Date: Thursday, 30 Jul 1992 13:16:22 EDT
From: <34AEJ7D@CMUVM.BITNET>
Newsgroups: soc.culture.usa
Distribution: usa
Followups-to: talk.bizarre
Subject: LAPD Letter to the NRA

   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

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

     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