My father, Shamus, came within inches of having his head blown off when an escaped convict pointed a gun at his face and fired.
The bullet missed only because my father reacted quickly and, in the words of the former boxer, he “slipped the bullet” the way a fighter slips a punch.
Philadelphia police Sgt. Stephen Liczbinski wasn’t so lucky.
An assailant armed with an assault rifle fired five shots Saturday in rapid succession, leaving the officer bleeding to death on the street.
One of three men wanted in the slaying is still on the run.
One is dead.
One is in custody.
National Rifle Association apologists are also on the loose.
After offering rapid-fire condolences, they launched into a full automatic response in defense of assault rifles.
Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter has told NRA members that they owe an apology to the slain officer’s family. After all, NRA members are fighting in court a law Nutter signed that would have outlawed guns like the one that killed Liczbinski.
Former Philadelphia Mayor and now Pennsylvania Gov. Ed Rendell also tried in vain to protect police by cracking down on guns and strengthening the state gun laws. The NRA opened fire once again with a volley of attacks from lobbyists and intimidation tactics against lawmakers that blew away the opposition.
My father carried a gun for five years in the army and for 34 years as a member of the Pennsylvania State Police. Shamus hated guns because he saw the damage they can do in the wrong hands.
Too many wrong hands carry guns.
The simple solution is to decrease the easy availability of guns, especially military-style assault weapons that store too many bullets in a clip that might be used against sane, civil society.
Arm the police.
Arm them and train them well.
But crack down on the wholesale slaughter of cops who die in the line of duty, murdered by killers who care nothing about law and order.
Other societal factors go into developing cop killers.
But guns are the common denominator in an increasingly violent society.
If nothing else, assault rifles must go. Few people have legitimate reasons to own them. Nowadays, even collectors and recreational shooters have a weak case.
I’m being reasonable, too.
Hunters need not fret – unless hunters want to roam the woods with rapid-fire semi-automatic rifles in their hands as they look for deer and other game. Hunters can hunt all they want with other rifles.
Good hunters will agree.
Then they will eat what they kill or share the meat with their neighbors in need.
Granted, some people need protection.
The arming of citizens, however, must become an even more stringent process than the sometimes shoddy, politically-connected process that is now in place.
Concealed weapons permits must also be restricted. No permit should be issued to anyone who does not complete a gun safety and shooting course in advance.
Stolen guns must also be reported within 24 hours.
Call this gun control if you must. Because that’s exactly what it is. The safest societies control guns the most. To do otherwise is pure madness.
If we have to pry your cold, dead fingers from your weapon, so be it.
But let’s not wait that long.
Let’s control guns now, before more innocent people die. Let’s safeguard lives by banishing assault weapons. Let’s think.
Sue Henry
