Penny Dean and Your Rights

<img src="http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/files/2009/12/IMG_1718... align="right">According to an eyewitness, a D.C. Police detective (pictured here w/ gun) went nuts after kids pelted his Hummer with snowballs at 14th and U Streets NW this afternoon. The veteran detective got out of his car and eventually grabbed for his gun, displaying it to the crowd. He did not immediately identify himself as a police officer. He calmed down once his fellow uniformed cop arrived. Apparently, someone called 911 to report a man with gun.

<h2>74-year-old San Jose man arrested for carrying firearm near school</h2>

By Lisa Fernandez

lfernandez@mercurynews.com
Sherman "Tony" Fontano with his dog, 'Magnum', at his San Jose home Thursday... <img src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site568/2009/1217/20091217__... align="right">

After his brothers watched a newscast about the national movement to carry guns in public, they told Sherman "Tony" Fontano he could do that himself. Two San Jose police officers also said it would be OK.

According to <a href="http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Criminals_using_increasingly_high_c_1218200... Raw Story</a>

<blockquote>Criminals in the United States are increasingly armed with high-caliber and automatic weapons during robberies and murders, according to a study by the Police Executive Research Forum.

I'm sure many of you have heard something to the effect that the Second Amendment is about the militia, or the National Guard, or some such inaccurate conclusion. The exact wording is:

<blockquote>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.</blockquote>

As you likely know, this is about "the right of the people" even though it is not the first word of the sentence. There are commas in use that we don't use in the 21st century. But the meaning is clear.

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Can anyone provide us with the number of things in this story that are wrong? We reproduce the article in full here, H/T to <a href="http://www.indystar.com/article/20091217/LOCAL18/912170472/Gun-lawsuit-m... Indy Star</a>. It sounds like a bad script from a comedy TV show.

<blockquote>
<h3>Gun lawsuit misfires over clerical error</h3>

A hot-button lawsuit challenging Indianapolis police's gun-return policy ended this week, but not because of the lawyers' arguments.

The International Association of Campus Law Enforcement Administrators, which seems to be an unelected, anonymous body of people of unknown qualifications says this: "There is no credible statistical evidence demonstrating that laws allowing the carrying of concealed firearms reduce crime."

This statement is false on its face.

Do you remember that old saying about "if a tree fell in the forest"? Or "what if you threw a party but no one came"?

How about "what if you made a law that criminals never broke"? This one is not so funny, because what it means is that the only ones who break the law are otherwise law-abiding citizens like you and me.

Look what they are saying across the pond in England:

<blockquote>

This quote <a href="http://www.theregister.co.uk/2009/12/04/police_photos/">taken from The Register</a> in Britain says a lot:

<blockquote>

The fear, expressed within the ranks of senior police officers, is that a backlash against perceived heavy-handedness could lead to members of the public becoming more aware of their rights, less co-operative, and ultimately far more difficult to police. http://bit.ly/6T6DZJ
</blockquote>

First of all, we want to say that we are glad no one was physically hurt.

Now, to the report from Boston Channel 5:

<blockquote>

State Trooper Punished For Gun Incident
Officer Took Responsibility For Son's Actions

POSTED: 2:29 pm EST December 3, 2009

SANDWICH, Mass. -- A state police lieutenant whose son took his department-issued gun from an unlocked bureau then allegedly pointed it at a 5-year-old neighbor has admitted to acting in a manner unbecoming an officer.