Quote:

I spoke with a relative, a retired NYC Police Lieutenant with his 20 years in, and emailed an old friend, a prosecutor for well over 25 years for NYS, NYC and now Westchester County.

Both quickly said that a large loud dog was better for deterring a burglar than owning a gun. They both said that burglars can easily see who does and doesn't have a large loud dog with little effort, and thus usually go to the house without the canine alarm.

The DA said he's dealt with countless cases of gun theft from apartments, offices, homes and even directly off of people who were carrying the weapon and were surprised by the assailant ... including, he said, a couple cops.

He believes that a good number of crimes in NY are committed with stolen guns.

He also said that, though it occassionally happens, he's never directly been involved in a case where someone has shot the home's watchdog. But, he's been involved in many where a "perp" has shot a gun owner.




The cop asked a very interesting question. He wants to know how the burglar is going to know by stalking out a home from the street, etc., which apartment or house has a gun and which doesn't.



Because of it's obvious presence, certainly a large dog is a good deterrent. But as another thread on this board pointed out, a large dog is not always a viable option for apartment dwellers for a large number of reasons.

From a recent 20/20 or 60Minutes episode (I don't remember which) it was stated that the majority of illegal guns in NYC come from legal purchases just across state lines and are illegally brought back into NY state. The numbers quoted far exceeded the use of stolen handguns.

The criminal use of firearms is a fact of life. Further outlawing and banning of firearms only insures that criminals will be the only ones armed.

When it comes right down to it and your life is being threatened by a criminal with a firearm, you can have your large dog and your 911, I'd rather have my Remington 870. But that is just my opinion.

BTW: Right below my ADT Security sticker is another that says "NRA Life Member". If that's not enough to scare away a bugler then he deserves what he gets by breaking into my home.
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I'd rather be ignorant than stupid. Ignorance implies a lack of knowledge which is easily correctable through education. Stupidity implies an inability to learn. Therefore; ignorance is temporary, stupidity is forever!