East Is East (1999)

Is it worth it to own or carry a gun?

I was mugged several times over a decade. Most of the time I never reported it. I live in San Francisco. After a mugging last year, I called the police. In a frank conversation, off the record, they told me if they were me they would carry a gun. As a law abiding citizen, I would be charged with the gun but in this liberal city where thugs get only a slap on the wrist there would probably be no jail time. I mean, if the police are telling me this, then maybe I should consider carrying a gun. I had my jaw broken on Christmas Day in 1999 by a radical black gang simply because I was white, just walking down the street minding my own business. Now my face is disfigured. I’m tired of the punks getting away with everything. Bless the DA who is trying to give manditory jail time for firearm possession in this city. The problem is the thugs come over from the East Bay where they know they will get State Prison time and they do their dirty work over here where nothing will happen.

While it may or may not be true that carrying a concealed weapon, as you suggest, might not result in penalties, it is highly probable that if you ever fired your weapon, even if in self-defense, you could face severe penalties. If you are so frustrated with crime in your community that you are considering buying a gun in response, then surely you are frustrated enough to consider moving to a community that has a much lower rate of crime, particularly violent crime. Some might suggest that that isn’t fair, but nothing in life is fair. And, it could be suggested that people who swim in shark-infested waters are much more likely to get bitten than those who swim in shark-free waters.

Also, consider that it is easier to keep crime down in a community where it hasn’t taken hold yet as opposed to trying to reduce crime in an area where crime is rampant, such as is typical for most metropolitan areas in the US.

East Is East (1999) trailer

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