Four decades ago, a gunman accosted my mother, who was on her
way home after attending the 6 a.m. Mass at St. Lucy's in Spanish
Harlem. When he demanded all her money, she looked him in the eye
and said, "What would your mother think of you doing
this?" The gunman turned around and fled, saying nothing.
These days, she likely would have been shot dead. Even as the
latest school shootings fade from the public's consciousness, the
battle against guns wages forth on all cylinders. But while guns
have always been a part of the American landscape, it's the
criminal element that has absolutely no respect for innocent life
that is a relatively recent phenomenon.
After the Amish school slayings in Lancaster, Pa., numerous
posters to Internet forums recalled their childhood days in rural
parts of the country when they would go hunting before school and
leave their rifles in the principal's office for the day. It
wasn't long ago that there were no school shootings. I once wrote
a column defending the NRA, noting that the 1963 film
"Flipper" had a scene showing the young star reaching
for his rifle that was hung on the wall in his living room as he
went to investigate strange noises. I don't recall any outcry
over what was then a natural American response to danger.
Like many native New Yorkers, I have an aversion to lethal
weapons. At one time, I too wondered why there wasn't some kind
of national gun control law in place. Living in a dangerous
neighborhood where criminals plied their trade using handmade zip
guns was largely responsible for this paranoia. The Second
Amendment somehow was not applicable to my life in New York City.
Getting guns out of the hands of criminals seemed the logical
thing, and anyone who could not recognize this need must be an
extremist, I thought.
That perspective changed once I moved to Miami, where my husband
grew up. I learned that guns seemed to prevent more crimes,
because law-abiding citizens could protect their homes, property,
and lives from the criminal element. My mother-in-law bought her
shotgun at Kmart. She and her family lived near the Everglades,
where snakes and alligators are unfriendly neighbors. My
uncle-in-law owned a gas station in a rough neighborhood, and had
been beaten severely by robbers. He started carrying a .45
wherever he went, and was never beaten or robbed again.
There are many remote areas of the country that do not have
adequate law enforcement personnel, and citizens are required to
defend themselves. Yet a former congressman, Major Owens, tried
to pass a resolution dissolving the Second Amendment. Gun control
advocates like Rosie O'Donnell, who by the way makes sure her
bodyguards are armed, said on a recent "View" telecast
that the right to bear arms "is not really a right."
Well, let's just clarify that, Rosie. The Second Amendment reads:
"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." What many control advocates forget
is that comma after the word state. They would like us to think
that it refers only to a militia. The comma makes it very clear
that it is the right of the people to keep and bear arms.
It certainly was the right of Margaret Johnson to bear arms in
September, when a mugger tried to rob the wheelchair-bound Harlem
resident. She drew the pistol she was carrying and shot him in
his elbow. Ms. Johnson, who has a gun carry permit, was on her
way to a shooting range when she was attacked. Statistics from
the National Safety Council show that firearms are used more than
80 times more often to protect the lives of honest citizens than
to take lives.
How often do we have to read about an estranged wife or
girlfriend getting gunned down by her ex? Enacting more gun laws
hasn't protected women in this city. Maybe instead of going after
the gun manufacturers, our mayor should be trying to enact
legislation to toughen stalker laws and to increase the penalties
for those who violate orders of protection. How about offering
self-defense classes or gun permits and firearms training to
battered women before they become death statistics?
My daughter-in-law has been stalked by an ex-boyfriend. He
kidnapped and assaulted her and violated more than 20 orders of
protection. He served a minimum sentence of a few years, and as
soon as he was released came back to issue more death threats.
How likely would this be if he knew she had a loaded weapon and
knew how to use it?
New York doesn't need more victims or ineffective gun control. We
need more Margaret Johnsons.