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Originally Posted by HarrySchell
Denying people the effective right of self-defense is another part of making them dependent, compliant and helpless.
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I wouldn't go so far as to say this is the intended effect, but it certainly is the actual effect.
Years ago, before Chicago's handgun ban and for a short time thereafter, it wasn't uncommon for people to answer their door when I knocked (I did repair/maintenance for property management companies) in the rougher neighborhoods with a gun in hand or strapped to their person. They took it as their responsibility to protect themselves, they weren't willing to concede that right solely to the police.
30 years of gun prohibition changed the way people thought about guns, eventually guns were something only criminals and the police had.
And, perhaps directly related to that, police success at solving homicides (particularly gang related ones) has plummeted drastically. I can't help but think that, deprived of their ability to defend themselves, people are afraid to talk to police about what they know for fear of retaliation.