Archive: News

The notion of protecting one’s self, property and valuables is as old as human history.  Modern society recognizes the need to protect and guard just about everything imaginable by issuing deeds, titles, patents, and certificates.  All of us have some sense of ownership whether it is our homes, automobiles, items we have purchased or intellectual accomplishments.  Legal documents provide us with a feeling of security against theft or misuse. 

Personal as well as collective safety is vital to our way of life.  Our country has established law enforcement agencies to carry out this important duty.  The men and women who serve in these agencies do so with a high level of efficiency and professionalism. 

Many communities have adopted additional laws and implemented programs to increase our level of security and provide an avenue by which ordinary citizens can assist law enforcement officials.  One of the most popular programs has been the “Neighborhood Watch.” 

A Neighborhood Watch is an organized group of citizens dedicated to the prevention of crime and vandalism in their neighborhood.   This program builds on the concept of town watch from Colonial America. 

Neighborhood watches are not vigilante organizations.  Individuals serve as the eyes and ears for law enforcement.  When criminal activity is suspected, members of the group are encouraged to contact their local law enforcement agency.  They are not to take action on their own or intervene in any way.  When properly run, these local groups offer the community a valuable service and an added layer of protection. 

The recent shooting of an unarmed young man in Florida highlights the danger when ordinary citizens are given the right to take the law into their own hands.  Florida is one of a dozen or so states that have instituted a “Stand-Your-Ground” law.  This law states that a person may use force in self-defense when there is a reasonable belief of a threat, without an obligation to retreat first. 

This law encourages untrained individuals to use deadly force against each other or persons who they find suspicious, dangerous, or merely undesirable.  It gives legal protection for vigilantes in the name of public defense.  Such objectivity can only lead to disastrous consequences. 

I have the greatest respect for law enforcement officials.  They spend hundreds of hours in specialized training in order to “serve and protect” us.  They are tested emotionally, psychologically, and physically in every imaginable situation involving kids, teens, adults and those who truly wish to do harm.  From the lone gunman to a peaceful demonstration, our law enforcement agencies react in ways that keep us safe without violating our basic rights and freedoms. 

Stand-Your-Ground laws are disasters waiting to happen.  They set a dangerous precedent in any civilized society and ought to be revoked.  They act as neither a deterrent or safeguard to any community.  Such laws merely instill in certain individuals the notion to take the law into their own hands, and this is just wrong.  The killing of one young man is proof enough.  And that is to the point.  

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