From CCRKBA:
BELLEVUE, WA – Florida Gov. Jeb Bush “nailed it” when he told reporters in Tallahassee – in reaction to the state’s drop in crime – that armed citizens are part of the equation, the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms (CCRKBA) said today.
Gov. Bush was quoted in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel noting, “Law abiding citizens that have guns for protection actually probably are part of the reason we have a lower crime rate.”
Florida is one of 40 states with “right-to-carry” statutes that give citizens the ability to carry concealed handguns with the proper license. Last year, Florida also passed legislation that enables citizens to “stand their ground” and fight back when attacked in a public place where they have a right to be.
“Gov. Bush has once again demonstrated progressive thinking, and a clear understanding about what works to stop criminals in their tracks,” said CCRKBA Chairman Alan Gottlieb. “Legally-armed citizens are a threat to nobody but criminals, and Florida’s crime statistics prove that the presence of firearms in the hands of law-abiding citizens benefits the entire community. In explaining why crime rates have dropped, we think Gov. Bush nailed it.”
“Isn’t it ironic,” added CCRKBA Executive Director Joe Waldron, “that while Florida, with an armed citizenry, is enjoying a drop in crime, Washington, D.C., where citizens are legally disarmed, is experiencing a crime epidemic? In the nation’s capitol, where the Second Amendment has been literally suspended by municipal government fiat, armed assaults are up 18 percent in the past month and robberies have jumped 14 percent. Yet law-abiding citizens cannot arm themselves for protection. It’s an outrage.”
“No matter where they live,” Gottlieb concluded, “American citizens have a right to defend themselves. Progressive states like Florida with sensible concealed carry and self-defense laws will lead this nation out of the Dark Ages of insane gun control and broken justice systems. This new data shows that the gun control and criminal rights extremists have been wrong, something we’ve known all along.”
While Florida celebrated the falling crime rate, Washington, D.C., declared a crime emergency:
Two groups of tourists were robbed at gunpoint on the National Mall, just hours after the police chief declared a crime emergency in the city in response to a string of violence that included the killing of a British activist.
The activist, Alan Senitt, was attacked in the Georgetown area on Sunday, his throat was slit and police say the attackers attempted to rape his companion. It was the 13th homicide in the city this month. Robberies are up 14 percent, and armed assaults have jumped 18 percent in the past 30 days.
On Wednesday, U.S. Park Police were looking for connections between the latest Mall robberies and three similar incidents in the area in late May. There have been no arrests in any of those cases.
…District of Columbia Police Chief Charles Ramsey declared a crime emergency in the city after Senitt, a volunteer for the potential presidential campaign of former Virginia Gov. Mark R. Warner, was killed.
…The tourist-friendly National Mall, which is under the jurisdiction of Park Police rather than D.C. police, is usually considered safe. But the recent crimes against tourists have raised calls for a larger police presence.
Police are asking Mall visitors to "be our eyes and ears," [Park Police Sgt.] Fear said. "We’re going to ask them to be vigilant."
"Fear" — what an appropriate name for a D.C. Park Policeman. Defenseless, disarmed eyes and ears –that’s been working real well for you, hasn’t it, Sgt. Fear?
