What would YOU be able to do in this sitution???????????????

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Unarmed Father Witnesses Daughters Raped
Date: Jun 20, 2007 12:52 PM
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=30017

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

Guns, Tears, Tragedy and Change
Steve Kovacs

The Rock was patrolling the well-to-do neighborhood, which
bordered a high crime area in the major midwestern city.
The veteran policeman felt relaxed as he drove through the
beautiful tree lined streets that were home to some of the
grandest houses in the country. His relaxation ended
quickly when Dispatch cracked out a call of a possible home
invasion right around the corner. Patrolman Thomas Rakoczy
was only seconds away. He was known as the Rock because he
was as hard, strong and tough as one. He was the kind of
cop you wanted at your home if you needed serious help.

The Rock arrived at the home and began to evaluate the scene
as he walked toward the door. He entered the house and soon
found two adults and two teenage girls tied up. Other
officers also arrived and no one else was found in the
house. Rakoczy began untying the family, starting with the
man first. As he was untying him the disheveled middle-aged
man hurriedly spouted out what had happened. Four men had
broken down the front door (in broad daylight) and started
up the long staircase leading to him and his family.

He said he saw the men coming up the stairs with guns in
hand but he couldn?t do anything to stop them. So he
quickly gathered his family and locked them in the master
bedroom. He said they found them hiding there in less than
a minute.

As he continued, he started to cry and told how they all
were immediately tied up. Then they started leisurely
burglarizing the home, seemingly in no hurry whatsoever.
After they bagged-up everything they deemed worthwhile,
things really got bad.

They took turns raping both daughters in front of him and
his wife. The man was beside himself as he told what had
happened. The Rock told me the mother was so bad off she
was almost totally incoherent. She hadn?t been physically
touched, but she witnessed what happened to her daughters.

The father kept repeating that he just couldn?t do anything
to help them. Nervously he asked, ?Officer, please tell me,
if I would have had a gun do you think I could have helped
my family?? Rakoczy didn?t want to render his opinion at
such an emotional time, but the man pushed him. ?I want the
truth, could I have helped?? After more and more prodding,
the Rock finally told him that if he would have had a gun he
might have at least been able to scare them away by firing a
shot at them. ?They may have turned or ran away instead of
trying to fight?gun-to gun? the Rock said. He also told him
that with a gun he could have made a powerful stand in the
bedroom as they were breaking down the door.

Thankfully, the four criminals were caught a few weeks later
and sentenced to around 15 years in prison. Later, the
father told Rakoczy that all through his life he was against
guns and thought they were a terrible problem in our
society. However, after what he and his family went through
and after a lot of soul searching and thought, he had
changed his mind. He said he now understood the need and
availability for the best protection available for people,
which are firearms. He eventually bought a gun, received
training and said he was ready to protect himself and others
if need be, for the rest of his life.

There are of course horror stories on the other side of the
gun controversy. Ones such as children gaining access to
unsecured firearms and accidentally injuring or killing
others or themselves. And of course there are the stories
of troubled individuals using firearms to cause mass
casualties and deaths in public places. However, there are
the very real stories of people protecting themselves with
firearms against burglars, rapists and other predators.
There?s no doubt firearms are the best self-defense tool
available for the private citizen. However, and this is a
big however, firearms come with many different levels of
serious responsibility.

The father who changed his views on firearms shows us there
is more than one side to an issue, which may change as time,
circumstances, knowledge and experiences evolve. This story
can help us understand, that all of us, no matter what are
feelings are on this controversial subject, should step back
and listen to those with differing views with dignity and
respect. All differing people have viable thoughts and
ideas and should be reasonably listened to. Whether it?s
the hugely important issue of how mentally unstable
individuals can be weeded out from owning firearms to the
many other issues people differ on. Respect and true
empathy for others views are the cornerstones to building
workable solutions for all.

The Second Amendment IS Homeland Security !