As we wrote in January, gun grabbers and doggy killers were jubilant when they were able to unite the issues of “pit bull” bans and gun control when a Good Samaritan saved a boy,  Jayeon Simon, from what were called “pit bulls” (though still no word on what breed the dogs actually were) by shooting one of the dogs with an unregistered 9 mm Ruger.   Soon after, far-lefties went on a free-for-all saying that only stupid rednecks with guns own “pit bulls” and even making racist claims that “pit bulls” are only found in certain neighborhoods.

Well, we learned that last week, the Good Samaritan, Benjamin Srigley, while not being criminally charged for having an unregistered handgun (and other unregistered weapons in his possession which were also confiscated), will be fined $1,000.   This is viewed by the Attorney General as a concession since, as the Attorney General’s spokesperson said,   they “took it into account that [Srigley] saved this boys life.”   Oh how nice of them.   But I think the dog bite victim’s cousin said it best when he argued that, “I dont think [Srigley] should be charged at all because its an act of heroism.”   Agreed.   But there’s always that little matter of politics.   See, if D.C. authorities don’t at least fine Mr. Srigley, then they will be giving tacit approval for other D.C. gun owners to not register their guns.   However, there must also be some acknowledgement that guns do save lives and that Mr. Srigley was in fact a hero, so therefore he won’t be criminally charged.   And somewhere in there too is the acknowledgement that gun registration is ridiculous and only serves to adversely affect law-abiding citizens by harassing them for merely doing their civic duty.  

In my assessment, all this proves is that law enforcement can’t protect its citizens, nor according to Bowers v. DeVito and DeShaney v. Winnebago County do they even have a constitutional duty to protect citizens from criminal harm.   That’s why District of Columbia v. Heller should have ruled that gun registrations are unconstitutional as well since the 2nd amendment clearly states “the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed” meaning not encroached upon.   Both law enforcement and Animal Control failed to keep  Jayeon Simon safe since by the time dogs of any breed attack, there are typically many instances of Animal Control and law enforcement involvement.   But who did save this boy’s life?   A well-armed, well-trained citizen doing his civic duty.

In the case of Mr. Srigley, he could just as easily not have saved that boy because he knew his guns were unregistered and therefore, according to the District of Columbia, “illegal.”   So maybe D.C. ought to take into consideration the fact that there may be fewer Good Samaritans in the future if they keep punishing them for something as stupid as failing to register the very handgun that saved a boy from being mauled to death.   But see, this is how gun control turns perfectly law-abiding, good, and moral citizens into “criminals” overnight, and I think on some level, D.C. authorities are conceding the error of their ways when it comes to gun control by not criminally charging Mr. Srigley.   Still, in the court of public opinion, Benjamin Srigley is a selfless hero and will be remembered not as a scofflaw, but as a man who in an instant shrugged off the consequences and followed his conscience in doing what was morally right, like the overwhelming majority of gun owners typically do.