Are defensive weapons available to all U.S. Citizens?

I have long felt that all Americans should be able to own and utilize Defensive Weapons. Now while I consider that a "right" that we have, I also feel that it is a "right" that we should forfeit, should we be found guilty in a court of law, of crimes against our fellow man. To do other than that means that only the bad guys, those whose intent is opposing the laws of the country, will have weapons-and few of them will choose Defensive Weapons, or weapons of less than lethal strength.
Notice this article in the Tuscaloosa news:
Published Sunday, April 29, 2007
Tony Stewart to watch out for Fayette speeders

By Katherine K. Lee
Staff Writer
‘ "Stewart started his training last week by with the usual checklist for aspiring officers.
"He came in last night and qualified with his weapon and got Taser-certified," Ingle said.
That required Stewart to fire a weapon with a certain degree of accuracy under the supervision of a firearms instructor. Then he got shocked with a Taser." ‘
Yes, that is Tony Stewart of Nascar fame, wanting to assist his community by volunteering as a Sheriff's Department Volunteer Officer. And as part of his training, he gets the shocking end of a Taser. Now that may sound weird to some, but anybody that has served in the military is likely familiar with CBR warfare training (Chemical, Biological, Radiological) and the dreaded tear gas chamber.

Dreaded-yes, I was very uncomfortable in the tear gas chamber. It burns, it hurts, it makes you cry just like the name implies. So my question is this. If we can put our military personnel through this experience, if we can put our police and sheriff trainees through this experience-then why can't we unleash these same non-lethal forces on somebody who is attacking us? Thankfully in most states we can. Indeed it is legal in all 50 states. BUT, some states and local jurisdictions impose restrictions on these products. Here are a few of the known restrictions.

Wisconsin - Wisconsin requires a formulation that does not include UV dye.
Michigan - Michigan requires specific pepper or tear gas formulas be used.

New York - New York requires you visit a New York state licensed firearm dealer or pharmacist to make your purchase
Massachusetts - Massachusetts requires you have a Firearms Identification Card (FID)

Hmm, let me editorialize a little bit on those.
It would seem that Wisconsin is afraid of being able to identify the perpetrator.
Michigan wants to reformulate non-lethal gases-what? Do them want to make them Lethal?
New York wants to limit sales to firearm dealers or pharmacists? I guess you may as well visit the Firearms dealer and buy a real weapon!!
And the same for Massachusetts. If you are going to jump through enough hoops to get a Firearms ID card-then pack a Colt 45!!

But the ultimate question is this. Do the bad guys pay any attention to these restrictions?
Heck NO!! It's just the good guys that may have their hands tied. But as a good rule of thumb CHECK WITH YOUR LOCAL POLICE DEPARTMENT. Local jurisdictional issues can definitely change the rules, especially if you are considering Taser type equipment.

Notice still another article from my local Tuscaloosa News:

Published Sunday, April 29, 2007
Possible 'suicide by cop' attempt thwarted

By Jason Morton
Staff Writer
"Deputies fired a small beanbag from a shotgun - called a "less than lethal" round in law enforcement terms - to disarm........"
I found that interesting, and commendable. They were facing down a man who had evaded arrest, and came out of his car carrying a gun-pointed at his own head. So the police fired beanbags out of shotguns, to take him down. Great defensive weapon-although a little hard to tote when you are jogging, or in your purse. But you have to assume that some other officers had a bead on him with lethal weapons, just in case he changed his aim!!
http://upstreamanddown.blogspot.com/
Published Sunday, April 29, 2007By Jason MortonStaff Writer "Deputies fired a small beanbag from a shotgun - called a "less than lethal" round in law enforcement terms - to disarm........"
Ruth D.

Ruth D~
Ruth D. is a middle school teacher who writes bloggs.
Monday, April 30, 2007
Feminism: Burning Bras or Burning Bridges

Ruth D wrote quite a blogg, and this is but a small cut from it. ..."Me~I am fortunate in that none of my friends have been raped. Would it "piss me off?" That would not be the emotion I'd have. Would I be scared? No. Pinning rape on the male gender is not fair, any more than saying women ask for it is fair. Would I be "pissed off" if the men were not given an appropriate sentence for rape? Yes. Would I be pissed of if men were blamed for rape they didn't commit ( Duke Lacrosse team)? Yes."


I liked Ruth's view, and took comfort in her realization that not all men are rapists. I am unfortunately a little too familiar with rape, and at that I am not even close. I had a student employee once, who was also a dorm Resident Administrator. In the second roll, she had a student come in early one morning that had been raped. She spent the night at the hospital with that student, and missed her early morning work assignment with me. She was afraid she had blown her job with me-(This was a student that NEVER missed an assignment so I was making panicked calls to her dorm room and cell phone, trying to find out if she was OK). Impacting her job was about the farthest thing from being a concern on my part. When she did make it in, we talked at length, trying to ease her fears, fears of her job, and fears of rape, and she was just the friend of the victim, not the victim. But she had had to call the parents and tell them about their daughter, and wait for them at the hospital, and it surely was haunting her. Heck that was 8 years ago, and I am still tearing up thinking about it.

Rape is of course the pinnacle of all Sexual Harassment Crimes. Nobody likes a rapist, nobody I know of thinks they should have ANY rights at all. Another of my pet peeves is the situation with the Duke Lacrosse team. These men, along with most of their law abiding, women respecting brethren, are defenseless under the present laws.

You can read more at:
http://www.sexualharassmentresources.com

Bill Barger

Barger Specialties LLC