Gun laws and little ladies in wheelchairs
When did 56 years-old mean granny?
John Lott on the wheelchair-bound lady who shot a would be robber in New York City:
But this attack ended differently than most crimes in New York City. As her attacker grabbed her “violently” and “choked” her, Johnson pulled out a handgun and shot once, hitting the criminal in the elbow. Johnson was fortunate that she was able to defend herself.
The city obviously wasn’t there to protect Johnson. A police officer could have handled it, but cops can’t be everywhere, and they virtually always arrive after a crime has occurred.
Nor does it appear that the city was doing a particularly good job of keeping the criminal off the street to begin with. Johnson’s attacker had been previously arrested nine times, primarily for the violent crime of robbery, and he had served time in prison for selling illegal substances. One can only wonder how many times he was never caught.
Even worse, if Mayor Bloomberg would have enforced New York City’s gun-control laws, it’s Johnson who would be in jail. Her license only allows her to carry a handgun that is unloaded and in a locked container to and from a firearms range. With an attacker choking her, there is no way she could have unlocked and loaded her gun.
. . . her permit doesn’t allow her to carry a loaded gun. Instead, the gun must be empty, locked up, and the ammo must be separate. Obviously she didn’t have time to unlock a case, load her gun, and take a bead on her attacker. Besides she had her little dog with her and who takes a dog to a gun range (well, it is New York after all, so who knows).
New York PD obviously knows the value of public relations. Prosecuting this woman would make no sense. I applaud them for their rare show of common sense.
See, I don’t applaud them for it. The law applies to everyone. And prosecuting this lady would show just how dumb some of these laws are. That is not to say that I hope they do prosecute her (I don’t think that at all) but that I don’t applaud them for it. And the only reason they’ll not prosecute her is due to bad publicity.
Showing just how silly some gun laws are is necessary.
September 15th, 2006 at 6:57 am
Count on the her never seeing that pistol again, however.
September 15th, 2006 at 7:23 am
How much would you like to bet that she’ll get charged with it in a month or two, once the press forgets all about this attack?
September 15th, 2006 at 2:56 pm
The DA should prosecute.
Can you say “Jury Nulification”??
Like the folks in NY really know thier rights.
Must be that great public edjewmacattion.
September 15th, 2006 at 4:25 pm
Maybe the prosecutor learned about bad publicity from the “subway vigilante” case a couple of decades back. A man named something like Bernard Goetz didn’t like the look in four black teenagers’ eyes and cut loose with a pistol. He was probably reading them right; they had records such that the odds were very good they weren’t riding the subways to get somewhere. I think the prosecutor did finally get a conviction for carrying an unlicensed pistol, but meanwhile this guy became a hero to most of the city, so I expect prosecuting hurt the DA’s political prospects. And this was a man, not too old, and by his own words he started firing without any overt act by the gangbangers.
Prosecute a grandma for shooting after the mugger actually grabbed her? That would be much more unpopular. OTOH, you’re right about her never seeing her pistol again, nor her permit, I think. She wouldn’t get her pistol back if she shot a goblin who broke down her door and stormed into the house waving a gun in one hand and his erection in the other. When do the papers ever report that the cops stole a gun?
And finally, I want to congratulate her for quick thinking for that “going to the range” story. It might be an utter crock (unless there’s a range with a doggy-sitting service), and it might not really cover her legally, but it makes it much easier for the authorities to pretend everything’s legal.
September 16th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
Like I said in my post on it, they can’t prosecute her – four of the five “PC” boxes are checked here: elderly, disabled, black, female. The only one they missed is “lesbian.”
But I have absolutely no doubt that her handgun – confiscated as evidence – will never be returned to her, and her premises permit will be quietly revoked as soon as her notoriety dies down.
And you’ll never hear another word about her again.
Unless she ends up as the victim of another crime.
September 18th, 2006 at 3:54 pm
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