Catch and Release

The following commentary from Wayne LaPierre's blog, "What They Didn't Tell You Today," You can access the site at http://www.nranews.com/,
October 08, 2007
Catch and Release For months and months now, the Philly politicians have been screaming that they need more gun-control laws. And for months and months, I've been saying they just need to get smart about dealing with crime. Arrests are made in only one-third of murders in Philadelphia, and only half of all rapes. And when Philly police do get a bad guy, the justice system lets him out the door with a slap on the wrist. If the criminal is a juvenile, it's even worse. Rather than doing jail time, these young offenders might have their candy bars taken away.That's not a joke. That's the truth, as reported by the Philadelphia Daily News. Two teens in a city-run facility, a 17-year-old in for illegally possessing a firearm and an 18-year-old with 13 arrests to his name, assault two counselors at the Youth Study Center. Their punishment? They lost all "points," good behavior credits that can be used to buy candy, soft drinks and toiletries. Big deal. Two days later, the 17-year-old was back on the streets and able to buy whatever he wanted.To make matters worse, one counselor even lost his job for daring to defend himself by throwing a walkie-talkie at one of the violent teens. And just weeks after this assault took place, the 17-year-old went before a judge on the illegal possession charge. He received probation, but even that was too strict. He cut off his electronic monitoring anklet and is now another wanted man... another "success" story from the Philadelphia legal system.So what do you think? Do you think another gun-control law is going to make a difference when people like this are allowed to get away with their crimes? I wish the local politicians in Philly had the guts to be honest with residents, but since they don't, I will. You want to see the crime rate drop in Philly? Tell the mayor and the city council members to quit treating criminals like they're fish. Catch-and-release is fine when you're an angler, but it's bad news for the cops on the beat. Give them the tools they need to make sure that when a bad guy gets caught, he goes away.

To get more comments on current issues and up to date information visit http://www.nranews.com/.© 2007 National Rifle Association of America

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