The Anniversary of "No Duty To Protect Us"

Today is an awful anniversary. Twenty-two years ago this month, an awful criminal act was committed. In response, the courts committed an even worse act.

Early morning on March 16, 1975, two thugs broke down the back door of a three-story home in Washington, D.C. Three women and a child shared this residence. One woman was attacked and raped on the second floor, while her housemates on the third floor heard her screams and called the police.

Since the first call was assigned a low priority, the responding officers left quickly after no one answered when they knocked on the door.

The women frantically called the police a second time. The dispatcher promised help would come—but no officers were even dispatched.

A long time after things went quiet, the third-story women came down to aid their roommate. Only, the attackers weren't gone. They kidnapped, robbed, raped, and beat all three women over a fourteen hour period.

The women later sued the city and the D.C. police for negligently failing to protect them or even to answer their second call, but the court held that government had no duty to respond to their call or to protect them.

The Second Amendment is about your right to protect yourself. The Founding Fathers' believed you had a right - and a corresponding responsibility - to defend yourself and those who depend on you. We can't let government abuse this right. After all, no one else is responsible to protect us.