🚀 go-pugleaf

This is a multi-part message in MIME format.

------=_NextPart_000_0047_01C0865F.61881FE0
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment012201c.shtml

1/22/01 11:10 a.m.
The Hate-Crime Myth
People don't save people. Guns save people.
By Deroy Murdock, columnist with the Scripps Howard News Service

If Matthew Shepard had a gun, he would be alive today.=20

As a new and very sad MTV teledrama reminds us, the 21-year-old =
University of Wyoming student was pistol-whipped, tied to a rural fence =
and left to die on October 7, 1998. Anatomy of a Hate Crime depicts =
Shepard as an amiable scholar and his murderers as local delinquents who =
killed him in a robbery aggravated by scorn for Shepard's homosexuality. =


A half-hour talk show that follows the TV movie presents numerous =
arguments for hate-crimes legislation. But neither the film nor the =
discussion even hints at the obvious: If Shepard were armed, he could =
have warded off his assailants. Instead, he nearly froze in an open =
field and died five days later of his injuries and exposure.=20

Thankfully, there is no MTV telepic mourning a gay man named Tom. As the =
National Journal's Jonathan Rauch reported, Tom (who withheld his =
surname) and a male friend were walking through a dodgy part of San =
Jose, California when a gang of 20 thugs began taunting them.=20

"Hey, you f***ing faggots!" one of them yelled. "When we're done with =
you, they'll never find your bodies." Tom and his pal ran for their =
lives, with the hoodlums in hot pursuit. Tom dug into his backpack and =
yanked out a semi-automatic handgun. He stood beneath a streetlight =
brandishing his weapon. His tormentors quickly retreated.=20

"There's no question in my mind," Tom believes, "that my friend and I =
would have been at least very seriously beaten, and maybe killed."=20

Of course, gays are not the only Americans who would benefit from being =
armed. James Byrd, the black man fatally dragged by three truck-driving =
white supremacists, still might walk the streets of Jasper, Texas, had =
he carried a gun in June 1998. Had Yankel Rosenbaum packed a pistol in =
August 1991, the rabbinical student might have neutralized a mob of =
black thugs that yelled "Kill the Jew" and "Heil Hitler" before Lemrick =
Nelson stepped forward and fatally stabbed him in Brooklyn's Crown =
Heights district. Personal firearms likewise might have saved one or =
more of Hillside Strangler Angelo Buono's nine female victims or any of =
the 36 women who serial killer Ted Bundy is suspected of having =
murdered.=20

"The largest and fastest-growing group of purchasers of small handguns, =
cheap handguns, are single women, most of them minorities," National =
Rifle Association President Charlton Heston told me January 15, shortly =
after he received a lifetime achievement award from Manhattan's Congress =
of Racial Equality. Heston spoke of women who return home to rough =
neighborhoods after working late hours. "Of course they want a gun in =
their purse when they get off the bus at 4:00 o'clock in the morning."=20

John R. Lott Jr., Yale Law School researcher and author of More Guns, =
Less Crime, argues that if every state had a right-to-carry law, armed =
potential victims could have prevented 1,500 murders and 4,000 rapes =
between 1992 and 1998. Merely displaying guns deters some 1.96 million =
violent crimes annually, Lott estimates.=20

Nonetheless, fashionable politicians and pundits prefer to fight lethal =
bigotry with hate-crimes laws. Although attractive on their surface, =
such measures create their own problems.=20

First, "hate crime" is a truism. What exactly is a love crime?=20

Second, suppose a racist spots a mixed couple and yells, "Die, nigger!" =
before severely assaulting a black husband and his white wife. Imagine =
further that the accused is convicted and receives 20 years in jail for =
his attempted murder of a man of color while only getting 15 years for =
nearly slaying his bride. Now pretend you're the trial judge. Try to =
tell the woman's enraged relatives why she nearly was killed at a =
discount.=20

Third, and most worrisome, hate-crimes laws are an unreliable deterrent =
against anyone so consumed with venom as to attack another for his =
sexuality, race, religion, or sex. If such statutes magically shielded =
at-risk minorities from violence, they would be worthwhile. Alas, they =
are no defense at all.=20

Far more promising is the adoption of state-level right-to-carry rules =
that would permit sane, law-abiding citizens to keep and bear handguns. =
Such a practical application of the Second Amendment would help racial, =
sexual and religious minorities - and even straight, white, Christian =
males - to protect themselves from those who would turn bias into =
bloodshed. In this sense, Matthew Shepard, James Byrd, and Yankel =
Rosenbaum sadly demonstrate something too often true. People don't save =
people. Guns save people.




------=_NextPart_000_0047_01C0865F.61881FE0
Content-Type: text/html;
	charset="iso-8859-1"
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">
<HTML><HEAD>
<META http-equiv=3DContent-Type content=3D"text/html; =
charset=3Diso-8859-1">
<META content=3D"MSHTML 5.50.4611.1300" name=3DGENERATOR>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY bgColor=3D#ffffff>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2><A=20
href=3D"http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment012201c.shtml">http:=
//www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment012201c.shtml</A></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3D2></FONT>&nbsp;</DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=3D1>1/22/01 11:10 a.m.<BR></FONT><FONT=20
face=3D"Times New Roman, Times, serif" color=3D#990033 size=3D4>The =
Hate-Crime=20
Myth</FONT><BR><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman, Times, serif" =
color=3D#999999=20
size=3D2>People don&#8217;t save people. Guns save =
people.</FONT></STRONG>
<P><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman, Times, serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D2>By Deroy=20
Murdock, columnist with the Scripps Howard News Service</FONT></P>
<P>If Matthew Shepard had a gun, he would be alive today. </P>
<P><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman, Times, serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D3>As a new and=20
very sad MTV teledrama reminds us, the 21-year-old University of Wyoming =
student=20
was pistol-whipped, tied to a rural fence and left to die on October 7, =
1998.=20
<I>Anatomy of a Hate Crime</I> depicts Shepard as an amiable scholar and =
his=20
murderers as local delinquents who killed him in a robbery aggravated by =
scorn=20
for Shepard's homosexuality.</FONT>=20
<P><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman, Times, serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D3>A half-hour=20
talk show that follows the TV movie presents numerous arguments for =
hate-crimes=20
legislation. But neither the film nor the discussion even hints at the =
obvious:=20
If Shepard were armed, he could have warded off his assailants. Instead, =
he=20
nearly froze in an open field and died five days later of his injuries =
and=20
exposure.</FONT>=20
<P><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman, Times, serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D3>Thankfully,=20
there is no MTV telepic mourning a gay man named Tom. As the <I>National =

Journal</I>'s Jonathan Rauch reported, Tom (who withheld his surname) =
and a male=20
friend were walking through a dodgy part of San Jose, California when a =
gang of=20
20 thugs began taunting them.</FONT>=20
<P><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman, Times, serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D3>"Hey, you=20
f***ing faggots!" one of them yelled. "When we're done with you, they'll =
never=20
find your bodies." Tom and his pal ran for their lives, with the =
hoodlums in hot=20
pursuit. Tom dug into his backpack and yanked out a semi-automatic =
handgun. He=20
stood beneath a streetlight brandishing his weapon. His tormentors =
quickly=20
retreated.</FONT>=20
<P><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman, Times, serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D3>"There's no=20
question in my mind," Tom believes, "that my friend and I would have =
been at=20
least very seriously beaten, and maybe killed."</FONT>=20
<P><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman, Times, serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D3>Of course,=20
gays are not the only Americans who would benefit from being armed. =
James Byrd,=20
the black man fatally dragged by three truck-driving white supremacists, =
still=20
might walk the streets of Jasper, Texas, had he carried a gun in June =
1998. Had=20
Yankel Rosenbaum packed a pistol in August 1991, the rabbinical student =
might=20
have neutralized a mob of black thugs that yelled "Kill the Jew" and =
"Heil=20
Hitler" before Lemrick Nelson stepped forward and fatally stabbed him in =

Brooklyn's Crown Heights district. Personal firearms likewise might have =
saved=20
one or more of Hillside Strangler Angelo Buono's nine female victims or =
any of=20
the 36 women who serial killer Ted Bundy is suspected of having =
murdered.</FONT>=20

<P><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman, Times, serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D3>"The largest=20
and fastest-growing group of purchasers of small handguns, cheap =
handguns, are=20
single women, most of them minorities," National Rifle Association =
President=20
Charlton Heston told me January 15, shortly after he received a lifetime =

achievement award from Manhattan's Congress of Racial Equality. Heston =
spoke of=20
women who return home to rough neighborhoods after working late hours. =
"Of=20
course they want a gun in their purse when they get off the bus at 4:00 =
o'clock=20
in the morning."</FONT>=20
<P><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman, Times, serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D3>John R. Lott=20
Jr., Yale Law School researcher and author of <I>More Guns, Less =
Crime</I>,=20
argues that if every state had a right-to-carry law, armed potential =
victims=20
could have prevented 1,500 murders and 4,000 rapes between 1992 and =
1998. Merely=20
displaying guns deters some 1.96 million violent crimes annually, Lott=20
estimates.</FONT>=20
<P><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman, Times, serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D3>Nonetheless,=20
fashionable politicians and pundits prefer to fight lethal bigotry with=20
hate-crimes laws. Although attractive on their surface, such measures =
create=20
their own problems.</FONT>=20
<P><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman, Times, serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D3>First, "hate=20
crime" is a truism. What exactly is a love crime?</FONT>=20
<P><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman, Times, serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D3>Second,=20
suppose a racist spots a mixed couple and yells, "Die, nigger!" before =
severely=20
assaulting a black husband and his white wife. Imagine further that the =
accused=20
is convicted and receives 20 years in jail for his attempted murder of a =
man of=20
color while only getting 15 years for nearly slaying his bride. Now =
pretend=20
you're the trial judge. Try to tell the woman's enraged relatives why =
she nearly=20
was killed at a discount.</FONT>=20
<P><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman, Times, serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D3>Third, and=20
most worrisome, hate-crimes laws are an unreliable deterrent against =
anyone so=20
consumed with venom as to attack another for his sexuality, race, =
religion, or=20
sex. If such statutes magically shielded at-risk minorities from =
violence, they=20
would be worthwhile. Alas, they are no defense at all.</FONT>=20
<P><FONT face=3D"Times New Roman, Times, serif" color=3D#000000 =
size=3D3>Far more=20
promising is the adoption of state-level right-to-carry rules that would =
permit=20
sane, law-abiding citizens to keep and bear handguns. Such a practical=20
application of the Second Amendment would help racial, sexual and =
religious=20
minorities &#8212; and even straight, white, Christian males &#8212; to =
protect themselves=20
from those who would turn bias into bloodshed. In this sense, Matthew =
Shepard,=20
James Byrd, and Yankel Rosenbaum sadly demonstrate something too often =
true.=20
People don't save people. Guns save people.</FONT></P>
<P>&nbsp;</P></DIV></BODY></HTML>

------=_NextPart_000_0047_01C0865F.61881FE0--