"Tom Bunetta" wrote in message
...

"Upscale" wrote in message
...

"Mike Marlow" wrote in message
Actually - no. Here in the US, and in other places around the
world, guns
are commonplace. Yet - no warring citizens. How do you explain
that?

What exactly do you call "commonplace"? In Canada, Britain,
Australia,
Japan, China, The Netherlands, guns ARE NOT commonplace. Just
because the US
has guns enshrined in its constitution doesn't automatically
include the
rest of the civilized countries around the world.

Guess that rocks your "The USA is the centre of the universe"
theory eh?



Subject: Obama style gun control is coming!

You're sound asleep when you hear a thump outside your bedroom
door.

Half-awake, and nearly paralyzed with fear, you hear muffled
whispers.
At least two people have broken into your house and are moving
your way.
With your heart pumping, you reach down beside your bed and pick
up your shotgun.
You rack a shell into the chamber, then inch toward the door and
open it. In the darkness, you make out two shadows.

One holds something that looks like a crowbar. When the intruder
brandishes it as if to strike, you raise the shotgun and fire. The
blast knocks both thugs to the floor. One writhes and screams
while the second man crawls to the front door and lurches outside.
As you pick up the telephone to call police, you know you're in
trouble.

In your country, most guns were outlawed years before, and the few
That are privately owned are so stringently regulated as to make
them useless. Yours was never registered.
Police arrive and inform you that the second burglar has died.
They arrest you for First Degree Murder and Illegal Possession of
a Firearm. When you talk to your attorney, he tells you not to
worry: authorities will probably plea the case down to
manslaughter.

"What kind of sentence will I get?" you ask.

"Only ten-to-twelve years," he replies, as if that's nothing.
"Behave yourself, and you'll be out in seven."

The next day, the shooting is the lead story in the local
newspaper.

Somehow, you're portrayed as an eccentric vigilante while the two
men you shot are represented as choirboys. Their friends and
relatives can't find an unkind word to say about them. Buried deep
down in the article, authorities acknowledge that both "victims"
have been arrested numerous times.

But the next day's headline says it all: "Lovable Rogue Son Didn't
Deserve to Die." The thieves have been transformed from career
criminals into Robin Hood-type pranksters. As the days wear on,
the story takes wings. The national media picks it up, then the
international media. The surviving burglar has become a folk hero.

Your attorney says the thief is preparing to sue you, and he'll
probably win. The media publishes reports that your home has been
burglarized several times in the past and that you've been
critical of local police for their lack of effort in apprehending
the suspects. After the last break-in, you told your neighbor that
you would be prepared next time.

The District Attorney uses this to allege that you were lying in
wait for the burglars.

A few months later, you go to trial. The charges haven't been
reduced, as your lawyer had so confidently predicted. When you
take the stand, your anger at the injustice of it all works
against you. Prosecutors paint a picture of you as a mean,
vengeful man. It doesn't take long for the jury to convict you of
all charges.

The judge sentences you to life in prison.

This case really happened.

On August 22, 1999, Tony Martin of Emneth, Norfolk, England,
killed one burglar and wounded a second. In April, 2000, he was
convicted and is now serving a life term.
snip

Perhaps not .....

It seems his sentence was reduced to manslaughter on appeal and that
he served two thirds of a five year term before being released on
July 28th 2003.