By David Codrea
USA – -(Ammoland.com)- Police are seeking two suspects in the brutal beating of a woman who was riding the CTA Blue Line,” WGNTV Chicago reports. “19-year-old DePaul student Jessica Hughes was on her way home to Berwyn from a morning class…”
An African American man and his female companion attacked Hughes, pushing her to the floor, beating her head and breaking her nose, ostensibly to steal her phone. Two male passengers watched, but did and said nothing to stop the attack.
“He kept beating on me,” Hughes recalled. “I’m yelling help to the other people and no one came.”
That’s a familiar story, one that recalls the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese in New York, when “For more than half an hour 38 respectable, law‐abiding citizens in Queens watched a killer stalk and stab a woman in three separate attacks … Not one person telephoned ‐ the police during the assault; one witness called after the woman was dead.” *
New Yorkers have been conditioned by the Sullivan Act, and edicts that discourage possessing the means of self-defense. It’s fair to ask what it is about a culture that does not place a premium on people being responsible for their own safety that produces the inevitable expectation that someone else is supposed to save you. That’s evidenced by Ms. Hughes’ bewilderment that she was on her own and helpless against multiple assailants, even though two seemingly able males were nearby.
Her mindset aside, she was defenseless because that’s the way the law and the rules mandate it.
“Possession or use, or assisting in the possession or use, of any of the following items, including but not limited to, firearms, knives, clubs, ammunition, explosive devices, flammable liquids, taser guns, stun guns, pepper sprays, mace, or other weapons on University-owned or –controlled property, is strictly prohibited by various local, state and/or federal laws and University policy,” De Paul’s “Campus Violence Prevention Plan declares. “Students in possession of dangerous weapons or materials will be subject to immediate suspension and may face criminal or civil sanctions.
Then there’s the Chicago Transit Authority ordinance that says it’s illegal “to possess or carry any pistol, revolver, firearm, dagger, stiletto, billie club, knife, stun gun, taser, mace, bludgeon, explosive device or other weapon on property owned, operated or maintained by the CTA.”
And let’s not forget Illinois state law:
Unless specifically exempted from UUW [Unlawful Use of Weapons], a person commits a Class 4 Felony if he or she violates the UUW law in the Criminal Code (i.e., unlawfully carries on their person or illegally transports a firearm in a vehicle) AND one or more of the following aggravating factors apply: … (9) Is under 21 years of age and in possession of a handgun, unless the person is engaged in hunting activities under the Wildlife Code.
The law was not on Hughes’ side. And based on the way the gun-grabber groups are screaming bloody murder over the prospect of campus carry whenever the subject is broached, it’s clear that every single demanding, petty, paranoid and shrill “common sense gun safety law advocate” out there would rather she had been beaten to death than armed.
And what about the guys who stood by while Hughes was being pummeled? Assuming they’re not “safe space” special snowflakes confused about which restroom best fits their self-identity? Should they have sprung into action? Would you have?
Remember, CTA says no guns and promises a world of hurt if they catch you with one. Do you say anything or go at observably violent thugs unarmed? What happens if, as criminals are known to do, they don’t care that politicians won’t “allow” them to have weapons on their persons, especially on public transit? We all like to think we’d be the one to save the day regardless. How many are in shape to actualize the fantasy, and possess the skills and mindset needed to prevail, especially against a pair of violent twenty-somethings? Do we know from experience how we react in altercations, or are our imaginings shaped by choreographed Hollywood action scenes?
What would you be prepared to do against these lovely Blue Line passengers? Eight to 10 attackers with sticks and a hammer against one lone victim? Or against the politically-connected headcase who stomped a middle-aged commuter to death on a Green Line platform? Or the Brown Line machete attack. Or (I could go on, you know)…
Yeah, I know, don’t ride public transit. Don’t live in cities. For some, that’s not as easy an option as it sounds. And why, in a Republic founded to secure the Blessings of Liberty, should the good people be the ones who have to run away and surrender to those incapable of civilized behavior?
Along those lines, do we actually obey existing Intolerable Acts, that is, existing gun laws, or would our choice be more like the one Bernhard Goetz made? Are we prepared to face that music?
That’s a hell of a set of choices for a supposedly free people relying on “shall not be infringed” to have to navigate our way through, no?
Bottom line: You can’t depend on the kindness of strangers. The police, the ones who enforce disarmament laws, are under no legal obligation or duty to protect you. Even if they witness the attack, and choose to hide instead of intervene.
If “it” happens to you, there’s only one person you can count on, or at least should be able to.
You can count on yourself, can’t you?
* UPDATE: Informed readers point out in comments The New York Times account of the Genovese murder was significantly flawed. That said, no one intervened.
About David Codrea:
David Codrea is the winner of multiple journalist awards for investigating / defending the RKBA and a long-time gun rights advocate who defiantly challenges the folly of citizen disarmament.
In addition to being a field editor/columnist at GUNS Magazine and associate editor for Oath Keepers, he blogs at “The War on Guns: Notes from the Resistance,” and posts on Twitter: @dcodrea and Facebook.