimes. I would assume it is because of the way cpl holders are trained. There is of course that one percent that forgets they are carrying and carry into a prohibited zone or consume alcohol while carrying and other stupid stuff like that. There always has to be that one really dumb guy out of a hundred. I wish I had answer to that too.
Well, I love most of your stuff.
Keep up the good work,
Chad Jones
Chad,
You make some excellent points and we are proud to have such insightful and analytic readers and correspondents as yourself. Your central point is right on: when legitimate authority in a society breaks down, there is no choice but for citizens to take matters into their own hands and protect themselves. And we agree with you as well that it is not the responsible individuals who have obtained CPL’s who are committing crimes. In countries where it is difficult or impossible for criminals to obtain handguns, you don’t have this problem. But in a nation like ours in which it is easy to obtain them, it is perfectly understandable that responsible people like you feel the need to equalize with them to protect yourselves and your families. There is no easy answer to places like Flint that cannot afford the protection its residents deserve and we would hope that state and national authorities would help out with funding. We would also hope that existing gun laws are strictly enforced so that only people who have proven their integrity and ability to properly care for and handle a gun, as you obviously have, can obtain them. Best of luck and our hopes are with you.
This is a good point, Chris. Since our national defense system has changed since those days, I wonder if the framers’ words should be considered in a new context. Thanks.
I’m not sure it changes the argument much, but the “well-regulated militia” that the framers were referring to isn’t something mysterious or abstract.
The colonies employed a strategy called “the militia system of defense.” All able-bodied men were considered part of the armed forces. They could be called up in case of an attack, which, during the colonial period, was usually by the native peoples of the region.