BELLEVUE, WA – Wednesday’s horrific terror attack in London that left three people dead, including an unarmed police constable, underscores the dangerously backward logic that leaves British police officers largely unarmed while terrorists and criminals will use whatever weapon they can, the Second Amendment Foundation said today.
“The death of veteran Constable Keith Palmer, along with a female British subject and an American citizen is yet another graphic demonstration of what we’ve learned in America,” said SAF founder and Executive Vice President Alan M. Gottlieb. “Armed evil beats unarmed innocence every time. In this case, Constable Palmer was betrayed by his employer, by his government, and essentially set up to die.
“Our hearts and prayers go out to Constable Palmer’s family,” Gottlieb continued, “as well as the families of the other victims. It takes a good deal of courage in today’s world to become a police officer, and it takes a special kind of backbone to do that job unarmed.”
The American gun rights leader noted that the increasing use of violence by terrorists across the European landscape has given new urgency to the mission of the International Association for the Protection of Civilian Arms Rights (IAPCAR) of which SAF is a founding member. Gottlieb was instrumental in creating that worldwide organization, and its efforts are taking on more importance with the growing terrorist threat.
“Terrorists and violent criminals prefer unarmed victims,” he stated. “British gun control laws have disarmed the general public along with most police officers, making the entire country a target rich environment.
“While it is being reported that Constable Palmer was supported by armed colleagues who shot the attacker, he should not have had to depend upon brother officers for his own safety,” Gottlieb stressed. “We realize there is a tradition of unarmed officers across Great Britain, but this brutal attack should serve as a wake-up warning that officer safety outweighs tradition. You cannot handcuff police with rules and regulations when terrorists, whether they are international criminals or home-grown lone wolf lunatics, simply disregard the mores and morals of a civilized society. In the end, all that you wind up with is a body count.”