An Armed Society Is A Polite Society

CHICAGO, Sept. 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following was released today by the Illinois State Rifle Association (www.isra.org):

A report released this week by the United Nations confirms what law-abiding Americans have known for quite some time. That being that criminals prefer victims who cannot fight back.

Based on a crime survey of the world's top industrialized countries, the U.N. report indicates that a resident of the United Kingdom is nearly 3 times more likely to become a victim of violent assault than is a citizen of the United States. The report reveals that Scotland is the most violent country in the industrialized world with over 2,000 Scots attacked every week, which amounts to about 3 percent of the population on an annual basis. England and Wales are close behind with 2.8 percent of the population falling victim to violent assault. By comparison, Americans are victimized by violent offenders at a rate of 1.2 percent.

These latest crime figures are a snapshot of the upward spiral of violent crime in the United Kingdom. The rate of violent crime in the UK continues to grow despite the passage of successively more restrictive laws governing private firearm ownership. While violent crime in the UK has been ramping up, the rate of similar crimes in the United States has been declining -- thanks in large part to the passage of "concealed carry" laws in over four dozen states.

"Criminals are cowards," commented ISRA Executive Director Richard Pearson. "They like nothing better than to come upon prey that is unable to put up much resistance. Here in the United States, over 80 million citizens own firearms - a fact that makes cowardly crooks very nervous. On the other hand, thanks to sweeping gun bans, the average British subject is little more than a sitting duck. With little fear of being shot by potential victims, British thugs are free to run the streets, committing murder and mayhem with near impunity."

"For years we have heard the American gun control movement crow about how the UK is quickly becoming a gun-free utopia," continued Pearson. "To the contrary, these latest UN figures demonstrate that the UK is a place where violence is quickly replacing the rule of law."

"The UN figures illustrate the folly of gun control," said Pearson. "It's time for our political leaders to rise in support of the basic human right of self defense. It's time for Illinois to join the 46 states that allow law-abiding citizens to carry defensive firearms. It's time for Illinois citizens to enjoy the bounties of liberty rather than suffer the indignities of victimization as do their British counterparts."

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The ISRA is the state's leading advocate of safe, lawful and responsible firearms ownership. For over a century, the ISRA has represented the interests of over 1.5 million law-abiding firearm owners.