A couple of weeks ago, a correspondent of mine, whose brother is in the service, brought my attention to this National Review story, which underlines the sort of political contradictions that are bound to drive any thinking person up the wall: “The Deadly Consequences of Draconian Gun Laws.”
It’s about a 39-year-old hairdresser, Carol Browne, who “had become increasingly nervous about her ex-boyfriend. Convinced that he intended to do her physical harm, she took out a restraining order, had security cameras installed at her home, and purchased an alarm system.”
She also applied for a permit to buy a gun, which she should have received (or at least had some word about) within a month. About six weeks after her application, she was stabbed to death in her driveway.
Defending his tardiness, the local police chief explained that the application process usually takes more than two months, and that when Bowne died, his team was still waiting for her fingerprints to be processed. Perhaps so. But this should serve as no acceptable excuse. By state law, New Jersey is required to get back to permit petitioners within 30 days. It didn’t.
It almost never does. Instead, would-be gun owners report waiting for three, four, six, and even nine months for permission to exercise what the Second Amendment makes clear is an unalienable individual right. The rules do not apply to the government.
Sure, the story makes a good case for easing restrictive firearm policies (or at least making them no more restrictive than the law prescribes), but what it saliently stresses is that liberal/feminist perspectives and the public safety policies they coerce are incoherent. Easy access to restraining orders is fiercely defended, and domestic and sexual violence are promoted as “epidemic.” Complainants of “whatever” are emboldened to represent their situations as dire and seek state protections. It’s estimated that millions of these orders are dispensed every year, and violence is the justification—and violence is always implicit in judicial rulings in this arena of law.
At the same time, the most obvious deterrents to violence, guns, are denounced—also in accordance with party positions. Okay, but which is it? Are multitudes of people in immediate danger…or aren’t they? Are their needs desperately important…or aren’t they?
(What wonder if police officers exhibit a degree of cynicism?)
Corollary to millions of restraining orders’ being granted to people is that millions of restraining orders are issued to people, and those people are publicly represented as threats. If they’re not really regarded as threats, then this is wrong. If they are regarded as threats, then there are a lot of people at risk, and denying them the means to defend themselves is wrong.
What the story in this post emphasizes above all is that restraining orders aren’t armor; they can’t live up to their promises and may enrage violent aggressors to extremity.
The perspectives outlined above persist in spite of obvious and outrageous contradictions because the leftist ideologues who hold them don’t get falsely accused…or stabbed to death in their driveways on their way to restock their larders with croissants and cat litter.
Copyright © 2015 RestrainingOrderAbuse.com
Anonymous
June 27, 2015
I learned today on NPR how to structure a beer-and-cheese tasting.
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bettykrachey
June 21, 2015
Reblogged this on Falsely Accused.
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Moderator
July 15, 2015
You’ll be able to count down from a 100 on that petition soon! I visited it today, and it was funny to see “197 likes” for early responses and “0 likes” for the newest ones (10 months later). Any news, Betty?
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DK
June 21, 2015
Interesting — I thought this was a website about restraining order reform, not a conservative political blog for NRA lobbyists. As such, I will no longer be following — it’s sad that an issue with broad, bipartisan appeal is going to pushed to the fringe because of right wing political agendas.
This is not — or it shouldn’t be — an ideological issue. It’s an issue that affects liberals and conservatives alike, and a problem in liberal and conservative courts. The idea that only liberals and liberal judges abuse restraining orders and that conservative women and conservative courts in conservative jurisdictions never do has zero basis in fact.
Too bad you couldn’t resist grinding your own personal ax to insert the status quo of partisan politics and division into this site and this issue instead of trying to build a broad, non-ideological for real restraining order reform.
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Todd Greene
June 21, 2015
I’m not immune to finding things interesting, even now. I’ve spoken in the past week with at least two suicidal people, though, so you can appreciate that the word interesting applied to this stuff leaves a bad taste in my mouth.
What’s interesting about your reaction, DK, is that it denies the injustices this blog concerns are politically motivated, yet the reaction itself betrays the dogmatic loyalty that makes these injustices possible and common.
If you fail to realize or if you reject the idea that the impetus behind these laws is political, then you never were following anything.
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Moderator
June 22, 2015
“There Is Nothing about Restraining Order Law, Its Abuse, or Its Application That ISN’T Political”
http://restrainingorderabuse.com/2015/06/22/there-is-nothing-about-restraining-order-law-its-abuse-or-its-application-that-isnt-political/
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Joel Bond Gunch
June 23, 2015
This nattering, nervously anonymous person has an agenda. I wonder why she doesn’t acknowledge her gender or where she’s coming from. And then, of course, she hasn’t really read much of the author because in my experience he’s never come of much as a right-winger.
I will tell you this: That being involuntarily embroiled in several of these restraining order frauds, and watching liberal judges legislate and engage in chicanery from the bench, has driven me from center to right. That’s for damn sure.
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Moderator
June 23, 2015
Good to hear from you, Larry. It crossed my mind that you or your lady might be ailing. I hope you’re doing okay. I quoted MTG the other day…by name. Has she been cowed? Do you still encounter each other?
This man’s thoughts may interest you:
http://restrainingorderabuse.com/2015/06/23/a-wronged-fathers-immodest-proposal-for-restraining-order-reform/
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