Gun Free Zones? Only Bad Guys Will Have Guns

Newtown parents call for stricter gun controls nationwide; meanwhile, gun permits in Newtown surge.


The Wall Street Journal is reporting:

The number of people seeking permits to buy guns has surged in this town following the December massacre of schoolchildren by a local man, even as the parents of some victims had urged stricter weapons laws nationwide.

Through July 24, more than 200 people in Newtown have received new local pistol permits, according to a review of local records, surpassing the 171 new permits issued for all of last year. Such permits are prerequisites for Connecticut permits that allow people to purchase and carry pistols as well as rifles or shotguns.

The rise in Newtown comes in tandem with a general upswing in gun sales nationwide and in Connecticut, which passed tough firearm restrictions after Adam Lanza shot and killed 26 people, including 20 children, at Sandy Hook Elementary School on Dec. 14. It was the nation's worst shooting of young children. 

The local surge is especially sensitive in Newtown. The town of about 28,000, approximately 75 miles northeast of New York City, has a sizable population of hunters and sportsmen as well as a base of politically active gun-control advocates that has organized since the Sandy Hook shooting.

"I think people realize that you can't call the police all the time and expect them to save you," said Newtown resident Bill Stevens, 48 years old, an avid hunter who owns more than a dozen firearms. "It's sinking in to some folks that 'I need to take responsibility for keeping my family safe.' "

Yes, when seconds count, police are only minutes away.

You simply can't call the police all the time and expect them to save you. You have to stand your ground.