Milwaukee
County, Wisconsin Sheriff David Clarke Jr. states that firearms, in the
hands of law-abiding citizens, save people’s lives.
INDIANAPOLIS, April 25 — Milwaukee County, Wisconsin Sheriff David Clarke Jr.
delivered a rousing speech at the 2014 NRA annual meeting, stating that firearms, in the hands of law-abiding citizens, save people’s lives.
Clarke
made controversial national headlines last year
when he told residents of his county that calling 911 might not be
effective, and advised them to take gun training courses for
self-defense in the wake of law enforcement layoffs. His speech at the
annual NRA meeting cited several incidents in which guns in the hands of
law-abiding citizens saved their own, or a complete strangers, life.
Clarke said “The armed citizen made America free, and the armed
citizen will keep America free!” Noting frustration at lawlessness, and
honest people’s fear to be safe in their residences, property and
neighborhoods, he said:
“As a career cop of 35 years, I got tired of seeing good
people like you being raped or having guns stuck up against your heads,
and your property taken. I got tired of seeing law-abiding people having
their homes broken into, their cars stolen, being intimidated by thugs
and gangs, and being prisoners in their own homes – afraid to go outside
or let their kids play in front of their house, because their
neighborhoods were under control of the criminal element.”
Clarke decided to “partner” with law-abiding citizens to “go on the
offensive against the criminal element”, adding that to do so, people
needed “the tools guaranteed under the Second Amendment.” Clarke went on
to say that as a law enforcement officer, he calls “the law-abiding
citizen the great equalizer,” and that he “trusts the law-abiding armed
citizen.”
Clarke recounted several stories from his county where people used
firearms to save lives. He told the story of a maintenance worker simply
doing his job who was being “savagely beaten” by 3 suspects, one of
which wielded a club. Clarke said the maintenance worker later told him
he thought “he was going to die.” Fearing for his life, he pulled his
handgun and fired twice, “killing two of the suspects, and saving his
own life.”
In another incident, three masked men, one armed with a gun, “burst
into a tavern, told the patrons to get down on the floor, and announced a
hold-up.” The bar owner grabbed his own firearm from behind the bar,
and killed one of the hold-up men. “The other two fled, like the cowards
that they were.”
In a third incident, a good Samaritan driving home from work stopped
to aid a woman who was being “violently beaten on a sidewalk by a man.”
The good samaritan stopped his car, and told the suspect to stop beating
the woman. The suspect charged the good samaritan, who pulled his gun
from his holster, halting the suspect. “The suspect stopped his advance,
and fled like the coward he was.”
Clarke wrapped up these stories by stating: “Those firearms, in the
hands of law-abiding citizens, saved people’s lives.” Clarke concluded
by calling on citizens to join pro-gun groups, saying “We’re partners
now.” He also warned them that the fight to defend the Second Amendment
will be a tough, never-ending one.
You can watch the speech in its entirety below via
The Right Scoop:
By Matt MacBradaigh. Matt
is a Christian, Husband, Father, Patriot, and Conservative from the
Pacific Northwest. Matt writes about the Second Amendment, Gun Control,
Gun Rights, and Gun Policy issues and is published on The Bell Towers, The Brenner Brief, PolicyMic. TavernKeepers, and Vocativ.
Follow Me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/2AFight
Follow Me on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/2ndAmendmentFight
This article also appears on The Brenner Brief. (Original publication April 10, 2014).
Sheriff David Clarke Jr: Firearms, in the Hands of Law-abiding Citizens, Save Lives
Clarke
made controversial national headlines last year when he told residents of his county that calling 911 might not be effective, and advised them to take gun training courses for self-defense in the wake of law enforcement layoffs. His speech at the annual NRA meeting cited several incidents in which guns in the hands of law-abiding citizens saved their own, or a complete strangers, life.
Clarke said “The armed citizen made America free, and the armed citizen will keep America free!” Noting frustration at lawlessness, and honest people’s fear to be safe in their residences, property and neighborhoods, he said:
“As a career cop of 35 years, I got tired of seeing good people like you being raped or having guns stuck up against your heads, and your property taken. I got tired of seeing law-abiding people having their homes broken into, their cars stolen, being intimidated by thugs and gangs, and being prisoners in their own homes – afraid to go outside or let their kids play in front of their house, because their neighborhoods were under control of the criminal element.”
Clarke decided to “partner” with law-abiding citizens to “go on the offensive against the criminal element”, adding that to do so, people needed “the tools guaranteed under the Second Amendment.” Clarke went on to say that as a law enforcement officer, he calls “the law-abiding citizen the great equalizer,” and that he “trusts the law-abiding armed citizen.”
Clarke recounted several stories from his county where people used firearms to save lives. He told the story of a maintenance worker simply doing his job who was being “savagely beaten” by 3 suspects, one of which wielded a club. Clarke said the maintenance worker later told him he thought “he was going to die.” Fearing for his life, he pulled his handgun and fired twice, “killing two of the suspects, and saving his own life.”
In another incident, three masked men, one armed with a gun, “burst into a tavern, told the patrons to get down on the floor, and announced a hold-up.” The bar owner grabbed his own firearm from behind the bar, and killed one of the hold-up men. “The other two fled, like the cowards that they were.”
In a third incident, a good Samaritan driving home from work stopped to aid a woman who was being “violently beaten on a sidewalk by a man.” The good samaritan stopped his car, and told the suspect to stop beating the woman. The suspect charged the good samaritan, who pulled his gun from his holster, halting the suspect. “The suspect stopped his advance, and fled like the coward he was.”
Clarke wrapped up these stories by stating: “Those firearms, in the hands of law-abiding citizens, saved people’s lives.” Clarke concluded by calling on citizens to join pro-gun groups, saying “We’re partners now.” He also warned them that the fight to defend the Second Amendment will be a tough, never-ending one.
This article was originally published on Brenner Brief. Original publish date May 1, 2014. Original author, Matt MacBradaigh.
