Thursday 3 June 2010

Horse, meet stable door

My worst fear about yesterday's tragedy has been realised. Former Home Secretary Alan Johnson has fallen prey to the impulse to "do something".

Mr David Cameron warns against" knee-jerk" reactions. Let us hope that he takes the sensible course and either do nothing (which will cause no further harm) or have a Saul on the way to Damascus moment and allow freeborn Englishmen to once again carry firearms to protect themselves.

Update: The BBC mindset is revealed in this quote in an article regarding whether or not who owns guns should be public knowledge:
On the other, it could clearly assist criminals who want to steal guns.
It doesn't occur to them that it is more likely to assist criminals who want to invade unarmed homes.

I live in a rural community with a very low crime rate that's partly because there's a very high gun ownership ratio. Since uncertainty is a large factor in effective deterrence, the fact that no one knows who owns how many guns protects both the armed an unarmed because the would-be burglar has no idea if he's going up against a fireplace poker or a semiautomatic shotgun.

It gives the mind pause.

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