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The conviction and imprisonment of Martin is a stain on the once-great
British Empire.
Now an equally disturbing case comes to light.
Bill Clifford, 77, of Aldershot, Hampshire and a veteran of World War
II, hanged himself on May 3, 2001. It was the day he was to appear in
court on charges of "possessing an imitation firearm with intent to
cause fear." According to his brother Raymond, the veteran had never
been in trouble with the law and was so ashamed of being arrested that
he took his own life.
The Manchester Guardian reported that Clifford committed the heinous
offense of using a pellet gun to scare off a gang of teenage punks who
were kicking in his door and breaking a window in his home. Raymond
Clifford stated that a long history of harassment led to the incident.
"The trouble he had from the youths got worse in the last couple of
months," Raymond Clifford said. "They shouted outside and put eggs
through his letterbox." His brother called police several times to
report the gang's criminal activities, but got no satisfaction. Finally,
when the thugs attempted to break into his home, Clfford used the pellet
gun to scare them away. Instead of detainIng the punks who were
threatening the homeowner, cops arrested Bill Clifford.
It seems that constables have trouble catching real criminals. But even
though an esimated three million guns may be in the hands of English
criminals, God forbid that any law-abiding citizen should keep a firearm
for the defense of his home.
Just as despicable to English police are children who play with toy
guns.
A few months ago, police stormed through the door of a residence in Red
House, Sunderland and arrested an eleven-year-old boy who had just
received a pellet gun for his birthday. According to the Newscastle
Journal, the lawmen, accompanied by a riot van, interrupted a birthday
party to make the arrest.
The child, Roland Hopper, was spirited by cops to the local jailhouse
and interrogated for two hours. His mother, Andrea Davies, stated that
the constables rushed into the house just as her son was about to cut
his birthday cake. "I was pretty shocked," she said. "We looked out the
window and they were swarming around like storm troopers in bulletproof
vests...And on top of everything else, they confiscated the gun. Roland
was in tears."
It was later determined that a neighbor had seen the boys playing with
the pellet gun and reported it to police.
After being released, Roland said, "It was the worst birthday party I
ever had."
And now, in perhaps the most outrageous case of all, Ruby Barber, a
grandmother who had been repeatedly burglarized, decided to surround her
house with barbed wire to protect it from intruders. Her request was
initially denied because it "might hurt burglars." A storm of protest
eventually caused the Northampton Borough Council to relent. Barber,
they ruled, could surround her garden with razor wire. But there was a
catch--she must take the precaution of posting warning signs and "agree
to take full responsibility if a would-be intruder is injured."
Am I missing something here?
Sounds like the inmates are running the asylum.
Robert A. Waters is author of "The Best Defense: True Stories of
Intended Victims Who Defended Themselves with a Firearm." His next book
"Guns Save Lives: True Stories of Americans Defending Their Lives with
Firearms," is due out any day.
Published by Permission
http://www.robertwaters.net
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