I generally try to keep it to one “Gun Death?” post per day, but this local story I heard about on my drive into work covers so many other topics.
The gutsy Wal-Mart shopper who bit, struggled and screamed her way out of the ghastly grip of her assailant Friday night in Wareham has an urgent message for anyone who’s heard of her frightful ordeal, allegedly at the hands of a Level 3 sex offender.
First up, Good on her! Its not about carrying a gun, or being a martial arts expert, the first step in refusing to be a victim is simply to fight back. As Kathy Jackson says fight like a cornered cat. Of course the next step is to bring a force-multiplier. This story doesn’t say so, but other reports point that it was a busy parking lot, and lots of bystanders came to investigate.
Lucky for her, but what if this had been late at night, or in a remote parking lot? More on that later:
Lance E. Porter, 36, a Level 3 sex offender on probation after serving a 9- to 12-year sentence for kidnapping and child rape, waived his right to appear before Wareham District Court Judge Christopher Welch yesterday on charges he kidnapped, assaulted and battered the woman. Porter agreed to be held without bail pending a dangerousness hearing Oct. 4….Prosecutors sought to have Porter locked up indefinitely as a sexually dangerous person after he finished his prison stint, but he was freed by Plymouth Superior Court Judge Charles M. Grabau. Three psychologists testified he did not meet the criteria, court records show.
I guess 3 psychologists were fucking wrong, huh? This is why I won’t give people like Joan Peterson of the Brady Campaign, or any of her compatriots any respect. The problem we have time-and-time-again is dangerous people out unfettered amongst us in society. Restricting access to guns will do NOTHING for the criminal element. First up, criminals don’t NEED guns to commit all sorts of horrible crimes. Second I think we all know that despite it being banned for almost 100 years in this country, and most modern nations, its super easy to score Cocaine if you know the black markets. As Borepatch said somewhere in Joan’s palace of ignorance “What weighs more, a ton of cocaine, or a ton of Glocks?” If a criminal wants a gun they get a gun, just like my addict cousin wants some pills to pop he finds pills. It doesn’t matter that he’s done jail time for drugs, or that he’s on probation, not to mention he doesn’t have a prescription for the drugs he uses, and some of those drugs aren’t legal even with prescription. The problem is NOT the drugs but him.
What gun control CAN do is make it VERY expensive, and difficult for a woman like this to get a gun for personal protection. This time she didn’t NEED a gun. (Tho we can argue this, as the courts failed this woman’s safety, and now he’s back in the hands of the courts…maybe a chest full of lead might be the better option for everybody?) But again what if there hadn’t been bystanders? The paper describes him as a “185 pound Ex Con”, and from his mug shot he looks pretty solid in those 185, vs my slightly doughy 200 (I need to work out more!). You think some screams and some bights….maybe the fear of returning to prison, would stop this creep, if there was nobody else around to hear the commotion?
Last I want to talk about this little “gem” of advice:
“Make sure that you are very aware of the sex offenders in your town,” the petite 36-year-old woman told the Herald, still trembling and in shock from the parking lot nightmare. “When I was at the police station, I saw that there are many of them. . . . Be cautious of that because they’re around.”
Now she’s just been assaulted and is still trembling, so I won’t fault her on the bad advice. But seriously, I don’t see those registry photos as very useful unless you have a photographic memory….or you’re looking for a specific face. (ie: Hey, its that guy who’s always at the public playground who states at me and my kid!!). Also how useful is your town’s sex offender registry on your day-to-day? Are sex offenders chained to a stake in the yard? No! When I live in Portland Maine the Wal Mart I shopped in was in Scarborough. If I was a sex offender in Portland, I wouldn’t show up on the registry is Scarborough. Also many sex offenders register themselves at the relatives they stay with when they are released from prison. When they move, they don’t re-register, so I could be living on the other side of the state, and maybe my creepy mug only shows up at one Post office or Police Station. And of course this guy wasn’t a sex offender until he got caught the first time.
So better advice is to keep your eyes open, and be suspicious of everybody. Always have an escape plan, and always have a plan to fight. Always have a force-multiplier with you. The best choice is a personal firearm, tho a knife will also work. Always have a cell-phone with you to call 911 from safety. (Remember a cellphone is a BACKUP device, not a primary defense tools, the 911 dispatcher will NOT be able to help you when you need it most! They will send police to help others, and they will send police to get your crime report.)
and DO NOT CARRY PEPPER SPRAY!!!!
