St. Louis Leader Urges his Constituents to Arm Themselves Against Violent Criminals

From Fox News.com-

ST. LOUIS — A St. Louis city leader frustrated with the police response to rising crime called Tuesday on residents to arm themselves to protect their lives and property.
Alderman Charles Quincy Troupe said police are ineffective, outnumbered or don't care about the increase in crime in his north St. Louis ward. St. Louis has had 157 homicides in 2008, 33 more than last year at this time.

"The community has to be ready to defend itself, because it's clear the economy is going to get worse, and criminals are getting more bold," Troupe, 72, said Tuesday.
Troupe said that when he and residents approached a district police commander last year, they were told "there was nothing he could do to protect us and the community ... that he didn't have the manpower."

Police did not immediately return requests for comment. Chief Dan Isom told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch he understands Troupe's frustration but doesn't support citizens arming themselves.
Carrying guns, he said, is not a "recipe for a less violent community."

Plaxico Burress

...it's just too bad he lives in New York, one of the toughest places in the United States to have a gun. I would have thought someone of his financial status could secure one of those rarer-than-rare documents, a New York Conealed Carry permit.

Tiki Barber was on the Radio this morning explaining that the need for Plaxico and others of his ilk to illegally carry firearms was for personal protection. He said that Plaxico was from a rough neighborhood where the police were not always there to protect you, so you needed to protect yourself.

So my question for my readers is this: Would you carry a firearm if it was prohibited by law if it meant protecting your or your family's life?

Think on that for a bit, and maybe you know what Plax is going through. Or maybe you're like me and you think there are better ways he could have gone about protecting himself.