New Lexington, Ohio: A rape victim stopped her attacker by shooting him.
Flint, Michigan: A 68-year-old wheelchair-bound resident shot a violent
intruder who had broken into his home.
Onondaga, New York: The attacker who was striking someone with a shovel was
shot by the friend of the victim.
The fear over public-school shootings is legitimate, but Kmart's response,
even if it is motivated by those attacks, is not. Since the shootings
started in the fall of 1997, 32 students and 3 teachers have been killed in
any type of shooting at elementary or secondary schools, an annual rate of 1
death per 4 million students. This includes deaths from gang fights,
robberies, accidents, as well as attacks such as the one at Columbine. By
contrast, during that same period, 53 students died playing high-school
football. Is Kmart's next response to not sell any sports equipment?
To blame Kmart for selling some of the ammunition used in the Columbine
attack or to think that deaths could have been prevented if only Kmart
hadn't sold ammunition makes no sense. Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold had
planned the Columbine attack for over a year and were motivated enough to
construct several dozen bombs.
Apparently, the real goal is to stop all stores, not just Kmart, from
selling ammunition. But when the police can't be there to protect people,
will gun control advocates be there to protect them?
By John R. Lott Jr., a senior research scholar at the Yale University Law
School, & the author of More Guns, Less Crime
http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/comment-lott072001.shtml