3/01 Massachusetts Legislature

Massachusetts Legislature: Blood on Their Hands
by
Larry Pratt

When Michael McDermott walked into the offices of an internet consulting firm and shot seven people dead, he had an accomplice — the legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.

Tragically, one of the victims was a legal gun owner who was licensed to carry in next-door New Hampshire.

But Massachusetts law prevented him from carrying his firearm in the state and on the job.

There is no doubt that Sandy Javelle was bold. When the shooting started, Sandy ordered his coworkers to lock the door behind him and barricade it. He then confronted McDermott and soon became the third victim.

Had the Citizens’ Self-Defense Act sponsored by Maryland’s Roscoe Bartlett been on the books, Javelle would likely have been willing to carry his gun illegally in Masachusetts. He would have been able to seek and injunction and damages in federal court against prosecution for his violation of Massachusetts’ anti-self defense law.

Lamentably, Javelle was more afraid of the Massachusetts cops than he was of Michael McDermott. Deadly choice.

Javelle and his six dead co-workers are but more data to validate the conclusions of the research of Dr. John Lott: More Guns Means Less Crime.

It is helpful to know that Dr. Lott bought his first gun AFTER he finished the research that showed that concealed carry laws were the only thing that lowered violent crime rates.

Think about an observation Dr. Lott recently made about the inability of the police to be everywhere, thus increasing the risk citizens take when they are unarmed. He tells of a friend who dropped off his kids at a public school and outside the school was a sign that said: “This is a gun-free zone.” Lott could not help but think that if he put up a sign on his home that said, “This home is a gun-free zone,” would it make it more attractive or less attractive to criminals entering his home and attacking himself or his family?

It is easy for the media to report on a crime such as Wakefield. Seldom do they report on the 2.5 million times a year a citizen uses a gun in self defense.

Don’t expect the legislators of Massachusetts to ask for forgiveness for their deadly law that killed Sandy Javelle. If they do anything, it will be to make it easier for the next Michael McDermott to kill a bunch of helpless victims. If McDermott were not such a creep, we might ask him to thank the legislature for enabling him to have his 15 minutes of fame.