The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1921-05-12
THAT
WOULDN'T PREVENT

Senator j. K Shields, of Tennessee,
believes that if the carrying of revol-
vers or pistols can be stopped, the So
called crime wave will recede. He has
drawn up bill which prohibits inter-
state commerce in revolvers, pistols
or other firearms small enough to be
concealed about the person. The pur-
pose of the bill is stated to be to "sup-
press the sale of pistols, revolvers and
small arms" the plan being to make
it as difficult as possible for any one,
criminal or otherwise, to secure such Il
weapon. Experience teaches that such
a measure will not accomplish the
purpose of the bill. 1t was tried in
the state of New York, the Sullivan
law being drastic in its provisions.
This bill applied even to shotguns and
rifles, hunters passing through New
York with gun or rifle in case being
arrested and fined. Dealers were not
allowed to sell firearms without a per-
NIT and under stringent restrictions,
while citizens could not purchase them
without going through tedious pro-
cess. 1t was unlawful for a property
-. IS@n
his house, and on one occasion man
who shot a burglar who had broken
into his house and was carrying off
his property was arrested and fined.
And this. in spite of the common law
which declares a mans house his
castle and justifes him in defending
it even to the extent of taking the life
of the aggressor. The result of the
Sullivan law in New York was to
take the means of defense from the
peaceful citizen. but it could not keep
the weapons of crime away from the
criminals. Last winter hold-ups,
burglaries and robberies were so num-
erous in New York city that a regular
wave of crime swept through it. So
bad did it become, that the mayor of
the city advised all citizens to arm
themselves against the criminals. This
occurred in a city of over five million
inhabitants, which boasts of having
the finest police force in the world and
where the Sullivan anti-revolver law
had been in force several years. The
effect of such laws as the one pro-
posed by Senator Shields is to take
the small arm means of defense from
the law-abidmg citizen, but they
never yet succeeded in disarming the
criminal. The fact that carrying a
concealed weapon is a crime does not
keep the criminal from going armed.
He starts out to violate the law
when he goes on his mission of burg
larry or robbery, and the fact that he
violates another law when he slips a
revolver in his pocket does not deter
him in the least.-Miami Herald.
It's the Stars opinion that the Her
aid is correct. The prohibition of any
sort of weapon, even were it success
full, wouldn't prevent crime. Criminal
actions proceed not from the posses
sion of a. weapon but from the dispo-
sition to commit crime-from blind
rage, which often arises in the human
mind from a most trivial cause; from
the spirit of revenge, jealousy, avarice
or any other unworthy motive. Cain
didn't kill Abel with a pistol. 1t has
been only about 400 years ago since
the pistol was invented. and the pages
of history were more deeply written
in blood before that time than since
It has been less than hundred years
since a reliable pistol that. could be
concealed was made, and since that
time a very small minority of mur'
de1s have been committed with or &C
cidents caused by the little gun, yet al
incessant clamor goes up from I'LL
informed people that the revolver !
the source of nearly all evil.