Well, someone had to finally admit it and place it in the news. A fact that has been hidden pretty deep over the years and largely buried by the gun control crowd. Maybe not buried, but they do not want you to know that the government, be it the state or county or municipality or whomever, has absolutely no duty to protect YOU, the individual citizen.
Maybe the boldest statement came from the recent Connecticut case involving the disfigurement of Charla Nash by her friend's chimpanzee and the State of Connecticut dismissing her $150 million dollar lawsuit. The suit is based on the fact that the State knew beforehand that the animal was dangerous but did nothing about it, even though it had attacked several other people. I'm not commenting on the value of the lawsuit at all, but rather the language in which the lawsuit was dismissed by the state claims commissioner: "He added, "If there was a failure by the DEP to seize the animal ... the duty owed was to the general public and does not create a statutory obligation to ensure the safety of a private individual such as (Nash)."
Most law enforcement agencies will tell you their "protect and serve" also is to do so as it pertains to the community as a whole, not as it pertains to any private citizen. Thus agencies are generally immune to lawsuits when they do not show up in time to stop an assault, rape, robbery, murder, or whatever criminal activity may be involved. If you call 911 and it takes 7 minutes response time, and you are seriously injured or dead before help arrives, your family cannot sue the city or county because the police or sheriff didn't arrive in time to stop the crime. Nor can the next victim or their family sue because the perpetrator should have been caught at your home had the response been more timely.
So, the statement above in Connecticut does give you great pause on your own personal protection. Why, then, should you leave it to someone else to protect you and your family, when those sworn to protect actually have no duty to protect them, only the community in general? Don't get me wrong, many fine officers will go to the wall for you and yours, but spread as thin as the blue line is today, you simply can't expect any immediate response, no matter how good you think your police or sheriff's department is. You need to protect you and yours and not be a target while waiting for help to arrive. But be reasonable about doing it!
My suggestion is to be prepared for every eventuality. If you are a firearms owner, know how to use it. Know how to safely use it. Take a firearms safety course. Train with it, know how it should be safely stored, handled, and the laws on self-defense inside your home. Be well trained, as too many accidents can happen when a family member is mistaken for a bad guy in the middle of the night. Solid locks that are actually used are a must; alarms and deadbolt locks and a baseball bat are better deterrents for most people than a firearm they don't know how to use.
I believe in our Second Amendment rights. I believe law abiding citizens should be able to own firearms after reasonable background checks and fingerprinting. That's no less than we ask of people who work in many professions who do not purchase firearms. We go through checks for a drivers license with fingerprinting and a written and driving test. So what's the big deal about the same for a firearms purchase. But let's be sensible. Those who desire to take away everyones' guns are trying to change the face of America. It would be as likely to remove the automobile from our streets. But wait...isn't that part of the government scheme by continually mandating higher MPG until there's nothing left but electrics, and the power companies can't keep up with the demand for charging as they shut down nuclear plant after plant? It seems so ....clear?
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