Ohio Judge, “Carry guns.”

Cartoon: Scott Bieser.

This story from newsmax will warm the hearts of 2^nd amendment supporters:

Judge Alfred Mackey of Ashtabula County Common Pleas Court advised residents Friday to be vigilant and arm themselves because the number of deputies has been cut about in half because of a tight budget. He also urged neighbors to organize anti-crime block watch groups.

"They have to be law-abiding, and if they are not familiar with firearms they need to take a safety course so they are not a threat to their family and friends and themselves," Mackey said Friday.

Mackey, whose comments were first broadcast Thursday by WKYC-TV in Cleveland, was expressing concerns with budget cuts that have trimmed the sheriff's department from 112 to 49 deputies in the county, which is Ohio's largest by land area.

Asked by WKYC how people should respond to the cuts and limited patrols, he said, "Arm themselves. Be very careful and just be vigilant because we're going to have to look after each other."

It would be interesting to speculate on just why the budget cuts are aimed at what is one of the very few legitimate areas of government activities, namely the provision of police to secure the safety of the community from criminals. Still government these days have other fish to fry, so the basics just have to go.

Another more liberal judge maintains that this “is scary,” although offering no alternative. I can see reasons for the residents to be outraged at having to put their bodies on the line to provide their own protection while their taxes go elsewhere, but what the hell is scary about the possibility of a few crims getting shot up? The citizen has a right to self-defense.

One of the most interesting aspects of the affairs of the county is that they run their jails on the socialised health model:

“The jail in the county of about 100,000 people has held as many as 140 prisoners, but the number has dipped to about 30 because of reductions in the guard staff. About 700 people are on a waiting list to serve time in the jail.”