Assemblyman Merkt certainly gets it:
"When there is an intruder in your home, the last thing you should worry about is whether you are using excessive force," said Assemblyman Richard Merkt, R-Morris, who introduced the New Jersey Self Defense Bill in January. The self-defense law should be concerned more with protecting the rights of victims than protecting the rights of criminals, he said. "If a burglar invades your house and gets hurt in the bargain, I don't think the law should recognize his claim," he said. Merkt said that the Democratic-controlled state Legislature has been reluctant to post his bill for a hearing, and that New Jersey may be a long way from enacting such law. "But this is an idea that I believe will eventually be enacted in New Jersey, because it makes sense," he said.
"When there is an intruder in your home, the last thing you should worry about is whether you are using excessive force," said Assemblyman Richard Merkt, R-Morris, who introduced the New Jersey Self Defense Bill in January.
The self-defense law should be concerned more with protecting the rights of victims than protecting the rights of criminals, he said.
"If a burglar invades your house and gets hurt in the bargain, I don't think the law should recognize his claim," he said.
Merkt said that the Democratic-controlled state Legislature has been reluctant to post his bill for a hearing, and that New Jersey may be a long way from enacting such law.
"But this is an idea that I believe will eventually be enacted in New Jersey, because it makes sense," he said.
It may be too much common sense for New Jersey. The usual suspects are coming of the woodwork to oppose the law and push their usual load of crap and fear. New Jersey is gun controllers shining example of success. Of course their metric for success is only based on how widely they infringe upon our rights and not upon how crime is actually impacted.
Eugene Volokh has recently noted that the state supreme courts of Washington and Kentucky have made recent rulings that both the constitution of their respective states and the federal constitution allow the individual right to keep and bear arms.
Unfortunately, this doesn't mean anything for New Jersey until the US Third Circuit Court or the SCOTUS upholds such a decision. But it is good to see the number of pro-individual right precedents continue to grow.
Via Instapundit
Not apropos to anything in particular, Harrison Bergeron is one of my favorite short stories by one of my favorite authors--Kurt Vonnegut. It's more relevant today than it was 45 years ago when Vonnegut penned it. It's about a future liberal utopia where equality and egalitarianism are finally achieved by the government handicapping everyone down to the lowest common denominator.
[EDIT] Link fixed.
