We Have No Constitutional Right To Police Protection
Five years ago this month – Castle Rock v. Gonzales
Michigan – -(Ammoland.com)- On June 27, 2005 in the case of Castle Rock v. Gonzales, the Supreme Court found that Jessica Gonzales did not have a constitutional right to police protection even in the presence of a restraining order. By a vote of 7-to-2, the Supreme Court ruled that Gonzales has no right to sue her local police department for failing to protect her and her children from her estranged husband.
The post-mortem discussion on Gonzales has been fiery but it has missed an obvious point. If the government won’t protect you, then you have to take responsibility for your own self-defense and that of your family.
The court’s ruling is a sad decision, but one that every victim and/or potential victim of violence must note: calling the police is not enough.
You must also be ready to defend yourself … foxnews.com
No matter what some people would say, being a victim isn’t noble or morally superior to being a capable survivor.
Predators who select victims based on the expected inability to resist, often desist when even a small number of the expected easy marks give them trouble. For example, where even a few women are known to be armed, all women benefit from the reduction in attempted rapes and other violent crimes. That no external differences indicate which person is defenseless and which isn’t makes all of us safer.
When a threat to your safety comes from a hostile human, it is unrealistic to expect that an assault would be postponed long enough to let you call for help.
Police Response Time
Percent distribution of incidents where police came to the victim, by police response time and type of crime. source: U.S. Dept of Justice National Criminal Victimization Survey, 2007. (see table below)
|
Response Time
|
Within 5 min
|
6-10 min
|
11 min to 1 hour
|
Within 1 day
|
Longer than 1 day
|
Length of time unknown
|
Not ascertained
|
|
Crimes of violence*
|
24.9%
|
28.5%
|
37.6%
|
3.4%
|
1.2%
|
4.2%
|
0.2%
|
|
Robbery
|
25.4%
|
25.9%
|
41.8%
|
1.6%
|
0%
|
5.3%
|
0%
|
|
Aggravated assault
|
19.1%
|
34.3%
|
42.8%
|
2%
|
0%
|
1.8%
|
0%
|
|
Simple assault
|
27%
|
27.8%
|
34.3%
|
3.7%
|
2.2%
|
4.6%
|
0.4%
|
|
Property crimes
|
12.8%
|
20.3%
|
44.5%
|
14.2%
|
1.5%
|
6.7%
|
0%
|
|
Household burglary
|
14.9%
|
20.5%
|
41.3%
|
13.3%
|
1.9%
|
8%
|
0%
|
|
Motor vehicle theft
|
9.6%
|
23%
|
43.3%
|
17.4
|
0.4%
|
6.2%
|
0%
|
|
Theft
|
12.3%
|
19.3%
|
46.4%
|
14%
|
1.6%
|
6%
|
0
|
*Crimes of violence includes data on rape and sexual assault.
About:
The Michigan Coalition for Responsible Gun Owners is a non-profit, non-partisan organization. Formed from just eight people in 1996, we now have thousands of members and numerous affiliated clubs across the state. We’re growing larger and more effective every day.
Our mission statement is: “Promoting safe use and ownership of firearms through education, litigation, and legislation” Visit: www.mcrgo.org