From: 34AEJ7D@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu (Bill Gorman)
Newsgroups: misc.handicap
Subject: Open letter: LAPD to NRA
Date: 29 Jul 92 17:44:25 GMT
Reply-To: 34AEJ7D@cmuvm.csv.cmich.edu (Bill Gorman)

Index Number: 23438

Following up on the recent "Protection/Self Defense" thread here, I
feel the following might be of interest to those on L-HCAP
concerned with that subject.

Sez me,

W. K. (Bill) Gorman  ,bj496@Cleveland.Freenet.Edu>  <34aej7d@cmuvm>

---------------------------------ATTACHMENT-----------------------------

   The following letter appeared in the  July, 1992, issue of

                    _The American Rifleman_,

                      official journal of:

            The National Rifle Association of America
                  1600 Rhode Island Ave., N.W.
                     Washington, D.C.  20036

It was sent as an open letter to all NRA members and is reproduced here
in that context. All typos are mine.

W. K. Gorman
NRA Life Member

-----------------------------------------------------------------

I am writing this letter to the membership of NRA so all may take
heed of the warning I'm about to issue.  The red flag has been
raised and the cry in the wilderness has been sounded.

On April 30, 1992, Los Angeles was rocked by a massive show of
civil disobedience, the causes of which will be debated for years.
The questions asked now by all citizens of Los Angeles are: "Where
were our police?  Why didn't the police respond in time to quell
the riot?  What became of civilized society?"As an 18-year veteran
of the LAPD, I can only say that, from what I observed, we were
totally out numbered - over-run by forces beyond anyone's control.

One glaring fact which was apparent to all involved was that the
areas lacking in police presence sustained the worst looting and
arson. This was clearly demonstrated in Los Angeles' "Koreatown".
This area was settled and developed by hard working Korean-
American immigrants who put their entire lives and fortunes into
trying to achieve the American dream.  This dream for thousands of
Korean-Americans was dashed in a matter of minutes when thugs
firebombed and looted unguarded and unpoliced businesses. But the
many Korean- and African-American store owners who had the presence
of mind to take up arms in the protection of their lives and
property were able to save their stores and lives. The word was put
out that the "Thin Blue Line" had failed to protect its citizens in
time of need and that the arming of shop owners was advised.

This was the most important issue to come out of this riot as far
as I was concerned - the right under the Second Amendment to take
up arms when the government charged with your protection fails to
protect you. Thank God that the framers of the Constitution had the
common sense to not trust government and gave every American the
right to keep and bear arms in the protection of life and
property.

To the membership of NRA I say, the anti-gunners are the biggest
threat to our way of life since the rise of communism in 1917. If
the Korean- and African-American shop owners in Los Angeles hadn't
been armed, the arson and looting would have taken a heavier toll
than reported.

What happened in Los Angeles can and eventually will occur in other
parts of the U.S.A.  If the anti- gunners take away your right to
protect your life with a gun in a massive riot, don't expect the
boys in the blue suits to come to your aid in a timely fashion.
There are not enough to go around, and by the time the politicians
agree to call up the National Guard, your property and life will be
lost. By the time the National Guard arrived in Los Angeles, it was
all over - the damage and death had already occurred. You have to
have the means available at the ready to be able to defend yourself
in the time of civil unrest.  The armed law-abiding citizen becomes
the last line of defense in the protection of civil society when
civil authority cannot protect.

Vote out the politicians who even think of any sort of gun control.
Once they start controlling your right to bear arms, it's only a
matter of time when you will not have this right anymore. Remember,
the next riot might be in your own backyard, and you might be the
only one who can protect your family from rape, pillage and death.

Thomas Hobbes, the British political theorist, said, "Without the
sword, the law is only words." Without an armed citizenry, anarchy
stands unchecked.

(Signed)

Officer R. T. Dorsey
Los Angeles Police Dept.
Northeast Division