NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — Investigations are underway in Franklin County and Clarksville where orders of protection didn’t stop two men from getting their hands on weapons.
Deandre Collier was arrested after he allegedly planned to shoot his ex-girlfriend over the weekend at RiverFest in Clarksville. Police charged him after finding a gun in his car along with drugs.
On Monday, 57-year-old Steven Henley was arrested after he shot and killed his girlfriend’s son. Franklin County deputies say he not only had an order of protection but he had also been arrested for violating it twice.
2 men arrested: Do orders of protection work? (wkrn.com)
Orders of protection are nothing more than evidence that a person may be dangerous and that he should stay away from a potential victim. But somehow, lawyers, advocates and pundits try to make people believe they possess magical powers and will end any trouble you may have with a person who is sworn to kill you.
And if you believe in that, you will probably end up dead.
And they will not care if you do.
As I’ve said to a friend: Think of a restraining order as a law that says your ex can’t be within howsoever many feet of you. Just like every other law, it’s enforced only after it’s been violated [1]. What other laws did he break, that made you get the restraining order in the first place? And why do you think he’ll obey this particular law, if he’s willing to break others?
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[1] At least that’s typically how it’s done. These days, perhaps not so much, depending on whose political party you adhere to and the color of your skin. But that’s another discussion.
No law, no matter how well written, will stop someone with intent to commit a crime from doing so.