Jeremy B. Yoder

07 August 2006

The Bush Doctrine comes home to roost

According to this article in the New York Times, some states have been dramatically expanding the rights of private citizens to shoot someone else and call it self-defense. To the point of, it seems, striking pre-emptively:

Thanks to this sort of law, a prostitute in Port Richey, Fla., who killed her 72-year-old client with his own gun rather than flee was not charged last month. Similarly, the police in Clearwater, Fla., did not arrest a man who shot a neighbor in early June after a shouting match over putting out garbage, though the authorities say they are still reviewing the evidence.

The National Rifle Association is one of the major forces behind the new laws, of course:

�If they make a decision to save their lives in the split second they are being attacked, the law is on their side,� [NRA executive vice president] Mr. [Wayne] LaPierre said. �Good people make good decisions. That�s why they�re good people. If you�re going to empower someone, empower the crime victim.�

Seems to me that (1) our justice system used to be based on the belief that even good people make mistakes sometimes, and (2) if there's a victim in a neighborly dispute over garbage disposal, it's the guy who ends up getting shot. But what do I know?

Labels: politics

// posted by Jeremy @ 08:11 /

Comments:

Oh, please, that's not even scary, but maybe it's because your Uncle Cliff carries a gun in the car, and there have been a couple of similar incidents here in Fort Myers/Cape Coral. All these rednecks around here cheer for the "good guys" who shoot, okay? Take a look at Seymour Hersh's article in this week's New Yorker if you're looking for a wet-your-pants frightening read. I'll e-mail if you'd like.

# posted by

Aunt Deb : 19 August, 2006 21:57