“When seconds count, the police are only minutes away” is a common gun-rights saying that has been printed on many images. The saying means that a person carrying a gun can respond immediately, but even the fastest police response will still be too late.
 
“When seconds count, the police are only/just minutes away” has been put on bumper stickers and has been cited in print since at least 2001. The authorship of the saying has sometimes been credited to Philip Van Cleave (president of the Virginia Citizens’ Defense League), but there is insufficient evidence that his use was the first.
 
A different “seconds count” saying is “Seconds count—especially when dieting.”
     
   
TheFiringLine Forums
Ironbarr
July 19, 2001, 09:30 AM
When seconds count, most help is just minutes away.
 
AtheistParents.org
by Joe Black » Sun Dec 19, 2004 10:57 am
(...)
“When seconds count between living or dying, the police are only minutes away.”
- Phillip Van Cleave
         
labusas.org
Rumble Phish
01-03-2005, 11:13 PM
When seconds count, the police are only minutes away….
 
ClubCivic.com - Honda Civic Forum
$lick Rick
05-22-2005, 05:59 PM
When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
     
LSPG.org
Ritker8
10-09-2005
Pro Firearms:
“When seconds count between living or dying, the police are only minutes away.” - Phillip Van Cleave
           
Airliners.net - Tech Ops Forum
Fr8Mech
Reply 5, posted Thu Dec 22 2005 04:13:53:
(...)
When seconds count…the police are minutes away!
 
The FAL Files Forums
Posted by Bigger_Is_Better on February 19, 2006 01:00:
(...)
When seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
       
Newspapers.com
19 July 2007, Daily Press (Newport News, VA), “Panel reviews ways to respond to tragedy” by Hugh Lessig, pg. B1, col. 5:
“When seconds count, the police are only minutes away,” said Philip Van Cleave of the Virginia Citizens Defense League.
 
The High Road
W.E.G.
October 30, 2007, 08:01 PM
(...)
The student chapter of the Libertarian Party at Virginia Tech sponsored the event. Philip Van Cleave, president of the Virginia Citizens’ Defense League, spoke to a crowd of about 100 people.
 
Van Cleave told the audience while police are always “on duty”, just like they were the day of the shootings, when seconds count, they are likely minutes away. He also says technology, like the warning sirens and the text alert systems, can’t always be trusted.
     
Google Books
Arguing with Idiots:
How to Stop Small Minds and Big Government
By Glenn Beck, Kevin Balfe and Steve Burguiere
New York, NY: Simon and Schuster
2009
Pg. ?:
In real life, as the saying goes, when seconds count, the police are only minutes away.
 
Google Books
Infinity: Chronicles of Nick
By Sherrilyn Kenyon
New York, NY: St. Martin’s Griffin
2010
Pg. 345:
As the old saying goes, when seconds count, the police are just minutes away.”