[Leica] Gun control

[LRZeitlin@aol.com]

Don writes:

<<When the crooks start running off with the Englishman's Leica's because an
owner in the UK protecting his property gets in more trouble than the crook,
then these illiberals will start thinking it might be nice to live somewhere
that allows one to protect his/her property and family.
>>

Don, 

Several years ago I wrote this newspaper column as part of as series called 
"The Grass is Always Grayer Next to the Slate Mine: Forty Five letters from 
Wales." I think it supports your point nicely.

"   If you read the glossy travel brochures you might think that Britain is 
an island overflowing with peace and tranquility. How untrue. The newspapers 
and TV newscasts are fond of derogating the USA but they seem to be stuck in a 
vision of Prohibition era Chicago with junior league Al Capones shooting up the 
neighborhood and the Mafia running the corner pizza parlor. The Columbine 
school shooting is a case in point. Rather than treating the problem as a case of 
uncontrolled high school angst that needed a lot of parental attention and 
some hands on school supervision, it was all blamed on the US Constitution and 
the National Rifle Association. Britain has the moral high ground here. They 
banned hand guns after a similar shooting a few years ago. What the papers 
didn't mention was that the murder rate in Britain is almost as high as that in the 
US except that the weapons of choice are cricket bats, broken Guinness 
bottles and assorted blunt objects.
    
    There were also three bombings in London's minority districts last week. 
A neo-Nazi group claimed credit for the nail bombs which exploded in Black, 
Bangladeshi, and gay neighborhoods, killing three members of a wedding party and 
wounding dozens. While the papers couldn't blame this on the lack of US gun 
control laws, they pointed the accusing finger at the Internet. It seems that 
survival fanatics living in Montana have posted plans for bomb making. To prove 
their point, the papers reprinted detailed instructions on how to make the 
terrorist bombs. All it takes is the powder from a box of shotgun shells poured 
into a pipe, a cheap alarm clock as a timer, and a bag of hardware store 
nails. Easy. Any child can do it. And given the detailed information in the papers, 
one probably will. Even without the Internet.
    
    The British don’t need guns or bombs to kill people. Syringes will do 
just fine. Dr. Harold Shipman, a general practitioner, was just indicted for 
killing three hundred of his patients. Not through malpractice but through 
cupidity. Dr. Shipman had his elderly patients sign over their property to him for 
safekeeping. Soon after, the patients took a turn for the worse and died in 
their beds with Dr. Shipman in attendance at the final moments. A journalist took 
the time to calculate that Dr. Shipman was singlehandedly responsible for more 
deaths than all of Britain’s serial killers combined.

England (not Wales) has twice the rate of property crime as the US and four 
times the rate of auto theft. In central London the probability of finding your 
car radio still in the car after a night parked on the street is roughly the 
same as winning the lottery. That is if you are lucky enough to find the car. 
Most cars are sold with "immobilizers", little devices which enable you to 
disable a vital portion of the ignition circuitry when you park. Armored steering 
wheel covers are a big seller. These are jimmy proof steel pie plates that 
cover the entire wheel and prevent it from being turned. We don't have either an 
immobilizer or a steering wheel since our car wouldn't tempt the hungriest 
crook. Actually we have taken to leaving it in the seedier parts of town with 
the windows open and the ignition keys in the lock. 

    The only statement not blaming the US for Britain's wave of violent crime 
was an editorial in the London Times which suggested that if tough gun laws 
were the only answer, then Washington D.C. would be the safest place in the US. 
In fact, they pointed out, the safest places are Vermont and New Hampshire, 
both states with the highest percentage of gun ownership in the country. 
Perhaps, the editorial suggested, the stratospheric crime rate in Britain is because 
there are too few guns. If home owners felt that they had a moral obligation 
to shoot housebreakers and thieves it might convince a few bad guys to think 
twice. Then Britons too could leave doors and cars unlocked - just like in 
Vermont. The NRA would have rejoiced."

And I SHOT all the pictures during my stay with a Leica.

Regards,

Larry Z
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